Chapter 96. Being a Substitute? The Hurts-Body-and-Soul Kind (5)
At eleven o’clock at night, Li Zhan emerged from the airport, surrounded by a group of tall, imposing bodyguards.
The bodyguard team alone consisted of about twenty people, with six particularly noticeable bodyguards positioned around Li Zhan’s front, back, left, and right. They weren’t wearing sunglasses or suits. Instead, they wore casual sportswear and sneakers. Each had a rather innocent-looking face, not intimidating at all. If not for their imposing aura, synchronized steps, and careful protection of Li Zhan in the middle, no one would have thought they were bodyguards.
The remaining dozen or so were dressed like typical bodyguards – suits, sunglasses, large builds, cool and cold, looking very intimidating.
Little did anyone know that these seemingly cold, suited bodyguards with sunglasses were just there to clear the way for Li Zhan. The ones truly ensuring his personal safety were the six who didn’t look like bodyguards at all.
If these six hadn’t accompanied him abroad this time, he might not have died, but he would have lost half his life.
“Zhan, are you alright?”
As soon as Dong Zheng saw Li Zhan walk out, seeing that he could still walk and appeared unharmed, her heart truly relaxed. She quickly stepped forward to meet him.
Although she often complained about her nasty nephew, Li Zhan was still her only relative in this world.
Shen Wan followed with a smile. Li Zhan immediately noticed her. His brow furrowed slightly, seeing that she didn’t greet him and seemed somewhat different from the person he had imagined. He didn’t pay her much attention, instead walking and recounting to Dong Zheng what had happened over there.
At the end, he couldn’t help but praise, “Aunt, I’m really grateful for these six bodyguards you arranged for me this time. Their skills are excellent, they’re well-prepared, react quickly – in short, very professional.”
For Li Zhan to evaluate them as very professional was quite rare.
Hearing this, Dong Zheng laughed, “See? I told you before that these bodyguards were really good. I personally witnessed their training for a month. These six are the best performers among those fifty.”
Li Zhan nodded, “I’ve been feeling uneasy lately. Someone must be trying to target me.” His eyes turned cold. “I wonder if these people have any connection to those from back then.”
At the mention of this, Dong Zheng’s expression also became quite serious.
Seeing her worried look, Li Zhan quickly changed the subject, “Aunt, which company are these bodyguards from? I’m thinking of long-term cooperation with them. I’ll be traveling frequently to other places recently, so let’s sign for a year first.”
Shen Wan: Making money. Although it’s still at a 50% discount, it’s still profitable, given how expensive her bodyguards are.
Dong Zheng smiled, her gaze falling on Shen Wan’s face. “What a coincidence, their boss is right here. However long you want to sign for, you can discuss it with their boss.”
Shen Wan: That’s right, that’s right, she’s right here. Little nephew, whatever you need to discuss, talk to your future aunt-in-law. A 50% discount is already very cheap.
Li Zhan wasn’t a fool. With Dong Zheng’s words, his gaze fell on Shen Wan.
But internally, he was astonished. Could she really recruit such professional bodyguards? He glanced again at the casually dressed men beside him, who had been so quick to react earlier. Now, why did they seem not so smart to have chosen Shen Wan as their boss?
“They’re bodyguards from your company?” After a long moment, Li Zhan asked uncertainly. This skinny girl must have incredible luck. How did such excellent bodyguards end up with her? He had heard that her company’s contracts were particularly tricky in terms of duration, at least ten years, with some even fifteen or twenty years.
“That’s right. Mr. Li, are you planning to discuss renewal now? I mentioned before that I’d give you a 50% discount for private bodyguard services.”
Li Zhan didn’t really care about the money. Although compared to others, Shen Wan’s bodyguards were indeed several times more expensive than the market price. But if not for these six, he would certainly be lying in a hospital now.
Once life is lost, no amount of money can buy it back.
He didn’t care about this small sum of money; he was just shocked that these bodyguards really were from Shen Wan’s company.
“Yes, I’d like to renew for a year first.” Although it seemed incredible, since his aunt said there was no problem, then there must be no problem.
He just assumed all this was due to Shen Wan’s extreme luck. Moreover, when she saw him, she didn’t act like other women, with reddened eyes about to cry but not quite. She really did just take the money and leave, which undoubtedly made things much easier for him. If she could really manage a company well, it would be quite impressive.
After Li Zhan came back to his senses, he saw Shen Wan take out a file folder from her somewhat large bag, extracting a document and a pen. Then, she handed these two items to him.
“Mr. Li, please review the contract. If there are no issues, let’s sign it now. When you get in the car later, if it’s convenient, you can notify your finance department to transfer the money to my company. If it’s not convenient today, tomorrow is fine too. Of course, I don’t mind if it takes a few days. With Miss Dong here, I trust Mr. Li very much.”
Li Zhan: “……” Perhaps she really did have some skills, to have the contract with her at this time.
He didn’t hesitate, took it, skimmed through it briefly, and signed.
