Chapter 12: THE WAITER AT THE CAFÉ

Sitting opposite Hua Zhendan in a cafe was Chong Paizi, the owner of a prestigious bodyguard company.

Having worked with Chong Paizi for many years, Hua Zhendan trusted his business ethics, and always approached him when he needed to recruit a new bodyguard. With time, Hua Zhendan had found that he also liked Chong Paizi's personality. Chong Paizi had a matter-of-fact approach to everything and spoke without a filter, easily earning Hua Zhendan's trust. For these reasons, Hua Zhendan liked conducting business with him.

"Want some new bodyguards for some celebrities?" Chong Paizi had asked, almost as soon as their butts had touched the seat in their booths.

"No," Hua Zhendan shook his head. "What I want is to have someone shadow a person for me," he paused. "I don't know if you provide that kind of service."

Chong Paizi looked at Hua Zhendan suspiciously. Not because he didn't provide that kind of service but because Hua Zhendan had never asked him for something like that before.

"We do," Chong Paizi replied in the affirmative." He continued, "I'll just need the person's details."

"Actually," Hua Zhendan said. He felt the need to clarify because of the look Chong Paizi had given him. "What happened was that I offered someone a job today. I have a feeling he'll accept it. The problem is that I don't trust his character. If he does accept, I'll need someone to keep an eye on him until I can determine the kind of person he is. When I'm sure he won't cause any trouble for me, then I might hire the person you send as his bodyguard."

"Don't you think it's too presumptuous to shadow someone because you assume this person is going to accept the job? If they didn't accept it immediately, that's because they probably don't want it," Chong Paizi said in his usual way of speaking unrestrainedly.

"Don't think of it as presumptuousness, think of it as self-confidence."

"Why does it seem like you're begging this person to work for you, isn't it supposed to be the other way round? I didn't know you were desperate for talent," Chong Paizi said.

"I'm not," Hua Zhendan shook his head in disagreement. "However, when you see potential..."

Hua Zhendan's train of thought lost its tracks when his eyes settled on one of the waiters at the cafe. Hua Zhendan immediately concluded that this waiter was new as he had never seen him at the café before.

The waiter wore an apron over a tank top that revealed his well-toned biceps. The golden tincture of his tan skin glittered seductively, tempting Hua Zhendan to question his preconceived standard of beauty that pale was prettier than tan. As the waiter smiled, he revealed beautiful dimples that almost dropped Hua Zhendan's jaw.

Hua Zhendan smiled wryly. With his gaze trained on the waiter, he continued, "As I was saying, when you see potential, you don't just let it go."

Chong Paizi, oblivious to Hua Zhendan's ogling replied, "Well then, I have a few men you may like."

At this, Hua Zhendan snapped out of his reverie. Xuan Tianyi was gay. Who's to say he wouldn't seduce a male bodyguard, then have sex with him. Maybe they'd even fall in love and have one of those classic bodyguard love stories.

Hua Zhendan looked back at Chong Paizi and frowned slightly. "I don't want a man."

"Oh!" Chong Paizi was surprised. He didn't know Hua Zhendan to have a preference for female bodyguards.

"Do you have a woman who can do this job?" Hua Zhendan asked.

Chong Paizi nodded. "I do. In truth, I do daresay this lady is better than all the men in my company put together."

Hua Zhendan raised his brow. This guy couldn't be serious, right?

"There are only two problems."

"What are they?"

"First, you can't pay her. She's that good. Second, you won't 'always' be able to control her."

Hua Zhendan frowned. "What's so special about her?"

Chong Paizi leaned in and said in a hushed tone, "She used to be a member of an assassin sect, or whatever they call those things. She was trained from childhood until she became a teenager. Although she prefers knives, she can fight using any weapon. She can beat up people of all genders and sizes. Now that I think about it, she might even be able to lift a car."

Hua Zhendan frowned, "Why would I want to hire someone like that?"

"Because first, in the future, if it turns out that you do need a bodyguard for this person, she's your best choice. No one born of a woman would be able to hurt this person as long as she's around."

"Then how do I know I can trust her with such a delicate job?"

