Chapter 4: The Little Bodyguard Who Refused to Leave

During the meal, Lu Jianglian noticed that the boy wasn’t picky about food at all.

He ate very slowly, but his appetite was astonishingly large.

He ate even more than someone of his own size and build.

‘Could Lu Fu have been starving him all this time?’

However, seeing that Jiang Mian didn’t show any signs of discomfort, he didn’t say anything.

He had already paid far too much attention to this boy today.

He shouldn’t meddle any further.

After checking the time, he realized it was already quite late.

‘Tomorrow, I’ll have someone send the boy away.’

As for Lu Fu, after so many years, he should have had enough of playing around.

Before going upstairs, Lu Jianglian, who had promised himself not to meddle, still had someone prepare some digestive tablets for Jiang Mian.

After waking up the next morning with a terrible hangover, Lu Fu was still groggy when Lu Jianglian’s people packed him up and sent him straight to one of the company’s branches.

“Young Master, the chairman said that you’re to stay here and learn how to manage the company properly. If you run off to fool around again, he’ll have every card in your possession suspended.”

The assistant relayed his brother’s words and left.

Lu Fu wanted to put up a fight, but seemingly remembering something, he obediently sat back down in the office.

However, he had barely been sitting for a while before he pulled out his phone irritably.

When he saw his brother’s missed call, he habitually ignored it.

Meanwhile, the butler was leisurely drinking tea at home when his phone rang.

It was the young master calling.

“Uncle Li, is Jiang… Is my brother at home?” Lu Fu asked after the call connected.

Uncle Li smiled warmly.

“Young Master, I took a few days off to go home and rest, so I don’t know what the eldest young master is doing.”

“Oh, then never mind.”

Lu Fu fiddled with the potted plant in front of him, seemingly asking absentmindedly, “By the way, Uncle Li, do you have Jiang Mian’s contact information?”

“Little Young Master Jiang’s contact information? I never asked for it.”

Uncle Li thought for a moment before telling him what he had observed about Jiang Mian.

“Other than staying in his room and sleeping, Little Young Master Jiang also likes to admire the flowers in the back garden. These days, it’s rare to see a young person who doesn’t use a phone.”

“Alright, I got it.”

After hanging up, Lu Fu toyed with his phone and frowned.

‘What the hell? Don’t tell me he doesn’t even have a phone?’

Anyone who didn’t know better would think he had crawled out of some remote mountain village.

Putting on an act was one thing, but taking it too far made it boring.

****

Meanwhile.

After watching the young man finish breakfast, Lu Jianglian asked, “Where is your home? I’ll have someone take you back.”

For once, he even offered some unsolicited advice.

“Find a proper job in the future. Don’t think you can take shortcuts by getting lucky.”

He was far too simple-minded.

Someone could sell him off without him even realizing it.

Jiang Mian licked the milk stain from the corner of his lips.

Then he picked up the piece of bread that had fallen onto his hand and ate it before raising his head in confusion.

He looked at Lu Jianglian and let out a bewildered, “Huh?”

He really was like a little cat.

After eating, he even cleaned himself up.

And when he ate, he became completely absorbed in his food, utterly unaffected by anything happening around him.

Lu Jianglian shifted his gaze slightly.

His fingers tapped unconsciously against the tabletop as he tried to ignore that fleeting flash of crimson.

He repeated his previous question.

Jiang Mian froze for a moment before answering very seriously.

“I live in the forest. The trees there are very, very tall. The cave at the very deepest part belongs to me. I have lots of pretty stones I collected inside, and there are little glowing bugs that come out at night…”

After telling him everything he could, Jiang Mian looked at Lu Jianglian expectantly.

“Can you take me home now?”

[Baby! Do you still remember your mission?]

Lu Jianglian fell silent for a while.

He seemed to have trouble keeping up with the younger generation’s thought processes.

After a long moment, he finally managed to squeeze out two words.

“No.”

The pretty expression on Jiang Mian’s face immediately fell.

Unable to help himself, he lazily sprawled across the dining table.

Seeing Jiang Mian’s complete lack of manners, Lu Jianglian’s fingers began tapping against the tabletop noticeably faster.

His lips moved slightly, but in the end, he said nothing.

His lowered eyes gave no indication of what he was thinking.

After sulking for several dozen seconds, Jiang Mian suddenly remembered his mission and the wonderful promises the system had made him.

He wasn’t quite as eager to go home anymore.

He rested one cheek against his arm.

His already slightly chubby cheek was squished into a soft, rounded puff, while his round, blunt eyes made him look especially well-behaved.

The end of his voice rose, his tone soft and clingy like he was acting spoiled.

“Then I’ll stay with you for now. I want to protect you, okay?”

Lu Jianglian froze.

He lifted his eyelids and looked at the boy who had just said he wanted to protect him.

With that tiny frame, the boy couldn’t even block him from view if he stood directly in front of him.

And he wanted to protect him?

Lu Jianglian didn’t agree.

But the boy seemed less to be asking for permission than informing him of his decision.

And sure enough, he followed him everywhere.

The driver glanced at the young man sitting in the back seat alongside his boss.

A flicker of surprise crossed his face, but he didn’t show it.

Lu Jianglian himself didn’t know why.

He could easily have ordered his men to forcibly send the boy away.

Yet he hadn’t.

Perhaps in a life that had always been monotonous and dull, a splash of brightness had suddenly barged in.

And he was reluctant to let it leave just like that.

After Jiang Mian had eaten his fill, he wanted to sleep.

When he first got into the car, he had still looked around seriously, his soft body nearly squeezing into Lu Jianglian’s arms, while his expression remained as though he were inspecting the vehicle for dangerous objects.

Apparently, he was taking his new job as a little bodyguard very seriously.

But after sitting there for only a short while, Jiang Mian could no longer stay awake.

Thump.

Lu Jianglian, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them.

He saw the boy sitting upright, his eyelashes misted with sleep.

His already swollen forehead had taken another hit, making the injury look especially severe against his fair face.

‘Too stupid. He can’t even take care of himself, yet he wants to protect someone else.’

Jiang Mian murmured softly that it hurt, then swayed his head and fell asleep again.

Lu Jianglian stared at Jiang Mian for several seconds.

When the boy was about to bang his head forward again, he reached out and pulled him back.

He lowered his voice and said to the driver, “When we pass a pharmacy, get out and buy a bottle of Yunnan Baiyao aerosol spray.”

He paused, then added, “And a roll of gauze.”

After saying that, he didn’t remove the hand he had wrapped around Jiang Mian’s shoulder.

Even when Jiang Mian’s head swayed from side to side and his cheek eventually came to rest against Lu Jianglian’s shoulder, he didn’t move his face away.

The two of them were far too close.

So close that Lu Jianglian could clearly smell the sweet fragrance coming from the boy.

It was very faint, nothing like the overpowering scent of perfume.

It was more like the fragrance of the roses growing in the garden at home.

It was very pleasant.

The driver acknowledged him and silently took a detour.

Jiang Mian slept deeply.

Later, even when Lu Jianglian applied medicine to his wound, he didn’t wake up.

The faint sting of the medicine made him frown slightly, however, and he kept making soft, aggrieved noises, as though someone were bullying him.

He looked utterly pitiful.

When they arrived downstairs at the company, Lu Jianglian woke Jiang Mian.

“Mm…” Jiang Mian sleepily rubbed his cheek against Lu Jianglian’s shoulder before slowly opening his eyes.

“Are we here?”

Lu Jianglian rubbed his arm, which had gone numb from being kept in the same position for so long.

“Get out of the car.”

‘At this point, I’m not even sure which one of us is actually the boss.’

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