"Demolish the building?" Wei Zhao blinked, then followed the direction the men were pointing. Wasn't that Xiaofen's building?

Kang Xiaobo was just as startled when he heard them. These people were going to tear down Xiaofen's building? But Xiaofen was still inside! What were they supposed to do then?

"Boss—" Kang Xiaobo had barely opened his mouth when Wei Zhao silenced him with a look, clapped him on the shoulder, and gave him a reassuring glance.

"Oh. So when do you plan to start?" Wei Zhao glanced at Xiaofen's building and asked, betraying nothing.

"Who are you? What's with all the questions?" The bulldozer driver's face turned wary at once as he eyed Wei Zhao.

"Oh, I just figured I'd head over after you're done. I've got a few things to fetch from the old single-story house over there. Isn't this a demolition zone? I don't care about the compensation or any of that. I'll take my things, and you can tear down whatever you like." Wei Zhao spoke in the tone of a spoiled young master, putting on quite a show of swagger.

"Oh, we start at eight sharp, and we'll probably be finished by a little past ten. But today we're only tearing down this one building — the single-story houses are staying. You could just as well come get your things tomorrow," the man said, his guard dropping the moment he heard Wei Zhao's words.

"That works too. I'll come tomorrow, then." Wei Zhao turned the car around on the spot and drove away from the place. He made a loop through the shantytown and parked somewhere fairly out of sight.

"Boss, they're going to demolish the building, and Xiaofen's still inside!" Kang Xiaobo said urgently.

"It's only seven thirty-five. We've got twenty-five minutes — plenty of time." Wei Zhao got out of the car with a smile. "Come on. Let's go see Kang Zhaoming."

"But boss, why didn't you tell them there's still someone in the building?" Kang Xiaobo didn't understand.

"If I'd told them, where would the fun be? You'll see in a minute." As he spoke, Wei Zhao hurried toward Xiaofen's three-story red-brick building and stepped into her stairwell.

Kang Xiaobo was baffled, but seeing how certain Wei Zhao was, and trusting him, he said nothing more and followed him up the stairs at a frantic pace.

"When we get inside, let me do the talking. Don't say much," Wei Zhao instructed Kang Xiaobo as he knocked.

"All right, boss." Kang Xiaobo nodded. Whatever Wei Zhao said, he obeyed without question.

Wei Zhao knocked, and Xiaofen came to the door quickly. Seeing Kang Xiaobo and Wei Zhao, she was delighted. "You're here!"

Kang Zhaoming rose hurriedly from the sofa as well. At the sight of Kang Xiaobo and Wei Zhao, a flicker of hatred crossed his eyes, but he hid it at once. "Xiaobo, Wei Zhao — I've come today to apologize to you both in all sincerity!"

Wei Zhao had of course caught that fleeting hatred in Kang Zhaoming's eyes. He didn't believe for a moment that the man had come to apologize in good faith; there had to be some other purpose behind this visit.

Kang Xiaobo kept Wei Zhao's words in mind and said little upon arriving. He paid Kang Zhaoming no attention at all, turning instead to Xiaofen. "Xiaofen, are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Kang Zhaoming has been quite polite since he got here — he hasn't done anything out of line," Xiaofen said, shaking her head.

Only then did Kang Xiaobo relax. What he had feared was Kang Zhaoming saying something insulting and upsetting Xiaofen again. She had only just recovered from her illness — how could she withstand any more of that?

"Kang Zhaoming, is it? Just say what you want." Wei Zhao sat down on the sofa, unhurried, and checked his watch. "I'll give you ten minutes."

It was seven forty now; ten minutes would take them to seven fifty. There was still time to spare.

Kang Zhaoming was annoyed. What kind of attitude was this from Wei Zhao? I've come to hand you money, and this is how you treat me? Truly unreasonable!

But seeing that neither Kang Xiaobo nor Xiaofen seemed inclined to speak, it was clear Wei Zhao was the one in charge here. If he wanted to get what he came for, he would have to deal with Wei Zhao. So he said, "I feel I wronged Xiaofen in the past, so this time I've come to compensate her with a sum of money — as a way of making up for my mistakes..."

"And you think I'll believe that?" Wei Zhao gave a cold laugh. "Enough. Just say what you want. Xiaofen doesn't need your compensation."

"Uh..." Kang Zhaoming was stunned. He hadn't expected Wei Zhao to be so unyielding. But he truly couldn't leave now — he hadn't achieved his aim yet. How could he go? In other words, the money had to be given out today, no matter what.

Kang Xiaobo and Xiaofen were also taken aback by Wei Zhao's hard line. At this rate, wasn't he simply driving Kang Zhaoming away? Hadn't he said earlier that they would take the money?

Still, since Wei Zhao was the one in charge here, they said nothing and waited for him to handle it.

"All right. Our Kang family is about to be elevated to a great clan, so I don't want to hear rumors about me floating around out there!" Kang Zhaoming said after a moment's thought. "I want Xiaofen to stop mentioning what happened between us to outsiders — especially in public, like at the hospital, to nurses and such. Just don't talk about it..."

Wei Zhao listened to Kang Zhaoming's half-true words, and only at that last sentence did he grasp the man's real purpose. Hospital nurses? Wasn't that Guan Xin? Wei Zhao sneered inwardly. This fellow wanted to court Guan Xin, and he was afraid she would learn of the sordid things he had done before. And since he had probably noticed that Xiaofen and Guan Xin knew each other, he had come to buy Xiaofen's silence. The five hundred thousand was hush money.

"There, was that so hard? If you've got a purpose, just say it — it's hush money, isn't it? Fine, we'll take it." Wei Zhao waved a hand, a little impatient. "Where's the money?"

"It's early in the morning — I had nowhere to withdraw cash. But it's already on a bank card." Kang Zhaoming fished a bank card out of his pocket and said to Wei Zhao.

"On a bank card? How do we know there's actually money on it?" Wei Zhao asked, unconvinced.

"Well... you can go check at the bank. There's one right nearby," Kang Zhaoming said.

"All right then. We'll go check at the bank first, and if there really is money on it, we'll come back and sign the agreement!" Wei Zhao took the card from Kang Zhaoming's hand and told him.

"Should I come with you?" Kang Zhaoming was a little uneasy.

"This is Xiaofen's home. Are you afraid we won't come back?" Wei Zhao said with a laugh.

"Well..." Kang Zhaoming hesitated. But then he thought: I'm sitting right here in Xiaofen's home; even if the monk runs, the temple can't — they'll have to come back in the end. So he nodded. "Fine. Then go quickly and come back quickly. I'll wait for you here!"

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