Chapter 644 — Wei Zhao Collapses: "Really?" He Looked Somewhat Incredulous: "There's Nothing Wrong with the Glasses, Is There?"
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"My dear little brother Wei Zhao, you really are cautious!" An Liwen laughed, shaking his head. "But never mind — if you think there's something wrong with your glass, let's swap. You use mine, I use yours? Better yet, let's not even bother swapping; I'll just drink from your glass instead. How about that?"
"That works too..." With that, Wei Zhao rose to his feet with his wineglass in hand and walked over to An Liwen. Leaning in, he rested his free hand on An Liwen, as though steadying himself for fear of losing his balance. He studied the glass in front of An Liwen for a good long while before finally swapping his own glass with An Liwen's, then returned to his seat.
"Little brother Wei Zhao, you wound your big brother's pride by doing this. I have no wish to harm you, yet you think of me like this. Say no more — let me drain this cup as a show of respect!" An Liwen lifted the wineglass Wei Zhao had just exchanged and downed it in one gulp.
In truth, An Liwen had slipped a dose of sleeping draught into the bottle itself, but he had taken the antidote beforehand, so the drug in the wine had no effect on him whatsoever.
"Seems I was being overly careful." Wei Zhao gave a self-deprecating smile and reached for his glass. But between his two fingers, he held something that looked like a pill — he had just poured it from a small bottle he had palmed from An Liwen's pocket.
Wei Zhao first licked the pill held between his fingers to confirm it was indeed the antidote; only then did he slip it into his mouth along with the wine.
This, as it happened, spared Wei Zhao a great deal of trouble. With the antidote in hand, he no longer needed to devise any other means — otherwise he might well have had to secretly jab a few needles into himself while pretending to drink.
The antidote, no — but the silver needles were something Wei Zhao always carried on his person.
Seeing that Wei Zhao was finally willing to drink, An Liwen smiled inwardly. You may be cunning, but you never imagined I had learned a thing or two, did you? I didn't slip the drug into your glass alone — I drugged everything! It's only that I took the antidote first!
"Little brother Wei Zhao, you know as well as anyone that I like Gu Mengyao. I won't belabor it. I invited you out today because I want you to give me a straight answer: exactly what is the nature of your relationship with Gu Mengyao?" Although An Liwen had already made up his mind to deal with Wei Zhao, he still wanted to pin down precisely what stood between Wei Zhao and Gu Mengyao.
"Heh, as I've said before, she's my employer," Wei Zhao replied coolly.
"But yesterday, why did Shen Yushu say Yao Yao and you were..." Hearing Wei Zhao deny it, An Liwen grew displeased at once. Yesterday, though Gu Mengyao had neither confirmed nor denied Shen Yushu's words, in An Liwen's eyes the matter between Wei Zhao and Gu Mengyao was all but settled.
"She has always been like that — don't you know?" Wei Zhao shrugged and shot back.
"Is that so? It seems little brother Wei Zhao still thinks of me as an outsider, unwilling to tell me the truth!" An Liwen's irritation deepened at Wei Zhao's denial. "I'm a reasonable man. If something really does exist between you and Gu Mengyao, as long as she's willing, then I give you my blessing!"
"Then I thank you. For the time being, there is nothing between us — and what may come in the future, I cannot say." Wei Zhao saw no need to lie to An Liwen.
"Heh, never mind — let's drink!" An Liwen raised his glass once more.
Wei Zhao clinked his against it and downed it in a single draught as well. Timing it as best he could — the drug should be kicking in any moment now — Wei Zhao clutched his forehead. "Brother An, this wine's going straight to my head. Why am I feeling dizzy?"