Beauty and the Bodyguard

“Yao Yao, what’s wrong?” Yushu was startled- what happened? Why was Mengyao tearing up like that?

“It’s nothing……” Mengyao sighed softly. “Shu, d’you think I crossed the line today?”

“Not at all!” Yushu picked up something from Mengyao’s words, and wondered if she was still hung up about the whole thing earlier. Was Yao Yao always so emotional like this?

“Maybe not, I guess… He doesn’t care anyway……” Mengyao said, shaking her head.

“Yao Yao… Your test paper..?” Yushu suddenly noticed the packed writing on the back of her friend’s test paper, a little surprised. “Shield Guy wrote all this for you? Wow, he’s really nice to you, isn’t he?”

No one would go to such lengths to squeeze in steps and explanations like that on someone else’s paper, let alone to that detail; people were better off doing that for their own test papers. It wasn’t a surprise then that Yushu would be shocked at Lin Yi’s actions, also understanding why Mengyao would even tear up upon seeing the gesture.

Mengyao left it at that, not saying anything else as she went back to her test paper. Yushu did the same soon afterward.

Mengyao wasn’t expecting this level of detail from Lin Yi- it was even more thorough than the explanations the teacher had provided! The guy was so minute with everything that it took her by complete surprise- Mengyao even started to suspect who Lin Yi actually was!

Who was this guy, and where did her father find him? She’d thought that he was some farmer who came into the city for work, but there was no way a farmer could solve twelfth grade math problems to this extent, was there?

Mengyao was even more so surprised when she got to the last problem- didn’t she answer it correctly? She was even feeling a bit smug as the teacher gave her explanation; there were a ton of her classmates that didn’t even get it right! Mengyao couldn’t help but feel some pride and satisfaction for her performance.

But Lin Yi’s suggested solution blew her mind- it was something she’d never even seen before, a lot more straightforward and simple than the method she’d employed!

Mengyao’s heart swelled up with emotions- this was genuine care for her well-being. Lin Yi wasn’t just throwing random stuff on her paper because her dad hired him! There was no reason whatsoever to go so far as to provide solutions from outside of school teachings just for her!

“Shu… Look at this one…” Mengyao sighed as she handed her test paper to Yushu.

“Hm?” Yushu assumed that Mengyao was having trouble with one of the questions and was asking for her help, but one look at the solution that Mengyao was pointing at and Yushu’s mouth gaped wide open. “Seriously? Is Shield Guy this overpowered?? He’s good at both fighting _and_ studying?! Yao Yao, you really got lucky this time!!”

“Lucky?” Mengyao asked, not quite understanding what the girl meant.

“You think it’s easy to come across a guy like this? You’d better make him yours soon, otherwise someone else will get him!!” Yushu continued.

“......” Mengyao only curled her lips in response. “Him? Who would want him?!”

“Hehe……” Yushu laughed slyly. “Plenty, Yao Yao. Just wait and see.”

Lin Yi gave the last two ribs to the general after finishing dinner- he’d wanted to make some noodles with those tomorrow, but Uncle Fu did say that he’d take care of all three meals during the weekends… The girls probably wouldn’t wake up very early on a saturday, and there wasn’t really a point for him to be making breakfast that early anyway.

He jumped in bed upon entering his room. A lot of things took place today, and he’d even spent hours on Huaijun’s medicine this afternoon… He didn’t feel like getting up after lying on the bed like that.

Skipping one day of training wouldn’t hurt, would it? Lin Yi thought in hesitation. He’d never slept after getting out of that cave, replacing it with training every single night… Luckily for him, the training fueled him with plenty of energy, completely replenishing him the way a ten hour sleep would’ve.

Lin Yi would never slack off back home, not when Old Lin was always staring at him. It was the same for when he went on missions, as well- he had to maintain a state of alert all the time, not even daring to properly go to bed.

A situation like this was a first- no old man staring at him, and no threat from a high-stakes mission. Lin Yi wanted to slack off!

Peace made people lazy, it seemed.

Lin Yi sighed. It really had been a long day, and he really didn’t want to do any training… A nice, healthy sleep would be real nice……

His surroundings started to gradually darken as Lin Yi seemed to enter a void of black space……

Lin Yi tensed up in alert instantly- where was he? Could he be dreaming?

As if sensing Lin Yi’s thoughts, the space brightened in an abrupt flash.

A human form then started to condense and appear in front of his eyes…

“Who.... are you?” Lin Yi asked subconsciously.

It’d been years since he’d experienced a dream, and Lin Yi didn’t quite remember how it was supposed to feel like. Was he really dreaming tonight?

“I’m Jiao……” The human shape took the form of an elderly man, an aura of a seasoned master permeating from him. His voice was indifferent as he spoke.

“Hah? Sex?” (‘My family name is Jiao’ in chinese sounds like the word intercourse..) Lin Yi only looked at the old man, stunned. _What’s with this guy, sex? He’s lower than I am! Wait, I’m in a dream, so it’s my fault? Is it because of all that p*rn I watch?_

“Ugh……” The old man only blinked awkwardly in response. “My family name is Jiao- people refer to me as Jiao Yazi.” (Fang) (On a side note, Heibao means black panther)

“Huh? Feet?” (Jiao Yazi sounds like feet…) Lin Yi didn’t know how to react- what was up with his dream? Was it some sort of comedy?

Jiao Yazi didn’t know what to say as well- it’d been many years since someone called him by that nickname, and he didn’t expect this kid to bring it back up again. He wasn’t very happy about that. “It’s Jiao Yazi, not jiaoyazi! Don’t disrespect me, kid!”

“Sorry, Elder Jiao… I misheard…” Lin Yi apologized, feeling bad. Though, the guy was a dream character… He didn’t have to care at all, did he?

“You must think you’re in a dream right now.” Jiao Yazi said with a cold laugh, as if reading Lin Yi’s mind.

“Huh? Am I not?” Lin Yi asked curiously, startled by the statement.

“Why don’t you give yourself a pinch, see if that hurts?” Jiao Yazi said mockingly. “Never imagined that my master’s ancestors would seal a part of my image in the jade… A fated one’s finally come- though you do look pretty dumb.”

vote for the tsundere

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don't ask me about the tree sap