The second-floor hallway was so quiet that Tuzi could hear her own breathing. She sat cross-legged behind her bedroom door, her ears twitching slightly.
Her Peak-stage Earth Realm Inner Force gave her hearing far beyond that of an ordinary person. The faint sounds coming from the bedroom downstairs brushed against her eardrums like feathers.
She had originally wanted to ask whether Master wanted some warm milk before bed. However, the moment she reached the staircase, she heard something unusual.
A woman’s soft laughter, a man’s heavy breathing, and the faint creaking of a bed.
Bodyguard school had never taught Tuzi how to deal with this kind of situation.
She frowned, unconsciously picking at the laces of her military boots. “Master’s breathing is all messed up.” Her round eyes were filled with confusion. “Are they fighting? But it doesn’t sound like a fight…”
Tuzi held her breath and concentrated, trying to hear more clearly. Instead, all she caught was Zheng Yiyun murmuring with laughter, “…Don’t lie on my hair…”
Tuzi immediately covered her ears, her twin ponytails falling forward and hiding the redness spreading across them.
Although she did not understand exactly what they were doing, her instincts told her that this was definitely not the right time to deliver milk.
She silently retreated to her room, threw herself onto the bed, and pulled the blanket over her head.
Unfortunately, with her Inner Force circulating through her body, those sounds still managed to reach her ears. She had no choice but to pull a pair of noise-canceling headphones from her bag and put them on.
Yet she still felt uneasy.
What if an enemy launched a surprise attack right now?
Master currently seemed… rather incapable of fighting.
After struggling with the dilemma for quite a while, Tuzi simply hugged her stuffed rabbit and sat behind the door. She pressed an ear against the cold door panel like a vigilant little beast.
As long as she heard any unusual noise that did not belong to “those sounds,” she guaranteed that she could kick open Master’s bedroom door within three seconds.
Only when the eastern sky began to brighten and the sounds downstairs finally stopped did Tuzi breathe a sigh of relief. She removed her headphones and yawned.
Rubbing her eyes, she climbed into bed and silently made a mental note.
‘So Master and that pretty Sister play some kind of game at night that requires everyone else to stay quiet.’
‘Next time, I should stay farther away so I don’t disturb them.’
…
Morning sunlight streamed through the sheer curtains and into the bedroom.
When Zheng Yiyun woke up, the space beside her was already empty, leaving behind only a trace of lingering warmth.
Wrapped in the blanket, she sat up and saw Wang Xiaodong standing beside the window in a bathrobe, talking on the phone. The morning light softened the lines of his profile.
He ended the call and turned around, meeting her gaze. His tone was as natural as on any ordinary morning. “You’re awake? Breakfast is downstairs.”
Zheng Yiyun smiled and gathered her slightly disheveled long hair. “CEO Wang certainly is dedicated. You just finished being ‘busy,’ and you’re already talking about work.”
She deliberately emphasized the word “busy.” Seeing the faint redness appear at the tips of Wang Xiaodong’s ears immediately put her in an excellent mood.
‘That little wolfhound performed quite well last night. Now we know each other inside and out.’
When they went downstairs, Tuzi was already sitting at the dining table, munching on a sandwich.
The young girl reluctantly lowered her head and continued chewing her bread.
Zheng Yiyun sat across the table and accepted the milk Wang Xiaodong handed her. She leisurely said, “You performed pretty well last night, but could you take it a little slower next time? This old aunt can’t handle being tossed around so much.”
Wang Xiaodong’s hand paused over the document he was reading. He looked up at her and said, “After breakfast, I still need to go check on the company.”
“What’s the rush?” Zheng Yiyun raised an eyebrow. “I still want to try your little bodyguard’s cooking. Tuzi, right?”
Tuzi’s mouth was stuffed with food. She nodded vigorously and mumbled, “I can fry eggs! Heart-shaped ones!”
…
After carrying Zheng Yiyun back to bed and indulging once more in that overwhelming temptation, Wang Xiaodong left the bedroom.
He got himself ready and was about to leave for the company when Tuzi grabbed his sleeve.
She tilted her head up at him. There were still a few bread crumbs caught in her ponytails, but her expression was completely serious. “Master, were you and that Sister doing some kind of secret training last night?”
