Lin Xiao squatted on the curb at the school gate, holding a foxtail grass he had plucked from the flower bed next to him, and drew circles on the ground.
It was quite late when he got back to Betty's place last night. He had originally planned to "closely protect" Betty —literally, closely, to protect her. But she politely arranged for him to stay at a hotel off-campus, even picking out a deluxe room. The room was clean and tidy, and the bed was big enough, but it was a full three blocks away from Betty's place. Lin Xiao tossed and turned on the hotel bed, feeling utterly ripped off. What happened to the promised close protection? Three blocks away—what kind of close protection was that? Three blocks away, he couldn't do anything at all, cough cough...
He walked excitedly towards the school early this morning. He had just reached the main gate and hadn't even stepped over the threshold when his phone rang.
" Lin Xiao." Betty's voice came from the phone, her tone much gentler than yesterday, but Lin Xiao felt that there was something he didn't want to hear hidden beneath that gentleness.
"Good morning, Miss Ross. I'm at the school gate, I'll be there soon—"
"Wait for me outside the school today."
Lin Xiao's foot was dangling in mid-air when he abruptly pulled it back.
"... Outside the school?"
"Yes, off-campus." Betty paused, her voice tinged with guilt. "Several professors told me today that yesterday, when you stood in the lobby of the lab building for a while, the students' attention was completely diverted. This morning, several girls from other departments came to ask me if that handsome new bodyguard was still there, saying they wanted to bring their girlfriends to take photos with him."
Lin Xiao opened his mouth, wanting to say, "It's not my fault, I didn't do anything, they just surrounded me," but then he thought about it and realized he really couldn't blame Betty. She was the employer, and employers need a quiet working environment, while his presence was a moving source of noise. Honestly, sometimes being too handsome is a problem.
"Alright." Lin Xiao pulled his foot back and slowly leaned against the flower bed. "I'll wait outside. Call me anytime if you need anything; my phone's on. Protecting you is my responsibility, although—and I mean, although—I feel a little wronged, but I don't want to tell you I'm just your bodyguard. Just listen to you."
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.
"Lin, I'm sorry, I didn't expect this..."
Lin Xiao's lips curled into a smile, but his voice was low and muffled. " Miss Ross, is there anything else? I'm currently at the school gate reflecting on whether my appearance poses a threat to society."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. Betty's voice came through, softer than before, carrying a hint of barely concealed guilt. "Tonight... I'll treat you to dinner, okay? Don't overthink it. What do you want to eat tonight?"
Lin Xiao raised an eyebrow, his lips curving into a wider smile, but his voice retained its previous aggrieved tone. "Really? You're not just being polite?"
"I'm not just being polite. Tell me, whatever you'd like to eat, it's fine."
"Anything is fine?" Lin Xiao repeated the word, his eyes narrowing. "Then I'll say it—four Australian lobsters."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. Then Betty's voice trembled slightly. "... Four Australian lobsters?"
"I haven't finished yet, lobster as an appetizer." Lin Xiao counted on his fingers, his tone becoming increasingly cheerful, "Salmon sashimi, eighty plates. Boston lobster bisque, one bowl. French escargot, twenty dozen. Japan Wagyu beef—five pounds should be enough."
There was complete silence on the other end of the phone.
Lin Xiao could imagine Betty's expression at that moment—her brown eyes must be wide open, her lips slightly parted, and the pen in her hand might have fallen onto the lab report. He counted to three in his mind, then changed the subject, his tone suddenly becoming extremely gentle and considerate.
"Never mind, I was just kidding. You're a university professor, how much can you earn? I don't want you spending money recklessly."
Betty's voice held a hint of emotion. "What would you like to eat?"
"King crab is fine." Lin Xiao's tone was as serious as if he were discussing some important decision. "Just a few pounds of king crab, nothing else. Your bodyguard is the most considerate; he doesn't want you to spend too much money."
Betty's breathing visibly paused on the other end of the phone. Then Lin Xiao heard a very slight chuckle, as if someone was covering their mouth but couldn't hide their laughter.
"... Okay. King crab. Meet me at the school gate at 6 PM."
"Okay, whatever you say."
Lin Xiao hung up the phone, twirled it between his fingers, and couldn't suppress the smile on his lips. He put a foxtail grass in his mouth, put his hands in his pockets, and strolled slowly along the street outside the school.
The sun was shining brightly, neither too hot nor too cold. The palm trees lining both sides of the street rustled in the wind, and a salty sea breeze filled the air. Lin Xiao squinted, and a background music automatically started playing in his mind—sunshine, waves, beach, cacti, and an old sea captain.
These days are really nice.
He spent about forty minutes surveying the area around the school. There were three surveillance cameras at the school gate, a blind spot in the east wall, and a small alley to the west that led directly to the back gate, but the alley was cluttered with debris that could be used as cover in an emergency. Lin Xiao silently memorized this information and was about to head back when he suddenly caught a glimpse of something interesting out of the corner of his eye.
Across the street, an elderly white man named Deng, wearing a floral shirt, with a gleaming frizzy head and a belly so large it could pop his belt buckle off, was leading a hot Latina woman towards the parking lot. Deng's hand was rubbing the woman's waist, and he was grinning lewdly. Lin Xiao chuckled and was about to look away when he saw someone else.
