Release that Man

An Zining very easily helped Ye Shuang find some new enemies, or at least, Ye Shuang could feel the eyes that focused on her become several degrees hotter.

What have I done to deserve this? For no reason, someone had set a trap for her, and she had to say thanks with a smile before jumping into it. Ye Shuang’s heart quivered with panic.

Under the scrutiny of everyone, including Han Chu, her lips twitched. Ye Shuang thought about it and felt like humility was more conducive for teamwork and peace, so she tactfully answered, “Actually I feel… who is the best fighter is not that important; the key is being professional and responsible.”

She really could not find it within herself to say that she was just a woman, so of course, she could not best a man at physical combat. After all, An Zining had seen her in action before. Being humble had its limit as well; not crossing it was humble, but crossing it would appear pretentious. What if there were some emergencies in the future? Did she expect herself to scream like a little girl and faint‽

However, while Ye Shuang thought she was being humble, others still thought her as being pretentious. The bodyguard tightened his lips, which were threatening to curl upwards into a mocking smile. After all, he didn’t think it was gentlemanly to really enter a contest with a girl to see who is better at combat. If he really did, where was he going to put his face as a man? Therefore, all he could do now was depend on Han Chu to salvage the situation.

Han Chu did not disappoint. He pulled back his gaze to stop making this difficult for Ye Shuang, and instead, he turned to the client, or An Zining, to rattle off the bodyguard’s resume. “This gentleman that I found for Miss An is a retired Special Ops. He has worked at plenty of security companies and was employed as the bodyguard for many dignitaries when they visited our country, so you don’t have to worry about physical skills and professionalism…”

“Alright, alright, fine then, he can stay!” An Zining lost her patience already. She waved for Han Chu to stop the introduction as if she was talking to a salesman who was trying to sell her some product; she just wanted it to stop. Instantly, the bodyguard’s face darkened.

Han Chu was only responsible for the head-hunting and recommendation. If the client was okay with it, then he was okay with it; the relationship between the team was none of his business.

Glancing at the few people who had sparks flying between them thanks to An Zining, Han Chu chose to ignore it as he passed over several forms. Since Ye Shuang was a beginner, she had an extra one. “Pass them back to me after you’re done. I also need a photocopy of your Identity Card. In a few days’ time, I will help you register a bank card. In the future, your payment after deduction of commission will be transferred into said card. Also, the registration fee will be deducted from your first payment.”

“…Thank you.” Ye Shuang felt like the number of times she had become flustered within those few days far outweighed the times she had in the past month. She was still getting used to this new career path that she had decided for herself.

After all the formalities were finished and introductions made, when Han Chu recorded everything on his computer, the work with An Zining was settled. As Ye Shuang stood to the side and listened, it was then that she had a rough idea of why An Zining sought out Han Chu’s help.

To put it simply, it was to deal with the issue of asset separation after the divorce.

Even though she still had no idea what the final straw that caused An Zining to ask for a divorce was, the situation seemed to be rather disastrous since An Zining had cut herself loose from Chen He. Due to their initial nuptials, the business interactions between both families had gotten more frequent since it was beneficial for both sides.

If this divorce did not happen, when there was a child between them, this relationship was only going to get stronger. Alas, before there was a child, the marriage had reached an premature end. The two business families that had worked together on so many projects now wanted to draw a clear line between each other. This was understandably harder than it seemed, and it already seemed quite impossible.

The negotiations between the two business empires was not An Zining’s concern. She needed a lawyer simply to have a clean break between the two individuals’ personal asset. Even though she did not need the money, she would rather donate it to a primary school than leave it to the jerk to splurge on his mistresses.

The bodyguard naturally was for her personal safety. The rather un-gentlemanly Chen He was heavily mocked and humiliated by An Zining before the divorce. In his anger, he had sworn to exact revenge on her. Even though all of the adults agreed that he was merely bluffing, no one could really tell what Chen He was thinking.

Even if one took a step back and assumed that he would not dare threaten An Zining’s physical safety, it would not be below him to hire a few men to public humiliate An Zining. Therefore, a bodyguard was necessary under such circumstances.

“Sister An, are you going to have dinner at home tonight? Do you have any preference? I’ll go buy the ingredients now.” The personal chef, who was the only female of the group, was the first to get into the action. After Han Chu left, she immediately offered her service.

An Zining thought about it and said, “Have Ye Shuang drive you to the market. My preference is food that is sweet and salty. The actual dishes, you can come up with on your own.”

