Beauty and the Bodyguard

Chapter 189 - Just Thrash Them

"B-Bro… Do you n-need anything……" Biaogan stuttered as his face paled.

Both the skinny man and barbeque woman evidently knew who Lin Yi was, as well- everyone knew Master Lin, the tyrant from whom Ruoming had ran away from!!

Lin Yi was an infamous character at this point, and Biaogan's eyes widened as he recognized Kang Xiaobo- it was the guy who'd talked to him earlier today!

The kid was a follower of Lin Yi?! A sudden thought surfaced as Biaogan understood the gravity of the situation- Lin Yi had slapped Ruoming for Tang Yin in the first place!!

Tang Yin was none other than the daughter of Mrs. Tang, and they were bullying them! Lin Yi was here to stand up for them, and Biaogan's face whitened further as he considered the possibility… How could he have missed a detail like that?

They'd bullied the Tangs on the premise that they had no man to look after them, but here he was- Lin Yi was the man, a monster!

"You want the recipe, right?" Lin Yi had compassion for the street vendors- after all, they worked their asses off every day for not that much at all- but it didn't justify their bullying. Mrs. Tang was working her ass off, too, and their jealousy and behavior infuriated Lin Yi.

"Ah…...No… Not anymore… I was just joking……" Biaogan wasn't even interested in the recipe at this point- from what he could see, rich young masters like these could beat him up all they wanted, and this was a man who could beat Zou Ruoming up all he wanted! How was a man like him supposed to stand against a power level like this?

"I was the one who gave them the recipe- I can give you one if you want." Lin Yi said as het let go of Biaogan, who slipped and fell on his butt.

"No, no… I really don't want it……" Biaogan said quickly- he was trying to survive here, who cared about a recipe anymore?

"So what're you guys all standing here for, if that's the case?" Lin Yi smiled coldly as he scanned his eyes across the vendors watching them.

Lin Yi wasn't very angry with these people- Zhang Biaogan was a veteran here, after all, a boss of some sort, and they were kinda obliged to support him. Lin Yi decided to let them go with a little scare, in case they thought they could push the Tangs around all they wanted.

The vendors who fell under Lin Yi's gaze shuddered as they got back to their stands- this wasn't a scene they should be involved in.

"You two, don't leave." Lin Yi said, pointing at the barbeque woman and the skinny man who were making a retreat with the crowd.

"It's… It's not us… It was Zhang Biaogan's idea……" The barbeque woman said, her fire from earlier extinguished. It was a world where the strong preyed on the weak, after all- they were no longer the predators here.

"Yeah, it was Zhang Biaogan's idea… We were just pulled along……" The skinny man said.

"So you do whatever he wants you to? Will you do whatever I want you to, then?" Lin Yi responded with a question.

"Uh……" The barbeque woman wasn't quite sure what Lin Yi was getting at, but followed along regardless. "Bro, what do you want us to do……"

"The two of you- don't sell barbeque starting from tomorrow- switch to something else. Is that good?" Lin Yi said as he looked at them.

"Um……" Both the woman and men looked at each other, evidently not brave enough to say no to Lin Yi- who knew what the guy would do to them if they did that?

"Xiaobo?" Lin Yi turned to Xiaobo, not paying attention to the two anymore.

"I'm here, boss- you called?" Xiaobo said excitedly as he ran over- the guy was too good, so good!!! He was just a follower, but just being by Lin Yi's side as he took care of everything made his blood boil.

"Go thrash his stand." Lin Yi said, pointing at Biaogan's stand.

"Alrighty!!" Xiaobo nodded before making his way to Biaogan's stand, sending a foot down and flipping the whole stand as everyone watched… the coal, skewers, coin box, alcohol… Everything went tumbling down on the ground…

Still unsatisfied, Xiaobo stepped on the skewer equipment even more, bending the shape of the metal… The thing was unusable now.

Biaogan made sure to keep his mouth closed as he watched silently, his heart bleeding… It was still just a stand, at the end of the day- he'd be lucky if nothing was done to his body… He shuddered as he remembered what Zou Ruoming did to him- what did this Lin Yi have planned for him..?

