......

Watching Yang Huaijun, who had regained his usual steady calm, Qiu Lingshan blinked strangely and at last could not help asking, "Captain Yang, do you know Wei Zhao?"

"He looks very much like a friend of mine. I got carried away for a moment and mistook him." Yang Huaijun smiled. "I didn't frighten you, did I?"

Since Wei Zhao would not let him reveal his true identity, Yang Huaijun could say no more than that.

"No..." Qiu Lingshan shook her head. She was puzzled inwardly over what kind of friend could make Captain Yang lose his composure so completely, but she did not ask again.

Just as Wei Zhao came out of the police station and was about to hail a taxi, Uncle Qing's Bentley drew slowly to a stop beside him. Uncle Qing leaned out and said, "Mr. Lin, get in."

Wei Zhao nodded and, without standing on ceremony, walked straight over, pulled open the front passenger door, and got in, only to discover in surprise that another man was sitting in the back seat. It was Gu Pengzhan.

"Hello, Uncle Chu." Wei Zhao greeted him politely.

"Xiao Yi, are you all right?" At the sight of Wei Zhao, a kindly smile appeared on Gu Pengzhan's face.

All along, Wei Zhao had felt that Gu Pengzhan was perhaps a little too good to him. Was there some hidden reason behind it, or... But since Gu Pengzhan said nothing, Wei Zhao could hardly ask. "I'm fine. A few gang members came to the school to cause trouble, and I taught them a lesson. After the police understood the situation, they let me go."

"As long as you are fine." Gu Pengzhan nodded. "I owe you great thanks for Yaoyao this time. I just heard about yesterday from Li Fu. You did very well."

"It was what I should do." Wei Zhao thought little of it. He took money to shield others from trouble, and since he had taken Gu Pengzhan's money, it was not for nothing.

"By the way, how are you and Yaoyao getting along? She hasn't tried to drive you away again, has she?" At the thought of his daughter, Gu Pengzhan felt something of a headache.

"No, Yaoyao is easy to get along with." Wei Zhao smiled. He would never complain about Gu Mengyao in front of Gu Pengzhan, for that would be pure folly. No matter how willful Gu Mengyao might be, Gu Pengzhan felt only love for her. If he gossiped about her and got himself dismissed, that would be a disaster, so Wei Zhao praised Gu Mengyao at just the right moment.

Hearing Wei Zhao's words, Uncle Qing opened his mouth as if to speak, but in the end said nothing...

"Ha, you get along well?" Gu Pengzhan seemed delighted to hear this, and a gratified smile spread over his face. "Yaoyao is really a good girl at heart, only a little willful. Just yield to her a bit more and all will be well."

"Don't worry, Uncle Chu, I will." Wei Zhao agreed readily. But thinking of what the bald man had said in the robbers' car yesterday, he hesitated a moment and decided he should still tell Gu Pengzhan. "Uncle Chu, there is something I think I ought to tell you."

"Oh?" Gu Pengzhan started, then smiled faintly. "What is it? Say whatever you like."

"It is about yesterday... about the bank robbery..." Wei Zhao said.

"Then let us find a place to talk it over in detail. Uncle Qing is one of us, but he is driving, and I am afraid it would distract him," Gu Pengzhan said with a nod.

"All right." It looked as though Wei Zhao would miss school today, so he simply decided not to go.

"Mr. Gu, shall we go home?" Uncle Qing asked.

"Yes, home. Back to Bay Villa." Gu Pengzhan ordered.

Bay Villa was Gu Pengzhan's private villa, but as he was usually busy with business and seldom returned home, it stood empty most of the time, while Gu Mengyao lived in the Pengzhan Villas in the city for the convenience of school.

That villa complex had also been developed and built by Gu Pengzhan's Gu Group. Of course, Gu Mengyao lived there mostly because Shen Yushu lived there too. The two had been sworn friends since primary school, sisters closer than close could be.

The villa where Gu Pengzhan himself lived was built entirely in the suburbs, occupying a great stretch of open ground, ringed by green lawns and flowers, with a road running through the middle toward the main building of the villa.

Of course, this was already private ground, where outsiders were not allowed to enter at will. At the entrance, Uncle Qing flashed his laser key card, and only then did the great gate slowly swing open.

Wei Zhao glanced at the brand of the gate opener. It must have been the most advanced rolling-code opening system in the world. Even if the card were lent to another person, it could not be copied. The opening code exchanged between the system and the card was unique each time, calculated by the single-chip processor in the card from the code sent out by the system and fed back to the system to complete the opening.

Still, it was not impossible to crack. Wei Zhao said nothing, of course, for in the civilian field it already counted as very secure. But if yesterday's affair was not thoroughly investigated, he meant to refit the security of the villa where Gu Mengyao lived. He could not guarantee that he would stay by Gu Mengyao's side twenty-four hours a day.

The car stopped before the villa. Uncle Qing got out and opened the doors for Gu Pengzhan and Wei Zhao in turn, and after they had stepped out, he got back into the car again.

"Isn't Uncle Qing coming in with us?" Wei Zhao asked, having just heard Gu Pengzhan say that Uncle Qing was one of them.

"He is going to park the car in the garage, then he will come back." Gu Pengzhan saw through Wei Zhao's thought, smiled, and patted him on the shoulder. "Li Fu has followed me for more than ten years. When I am away, if anything urgent comes up, you may speak to Uncle Qing directly."

Wei Zhao nodded. Since Gu Pengzhan spoke so, Uncle Qing must be a man well worthy of trust.

The decoration inside the villa could not be called luxurious, at least not the glittering golden kind. It leaned rather toward plain elegance and the classical style. One could see that Gu Pengzhan was a man of taste, unlike the common newly rich.

"Sit anywhere, don't stand on ceremony, just make yourself at home." Gu Pengzhan personally found a pair of slippers for Wei Zhao and set them before him.

The gesture left Wei Zhao rather overwhelmed by the honor, and made him wonder all the more whether Gu Pengzhan was being too warm toward him. This did not seem like the treatment of a subordinate, but rather the kindness shown to one's own family.

"Thank you, Uncle Chu." Wei Zhao did not put on airs. After his thanks, he changed into the slippers.

Wei Zhao's calm composure, with not a trace of restraint on his face, won Gu Pengzhan's silent praise. Although he knew nothing of Wei Zhao's past, he looked like a man who had seen the great world.