Come with Me

Jiang Qiao had not slept all night. He forced himself to yawn.

"I mean, is it possible that all of this is just your guess? Maybe that pile of tissues was simply because Shi Junyi's needs were beyond the norm?"

As he spoke to Fu Zhilan, his thoughts drifted elsewhere again.

Fu Zhilan hesitated. "That possibility can't be completely ruled out."

Jiang Qiao rambled with him for a while. By now, sleepiness was gradually overtaking his mind. He ruffled Fu Zhilan's hair twice. "Don't overthink it. Be good and go do what you need to do."

"Don't ruin my hairstyle!" Fu Zhilan slapped away Jiang Qiao's meddling hand. He still had to go clean Shi Junyi's room later.

Jiang Qiao watched as Fu Zhilan hurriedly pulled a small mirror from his pocket and fixed his hair in it, so meticulous that even the curve of a single lock had been carefully crafted.

"Why did you do this part like that?" Jiang Qiao hooked that lock of Fu Zhilan's hair with his pinky.

Fu Zhilan changed angles, tilting his head back slightly to show Jiang Qiao half his profile. "See it? Does anything look different?"

Jiang Qiao narrowed his eyes.

Sure enough, from the angle Fu Zhilan gave him, paired with that lock of hair, his whole person somehow gained a naturally coquettish charm.

Jiang Qiao suddenly understood. "How about you publish a book and let me read it?"

Fu Zhilan froze. "What kind of book?"

"The whole set of tricks you use when seducing people," Jiang Qiao said.

Fu Zhilan shot him a coy glare. "When have I ever seduced anyone? Don't talk nonsense."

Jiang Qiao clicked his tongue and changed the subject. "It's past seven. When do you start work?"

Fu Zhilan checked his watch. "I'm about to leave."

Then he looked at Jiang Qiao pleadingly. "Brother Qiao, please, help me?"

Jiang Qiao curled his lips. "Sure."

It was also a good chance to probe Fu Zhilan's next move.

Fu Zhilan looked up at Jiang Qiao trustingly. "Brother Qiao, I knew you weren't really angry with me. You're so good to me."

Jiang Qiao's gaze was complicated, as though he had already resolved to let Fu Zhilan go, yet still carried a restrained, lingering affection. He told him, "You don't need to be polite with me."

As he spoke, he gently stroked Fu Zhilan's hair, discreetly pressing that carefully styled lock back down.

After all, the little slut was about to seduce Jiang Qiao's man.

Jiang Qiao watched Fu Zhilan's retreating back, and the smile on his face instantly took on a different meaning.

Fu Zhilan was quite sensitive.

Just from a few tissues, he had guessed that someone had entered Shi Junyi's room.

It seemed he would have to be more careful in the future. Jiang Qiao felt that Shi Junyi's feelings for him had only just reached the threshold of "having a favorable impression." They could not withstand any tests or turmoil.

He had to let Shen Guiyi find an opportunity to make a move.

Jiang Qiao adapted well. The same illness only made him run a fever once. Even though last night had been even more intense, he did not feel overly uncomfortable when he returned to the dormitory today.

After sleeping for just the morning, he was fully revived by afternoon training.

He searched the fighting arena for a long time but could not find the Black man under Shi Youxi who had made him suffer last time.

"Where's that mixed-blood guy? Out on a mission?" Jiang Qiao asked Shen Guiyi, who was also wandering around the edge of the fighting arena.

Shen Guiyi shook her head. "Yesterday morning, he accidentally stepped on several clover plants by the roadside."

"The young master stared at those clovers for ages and discovered that one of them happened to have four leaves."

"And then?" Jiang Qiao asked, confused.

"Isn't clover supposed to have three leaves? Some little darling who loved stirring up trouble said four leaves meant one in ten thousand, that luck had arrived."

A smile curled Shen Guiyi's lips. "Then the mixed-blood guy got both legs broken by the young master. He said that after he recovered, he'd be sent to the island to scrub elephant sheds for a month before coming back."

The Shi family had a private resort island open to the public for tourism. It kept many elephants, and keeping them looking clean and presentable took considerable effort.

Jiang Qiao burst out laughing. What a coincidence. Anyone who did not know better would think Shi Junyi had deliberately found fault with the man to vent Jiang Qiao's anger.

But once he thought of it that way, he was happy to comfort himself with the idea, and his mood improved even further.

"But isn't that man one of Shi Youxi's people? The young master could just exile him whenever he wanted?" Jiang Qiao asked.

Shen Guiyi said disdainfully, "What does that brat count for? He's still wet behind the ears. The troublesome one is Su Min's side."

Su Min. In the original story, she had only been mentioned in passing: Shi Junyi's stepmother, a low-profile woman who had always secretly caused trouble behind the scenes to help Shi Youxi fight for the family inheritance.

Jiang Qiao gave an acknowledging sound, then thought of Zhao Xu again.

If nothing unexpected happened, Zhao Xu had originally been Su Min's man. It seemed Jiang Qiao would also need to find a chance to approach him gradually.

Jiang Qiao was in a good mood today and in fine form. He defeated several opponents in a row until they could not fight back at all, and even tied with a retired mercenary instructor who had been famous years ago.

Feeling exhilarated, he gulped down several mouthfuls of water, wiped away his sweat, and headed for the shooting range.

He had just finished disassembling and reassembling his gun, loading it and chambering a round, when a gloomy male voice sounded behind him. "Jiang Qiao."

Jiang Qiao turned around and met Shi Youxi's pale face. He smiled. "Young master."

Shi Youxi looked at him. "Keep practicing. Don't mind me."

Jiang Qiao found it baffling, but he had always been thick-skinned. Being watched was no big deal, and he did not feel awkward about it.

After getting used to the feel of several guns, his shooting gradually improved as well.

During that time, Jiang Qiao practiced for hours, and Shi Youxi watched him from not far behind for just as long.

When he drank water, Shi Youxi watched. When he stretched, Shi Youxi watched too.

When Jiang Qiao put away his gun and left, Shi Youxi followed him.

Jiang Qiao deliberately walked to an empty corner and said to Shi Youxi, "If you have something to say, young master, just say it."

Only then did Shi Youxi step in front of Jiang Qiao and examine him once more. "I watched you all afternoon. You're skilled. Come with me."

Jiang Qiao raised a brow. "Sorry, young master, but I don't think I'm a free bodyguard anymore."

Shi Youxi took out his phone and pulled up the bodyguard records. After checking them, he nodded. "That's true. You're under Shi Jiao's name right now. I can have you transferred to me. Shi Jiao never leaves the house all day. There's no fun in following her."

Under Shi Jiao's name?

Shi Junyi had not taken him back?

Jiang Qiao's expression immediately fell. That damn man had already slept with him, yet officially, he still belonged to Shi Jiao.

He silently sneered and said to Shi Youxi, "What's so fun about following you? Following you to class every day, bullying people, and showing off your power for you?"

"Or wrapping up girls who don't do as you want and hauling them away to teach them a harsh lesson?"

Shi Youxi frowned. "Are you criticizing me?"

Jiang Qiao neither confirmed nor denied it. "I'm just saying, I'm not going. Rather than follow you around, I'd rather go scrub elephant sheds on the island."