Beauty and the Bodyguard

Chapter 103 - Fried Mushrooms and Waste Oil

Mengyao's eyes lit up as she looked at Lin Yi coming out from the fitting room.

She hadn't thought of him as a farmer since a long time ago, ever since he'd changed out of his village clothes- but Lin Yi in casual clothes was really something else!

Hmph, pretty handsome fella, aren't you! No wonder you're so good with girls, even Song Lingshan's throwing herself all over you. Mengyao was starting to get frustrated again- she shouldn't have insisted on getting him new clothes.

"Woah, Yao Yao, look! Shield Guy looks so good!! He's a pretty qualified shield now, don't you think!!" Yushu exclaimed excitedly as she looked at Lin Yi's new image.

"How do I look?" Lin Yi had considered getting a suit, but decided otherwise and went with two sets of casual clothing instead- he'd look like hired muscle if he followed the Miss around in a black suit.

"Ugly." Mengyao said with a yawn as she glanced at Lin Yi uncaringly.

"Ahaha……" Lin Yi smiled before looking at Yushu. "What do you think?"

"Uhh……" Yushu glanced at Mengyao, feeling a little guilty as she spoke. "It's... okay…"

"I'll just get these then." Lin Yi said as he pulled out the bank card Li Fu had gotten him.

"Let me- I did say I was gonna pay." Mengyao said as she got up from the chair.

Lin Yi only shrugged- there was no point in fighting over who got to pay, there was nothing to prove here. The money in his card was from Chu Pengzhan, after all, and the money in Mengyao's card was from Chu Pengzhan as well.

There was no difference whatsoever.

"We're finished- anything else you wanna buy?" Mengyao asked as she swiped her card.

"I was actually thinking of getting a laptop." Lin Yi said after some thought.

"Oh, a laptop? Shu, don't you have one that you don't use anymore? Maybe give it to Lin Yi." Mengyao was a bit tired, and there weren't any laptops in the establishment they were at. They'd have to walk pretty far to another place for stuff like that.

"Sure." Yushu said, not thinking much of it- there were always better, updated laptops coming out, and there was a computer in Mengyao's home anyway, and it'd probably be time to get a new laptop by the time she stopped living with Mengyao, so why not give Lin Yi a laptop to use?

The girls had spoken, and Lin Yi didn't say anything else- it was really all the same anyway. The three then made their way out the building, and Lin Yi noticed the huge line at the parking lot gate. Mengyao wasn't actually that bad, now that he thought about it- she didn't mind a fine, but she really could've just given Li Fu a call and got him to arrange a spot reserved for her. The owner of the complex would've probably let Mengyao have his parking spot if things went that far, too.

Mengyao took a look at her car before giving Lin Yi the keys. "Why don't you drive the car out here."

Lin Yi smiled bitterly as he took over the keys- the two cars squeezing the Audi were still there, and Mengyao wouldn't be able to get the car out from that narrow fit.

Naturally, it wasn't a problem for Lin Yi- he got the car going and started moving back and forth a bit before easing the car out of the space. He then got himself to the back of the car initiatively.

"You still want me to be your driver?" Mengyao said, a little upset.

"But… I don't have a licence……" Lin Yi answered helplessly. "What I get detained for fifteen days…"

"......" Mengyao was speechless. Who would detain you when you're at that stage with Song Lingshan… Mengyao decided to keep her thoughts to herself as she started the car.

"Yao Yao, are we getting fried mushrooms today?" There was a street full of food stands some distance away from the business district, and the two had visited the place the last time they shopped here. Needless to say, Yushu fell in love with a particular fried mushroom stand.

Mengyao was about to say 'sure' when she remembered Lin Yi, who was sitting quietly at the back. She turned around to face him. "Hey, are you going? I'll drop you off at home if you aren't."

"Yeah I'll go, why not- we're just eating right? That's my specialty!" Lin Yi nodded seriously.

