Chapter 42: A Beauty Saves the ’Hero
Seeing the inquisitive look on Zhou Hao’s face, Chen Mo’s expression also grew more serious.
After all, this was a serious matter, not something to be taken lightly.
"I’m not worried about whether Qu Danwan will accept you. I’m more worried about whether her father will accept you."
"Her father!?" Zhou Hao’s mind went blank for a moment.
’Isn’t this... a little too fast? I haven’t even won her over yet, and I’m already worrying about whether her father will accept me?’
"I’ve heard her father is extremely traditional. Given how you’re dressed now, I’m afraid it’s going to be tough.
Qu Danwan’s mother passed away when she was young, so she and her father have relied on each other her whole life. Think about their relationship... it’s like yours with your mom.
If you knew what kind of girl your mom dislikes, and then a girl just like that showed up wanting to date you, what would you think? She’d start with a low score, right?"
At Chen Mo’s words, Zhou Hao had a sudden realization.
’If that’s really the case, then her father is a huge hurdle I’ll have to overcome.’
"So what do I do?"
"There’s no easy way out of this. You just have to do whatever you can to get on his good side," Chen Mo said, sounding resigned.
It was a shame Zhou Hao had to change for someone else, but this was her biological father—an obstacle that simply couldn’t be avoided.
"So you’re saying I have to get rid of my hair and my tattoos?" Zhou Hao couldn’t help but picture himself as a clean-cut good boy. ’Would that even be me anymore?
I’d lose my intimidating presence completely, wouldn’t I?’
He was worried that if he changed his look, the guys he’d put in their place before would come back looking for trouble.
"You’ll have to, but not necessarily right away. I have an idea that will give you a good explanation for it."
"Quick, tell me!" Zhou Hao immediately looked at Chen Mo, eager to hear more.
Chen Mo glanced at the students coming and going. After the crowd thinned out a bit, he spoke. "I have detailed information on a fugitive with a 100,000 yuan bounty. You go to the police and report it. When they catch the guy, you’ll be a hero. Not only will you get the reward money, you might even get a public commendation.
Once you have the police vouching for you, plus a commendation from the school, Qu Danwan’s father is sure to see you in a different light when he finds out.
Even if he has something to say about your current look, you can just say you were dressing this way on purpose to blend in with delinquents and help the police with a lead.
If he finds out about this act of self-sacrifice, there’s a good chance he’ll stop disliking your appearance. He might even start to think you’re an extraordinary young man."
"Holy shit, Old Mo, that’s a brilliant move. But... is it dangerous?" Zhou Hao asked, a little worried. "It’s not that I’m afraid of getting targeted. I’m just worried about my mom and the people around me. If this criminal comes for revenge, it could get really messy."
"Don’t worry. The guy I’m telling you about has committed crimes serious enough to get the death penalty. There won’t be any comebacks," Chen Mo said, patting Zhou Hao’s shoulder. "I just don’t want to deal with all the hassle. You know I’m shy. If I got praised in public and became the talk of the town, I’d feel awkward.
Besides, people at school are always whispering behind your back anyway. You never know if they’re saying good things or bad things, so you’re used to it. It won’t make a difference to you."
"That’s true," Zhou Hao said with a grin. "Alright, leave it to me. But is this tip reliable? If it turns out to be a huge misunderstanding, I’ll be humiliated."
"I’d bet my life on it. It’s solid," Chen Mo said, thumping his chest.
"That’s what being brothers is all about. With you saying that, I don’t need to hear anything else," Zhou Hao immediately replied, thumping his own chest.
"But let’s agree on this first: when you get the reward, I want half," Chen Mo said to Zhou Hao.
The words were barely out of his mouth before Zhou Hao shot him a look. "Now you’re just hurting my feelings, man. I’m getting all the real benefits out of this. What do I need the money for? The whole hundred thousand is yours.
After all, you could’ve just gone yourself and the money would be yours. I’m not even part of the equation.
If I can run a simple errand to earn a good reputation and get Danwan’s father to see me in a better light, I’m the one who’s really striking it rich."
"That’s not the right way to look at it. We agreed, half and half. Anything more and you’re actually hurting my feelings. There’s no need to be so modest about this; it doesn’t matter who takes it.
You take fifty thousand, and it’ll ease some of the pressure on your mom. If you work less, you’ll have more time to pursue the girl, right?
Nothing’s even started between you two yet. With a good girl like her, you snooze, you lose. If someone else wins her over before you do, tell me you won’t regret it."
Chen Mo finished, then hopped off the ledge and clapped Zhou Hao on the shoulder with a smile.
That last line was a critical hit.
His heart ached just thinking about that possibility.
"Old Mo." Zhou Hao swallowed hard. He had so much he wanted to say, but the words were all caught in his throat. In the end, he just held out his fist to Chen Mo.
Chen Mo smiled and gave him a fist bump. "I’m heading out. I’ll text you the details in a bit."
’Zhou Hao, you must have done something right in eight lifetimes to have a brother this good.’ Watching Chen Mo walk away, Zhou Hao was completely overwhelmed with emotion.
Soon enough, the girl with the single ponytail came out of the tuck shop.
The first thing she did when she came out was glance in Zhou Hao’s direction. She saw he was turning his head to look at Chen Mo, not at her.
She took a deep breath, gathered her courage, and walked briskly over to stand in front of him.
Sensing a shift in the light, Zhou Hao turned his head back, only to see Qu Danwan standing right in front of him.
He instantly froze as if he’d been hit by a petrifying spell. He wanted to say something, but no words came out. All he could manage was a goofy, foolish smile at Qu Danwan.
"What do you want, following me around like this?" Qu Danwan asked, gathering her courage to look at Zhou Hao.
Her question made Zhou Hao completely flustered. He stammered, "I... I... I just wanted... to thank you."
Qu Danwan’s mind flashed back to Thursday night. She had been on cleaning duty and was heading home late when she saw Zhou Hao being cornered by a few thugs.
She didn’t know where she found the courage, but she had rushed forward with her phone screen showing she was dialing 911 and shouted that she’d called the police. Unexpectedly, it had actually scared the three thugs away.
Zhou Hao himself had been dumbfounded by the scene.
He wasn’t afraid of fighting three guys at once, but he was amazed that this seemingly delicate girl had dared to charge in like that.
He was instantly captivated by her courage and sense of justice.
Qu Danwan was definitely pretty, but Zhou Hao’s attraction to her had nothing to do with her looks.
Zhou Hao was the kind of person who was attracted to character above all else; he was completely infatuated with and admired traits like courage and a sense of justice.
Qu Danwan’s actions had struck a deep chord within him, sending him into an irrepressible, one-sided crush.
He’d been in countless fights, but he never imagined that one day he’d be the ’hero’ in need of a rescue from a beautiful maiden.
So he resolved to thank her, but when it came time to act, he realized it was harder than he thought. Forget actually talking to her, simply getting close was a huge ordeal for him.
For every two steps he managed to take forward, his own anxiety would force him three steps back.
And so, for days on end, a simple "thank you" remained unsaid. He just ended up loitering near her like a stalker, never finding the right moment to speak.