Chapter 3: The Conscripted Employee

Tianhe City is a highly developed metropolis. Even well past midnight, the streets remain brilliantly lit, with colorful neon lights adorning numerous buildings, prolonging the bustle of the day.

Inside the car, silence reigned.

Ling Xuan clearly feigned ignorance. "What do you mean 'recognized'? How could I possibly know you?"

"Then why did you fire me?"

"I am the boss; do I need a reason to fire someone?" Ling Xuan’s voice turned icy.

It seems I could now be certain that she really had recognized me. Before this, I had been somewhat anxious, not knowing how to face her or what her reaction would be. Now, seeing her like this, I felt relieved. I smiled lightheartedly and said, "What if I don't leave?"

"If you don't leave, there’s no million dollars, and no salary!" Ling Xuan’s voice grew even colder, her face a mask of frost.

"I’m not short on money." I turned my head and smiled brightly. "Young Miss, your attitude is a bit unusual!"

Ling Xuan turned her head to avoid my gaze, biting her lower lip. After a pause, she said coldly, "What exactly do you want?"

I leaned back against the seat, smiling with composed ease. "Fine! I agree—I won't be the security guard at your company anymore."

Ling Xuan looked up, a flicker of surprise and faint, unintended relief crossing her face.

"However," I continued with a smile, "I’ve decided that from this day forward, I’ll be your driver and bodyguard. I haven't bought a car anyway, and this one is quite comfortable to drive!"

Since time immemorial, it has always been the boss who appoints the employee, but today, I was forcing the employee position upon her!

Ling Xuan froze, her expression turning incredibly ugly. She glared at me with her large, dark eyes, her voice filled with a chill that could freeze everything. "Aren't you afraid I’ll call the police?"

My smile faded slightly. "My name is Chu Fan now; what good will calling the police do? Besides, would you really call them?"

Ling Xuan lowered her head and said nothing. A moment later, the sound of sobbing emerged.

Taken aback, I quickly sat up straight and said softly, "It’s not that I don't want to leave, but your current situation is too dangerous. I cannot leave."

*Bang!*

Suddenly, something dark came flying at me. It was Ling Xuan’s handbag.

She finally erupted, crying out, "I don't need you to manage my affairs! I don't want to see you again. Get out! Get out!"

I remained silent, opened the car window, and pulled out a Zhongnanhai cigarette to light it.

"No smoking in my car! Get out!" Ling Xuan shrieked, breaking into a loud wail.

I had no choice but to toss the cigarette away.

Ling Xuan curled up, covering her face with her hands, crying louder and louder. I didn't know if it was the hardship of these past years, the fear she’d just experienced, or the unbearable past finally surfacing all at once, but she was inconsolable.

Not knowing what to say, I slowly pulled the car over to the side.

Ling Xuan cried for several full minutes. Suddenly, with a light click, she opened the door and ran out. I quickly followed, rushed over, and grabbed her.

Ling Xuan immediately turned and began punching and kicking me. Her blows felt like nothing more than a tickle, so I let her vent. After a while, she grew tired and crouched on the ground, sobbing again.

The streetlights cast a golden glow. There were no pedestrians, and only the occasional car sped by. The air held a slight chill. I crouched beside her, gently placing an arm around her shoulders, and said softly, "Let's get back in the car."

Ling Xuan shook her shoulders violently, stopped crying, and stood up coldly. Her face was devoid of expression. "Do not appear before me again. Let us go our separate ways. Don't let me see you again."

With that, she headed straight for the driver's seat. Since the engine was still running, she could leave immediately.

I grabbed her, pushed her back against the car, and looked directly into her eyes. "I was a victim back then too, forced to leave my home and struggling on the edge of life and death countless times. Now that I’m back, I never intended to entangle myself with you, but since I’ve happened upon you while you’re in danger, I will absolutely not stand idly by."

Damn that He Hu. Once I find him, I’ll make sure to finish him!

With tear-stained cheeks, Ling Xuan sneered, "Then why do you care? Guilt? If you were a victim too, what is there to feel guilty about? I will hire bodyguards; I don't need you to worry about it."

I smiled proudly. "I am the best bodyguard! Enough, stop struggling. You’re stuck with me as your bodyguard!"

