Chapter 162 — Sorry

"Put Wei Zhao on the phone. I'll talk to him." Li Cihua's voice came through the receiver.

"Oh... all right!" The refined man was briefly taken aback, then agreed. He said to Wei Zhao, "Our boss wants to speak with you. Would you take the call?"

"Ha." Wei Zhao smiled and took the phone from the refined man's hand. "Go ahead."

"Wei Zhao, is it?" Li Cihua had not expected Wei Zhao to be so cavalier. But he had already seen the whole situation outside through the cameras. Wei Zhao was indeed fast, and judging from the refined man's cautious manner, Li Cihua could tell that Wei Zhao was probably no amateur either. As for just how formidable he really was, that remained unclear for the moment. "I'm Li Cihua. I believe you've heard my name?"

"Oh, I have. I hear it all the time around New Year. I've also heard 'Double Bang' and 'Skyrocket,' you know." Wei Zhao said. "Oh, and 'Mama Thunder' too."

"..." Li Cihua was speechless for a moment. So the boy took him for a firecracker, did he? Damn it — in all of Songshan City, there really were only a handful who didn't know the great name of Li Cihua! Li Cihua felt a little like laughing — a mocking laugh, of course. Wei Zhao, he thought, truly had no idea of the immensity of heaven and earth. Even after hearing his name, the fellow still had the leisure to crack jokes and tell gags. Was it the fearlessness of a newborn calf? Or the courage of the ignorant?

"Heh. Mr. Lin, you do like your jokes." Li Cihua gave a faint smile. "Come in. Let's have a talk. I'm sure you'd like to meet me too, wouldn't you?"

"Sorry, I don't have any such desire." Wei Zhao said. "If you want to see me, come out. Stop skulking about."

"Haha." Li Cihua laughed again. "Mr. Lin, I know what you're worried about. No need to deny it. You're worried about Gu Mengyao and the others' safety, aren't you?"

Wei Zhao did not answer. But it could not be denied that Li Cihua was right. If Wei Zhao had come alone, he would have dared climb a mountain of blades if Li Cihua had demanded it. But Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu were here too. Wei Zhao could not simply abandon them and go off on his own.

"Mr. Lin, you can set your mind at ease on that score. Some matters you may suspect, or you may be certain of them — but so long as they stay off the table, then here in Songshan City, there is no one who can do anything to me, Li Cihua!" Li Cihua said with great boldness. "But if something were to happen to Gu Mengyao inside my bar, then heh heh, even the people behind me couldn't protect me. Not to mention that other little girl beside her — she's a prickly one! I've no wish for her brother to bring his men and level this place."

It had to be admitted that this Li Cihua had a certain boldness. Having said this much, he had essentially laid his cards on the table. Wei Zhao of course knew the great name of Li Cihua! The moment Li Cihua gave his name, Wei Zhao instantly thought of the "Brother Cihua" the bald man had mentioned back in the robbers' car. Barring any surprise, the two must be one and the same.

But from the drift of Li Cihua's words, he had already admitted that the earlier business was his doing, and he even seemed utterly unafraid, not at all worried that Wei Zhao would learn of it. That was enough to show how powerful the backer behind him must be. If Wei Zhao was not mistaken, it should be someone of Gu Pengzhan's caliber — or even more formidable.

Since the conversation had reached this point and Li Cihua had made his position clear, Wei Zhao really ought to go and meet him. Wei Zhao also believed Li Cihua's words: inside this bar, they probably would not dare lay a hand on Gu Mengyao. After all, public order in Songshan City had not yet sunk to such depths. In this "Geili Fuyun" Bar, if anything happened to Gu Mengyao, Li Cihua would certainly have a hard time explaining it away.

People who had reached a certain level always cared greatly about such things in their dealings. With evidence, it was one way; without evidence, another. Matters kept in the dark could be handled however one pleased, but once they were brought into the open, their nature changed entirely.

That said, Wei Zhao could not possibly fully trust Li Cihua's words. "All right. I'll have someone take Miss Gu home first, then I'll come over."

"Heh heh, so Mr. Lin still doesn't trust me? That disappoints me." Li Cihua naturally understood Wei Zhao's concern. "To my mind, Mr. Lin is a man of outstanding ability. Doing this costs you considerable face."

"Think whatever you like." Wei Zhao wasted no more words on him and hung up directly.

"Hello? Hello? Hello? My God!" Li Cihua called out several times before realizing the line had been cut. He was momentarily speechless. Ordinarily, a young man only needed a couple of prods from him to fall into line — young people cared about face, after all. Besides, he truly had no designs on Gu Mengyao. If something happened in the bar, it would be hard to clear himself, and then he would be in for a world of trouble, perhaps even upsetting the grand plans of the man behind the scenes.

But to his surprise, Wei Zhao seemed utterly immune to such tactics. He did not care at all how Li Cihua judged him — one "think whatever you like," and the line went dead. It was a heavy blow to Li Cihua's self-esteem!

Young people these days truly had no idea of the immensity of heaven and earth! Li Cihua thought with a touch of pity. Hmph. Wei Zhao, eh? If you cooperate with me like a good boy, then everything can be discussed. If not, then I'm sorry... Killing Gu Mengyao is more than I dare do, but killing a nobody like you — a mere little bodyguard — I trust no one will step forward on your behalf.

Wei Zhao hung up and tossed the phone back to the refined man. "Go back and tell your master I'll be over shortly."

The refined man had heard the exchange between Wei Zhao and Li Cihua just now, so after taking back the phone, he said nothing more. He rose and silently took his leave.

Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu both knew they had caused trouble. Gu Mengyao kept her head down, not daring to look at Wei Zhao. To be honest, she herself was not quite clear what she was thinking. On one hand, she rather disliked Wei Zhao; on the other, she rather... well, did not dislike him.

"I'll call Uncle Qing and have him take you two home." Wei Zhao said, taking out his phone to call Uncle Qing.

"Wei Zhao, could you please not tell Uncle Qing? We can get home on our own - we haven't had anything to drink." When Gu Mengyao heard that Wei Zhao wanted to call Uncle Qing, she felt a twinge of guilt.

"Hah," Wei Zhao smiled faintly. What had happened today was no longer a small matter, and there was no way to keep it from Gu Pengzhan. As for his meeting with Li Cihua later, Wei Zhao intended to speak with Gu Pengzhan about that as well. So Gu Mengyao's request was one he could not grant.

"Wei Zhao, I'm sorry. I know I was wrong... Please don't call Uncle Qing..." Gu Mengyao bit her lip, and for the first time she lowered her head before Wei Zhao. This whole mess had been of her own making.