Wang Xiaodong pinched the bridge of his nose. “What training?”
“Well…” Tuzi counted on her fingers as she recalled what she had heard. “There were strange sounds coming from your room. Sister was laughing, and your breathing sounded strange too.”
“Our bodyguard school taught us that special missions sometimes require people to simulate certain situations to confuse the enemy, but somehow, it didn’t seem like that…”
The more she spoke, the more confused she became. Her round eyes were filled with bewilderment.
“And you trained for such a long time. When Sister came out this morning, even the way she walked seemed a little different. Was the training really that exhausting?”
Wang Xiaodong’s expression turned completely dark.
His Adam’s apple moved twice before he finally forced out a response. “Children shouldn’t ask so many questions.”
Last night, Wang Xiaodong had finally received his initiation, transforming from a boy into a man.
He certainly could not tell her what he had actually been doing.
“But I’m your bodyguard!” Tuzi immediately straightened up, her military boots striking the floor. “The school taught us that bodyguards must observe every abnormal situation! Your condition last night was obviously unusual. Were you injured? I have a hemostatic spray…”
“No!” Wang Xiaodong interrupted her.
He took a deep breath and adjusted his tone. “That wasn’t training, and it wasn’t a mission. It was… a private matter between adults. If you hear anything in the future, don’t ask about it and definitely don’t come near the room. Understand?”
Tuzi blinked, only half understanding. “A private matter? Like the senior brothers and sisters at school secretly dating?”
Wang Xiaodong fell silent for a moment. “…Something like that.”
“Oh!” Tuzi suddenly understood and clapped her hands. “I get it! Just like in TV dramas, you’re not supposed to interrupt! Don’t worry, Master. Next time, I’ll stay far, far away. I promise I won’t peek or eavesdrop!”
She even gave him a rather improper salute, her twin ponytails bouncing happily.
Wang Xiaodong stared at her innocent expression.
“Go drink your milk.” He waved his hand and turned toward the study. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Tuzi’s cheerful voice came from behind him. “Okay! After I finish, I’ll fry Master a heart-shaped egg!”
Wang Xiaodong’s footsteps paused briefly.
The corner of his mouth curled upward almost imperceptibly.
This girl might constantly say astonishing things, but her carefree energy was not particularly unpleasant.
…
Lin Chen spent three days inside his rented apartment, clutching the business card that had been warmed by his body heat.
Instead of receiving the reward he had been waiting for, he received news that Zhou Mingyuan had been transferred away.
He hurled his phone against the wall. The cheap screen shattered into a spiderweb of cracks.
“Impossible…” Lin Chen growled, burying his fingers in his messy hair. His knuckles turned white from the force.
That day beneath the bridge, Zhou Mingyuan had gripped his hand and sincerely promised to “reward him generously.”
Lin Chen could still almost feel the warmth of that handshake in his palm.
How could everything suddenly vanish like a bubble?
“Someone must be behind this!”
Lin Chen abruptly stood and kicked over a cardboard box beside his feet. Old clothes spilled across the floor.
He rushed to the window and stared at the rows of towering buildings in the city center.
Wang Group’s headquarters stood among them, resembling a dormant beast whose sheer presence left him struggling to breathe.
‘Could it be Wang Xiaodong?’
The thought had barely appeared before Lin Chen forcibly suppressed it.
Yet other than Wang Xiaodong, who else possessed enough power to move a mayor?
Lin Chen gritted his teeth and dragged a dusty wooden box out from beneath the bed.
Inside was a collection of medical case records his master had left him.
The final few pages recorded the chronic illnesses of several major figures whose names alone carried tremendous weight.
His fingertips slid across the yellowed pages, and his gaze gradually hardened.
‘So what if Zhou Mingyuan is gone? Yangzhou is enormous. There will always be someone who needs my medical skills.’
‘I refuse to believe that with medical abilities capable of bringing the dead back to life and restoring flesh to bare bones, I can’t find a ladder even higher than the Zhou Family.’
Lin Chen tucked the medical records into his clothes and changed into the new shirt he had bought.
In an instant, there was hardly any trace left of the miserable man who had been living beneath a bridge.