"......" Mengyao didn't know what to say, it was her first time hearing someone priding himself on his ability to eat… Mengyao wanted to ask him if pooping was also his specialty, but decided otherwise- it wasn't very proper for a lady to speak such vulgarities, after all.

"Ha, Shield Guy! Same here! I'm also an eating specialist!" Yushu added excitedly, as if fate had brought the two specialists together.

Mengyao was absolutely speechless at that point…… Embarassing, it was downright embarrassing!

"I like fried mushrooms, what about you?" Yushu continued excitedly, failing to notice Mengyao's reaction to their discussion.

"I like chicken popcorn." Lin Yi said.

Mengyao cleared her throat softly- she couldn't take it anymore. "Haven't you guys heard of waste oil?"

"Yeah, but Yao Yao- we're talking about fried mushrooms, what does waste oil have to do with mushrooms?" Yushu asked dumbly.

"Ugh……" Mengyao groaned quietly as she slammed her foot down the pedal, launching the S5 forward- it was her only way of escape left… She'd been utterly defeated.

Lin Yi, on the other hand, was thinking about something else. I don't remember Yushu being the slow type? Lin Yi couldn't wrap his head around why Yushu couldn't make the connection between waste oil and fried mushrooms, but one look at that subtle smile on her lips and Lin Yi understood instantly: the girl was doing it on purpose.

There were no parking spaces on the food street, but there were no signs prohibiting parking at the same time… The road was littered with cars, as a result. Mengyao frowned- looking for a place to park was always the most troublesome part.

The demand for private cars in Songshan saw a shocking rise the past two years, and it was right after Mengyao had gotten her licence, too…

"You park." Mengyao said to Lin Yi as she got out the car. "I'll go get something to eat with Shu, you can go eat whatever you want later. Don't mind us."

"Kay." Lin Yi got out the car before re-entering through the opposite door. He found a small opening nearby and parked the car- it didn't seem like it'd block anyone's way. He was pretty understanding of Mengyao's decision to separate them, too, since eating at food stalls like this was a bit of a sensitive matter to girls like her. They wouldn't be able to go all out with him watching them eat, and while Yushu didn't mind, Mengyao did- the Miss was quite reserved, and Lin Yi didn't want to ruin her appetite if possible.

Chapter 104 - Meeting Tang Yin Again

Lin Yi leaned back comfortably against the Audi S5 upon getting out of the car, taking in the nice, busy food street as he relaxed.

"So peaceful… How long has it been?" Lin Yi contemplated. It was always work back then- even if he'd chanced upon a bustling street like this it'd always be prioritized for filling up his belly. He simply had no luxury to use looking at scenery.

"Fuu……" The oily smoke coming from the various stands filled the air, along with some mixed smells from rotten leaves… There was no freshness in the air, like the kind you'd find in mountains, but the life in the street invigorated Lin Yi.

He wondered when he'd be able to live a commoner's life like this, going shopping and eating at food stands like these- how meaningful a life that'd be!

Lin Yi stretched a little as he opened his eyes…

"Ugh…" Lin Yi saw two females walking in his direction, mother and daughter… They were pushing a three-wheeled cart filled with stools and barbeque supplies, evidently here to have their stand set up.

It could only be Tang Yin and her mom…

Tang Yin obviously saw him, but averted her gaze- Mrs. Tang, on the other hand, missed Lin Yi completely, naturally not greeting him as well.

Lin Yi took a look at his own posture on the Audi S5- he was leaning back on the sports car lavishly, very much like something a rich kid would do to show off to a poor girl he was interested in……

But it wasn't like that- Lin Yi had no intentions of doing so! All he wanted to do was think about life a bit as he leaned on something, what sort of coincidence would just send Tang Yin his way like that..?

Lin Yi rubbed his chin awkwardly, deciding to get away from the car and head to where the mother and daughter were. He'd seen them anyway- it'd be a bit disrespectful if he didn't make some sort of greeting, at least.

"Hi there, aunty!" Lin Yi said, a little embarrassingly. The woman was his elder, and there was no way he could just pretend not have seen her and turn the other way.

