Beauty and the Bodyguard

Mengyao’s eyes lit up as she looked at Lin Yi coming out from the fitting room.

She hadn’t thought of him as a farmer since a long time ago, ever since he’d changed out of his village clothes- but Lin Yi in casual clothes was really something else!

_Hmph, pretty handsome fella, aren’t you! No wonder you’re so good with girls, even Song Lingshan’s throwing herself all over you._ Mengyao was starting to get frustrated again- she shouldn’t have insisted on getting him new clothes.

“Woah, Yao Yao, look! Shield Guy looks so good!! He’s a pretty qualified shield now, don’t you think!!” Yushu exclaimed excitedly as she looked at Lin Yi’s new image.

“How do I look?” Lin Yi had considered getting a suit, but decided otherwise and went with two sets of casual clothing instead- he’d look like hired muscle if he followed the Miss around in a black suit.

“Ugly.” Mengyao said with a yawn as she glanced at Lin Yi uncaringly.

“Ahaha……” Lin Yi smiled before looking at Yushu. “What do you think?”

“Uhh……” Yushu glanced at Mengyao, feeling a little guilty as she spoke. “It’s... okay…”

“I’ll just get these then.” Lin Yi said as he pulled out the bank card Li Fu had gotten him.

“Let me- I did say I was gonna pay.” Mengyao said as she got up from the chair.

Lin Yi only shrugged- there was no point in fighting over who got to pay, there was nothing to prove here. The money in his card was from Chu Pengzhan, after all, and the money in Mengyao’s card was from Chu Pengzhan as well.

There was no difference whatsoever.

“We’re finished- anything else you wanna buy?” Mengyao asked as she swiped her card.

“I was actually thinking of getting a laptop.” Lin Yi said after some thought.

“Oh, a laptop? Shu, don’t you have one that you don’t use anymore? Maybe give it to Lin Yi.” Mengyao was a bit tired, and there weren’t any laptops in the establishment they were at. They’d have to walk pretty far to another place for stuff like that.

“Sure.” Yushu said, not thinking much of it- there were always better, updated laptops coming out, and there was a computer in Mengyao’s home anyway, and it’d probably be time to get a new laptop by the time she stopped living with Mengyao, so why not give Lin Yi a laptop to use?

The girls had spoken, and Lin Yi didn’t say anything else- it was really all the same anyway. The three then made their way out the building, and Lin Yi noticed the huge line at the parking lot gate. Mengyao wasn’t actually that bad, now that he thought about it- she didn’t mind a fine, but she really could’ve just given Li Fu a call and got him to arrange a spot reserved for her. The owner of the complex would’ve probably let Mengyao have his parking spot if things went that far, too.

Mengyao took a look at her car before giving Lin Yi the keys. “Why don’t you drive the car out here.”

Lin Yi smiled bitterly as he took over the keys- the two cars squeezing the Audi were still there, and Mengyao wouldn’t be able to get the car out from that narrow fit.

Naturally, it wasn’t a problem for Lin Yi- he got the car going and started moving back and forth a bit before easing the car out of the space. He then got himself to the back of the car initiatively.

“You still want me to be your driver?” Mengyao said, a little upset.

“But… I don’t have a licence……” Lin Yi answered helplessly. “What I get detained for fifteen days…”

“......” Mengyao was speechless. _Who would detain you when you’re at that stage with Song Lingshan…_ Mengyao decided to keep her thoughts to herself as she started the car.

“Yao Yao, are we getting fried mushrooms today?” There was a street full of food stands some distance away from the business district, and the two had visited the place the last time they shopped here. Needless to say, Yushu fell in love with a particular fried mushroom stand.

Mengyao was about to say ‘sure’ when she remembered Lin Yi, who was sitting quietly at the back. She turned around to face him. “Hey, are you going? I’ll drop you off at home if you aren’t.”

“Yeah I’ll go, why not- we’re just eating right? That’s my specialty!” Lin Yi nodded seriously.

“......” Mengyao didn’t know what to say, it was her first time hearing someone priding himself on his ability to eat… Mengyao wanted to ask him if pooping was also his specialty, but decided otherwise- it wasn’t very proper for a lady to speak such vulgarities, after all.

“Ha, Shield Guy! Same here! I’m also an eating specialist!” Yushu added excitedly, as if fate had brought the two specialists together.

Mengyao was absolutely speechless at that point…… Embarassing, it was downright embarrassing!

“I like fried mushrooms, what about you?” Yushu continued excitedly, failing to notice Mengyao’s reaction to their discussion.

“I like chicken popcorn.” Lin Yi said.

Mengyao cleared her throat softly- she couldn’t take it anymore. “Haven’t you guys heard of waste oil?”

“Yeah, but Yao Yao- we’re talking about fried mushrooms, what does waste oil have to do with mushrooms?” Yushu asked dumbly.

“Ugh……” Mengyao groaned quietly as she slammed her foot down the pedal, launching the S5 forward- it was her only way of escape left… She’d been utterly defeated.

Lin Yi, on the other hand, was thinking about something else. _I don’t remember Yushu being the slow type?_ Lin Yi couldn’t wrap his head around why Yushu couldn’t make the connection between waste oil and fried mushrooms, but one look at that subtle smile on her lips and Lin Yi understood instantly: the girl was doing it on purpose.

There were no parking spaces on the food street, but there were no signs prohibiting parking at the same time… The road was littered with cars, as a result. Mengyao frowned- looking for a place to park was always the most troublesome part.

The demand for private cars in Songshan saw a shocking rise the past two years, and it was right after Mengyao had gotten her licence, too…

“You park.” Mengyao said to Lin Yi as she got out the car. “I’ll go get something to eat with Shu, you can go eat whatever you want later. Don’t mind us.”

“Kay.” Lin Yi got out the car before re-entering through the opposite door. He found a small opening nearby and parked the car- it didn’t seem like it’d block anyone’s way. He was pretty understanding of Mengyao’s decision to separate them, too, since eating at food stalls like this was a bit of a sensitive matter to girls like her. They wouldn’t be able to go all out with him watching them eat, and while Yushu didn’t mind, Mengyao did- the Miss was quite reserved, and Lin Yi didn’t want to ruin her appetite if possible.

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don't ask me about the tree sap