Chapter 2037 — Gu Mengyao and Wang Xinyan, Part One

"Ha, it's not that I don't dare. These tigers—don't let their fierce looks fool you. Plenty of them haven't eaten in days; they're weak as kittens! Back at the tiger park near my home, Fan Ganhe and I kicked one unconscious with a few kicks!" Zhang Duopan bragged shamelessly. "But this place belongs to a friend of my father's, so I can't run wild here!"

Wei Zhao, Gu Mengyao, and Shen Yushu said nothing. To them, kicking a tiger unconscious with a few kicks was hardly impressive—Wei Zhao could kill one with a single kick.

Just as Zhang Duopan was mid-brag, a stretched Hummer pulled up and stopped beside them. The driver scrambled out and hurried over to Zhang Duopan. "You must be Young Master Zhang? President Su sent me to serve you for the whole trip! President Su said to follow your arrangements in everything!"

He deliberately stressed those last words, plainly having been given some prior instruction. And the fact that he recognized Zhang Duopan at a glance meant he had clearly seen Zhang Duopan's photo beforehand.

"I'm Zhang Duopan!" Zhang Duopan nodded. "Good, many thanks. What should I call you?"

"Just call me Old Yan—driver and beast-tamer here," the driver said.

"Then I'll call you Uncle Yan!" Zhang Duopan said with a smile. "We'll be in your hands today, Uncle Yan!"

"Don't mention it, don't mention it. Everyone hop in—I'll take you all on a tour of the tiger park!" Uncle Yan said.

They all climbed aboard, but choosing seats turned out to be awkward. The others didn't much care—the real problem was Wei Zhao, who had no idea whom to sit with.

He Meiyue chose to sit with Chai Xiaoling, giving neither Zhang Duopan nor Bai Weituo a chance. Clearly she still hadn't made up her mind—but that left Wang Xinyan as the odd one out.

Naturally, Wei Zhao didn't want Fan Ganhe sitting beside her, yet if he sat beside her himself, he feared Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu would be unhappy. For a moment he was caught in a dilemma.

"Arrowhead Bro, keep Little Shu company—she'll be scared when she sees the big tigers later!" Shen Yushu called out to Wei Zhao.

Wei Zhao was speechless. He thought, You, afraid of tigers? You aren't even afraid of Gou Huli's lions... Still, this way, having Wang Xinyan sit with Gu Mengyao was actually a good choice.

So Wei Zhao nodded and sat down beside Shen Yushu, while Gu Mengyao took the opportunity to sit down beside Wang Xinyan.

This arrangement left Zhang Duopan and Fan Ganhe rather unwilling. They had wanted He Meiyue and Wang Xinyan to sit with them, so that when the tigers lunged at the windows later, the girls would naturally be frightened—and then holding hands, or even pulling them into an embrace, might be possible.

But reality fell far short of their fantasies, and Zhang Duopan and Fan Ganhe had no choice but to sit together.

The vehicle started up slowly and drove into the tiger forest area. The luxury stretched Hummer drew sideways glances from other tourists—it was obviously a VIP vehicle, far superior to the ordinary sightseeing cars.

"Little Shu, you? Scared?" Wei Zhao asked with some amusement once they were seated.

"Can't Little Shu be scared? Actually, there are lots of things Little Shu is afraid of..." A trace of melancholy came over Shen Yushu's face...

"Oh? Like what?" Wei Zhao asked.

"No 'like what.' Let's watch the tigers first!" Shen Yushu clearly didn't want to say more.

Gu Mengyao sitting down beside Wang Xinyan took Wang Xinyan somewhat by surprise.

Today Wang Xinyan hadn't expected to sit with Wei Zhao at all—after all, both Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu were there. So to stay out of the line of fire, she had deliberately taken a seat in the back row, which would at least let her avoid Fan Ganhe and keep her distance from him.

But what Wang Xinyan never expected was that after she sat down, Gu Mengyao walked over to her side and sat down too!

This startled her and made her a little nervous; she had no idea what Gu Mengyao intended by it.

Wang Xinyan had always been a quiet person, not much good at talking with others, so when she saw Gu Mengyao only nod at her, she didn't take the initiative to say anything either.

And Gu Mengyao, once seated, likewise said nothing, but quietly observed the girl beside her.

Without question, Wang Xinyan was a remarkably beautiful and striking girl. Even sitting next to Gu Mengyao, she was in no way outshone; one could only say that spring blossoms and autumn moons each had their own beauty, evenly matched.

"Do you like Wei Zhao?" The car had started, and Gu Mengyao had finished sizing up Wang Xinyan, so she asked.

The sudden question startled Wang Xinyan. Had she come to call her to account?

In that moment Wang Xinyan's heart nearly leapt out of her chest, but she managed to force down her alarm and said, "Wei Zhao and I are just good friends..."

"Oh..." Gu Mengyao smiled meaningfully. "It's nothing, really. If you do like Wei Zhao, just tell me in advance. I'll vet him on behalf of Wei Zhao's girlfriend—she gave me that right."

"Ah?" Wang Xinyan was slightly stunned, staring at Gu Mengyao in disbelief. "Wei Zhao's girlfriend asked you to vet candidates for her?"

"That's right." Gu Mengyao smiled and nodded.

"His girlfriend wants him to find another girlfriend?" Wang Xinyan found it incredible—but that seemed to be exactly what Gu Mengyao meant.

"That's right." Gu Mengyao nodded again.

"I... did I hear that correctly?" Wang Xinyan stared at Gu Mengyao blankly.

"You did. So if you like Wei Zhao, you have to tell me, before it's too late and someone else beats you to it..." Gu Mengyao said. "There's only one spot."

"Oh..." When Gu Mengyao said "you have to tell me," Wang Xinyan's heart gave an involuntary leap, but thinking of her own circumstances, she shook her head with a bitter smile. "I'm already bound by a marriage contract. Wei Zhao and I are truly just friends..."

"Is that so? All right then." Gu Mengyao shrugged and did not pursue the topic further. "I don't actually have any hostility toward you, but you know, since Wei Zhao's girlfriend placed this important task on me, I have to fulfill that promise."

"I understand." Wang Xinyan nodded. In truth she didn't quite understand; she found it all rather incredible.

"Heh, but I can tell—Wei Zhao seems to like you a little," Gu Mengyao said.

"Ah?" Wang Xinyan's face flushed, quite against her will.