Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The Yan Family.

Xie Yunshen stood at the door of his room and marveled: Talk about a wealthy family, even the bodyguards' rooms are like five-star suites.

He had been rushed out by the old man during the day and hadn't noticed that his own room was also this spacious and luxurious.

Xie Yunshen and his grandfather usually lived here, with all their expenses covered by the Yan family. Every month, they also received a five-percent dividend from a subsidiary.

Just this dividend alone already exceeded what ordinary people could earn in several lifetimes.

It seemed the Yan family truly still remembered the favor from back then.

No wonder the original owner had completely given up and slacked off.

It wasn't until he opened the wardrobe and saw the bulletproof vests inside that he fell into deep thought.

In his previous life, he had only applied for a bulletproof vest after becoming a Silver-level bodyguard. Yet this guy had gotten two sets without having to do anything at all!

"Grandpa, tell me the truth."

"Just spit it out," his grandfather frowned.

"Am I an illegitimate child of the Yan family?"

A sharp knock landed on his head: "What kind of daydream is that, you brat?! You're just a freeloader! I'm warning you, never get above yourself!"

Xie Yunshen covered his head and closed his eyes with a helpless smile: The old man's temper was really too fiery.

But what could he do? After all, he had taken over someone else's life.

That night, Xie Yunshen grabbed several dozen steel pipes from the storeroom and built a multi-purpose workout setup in his room. He planned to start with some regular training to strengthen this weakling body.

When the old man came in to deliver milk and saw Xie Yunshen exercising, he stood frozen in disbelief for a good while.

In the end, he just set down the milk, silently closed the door, and left.

This was Xie Yunshen's first night at the Yan estate.

The next morning, Xie Yunshen was up at 5 a.m. for physical training. Following his old habits, he did single-leg squats, knuckle push-ups, power cleans and presses, and then ran for half an hour.

Even so, he was already out of breath before he was halfway done.

According to the duty roster, he was on duty today.

After showering and having breakfast, he sketched out a floor plan for a training room and handed it to the butler.

"Can you help me find someone to remodel my room into this?"

The butler squinted at the complex design for a moment and smiled. "You've got skills like this, kid? When do you need it?"

"Of course, the sooner the better. Just send me the bill directly when it's done, I'll pay for it."

The butler laughed. "As if we'd let you spend money in the Yan family."

Xie Yunshen noticed that everyone—the maids, the gardeners, even this respected head butler—treated him with great tolerance and courtesy.

Logically speaking, he was just a mere bodyguard. Even if his father had saved a life, he himself was just a slacker. What had he done to deserve such respect from everyone in the Yan family?

Perhaps it was due to his saving Yan Shiqi yesterday?

He spent the whole morning swimming in the pond out back. In the afternoon, he began working on his wrist and leg strength.

By 6 p.m., he ached all over, his hands and feet shaking as he lay down to sleep.

This body clearly hadn't gotten used to this level of training intensity yet.

However, it did have its good points. At least the original owner's eyesight was excellent, and the body's recovery was quite good. Just a few hours of sleep was enough to make him raring to go again.

Late at night, at the Yan estate.

A masked figure dressed in black silently slipped into the study on the second floor.

He walked up to the safe and was trying to crack the first password when, from the darkness behind him, a long-fingered hand suddenly reached out and seized his shoulder.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time!"

The intruder's pupils widened in shock. He dropped his shoulder to throw off Xie Yunshen's grip, spun around, and delivered a side elbow strike.

Xie Yunshen blocked the blow with his arm, but his whole arm went numb. The force sent him reeling backward until he hit the door.

This body's ability to take a hit really was too weak.

Seeing the black-clad figure bolt out of the room, Xie Yunshen hit the alarm on the wall and hurriedly gave chase.

The alarm shattered the night's silence, and lights blazed on all over the estate at once.

Tonight, he had been waiting in the corridor leading to the study.

Just waiting for our honored guest to arrive.

That's right. The black-clad figure before him was the male lead from the wish-fulfillment novel.

In the book, the male lead's sister was murdered. He obtained a list of suspects from a detective, and the list shockingly included internal members of various major wealthy families in the southern province.

The Yan family was one of them.

Afterward, the male lead started investigating and seeking revenge.

According to the book's plot, after Yan Shiqi was severely injured at the port, the Yan family was thrown into chaos. The male lead seized the opportunity to sneak into the estate at night to search for clues and discovered a secret the Yan family had hidden for years.

This secret was later exploited by an antagonist, indirectly leading to the Yan family's tragic end.

As a reader, Xie Yunshen knew that the Yan family had absolutely nothing to do with the death of the male lead's sister.

Already harboring a favorable bias toward Yan Shiqi, Xie Yunshen's displeasure toward this protagonist completely erupted.

Although his current physical condition was poor, with the core of a gold-medal bodyguard supporting him, he didn't fall behind in terms of technique.

From the outside looking in, one could see two figures flashing past the window upstairs, exchanging blows.

The two fought from the doorway all the way to the open corridor.

Xie Yunshen launched a fierce right front kick in mid-air!

Unfortunately, he was 0.5 seconds too slow! He could only watch helplessly as the male lead easily dodged.

He then followed up with a left-hand knife strike aimed at the other's head.

Missed by another 0.2 seconds!

He tried to block the front kick, dodge the straight punch, strike with a lunging punch, spin into a horizontal chop, grab the arm and twist the wrist, then deliver a back-elbow strike to the neck...

All too slow!!

His muscles simply couldn't keep up with his mind's commands.

"Too slow." His opponent effortlessly raised an arm to block the attack, then twisted his body half a step and delivered a horizontal kick to Xie Yunshen's chest!

Xie Yunshen arched his back to dodge, using the momentum to spin into an upward kick, aiming to dislocate the man's jaw.