"That's enough." Lin Yi said with a wave at Xiaobo, signalling for him to come back. He then turned to look at Biaogan. "It's your turn next time. Nice spot you have here- give it to the Tangs tomorrow, you okay with that?"

"Y...Yes……" Biaogan nodded- there was nothing more he could say… The guy had made it clear- it'd be him next time instead of his stand… They'd probably beat him into agreeing if he dared say 'no' to their faces…

"Nice, you're pretty obedient. You can have the Tang's old spot then- sell something else starting from tomorrow." Lin Yi said. "Sound good?"

"Y...Yeah…… I'll sell something else… I will……." Biaogan nodded- his barbeque stand was destroyed anyway, and it was pretty good that he had a second chance… He wouldn't do barbeque again even if Lin Yi told him to, too… What if he stole Mrs. Tang's customers, summoning Lin Yi back to mess him up? He didn't think he could take something like this anymore.

"Xiaobo, you come patrol and take a look tomorrow and see if they deliver on their promise. Just thrash them if they don't." Lin Yi ordered.

"Understood, boss, leave it to me! It's my specialty!" Xiaobo said with a nod, chuckling as he looked at the barbeque woman and skinny man…

They weren't about to disobey Lin Yi anytime soon… It was either that, or get beat up- the two couldn't help but regret listening to Biaogan in the first place, who'd said they could split the profits three-way after getting them… They couldn't even do barbeque anymore, what good woulda recipe do?

Lin Yi, naturally, didn't really mean for Xiaobo to be patrolling the street- it was just a threat to keep them in check. He didn't have that much time on his hands. As for Biaogan… the guy deserved it, and Lin Yi had no pity for him whatsoever.

He only hoped that he'd remember this lesson well.

Chapter 190 - Thoughts of a Young Lady

Lin Yi's abilities were wasted on bullying street vendors.

Zhang Biaogan's actions, however, had crossed his bottom line- he wasn't too sure how the Tangs were doing, but it was clear that they were nowhere near well-off. Their absent father was enough for Lin Yi to make a guess…

What Biaogan was doing, on the other hand, was blatant bullying- it was only reasonable then for Lin Yi to give him a taste of what that felt like.

"What'er you still sitting here for? You want me to buy you dinner?" Lin Yi asked Biaogan, who was still sitting on the floor.

Biaogan forced a smile on his face as he quickly got up. "Nono, I wouldn't dare… I'll leave, I'll leave right now……"

With that, Biaogan got up and ran off as fast as he could after picking his coin box up, ignoring everything else.

The barbeque woman and the skinny man were also packing their stuff up- it was time for a change in business.

"You okay, aunty?" Lin Yi asked as he walked toward a confused Mrs. Tang.

She simply couldn't catch up with the sudden change in development.

"I-I'm fine…… I'm fine…" Mrs. Tang said, snapping back into reality- Biaogan was running his mouth right in front of her eyes moments ago… but he wasn't here anymore.

And all that had happened because of this young man here. So what if Biaogan was a tyrant- there were even bigger ones other than him around.

Tang Yin, on the other hand, had her head lowered, and she wasn't quite sure what to think or say- from a model student's perspective, she couldn't agree with Lin Yi's way of handling things… But it was indeed true, at the same time, that Lin Yi's method was the most appropriae one for the situation.

After all, it was certain that Biaogan wouldn't be bothering them anymore, but one question remained… Why did Lin Yi do this? Why would he want to help her family out? She 'understood' it perfectly in her heart: he wanted to have a good impression on her, he wanted her to like him by doing stuff like this…

As cliche as it might sound, even Tang Yin had to admit the effectiveness of an approach like that. At the very least, Lin Yi wasn't as much of an asshole in her eyes anymore… He was only an asshole to bigger jerks, but that was it…

Just like that, Lin Yi'd barged into her life permanently, and it didn't seem very possible for her to get rid of him anymore… How was she supposed to face him from now on?

