Chapter 270 — Something's Gone Wrong
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"You... what are you doing?" Gu Mengyao jumped in fright. Wei Zhao's movements were frankly a little too intimate, and with his breath warm against her ear, she felt a strange flutter she could not name.
Instinctively she tilted her head to the side, a flicker of annoyance rising in her chest. This man—was it not enough that he had toyed with her best friend? Now he had to toy with her too?
"Uncle Qing will be here any moment. If anything happens to me and Xiaoshu in a bit, don't panic. Whatever you do, don't move—just wait here for Uncle Qing." Wei Zhao did not answer her question; instead he poured these words quickly into her ear.
"Hm?" Gu Mengyao blinked in bewilderment. She had just opened her mouth to ask what he meant when she saw Wei Zhao straighten up, give her a faint smile, and walk with Shen Yushu toward the edge of the bungee platform.
Gu Pengzhan had told Wei Zhao to watch and wait, precisely because he did not want to fall out with Jin Gubang so soon. Too many things in the company were still unarranged, and Jin Gubang still wielded considerable power. To tear off the mask now would only corner a desperate dog into leaping the wall.
But Gu Pengzhan could never have imagined that these people meant to put Gu Mengyao in the ground. Had he known there was danger in that jump, he would have torn off the mask himself rather than let Wei Zhao go through with it.
Wei Zhao, however, did not care. A jump like this would not kill him, and it would hand Gu Pengzhan an excuse to make an example of someone and carry out a thorough housecleaning of the company. An accident at an amusement park—such a thing could be made big or small.
At its smallest, it was no more than an accident. At its largest, the amusement park was an asset under Jin Gubang's jurisdiction, and if something went wrong there, Jin Gubang could not escape blame.
"We can start now," Wei Zhao said to Xiao Ma.
"All right. I'll count to three, then you jump. Nothing to it—you can keep your eyes closed at first." Xiao Ma addressed Wei Zhao and Shen Yushu with great "professionalism."
Wei Zhao nodded. Bungee jumping... to him it held not the slightest thrill. On missions he had often leapt from cliffs into the sea; he was long since inured to it.
Shen Yushu, on the other hand, was frightened. Wei Zhao could feel it—the girl's breathing had turned rapid, a fine sheen of nervous sweat breaking out across her face...
"One, two, three—jump!" The moment the words left Xiao Ma's mouth, afraid Shen Yushu would change her mind again, he reached out and shoved her. The push sent her staggering, and she dragged Wei Zhao with her over the cliff.
Wei Zhao had meant to stall a little longer, to wait for Uncle Qing to arrive. He had not expected Xiao Ma to be so impatient. Was he really so offensive to look at? Did the man behind him want him dead that badly?
Xiao Ma had done no more than shove Shen Yushu. Wei Zhao could easily have kept his footing—but that would inevitably have sparked a confrontation with Xiao Ma, so he chose to jump.
The amusement park was a public place. Even if Wei Zhao turned on Xiao Ma, he could not simply kill him outright; the only result of a falling-out would be to drive the man behind Xiao Ma into desperation.
Wei Zhao still did not know the specifics of this assignment, but Gu Pengzhan was his first employer, and he owed his employer loyalty. Cooperating with his employer's plan had to come first.
"Aah—!" Shen Yushu screamed, her arms flying up to clutch Wei Zhao tight, forgetting entirely what she had read in the safety notices—that on a bungee jump both arms should be held out flat...
"Xiaoshu, you're squeezing me to death!" Wei Zhao's ribs ached under the clamp of her arms.
"Brother Arrow, I'm so scared... aah..." Shen Yushu cried as they plunged, until at last they reached the rope's full length. Their fall checked for an instant, and then the rope's elasticity flung them back upward.