Perfect, Then. Let's Spar

"Here already?"

"Morning, Lei!"

Lei Zhen acknowledged the greeting and turned toward the villa, walking at a measured, steady pace.

"Come on. I'll show you around first so you can get familiar with the place. It'll make your work easier later."

The villa was especially quiet this early in the morning, without a sound.

Only their footsteps could be heard in the long corridor, one heavy, the other light, echoing slowly through the empty space.

"The master gets up at six sharp every morning, stretches out in the courtyard, eats breakfast at seven, and leaves on business at eight. From now on, just stick with me and do what I do."

Chen Yuan obediently followed behind Lei Zhen, listening closely and silently committing everything to memory.

The corridor was unusually long, with several landscape paintings hanging on the walls. Their ink varied from dark to pale, but he couldn't make much sense of them. He only gave them a couple of quick glances before looking away.

He followed Lei Zhen around a corner to another small building. Lei Zhen pushed open a door, revealing a modest dorm room of around twenty square meters, furnished with a bed, a desk, and a wardrobe. The window faced south, letting in sunlight that filled the room with brightness.

The quilt on the bed was folded into a neat square, like a block of tofu. A lamp stood on the bedside table, wiped spotless, without a speck of dust.

"This is your room."

Leaning against the doorframe, Lei Zhen said evenly,

"All our bodyguards live in this building. One room each, so nobody disturbs anyone else. Meals are in the cafeteria: breakfast at six thirty, lunch at noon, dinner at six. Don't be late."

Chen Yuan set his bag on the bed and looked out the window. Outside was a little courtyard planted with a few stalks of bamboo, their leaves a glossy green. Just looking at them put him at ease.

He nodded slightly and committed that information to memory as well.

Lei Zhen didn't linger, leading him on to the surveillance room.

The surveillance room wasn't large. Screens covered an entire wall, cycling continuously through more than a dozen views: the main gate, the perimeter walls, the courtyard, the corridors, and the stairways. Every corner of the villa was clearly visible.

Two young men in black uniforms sat watching the screens. When they saw Lei Zhen enter, they merely nodded in silence, without saying another word.

"Someone watches these twenty-four hours a day. We can't let our guard down for even a moment."

Lei Zhen pointed at the screens on the wall and carefully explained to Chen Yuan,

"The main gate, side gate, and back gate all have guards posted. Every entrance and exit is covered. There are infrared sensors on top of the walls, too. They switch on automatically at night. Patrol duty runs in three shifts, and we make a circuit of the villa every two hours."

Watching the constantly changing images, Chen Yuan silently marveled at the scale of the security operation. It was far more extensive than he'd imagined. Even the bodyguard operations shown on television probably looked much like this.

None of that showed on his face, though. He simply watched quietly and carefully memorized all the rules.

Lei Zhen glanced at Chen Yuan out of the corner of his eye. His lips moved slightly, but in the end, he said nothing.

They made a full tour of the villa before finally returning to the main building.

The door to the ground-floor dining room was open, and the faint clinking of dishes drifted out. Lei Zhen paused in the doorway, then stepped aside to let Chen Yuan enter first.

The dining room wasn't particularly large. A long table stood in the middle, covered with a clean white tablecloth. On it were several plates of light side dishes, a pot of steaming plain congee, and a basket of freshly steamed buns.

Sunlight spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing the entire table in warmth.

Chen Desheng sat at the head of the table in light gray loungewear, his hair neatly combed. Steam still rose from the bowl of congee before him.

He was lifting a bun to his mouth when he looked up and saw Chen Yuan enter. A smile immediately spread across his face, bunching the creases at the corners of his eyes.

"You're here, Yuan? Come on, sit down and eat with us."

Chen Yuan instinctively glanced at Lei Zhen, only to find that he had already pulled out a chair and sat down. Lei Zhen gave him a small nod, signaling him to sit as well.

"Thank you, sir."

Only then did Chen Yuan pull out a chair and sit down. His back was ramrod straight, his hands resting properly on his knees, and he didn't dare fidget.

Chen Desheng put down his bun, lifted his bowl for a sip of congee, then gently set it down again. His gaze settled on Chen Yuan as he asked warmly,

"Did you sleep well last night?"

Images from the previous night instantly flashed through Chen Yuan's mind, and his cheeks warmed despite himself. He hurriedly gathered his thoughts and nodded.

"Very well. I slept soundly."

"Good."

Chen Desheng picked up his chopsticks and gestured toward the side dishes.

"Go on, eat. Don't stand on ceremony. From now on, treat this place like your own home. Lei Zhen, take Yuan under your wing. Teach him all the rules he needs to know, and don't leave out any reminders."

Lei Zhen picked up some pickled vegetables, placed them in his bowl of congee, and answered gruffly,

"Understood, sir."

Chen Desheng took another sip of congee and looked at Chen Yuan again, a measure of approval in his eyes.

The young man sat properly, his back straight and his eyes clear. He was neither servile nor arrogant in his dealings with others, and he seemed thoroughly grounded.

Over his lifetime, Chen Desheng had met countless people: rich and poor, officials and soldiers. He had seen so many and spent a lifetime sizing them up. After watching someone sit for a minute, he could get a fairly good sense of their character.

This young man was dependable.

After breakfast, Chen Desheng wiped his mouth with a tissue and stood up. He reached out and patted Chen Yuan's shoulder, his palm broad and strong.

"Lei Zhen, take Yuan to the training ground. Let him get familiar with our training rules."

Lei Zhen immediately rose and nodded respectfully.

Chen Yuan followed Lei Zhen outside. They passed through a corridor and pushed open a heavy iron door, revealing a courtyard set aside for training.

The courtyard wasn't large. Rubber surfacing covered the ground, and several punching bags stood in a corner alongside plenty of strength-training equipment. Large red characters painted on the wall read, "Sweat more in training, bleed less in battle." The paint looked years old, but it still stood out.

Lei Zhen stood in the middle of the courtyard, turned around, and looked Chen Yuan up and down.

His gaze was completely different from when they'd first met. Before, he'd seen a green kid fresh from the countryside. Today, he saw someone who would soon be working alongside him.

He gently rolled his neck, eliciting a series of cracks.

"Don't think saving the master means you can coast along here."

Lei Zhen's voice was neither loud nor soft, but every word carried a weight that made one's chest tighten.

"We don't keep freeloaders here."

Chen Yuan looked up at him without saying a word.

He stood directly in the sunlight, with the sun spilling down from behind him and stretching his shadow out long.

He simply stood straight, neither shrinking away nor avoiding Lei Zhen's gaze, and watched him quietly. There was no fear in his eyes, no deliberate attempt to please, nor any anger at being provoked. Only calm.

The look in Chen Yuan's eyes caught Lei Zhen slightly off guard.

He had trained plenty of newcomers. Some arrived bowing and scraping, doing everything they could to flatter him. Others thumped their chests and pledged their loyalty. Still others were too timid to speak. But this was the first time he'd seen someone like Chen Yuan, neither servile nor arrogant, steady as a mountain.

The kid stood there like a tree rooted in the earth. Even if the wind blew, he wouldn't sway in the slightest.

Lei Zhen took a step forward and clenched his hands into fists, his knuckles cracking.

"Can you fight?"

"A little," Chen Yuan replied evenly.

"Perfect, then. Let's spar."