Should she continue her mockery of him? Should she continue giving him the cold shoulder? Tang Yin couldn't bring herself to do it- she knew that herself. She wasn't a heartless person, and despite Lin Yi's intentions, it was true that he'd helped her and her family, at the end of the day…

As a result, the only route left for Tang Yin was to run- Lin Yi's status and position put her on guard, and she locked her feelings once more as she remembered what Fen had been through, sealing herself off once more…

Lin Yi looked at Tang Yin's lowered head, not thinking much of it. "Aunty, I'm actually just here to ask about the weekend… When should we come over? Tang Yin didn't give any details, so I wanted to make sure…"

"Saturday morning, then… You can come whenever you're free- we live in the slums, third house in Grass Alleys." Mrs. Tang said, regaining her composure as her gratitude showed on her face. "Lin Yi, we really have to thank you for what you did today… I don't know what the two of us would've done if you hadn't shown up… We'd just get bullied without being able to fight back……"

"Haha, that won't happen again." Lin Yi said with a laugh. "Well, me and Xiaobo are leaving- see you guys on Saturday, aunty."

"Nono, please, sit- Aunty will get you something to eat……" Mrs. Tang, naturally, wouldn't let Lin Yi leave just like that- she had to thank him in some way.

Mrs. Tang was really starting to like Lin Yi now- he had the tyrannical side young masters had, but was actually quite reasonable as well! As terrifying as his darker side may be, Mrs. Tang found him to be very easy-going with people he knew well.

"It's getting pretty late, we'll pass this time- let's leave it for Saturday! We'll be there on time." Lin Yi's phone had vibrated in his pocket earlier- it was probably a text from either Mengyao or Yushu, and Lin Yi had to get back to them as quickly as possible.

"Alright then…" Mrs. Tang said after Lin Yi insisted. "Yin, see your friends out!"

"Ok……" Tang Yin nodded unwillingly, walking after Lin Yi with her head still lowered.

"Ah……" A faint smile formed on Lin Yi's lips as he turned to leave with Xiaobo. Tang Yin, on the other hand, just walked behind them silently- Lin Yi wondered what she was thinking about.

"It's okay, you can go back if you don't wanna." Lin Yi said, a little amused as he looked at Tang Yin.

"I didn't say that." Tang Yin hmphed softly. "T...Thanks for earlier……"

"Was just passing by- I'd probably help out if it was someone else too……" Lin Yi said, adding a 'probably' to the statement. He probably wouldn't help if it were someone else, in actuality…

After all, he couldn't just butt into everything- he might as well go and put on an ultraman or spiderman costume if that were the case.

Naturally, Tang Yin wasn't buying what Lin Yi was saying- why would a young master like him even bother if it weren't her he was saving? Her debts toward Lin Yi were piling up, and Tang Yin couldn't help but feel uncomfortable at that fact……

"You really wanna go out with me?" Tang Yin asked as she raised her head at Lin Yi all of a sudden.

"Ah?" Lin Yi blinked at Tang Yin, evidently not expecting those words to come out her mouth.

It took Tang Yin quite some courage to get a question like that out- Lin Yi had involved himself with her family at this point, and Tang Yin wanted to make sure what Lin Yi's intentions actually were.

She put on a strong-willed front, but her heart was filling up with guilt and shame- it wasn't a surprise that a girl's face would heat up after throwing out a question like that. Fortunately for her, Lin Yi wouldn't be able to see the blush on her face at night.

Tang Yin was panicking enough in the first place, and she treated Lin Yi's 'ah' as him admitting it.

"Do your parents know? Will they agree to this?" Tang Yin continued with another question before Lin Yi even answered her first one properly.

Tang Yin had seen what Lin Yi had done for her family, after all, and she couldn't quite grasp what her feelings towards Lin Yi were at this point- there was some hate in there, but also something special……

"My parents?" Lin Yi blinked again, pausing at the question- who were his parents? Even he didn't know that… Old Lin did say he was an orphan…

Lin Yi's pause registered as hesitation in Tang Yin's eyes, and her fragile heart of a young lady tensed as it killed off the spark that had just taken place…

The guy was just playing around after all… He'd never planned anything for the two of them, nor had he told his parents about this… He was never planning to spend his life with her, so what was she still struggling for?