Chapter 9: What Kind of Personal Bodyguard?

Lin Mo hadn’t known Su Yanyan would call at that moment. Damn his slippery fingers. Would she think he’d done it on purpose and was some kind of creep?

“Did you do that on purpose?” she demanded.

He coughed awkwardly and pulled on his clothes. “I was about to shower. How was I supposed to know you’d call? What is it, this late at night?”

He hurried to change the subject; the more he explained, the guiltier he might sound. Once he was dressed, Yanyan uncovered her eyes. Her cheeks were red.

“You left so quickly today that I didn’t get to thank you. How about I treat you to a meal sometime?”

“A meal?”

“Yes!”

“You don’t have to…”

“You saved me. Won’t you even give me that chance?” she teased. “Or are you still devoted to Qin Xiaoman? Afraid she’ll be angry if she finds out you ate with me?”

Lin Mo grimaced. She was doing this on purpose. He thought he should have taught her a lesson while she was unconscious earlier.

“Look at you getting angry.” Yanyan laughed. “I’m joking. You saved me and paid for the room; I can’t let you lose money over me. Have a meal with me. A beautiful woman for company—how can you lose?”

“Are you begging me? If so, I might consider it.”

She paused, then smiled again. “Since you saved me, fine. I’m begging you.”

“That’s better.” Satisfied that he’d gotten one back at her, he asked, “When and where?”

“I haven’t decided. Wait for my message.”

“All right. If that’s all, I’m going to shower.”

He hung up. Yanyan was a good person, or he wouldn’t have agreed. As he showered, he noticed the jade pendant on his chest growing slightly warm, something it had never done before. He would have to study it, and the Divine Emperor Scripture too. There wasn’t time tonight; he had to get up early.

…

At home, Shen Zhihan stood before the mirror after her shower, her wet hair falling over a towel wrapped around her.

“Lin Mo… twice now.”

Once might have been coincidence, though she had had some desire of her own in it. But the second time…

“Forget it.” She shook the thoughts away. She wasn’t a woman who would abandon her career for romance. First she needed to work out how to get her company through its troubles.

…

At 7:50 the next morning, Lin Mo arrived outside her building. On his first day, he wanted to make a good impression. Zhihan came down at 7:55 in a black dress and heels. He opened the car door and bowed slightly.

“Ms. Shen!”

“At least you’re punctual. Shen Group.” She took the back seat.

“Yes, Ms. Shen!”

He got behind the wheel, catching a pleasant scent he assumed was hers. On the way, she said, “You beat Chen Hai’s men and got me out of the Golden Phoenix Hotel last night. Be careful for the next few days. Knowing him, he’ll send someone after you.”

“Don’t worry. I have ways to deal with him.”

“You’re confident.”

“Why else would you have chosen me as your personal bodyguard?” he asked with a grin, glancing at her in the mirror.

Her expression cooled. “Leave out ‘personal.’ Just do your job.”

“Yes, Ms. Shen!”

He noticed her ears seemed red. Had the word reminded her of last night? He hadn’t realized she was so easily embarrassed.

“After you drop me off, your time is your own. I only require you to be available whenever I call. Can you do that?”

“Of course!”

“Come to my office at ten.”

“Understood!”

At a hundred thousand yuan a month, he was happy to stay in her good graces. Still, why had she hired him at such a high salary? Surely she could find other people. He gave up trying to understand. He was getting paid, and that was enough.

About twenty-five minutes later, they reached Shen Group’s imposing high-rise. It was his first visit. After graduation two years earlier, he’d considered applying there, but Qin Xiaoman had convinced him that big companies hired through connections, could fire him at any time, and paid little during probation. She’d said deliveries and driving paid better. He’d believed her; now he wanted to slap his younger self.

He opened Zhihan’s door. She walked straight toward the building, where two guards bowed and greeted her.

“Impressive,” he murmured.

Back in the car, he was wondering how to spend his free time when a WeChat message arrived from Zhihan. They had added each other outside her building the night before, and he had saved her as “Ms. Shen.”

She had transferred him 10,000 yuan with a message: “Buy some presentable clothes.”

He stared. His job came with a generous salary, and now this. Did taking her money make him a kept man?

“Thank you, Ms. Shen.” He accepted it. Refusing money his boss had offered would be disrespectful, he reasoned. He would work hard for her.

Looking down at his years-old white shirt, he admitted it was worn. Perhaps she worried his clothes would embarrass her. Besides, the things in his apartment had been covered in paint and were no longer wearable. He turned the car around and headed to the mall. He couldn’t let his employer lose face or risk a job this hard to come by.

At Shen Group, a woman in her early forties sat opposite Zhihan in the CEO’s office. She resembled her slightly: Shen Anlian, her aunt. Leaning back with her arms folded, Anlian regarded her with a teasing smile.

“Zhihan, it’s been so long. Still unwilling to come home? Your grandfather misses you so much that his old illness has flared up again.”

“I arranged that match for your sake and the family’s. If you agree to marry Chen Hai, our relationship with the Chen Group will…”

“Aunt, I have a boyfriend,” Zhihan interrupted.

Anlian sprang up and slammed the desk. “What? Do you know what you’re doing?”

“And we’ve already slept together.” Zhihan’s expression remained unchanged.

“Are you insane? Do you know how much this could cost our family? I don’t care who he is. Break up with him immediately! And Chen Hai must never hear about this. Do you understand?”

…