Chapter 356 — A Target All Along

"Heh heh, today Brother Lin is the guest, so Brother Lin, you take a look first — are you satisfied?" An Jianwen nodded to Wei Zhao, signaling that he should have first pick.

"Oh — may I pick two?" Wei Zhao glanced over them, then asked.

"Of course, no problem at all!" Su Taizao nodded again and again. He had been afraid Wei Zhao would refuse to pick anyone at all; now, never mind two — he could take the whole lot and it would be fine. The more the better, the bigger the mess; when it was shown to Gu Pengzhan, it would be all the more convincing!

"That's wonderful!" Wei Zhao laughed. "But to be honest, none of these ladies really catches my eye..."

Wei Zhao's words made An Jianwen and Su Taizao frown. Wasn't this Wei Zhao a little too picky? These five girls, though not exactly peerless beauties of the first rank, had been carefully made up and dressed, and were first-class lovelies by any measure — and Wei Zhao claimed none of them caught his eye?

Was his taste truly that lofty, or was he doing it on purpose?

Still, whatever the case, An Jianwen had no choice but to have Manager Yang bring in replacements. Putting on an angry look, he said, "Manager Yang, what's the meaning of this? Is it because I, Young Master An, haven't come for a few years, so you won't give me any face? Fobbing my brothers off with goods like these?"

"This... I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare..." Manager Yang broke into a sweat. "I'll go and change them right away!"

These five girls really were not the top-grade goods of the Starlight Splendor Grand Hotel. Su Taizao had only asked him to find a few decent ones to entertain a guest, so Manager Yang had figured these five were good enough and hadn't given it much thought.

He had never expected this guest to be such a fastidious sort, and now he had even angered Young Master An — a case of losing more than he gained. He hurriedly led the five girls out of the private room.

Seeing Manager Yang's expression, An Jianwen knew at once that these five were certainly not the best goods — the man had been holding back. He shot Su Taizao a reproachful glance. How could this fellow handle things so unreliably?

Wei Zhao spent his days in the company of Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu; his standards were bound to be far above the ordinary. If you brought him common painted trollops, how could he possibly take a liking to them?

"My apologies, Brother Lin, you've had to witness this sorry spectacle. This Manager Yang really is incompetent!" An Jianwen could hardly blame Su Taizao, so he could only shift the fault onto Manager Yang.

"It's nothing. Let's wait and see." Wei Zhao shook his head slightly, amused inwardly. Even if you brought me a heavenly fairy, I still wouldn't look twice at her.

After a while, the door of the private room was pushed open again. This time Manager Yang entered with three girls who were plainly a cut above the five from before.

"Young Master An, Young Master Lin, how about these?" This time Manager Yang was full of confidence. He had brought out several of the hotel's top girls; if the young man still could not find one to his taste, then it could only be said that Young Master Lin had no eye at all.

"Oh? Let me see." Wei Zhao raised his head with perfect composure and let his gaze travel over the three girls Manager Yang had brought. He had to admit they were all top-grade goods. Inwardly he sighed: why did they have to do this for a living?

But Wei Zhao was no savior, and he could not be bothered with such matters; everyone had their own sorrows, and he could not possibly learn them one by one. After pretending to study the three girls very carefully, just as Manager Yang was certain he would keep one, or two, or even all three, Wei Zhao spoke up: "Ah, still no good. Manager Yang, are you holding out on me?"

"Ah?" Manager Yang was taken aback, and in an instant somewhat displeased. "Holding out? What, is there still nothing that catches Young Master Lin's eye?"

By now even An Jianwen and Su Taizao felt Wei Zhao was being excessively picky. Was the fellow merely going through the motions to fob them off, with no real intention of picking anyone at all?

An Jianwen harbored his doubts in silence, yet he could not voice them — what if Wei Zhao really was that particular?

"Brother Lin, don't tell me there's still nothing that suits you?" There was a note of interrogation in Su Taizao's voice, for even he had been stirred by these last three girls — and Wei Zhao claimed not to like them?

"Ahem... all right, then I'll speak plainly. Manager Yang, I've heard that Starlight Splendor has two top girls, a pair of twins, called Xuexue and Huahua?" Wei Zhao put on a show of displeasure. "I've long heard of their fame. Surely it isn't just a rumor?"

Wei Zhao's words left Manager Yang stunned, and An Jianwen and Su Taizao as well. What stunned Manager Yang was this: so Wei Zhao was not being picky after all — he had had a target in mind all along. Perhaps, for the sake of appearances, he had not named her outright, but had hinted through his dissatisfaction, pushing him to bring out better ones... As for An Jianwen and Su Taizao, having stayed away from this place for years, they had long since lost track of who the top girls were now; hearing Wei Zhao name those two, they thought to themselves: so the boy is a connoisseur after all!

What pleased An Jianwen and Su Taizao most was that Wei Zhao had not been toying with them on purpose — he had simply had a target from the start. Perhaps he had been too embarrassed to name her directly before, but under Su Taizao's pressing he had finally come out with it!

But that was no problem; that was easy. So long as Wei Zhao named a name, everything would be fine!

"Manager Yang, this Xuexue and Huahua — are they the top girls here?" An Jianwen looked at Manager Yang and asked, neither warm nor cold. He was somewhat annoyed. Even if he had not come for a few years, he was still one of the Four Young Devils of Songshan! A young gentleman of note in Songshan City! And this Manager Yang dared to deny him face — he had already told him to bring out replacements, and the man still dared to hold back. He was taking him far too lightly.

"Young Master An, don't be angry. Xuexue and Huahua are indeed the top girls here, but another guest has already claimed them for a heavy sum..."

"A heavy sum? Hmph. Bring them over — I'll pay a heavier one! It's only money, isn't it? I've got plenty!" An Jianwen grew anxious at once. Wei Zhao had finally settled on a target, and the girls had been claimed by someone else? That would never do.

"This... this isn't quite according to the rules, is it?" Manager Yang sighed inwardly. Songshan City was no longer the domain of you four young masters. Your families each had their backing, true, but a formidable presence, no less powerful than yourselves, had now arrived — and it was he who had claimed Xuexue and Huahua tonight. Could he really go and call them back?

"Brother An, why don't we let it go? Since Manager Yang is in such a difficult position, we can come back another day." At this point Wei Zhao put on the air of a good-natured fellow and spoke to An Jianwen.

But the more Wei Zhao said such things, the more An Jianwen felt he had lost face! He was one of the Four Young Devils of Songshan, after all — and he could not even win a single top girl?

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