Crack!! His lumbar spine screamed in protest, nearly killing him on the spot. Xie Yunshen fell to the ground, his leg that was mid-kick going limp.

He was about to lose his mind. The original owner probably never even exercised. This body was inferior in every aspect to even the most ordinary bodyguard.

His entire body—wrists, elbows, arms, knees, legs—simply couldn't take a hit!

"I've seen plenty of experts from the five great families, but an expert lying on the ground like this is a first for me. The Yan family's experts are truly something else." The male lead sneered.

As soon as the words were spoken, Xie Yunshen spun up from the floor, a fierce right side kick suddenly shooting towards him.

The speed took him by surprise. The male lead barely dodged, only to find a left elbow strike already at his temple.

He hadn't anticipated Xie Yunshen's movements to suddenly accelerate.

Caught off guard by his overconfidence, he took the hit, crashed into the railing, smashing a nearby famous painting in the process, and kicked the debris toward Xie Yunshen.

Shards of glass flew at Xie Yunshen from all directions. He could only raise his arms to protect his head and face.

His arms were cut by the glass, blood beginning to drip from them.

When he looked again, the male lead had already vaulted over the railing and leapt down into the living room.

Xie Yunshen didn't hesitate and jumped down after him.

Upon landing, his legs nearly gave out from the impact. He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stay upright with a bitter inward laugh.

In that instant, the living room lights flooded on.

Several of the Yan family's experts stood in the living room, who had appeared at some unknown time.

Yan Shiqi sat on the sofa at the back, with the man with the buzz cut standing behind him.

The male lead frowned, his eyes wary.

In the corridor outside the living room, the Yan family's servants and butler were also watching the show.

"Old Xie, since when is your grandson this capable?"

Xie Yunshen's grandfather stood nearby, rubbing his aged eyes, too shocked to know what to say.

The male lead mentally reviewed the experts under the employ of the five great families of South Province. He was familiar with them all. Although the Yan family was wealthy, compared to the other four families, they'd never been strong in the martial arts department.

Since when did they have an enigma like this?

"Where did the Yan family hire an expert like you from?"

Xie Yunshen tore off his loose tie, wrapped the wound on his arm roughly, and used his teeth to pull one end tight.

"I'm a bodyguard for the Yan family."

"Hmph!" The male lead deliberately waited for him to finish bandaging his wound before launching his attack, taking two swift steps forward, the force of his movements creating a whoosh.

The two clashed again.

"I'll go help him." The buzz-cut man moved to step in and help but was stopped by Yan Shiqi raising his hand.

By now, Xie Yunshen had gotten used to his current body, and his moves were noticeably faster.

The male lead dodged his series of leg chops and side kicks while also blocking his fist attacks. He couldn't help but be surprised—how are this guy's leg techniques so formidable?

Everyone watched as Xie Yunshen fought faster and faster, becoming a blur. The male lead pushed himself to 120%, barely managing to hold his ground.

However, Xie Yunshen's fatal flaw was the mismatch between his software and hardware, inevitably leading to some lag.

The male lead blocked his offensive with both hands. Xie Yunshen tried to follow up with a straight punch, only to find his fist fell short by a centimeter!?

The wind from his punch merely brushed past the male lead's eyebrows.

Both men were stunned for a split second. In that opening, Xie Yunshen was cleanly hit in the chest by a swinging elbow from the male lead.

The force of the impact sent him stumbling back several steps, right next to Yan Shiqi's sofa. His momentum throwing him off balance, he was about to fall right on top of his boss.

Xie Yunshen twisted hastily to avoid him!

The buzz-cut man behind the sofa tried to grab him, but it was too late.

And so, Xie Yunshen ended up kissing Yan Shiqi on the mouth.

It was really just a brush.

His mind short-circuited, a full-body shudder running through him. In that bizarre 0.01 seconds, he vaguely saw Yan Shiqi's brow scowl fiercely.

Xie Yunshen immediately sprang back.

The male lead deliberately whistled from behind: "Haha, I see why the Yan family keeps such a useless bodyguard."

By then, he had already jumped out the window. The other men nearby snapped out of their daze and chased after him.

Xie Yunshen wanted to give chase too, but a wave of soreness shot through his legs.

That jump from the second floor had been too reckless. Besides, this fragile body couldn't take such high-intensity fighting.

He turned to look at Yan Shiqi, who had stood up, his face still calm as if that fierce scowl earlier had been an illusion.

"Let them chase. You go rest."

Xie Yunshen couldn't help but admire him. Truly a boss who'd seen it all, acting as if nothing happened even after being kissed by a man.

Although, the disdain in your eyes is barely concealed, okay?

"Mr. Yan, was anything missing from the study?"

Yan Shiqi didn't answer, his gaze deep as he looked at him: "You seemed to know in advance that someone would break in tonight."

Xie Yunshen's heart skipped a beat. The Yan estate was under full surveillance. Perhaps Yan Shiqi had seen him lying in wait in the corridor.

"Constant vigilance is a bodyguard's basic duty, isn't it?"

Could he possibly say he had been transported into a book?

"A bodyguard's professionalism?" Yan Shiqi laughed. "Do you even have such a thing?"

The butler laughed along, Crew-cut laughed too, and many others chuckled.

"..."

Though they were laughing, there was a touch of good-natured relief hidden within.

Yan Shiqi noticed the wound on his arm had bled through, staining the tie red, so he motioned to the butler, "Get the doctor to clean the glass shards out of his arm."

"I've already called; the doctor will be here soon," the butler replied.

With that, Yan Shiqi stood up and entered the elevator.

As the elevator doors closed, he took a wet wipe from an aide, frowning as he wiped his lips.

Author's note:

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Hmph, he's repulsed now, but later he'll want to kiss those lips raw.