"Trained assassins are loyal to a fault. Although Su Yang is no longer an assassin, she's still very loyal. For as long as she's working under you, her loyalty would always be with you before anyone else. You can trust her, that's a given. As for controlling her, hmm — she'll probably listen to you."

"Su Yang," Hua Zhendan murmured the name and reflected on the things Chong Paizi had just told him. A manly girl who was probably ugly and is good at her job. That kind of person might be whom he would need. "Okay. If I do need her later, I'll give you a call."

As Chong Paizi left, Hua Zhendan turned to look at the waiter who had caught his attention before. He lifted his hand in the air to grab his attention.

The waiter hurried along to where he sat. "What would you like, Sir?"

Hua Zhendan gave him a once-over and said, "Can you sit? I want to talk to you for a moment."

The waiter smiled politely and immediately rejected his invite. "I'm sorry sir, but I have to get back to work. It's against protocol to sit and chat with customers during working hours."

"How much do you make by the hour, then?"

"Sir?" the waiter lifted a brow.

"How much do you make by the hour? I'll pay you double of what you make by the hour if you sit."

"That's generous of you, Sir, but I'm sorry, I can't. I do need to work. There are only two of us here today. I can't leave the customers to just one person."

Hua Zhendan smiled. A beautiful person with morals. Very much unlike a particular person he knew. "Fine, go work, then. I'll wait for you."

"I don't..." the waiter hesitated. "I don't close until nine."

Hua Zhendan looked at his watch. The time was only a little past six. "Don't worry. I can wait."

"Oh! Okay," reluctantly, the waiter turned around, then walked away.

While he served his other customers, the waiter's eyes continually darted to Hua Zhendan's direction. Hua Zhendan was listlessly scrolling through his phone.

As he watched Hua Zhendan, the beautiful waiter found himself trapped between guilt and curiosity.

Guilt because Hua Zhendan looked like he had had a long day and could use some sleep. Curiosity because Hua Zhendan was an important-looking person. If he needed something from him, whatever it was had to be important as well.

With a sigh of resignation, the waiter returned to Hua Zhendan's table and took a seat across from him.

Hua Zhendan glanced up at him, "Are you done working?"

"No, I—"

"Don't worry," Hua Zhendan interrupted him with a rare, gentle smile on his face. "I can wait."

***

At ten minutes past nine, Tan Yao plopped down in a chair across from a tired looking Hua Zhendan. He started at Hua Zhendan thoughtfully and wondered if he now regretted his decision to have waited for him. "Hello," he said.

Hua Zhendan looked up from his phone at him. He had taken off the apron, and his tank top clung to his body almost amorously. Hua Zhendan swallowed a blob of saliva. This guy was so darn attractive. "Are you done working?"

Tan Yao nodded.

Hua Zhendan straightened his back, pulled out a card from his wallet and slipped it to Tan Yao. "Ever heard of Shenhua Modelling?"

Tan Yao looked at the card, and his eyes opened wide in surprise. He couldn't believe he had kept the CEO of Shenhua waiting for him for almost three hours. He stammered, "This... You..."

Hua Zhendan maintained a cryptic expression as he stared at the tongue-tied Tan Yao. Deciding to give him leeway, he asked, "Have you ever thought of modeling before?"

"I... I have. I even went for an audition here..." he pointed to the card. "In January — when there was a casting call. I wasn't accepted."

"Is that so?" Hua Zhendan furrowed his brows. How could someone turn down this hunk?

Tan Yao soon answered Hua Zhendan's question as he continued, "They said they were looking for someone bigger, so I came back and exercised more. I focused on building up my biceps so that next time I go for a casting call, not being toned enough won't be the reason I get rejected."

Hua Zhendan smiled at Tan Yao's tenacious spirit, "If you're still interested, I'll give you a recommendation and have you —"

"Are you for real?" Tan Yao exclaimed. Interrupting Hua Zhendan.

Hua Zhendan smiled wryly at his enthusiasm. This kind of reaction was what he had expected from that stupid, unemployed fool who was leeching off his twin sister. Instead, he had gotten a somewhat vague, unappreciative reply.

"I don't know what to say. I'm grateful for this opportunity —"

The more Hua Zhendan observed Tan Yao, the less appealing he found Xuan Tianyi's personality.

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