“Boss, did you know? I was scared to death just now!” Lu Sen limped over to me, forcing a smile despite his pain.
Tang Shuyao, covering her mouth in astonishment at Lu Sen’s appearance, exclaimed, “Your friend’s outfit is so unique!”
Lu Sen’s brow visibly twitched at her comment.
I sighed and explained, “We just had a run-in with Zhao Gao because he sent people to beat up my friend here.”
“You offended Zhao Gao? Your friend’s luck isn’t great,” Tang Shuyao remarked, looking at Lu Sen with sympathy.
At this moment, Hao Shuai and Diao Sinan also approached. Hao Shuai, seemingly acquainted with Tang Shuyao and her group, greeted them politely, “Miss Tang, Miss Qin.”
Qin Mengdie nodded without speaking, but Tang Shuyao’s expression soured. She glared at Hao Shuai and snapped, “Hao Shuai! Are you taking advantage of me not knowing better? You’re the ‘Miss’ here! Your whole family are ‘Misses’!”
Hao Shuai scratched his head awkwardly, smiling bitterly.
“You know each other?” I asked Hao Shuai, puzzled.
Hao Shuai chuckled dryly. “Yes, Tang Xiao—” He almost called her “Miss Tang” again but caught her expression and quickly corrected himself, “Tang Shuyao is the second young lady of the Tang family in the capital. Miss Qin is from the Qin family in the capital as well.”
The Tang family? The Qin family? Along with Zhao Gao, it seemed that the heirs of the four major shareholders of Shenghua had gathered here.
I’d heard of the second young lady of the Tang family before, but when did the Qin family produce such a beauty? She likely wasn’t from the direct line.
If Liu Dong knew their identities, he’d probably be feeling relieved. Offending both the Tang and Qin families wouldn’t end well—he’d lose more than just face.
“No wonder Zhao Gao is wary of you two. Your status is quite impressive!” I said with a smile.
Tang Shuyao shook her head. “It’s not entirely because of that. Mainly, Zhao Gao wants to pursue Sister Mengdie, so he’s giving us face.”
I glanced at Qin Mengdie, the icy beauty. Though her demeanor was cold, she was undoubtedly a top-tier beauty, on par with Mei’er. However, in terms of temperament, I preferred Mei’er’s purity.
It would be a pity if this little beauty ended up with Zhao Gao, though it seemed she wasn’t interested in him.
Suddenly, Tang Shuyao appeared to think of something. She grinned at me and said, “I saved your life earlier. Do you think a few words of thanks are enough?”
I hadn’t expected her to say this out of nowhere. Smiling, I asked, “Then what do you want?”
“Sigh! You look smart, but how are you so dense? Of course, you should treat Sister Mengdie and me to a meal!” Tang Shuyao said, feigning exasperation.
Her comment left me speechless. I could only chuckle dryly and say, “That’s not a problem.”
“Alright, Xiao Yao, we should go.” Qin Mengdie, who had been silent for a while, finally spoke. (G: Xiao Yao = Little Yao.)
Tang Shuyao glanced at Qin Mengdie and then at me. “I’ll leave for now. Remember to treat your benefactor to a meal someday!” She said, pulling Qin Mengdie along as they left hand in hand.
“Hey!” I called out, but neither of them turned back. Tang Shuyao called me dense, but the real fool was her—leaving without giving me her contact information and still expecting me to treat her to a meal. Well, it saved me the expense.
After they left, Hao Shuai frowned. “Boss, Zhao Gao holds grudges. This matter won’t end here. You and Lu Sen need to be careful.”
Lu Sen hung his head and said apologetically, “Boss, I’m sorry. It’s my fault for causing trouble and dragging you into this.”
“What are you saying? Didn’t I tell you? If you call me boss, that makes you my brother!” I looked at Lu Sen seriously. “I won’t let my brothers suffer.”
“I’m useless; I can’t even help…” Diao Sinan lowered his head in guilt.
I smiled at Diao Sinan. “Don’t worry about it. The Zhao family isn’t something ordinary people can mess with anyway.”
“Boss, are you saying you’re not an ordinary person?” Lu Sen teased, grinning despite the pain in his mouth.
“Alright, let’s go rest. We still have to practice marching later!” I patted their shoulders and sat under a large tree to cool off.
The issue with Zhao Gao was far from over. I had already guessed Qin Shousheng’s identity.
With the surname Qin, living in the capital, and possessing such abilities, it was clear he belonged to the Qin family.
The icy beauty just now, Qin Mengdie, what was her connection to Qin Shousheng?
Could it be that Qin Shousheng wanted me to protect Qin Mengdie instead of Hao Shuai? But that didn’t make sense. With the Qin family’s influence in the capital, who would dare target Qin Mengdie?
Still, Hao Shuai didn’t seem like my protection target either. Qin Shousheng was truly frustrating—giving me a mission without clarifying who to protect. What was he up to?
Forget it. Since I was already at Shenghua, I’d let it be. If anything happened to the protection target, it wasn’t my problem.
“All assemble!” Liu Dong’s shout snapped everyone out of their rest.
I stood in line, but my mind was elsewhere.
Liu Dong had called me to his tent earlier, only to test me with a single kick and say nothing else. It was strange.
Why had so much happened in just two days at Shenghua?
Lost in thought, I suddenly sensed someone attacking. I dodged instinctively and countered with a kick, but when I saw it was Liu Dong, I quickly retracted my foot.
Liu Dong was startled by my reaction but quickly regained his composure. With a stern face, he scolded, “Didn’t you hear my orders? What are you daydreaming about!” He followed up with a kick.
This time, I didn’t dodge. His attack didn’t bother me, but I pretended to feel some pain. “Sorry…” I said.
“Stand properly!” Liu Dong barked before returning to the front to give instructions.
Since the training site had tents, we weren’t allowed to return to our dormitories at noon and could only go back in the evening.
So, Hao Shuai, Lu Sen, and I crammed into a tent to rest.
Lu Sen crawled in from outside, grinning mischievously. “Boss, guess what I got!” He pulled out two decks of playing cards.
“Where did you get those?” During military training, aside from the uniform and meal money, nothing else was allowed. Rest times were often dull, so I was surprised Lu Sen managed to get playing cards.
“Don’t ask. Some guy had the brilliant idea to sneak cards in, knowing training life is boring. He’s selling them secretly. I bought two decks to pass the time.” Lu Sen opened the packs and took out the cards.
Diao Sinan, full of excitement, exclaimed, “I’ve never played cards before! Teach me, Second Brother!”
While shuffling the cards, Lu Sen teased, “If you want to learn, call me Second Brother nicely!”
I suddenly remembered something and said, “Playing cards during training is against the rules. Better put them away.”
Hao Shuai nodded in agreement. “Yeah, we should be cautious and avoid giving Zhao Gao any leverage.”
Lu Sen reluctantly agreed, “Fine.”
Before he could stash the cards, the tent flap was suddenly thrown open, and a furious voice shouted, “What are you doing?”
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