Ling Xuan flew into a rage, shoved me hard, and roared, "Who do you think you are, forcing me like this? You beast, you scum—get out! Get out!"

"Enough!" I barked. "Keep this up, and I might just do what I did back then!"

Ling Xuan froze, pressing herself tightly against the car in fear, eyeing me with a trace of terror. I softened my expression into a gentle smile, reached out to wipe the tears from her face, and said softly, "Be good, listen to me. I’m handling your situation, and that’s final."

Ling Xuan bit her lip, glaring at me intensely.

"Yo! Still playing the romantic in the middle of the night?"

I turned to see five young men in flashy clothes with brightly dyed hair, staggering toward us, looking quite drunk.

My expression remained unchanged. I said quietly, "Get back in the car first. Being this beautiful, you might invite a bloody disaster."

Ling Xuan didn't move, her eyes still locked on me.

The five hoodlums soon reached us. Their eyes swept over Ling Xuan, and they all lit up.

"What a beautiful babe!"

"Which big company is this office lady from? That elegance, that figure, that face—I can't handle this."

"Hey, beauty, is this jerk bullying you? How about we teach him a lesson for you? You just need to reward us a little, heh heh."

The five thugs surrounded us, spouting lewd nonsense and ogling Ling Xuan.

I took out a cigarette, lit it slowly, turned around to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Ling Xuan, and lazily draped an arm around her shoulders, smiling. "See? This is exactly why you need a bodyguard!"

The five thugs swayed in front of us, arms linked. The one in the middle, with yellow hair, glared at me with murderous intent. "Damn it! Kid, you’re pretty arrogant! Get lost! We’ve got dibs on this beauty tonight!"

*Puff!*

I blew a cloud of smoke slowly into the yellow-haired man’s face and smiled. "If you don't want to die, get lost early. Don't disturb me and my girlfriend."

Ling Xuan moved, shaking off my arm, and glared at me furiously.

"Motherf***er!"

The five hoodlums flew into a rage and charged at us simultaneously.

*Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!*

Five lightning-fast kicks connected, and the five thugs immediately clutched their groins and fell to the ground, howling in pain.

One of them cursed, "Damn you, kid! You’re dead! Do you know who our boss is..."

I delivered a kick, and the hoodlum let out a scream, flying two meters away and crashing into the bushes by the roadside.

The other four were terrified and scrambled to crawl away, but they were in too much pain to stand. They were still arrogant, however, shouting, "Damn you! I swear, you’re dead! Our boss is Brother Hu! Do you know Brother Hu? The king of the South District! One word from him and you’ll be chopped into meat paste! You and your family will be finished..."

"Too noisy!" My face darkened. I walked over and kicked the one who was speaking, sending him flying into the bushes. As the other three tried to flee, I kicked them one by one into the brush as well.

From the bushes, only their weak, fading groans could be heard; they could no longer speak.

"King of the South District, my foot!" I cursed. I took a deep breath, turned around, and saw that Ling Xuan had already jumped into the driver's seat.

"Hey! Wait!"

I was shocked and lunged forward. The car surged forward, but I managed to grab the handle of the passenger door, yank it open, and dive inside like a flash.

*Screech!*

The car came to a sudden halt. My body lurched forward.

"Get out!" Ling Xuan glared at me, shouting coldly.

I took a puff of my cigarette and smiled. "Young Miss, that’s not very well-behaved! A dignified company president playing such dirty tricks."

Ling Xuan frowned, glaring at me, her nose twitching as if she were deeply annoyed. I opened the window, tossed the cigarette away, and turned to look at her with a smile.

We stared at each other.

Ling Xuan said coldly, "What exactly will it take for you to leave?"

"Stop talking nonsense. A stunning beauty like you attracts trouble everywhere you go. It’s really not safe without a bodyguard." My eyes swept lightly over her chest, which looked as if it were stuffed with two coconuts.

Ling Xuan glared at me for a while, her eyes suddenly welling up with tears, sparkling and bright.

I’d won!

I quickly said, "Alright, alright, don't be like that. Drive!"

Ling Xuan sniffled, paused, gritted her teeth, and slammed on the accelerator. The car roared away.

"Damn! Young Miss, slow down!"