Chapter 2540 — Big Feng's Trouble

"Yeah, yeah, hurry up and call him." Ying Ziyu tossed the empty milk carton, which landed neatly in the trash can, then patted her chest and said, rather glumly, "How come I drink so much milk and my breasts still won't grow?"

"..." Chen Xi's little face went red at once. "Sister Ziyu, what are you talking about..."

"Hey, I'm telling you, Xiaoxi, you ought to start drinking milk too. Brother Wei Zhao likes big-breasted girls," Ying Ziyu said. "Look at Sister Xiaoshu next to him—how big is her chest?"

"Huh?" Chen Xi froze for a moment, glanced down at her own chest, then, as if possessed, picked up a carton of milk, looked at it, and set it back down. Just as Ying Ziyu was about to start nagging her again, Chen Xi picked up a carton of papaya yogurt from beside her.

"Well, well, Xiaoxi, so you're the silent type that stuns everyone when you finally speak—one flash of insight all at once?" Ying Ziyu said, giggling with some surprise.

"No, it's nothing... I just like yogurt..." Chen Xi's little face burned, and she did not dare admit it.

"Oh, then drink that strawberry yogurt over there," Ying Ziyu said, pointing to the strawberry yogurt not far away.

"Uh... I..." Chen Xi's face grew redder still.

"Haha, I'll stop teasing you. Hurry up and call Brother Wei Zhao!" Ying Ziyu said.

"Oh..." Chen Xi breathed a sigh of relief, took out her phone, and dialed Wei Zhao's number.

Wei Zhao was in the kitchen decocting medicine for Wang Xinyan. When the phone rang, he did not even look at it and simply picked it up. "Hello, who's this?"

"Brother Lin, I... I'm Xiaoxi..." Chen Xi was a little nervous—after all, her motives were not entirely pure.

"Oh, Xiaoxi. Haha, I've been busy lately and haven't asked about your studies or Ziyu's. How are you doing? Are you adapting to the high school coursework?" Wei Zhao asked. Though Wei Zhao had never attended middle school himself, he had occasionally heard Gu Mengyao mention that high school coursework was different from middle school—the difficulty jumped all at once, and some students went through a period of adjustment.

"Yeah, yeah, Sister Ziyu and I are both doing fine." Chen Xi had been at a loss for how to bring it up with Wei Zhao, and now that he had raised the matter of studies himself, she was suddenly delighted and followed his lead: "On this exam I took first place in the grade, and Sister Ziyu did amazingly too—she's fifth in the grade!"

"Oh? That impressive?" Wei Zhao was taken aback. Chen Xi taking first place did not really surprise him—she had always been a good student—but Ying Ziyu actually ranking fifth in the grade was a shock. "You didn't cheat, did you?"

"Huh?" Chen Xi was stunned, and it was a while before she stammered out, "I... I'm first. Who... who would I cheat off of?"

"No, I didn't mean you, I meant Ziyu..." Wei Zhao said.

"Brother Wei Zhao, am I really that bad? Can't I do well in school too?" Ying Ziyu had been eavesdropping the whole time, and when she suddenly heard Wei Zhao doubting her grades, she was immediately a little upset. "Why don't you trust me?"

"Uh... I was just saying it offhand," Wei Zhao said with a bitter smile. "Tell you what—when I have time I'll come to Songshan City and treat you both to a meal as a reward. Good grades—keep it up."

"Yeah, yeah, okay. Thank you, Sister Ziyu," Chen Xi said, nodding seriously and speaking with gratitude.

"..." Ying Ziyu stood up. "I'm going to take a shower and go to sleep..."

After Wei Zhao hung up, he found his mood anything but calm. Hearing Ying Ziyu's voice had left his heart feeling as if a stone were pressing on it, and he thought of the Pangolin...

Picking up the phone, Wei Zhao dialed Big Feng's number. He wondered how things were going on Big Feng's end—had he fully taken control of the Red Conch's forces within the country? Could he find out where the Red Conch had its strongholds abroad, and whether he could find any word of the Pangolin?

"Mr. Lin..." The call connected only after four or five rings, and Big Feng's respectful voice came through.

"Big Feng, how are things going? Have you taken the seat of the big boss?" Wei Zhao asked lightly.

"Thanks to you, Mr. Lin, I've taken the position of big boss of the Red Conch's domestic stronghold..." Here Big Feng paused, then said with a bitter smile, "But a bit of trouble has come up..."

"Oh? What do you mean?" Wei Zhao asked. "I paved the road for you—and you still can't handle it?"

"Mr. Lin, there's nothing I can do. The headquarters probably doesn't trust me to hold all the power alone. They didn't promote a second or third boss, but they sent a strategist down from headquarters. He's called a strategist, but his authority is equal to mine—I have to consult him on everything I do. And since he comes from headquarters, his say carries even more weight than mine..." Big Feng said with some helplessness. "Right now he's calling the shots on most Red Conch matters here. I can't even get a hand in..."

"Oh? Is that so?" Wei Zhao frowned. It seemed he had made things a bit too simple in his thinking. He had assumed that once those Red Conch leaders were dealt with, Big Feng could rise to the top and hold sole power—but he had not expected headquarters to send in someone from above.

Still, on reflection, there was nothing unreasonable about it. The old Red Conch stronghold had been controlled by three bosses together; now only Big Feng remained. Whether out of trust or to keep Big Feng from holding sole power, it was only normal for headquarters to send another person.

"Exactly..." Big Feng said with a bitter smile. "I want to finish Mr. Lin's task as soon as possible too, but my hands are tied—whatever I do, that strategist is watching me..."

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