Chapter 110

Chapter 110

"Who was it that said they wouldn’t eat where they sleep?"

Lu Ningzhou teased him with a smirk. When it came to raunchy jokes, aside from his girlfriend, Liao Yu rarely had any rivals in the team.

Youngest of the group but with the filthiest mouth—those who didn’t know him might assume he was some kind of playboy, but those who did knew he was all bark and no bite.

Liao Yu shrugged.

"I only said I wouldn’t under normal circumstances. Unless I’m really hungry—and right now, I am. Famished."

After a pause, he added,

"It doesn’t have to be long-term. Short-term is fine too. I’m not picky."

The moment those words left his mouth, he was met with a collective eye-roll from his teammates.

Huang Qian couldn’t take it anymore. The team mom promptly smacked the back of his head.

"Short-term grazing on familiar turf? Are you trying to get yourself killed, rich boy?! If you’re not serious, don’t mess with people you know—go hook up with strangers then! If you’re really that hungry, make out with a walker! ‘Not picky’? Oh you’ll be picky now!"

So young and already picking up bad habits—toying with hearts deserves an ass-kicking! Their team didn’t tolerate that kind of behavior!

Following his girlfriend’s lead, Lu Ningzhou walked over and gave him another smack.

"Exactly. Brother Cheng, Brother Nian, me and Qianqian—we’re all playing for keeps. Don’t go screwing that up for us."

"...Stop hitting me, stop! My bad, alright?..."

Liao Yu clutched his head and lowered it, only to look up again and find his teammates already busy with their own tasks, ignoring him.

He had only himself to blame for running his mouth. Truth was, he was actually a one-woman kind of guy—otherwise, he wouldn’t have reached twenty without even getting laid.

"Heh heh heh..."

Jiang Nian’s shoulders shook with laughter, nearly burying his face in the book. He couldn’t even bear to look at these people.

Still, having such a group of friends by his side in the apocalypse—he couldn’t speak for others, but he himself felt incredibly happy. A thousand times happier than in his past life, stuck with those so-called ‘family’ members.

Once the team finished organizing the herbal tea, Jiang Nian immediately brewed a pot of sweet-sour plum drink. Liao Yu was in charge of adding ice, and with some snacks to go along, a single sip instantly transported them back to the pre-apocalypse days.

When the apocalypse ended, he’d find a place to live in seclusion with Brother Jing—a small courtyard, three squares a day, watching the seasons change.

...

Night fell, and the teammates dispersed one by one, full and satisfied.

While the others headed back to the dorm, Young Master Liao announced he was hitting the town, claiming it was an opportunity for a chance meet-cute.

His teammates eyed him so hard their eyeballs might’ve fallen out, too fed up to entertain his nonsense.

Unfazed, the young master fixed his hair just so and took off to prowl.

Wordlessly, Zhao Lei nodded at the others and stood up to follow him.

The rest of the team, used to his antics by now, just called it a night.

Only after everyone had left did Jiang Nian get to ask:

"Jing, why is Brother Zhao... also going shopping?"

He didn't dare to overthink it, but it just felt a bit odd.

"He's security."

Cheng Jing, who was preparing to close up and routinely checking the shop's power strips, answered casually. Seeing Jiang Nian's confusion, he added,

"Before Liao Yu joined us, Zhao Lei was his personal bodyguard."

"Wait, what?"

Jiang Nian was shocked:

"This... there was that going on? How did I not know this?"

No way! A stone-cold bodyguard and a rich kid—such a huge drama bomb, and he had no idea!

Recently bored, he had watched plenty of trashy streaming shows and read novels and comics, so his mind instantly started imagining all sorts of dramatic scenarios.

Mostly, the team usually acted together, so he hadn’t noticed. Plus, no one ever mentioned it, so the sudden realization felt strange.

Cheng Jing shrugged it off:

"What’s there to say? This was before Yunhao and I applied to establish the branch company..."

