Beauty and the Bodyguard Chapter 1 - Odd Assignment
Chapter 1 - Odd Assignment
“This is what you earned from that Africa job.” Old Lin pulled out a bundle wrapped in tattered, filthy rags, his fingers moving with exaggerated care. With great solemnity, he produced two wrinkled one-hundred rmb notes and pressed them into the hand of the boy watching him.
Lin Yi was speechless. He had just returned from a high-stakes, grueling mission that required him to face off against incredibly dangerous foes. The client’s profits had been massive! How was it possible that his cut was this pathetic?
Where on earth did this old geezer find such extreme assignments? The survival rate was barely ten percent, yet the pay always hovered between fifty and a few hundred kuai... There were even times when the reward was so insultingly low it didn't even hit double digits!
Internal curses flew through Lin Yi’s mind as the old man placed the cash in his palm.
He was an orphan who had grown up without a mother from a very young age.
However, Old Lin had spent fifteen years teaching him kung fu and providing a homeschool education. He was highly skilled in both scholarly pursuits and martial arts. Had he lived in ancient times, he would have been a high-ranking official at the very least—yet here he was, living like a common servant. What kind of life was this?
He had heard that even manual laborers at construction sites could make tens of thousands a year... yet Lin Yi’s life-threatening exploits brought in less than two thousand annually!
“Old man... you’re kidding, right? Two hundred? Are you skimming my rewards?” This wasn't the first time Lin Yi had felt suspicious, but the old man’s lifestyle was identical to his own. They wore the same rags and ate the same cheap food. He didn't look like a man hiding a fortune.
“You should be grateful you have any money to complain about. You think it's easy to make a living?” Old Lin remarked, rolling his eyes. “If you don't want it, give it back. It’s been a while since I treated myself to a meal at Widow Wang’s place.”
“......” Lin Yi had a strong urge to pummel the old man, but he knew better—he would just end up being the one getting thrashed again.
There was much he didn't know, but he understood one thing: the old man never went all out during their sparring sessions. Every time Lin Yi achieved a breakthrough, his mentor would simply adjust his strength to match the new level and proceed to wreck him anyway.
“Anyway, the time has come... After all these years of Cultivation and training, I think you're ready for the big one.” Old Lin kept his head down, focused on crushing beans in a pit as he prepared their food. “Complete this single mission successfully, and you'll be set for life!!”
“For real?!” Ever since Old Lin had rescued him from a scrap heap, Lin Yi knew all his studies and training were leading up to a final, massive assignment. Still, he couldn't help but feel skeptical—could the payout truly be so massive that he'd never have to work again?
“When have I ever deceived you?” Old Lin barked, throwing more beans into the pit. “Are you taking the job or not? If not, I'll just find someone else.”
“No, I'll take it! Of course I'm doing it!” Lin Yi replied instantly. Who would be stupid enough to pass this up? A single mission in exchange for a lifetime of ease? He was more than willing to put his life on the line for that.
“Hmm... Very well. Head to Songshan and find a company called Pengzhan Industries. Seek out a man named Chu Pengzhan; he’ll give you the details.” A sly grin flickered across the old man’s face. “But you should think this through... Once you accept, there’s no backing out.”
“Why? Are they going to trap me even if things get suicidal?” Lin Yi wasn't the type to play the selfless hero—he had no intention of doing something that would inevitably lead to his death.
“Ah, my little Yi... I’ve raised you for fifteen years... provided your food and water... I even got you a laptop and a 3G card...” The old man began to nag, rolling his eyes again. “Don't bombard me with questions when I give you such a simple task!! Don't push me, you little brat!!”
“Dammit!!” Lin Yi was irritated by the old man’s guilt-tripping. “Yeah, you raised me... for the first three years! From age six onwards, I was the one cooking, gathering firewood, and weaving straw sandals to earn money for you! Don't you push me!”