The lawyer naturally had to stay to start the precursory communication with An Zining to discuss the ways they could go about the divorce battle. The bodyguard would not leave the side of his client. Thankfully, there was still an intern who naturally took over Ye Shuang’s responsibilities while she was out.

After marking the location and route on the GPS, Ye Shuang grabbed the car key, money, and Miss Chef before leaving.

Perhaps the two girls had several shared interests or perhaps Miss Chef was just a friendlier person in general, but on the way to the car, this slightly plump chef saw how awkward Ye Shuang was as she tried to initiate a conversation. Considering the fact that they would be in each other’s close company for the following one month, Miss Chef smiled sweetly and said, “What Miss An said just now did anger Brother Wong a bit, but I’m sure he won’t be angry at you. We’ve served all sorts of clients before. At most, he’ll be mad for another one or two hours, so don’t worry about it.”

Brother Wong referred to the bodyguard. Actually, Miss Chef still left one important detail out. The real reason Brother Wong was feeling a bit irked by Ye Shuang was because she was someone forced into the task force by Han Chu, taking the spot of the intern whom they were closer to since they did belong to the same workshop.

However, since they were SOHO workshops and not mercenary soldiers, they would not hold onto such meaningless grudges for long. Yes, they were annoyed by Ye Shuang’s sudden arrival, but there was no reason for them to make things difficult for Ye Shuang. After all, whether they liked it or not, they were now a team, and naturally, they would not harm Ye Shuang for no reason.

Ye Shuang sighed in relief and smiled. “I just got this job, and honestly, I can’t even tell how that happened, but I am really sorry; I usurped the spot of your workshop’s intern.”

“You saw that?” Miss Chef was slightly startled before she broke into a smile. “No matter, after all, it was not written in the contract that the personal assistant post had to be reserved for our workshop. It’s just that has always been the rule, so we’re all still getting used to the change.”

At this point, Miss Chef paused, as if hesitating whether she should ask the question that was on her mind or not. In the end, the gossipy side of her won out, and she asked, “I hope you won’t mind if I ask a personal question… did Brother Han… do this for you because you have a personal relationship with him‽”

“I suppose you can say that, but it’s definitely not the kind of relationship you’re thinking about.” Using An Zining’s earlier description as guide, they found the parking lot. Ye Shuang pressed the button on the key, and the headlights of a Maserati lit up.

So much pressure, I hear this car is worth several million… Ye Shuang had only managed to absorb some driving knowledge, and she had not really mastered it. What if she scratched the car or something‽

Thinking about that, Ye Shuang very calmly turned to ask Miss Chef, “Do you have a driver’s license?”

“I do… but I drive very slowly because my technique is not so good, so I don’t dare…” Miss Chef was surprised by the sudden change in topic, but she soon realized what the real meaning behind that question was. “You don’t know how to drive?”

“Of course, I do!” Ye Shuang retorted shamelessly. Technically, she had simulated driving many times in her mind, so actual driving would not be much different, right? Then again, she did not think it was clever to use such an expensive car to test that particular theory. Maybe in a second-hand car, but definitely not a Maserati.

When Miss Chef heard that, she came up with another explanation on her own. “Then does this mean you also don’t often drive?”

A fresh driver like herself?

If one did not count the bouncy cars at carnivals and that “don’t often” was changed into “never”… Ye Shuang nodded in silence.

Miss Chef was speechless. If you don’t know how to drive, why did you follow? To help carry the bags‽

The closest market was at least a twenty-minute car drive away; walking there was impossible. With no other option, Miss Chef had to take the driver’s seat. Using her amateur skill, she got out of the parking lot and used a constant speed that was less than thirty miles per hour as she carefully entered the main street.

Honestly, it had not been that long since Miss Chef had gotten her driver’s license. The money in her bank was not enough for her to afford her own car, so she did not have much opportunity to practice. When she was holding the steering wheel, her whole body was tense, so tense that Ye Shuang did not dare talk to her, afraid that the girl might accidentally mistake the brake and gas pedal. The same fear was running through Miss Chef’s mind as she drove the car like she was operating some kind of delicate device.

However, as Miss Chef concentrated on the road, the quiet Ye Shuang who was sitting beside the driver suddenly jumped up from her seat. With one hand on the steering wheel, and the other patting Miss Chef on her shoulder, she almost made Miss Chef jump up from her seat. “Be calm…”

I was perfectly calm until you did such a thing!

Miss Chef was about to say that when she heard Ye Shuang, who had leaned into her ear, say, “There seems to be someone tailing us.”

What‽

This time, Miss Chef was truly shaken.