Beauty and the Bodyguard

“Dad seems to treat him even better than he treats me… His attitude towards him, too……” Mengyao said with a slight frown.

“I know! Especially how Uncle Chu wanted the two of you getting along with each other… And that bit about you and him being the same age, too… Don’t you think that’s a bit intimate?” Yushu analyzed. “Would he say something like that if Lin Yi really _was_ just a mere follower he hired? Just take a look at how strict Uncle Chu’s been with your relationship with your male classmates, he’d never just have a man live with us for no reason, right?”

“Yeah……” Mengyao nodded as she thought about it. It was true that her father had been a proper parent since she was small, educating her firmly that there was to be no dating before she reached eighteen. He didn’t even allow her to have an outing with any boys in it…

She’d just turned eighteen, but that didn’t justify the sudden change in attitude- it’d be way too unreasonably fast if that were the case! Mengyao simply wouldn’t believe that her father would get so open minded all of a sudden and decide to put a man inside the house like that!

Something was definitely up! Mengyao wouldn’t have given this more thought than just a moment’s confusion if Yushu hadn’t brought it up- it was hard to get a clear understanding of the situation when you were in the center of it, after all. She’d attributed all of her father’s questionable actions to Lin Yi tricking him, but further analysis rendered that possibility unlikely. Her father was no normal man- he was meticulous, and intelligent! It simply didn’t seem very likely that the chairman of Pengzhan Industries would just get tricked by a farmer dude like Lin Yi……

That only meant that Lin Yi came here with her father’s approval… The question here was: what would’ve caused her father to make a decision like that?

“And… Uncle Fu treats Shield Guy with respect as well……” Yushu said, hitting the mark. It didn’t matter if Pengzhan fancied Lin Yi- he fancied quite a number of people! The elites all got in the company through his jurisdiction, and these people treated Uncle Fu with absolute, undeniable respect- even the vice-chairman of the company addressed Li Fu as ‘Li Bro’! Li Fu’s attitude towards Lin Yi, however, was extremely questionable… The man clearly treated him the same way he treated Mengyao herself……

“Yeah……” Mengyao’s frown intensified as she started having suspicions about her father’s true intentions of hiring Lin Yi… What _was_ Lin Yi..?

“Yao Yao, whatever it is, whether it’s your dad, or Uncle Fu… their attitude with Lin Yi’s just too intimate, it’s nothing like an employer-employee relationship at all!! It’s like… They’re treating him as… family……” Yushu finally decided to reveal the idea she’d tucked away. It was a possibility that would devastate Mengyao, but it was something she had to do as her bestie.

Yushu’s analysis shot the idea into Mengyao’s mind, and the possibility of it silenced her completely.

“Shu… You think Lin Yi might be… My dad’s bastard child..?” Mengyao said with wide open eyes as she stared at Yushu. “Why else would my dad love him so much?”

“Wha-?!!!” It was Yushu’s turn to be shocked- she hadn’t considered that crazy possibility! Bastard?! Mengyao had to be really creative to think of something like that! A chill went down Yushu’s spine as she thought about it… It wasn’t an impossibility, but the two didn’t look one bit alike! It didn’t seem likely at all, what the hell was Mengyao thinking up here?

“What’s wrong, Shu?” Mengyao asked as she looked at the stunned Yushu, thinking that perhaps her guess might’ve been a little too far-fetched. “Am I wrong?”

“Your imagination’s really something, Yao Yao… Shield Guy’s around the same age as you and me, right? If he really was a bastard, then it’d had to be before or after your dad met your mom, but… does that sound possible to you?” Yushu shook her head speechlessly.

“Ah… So I’m wrong? But what other explanation is there?” Mengyao said, deciding to drop her idea.

“Here’s what I think, Yao Yao- I think Uncle Chu’s trying to find you a partner!! The way things look, he probably has his mind set on Lin Yi as the only candidate at this point…..” Yushu grinned playfully. Although, she did feel a bit uncomfortable inside as she said the words, for some reason.

“Partner?!” Mengyao’s mouth gaped wide open as she stared at Yushu, obviously shocked at the notion. “Shu, are you sure about this..?!”

“I dunno. It’s just a guess.” Yushu said with a shrug. “But it does feel like that’s the case, you know- that might just be it…”

“That’s impossible, right? I’m j-just eighteen, okay? N-no way, that’s impossible...” Mengyao shook her head a couple of times, blushing as she spoke. “Shu, what do you think?”

“Well… I think the two of you look pretty good as a couple!” Yushu said with a laugh. “Good driver, good cook, good fighter… Damn, it’s pretty nice…”

“No! No way!!” Mengyao rejected subconsciously, surges of unstable emotions welling up inside her as she spoke. Did father really want him to be her boyfriend? Wasn’t he just supposed to be a shield?!!”

Though, he’d be able to protect her if that were the case… The scene back at the bank had given Lin Yi a very reliable image in Mengyao’s eyes- her pride, however, insisted that Lin Yi was that much more of an annoyance because of that!

Even if that really were the case, the guy was always outside flirting with a variety of girls!! How could her father recognize a man such as this? It must be a misunderstanding on Shu and Mengyao’s part- her father might very well have something more deep planned out…….

It was a while before the two girls made it to the Bentley. Mengyao sighed softly as she seated herself at the back with Yushu. “Shu, tell me- how likely do you think that guess is?”

“Maybe zero percent, or fifty, or a hundred…” Yushu said with a grin, evidently having returned to normal. “Well, I guess it depends on what kind of scenario you’d want it to be?”

“Me? I don’t want it to be anything- he likes Song Lingshan, and there’s that pretty girl he was with yesterday, too! I’ve got nothing to do with him!!” Mengyao said, her tone sour even when she was making the stuff up.

“Heh heh…” Yushu grinned- could Mengyao actually be…?

Li Fu got in after checking the car, and both Mengyao and Yushu stopped talking. Mengyao’s expressions kept switching between joy and depression, and Yushu was, needless to say, quite curious about what her friend might be fantasizing about…

Yushu pouted her lips. _Yao Yao’s gotta be in heat right now, maybe I shouldn’t have told her…..._

*[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