Chapter 26 — The Commoner School Beauty
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
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Wei Zhao nodded. So he was an entertainment tycoon. People who made their fortunes from nightclubs and karaoke parlors — not all of them, but a good many — had at least a touch of the underworld about them. Still, one could hardly hold that against them; those establishments drew a mixed and murky crowd, and plenty of troublemakers came looking for a fight. Without a powerful backing, a man could never open such a business.
"Sounds like his family has this city in its pocket." Wei Zhao felt no fear of Zhong Yongliang on that account. In his eyes, gang bosses and corporate executives alike were nothing next to the terror of his own old man.
If he ever crossed Old Man Wei, the man would beat him to within an inch of his life, and he would have no way to defend himself at all.
"What's his family worth?" Kang Xiaofeng curled his lip in disdain. It was plain he had no use for Zhong Yongliang — found him downright tiresome, in fact. "If you want to talk money, the Gu family is where the real money is. Zhong Yongliang's family has a few entertainment businesses in this city, but the Gu family is a genuine industrial conglomerate, with branch companies all over the country."
Wei Zhao had gathered a rough sense of Gu Pengzhan's strength. If the Gu Group was an aircraft carrier, then the Zhong family's holdings could only be described as little sampans. It was only natural that Gu Mengyao looked down on an upstart like Zhong Yongliang.
"You seem to know a lot," Wei Zhao said with a smile.
Kang Xiaofeng's face reddened, and he said rather awkwardly, "How many boys at this school don't know Gu Mengyao's background and particulars? Though Shen Yushu is a bit more of a mystery."
"How so?" Wei Zhao was curious. He had never met Shen Yushu's family, but it was plain that Shen Yushu was picked up and dropped off every day by the Gu family's car, and that she ate her meals at Gu Mengyao's home after school. It had given Wei Zhao the impression that she was riding on Gu Mengyao's coattails — but hearing Kang Xiaofeng talk, it seemed that was not the case.
"I've heard Shen Yushu's grandfather was a founding veteran of the liberation era, and her brother is a major general in the army. Back when we first started high school, a boy leaned on his family's connections to chase after Shen Yushu, and when she turned him down, he tried some underhanded tricks. Shen Yushu's brother found out and beat the boy so badly he spent half a year in the hospital. His family didn't dare breathe a word — afterward they even went to the Shen house to apologize." Kang Xiaofeng spoke mysteriously. "So you can see how formidable Shen Yushu's backing is. Yet she never goes looking for trouble. Plenty of people have crushes on her, but none dare confess."
Wei Zhao thought to himself, She doesn't go looking for trouble? She doesn't look for trouble — she troubles me every single day! She has a hold over me, and just now she got an eyeful of my... What a mess this is.
The very thought gave him a headache. Wei Zhao wasn't afraid that Shen Yushu's phantom brother would come after him; he knew something of Shen Yushu's character. The girl seemed far more open than Gu Mengyao, and wouldn't pester endlessly over such things. Gu Mengyao, though... she probably hated him even more now. Sometimes Wei Zhao would rather have been Shen Yushu's study companion than Gu Mengyao's — this young lady was truly impossible to serve.
"Wei Zhao, don't tell me you've fallen for them?" Seeing Wei Zhao silent, Kang Xiaofeng clapped him on the shoulder and asked.
Wei Zhao shook his head with a bitter smile. "How could I? I've never even thought about such things." Wasn't that asking him to elope with a young lady? It gave Wei Zhao a vague sense of guilt, as though he were some ancient household servant sneaking off with the master's daughter...