"All right, I'm off. You should head back too," Wei Zhao said with a smile, stroking Yu Xiaoke's lovely hair.

"Mm-hm..." Yu Xiaoke nodded like a fool, her eyes soft as water. Summoning her courage, she kissed Wei Zhao's face once more—and even through the mask, the depth of her affection came through plainly.

After the kiss, Yu Xiaoke turned and ran to her own car. As she got in, she waved to Wei Zhao... What surprised him was that she truly lived up to her Flying Swallow Sect training—dragging two enormous leather suitcases, she moved as briskly as if she were flying. So fast...

"Sister Xiaoke, the Gentleman Thief is here too!" Little Ken looked at Wei Zhao not far away and asked with a grin.

"What does a child know?" Yu Xiaoke glared at Little Ken.

"Heh heh, all I know is that the Gentleman Thief gave us a big pile of money. Those two suitcases are full of cash, right?" Under Yu Xiaoke's influence, Little Ken had turned into a little money-grubber too.

"It is money—but why couldn't I have... swiped it?" Yu Xiaoke asked, somewhat glum.

"How could anyone swipe suitcases that big? Besides, I saw with my own eyes the Gentleman Thief hand you one of them—so the other one was probably from him too, right?" said Little Ken.

"Little Ken, are you asking for a beating?" Yu Xiaoke flew into a rage. "Not a cent of it goes to you when we get back—and no dinner tonight!"

"Ah... no..." Little Ken's face crumpled, and he said helplessly, "Isn't it enough that I praised the Gentleman Thief for being awesome?"

"Oh? Is that so? Fine then—you can have dinner..." Yu Xiaoke smiled again.

"..." Little Ken was speechless. He thought to himself, a woman head over heels in love really is a fool—even the shrewd Sister Xiaoke has turned out this way! Still, thank goodness Brother Wei Zhao is a capable man. With his help, the orphanage has developed by leaps and bounds, so Sister Xiaoke really hasn't come off badly following him...

Wei Zhao sighed softly and got into Han Xiaopo's car.

"Boss, why did she call you the Gentleman Thief? Is that your nickname?" Han Xiaopo hadn't quite figured out the relationship between Wei Zhao and Yu Xiaoke. Earlier, while in the car, he hadn't dared say much about Wei Zhao; whatever Yu Xiaoke asked him, he'd only said he was Wei Zhao's underling, claiming to know nothing else.

"Not exactly a nickname—it's an identity I used once. She doesn't know I'm Wei Zhao," Wei Zhao said.

"So that's how it is." Han Xiaopo nodded. He wasn't one to gossip; he simply nodded in understanding, then asked, "Boss, where are we headed now?"

"Back," Wei Zhao said. He had accomplished what he came here for and did not want to linger.

"Right." Han Xiaopo nodded, started the car, and drove off toward Donghai City.

What Wei Zhao did not know was that at Donghai Engineering University, Zhong Yongliang had actually set up a challenge ring on campus—and written a slogan across it: "Operation: Courtship."

Below that was an explanation: I, for the purpose of becoming Gu Mengyao's personal bodyguard, hereby challenge all comers. I will stand upon this ring and take blows without striking back. If anyone can knock me down within ten minutes, I will award them one thousand yuan in cash. If they cannot, they must pay one thousand yuan! Of course, only fists and feet may be used—no shoving by other means.

It had to be said that Zhong Yongliang had hit upon a very clever gimmick. Knock a man down and still walk away with a thousand yuan—that was simply a stroke of enormous good fortune. And that was exactly the effect Zhong Yongliang wanted: by these means he could establish the settled fact that he was invincible. Then when Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu tried to object, it would be no use. Zhong Yongliang could say that he was now the strongest man alive, the one best able to protect Gu Mengyao—no matter how others hit him, they could not knock him down. If he was unqualified to be her bodyguard, then who on earth was more qualified?

A bodyguard not only needed good martial skill; more importantly, he had to take blows for his employer at the critical moment!

Zhong Yongliang had spent an entire night coming up with this idea. He was no longer the fool he once was. Shen Yushu would not give him a clear answer, and he could not simply sit there waiting like an idiot—what if Shen Yushu was stringing him along, extending the probation period indefinitely? He could not afford to wait!

By then Wei Zhao might well have carried Gu Mengyao off to bed, and he would still be nowhere! So he had to go on the offensive.

At first, plenty of people were greedy for the thousand yuan Zhong Yongliang offered. In their view, since Zhong Yongliang would not fight back, a few flying kicks once they got up there would surely bring him down—it wouldn't even take ten minutes! So they all signed up eagerly.

But reality did not match their imaginings. Zhong Yongliang was like a cockroach that could not be killed; the fists that landed on him seemed to do him not the slightest harm. You could not quite say it was like punching stone, but after hitting him for a while, their fists ached and their feet hurt, while Zhong Yongliang still stood tall, looking down on the crowd from the ring like a conqueror!

One student even kicked Zhong Yongliang in the crotch in a rather despicable move—and the result was still a tragedy. Zhong Yongliang was completely fine, as if nothing had happened, while the student's own foot hurt terribly from the force of the kick!

In short, not a single person could knock Zhong Yongliang down within ten minutes—they could not even make him show a grimace of pain!

So, after these people reluctantly handed over their thousand yuan, fewer and fewer challengers stepped up. Though the terms looked very much in their favor, everyone had come to understand one truth: no diamond, no porcelain work. If Zhong Yongliang dared make such a boast, he surely had preparation and confidence behind him!

Gu Mengyao saw the news on the campus BBS forum at the first opportunity and immediately frowned, annoyed by Zhong Yongliang's attention-seeking behavior. But during their high school years, had Zhong Yongliang ever been short on attention-seeking stunts?

"Xiaoshu, why is Zhong Yongliang so insufferable? Didn't you tell him to wait for news? Why did he go and set up a challenge ring on his own?" Gu Mengyao turned to look at Shen Yushu.

"Sigh, Little Liangzi seems to have gotten smarter. He knows I might be playing him, dragging things out indefinitely—so this is his way of forcing my hand..." Shen Yushu saw through it clearly and instantly grasped Zhong Yongliang's thinking.

"Then what do we do?" Gu Mengyao asked.

"There's nothing I can do either—we can only wait for Brother Arrowhead to step in!" Shen Yushu shook her head helplessly.

"Aren't you All-Purpose Shu? Why are you useless now? No longer all-purpose? Besides, will it be solved just because Wei Zhao shows up? Isn't Zhong Yongliang invincible below the Heaven Rank? Can Wei Zhao handle that Golden Cicada Underwear of his?" Gu Mengyao asked.

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