Chapter 190 — A Fragile Heart

But Zhang Biaogan had crossed Wei Zhao's bottom line. Wei Zhao did not know much about Tang Zhi's family circumstances, but of one thing he was certain: they could not possibly be well off. And the absence of Tang Zhi's father from this scene had given Wei Zhao a certain inkling...

Zhang Biaogan was plainly bullying them! That being so, Wei Zhao could only return the favor in kind, and teach him that bullying the weak was not so easy a business.

"What are you still sitting there for? Waiting for me to buy you dinner?" Wei Zhao asked, looking down at Zhang Biaogan on the ground.

Zhang Biaogan squeezed out a smile and scrambled quickly to his feet. "No, no, I wouldn't dare. I'm going, I'm going..."

With that, Zhang Biaogan fled at a run, not daring to claim the stall he had left on the ground either; he merely snatched up his cash box and hurried out of the snack street.

As for that domineering barbecue woman of earlier, and the effeminate, gaunt, tall man—both were silently packing up their stalls. Tomorrow, they would be changing trades.

"Auntie, are you all right?" Having seen Zhang Biaogan off, Wei Zhao walked over to Mother Tang, who stood somewhat at a loss.

The turnabout had come so fast that Mother Tang could not react in time.

"N-no... I'm fine..." Mother Tang came back to herself from her shock. Zhang Biaogan's overbearing face was still vivid before her eyes, and now he had slunk away in disgrace.

And all of it because of this young man before her. So what if Zhang Biaogan was overbearing? There was always someone more overbearing still.

Tang Zhi lowered her head, her feelings in a tangle, unsure what to say. From the standpoint of a top student, she did not approve of Wei Zhao's way of handling things—yet she had to admit that his way had been the most fitting.

After this, Zhang Biaogan would never dare bully her family again. But why had Wei Zhao done it? Why help her family? Tang Zhi understood all too well in her heart: Wei Zhao wanted to curry favor with her, to court her, and by such means to win her heart...

Clichéd as the method was, Tang Zhi had to admit it had worked. At least, in her eyes, Wei Zhao no longer seemed so detestable—or if he was detestable, it was only toward those more detestable than himself.

He had barged into her life, domineering as ever, and become entangled with her family; try as she might, Tang Zhi could not shake him off. And she—how was she to face Wei Zhao from now on?

Keep mocking and needling him? Tang Zhi asked herself and knew she could not. She was not heartless; Wei Zhao had done so much, and whatever his motive, he had helped her and helped her family. So all Tang Zhi could do was flee—from Wei Zhao's status, which gave her pause; and at the memory of Xiaofen's bitter lesson, Tang Zhi's heart closed itself off once more...

Wei Zhao glanced at Tang Zhi, head down and silent, and thought nothing of it. "Auntie, I just came by after school to ask—what time should we come over this weekend? Tang Zhi didn't say clearly before, so I thought I'd confirm—"

"Saturday morning, then. Come whenever it suits you both—third door in Green Grass Alley, in the shantytown. That's our home." Mother Tang had recovered her composure, though her face was full of gratitude. "Wei Zhao, I truly have to thank you for today. If you hadn't come, my daughter and I don't know what we'd have done... we'd have been bullied..."

"Ha ha, it won't happen again." Wei Zhao smiled. "Auntie, Xiaobo and I will be going now. See you Saturday."

"Not so fast—sit here a while, let me grill you two something to eat." Naturally Mother Tang would not let Wei Zhao leave just like that; she had to thank him somehow.

The more Mother Tang looked at Wei Zhao, the fonder she grew of him. This young man had the domineering, willful streak of those rich young masters, yes—but he was reasonable! When he turned overbearing, he was fearsome enough, but ordinarily, with people he knew, he was easygoing.

"Not today—it's getting late. Saturday, then; we'll come knocking right on time." Wei Zhao's phone had already buzzed twice; it was probably a text from Gu Mengyao or Shen Yushu, so he needed to hurry back.

"Well, all right then." Seeing Wei Zhao insist, Mother Tang had to let him go for now. "Yun'er, see your classmate out!"

"Oh..." Tang Zhi nodded reluctantly, but this time she did not refuse; head still lowered, saying nothing, she walked up to Wei Zhao.

"Heh." Wei Zhao gave a faint smile and turned to leave with Kang Xiaofeng. Tang Zhi followed along, neither ahead nor behind, and who knew what she was thinking.

"All right, if you don't want to see me out, you needn't. Go on back," Wei Zhao said, looking at Tang Zhi with some amusement.

"I never said that." Tang Zhi gave a soft huff. "Thanks for today." "I just happened to be passing by, that's all. If it had been anyone else, I might have stepped in too..." Wei Zhao had used the word "might," and in fact, if it had been anyone else, he might well have done nothing at all.

If he stuck his nose into every little thing, he might as well not stay here at all—he could just go be Ultraman or Spider-Man.

Of course Tang Zhi did not believe that Wei Zhao had just happened to be passing by. She figured that if not for her, a young master like him would never have bothered with such matters. But the more she owed Wei Zhao, the more uneasy she felt...

"Do you really want to go out with me?" Tang Zhi suddenly raised her head and looked at Wei Zhao.

"Huh?" Tang Zhi's reaction caught Wei Zhao off guard. He was rather surprised that she would ask such a thing out of the blue.

In truth, it had taken a great deal of courage for Tang Zhi to ask. Wei Zhao had barged into her family's life just like that—it was impossible for her to have no thoughts about it. She wanted to confirm just what his intentions really were.

Still, when Tang Zhi asked the question, she looked self-assured on the surface, but in reality she was terribly flustered. For a girl to ask such a thing made her face burn—thankfully it was night, and Wei Zhao probably could not tell.

Tang Zhi was so nervous that she took Wei Zhao's silence as an admission that her question was on the mark.

"Do your parents know? Would they agree?" Before Wei Zhao could truly answer, Tang Zhi pressed on.

To be honest, Tang Zhi was nervous too. She had seen with her own eyes everything Wei Zhao had done for her family, and now she herself did not know what she really felt about him—there was dislike, and yet also a peculiar something else...

"My parents?" Wei Zhao froze again. Who were his parents? Even he did not know. Old Man Wei said he was an orphan... Tang Zhi mistook Wei Zhao's daze for hesitation. Her fragile young heart tightened ever so slightly, and the feelings that had just begun to stir were wiped away in an instant. So in the end, he was only playing around—he had never intended to tell his parents about her, never intended to spend his life with her. Then what was she still agonizing over?