At this moment, though he wore a calm and resolute face, his heart was filled with an uncommon sorrow. He and Wei Zhao had not known each other long, yet Wei Zhao had truly treated him as a brother, as a friend! And Kang Xiaobo, too, had truly come to regard Wei Zhao as his leader.

The change Wei Zhao had brought him was simply enormous. In the short space of a month or so, he had gained not only confidence but a career of his own! In the past, that would have been unthinkable! And yet, however unwilling he was to let Wei Zhao go, he could not bring himself to utter a word to make him stay.

Tang Yun had tried to hold him back, and in the end she had chosen to go with Wei Zhao. Kang Xiaobo had even felt the urge to take Xiaofen and follow Wei Zhao himself, but he had reined that impulse in with good sense. That would not have been loyalty, but plain foolishness.

Wei Zhao was going back to take shelter and recover his strength. What would he be going there for? Better to stay here and do his utmost to run the company for Wei Zhao. That was what he ought to do, and what Wei Zhao would be glad to see.

"All right, stop crying!" Wei Zhao knew that Fatty Lai was the weeping sort, forever wiping at his tears, and found nothing strange in it.

Guan Xuemin, who had not spoken a word all this while, suddenly broke his silence. "Xiao Yi, actually, if you don't want to leave, I do have a way."

"Don't want to leave? What way?" Wei Zhao was startled, and turned to look at Guan Xuemin.

"Xiao Yi, what do you think of Xinxin?" Guan Xuemin pondered for a moment, then asked abruptly.

"Huh?" Wei Zhao's eyes went wide at Guan Xuemin's words. When Gu Pengzhan had said the same thing to him before, Wei Zhao had still been somewhat hesitant; but now that Guan Xuemin had come out with the very same words, how could Wei Zhao fail to guess his meaning?

Could it be that Guan Xuemin wanted to recruit a grandson-in-law as well? Damn, was he really in such demand?

"Grandpa Guan, why do you ask that all of a sudden?" Wei Zhao could only keep up the pretense of not understanding. "Guan Xin is wonderful. She's beautiful, and a fine cook..."

Guan Xin was right beside him, applying medicine to herself; hearing her grandfather's words, she tensed at once. How could she fail to guess his intent? That her grandfather wanted to betroth her to Wei Zhao, she knew full well. It was only that Wei Zhao already had a girlfriend, and that her own attitude was hardly clear.

Today, hearing her grandfather raise the matter with Wei Zhao so solemnly, her heart was suddenly left hanging. Though Guan Xin had never held out much hope, she felt that quietly liking someone was itself a kind of happiness. There was no need to possess him; so long as she could be at his side, watching him, that was enough...

Even so, Guan Xin was desperate to know what Wei Zhao truly thought of her.

So Guan Xin pretended to be busy with her medicine, while her ears pricked up to catch Wei Zhao's answer. When she heard his assessment of her, her heart felt as sweet as if she had eaten honey. Was what Wei Zhao described not the very model of a good wife and loving mother?

Guan Xin's breathing quickened, and her face flushed red. Did he... like her?

"Heh heh. In that case, what say I betroth her to you?" Guan Xuemin laughed aloud. "If you become my grandson-in-law, then you will be the heir to Guan Xuemin's medical arts. You don't need me to teach you medicine, of course, but with my name behind you, those enemies of yours will think twice about troubling you again! I may be only a scholar, but the great clans and certain notables of Yanjing will still give me some face. With me here, no one will dare touch you!"

Guan Xuemin was not boasting. Wei Zhao knew perfectly well that if he accepted, then Zhao Qibing, angry as he might be, would not dare openly make an enemy of Guan Xuemin. Behind Guan Xuemin, after all, stood a great host of clans and men of influence.

Guan Xuemin was a renowned medical expert in the country. Many people had been treated by him; it could be said that his connections were exceedingly broad.

"This..." For a moment, Wei Zhao found it hard to answer. Guan Xin was sitting right there, after all. If he refused outright, it would surely wound her, and that was not what Wei Zhao wanted.

But fond as Wei Zhao was of Guan Xin, it had not reached the point where he would seek shelter under the Guan family for her sake.

"I... I'll go boil more tea. You two talk..." Guan Xin had not expected her grandfather to speak so bluntly, and in front of her at that. How could she not be embarrassed? So she instinctively wanted to hide. Finding herself an excuse, she stood up and fled stumbling into the kitchen...

Wei Zhao was just about to give Guan Xuemin a tactful answer to his proposal when, at that very moment, the villa door was pushed open and Guan Xiaoxiang strode in, his face dark, saying with great displeasure, "Dad, what are you thinking? How can you casually betroth Xinxin to someone? And in a situation as dangerous as this? Besides, Xinxin is promised to another family. Even if the engagement is to be broken, it must be discussed with them first. How can you make the decision on your own now?"

Guan Xiaoxiang had been hiding at the villa door, listening for quite a while. When he heard his father actually offer to betroth his daughter to this young man named Wei Zhao, he could bear it no longer and burst in through the door.

Setting aside that Guan Xiaoxiang's impression of Wei Zhao had never been good, the man had now stirred up trouble outside and would even resort to this means of taking shelter. How could he agree? What if the danger dragged Guan Xin in as well?

"Guan Xiaoxiang, have you no manners? Can you not see that I am in the middle of a discussion? Get out, get out!" Guan Xuemin had not expected his son to burst in at this moment and say such things, leaving him no way to save face. His stubborn temper flared at once. He, who seldom lost his temper, was now furious too, and pointed at Guan Xiaoxiang, ordering him out.

"Fine, I'll go! But I'm afraid you've been taken in. If your reputation is fooled away, so be it, but I will not have my daughter dragged into it as well!" Guan Xiaoxiang gave a cold snort and pulled Guan Xin toward the door.

Guan Xin, too, was at a loss. She had not expected her father and grandfather to clash so violently, and for a moment she did not know what to say.

"Grandpa Guan, I'll take my leave first. In any case, I'll trouble you to look after the pharmaceutical company from now on. Settle it together with Fatty Lai." Wei Zhao shrugged in self-mockery and rose to his feet. In such circumstances, there was no need for him to say more. Faced with the Guan family's own conflict, he had no way to take part, so he might as well go first.

"All right. Then call me before you leave, and I'll see you off!" Guan Xuemin sighed, knowing his proposal could no longer be realized, and nodded to Wei Zhao with some apology.

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