Chapter 157 — The Notorious Thief

Still, Sun Jingyan was genuinely curious about just what sort of background Wei Zhao had. In the bar she had somehow run into a formidable character, one who was in fact even more formidable than Wu Chengtian... The more Wei Zhao refused to talk, the more she wanted to know. Sometimes a woman's curiosity knows no bounds.

"Heh." Wei Zhao looked at Sun Jingyan, whose breath was sweet as an orchid and whose every gesture brimmed with allure, and had to admit that she stirred him. She was a stunner of the femme-fatale class.

But Wei Zhao was certain that Sun Jingyan's mature charm was put on. A woman of twenty-seven or twenty-eight could hardly be called a ripe beauty, and Sun Jingyan seemed deliberately to dress herself a little older. Whether she was even twenty-seven or twenty-eight was still an open question.

From the earlier exchange between Sun Jingyan and Wu Chengtian, Wei Zhao was sure her real age could not be very great; perhaps because of the workplace she made herself out to be older and more seasoned than she was.

"Is that how you usually talk to your boss, and to clients?" Wei Zhao's bones had gone soft and tingly from the sound of her voice, and he was a little ill at ease.

Sun Jingyan was taken aback for a moment, then her face flushed red as she suddenly realized that somewhere along the way she had started acting coquettish. Every woman knows how to play the coy, and even those who don't have plenty of examples in the movies... But Sun Jingyan was ordinarily not the coquettish type; otherwise she would not have dressed herself up as the grave, capable professional, the way those fresh-faced young girls do, batting their lashes and simpering at a client until a deal comes through.

This time, though, in her eagerness to learn about Wei Zhao, she had unconsciously slipped into that tone... which left her rather embarrassed. Fortunately the bar was dim, and Wei Zhao could not see her blush.

"Ahem... Little Handsome, do you think your sister is that kind of loose woman?" Seeing Wei Zhao, Sun Jingyan naturally treated him as a younger brother; after all, he did not look old, and he roused no sense of caution in her.

"Not really. But it's hard to say," Wei Zhao said bluntly.

"How about this, Little Handsome—you tell your sister what it is you do, and from now on I'll only talk this way to you and no one else, all right?" Sun Jingyan was not ordinarily like this; it was only that she was desperately curious about Wei Zhao, and he was probably not very old, so she might as well humor him like a little brother. She had nothing to lose.

"You really want to know?" Wei Zhao looked at Sun Jingyan with a half-smile.

Sun Jingyan nodded.

"All right, then I'll tell you. But don't go spreading it around." Wei Zhao put on a grave expression again.

"I won't..." Sun Jingyan nodded instinctively.

"The truth is, I'm a notorious thief..." Wei Zhao lowered his voice. "Though I've already washed my hands of it..."

"Uh..." Sun Jingyan stared at Wei Zhao in disbelief. On the face of it something seemed off, yet seeing how utterly deadpan he looked, it did not seem like a lie either, and she was at once half-convinced and half-doubtful. "Really? Well, don't worry—I promised you, and I definitely won't breathe a word..."

"Mm. Then give me a thousand yuan, and you can go," Wei Zhao said with a nod.

Sun Jingyan did not go back on her word. She took out her wallet, counted out ten bills, and handed them to Wei Zhao. He did not count them either, just took them in his hand.

"You're not even going to leave me your phone number..." Seeing that Wei Zhao had taken the money and said nothing, Sun Jingyan was rather piqued. Most men would take the initiative to ask for her number, wouldn't they? Even if she refused, they would insist on pressing theirs on her...

It seemed her charms really were no match for those two fresh-faced schoolgirls where Wei Zhao was concerned...

"152xxxx1234." Wei Zhao gave his mobile number. "Before you call, remember to have the money ready!"

Just as Wei Zhao said this, a bartender happened to be walking over to put back in its place the chair Wu Chengtian had moved earlier. He caught Wei Zhao's words and saw the wad of bills in his hand, and was left rather speechless—so the kid was a kept man...

Then he looked at Sun Jingyan and was even more at a loss for words... A woman this beautiful, and she still had to pay for it? One crook of her finger and countless men would line up... and she was spending money...

Under the bartender's gaze Sun Jingyan felt her face grow hot. She knew he had misunderstood, and she was annoyed; she shot Wei Zhao a baleful glare and hurried off. Looking at that smug expression on Wei Zhao's face, the bartender privately wondered: could the kid have some miraculous technique? In front of men he had never been so thoroughly humiliated...

Today, though, she had been bested by a boy younger than herself, one who refused to play by any rules, and Sun Jingyan had lost face badly. Still, be that as it may, Wei Zhao had done her a favor and freed her from Wu Chengtian's pestering—even if only for a time. In a few days Wu Chengtian would be back at it, but putting him off for a while was better than nothing...

Just then, a certain sorry wretch was sweating profusely, frantically rummaging through his pockets... That can't be right. When I left, I remember taking my wallet. How could it be gone?

"Do you have the money or not? You look decent enough, dressed all neat and proper. Don't tell me you're trying to weasel out of paying..." the taxi driver said, his patience wearing thin.

"Brother, I forgot my wallet. It's up in my hotel room. Let me run up and get it, then I'll pay you, all right?" Wu Chengtian cursed his luck inwardly. Had he known it would come to this, why would he have tipped the doorman with all of Wei Zhao's cash? Even keeping a hundred yuan would have been better!

"Pulling my leg, are you? Once you're up there, will you even come back down? Where am I supposed to find you..." The driver was having none of it. "Call a friend to bring the money, or else we're not going anywhere..."

"This..." Wu Chengtian had only just arrived in Songshan City. He knew no one here, not a soul. "Brother, how about you come upstairs with me to get the money..."

"Me, go with you? You must be joking! What if you've got someone lying in ambush up there for me?" The driver was no fool. "Besides, long-term parking is prohibited here. If I go up with you and a cop comes along to write me a ticket, then what? Stop dawdling and make your call..."

"Fine..." Wu Chengtian was speechless. He had no choice but to dial Sun Jingyan's number.

Sun Jingyan had just stepped out of the bar when her phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID, and it was actually Wu Chengtian. She hadn't expected this piece of chewing gum to stick to her like this; barely had she left when he was already calling back. Annoyed, she hung up and saved the number Wei Zhao had just given her into her phone.

Before long, Wu Chengtian's call came through again. Sun Jingyan frowned. Aren't you just so tiresome? Is there no end to this? She picked up, thoroughly displeased. "Wu Chengtian, what exactly do you want? I'm in the middle of an intimate moment with my boyfriend..."