Chapter 154 — The Professional Shield

But a man like Wei Zhao, who simply traded a fine dinner for cash, was someone she had never met before!

This was no longer about putting on airs; it meant Wei Zhao had no intention whatsoever of pursuing anything further with her. In his eyes, a fine dinner was worth less than money.

At this thought, Sun Jingyan felt a stir of private annoyance. Was this boy's head fried? He only liked those two green girls? Was she inferior to them? For the first time, Sun Jingyan had been dealt a blow!

She even regretted her choice a little. Why had she picked such a man to cooperate with?

"Of course you can," Sun Jingyan said, working hard to keep her composure. "If it succeeds, I'll give you a thousand yuan. How's that?"

"Deal." Wei Zhao nodded. Only a fool would turn down money. Easy money left on the table was easy money lost.

Still, Wei Zhao had discovered something of a latent gift in himself for playing the "shield." If he ever lost his job, he could open a shield-for-hire company and probably never go hungry.

Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu had of course seen Sun Jingyan go over and sit down at Wei Zhao's table. The bar was too noisy for them to make out what was being said.

"Xiaoshu, just what is that thing supposed to mean? Who is that woman?" Gu Mengyao frowned, glancing sidelong at Wei Zhao's table. She had to admit, though, that the woman was very alluring, so much so that even Gu Mengyao marveled at her in secret.

"I don't know. But from the looks of it, she's come to chat up Mr. Shield, isn't she?" Shen Yushu could not hear the conversation between Wei Zhao and Sun Jingyan very clearly either.

"A young lady?" Judging by Sun Jingyan's air, Gu Mengyao did not take her for one of those streetwalkers.

"Maybe." Shen Yushu was not sure either. "Let's watch. It looks like fun... Oh, look, a handsome guy who's a hair less good-looking than Mr. Shield has come over. Looks like he's going to make trouble!"

"..." Gu Mengyao followed Shen Yushu's gaze and indeed saw a man walking toward Wei Zhao's table.

...

"He's here. Whatever happens, you must play along with me!" Sun Jingyan glanced at Wei Zhao, a little nervous.

"No problem." Wei Zhao looked utterly unconcerned.

"Jingyi, I pay the cab fare, and somehow you still get here first..." A man in an expensive Armani casual suit, his features refined and handsome, came striding quickly toward them, speaking as he walked.

His strides were quick, yet he never lost his gentlemanly bearing. At a glance he was the kind of young gentleman raised with excellent breeding, and that innate air was very hard to acquire after the fact.

Of course, composite talents like Wei Zhao were the exception. He could fake it. On a mission, you had to blend quickly into all sorts of roles and leave not the slightest flaw, or what awaited you might well be death.

Wei Zhao gave the newcomer a placid glance and said nothing. Sun Jingyan had already told him he need not speak. One thing, though: Sun Jingyan had not lied. Her name really was "Jingyi."

"Chentian, didn't I tell you before? My boyfriend is waiting for me here. Why did you still come in?" Sun Jingyan frowned slightly.

"Jingyi, I think you know what your father and mother mean. This time I came to Songshan City, I also sought their opinion. They asked me to come here and look after you." The man called Chentian was not angry in the least. He did not even glance at Wei Zhao, as though pointedly ignoring him.

"Chentian, I think it is you who have failed to understand. I have made myself very clear: I have a boyfriend. If it is simply the concern and care of an elder brother, I am happy to accept it. Anything else, there is no need." Sun Jingyan replied mildly, "Let me introduce you. This is my boyfriend, Wei Zhao."

"Jingyi, I don't care whether you had a boyfriend before. None of that matters to me. After all, I've studied abroad for so many years, and you have the right to your own life." Chentian said, "But now, I hope we can start over. This is my parents' wish, and your parents' wish as well. I think you understand?"

"Hah? Funny." Sun Jingyan curled her lip. "Chentian, don't you think what you're saying is rather funny? Whether you go abroad or not, what does that have to do with me? Before you went abroad, our two families were old friends, and we were like brother and sister. We still are. What's the difference? Not to mention all this nonsense about starting over."

"Jingyan, is this your boyfriend?" Chen Tian saw Sun Jingyan's resolute attitude and, rather than pressing the previous argument further, abruptly steered the conversation onto Wei Zhao.

If he had not brought Wei Zhao up just then, one might have thought he had never noticed Wei Zhao sitting there at all.

"Yes." Sun Jingyan nodded. "You have seen him, you believe it now, so can you leave?"

"Heh..." Chen Tian smiled faintly and extended a hand to Wei Zhao. "Hello, brother. My name is Chen Tian."

"Wei Zhao." Wei Zhao put out his hand and shook Chen Tian's once. He was just about to let go when he suddenly felt a powerful force clamp down on his palm.

So Chen Tian was still unwilling to let it go after all, and meant to make some trouble. But Wei Zhao did not strike back; let him squeeze. Back when his master had made him pound tree trunks bare-handed day after day, pain of this degree had long since ceased to register.

Besides, the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art had successfully broken through the first layer into the first layer's Great Perfection. Though it was still the first layer, a breakthrough and no breakthrough were two entirely different things.

Wei Zhao's whole body had undergone a marked transformation, and his coordination had reached an unprecedented perfection. If he ran into another bank robbery like the last one, he might well handle it without taking a wound.

But last time, the injury had mostly been for the sake of the little nurse Guan Xin behind him; on the other hand, it had also served to mislead the robbers. After all, how formidable could a man with a bullet in him really be?

So although the tendons and bones of Wei Zhao's hand were being deformed under Chen Tian's grip, there was no pain at all, because the structure of his body had changed, and the suppleness between his tendons and bones was unlike that of an ordinary man.

After two squeezes with no effect, Chen Tian had no choice but to let go; holding on to another man's hand without end was hardly proper. Of course, Chen Tian did not believe there was truly no effect.

His family's martial skill lay entirely in their hands. He had not used the family technique when he gripped Wei Zhao, but Chen Tian had great confidence in the strength of his own hand. So in his view, Wei Zhao had not felt no pain; he simply had extraordinary endurance and was pretending nothing was wrong, refusing to lose face in front of Sun Jingyan.

As for using the family technique on Wei Zhao, Chen Tian had not considered it. That could have crushed the bones of Wei Zhao's hand in an instant, and then Sun Jingyan would surely think he was bullying the weak with his power, which would only be counterproductive.