Chapter 12

Author's Note:

Suddenly, I thought this book could also be called Rebirth: The Willing One Takes the Bait (:з"∠)

Chapter 12

Faced with Pei Xingze's teasing probe, sharp beneath the surface, Weng Shao deflected it with ease. Not only did he lay bare his designs on the Weng family, but he also cleverly showed weakness. With a single line—"I am willing to be the gun in your hand"—he cleanly established their respective positions and, amid smiling conversation, expressed his willingness to submit without the slightest trace of force.

Pei Xingze had met plenty of clear-headed people who knew how to read the room. But someone his age who possessed such depth of calculation? Weng Shao was the only one Pei Xingze had ever seen.

Not to mention that Weng Shao had a face that perfectly suited Young Master Pei's tastes.

"I happen to be lacking an assistant. Would you be interested in coming to work for me?" The more Pei Xingze looked at Weng Shao, the more he appreciated his cunning and methods, until he could not help inviting him.

Weng Shao smiled faintly. He knew that Meng Hao'an, Pei Xingze's assistant, was the confidant Pei Xingze trusted and valued most. In his previous life, Weng Shao had dealt with the man many times and knew him to be shrewd, capable, meticulous, and skilled in both calculation and strategy. What was rarer still was his unwavering loyalty. After Pei Xingze died, Meng Hao'an followed his employer's will and became Weng Shao's assistant. Strictly speaking, Weng Shao and Meng Hao'an had spent more time together than Pei Xingze and Meng Hao'an, the actual employer and assistant.

So, given a second chance at life, Weng Shao had no intention of competing with his own confidant for the position.

"Thank you for thinking so highly of me, President Pei. But compared to being your assistant, I believe there is another position better suited to me at the moment." Still smiling, Weng Shao refused Pei Xingze's offer without hesitation.

Pei Xingze found that somewhat amusing. This person kept saying he wanted to be his gun, yet when it came down to it, he had more ideas and opinions of his own than anyone else.

Yet for some reason, although Pei Xingze had clearly seen through Weng Shao's duplicity, he could not bear to expose it. Instead, he asked patiently, "Oh? What position could be better than being my assistant?"

Weng Shao smiled. "You mentioned before that you came to this city to cut the ribbon for a new Pei Real Estate development?"

"That's right." Pei Xingze smiled. He was pleased that Weng Shao had taken to heart something he had said so casually.

Weng Shao said, "I would like to become a sales consultant for that development under the name of a work-study position."

Pei Xingze frowned almost imperceptibly. By reflex, he thought of the new Weng Group development that had opened sales some time ago. Looking at Weng Shao's determined expression, he vaguely guessed at Weng Shao's plan, yet still found it a little unbelievable. "You think that with your own strength alone, you can influence the sales of two developments over the next few months?"

Weng Shao replied with a smile, "Where there's a will, there's a way."

After a pause, Weng Shao continued, "I have one more request..."

Pei Xingze raised a brow, signaling for Weng Shao to go on.

With laughter in his eyes, Weng Shao spoke each word like a blade. "I hope the new development can hire my mother, Yu Huixin, as a cleaner at the sales office."

*

The meal lasted until after nine in the evening, and both host and guest enjoyed themselves. After dinner, it suddenly began to rain. Pei Xingze offered to drive Weng Shao home, but Weng Shao told him that he was still living at school.

After the National College Entrance Examination, City No. 1 High School had begun handling graduation and dormitory checkout procedures. Yet Weng Shao was still living in his dorm and had not moved out.

A black Rolls-Royce Phantom cut through the curtain of rain and slowly came to a stop outside the gates of City No. 1 High School.

The car door opened. Pei Xingze got out first and stopped by the roadside. Taking the umbrella from the driver, he turned to Weng Shao. "I'll walk you back to your dorm."

Weng Shao, who got out after him, shook his head. "The rain's too heavy."

Pei Xingze tilted the umbrella toward Weng Shao. Perhaps to keep them both from getting wet, he naturally stepped closer to Weng Shao. In an instant, the distance between them shifted from a normal social distance to standing face-to-face.

Feeling Pei Xingze's presence suddenly draw near, Weng Shao instinctively wanted to step back, only to be blocked by the open car door.

"I haven't felt the atmosphere of a high school campus in a long time." Pei Xingze lowered his head and looked smilingly at Weng Shao, who was close enough to touch. In a courteous tone, he asked, "I wonder if Student Weng Shao could give me the opportunity."

Behind them, traffic flowed endlessly. Cars sped past, crushing through puddles gathered on the road and sending ripples spreading outward. The city's reflection shattered and reformed upon the water's surface. After a violent disturbance, it revealed the two figures standing face-to-face beneath the umbrella.

Weng Shao gazed at Pei Xingze, who stood just as close, and slowly said, "It would be my honor."

*

During the two days of the National College Entrance Examination, students from the other grades had already gone on break. The entire campus was empty, with only the dim yellow light of the streetlamps lining the road.

