Chapter 11

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“I can attend the Princess, but attending the Princess Syndrome1 is another price.”

“Morning, Captain.”

“Morning, Captain Zhuo.”

“Good morning, Captain.”

Half an hour before the museum opened, Zhuo Yi arrived on time to clock in to work.

Duty at the museum was based on shifts. There were a number of team members in the morning shift yawning sleepily. Just by looking, you could tell they’d definitely stayed up late last night playing games.

When the face of the King of Hell, Zhuo Yi, appeared in front of everyone, everyone — no matter if they were yawning, chatting, woolgathering — snapped straight up for fear of him catching them and punishing them to go clean the toilets.

—Captain Zhuo was just so scary!

The guards of the museum were all army veterans, but also mischievous 20-year-olds who stirred up trouble whenever they got together. Yet with Zhuo Yi there, they didn’t dare to make a sound to speak. Under his gaze, they were frightened into trembling.

The guards buzzed with gossip in private.

One said: “I heard that Captain Zhuo comes from a Special Forces background and he can catch seals in the water and beat up tigers on land!”

Another said: “I heard Captain Zhuo could’ve been promoted, but he got injured and was forced to retire early!”

Yet another said: “Captain Zhuo once beat up ten Russians with his bare hands and downed all of their vodka! He got the scar on his face from being caught by a Russian bear!”

Rumors like these swirled around, but no one had the guts to let them slip in front of the person in question and take the initiative to verify them.

There was no other way… The scar on Zhuo Yi’s face was so scary, who’d dare to take the hit and ask him?

Zhuo Yi didn’t really care that his team members were talking about him behind his back. His only duty right now was to protect the safety of the museum. The museum received many visitors each day, and each day there were endless things to deal with. Hua Zhao breaking into the museum in the middle of the night was only a small, small, event. There were still people who dared to get drunk and smash the glass in the exhibition halls in the middle of the day.

The museum was open from 9am to 6pm. After work, Zhuo Yi still couldn’t leave; he had to wait until 8pm to hand over the shift to the next round of guards.

As they were nearing the end of their shift, a guard sought him out.

“Captain, a ‘VIP guest’ is looking for you!” The guard’s expression was odd — a meaningful gaze in his eyes, but also like he’d eaten something that made him constipated.

Zhuo Yi had worked at the museum for many years but there were very few guests who looked for him. He asked, “Where’s the guest?”

Guard: “In the rear garden.” It stands to reason that a guard should leave after he finishes making his report, yet this one truly couldn’t keep himself from adding, “Captain, aren’t you going to ask who’s looking for you?”

Zhuo Yi raised his eyebrows. “No need, I know who it is.”

As he spoke, he turned and headed toward the museum’s rear garden.

The messenger guard was left alone in the blowing wind — Were his eyes going wrong? His eyes were definitely going wrong. Did King of Hell Zhuo just smile?…

……

Zhuo Yi truly did know who the guest who came to visit was.

He went to the rear of the museum, following the stone path to a quiet garden.

The horizon was still aglow, the clouds of the setting sun like beautiful brocade, dying the azure sky with layers of colors. And beneath those rosy clouds, a figure more gentle than the shadows of dusk stood gracefully there.

“We meet again, Captain Zhuo.”

—It was Cheng Xingfei.

She was wearing a pastel T-shirt and trousers — simple and casual, an outfit you could see anywhere, but when she wore it, it had a different sort of charm.

Her long hair was draped on her shoulders. She lifted a hand and tucked a strand of hair, then looked up at Zhuo Yi. “Captain Zhuo, why doesn’t it seem like you’re a little bit surprised that I’ve come looking for you?”

Zhuo Yi’s expression was calm like still water, his face not showing the slightest change in mood. “Who says that I’m not surprised? I’m very surprised, surprised that Miss Cheng could be so calm that she’d only come find me after a week.”

It was already a full week since he last bumped into Hua Zhao in the alley. He thought that Cheng Xingfei and her agent would quickly seek him out for “discussions,” but they unexpectedly delayed it until now.

A week was probably long enough for them to investigate him inside-out, no?

As he thought of it, Zhuo Yi’s eyes darkened. “Miss Cheng, I told you before that I’m not someone who enjoys going around in circles. You involved other people to come find me, so it can’t just be for a chat, right? If you have something to say, say it straight.”

“…” Cheng Xingfei wasn’t angry. She was used to seeing people in the entertainment circle speak with eight winding turns in each sentence, so straightforward people like Zhuo Yi were quite matched with her temperament. “Then I’ll say it straight. Hua Zhao’s origin is a secret, so I don’t want to hear rumors about her anywhere.”

Zhuo Yi raised his eyebrows.

