Beauty and the Bodyguard

“No, I’ll wait for you!” Captain Feng was feeling rather troubled. What was up with his daughter today? She really was acting very odd.

But she did agree to come on her own, so he didn’t really have anything to complain about.

Xiaoxiao had actually said yes this quickly because Lin Yi was away from school on a trip. She could practically see how much of an impact it’d have on Tang Yin if she were to disappear at the same time!

_Hmph! Heh, that’s what you get for messing with me. You had this coming!_ Xiaoxiao raised a clenched fist before turning and walking down the stairs. She stepped out the school gates and saw the Audi A61 parked right outside. Without saying anything, she opened the door and got in.

“Xiaoxiao, the person treating you this time is a colleague of mine! He’s an expert on hereditary diseases!” Captain Feng said with a kind look after Xiaoxiao got in the car.

Captain Feng’s name was Feng Tianlong,1 a special ops agent who couldn’t be by Xiaoxiao’s side all the time because of his work. It was unfortunate, but Tianlong didn’t regret it. He’d chosen this path, and he had to walk on.

“Oh, another expert, I see,” Xiaoxiao replied quietly. She’d met with these so-called experts countless times since she was a kid, and it’d always been a disappointment. Xiaoxiao was nearly numb to it.

Rather than use her time for these medical pursuits, she thought it’d make more sense for her to freely experience her youth, enjoy life. At least she’d die without regrets when the day did come.

Tianlong shook his head at his daughter’s attitude, but it was within expectations. He didn’t say anything.

In truth, he didn’t feel very optimistic himself anymore, but as long as there was one sliver of hope, he wanted his daughter to live… healthy and well.

***

The plane slowly landed in Yanjing, and Lin Yi, Xuemin, and Fatty Lai exited the plane together before entering a hotel that Fatty Lai had booked beforehand.

“Boss, the three Pills of Life Extension and Toxin Cleansing we’re auctioning… are they really enough?” Fatty Lai asked carefully.

“The rarer something is, the more valuable, right? Plus, we’re not really here just for profit anyway. The goal is to make our name known.” Lin Yi smiled.

“I see…” Fatty Lai did agree with what Lin Yi said, but he was actually a little greedy himself. If there were only three of these pills, then the chance he’d be able to get one was a little too small for his liking. If there was just a bit more he’d have a chance.

However, this wasn’t something he could say to Lin Yi. Fatty Lai could only keep it to himself.

He’d been communicating with the auction managers beforehand, and after going through the straightforward procedures, everything was set up. They only needed to provide the auction items and a base price for the items, and they’d be good to go.

The host of the auction, on the other hand, didn’t carry out any verification processes on the auction items, except for those who applied for a verification test on their items. Evidently, even the host understood that some rarities simply couldn’t be verified in such a short period of time. There was also the fact that the attendants of the auction were exclusively people from higher society, and none of the auctioneers would want to damage their own reputation with fake goods.

There’d been cases of fake auction items in the past, but even a one-time lie was enough to completely destroy the seller’s reputation. The host, House Yu, on the other hand, wasn’t a group anyone would want to cross either. Word was that the last time a seller pulled a stunt like that a couple years back, the Yus took action and bankrupted them.

But the item that Fatty Lai was auctioning off had one of the lower price tags placed on it, despite how amazing of a description he’d given it. It was given a base price of one million.

Fatty Lai didn’t bother explaining too much. He decided to just settle with one million, since that would be nowhere near the price they’d be getting in the future. For him, he’d pay one hundred million without hesitation for the item, let alone one million.

***

Xiao Residence, Yanjing.

Miracle Doctor Kang was visiting the two brothers of House Xiao, Xiao Ji and Xiao Ben, with Guifeng and Zhaolong.

The elder of House Xiao had passed, and Xiao Ji and Xiao Ben had fallen from their past glory. The Xiaos might be a lower-end house of the powerful top tiers, but they still expressed a warm welcome in response to the Kang visit.

“Miracle Doctor Kang, you should have just let Big Bro Guifeng come! You didn’t need to visit yourself, it’s such an honor!” Xiao Ji seemed quite excited at Miracle Doctor Kang’s arrival. If they hit this marriage alliance off properly, the Xiaos would have credibility and funds from the bank once more, along with the support of their business partners. It’d turn things around for them.

“It’s almost time for House Yu’s auction, so I just came along for the visit.” Miracle Doctor Kang smiled.

“The Yu auction…” Xiao Ji paused. “Isn’t that auction hosted every August?”

“It’s starting early this year, haven’t you heard?” MIracle Doctor paused as well. The Xiaos might be on the bottom end of the most powerful houses, but they should still be included in the invitation list…. Why did they look like they haven’t even heard of the news?

Especially when even an outlander like him did. The Xiaos were based in Yanjing. It didn’t make sense for them to be unaware.

“We have… Hah, brother, the invitation’s with me. I put it aside when we were busy with the funeral, I forgot to tell you,” Xiao Ben said with a smile after his face darkened a little.

He was a smart man, and so he lied. In truth, the Xiaos hadn’t even received an invitation! It was extremely angering that they’d just stop sending the invitation after their old man passed. What did the Yus think they were doing?

“I see, so it’s with you. I thought they’d missed us.” Xiao Ji nodded with a smile. “So it’s starting early! I wonder if you have anything you must have from this year’s auction, Elder Kang?”

“The catalog will only be announced on the day of the auction. We’ll have to wait and see!” Miracle Doctor Kang shook his head with a smile.

Xiao Ben’s heart sank a little. Once, during their days of glory, the Xiaos would receive most of the catalogued auction items a couple days early. He’d enjoyed such power with his brother in those times! The things they’d circle in the catalog would always end up belonging to them, without fail.

But now they weren’t even bothering to send them an invitation! The Xiaos might be poor now, but they were still a powerful house! Where did they get off looking down on them with such contempt?

“Of course, of course!” Xiao Ben quickly said after noticing how his elder brother was thinking about showing off their past glory. “I’m afraid we won’t be able to get any items from the auction by then! We’re not even sure if we’ll go; there’s just so much to handle in the family these days!”

Xiao Ben decided to preemptively lay down an excuse for his absence.

“Right, Guifeng, where’s the gift?” Miracle Doctor Kang looked at Guifeng.

“Here!” Guifeng waved to Zhaolong, who stood by the door. He quickly walked over to his father.

“Uncle Xiao, Second Uncle Xiao, this is a box of Golden Creation medicine of the highest quality. Please accept it!” Zhaolong graciously presented the box, full of respect.

Xiao Ji and Xiao Ben’s eyes lit up when they heard it was high quality Golden Creation. This was a box that had been auctioned for more than dozens of millions before! Selling it would surely delay the fire of poverty engulfing the Xiao family.

* * *

1. Tianlong literally translates into Sky Dragon. Kinda cringy even in Chinese