Chapter 1920 — Youpan Hu's Plans

"A drainage ditch, was it? That's still pretty wild!" Bai Weituo said.

From the look on his face, Wei Zhao knew that no explanation would do any good now. He said nothing more, vaulted straight down from the roof, and turned toward the drainage ditch behind the row of houses.

By then Wang Xinyan had finished dressing, though her face was still flushed—and when she saw Wei Zhao come back carrying her bra, she ducked her head in fresh embarrassment.

She had told herself that what had happened was only a misunderstanding, nothing to fuss over, and so she had dressed and stood waiting for him. But now that Wei Zhao had actually returned, she found herself embarrassed all over again.

"Here..." Wei Zhao handed the bra to Wang Xinyan.

"I... I don't want it... it's yours now." Wang Xinyan had been embarrassed to begin with; seeing Wei Zhao return the bra made her more embarrassed still. The truth was that she did not want it back out of sheer shyness, and the words "it's yours now" had simply slipped out—but the moment she said them, she regretted it!

What was a girl doing, giving a boy a bra she had worn? Wasn't that a bit too intimate?

"Huh?" Wei Zhao held the bra and for a moment could not speak. She was giving it to him? What was that supposed to mean?

Wei Zhao rubbed his nose and looked at the bra in his hand, unsure what to do with it. He told himself he was no underwear thief, no crazed collector of lingerie—but the scent on the bra really was pleasant. So he hesitated: should he keep it?

"N-nothing..." Seeing Wei Zhao turn her bra over this way and that, Wang Xinyan grew mortified beyond bearing. She snatched it back in one motion and stuffed it into her pocket.

"Uh... weren't you giving it to me?" Wei Zhao, his prize suddenly snatched from his hand, was briefly stunned.

Wang Xinyan stamped her foot in fury. She would have loved to clamp a hand over Wei Zhao's mouth—had it not been her own bra in her hand, she might well have stuffed it into his mouth! Would it kill you to say a few words less?

"I... I've changed my mind!" Wang Xinyan had no choice but to say, though the whole business between them was far too suggestive for comfort.

Wei Zhao scratched his head and said with a wry smile, "If you're not giving it, then you're not giving it..."

"Let's go!" Wang Xinyan gathered up the clothes she had taken off and made to walk on ahead.

"Wait..." Wei Zhao called her back in a hurry.

"What is it?" Wang Xinyan turned around, wondering whether Wei Zhao really did want her bra after all. If he insisted on having it, should she give it to him or not?

"I haven't changed clothes yet. Everyone else is done—if I go back to change now, won't that be like putting on a monkey show?" Wei Zhao said, gesturing at his own clothes.

"Oh..." Wang Xinyan breathed a sigh of relief, a little sorry for having misjudged him. Of course—how could he possibly be that sort of lecher? If he were, then when everyone had mistaken her for his girlfriend, he would surely have gone along with it gladly and never bothered to explain. At that thought she felt a flicker of guilt over her earlier suspicions, and a little shy as well: "Then... I'll keep watch for you..."

"Mm!" Wei Zhao nodded and dropped down into the drainage ditch.

But Wei Zhao changed far faster than Wang Xinyan had. In the blink of an eye he was done and back at her side: "Let's go, I'm changed."

"That fast?" Wang Xinyan was a little surprised.

"Force of habit." Wei Zhao smiled. "About what happened just now—I didn't mean to. I heard you shout, turned my head... and saw..."

"You're still talking about it!" Wang Xinyan's face went red again. She glared at Wei Zhao, anger in her eyes, and stamped her foot: "I've forgotten all about it!"

"..." Wei Zhao looked at her, never expecting that a girl as quiet as Wang Xinyan could get so worked up. He shrugged. "Actually, I've forgotten too."

"Forget my foot—don't you dare mention it again," Wang Xinyan huffed.

"Mm..." Wei Zhao knew he was in the wrong and did not dare say more.

The two of them came around to the front of the row houses, where Bai Weituo and their classmates were sitting about the camp in twos and threes, chatting and resting. Catching sight of Wei Zhao, Bai Weituo charged over; one look at the flush on Wang Xinyan's face and he understood everything. Once again he said with boundless admiration, "Boss, you really are something!"

"Watch your mouth!" Wei Zhao shot him a glare.

"I know, I know—only me, Zhao Shengji, and Song Xiaodao know. Nobody else does." Bai Weituo chuckled. "Though I'd bet most of the others have guessed already..."

Indeed, as the others watched Wang Xinyan and Wei Zhao emerge from behind the row houses, every face wore a knowing, suggestive look.

"That little bastard Wei Zhao's got it good—a pretty girl like that and he's already had her. She'd have made a fine cauldron for the young master You," Huang Mao said with a click of his tongue and a sigh.

"Hmph. Let Wei Zhao strut about for a while. Once I become a second-rank alchemist, I'll be able to take a seat as an elder of the You family. Then, even if I can't send the You family's finest to crush Wei Zhao outright, I can certainly do it in the shadows." Youpan Hu already hated Wei Zhao to the marrow. "Besides, once I'm a second-rank alchemist I can refine countless pills and make a killing at the hidden auction. By then, getting the Bloody Garment Yellow Springs Sect to finish him off won't be difficult at all!"

"Exactly, exactly!" Zi Mao nodded. "You're as far-sighted as ever, young master You—let this Wei Zhao be cocky for a while."

"Cocky? We can't match him by strength, but we can use other means to sicken him, give him a bit of trouble—and call it a bit of fun at school!" Youpan Hu said.

"But... aren't you afraid that if Wei Zhao's pushed too far, he'll come after us?" At the mere thought of Wei Zhao, Huang Mao felt a chill of dread.

"Heh heh, in Squad Leader Bai's class, if he dares lay a hand on me, he's slapping Squad Leader Bai in the face—and anyone who slaps Squad Leader Bai in the face won't get off lightly with that fellow from the Xuandan Sect either. You know what Squad Leader Bai's standing is... heh heh. If Wei Zhao dares touch a hair on my head, he's courting death. I'd love nothing more than for him to try!" Youpan Hu sneered. "What Squad Leader Bai hates most is family brats and sect disciples throwing their weight around in his class, using their backing to bully others..."

"Hiss..." Huang Mao and Zi Mao both knew Squad Leader Bai was no ordinary man—otherwise, given the hidden You family's strength, why would they send Youpan Hu here to study? But even they had not imagined that Bai commanded such influence, enough that even the Xuandan Sect respected him. Just what sort of person was this old man?

Naturally, Wei Zhao had no idea that Youpan Hu had once again grown tired of living and was cooking up trouble for him. Seeing the odd looks his classmates were giving him and Wang Xinyan, he had no choice but to take her back into the row house first.

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