The rain grew heavier. The camphor trees on either side of the road crackled beneath the pounding raindrops. Pei Xingze moved most of the umbrella over Weng Shao's head, leaving half his own body soaked by the rain.

Weng Shao frowned slightly and instinctively moved closer to Pei Xingze. His thin, slender shoulder brushed Pei Xingze's arm. The next second, Pei Xingze pulled him completely into his arms.

"The rain's too heavy," Pei Xingze explained near Weng Shao's ear.

His hot breath brushed Weng Shao's ear. Weng Shao reflexively wanted to avoid it, but at the very last second, he forcibly held himself back.

Standing so close, Pei Xingze naturally felt the instant Weng Shao's muscles tensed. He also sensed Weng Shao's restraint and indulgence. But Pei Xingze said nothing.

The two of them ran like that, arms around each other, across the open space before the teaching building and past the empty athletic field, until they finally arrived at the dormitory building.

Under Pei Xingze's protection, Weng Shao was completely unscathed. Not even a single strand of hair had gotten wet.

By comparison, Pei Xingze looked far more bedraggled. His shirt was soaked through, clinging tightly to his body and outlining his broad chest and smoothly defined arms. Even the contours of his eight-pack abs showed faintly beneath the fabric. Water dripped steadily from his crisp dress pants, quickly soaking the ground at his feet. He ran a hand through his wet hair, and several strands fell messily across his forehead, leaving his handsome, sharp features exposed to the air without warning.

Weng Shao's gaze darkened, and he could not help saying, "You're soaked all over. Do you want to come to my dorm? I'll find you a towel to dry off with."

"Your school probably doesn't allow outsiders to enter the dormitory building freely, does it?" Pei Xingze declined thoughtfully. "Forget it. I'll go back to the hotel, take a shower, and drink a bowl of ginger soup. I won't catch a cold."

Before Weng Shao could speak, Pei Xingze added, "Besides, you just went through two exams today and then had dinner with me. You must be tired. You should get some rest early too."

With that, Pei Xingze said in a tone that allowed no refusal, "Goodbye."

Though he said that, his eyes remained fixed on Weng Shao, and his feet did not move at all.

Weng Shao looked quietly at Pei Xingze, then smiled. "When you get back to the hotel, remember to send me a message."

Pei Xingze: "..."

After a moment of silence, Pei Xingze said somewhat unhappily, "Aren't you going to say goodbye to me?"

Weng Shao shook his head. Beneath the swaying, dim yellow light before the dormitory building, his expression looked strangely sorrowful and lonely.

He did not want to say goodbye to Pei Xingze because he did not want to part from him again. Every time he said goodbye, a little part of him died.

Pei Xingze gazed into Weng Shao's dark, unfathomable eyes. At the moment their gazes met in midair, he felt as though his soul had been scalded by the fierce emotion burning in Weng Shao's eyes. Yet when he focused and looked again, Weng Shao's gaze had returned to its previous calmness. As if that fleeting stir had been nothing more than an illusion.

In the end, Weng Shao, who did not say goodbye, merely stood on the dormitory steps and watched in silence. In his deep, dark pupils, the quiet campus lay shrouded beneath the torrential rain of a midsummer night as Pei Xingze's departing figure, umbrella in hand, gradually faded into the distance.

Author's Note:

Every goodbye is a little death—The Long Goodbye, Chandler

Chapter 13

After the National College Entrance Examination, high school graduates who had studied diligently for more than a decade finally welcomed the longest and most relaxing summer vacation of their lives. But teachers in charge of graduating classes could not take a break yet.

So, when Weng Shao arrived at the teachers' office the next morning, he saw Teacher Chen sitting at her desk organizing materials. Several glossy, exquisitely designed property brochures sat in one corner of the desk, glittering in the sunlight.

Weng Shao knocked on the door and entered the office.

"You're here." Teacher Chen tapped the stack of materials in her hands against the desk, then looked up with a smile. "How did you do?"

"If nothing unexpected happens," Weng Shao said with a confident smile, "I'll be reporting to Jinghai University in a few months."

Teacher Chen could not help smiling when she heard that. "I believe in you."

As she spoke, she handed the materials to Weng Shao. "These are materials from the publishing house, along with Editor Wang's phone number. I've published several high school study guides with this publisher before, and Editor Wang was the editor in charge of me at the time. I showed her your study notes and mind maps, and she was very interested in you."

Weng Shao accepted the materials with a delighted expression. "Thank you, Teacher. Without you, this never would have gone so smoothly."

Weng Shao knew very well how fantastical it was for a high school student to want to publish high school study guides. If Teacher Chen had not vouched for him, neither the publishing house nor Editor Wang would have given Weng Shao a second glance.

"What are you thanking me for? This is your own ability." As Teacher Chen spoke, she looked at her prized student with growing pride. After teaching for decades, she had taught countless outstanding students, including more than a few natural geniuses. But a student as gifted as Weng Shao at studying and organizing knowledge, one capable of publishing study guides at such a young age—there had only ever been one.