Beauty and the Bodyguard

Xuemin’s youngest son was doing pretty well after the individual guided him a little, but Xuemin couldn’t help but sigh at how there were no doctors coming from the Guan family! His granddaughter had a soft personality as well. She wasn’t fit for the job of a doctor, but a nurse instead.

Xuemin had constantly looked out for any potential inheritors to his take on his mantle because of that- it was why he’d seemed so happy that time he spotted Lin Yi at the bookstore. He had wanted to take the kid in as a pupil.

He didn’t want that anymore. After all, his own medical capabilities weren’t more than a third of Lin Yi’s! How was he supposed to teach Lin Yi when he wasn’t even as good as him?

Yet Xuemin had hope, in spite of it all.

The doorbell rang- Lin Yi had parked in front of Xuemin’s villa and was ringing the doorbell.

Xuemin excitedly moved to the door, waving Aunt Liu away as she reached for it as well- he wanted to greet Lin Yi personally! He didn’t want to put on any airs in the slightest. Lin Yi was a kid when compared to his age, but he was better than him, and that was a concrete fact he wouldn’t deny.

“Yi, you’re here!” Xuemin greeted happily.

“Ah, Grandpa Guan, hello! I came over right after school ended, so I didn’t bring any gifts or anything, I hope you don’t mind.” Lin Yi smiled- everyone else brought heavy gifts when visiting Guan Xuemin, after all, yet here he was, empty-handed.

“No need for gifts!” Xuemin replied happily. “I’m happy enough that you could come! It was hard enough for me to get thick-skinned and call you over for a drink- stop with the formalities or I won’t be able to bring myself to call you next time!”

“Ahaha, okay, I’ll come over to hang out when I’m free!” Lin Yi laughed.

“That’s more like it.” Xuemin nodded in response.

Guan Xin was walking out with the mustard eel when she heard Lin Yi announce that he’d come and hang out when he was free- she didn’t like the sound of that at all. Who did this guy think he was? Come and hang out? Did he think they were close friends or family??

Guan Xin decided that she’d give this young man a nice experience tonight, see if he’d still come over for some mustard eel next time!

But this voice sounded a little familiar… Had this person visited before? Guan Xin frowned as she moved to put the eel on the table. She raised her head and froze, the plate almost slipping out of her hands!

“L-Lin Yi….?” Guan Xin’s eyes were wide open as she looked at the person entering through her doorstep.

“Guan Xin?” Lin Yi paused as well- why was Guan Xin here? He remembered Xuemin talking about her granddaughter- could Guan Xin be that granddaughter? The two did have the same surname. “You’re Grandpa Guan’s granddaughter?”

“You’re that… remarkable young man grandpa was talking about…?” Guan Xin’s face reddened- why was her grandpa introducing Lin Yi to her when the guy had a girlfriend already??

Guan Xin’s eyes were blank at that point, unsure what she should do as she lowered her head shyly- she’d accidentally revealed her affection…

“Remarkable young man..?” Lin Yi blinked at the title, a bitter smile on his face. “Maybe not remarkable… I’m a young talent, I guess? Haha.”

“What a bragger……” Guan Xin laughed softly- this guy sure wasn’t a humble one. There wasn’t much of a difference between the two words, was there?

“Yi, you and Xin Xin know each other?” Xuemin had worried that Guan Xin would feel some resistance towards Lin Yi, but apparently the two knew each other already! He’d been worried for nothing.

“Yeah, we just met today.” Lin Yi nodded.

“Oh? It seems you two are quite close already, then!” Xuemin said. “Then I don’t need to introduce the two of you anymore! Well, let’s skip all that and get to dinner! I usually have dinner way earlier than this, I’ve been hungry waiting for you!”

“Ah- alright, I’ll make sure to help myself, then!” Lin Yi smiled, turning to Guan Xin. “Haha, looks like it’s your cooking I’m gonna try today……”

“Ah!” Guan Xin just realized as she held her plate of mustard eel in her hands- how was she supposed to know that the remarkable young man would turn out to be Lin Yi?! She wouldn’t have cooked weird stuff like this if she’d known! She’d have poured her essence into preparing this dinner if she’d known……

An immense regret filled Guan Xin up- Lin Yi might really not visit anymore if he tried this ‘food’ she’d prepared for him… What should she do at this point? Guan Xin wanted to redo all the dishes she’d displayed on the table……

“What’s wrong, Xin Xin? Why’re you taking the eel away? It’s grandpa’s favorite, come on, bring that sweet and sour and eel over here!” Xuemin called out to the retreating Guan Xin.

“I… I’m taking them back to the kitchen, they’re… yeah, they’re cold already, so I’m gonna heat them up……” Guan Xin tried to get the dishes together as she spoke, to have them replaced with proper cooking… There were still ingredients left, she’d be able to still make something……

“Heat them up..? Why? They’re still steaming! Stop messing around, Xin Xin, put it down!” What was Guan Xin blabbering about???

“Ah…… Okay……” At her wit’s end, Guan Xin unwillingly put the dishes back…

“Alright, come sit down, Xin Xin! Let’s eat.” Xuemin opened a bottle of Maotai beer, pouring a cup for Lin Yi before pouring a cup for himself.

“I…. Okay.” There wasn’t much Guan Xin could do anymore- she didn’t look very happy as she seated herself at the table.

“Ah…… I heard from Grandpa Guan that your cooking’s really good- let’s give it a taste?” Lin Yi picked up a pair of chopsticks, a smile on his face.

“Ah…. Uh…… I have an idea, grandpa! Why don’t we eat instant noodles? It’ll be really nice to combo that with beer! What do you think?” Guan Xin stood up all of a sudden. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had instant noodles, too- let’s throw all this food away, okay? Instant noodles are really good.”

“Xin Xin!!” Xuemin was starting to get a little angry- what was with his granddaughter today? She’d been acting weird after seeing Lin Yi… Could he have misunderstood their relationship? Perhaps he was wrong to think that Guan Xin had a good impression of Lin Yi? It might actually be the other way around… Why would she ruin everything with this talk of throwing the food away for instant noodles all of a sudden otherwise??