"Hey, that’s not the point..."

Jiang Nian’s nosiness was totally hooked:

"Jing, just tell me, please."

"..."

"Fine..."

Seeing his genuine curiosity, Cheng Jing took a moment to recall before explaining:

Originally, Liao Yu was a long-term client of their security company. Due to staff turnover and transfers, Zhao Lei, who had just joined the headquarters at 20, was assigned to Qingyun City as Young Master Liao’s personal bodyguard.

Back then, Liao Yu was still in high school—16 years old, all flash and attitude.

Later, Cheng Jing and Liang Yunhao put in a request together to establish a branch company in Qingyun City.

Because they got along well, Cheng Jing made Zhao Lei the second-in-command of the branch team.

Around the same time, Liao Yu, having just graduated high school and facing a major family shit hit the fan, bullied his way onto the team. From then on, their story really started.

Due to Liao Yu’s special circumstances, even after joining the team, he remained a VIP they still had to watch:

While running ops with his teammates to protect others and train himself, he was also being protected by them.

Most of the time, Zhao Lei and Lu Ningzhou got paired with Liao Yu, also taking care of him.

After the apocalypse, Lu Ningzhou started dating Huang Qian, leaving only Zhao Lei to follow Young Master Liao.

Though they were all now official teammates, Liao Yu had lent Zhao Lei 10 mil in advance before the apocalypse as he fronted him the cash. So, how they acted around each other hadn’t changed much.

Despite their back-and-forth, Zhao Lei still saw himself as the young master’s bodyguard and still had his back.

"..."

"Oh, I see!"

After hearing the whole story, Jiang Nian chuckled in understanding:

"That makes sense. Liao Yu never really seemed like a proper, professional security guard... That tracks."

There was no disrespect meant—with the team’s help, Liao Yu had already improved significantly. When keeping up appearances in public, he appeared flawless. Only those close to him could tell he was still a bit green.

Cheng Jing also smiled:

"Young Master Liao has worked very hard."

They had encountered many rich kids, with varying degrees of character and ability. Liao Yu wasn’t the most dazzling, but he was undoubtedly the one who hustles the hardest.

Despite facing crazy setbacks, he remained optimistic and rational, never letting the past drag him down—just like his Nian Nian.

"No one can deny how hard he’s worked."

Jiang Nian nodded in approval, then mused with a teasing tone:

"Do you think Brother Zhao and him could actually get together? Liao Yu seems really going for it..."

"Tsk..."

Cheng Jing shook his head with a laugh:

"Who knows? They’ve known each other for so long—if it was gonna happen, it would’ve by now."

Jiang Nian waved a finger:

"Things are different now. People change a lot... Who knows, maybe he’s seriously thirsty. Given the current situation, dating in the team beats looking outside. If he insists on pursuing someone within the team, we might even have to stop him."

In any case, he thought Liao Yu actually had a shot if he truly went for someone in the group.

"..."

Cheng Jing pondered—that did make sense!

Moreover, Liao Yu had been kidnapped multiple times as a child. Though he acted carefree on the surface, he has major trust issues and struggled to trust anyone outside their circle.

If he were to choose a long-term partner, it would have to be someone from within.

Seeing that Cheng Jing agreed with his view, Jiang Nian stroked his chin and asked:

"By the way, what did Brother Zhao need all that money for back then?"

"Messy family stuff..."

Cheng Jing frowned and sighed:

"His parents were gamblers who got lured into a scam compound in Southeast Asia... After going through great lengths to ransom them back, they were left half-crippled but still couldn’t quit gambling. Zhao Lei gave them the money and then cut them off for good."

Jiang Nian felt a surge of indignation:

"That’s messed up."

Misfortune came in many forms, but nothing screws you up worse than your own family.

Given this, the debt—both financial and personal—Zhao Lei owed Liao Yu wasn’t something easily repaid. Even now, as equals on the team, he still automatically watches Liao Yu’s back.