Chapter 982 — A Chance Encounter on the Road
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"I was afraid you would not want me." Wei Zhao was telling the truth; his drifting, rootless life had left him somewhat uneasy.
"Actually... what I said just now came from the bottom of my heart!" Tang Zhi hesitated for a moment, then said firmly: "I am the kind of girl who stays true to one man to the end. If you do not want me, I will never let anyone else touch me!"
Tang Zhi was referring to the earlier matter of going to a hotel with Wei Zhao, and she trusted that he would understand.
Wei Zhao nodded and took Tang Zhi's hand. He understood her feelings now — though in truth, he had known them all along.
With her hand in Wei Zhao's, Tang Zhi felt her heart ease, and a faint smile touched the corner of her lips as she walked with him toward the school gate.
In the past, holding hands with a boy had seemed to Tang Zhi an outrageous thing, but now it made her happy.
Today Wei Zhao was still driving Shen Yushu's Beetle. Gu Mengyao's Audi S5 was a little too conspicuous — if Wei Zhao drove it to the hospital entrance every day to pick Tang Zhi up, it would surely draw a crowd.
The Beetle, though, was far more low-key, and being a small car, it was suited to Wei Zhao's quick weaving through traffic jams.
At this hour there were not many cars on the road, and the way was basically clear, though there were a fair number of traffic lights; most of the travel time was spent waiting at signals.
"Hey, brother, want to try something exciting?" Wei Zhao had stopped the car before an intersection with a long signal, waiting, when a man of about twenty with dyed yellow hair sidled up to him.
Since the weather was hot, Wei Zhao had the window open, which made it easy for the man to talk to him.
Wei Zhao glanced at him and said nothing, waiting for him to continue.
"Underground bare-knuckle fights — ever been? Very exciting, all real fights, and you can bet on the winner. Interested?" The yellow-haired man launched into his pitch.
"Not interested." Having heard him out, Wei Zhao gave a faint shake of his head.
Underground bare-knuckle arena? Those were the haunts of bored rich men and underworld bosses. These days Wei Zhao went toe-to-toe with real opponents every few days himself — why would he be interested in some underground fight ring?
"Oh... here is our card. If you ever get interested, you can call the number on it!" Seeing Wei Zhao was not interested, the yellow-haired man handed him a card and turned to seek his next target.
Wei Zhao glanced at the card: nothing but some "thrilling" promotional slogans and a phone number, with no detailed address. He was about to toss it away when Tang Zhi stopped him: "What is that? Let me see. What is an underground fight ring?"
Wei Zhao handed her the card and said: "It is a privately organized boxing match, but there are generally no rules. The only rule is to beat the other man until he cannot get up, so injuries and deaths are common."
Wei Zhao had once taken part in an underground match himself, also for a mission, though there was no real challenge to it. In such places there were few skilled fighters, and for someone of Wei Zhao's caliber they were all taken down in a single blow.
"Huh? Is that not illegal?" Tang Zhi said in surprise.
"Heh heh, it is illegal to begin with," Wei Zhao said with a nod.
"Oh... then how do they make money?" Tang Zhi did not quite understand this sort of thing.
"Tickets alone bring in a hefty sum, and the organizers can act as the house, letting the audience bet on which fighter will win, in how many rounds, and so on. It is a very profitable business!" Wei Zhao explained.
"Oh... then handing out these cards on the street at random, is that not easy to get caught?" Tang Zhi had no interest in violent things, and casually tossed the card into the car's storage compartment.