Chapter 140: Vase? Worthless?

(Thanks to Wild Wolf and Autumn Leaves for the recommendation votes.)

“Little Bai, what did you just say? I didn’t quite hear you.” Shen Guohua smiled as he asked, having caught Bai Zeshao muttering under his breath.

“Heh. I said that Miss Wen Xiaowan, the pampered eldest daughter of the Wen family who has never had to worry about food or anything else, has come to work at a hospital. Isn’t that just a case of having too much time and money on her hands?”

Bai Zeshao paused, then continued, “Still, that girl is quite beautiful. The patients here are certainly lucky. Even if they can’t have her, getting to look at her is something. Business at your hospital must have skyrocketed lately, right?”

“You even know that? Not bad.” Shen Guohua gave Bai Zeshao a thumbs-up.

“Haha, I figured it out. We’re all men—we all have the same thoughts, don’t we? And you, Old Shen, don’t try telling me about some girlfriend of yours. A distant source can’t quench a thirst close at hand.”

“Ahem, Little Bai, watch what you say.” When Bai Zeshao turned the subject toward him, Shen Guohua hurriedly coughed softly, cutting off the stream of nonsense he was about to unleash.

“Old Shen, with that timid nature of yours, you still dream of having two women on your arms? Honestly…” Bai Zeshao shook his head in deep disappointment.

Shen Guohua, however, did not take offense. He merely watched Bai Zeshao with a smile, looking as though he were enjoying a show.

“What is it? Why are you looking at me like that? You’re creeping me out.” Bai Zeshao suspiciously touched his cheek and looked at Shen Guohua.

Shen Guohua said nothing. He merely jerked his chin toward the door.

Bai Zeshao instinctively turned his head and saw a doctor standing silently in the doorway. The doctor wore a white coat and a mask, with both hands tucked into the pockets.

“Doctor, could you make a little noise when you walk? Haven’t you heard that a person can be scared to death?” Because of the mask, Bai Zeshao could not make out the newcomer’s face, but he spoke without hesitation.

“If I had made any noise, I wouldn’t have heard what I’m like in other people’s eyes.” As she spoke, the doctor removed her mask, revealing Wen Xiaowan’s exquisite features.

“It’s you!” Bai Zeshao shot to his feet and cried out.

“Yes, it’s me. We meet again, Mr. Wrong-Restroom.” Wen Xiaowan gave him a cold smile and simply stared at him.

“Ahem. Old Shen, you really are something. How could you speak about someone behind her back? Even if what you said was all praise, you’re still a highly educated man. Really, that was rather improper.”

Caught red-handed, Bai Zeshao immediately shoved the blame onto Shen Guohua.

“Little Bai, you…” Shen Guohua had never imagined that Bai Zeshao could be so shameless.

“Old Shen, there’s no need to explain. I know you admire Miss Wen, you’re just too embarrassed to say so. It’s nothing to be ashamed of—everyone loves beauty. That’s perfectly understandable.” Bai Zeshao cut him off and continued spinning his tale.

“Doctor Wen, don’t listen to his nonsense.” Shen Guohua no longer dared to sit back and enjoy the spectacle. He hurriedly explained himself to Wen Xiaowan at the door.

Wen Xiaowan merely glanced at Shen Guohua before walking slowly into the room and coming straight to Bai Zeshao’s side.

“So, in this gentleman’s eyes, I’m nothing but a useless vase?” she said. “Or, to put it more plainly, a complete waste of space?”

“Haha, Miss Wen, you’re certainly humorous. Even if the eldest daughter of the Wen family were a vase, she would be the sort that everyone fought to buy.” Bai Zeshao laughed awkwardly as he fended her off.

Afterward, he added, “And please don’t call me ‘gentleman.’ It sounds awkward. I’m just an ordinary man. My name is Bai Zeshao. If you don’t mind, Miss Wen, you can call me Little Bai.”

“So, in the end, I’m still just a vase—pretty but useless. A good-for-nothing, right?” Wen Xiaowan paused. “Little Bai.”

Bai Zeshao genuinely could not understand what had gotten into the eldest daughter of the Wen family. Why was she so determined to make trouble for him? Still, he said, “Miss Wen, couldn’t you stop insulting people?”

Seeing his helpless, amused expression, Wen Xiaowan could not help smiling inwardly. She had heard remarks like that from Bai Zeshao countless times before, so how could she possibly be angry? She was merely teasing him.

She had not expected to run into him here. Since the banquet that day, she had not seen him again.

After the banquet ended, for some inexplicable reason, she had even gone through the guest register. Yet she had found no mention of Bai Zeshao. She had also questioned the servants at the Wen residence, but none of them knew who he was, nor had anyone invited him.

It was as though Bai Zeshao had appeared out of thin air. His manner of appearing had been so strange that he had left a particularly deep impression on her.

And yet, whenever the two of them met, something interesting always seemed to happen. Every time, she happened to witness Bai Zeshao in some embarrassing predicament.

Coming back to herself, Wen Xiaowan extended her fair right hand with easy grace and smiled.

“Let’s introduce ourselves properly. My name is Wen Xiaowan.”

“Bai Zeshao. A pleasure to meet you.” Bai Zeshao took her hand and introduced himself as well. “Miss Wen certainly seems like a broad-minded person.”

“Is that so?” Wen Xiaowan blinked. “Little Bai, if you have more compliments like that in the future, it would be better to say them to my face. And I should thank you for complimenting my beauty just now.”

“Heh.” Bai Zeshao gave an embarrassed chuckle, then turned to Shen Guohua. “Old Shen, I still have something to take care of, so I won’t disturb you at work. Carry on, carry on.”

Without waiting for Shen Guohua to reply, he hurried out of the office, vanishing as swiftly as a gust of wind.

Inside the office, Shen Guohua shook his head with a bitter smile.

“Please don’t take my friend’s nonsense to heart.”

“It’s fine. What he said was more or less the truth, wasn’t it?” Wen Xiaowan shook her head indifferently.

“By the way, judging from your conversation just now, it seems that you and Little Bai already know each other?” Shen Guohua did not pursue the subject. Instead, he changed the topic and asked curiously.

“We can hardly say we know each other. We met once before, at a banquet.” Wen Xiaowan smiled as she explained.

“I see.” Shen Guohua nodded.

“But what exactly does your friend do? How did he end up with a gunshot wound?” Wen Xiaowan looked curiously at the bloodstained bullet lying inside the metal box on the table.

“He… well… he…” Shen Guohua hesitated inwardly. Should he tell Wen Xiaowan Bai Zeshao’s true identity?

He knew that Wen Xiaowan had never been friendly toward the Secret Service. In fact, she loathed them and held the scheming parasites within the organization in utter contempt.

“What is it? Is it inconvenient to say?” Wen Xiaowan asked curiously as she watched Shen Guohua stumble over his words.

“It’s nothing. He works for the Secret Service. He’s the leader of the Second Action Group.” Shen Guohua finally told her.

After all, with the power of the Wen family, it would be easy for them to uncover Bai Zeshao’s identity if they truly wanted to investigate.