"Ah? You are…" Mrs. Tang couldn't recognize Lin Yi from a first glance- he'd just gotten himself some casual clothes, after all, even leaning against an Audi.

"It's me, Lin Yi… I went to your stand with my friend yesterday……" Lin Yi reminded.

"Oh, it's you! I remember!" Mr.s Tang said, a little taken aback. She knew that the kid was a big shot if even Zou Ruoming feared him, but she didn't know what kind of family background the kid had. She hadn't an idea how much that car she was seeing right now was worth, but it became a given that Lin Yi's family wasn't a common one. Lin Yi's casual clothes made him look a lot more good looking than when he was in his uniform yesterday, and Mrs. Tang found herself liking the kid even more. "Yin, why don't you say hi to your classmate?"

"Hmph!" Tang Yin raised her head unwillingly and looked at Lin Yi, wondering how he found out about her mom setting up a stand here during the weekend. How shameless could the guy get, coming here early to wait for them like that? "What're you doing here?"

"Uh… to eat…" Lin Yi answered with a bitter smile as the girl glared at her.

"Yin! Can't you talk a little more nicely?" Mrs. Tang was quite displeased with her daughter's attitude- not only did this boy save Tang Yin from Zou Ruoming's clutches, he even got him to pay Mrs. Tang back for her losses! She was pretty sure that she'd have a peaceful time setting up her stand from now on, since the other students would most likely leave her alone after what Lin Yi had done. Needless to say, she had only gratitude for him… But what was with her daughter? She seemed to always be against the kid! "Of course he's here to eat, what else?"

Tang Yin only shot a violent glare at Lin Yi after the scolding- she didn't deserve this! With that, she turned away and started ignoring him.

"...This kid… Mister Lin, I hope you don't mind…" Mrs. Tang said apologetically, making sure to add an honorific to his name as well, now that she had a better idea of who Lin Yi was.

"It's okay, really. Also, please- just call me Lin Yi……" Lin Yi said, not quite expecting this continued personality from Tang Yin; he hoped that she'd be able to preserve that- after all, pride was rare in poor families. Lin Yi, as a result, found Tang Yin growing on him a bit.

Evidently speechless at her daughter's attitude, Mrs. Tang pushed her cart away with Tang Yin after chatting a bit with Lin Yi.

Lin Yi shook his head as he followed behind, making sure to keep a huge distance between them. He didn't want Tang Yin accusing him of stalking her…

Lin Yi got himself two skewers of chicken popcorn as he walked, trying to remember the last time he'd had chicken popcorn as he stuffed them into his mouth- quite a number of years ago.

He noticed Mrs. Tang setting her stand up, but Lin Yi decided that he wasn't very keen on going- the food was good, but he didn't really want to get glared at by Tang Yin again…

He slipped past them quickly and spotted Mengyao and Yushu at the end of the street- they were helping themselves to some Shanxi cold noodles, clearly very spicy from how red the contents inside the bowls looked.

Mengyao was two mouthfuls in when she stuck her tongue out to fan at it, evidently not quite managing to handle the hotness. Yushu was cooling her tongue down with a drink, as well.

The two were safe, but Lin Yi didn't dare get close to them- he didn't want them to stop enjoying themselves if they noticed him, going all reserved and everything. The two were ladies, after all.

They were a lot more violent with their food than they were back home, that was for sure.

"Can I have some wonton noodles, please?" Lin Yi said as he seated himself at one of the stands.

"Sure thing, kid!" The owner replied with a smile as he prepared the noodles for Lin Yi.

Lin Yi's hunger wasn't quite satisfied with a couple of skewers and side dishes here and there, so he decided to go for a full bowl of wonton noodles instead.

He made sure to keep an eye on the girls as he ate. The two went to a fried mushroom stand, but Mengyao didn't seem very keen on eating any. Theyfought for a bit before Mengyao sat down with Yushu unwillingly.

Lin Yi grinned a little at the argument- even the two besties had differing opinions at times. He paid for the noodles before getting up for something else to eat.