In fact, Cheng Xingfei wasn’t short. She was 1.6 meters, taller than 1.7 meters when wearing high heels. Zhuo Yi was just too tall, at a height of nearly 2 meters that made him look like a beast. When he lowered his head to look at her, it looked like a huge dragon listening to a princess.

“What price are you offering to have me protect this secret?” Zhuo Yi said calmly. “A huge amount of money that’s enough to leave me unworried for the rest of my life?”

“Not money.” Cheng Xingfei shook her head. “I’ll offer you a job.”

“A job?”

“—As my bodyguard.” Cheng Xingfei spoke quickly, bringing out the solution that she prepared. “I’m offering you a salary that’s enough to satisfy you, one that isn’t too busy, and the only thing you need to do is be at my side.”

This was the safest solution she’d come up with at the end of her deliberations! She could, without a doubt, give Zhuo Yi ¥1,000,000 with no issue and buy his silence, but money would definitely leave a paper trail. If Zhuo Yi wasn’t satisfied with what he got, he might take out the transfer records to go tell someone about it, forcing Cheng Xingfei into an even tighter spot.

So she thought about it and decided to poach Zhuo Yi over to her side! She was an artist, it was normal to hire a bodyguard, and no one would say anything about it. Artists’ bodyguards and officials’ bodyguards were different.

Spending money to keep him under her nose was all the same to her. Buy his silence, buy her peace of mind.

She believed that if Zhuo Yi was smart enough, he wouldn’t reject this job!

As expected, Zhuo Yi’s expression slightly loosened after she made this proposal.

Zhuo Yi sighed. “I didn’t think that you’d go to such lengths for Princess Hua Zhao.”

He wondered, did that savage Princess know how much care Cheng Xingfei treated her with?

Cheng Xingfei smiled. “Since I brought her home, of course I’m responsible for her.”

She looked up at Zhuo Yi. “What’s your decision, Captain Zhuo? As long as you nod, my agent’s people will deal with all the affairs concerning the museum.”

Zhuo Yi: “Wait a minute. I have a requirement.”

Cheng Xingfei’s heart jumped as she worried about what presumptuous requirement it would be. “…Say it.”

Zhuo Yi: “Although it’s being an actress’s bodyguard, I ask that we sign a formal employment contract, not a service agreement.”2

Cheng Xingfei: “…?”

Zhuo Yi: “The museum gives me the 5 insurances and a housing fund,3 so you have to provide those too.”

Cheng Xingfei: “…??”

Zhuo Yi: “Why are you looking at me like that? Under Beijing Social Insurance,4 it takes a whole 5 years to be able to buy a house. And I can’t stop my Social Insurance, cause if I stop it I won’t be able to use the money I’ve saved up.”

Cheng Xingfei: “…???”

What happened to the grim and merciless fought-a-bear-in-the-mountains and caught-a-seal-in-the-ocean King of Hell Zhuo?

……

With Sister P as the middleman, Zhuo Yi quickly finished all of his resignation procedures with the museum.

It was so quick, Zhuo Yi’s little team members under his hands didn’t even have time to react.

What just happened? …King of Hell Zhuo’s job at the museum was really secure, so why did he suddenly hand in his resignation?

Museums were a public institution; the security guards got a salary, good treatment, their 5 insurances and housing funds covered, and even food and housing. If you asked these veterans, they didn’t even know how many people envied them for being able to get a foothold at the History Museum!

Why did Zhuo Yi just drop a quick notice and then quit?

A well-informed person secretly shared why: “Did you guys know that the actress who came to History Museum a couple days ago came here to find Zhuo Yi? You’re asking who she was? Obviously it was Cheng Xingfei! I heard the director say that Cheng Xingfei was really interested in Zhuo Yi and wanted to poach him over to be her bodyguard… Won’t we be able to see Captain on TV in the future? Won’t he be able to meet a lot of celebrities?”

Once these words spread, everyone looked at Zhuo Yi with unconcealed gazes.

It was like King of Hell Zhuo wasn’t going to go become a star’s bodyguard, but a star.

Before Zhuo Yi left, he treated everyone on the security team to a meal. All of the teammates sitting at the table were drunk, so they had the guts to tug on their captain’s sleeve and beg him to “not forget us when you get famous.” Where on earth was the timidity they usually displayed?

Zhuo Yi didn’t drink a drop of alcohol. He was the only person sitting calmly there while everyone else was fooling around with their drinks. He held a cigarette loosely between his fingers, yet did not bring it up to his lips.

When they finished eating and cleared out the table, Zhuo Yi took out his wallet to pay the bill.

A clever little team member happened to pass by. He quietly said, “Captain, Captain, we were all joking when we asked you to pay the bill, we aren’t really planning to make you pay.”