A skinny Black boy wearing a baseball cap walked past Old Deng from behind. As he passed, two fingers reached out like hooks, and Old Deng's wallet fell into his hand. The movement was clean and swift, taking less than a fraction of a second. Old Deng was completely unaware, still bragging to the beautiful woman about how big his yacht was and how his cat could do backflips.
Lin Xiao saw everything clearly and immediately laughed.
He leaned against the lamppost, not moving an inch. To be honest, he didn't really want to help that old man in the first place. That guy was clearly no good—fat and arrogant. Well, he just couldn't stand the sight of that bald old man with that hot woman on his arm. Why did someone like that get to have a hot girl while he got nothing?
Lin Xiao watched with schadenfreude as the thief disappeared around the street corner with Old Deng's wallet, his mood inexplicably improving. He reached into his pocket, wanting to check his phone.
Lin Xiao's smile froze.
My phone is still here, but my wallet is gone.
He only had two pockets on his pants—one on the left and one on the right. His wallet was in the left pocket, which was now empty. Empty. Lin Xiao looked down at his pocket, his mind blank. Damn it, a Level 6 S.H.I.E.L.D.. agent, who single-handedly took down the Ten Rings and rescued Tony, who single-handedly stormed Kingpin's lair, someone Kingpin Black Baldy had to offer him cigarettes, had his wallet stolen by a thief. And in broad daylight, on a busy street, right after he'd just been gloating.
"Holy shit--"
Lin Xiao suddenly looked up, his gaze sweeping across the entire street like a radar. The thin figure in the baseball cap was gone, but a shadowy figure flashed by at the street corner. Lin Xiao didn't have time to think and took off after him. He was so fast that the palm leaves around him rustled in the wind.
When he reached the second street, Lin Xiao suddenly felt someone watching him. It wasn't the curious stare of a passerby, but a gaze with a clear purpose, one that sent chills down his spine. He abruptly stopped and turned to look in the direction the gaze was coming from.
Across the street was a hot dog stand. An old man with a full head of white hair was standing in front of the stand, holding a freshly made hot dog in his hand, but he showed no intention of eating it. His eyes were fixed on Lin Xiao's direction, his eyes narrowed into slits behind his glasses, his gaze a mixture of anger, shame, and an emotion that Lin Xiao couldn't quite decipher.
The moment Lin Xiao and the old man's eyes met, a faint blue glint appeared on the old man's skin.
Lin Xiao's expression changed from anger to confusion, from confusion to thoughtfulness, and from thoughtfulness to an extremely subtle complexity.
But he doesn't have time for that right now.
" Doupao, mark this old man," Lin Xiao thought to himself, then turned and continued chasing after the thief who had disappeared, his figure quickly vanishing around the street corner.
At the hot dog stand, the "silver-haired old man" was still standing there, the hot dog in his hand was already deformed from being squeezed, and ketchup was squeezed out from between his fingers and dripped onto the ground.
Gritting his teeth, staring at the direction Lin Xiao disappeared in, he squeezed out a few words through clenched teeth. "Fate... bastard..."
After saying that, his legs involuntarily tightened, his knees trembled slightly, and his ears turned red at a visible speed.
Behind the hot dog stand, a young Black man, holding hot dog tongs, witnessed the entire scene. He watched as the "silver-haired old man" in front of him, his face flushed, stared at the retreating figure of a burly man. His mouth opened and closed, then opened and closed again, finally revealing a knowing smile that said, "I understand."
"Old man," the Black man placed the clips on the metal plate, wiped his hands, and spoke with the warmth of someone sharing life experience with an old friend, "I support you."
The old man turned his head, his cloudy old eyes wide open. "... What did you say?"
"I'm telling you, I support you. If you like her, just go for it." The black guy leaned on the hot dog stand counter, a genuinely earnest smile on his face. "I saw it all—you stared at that guy for ages, blushed, and even trembled with nervousness. Don't be shy, really, I know all too well what you're doing."
The old man opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.
The young Black man, completely oblivious to her expression, continued, "You see, my boyfriend George and I went through the same thing. We had a little disagreement recently—it was my fault. I was so lonely at the time that I did some things I shouldn't have. But I sincerely apologized, and he forgave me. Now we're back together. He took the money he saved from his service in Afghanistan and gave it to me to buy this hot dog stand. We moved here from Queens. It's hard work running the stand every day, but we're doing pretty well, really."
He patted his chest, his tone so sincere it was almost palpable. "So, old man, listen to me—if you like him, go for it, don't worry about age. You have such white hair, yet you're still so passionate; I envy you. Go for it, pursue him, tell him how you feel. The worst that can happen is rejection, which is better than keeping it bottled up inside."
The old man looked down at the crushed hot dog in his hand, then looked up at the black man's face, which seemed to say, "Brother, I've got you covered."
He tossed the hot dog in his hand into the trash can, turned around, and walked away without looking back. His pace was so fast that it didn't seem like that of a "silver-haired old man," but his gait looked awkward no matter how you looked at it.
The young Black man leaned halfway out from behind the hot dog stand and shouted at her back, "Grandma! Don't give up! Love knows no age! George and I both support you!"
The old man quickened his pace, almost fleeing into the alleyway at the street corner. A blue tinge appeared on his skin again, this time more pronounced, spreading from his neck to his ears.