Beauty and the Bodyguard

“We’re almost done, we’re almost done!” Pinliang started panicking at the thought of Mengyao going to someone else. “Xiaofu, did you not eat breakfast? Pump harder!”

“I did, but I puked it out. No, not puke, I sh*t it out!” Xiaofu explained.

Pinliang’s face darkened, feeling a little awkward. This bastard sure liked bringing up all the embarrassing stuff! Did he forget that he had sh*t too, in his pants, no less? He quickly pushed the topic aside, worried that Yushu would laugh at him again. “Shut up and pump as hard as you can!”

Pinliang started blowing harder as well, making loud sounds as he blew at the charcoal.

“Alright, here goes!!” Xiaofu clenched his jaw and sped up once more. With an audible burst of flame, a wail from Pinliang and the smell of burnt hair followed.

Pinliang’s hair had been burnt and his face blackened. Fortunately for him, that spark of flame had lasted for only an instant. He would’ve lost his face otherwise.

“What’re you doing, Xiaofu!” Pinliang said, irritated. “You wanna burn me alive?”

“But Liang Bro, you told me to pump harder,” Xiaofu said plaintively.

Pinliang didn’t have much to say to that. He did tell Xiaofu to go faster. “Then keep it up. That burst was good. We’ll get the grill going soon!”

“Alright! I’ll pump harder!” Xiaofu nodded before roaring and pumping.

But Pinliang was scared to put his face too close to the grill this time around, blowing from afar instead. It didn’t work out as well as it had before, and without Pinliang’s help, even Xiaofu’s added speed wasn’t able to get the fire going.

Something snapped and Xiaofu fell on his ass, going “ack” as he landed on the sand. It would’ve been quite a fall if he’d landed on solid ground.

“What now?” Pinliang was getting pissed off. He’d wanted to show off in front of Mengyao and impress her, but there was problem after problem from the start!

“It broke! Liang Bro, the handle broke!” Xiaofu raised the pump handle with a sour face.

“Broke?” Pinliang fumed. What the hell kind of grill did Xiaofu bring. Did he bring it here to embarrass him??

“Man, you guys are way too unreliable!” Yushu shook her head in disappointment as she looked at Pinliang and Xiaofu. She turned away to see smoke rising by Lin Yi, much to her pleasant surprise. “See, someone else already has a fire going! I’m gonna go there.”

Yushu ran off as Pinliang frowned. It was Lin Yi who had started the fire!

“Liang Bro, I thought we weren’t allowed to bring sources of fire aboard the plane? How’d he start a fire?” XIaofu asked, confused.

“That’s right! We’re not allowed to bring fuel or lighters or anything on the plane! He must’ve hid them and broke the rules! Let’s go report him!” Pinliang was fed up, but seeing Yushu run over with Mengyao to Lin Yi made him panic. “Come on, let’s go confront him!”

Lin Yi got a couple of clams and crabs from the beach to roast. He wasn’t very interested in shark meat, and decided that he’d start a fire with some branches and make a meal himself.

He didn’t really talk much to his classmates other than Xiaobo, so nobody thought much of Lin Yi’s loner attitude.

“Boss, here are some clams! Is this enough?” Xiaobo released the clams he was storing in his shirt he using like a basket next to Lin Yi.

“Probably enough for the two of us,” Lin Yi said after glancing at the pile.

“I’m here too!” Xiaoxiao said worriedly. “I also wanna eat.”

“Go get some clams yourself!” Lin Yi said thinly as he eyed her. Who did this girl think she was? Did she think there was such a thing as a free lunch?

“Fine.” Xiaoxiao stood up and walked off to the sea, a little upset and irritated. What was with the horrible way Lin Yi treated her? Couldn’t he treat her a little bit nicer?

She reached the water to see that the clams in the shallow area had almost all been taken by Xiaobo. Annoyed, she decided that she’d have to go to deeper waters to find some.

Fortunately for Xiaoxiao, she knew how to swim. She’d only lied to Lin Yi to get him to teach her. Going into deep water wasn’t really dangerous for her.

“Boss, why can’t you act like a gentleman!” Xiaobo felt bad for Xiaoxiao. Personally, he would gladly roast some clams for a pretty girl if she asked him to.

But Xiaoxiao was chasing Lin Yi right now, so Xiaobo couldn’t court her. Lin Yi wouldn’t let him, anyway.

“Lin Yi! Where did you get your fire source?” Pinliang was pissed off. He felt like he held the moral high ground, and he was the one who got them a plane! He had the authority to question Lin Yi this way, so he did so confidently.

Lin Yi frowned and looked up at Pinliang. “What, do you need a stick up your ass?”

“You!” Pinliang was quite furious. He’d come here to denounce Lin Yi for his crimes, but the guy slapped him with a single reply! Yet, Pinliang wouldn’t back down at this time. He pointed at Lin Yi. “Sources of fire aren’t allowed on the plane, but you got on with firewood and a lighter! Did you even consider the safety of your classmates? Do you want me to call the police on you?”

Pinliang raised the stakes by involving everybody’s safety, and some of the onlookers who found Pinliang getting cocky started supporting him!

It was true. Didn’t Lin Yi just put everybody at risk by bringing prohibited items onto the plane?

“Did you see me bring firewood and a lighter onto the plane?” Lin Yi snorted. “You’re obviously here to cause trouble again.”

“How’d you start the fire without a fire source, then?” Pinliang was convinced that Lin Yi had broken the rules. He didn’t have anything to start the fire with. It had to be a lighter or firewood!

“Boss started the fire by drilling wood!” Xiaobo couldn’t stand there and take this anymore. This Pinliang just ran out and accused Lin Yi of using firewood and a lighter!

“Drilling wood?” Pinliang blinked before laughing loudly. “Are you kidding me? Starting a fire with drilling? Did you help yourself by using a magnifying glass?”

“Did you even go to elementary school? You don’t know that you can start fires by drilling wood?” Xiaobo rolled his eyes. He didn't want to ignore this guy.

“Do it again, then! If you can’t start a fire with wood drilling, I’m call the cops!” Pinliang roared with rage.

“Shield Br—no, Lin Yi! Show him how it’s done!” Yushu said without hesitation. She’d witnessed Lin Yi’s wood drilling firsthand, after all.