The two of them waited at the coffee shop for a while. Around two o’clock, a man pushed open the door and came in.
Gu Xi and Fang Pingping both froze for a moment when they saw him.
Fang Pingping was surprised because the man was dressed far too shabbily—he wore a set of blue work clothes washed to a pale white, with holes torn at the cuffs and collar, and battered black mesh sneakers on his feet. The weather was cold now, and it was rare to see anyone dressed like this. But he was tall and big-framed, with regular features.
His hair was very short, and his gaze was sharp and piercing—clearly not someone to be trifled with.
Her heart fluttered with unease, and she wondered how they had ended up recruiting someone like this.
As for Gu Xi, she was surprised because in her previous life she had seen this man before and knew he was Song Rumeng’s ex-boyfriend, Xiao Chen. He had even come to her and threatened her to keep Bai Yuzhou in line, or else he wouldn’t let them off. His eyes had been terrifying when he said that—wild and laced with resentment.
She had always found it strange, not understanding why Song Rumeng had such a powerful hold over men—they all seemed to fall for her. She had heard that the man before her had once gotten into a fight to protect Song Rumeng, accidentally beat the other person into a vegetative state, and was sent to prison by that person’s relatives.
And after he finally got out, not only did his ex-girlfriend get together with someone else, but in the end, she personally sent him back to prison.
Compared to Gu Xi’s own run of bad luck, the two of them were about evenly matched.
Perhaps feeling a sense of shared misfortune, Gu Xi didn’t reject the man right away. Instead, she tilted her chin slightly toward him, signaling him to sit across from them.
The man was completely out of place in the coffee shop’s refined ambiance. He instinctively looked around—there weren’t many people in the shop, but a few servers and customers were all sizing him up, some openly, some discreetly. He felt nervous and uneasy inside, afraid that someone might see through him.
But Xiao Chen couldn’t leave. He had been out of prison for two months now and had only a dozen or so yuan left on him. Even construction sites refused to hire him, afraid he’d cause trouble.
When he had stumbled upon this recruitment ad, he had hesitated, wondering if it might be a scam. But then he figured—he was already in this state, so what was there left to lose?
Fang Pingping glanced at Gu Xi and had no choice but to speak up first. “What’s your name?”
“Xiao Chen.”
The man’s voice was a little hoarse, as if he hadn’t spoken in a long time, but unexpectedly pleasant to the ear.
Fang Pingping nodded. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-six.”
Hearing that, Fang Pingping couldn’t help but lift her head and take another look at him—he was only a few years older than them, but looked much more mature.
“Any hobbies? Like smoking, drinking, that sort of thing?”
“Don’t drink. Smoke occasionally—if you don’t like it, I can quit.”
He had barely finished speaking when another young man walked in through the door. This one was much more pleasant to look at, wearing a thick long down jacket. His eyes lit up when he spotted Gu Xi sitting not far away.
He looked around as if searching for someone, and Fang Pingping had already raised her hand, signaling him to come over.
The young man sat down next to Xiao Chen and said cheerfully, “Hello, my name is Zhou Chao. I’m a freshman this year.”
Fang Pingping couldn’t help but smile. “Which school?”
“Agricultural University.”
The young man said sweetly, “Senior, which school are you two from?”
Fang Pingping was about to answer when Gu Xi suddenly asked, “Which of you two has a driver’s license?”
Zhou Chao scratched his head. “I haven’t finished getting mine yet, but it should be soon.”
Xiao Chen, on the other hand, let out a small breath of relief. “I have one.”
Though he had no idea where his license had gone—he had learned to drive during summer vacation in his first year of high school while working a part-time job, and it hadn’t cost much. “But it’s back in my hometown. I can get a replacement.”
Gu Xi gave a soft “Mm” and thought for a moment before saying, “This job is temporary—about a month or so. But it’s pretty tough; you’ll have to be on call at all times.”
Xiao Chen didn’t hesitate. “I can do it.”
It was as if he was afraid that if he answered too late, they might change their minds.
Gu Xi guessed that he probably didn’t recognize her yet, so she didn’t say anything more. She glanced at Fang Pingping beside her. Fang Pingping understood what she meant, and although she didn’t quite approve, she still said to Zhou Chao with a smile, “You don’t really fit our requirements. Sorry to make you come all this way—this coffee is on us.”
She placed a takeaway cup of coffee in front of him.
Though Zhou Chao was a little disappointed, he took it in stride. He had just been looking for a part-time job to kill time anyway, so it didn’t matter if he didn’t get it—and he’d even gotten a free coffee out of it. “Alright, then thanks for the coffee, ladies.”
After he left, Fang Pingping turned to Xiao Chen and said, “The job is simple—you’re here to ensure our safety. Of course, under normal circumstances, there shouldn’t be much danger. If anyone comes asking questions, don’t say anything. For the sake of a smooth cooperation, it’s best if we sign a contract. Take a look.”
She handed him the contract she had prepared. Fang Pingping didn’t know much about these things, but she’d seen that this was the usual process for hiring, so she had put one together.
Xiao Chen didn’t know much either, but he was in desperate need of work and felt that having a contract was at least some form of protection. So he took it, read it over, and without hesitation wrote down his name and ID number.
As he filled in his ID number, he hesitated for a moment, then decided to come clean. “I’ve spent a few years in prison before.”
“Ah?”
Fang Pingping looked up at him in shock.
Xiao Chen pressed his lips together, tightening his grip on the pen, and added by way of explanation, “I didn’t kill anyone. It wasn’t drugs, gambling, or prostitution either. It happened in high school—I got into a fight and beat someone into a vegetative state. That person’s family refused compensation.”