“I know exactly what you’ve been doing at night with your hand and that laptop!” Old Lin snapped with a sharp glare. “That’s right—you thought I didn't see? You brought this on yourself! Furthermore, you even—”
“Fine, fine! I’ll finish the mission, okay?” Lin Yi cut him off, his face flushing deep red with shame. He hadn't realized the old man was onto him; he thought he’d been incredibly discreet with his late-night activities. If he let the old man keep talking, some very embarrassing details were bound to come out.
And so, Lin Yi packed his bags and boarded a train heading north. After traveling thousands of miles, he arrived at the bustling, international hub of Songshan.
While on the train, Lin Yi vowed to be much more observant of his surroundings when handling his private business at night from now on.
Despite everything, he felt a genuine spark of excitement for this mission. It was the dream he’d been waiting for—a job with a reward large enough to allow for early retirement. Based on Old Lin’s tone, it was clearly a difficult task, but that didn't bother him. A difficult mission brought a certain thrill, after all.
Suddenly, a loud ‘pop’ came from a freckled man sitting across from Lin Yi. The man had just opened a can of cola and immediately began drinking. He casually tossed the pull-tab onto the floor.
A man with a crewcut nearby acted casual as he picked up the tab, lifting it up to inspect it. After turning it over a few times, he suddenly shouted, “Whoa!!! Whoa, look! First prize!!”
The crewcut man’s shout couldn't drown out the train's roar, but it was loud enough to grab the attention of everyone nearby. They all turned to look, including the freckled man who had just discarded the tab.
Seeing the tab, the freckled man panicked, realizing it was the one he’d just thrown away. “Give that back, it belongs to me...”
“Yours? What? I don't see your name on it!” the man shouted back, clutching the tab tightly and glaring. “Is your name 'First Prize'?”
“No, no... I mean, I'm the one who threw that winning tab on the ground...” The freckled man seemed intimidated, but he wasn't ready to let go of what he believed was his property.
The crewcut man just snorted. “You said it yourself—you threw it away. Since you abandoned it, it belongs to whoever picks it up.”
“Hey, what the hell? What is wrong with you??” The freckled man grew more frantic and turned to a traveler sitting across from him. It was a man wearing glasses, seated right next to Lin Yi. “Sir, you look like a scholar. Can you please talk some sense into this thief?”
“Me, a thief? You’re the thief!” The other man, annoyed, also turned to the scholar. “Sir, you tell us—who does this tab belong to?”
“Hmm...” The man with glasses adjusted his spectacles with a finger. “I am a university professor. Since you both trust my judgment, I will provide a fair solution to this dilemma.”
“Please do!” Both the freckled man and the crewcut man nodded together, looking anxious as they watched the self-proclaimed professor.
“Strictly speaking, the tab originated from this gentleman’s soda can, so it should naturally be his...” The freckled man began to smile at the professor’s words, while the crewcut man started to panic and tried to speak. The professor raised a hand to silence him before continuing. “However... this man did discard the tab, and you, sir, were the one who found it. It is only logical that you should be the one to claim the prize...”
“But sir... you just said it was mine...” the freckled man muttered, his face turning pale.
“How about this... why don't you two split the winnings? It would be perfectly fair if you shared the prize!”
“Sharing it...” The crewcut man paused for a moment. “Fine. I can agree to that.”
The man likely saw the weakness in his own argument; meanwhile, the freckled man knew the tab was physically in the other guy’s hand. If he rejected the deal the crewcut man accepted, he might get nothing at all. Half a prize was better than zero.
“Fine, we split it,” the freckled man agreed.
The professor took the tab and scrutinized it. “Well... it says here the first prize is one hundred thousand rmb... After a twenty percent tax, you’ll have eighty thousand left. Redeeming the ticket is quite a hassle, though... How about one of you pays the other thirty thousand, and that person can keep the ticket and claim the full eighty thousand? Does that sound fair?”
“Yeah, that works.” The freckled man seemed content as long as he got paid, agreeing instantly as he turned to the other man. “Give me thirty thousand then, and you can be the one to go redeem the ticket!”
Lin Yi leaned back in his seat, silently enjoying the performance these scammers were putting on.