Beauty and the Bodyguard

Lin Yi leaned back comfortably against the Audi S5 upon getting out of the car, taking in the nice, busy food street as he relaxed.

“So peaceful… How long has it been?” Lin Yi contemplated. It was always work back then- even if he’d chanced upon a bustling street like this it’d always be prioritized for filling up his belly. He simply had no luxury to use looking at scenery.

“Fuu……” The oily smoke coming from the various stands filled the air, along with some mixed smells from rotten leaves… There was no freshness in the air, like the kind you’d find in mountains, but the life in the street invigorated Lin Yi.

He wondered when he’d be able to live a commoner’s life like this, going shopping and eating at food stands like these- how meaningful a life that’d be!

Lin Yi stretched a little as he opened his eyes…

“Ugh…” Lin Yi saw two females walking in his direction, mother and daughter… They were pushing a three-wheeled cart filled with stools and barbeque supplies, evidently here to have their stand set up.

It could only be Tang Yin and her mom…

Tang Yin obviously saw him, but averted her gaze- Mrs. Tang, on the other hand, missed Lin Yi completely, naturally not greeting him as well.

Lin Yi took a look at his own posture on the Audi S5- he was leaning back on the sports car lavishly, very much like something a rich kid would do to show off to a poor girl he was interested in……

But it wasn’t like that- Lin Yi had no intentions of doing so! All he wanted to do was think about life a bit as he leaned on something, what sort of coincidence would just send Tang Yin his way like that..?

Lin Yi rubbed his chin awkwardly, deciding to get away from the car and head to where the mother and daughter were. He’d seen them anyway- it’d be a bit disrespectful if he didn’t make some sort of greeting, at least.

“Hi there, aunty!” Lin Yi said, a little embarrassingly. The woman was his elder, and there was no way he could just pretend not have seen her and turn the other way.

“Ah? You are…” Mrs. Tang couldn’t recognize Lin Yi from a first glance- he’d just gotten himself some casual clothes, after all, even leaning against an Audi.

“It’s me, Lin Yi… I went to your stand with my friend yesterday……” Lin Yi reminded.

“Oh, it’s you! I remember!” Mr.s Tang said, a little taken aback. She knew that the kid was a big shot if even Zou Ruoming feared him, but she didn’t know what kind of family background the kid had. She hadn’t an idea how much that car she was seeing right now was worth, but it became a given that Lin Yi’s family wasn’t a common one. Lin Yi’s casual clothes made him look a lot more good looking than when he was in his uniform yesterday, and Mrs. Tang found herself liking the kid even more. “Yin, why don’t you say hi to your classmate?”

“Hmph!” Tang Yin raised her head unwillingly and looked at Lin Yi, wondering how he found out about her mom setting up a stand here during the weekend. How shameless could the guy get, coming here early to wait for them like that? “What’re you doing here?”

“Uh… to eat…” Lin Yi answered with a bitter smile as the girl glared at her.

“Yin! Can’t you talk a little more nicely?” Mrs. Tang was quite displeased with her daughter’s attitude- not only did this boy save Tang Yin from Zou Ruoming’s clutches, he even got him to pay Mrs. Tang back for her losses! She was pretty sure that she’d have a peaceful time setting up her stand from now on, since the other students would most likely leave her alone after what Lin Yi had done. Needless to say, she had only gratitude for him… But what was with her daughter? She seemed to always be against the kid! “Of course he’s here to eat, what else?”

Tang Yin only shot a violent glare at Lin Yi after the scolding- she didn’t deserve this! With that, she turned away and started ignoring him.

“...This kid… Mister Lin, I hope you don’t mind…” Mrs. Tang said apologetically, making sure to add an honorific to his name as well, now that she had a better idea of who Lin Yi was.

“It’s okay, really. Also, please- just call me Lin Yi……” Lin Yi said, not quite expecting this continued personality from Tang Yin; he hoped that she’d be able to preserve that- after all, pride was rare in poor families. Lin Yi, as a result, found Tang Yin growing on him a bit.

Evidently speechless at her daughter’s attitude, Mrs. Tang pushed her cart away with Tang Yin after chatting a bit with Lin Yi.

Lin Yi shook his head as he followed behind, making sure to keep a huge distance between them. He didn’t want Tang Yin accusing him of stalking her…

Lin Yi got himself two skewers of chicken popcorn as he walked, trying to remember the last time he’d had chicken popcorn as he stuffed them into his mouth- quite a number of years ago.

He noticed Mrs. Tang setting her stand up, but Lin Yi decided that he wasn’t very keen on going- the food was good, but he didn’t really want to get glared at by Tang Yin again…

He slipped past them quickly and spotted Mengyao and Yushu at the end of the street- they were helping themselves to some Shanxi cold noodles, clearly very spicy from how red the contents inside the bowls looked.

Mengyao was two mouthfuls in when she stuck her tongue out to fan at it, evidently not quite managing to handle the hotness. Yushu was cooling her tongue down with a drink, as well.

The two were safe, but Lin Yi didn’t dare get close to them- he didn’t want them to stop enjoying themselves if they noticed him, going all reserved and everything. The two were ladies, after all.

They were a lot more violent with their food than they were back home, that was for sure.

“Can I have some wonton noodles, please?” Lin Yi said as he seated himself at one of the stands.

“Sure thing, kid!” The owner replied with a smile as he prepared the noodles for Lin Yi.

Lin Yi’s hunger wasn’t quite satisfied with a couple of skewers and side dishes here and there, so he decided to go for a full bowl of wonton noodles instead.

He made sure to keep an eye on the girls as he ate. The two went to a fried mushroom stand, but Mengyao didn’t seem very keen on eating any. Theyfought for a bit before Mengyao sat down with Yushu unwillingly.

Lin Yi grinned a little at the argument- even the two besties had differing opinions at times. He paid for the noodles before getting up for something else to eat.

always on schedule with edited chapters now... (for better or worse)

_on a side note, you can technically pledge to mypatreon now if youre interested in going a step further to support me- though there are only 4 chapters (unedited even) for the tier rewards, so... i dont know, maybe you might wanna go look at them in case u think youll miss them in the future, where everything only comes in edited form, u know?_

*[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