That boy had always bullied Song Rumeng on the way home from school. Xiao Chen couldn’t stand it. He had only meant to teach the guy a lesson so he’d remember not to do it again. But during the fight, he shoved him too hard, and the guy fell headfirst onto a rock on the ground.
So many years had passed, and Xiao Chen could no longer remember what that person looked like, but he clearly remembered the bone-chilling terror of standing there frozen in place.
Gu Xi knew about this. In her previous life, she had hated Song Rumeng to the core and had deliberately looked into this ex-convict boyfriend of hers, hoping to make Bai Yuzhou see Song Rumeng’s true character. But instead, Bai Yuzhou only felt more sorry for Song Rumeng, saying she had suffered too much and that without him, she would have nothing left.
Later, this Xiao Chen had rammed into Bai Yuzhou with his car. The police discovered that a sum of money had suddenly appeared in his account some time before, but he hadn’t spent it on himself—instead, he had transferred it to the classmate he had turned into a vegetable. That classmate’s parents had since had another son and no longer took good care of him, leaving him with his grandparents in the countryside. Xiao Chen had found out and had been quietly sending money to his grandparents ever since.
Gu Xi had once gone to confront that person and asked him straight out: Was that money transferred by him? Was he the one who had hired someone to run down Bai Yuzhou?
Actually, there was no need to suspect. That person never left any loose ends. If he allowed her to suspect him, it was because he had planned it that way all along.
He wanted to tell her—she shouldn’t have been thinking about someone else while she was still entangled with him.
Gu Xi thought he was being utterly unreasonable. If anything, he was the one who came later.
Fang Pingping hesitated and turned to look at Gu Xi. Gu Xi remained calm and simply nodded. “That means you’ve got decent fighting skills. Your main job is to ensure her safety and mine during work hours.”
“Since you can drive, we’ll be setting off by car in a few days. We’ll provide the vehicle. I’ll pay you double wages, and meals and accommodation will be covered. If you violate any of the terms in the contract, we’ll terminate you on the spot.”
Xiao Chen thought back to the dozen or so clauses in the contract—mainly about keeping quiet and doing his own job well. He wasn’t much of a talker anyway, so he found it simple enough and agreed. “Alright.”
After a pause, he couldn’t help but ask, “Could I get an advance on two days’ wages?”
Fang Pingping’s mouth twitched. She was starting to regret hiring this guy—something about him just didn’t feel very reliable.
Gu Xi glanced at him, took five bills out of her bag, and handed them over. “Go on back for now. I should be contacting you the day after tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
Xiao Chen took the money, and for some reason, his chest tightened with a bittersweet ache. He had been out of society for too long. The world had changed dramatically since he got out. Song Rumeng had helped him find several jobs, but every time, he was either rejected on the spot or let go after a few days because of his criminal record. A few kind-hearted ones paid him his wages, but most just made him work for nothing.
Only at this moment did Xiao Chen truly understand how important a legitimate identity was.
He was deeply grateful to Gu Xi for giving him this job, and the money in his hand gave him a long-lost sense of security. He wanted to say something, but his mouth opened and closed without a sound. Finally, his eyes reddened, and he choked out, “Thank you.”
Fang Pingping was soft-hearted. She had thought he might not be very reliable, but seeing a grown man on the verge of tears, she quickly had the staff pack up the cake on the table for him to take along. “Take it with you. We’re both on a diet.”
“Thanks.”
After he left, Fang Pingping let out a sigh. “He seems to have had a rough time of it.”
Gu Xi smiled faintly, stirring her coffee with a spoon, curiosity flickering in her mind. She wondered—if Song Rumeng ever found out that Xiao Chen was working as her bodyguard, would she be angry?
Of course, if Song Rumeng got angry, Gu Xi would be happy. She was never one to be particularly magnanimous.
On the way back, Bai Yuzhou called her again. He must have known Gu Xi wouldn’t pick up his usual number, so he called from a different one. His voice was low and dejected. “Xixi, it’s me.”
“Is something the matter?”
Bai Yuzhou rarely heard Gu Xi speak in such a cold tone, and it unsettled him for some reason. He had thought her anger was temporary—that if he came back to coax her, things would be fine. But he hadn’t expected her to really mean it about breaking up.
He used to hate how she clung to him. Now that he couldn’t reach her, he grew restless instead, unable to understand why she had let things slide before but was suddenly so serious this time.
“Your dad called me. He wants us to go back for a meal together…”
“Don’t bother. I’ve already turned him down. If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up.”
“Gu Xi—” Bai Yuzhou panicked and called out hurriedly. “I really know I was wrong. Can we make up? Please?”
Listening to the almost pleading tone in Bai Yuzhou’s voice over the phone, Gu Xi found it rather laughable. In this life, she had stepped aside to let him have his love, and yet here he was, running back to ask for a reconciliation.
So he hadn’t loved Song Rumeng all that much after all.
But Gu Xi still hung up, her refusal cold and final. “No.”
Fang Pingping stole a glance at her. Seeing that Gu Xi’s expression hadn’t changed, she asked, “Where are we going to get a car?”
At the question, a familiar face appeared in Gu Xi’s mind.
That person had a garage full of luxury cars. And from her past experience, Gu Xi had learned one thing—when you’re out and about, you need a little something to keep up appearances.
With that thought, she scrolled through her phone’s call history. That person’s number wasn’t there. But a string of digits was already on the tip of her tongue, almost ready to spill out.