Chapter 1695 — Pretending One More Time

"I... I understand..." Sun Jingyan sighed.

"I will wait for your news," Old Master Sun said.

"Then... Grandfather, please take care of your health!" A few fragments of memory from her childhood suddenly surfaced in Sun Jingyan's mind... Her grandfather was domineering and stern, something of a male chauvinist, and yet he had truly been good to her!

"Do not worry. My health may be poor, but I can hold on another year or two, long enough to see you children settled in life!" Old Master Sun said.

True, her grandfather's insistence that she marry into another family seemed unreasonable on the surface, but he had at least left her room to choose—far better than those parents who simply settled their children's lifelong affairs for them...

But how was Sun Jingyan supposed to bring this up with Wei Zhao? Pretending to be her boyfriend to fool Wu Chengtian was one thing, but deceiving her grandfather? Would he see through the act?

Sun Jingyan was torn. With no other recourse, she could only dial Wei Zhao's number.

"Hello?" Wei Zhao had only just finished enhancing Wu Chengtian's strength when Sun Jingyan's call came through. He smiled faintly and picked up. "Looking for the great bandit?"

"Wei Zhao... I have something very urgent to discuss with you. Can you come over?" Sun Jingyan gave a bitter smile. She was in no mood for jokes with Wei Zhao. This had come too suddenly—if Wei Zhao refused to go back with her, what would she do?

"Now?" Wei Zhao had no idea what could be so urgent. He had been hoping to settle down and study the matter of martial techniques, but it seemed that would have to wait.

"Yes, right now. Is that all right?" Sun Jingyan said anxiously. "It really is urgent!"

"All right. Where are you? I will be right there." Wei Zhao's relationship with Sun Jingyan was not especially close, but it was closer than that of ordinary friends. It was only because Wu Chengtian had recently become Wei Zhao's lackey and stopped pestering Sun Jingyan that the two of them had gradually drifted apart and lost touch.

"Well... it is noon already. Let me treat you to lunch—we can talk while we eat. I know a place called Liuweiju, a newly opened chain. I hear the food is good?" Sun Jingyan asked. "It is right behind First High School. You will see it as soon as you arrive—the sign is huge."

"Fine, I am on my way!" Wei Zhao replied.

Wei Zhao set the martial techniques down on the table, said a quick word to Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu, and drove over to Liuweiju. At the entrance, he spotted Sun Jingyan's red Audi A4L at a glance—it looked like she had arrived first.

Wei Zhao parked the car and walked into Liuweiju. A waiter came over at once. "Good afternoon, sir. Will you be dining alone, or do you have a reservation?"

"Has a lady by the surname Sun reserved a private room?" Wei Zhao did not know whether Sun Jingyan had spoken to the staff.

"May I ask your surname, sir?" the waiter asked with a smile, instead of answering.

"My surname is Lin," Wei Zhao said.

"A Miss Sun Jingyan has reserved a private room. This way, please, sir," the waiter said only after confirming Wei Zhao's identity.

Wei Zhao nodded. The service here seemed decent, and they were fairly careful about protecting their guests' privacy.

He followed the waiter to the door of a private room. The waiter gestured for him to enter and opened the door for him.

"That was fast?" Sun Jingyan had only just arrived herself, and she was surprised to see Wei Zhao walk in right after her.

"You said it was urgent—how could I be slow?" Wei Zhao said, half amused, half exasperated. "What, is it not urgent anymore?"

"No... but I would not say it is desperately urgent either." Sun Jingyan said a little sheepishly. "Still, it seems my summons as your lover carries quite a bit of weight!"

"Lover? You have the nerve to say that? When you need something, I am your lover; when you do not, I do not even get a phone call?" Wei Zhao laughed. "And for all this talk of being lovers, I have not gotten a single benefit. To this day, not a kiss, not even holding hands—is that not a bit too tragic?"

"Oh, come on, come on—half a lover, then. A fake one, in name only. At most... if you can make me fall for you, I might give you a little sweetness!" Sun Jingyan gazed at Wei Zhao with tender eyes and batted her lashes.

"Save it. I do not believe a word. Do not fool me—sweetness, really? I would rather spend that time at home holding Tang Yun." Wei Zhao shrugged, entirely unmoved by her temptation. "You tricked me onto your pirate ship once already. Do you expect me to fall for it again? To borrow a saying: the same trick does not work twice on a cultivator!"

"By the way, what is your strength level now?" Hearing Wei Zhao mention cultivators, Sun Jingyan suddenly thought of something and quickly asked.

"Why? Why bring that up all of a sudden?" Wei Zhao's guard went up at once. It was not that he did not trust Sun Jingyan, but these were extraordinary times—the Great Family Assembly was about to convene, and the strength of Wei Zhao and those around him had to be kept secret. Otherwise, if the Yu family sought out the hidden Yu family as outside support, things could get troublesome!

And Sun Jingyan was a member of the Sun family, so Wei Zhao had no choice but to be on guard! He had not had much contact with Sun Jingyan, but his intuition told him she would not harm him. What he feared was that she might be used by another family without knowing it!

After all, the past between Wu Chengtian and Sun Jingyan was common knowledge. Anyone trying to pry into Wu Chengtian's affairs might well start with Sun Jingyan, so Wei Zhao had to be careful and then some.

"Of course it is useful. I asked, so just tell me..." Sun Jingyan, absorbed in the menu, did not notice the change in Wei Zhao's expression.

"Is it not the same as before? Do you not already know?" Wei Zhao countered.

"Mystic rank? Mid mystic rank?" Sun Jingyan was not quite sure. She had not paid close attention at the time; she had merely been startled that Wei Zhao was a cultivator too. The Sun family's cultivation took an unorthodox path, so Sun Jingyan was not as sensitive to rank levels as other cultivators.

"Mm, about that..." Wei Zhao answered vaguely. "Never mind that for now. What exactly did you call me here for?"

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