Chapter 237 — Half of Whatever They're Asking
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"Who exactly are you looking for?" Wei Zhao asked.
"I'm looking for Mr. Wei Zhao, the great bandit..." Sun Jingyan could not understand why Wei Zhao would not admit it.
"And you are?" Wei Zhao was sweating. The call really was for him, but since when had he become a great bandit?
"I'm Sun Jingyan. Do you remember, that day at the Powerful Cloud Bar..." Fearing Wei Zhao would hang up again, Sun Jingyan got it all out in one breath.
"Oh... so it's you..." Sun Jingyan's elegant, mature figure surfaced before Wei Zhao's eyes. "What can I do for you?"
"I'd like to ask you to come out of retirement..." Sun Jingyan said cautiously.
"Come out of retirement? Don't tell me it's to pretend to be your boyfriend again?" Wei Zhao was taken aback. This Sun Jingyan was rather amusing, coming up with a phrase like "come out of retirement." But the girl was foolish enough too — he had told her he was a great bandit, and she had actually believed it?
"No... it's something else I'd like your help with." Sun Jingyan said, "I want you to go to a certain company and steal a piece of data for me."
"Steal data?" Wei Zhao was stunned. So the girl really did take him for a great bandit? Going off to steal data?
"Yes, Wei Zhao, can you help? I can pay a very high fee!" Sun Jingyan said.
"Oh?" Wei Zhao had been about to refuse, but when he heard Sun Jingyan mention a very high fee, he changed his mind. "What data? How much are you prepared to pay?"
Wei Zhao was short of money these days. Although Gu Pengzhan had given him a credit card with an unlimited overdraft, Wei Zhao always had the feeling of living off a woman, and besides, there were times when he could not spend that money however he liked.
For instance, paying Xiaofen's medical fees. Wei Zhao could spend his own money without a care, but if he spent from the credit card and Qingbo happened to ask about it, the explaining would be a headache. So Wei Zhao planned to earn a lump sum as quickly as possible.
Besides, his own start-up plans would need a large sum of capital. Even with a few formulas in hand and Guan Xuewen's name behind him, opening a company and building a factory was no easy matter; the seed money required was more than a little.
"A recording of an employee of mine giving kickbacks to an executive of a certain company," Sun Jingyan said. "You know my company is in trading. Kickbacks and rebates are no secret in this industry at all, but a competitor filmed it and is preparing to hand it to the news media..."
"Oh, and then?" From Sun Jingyan's explanation Wei Zhao had a fair grasp of the situation. It was nothing complicated.
"If that happens, the company will face penalties and damage to its reputation..." Sun Jingyan said.
"Then surely they've made some demand as leverage? Instead of agreeing to their terms, you'd rather pay a high price to have me steal the data back — doesn't that seem to me a bit like going the long way round?" There was one more thing Wei Zhao did not say: that is, do you think hiring me to steal the data will cost you less than the other side's terms?
Lin's rates had never been low. Did Sun Jingyan really think it would be like last time, a matter of a thousand yuan?
"The other side's terms..." Sun Jingyan gritted her teeth. It was not that she had not approached the other company, but their boss had put out the word: let her sleep with him for one night, and the whole matter would be wiped clean, the recording returned to her. But how could Sun Jingyan possibly agree?
"How about this: whatever their terms are, I take fifty percent. My rates are fair — honest weight, no shortchanging!" Wei Zhao finished and added, "I have things to do. Call me when you've made up your mind!"
Seeing Sun Jingyan hesitate, Wei Zhao simply hung up. They had met only once — did the girl take him for a coolie? Coming out of retirement came with a fee...