Beauty and the Bodyguard

“It’s true that seven hundred thousand is a fortune to an average family.” Zhong Fabai said with a nod. The sum, however, wasn’t anything substantial for him. “What are your thoughts?”

“I’m thinking if the money’s worth it or not.” Zhong Pinliang said.

“Son- honor is an important thing.” Fabai smiled as he educated his son. “This Zhang Naipao, he’s your follower, so it’s only natural for you, the leader, to take care of him when help is needed! But the point to think about here is what kind of person this follower of yours is- will he put himself on the line for you? Will he show up for you when you need his services?”

“That I can guarantee, dad! Zhang Naipao’s a bit of a goof, but he’s definitely an honorable man. He won’t turn me down if I ever need him in the future, I know that. He even said he’ll kill himself if I asked him to!!”

“Haha, see?” Fabai laughed. “I was in a similar situation once, when I was younger- I helped a follower of mine out, but he didn’t have anything to offer me at the time. It wasn’t until many years later, when something went wrong with the engineering plans of this project I was in charge of, that he stood up and willingly shouldered the responsibility for me…… That’s how it is, Pinliang, you need to have a good eye for men. If you think this Zhang Naipao of yours a useful friend, then I’ll gladly pay up!”

“But dad, I’m not gonna do any engineer work… and I don’t need anyone taking the blame for me or anything……” Pinliang said, still not letting go- it was seven hundred thousand kuai!

“What are you saying, you do! I took care of the Heibao incident for you this time around, but you’d be in there with him if he pulls your name out! With Zhang Naipao, you’ll be able to pin everything on him, say he’s the mastermind, that you were just an accomplice, and there wouldn’t be any problems!” Fabai said. “Naturally, there’s also other things, like when you need to off someone without doing it yourself, for example. You’ll always have him to carry tasks like that out for you if need be. Seven hundred thousand- it’s a good deal.”

“I understand, dad. I’ll talk to him about this later.” Pinliang said, agreeing with what his father was saying- he’d be much better off if he had services like that Naipao could provide him with. It’d be like a hidden card!

“You’ve grown up now, Pinliang- it’s time to start gathering men and cronies of your own!!” Fabai said. “This is crucial for when you enter society, remember that!”

Pinliang responded with a string of yes’ before hanging up and calling Naipao.

Naipao couldn’t just answer the call in the classroom, but one look at who was calling and he got out of the room immediately. He looked around and spotted Pinliang waving to him at the bathroom door and hurriedly made his way there. “Liang Bro… You called?”

“So, Pao… I talked to my dad…” Pinliang said, pausing on purpose.

“And, Liang Bro? What did Uncle Zhong say?” Naipao said, his expression changing as he fluctuated from excitement and anxiety.

“My dad said you’re my bro- he’s willing to give me that money!” Pinliang said, patting Naipao on the shoulder. “Come with me to my dad’s company after school- we’ll get you that money!”

“Really? Liang Bro?” Naipao said, clearly in disbelief. “Liang Bro! Are you really gonna lend me seven hundred thousand?!”

“Not lend, Pao- we’re giving it to you!” Pinliang said, having known that Naipao wouldn’t be able to get himself a sum like that. Seven hundred thousand wasn’t a significant amount to the Zhong family, too, and Pinliang thought of it as buying Naipao’s loyalty, like what his father had suggested. “You’re my man, my follower- I’d never just let you die.”

“Liang Bro!! You really are my boss!!” Naipao exclaimed upon hearing Pinliang’s words, overwhelming him to the point where he kneeled down to him once more. “Liang Bro, I am not an ungrateful man- rest assured!! Liang Bro tells me to kill myself by hanging, I’ll never kill myself by drowning!! You tell me to go East, and I’ll get East even if I had to chop my head off and bring it there- I’ll never go West!!!”

“Hahaha!!” Pinliang laughed as he got Naipao back on his knees. “No need for that just yet, Nai Pao- I know what kind of a person you are. We’ll have to see when the time comes!”

“Liang Bro, I swear!! I’ll honestly ram my head into the ground if you don’t believe me!!” Naipao said, panicking.

“That’s not what I meant, alright? I believe you, I see your resolve- let’s get back to class. Just make sure you deliver on your promise when I need you!” Pinliang said with a satisfactory nod- Naipao’s loyalty was pretty much set in stone at this point, and he now had a failsafe should he ever get himself in trouble…

Kang Xiaobo simply couldn’t fall asleep last night- the barbeque at Tang Yin’s place was all he could think about.

After all, it was only natural in the age of youthful relationships and sunkissed love that Xiaobo would long for a fated encounter with a young lady, a fine girl to start a relationship with…

He knew logically that Tang Yin wouldn’t be interested in him, but Xiaobo was excited regardless- just going to the school beauty’s house for a meal was enough of a blessing on its own.

“Boss, are we going on Saturday or Sunday?” Xiaobo asked excitedly.

“I dunno.” Lin Yi shrugged. “Why are you so excited?”

“Heh…… You’re the only one who doesn’t get worked up over something as big as this- the school beauty’s treating us to dinner at her house!” Xiaobo explained. “How many guys you think are just waiting for a chance like this, to have an encounter with the school beauty? Everything starts from the encounter! Aren’t you looking forward to this at all?”

Lin Yi wasn’t sure what to say. _Looking forward my ass- I’m still living with two school beauties……_ “A bit, I guess. I feel like she hates me.”

“Come on, boss, don’t get greedy- any other guy would feel blessed if Tang Yin hated him. She doesn’t interact with other people too much.” Xiaobo said.

“Ha…. I guess we can go ask for details during break.” Lin Yi said, remembering that CD Mengyao and Yushu wanted him to buy. It’d be nice to have Xiaobo accompany him there.

“Sure, sure!” Xiaobo nodded. “We’ll go together, maybe get some barbeque…”

“Maybe not barbeque, Tang Yin’s mom isn’t gonna accept our money if we pay right now.” Lin Yi said. “Can’t let her treat us twice, right?”

“Good point.” Xiaobo said, also aware of the Tang family’s situation- this meal was probably going to cost them thirty to forty kuai, after all. “But… I still wanna have some barbeque…”