How could dozens of growing men go out to eat and drink and rack up a very long bill force Zhuo Yi to pay all by himself? Everyone had already agreed upon it before — go Dutch, they could pay it off if everyone pitched in at least 100 yuan.

Unexpectedly, Zhuo Yi pressed his wallet straight onto the cash register. With a cigarette in his mouth, he said, “It’s alright, it’s not easy for you guys to save up money for your wives. I can pay, no need to worry about saving me money. Do you know how much I’ll earn a month as a bodyguard?”

Zhuo Yi listed a number.

The little team member was stunned.

Zhuo Yi was calm and diffident.

Little team member: F**k… With this much money, don’t even talk about becoming the bodyguard for an actress, isn’t it more like becoming the bodyguard for the actress’s entire family?!

……

The little team member was actually right. Cheng Xingfei’s employment of Zhuo Yi could indeed be considered as him becoming a bodyguard for her entire family.

On Zhuo Yi’s first day on duty, he went to Fengyin Entertainment to sign the final contract (studiously reading over the clause with the 5 insurances and housing fund), then officially began his job.

He didn’t anticipate that Cheng Xingfei would take him straight home and then give him a rather difficult job—

“Zhuo Yi, this is Hua Zhao. You’re responsible for ‘protecting’ her.” Cheng Xingfei further emphasized the word ‘protect.’

Speaking of protection, it was actually just a nicer way of saying looking after her. The sidelined little princess was in disagreement and kicked the wall again.

Since the last time Hua Zhao ran away from home, Cheng Xingfei never found a proper opportunity to have a heartfelt talk with her. It was fortunate that Hua Zhao was being more honest these days. She obediently stayed at home every day and listened to Li An’s teachings, and when she wasn’t in class she hugged her iPad to play games.

Cheng Xingfei felt like leaving a child alone at home for a long period of time would easily create repressed problems and thus simply sent Zhuo Yi over. Furthermore, there were some modern common sense issues that couldn’t be learned solely with online classes. Zhuo Yi could moonlight as a teacher and tell Hua Zhao about modern common sense.

Regarding this decision, Zhuo Yi and Hua Zhao were unexpectedly both averse to it.

The moment Hua Zhao saw Zhuo Yi, her hair rose up. She jumped behind Cheng Xingfei and shrunk her entire body small. At the same time, she pulled on Cheng Xingfei’s arm to aggrievedly say, “No no no, he, he’s so scary, look at how he’s glaring at me!”

Hua Zhao suspiciously said into Cheng Xingfei’s ear, “That wretch knows my secret and must definitely want to hurt bengong!”

She didn’t know to hide her words when slandering someone, so Zhuo Yi naturally heard.

In the face of her unjustified accusation, Zhuo Yi didn’t lose his temper. He simply requested to talk with Cheng Xingfei alone.

Thus Cheng Xingfei had to leave Hua Zhao in the bedroom for now and go into the living room to talk to Zhuo Yi by herself.

Zhuo Yi was straightforward: “Miss Cheng, I remember that our contract says that I’m here to be a bodyguard, not a babysitter.”

Cheng Xingfei: “…” Slightly embarrassed, she could only say, “You’re still a bodyguard, but I haven’t been needing a bodyguard recently as I’m not focusing on business activities right now. So, I’m temporarily transferring you to Hua Zhao’s side.”

She didn’t think that Hua Zhao and Zhuo Yi would be so confrontational the moment they saw each other, so she could only patiently persuade, “I know that Hua Zhao is a bit of a difficult person to deal with, but…”

Zhuo Yi interrupted her: “I’m not saying that I won’t do it.”

Cheng Xingfei: “Then you’re saying…”

Zhuo Yi: “I’m saying that I want a pay raise.”

Cheng Xingfei: “???” She nearly laughed. “Captain Zhuo, I know that the starting salary I’ve given you is high enough that I could hire ten babysitters to look after her.”

Zhuo Yi was unmoving. He indifferently said, “I can attend the Princess, but attending someone with Princess Syndrome is another price.”

Cheng Xingfei: “…”

Oh…

So it wasn’t a pay raise that Zhuo Yi wanted, it was compensation for mental damages.

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1 Princess Syndrome is used to describe excessive narcissism and egocentrism etc in women.

2 The former establishes him as an actual employee of CXF, while the latter is more like a short-term agreement that both parties will work together

3 Life insurance, medical insurance, unemployment insurance, work-related injuries insurance, childbirth insurance; as well as housing accumulation funds

4 Where part of your income is used to pay social insurance tax that allows you to save up. As for whether it really takes 5 years… well, I don’t know.

***

Zhuo Yi on the outside: cold and buff and scarred

Zhuo Yi on the inside: $$$$

Going to drop a few more chapters today.

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