Dong Zheng was somewhat surprised. “How did you know Zhan would renew for a year?” If she didn’t know, how could she have these ready at all times?
Then she saw Shen Wan open her bag for her to peek inside, revealing a thick stack of A4 paper. She immediately guessed that they must all be contracts. So many?
“I’ve prepared all types of contracts for all possible clients who might renew with my company and put them in my bag. Whether Mr. Li wants to renew for one month, three months, or one year, three years, they’re all here. Of course, I don’t have many clients now, so it’s not too heavy to carry in this bag.”
Dong Zheng finally understood why Shen Wan was carrying such a large bag today, which looked a bit heavy. Previously, she had thought Shen Wan had books in there, but it turned out to be all contracts.
This aggressive approach surprised both Dong Zheng and Li Zhan a bit.
Upon reaching the parking lot, Dong Zheng remembered that Shen Wan had come with her. Seeing how late it was, she said, “Let me drive you back.” At this hour, she wasn’t comfortable letting a young girl take a taxi. At this moment, she overlooked the fact that this young girl wasn’t ordinary and could probably beat any vicious person into a pulp.
“That would be too much trouble for you,” Shen Wan said. “It’s so late. If you send me back, you’d have to go home alone. Aren’t you busy tomorrow?”
Dong Zheng was indeed busy. Generally, she only came to see Shen Wan after 6 PM, occasionally a bit earlier near noon when she had some free time. But it wasn’t every day, just every few days.
She also remembered that she had some matters to attend to early tomorrow morning. Shen Wan’s place wasn’t far from here, but sending her home and then returning to her own home would take at least two hours.
Li Zhan was about to say that with so many bodyguards, couldn’t he just follow Dong Zheng?
But Dong Zheng had already spoken, “Why don’t you stay at my place for the night? It’s on my way to the office, and I’ll be passing by your company anyway.”
Shen Wan: Perfect.
Seeing that Li Zhan seemed about to say something, Shen Wan quickly agreed: “Alright, let’s do that. It’s a good idea.”
You little brat, if you dare interfere with her dating her wife, she’d double the price for the next renewal.
Li Zhan’s lips twitched, but in the end, he said nothing. His place wasn’t actually far from where Dong Zheng lived, but usually, Dong Zheng wouldn’t come to his place.
He watched Shen Wan happily get into the car with his aunt, his brow furrowed so tightly it could kill a mosquito. He felt something was off. That Shen Wan seemed to be truly all business, completely forgetting about him.
Li Zhan hadn’t expected that this seemingly devoted woman would forget about him so thoroughly in just two short months. Of course, he didn’t have any special thoughts; he just felt it was better without this trouble.
“I’m hungry.”
“There’s milk in the fridge. Help yourself,” Dong Zheng said.
Shen Wan didn’t stand on ceremony and went directly to the fridge. When she opened it, the first thing she saw wasn’t milk, but several bright red tomatoes and neatly arranged eggs.
“Miss Dong, you have ingredients in your fridge. Can I make something to eat myself?”
Dong Zheng was taken aback for a moment, then smiled, “If you don’t mind the trouble, go ahead.” She spent little time at home, and the ingredients in the fridge were bought by the housekeeper, who regularly replaced them with fresh ones.
If she was coming home for a meal, she would call the housekeeper in advance, and they would come to cook for her. In reality, how could such a busy person cook for herself?
“Do you want some?”
Seeing Shen Wan holding an egg and a tomato in her hands, Dong Zheng quickly shook her head, “I won’t eat.” Eating at this hour, she’d probably get fat.
Shen Wan nodded, “Then I’ll help myself.”
Afterward, Dong Zheng heard Shen Wan mutter softly, “I’ll just make some tomato and egg noodles.”
Dong Zheng instinctively recalled the taste of tomato and egg noodles. She usually ate very little, but thinking about it now made her want to eat a bit. However, she ultimately restrained herself.
When Shen Wan sat at the dining table eating a large bowl of tomato and egg noodles, Dong Zheng couldn’t resist and peeled an apple to eat.
It was sinful; she had never noticed before that she could get hungry at this hour.
After eating the apple, she didn’t feel satisfied. Instead, when the aroma of the tomato and egg noodles wafted to her nose, it smelled even more enticing.
She really couldn’t resist anymore, so she said a few words to Shen Wan and went upstairs to sleep first.
Shen Wan watched Dong Zheng’s hurried steps and said to 188 in her heart, “So much has happened today, Miss Dong must be very tired.”
[188: “Wan Wan, congratulations on staying at Miss Dong’s house.”]
Shen Wan: “It’s too early to celebrate, it’s just staying over for one night.”
When Dong Zheng woke up in the morning and finished washing up, her mind still occasionally recalled how deliciously Shen Wan had eaten yesterday. The aroma of tomato and egg noodles made her stomach quite hungry.
She looked at the time; it was only 6:30. She decided to go downstairs to make something to eat. Although she couldn’t cook much else, she could manage simple noodles like this.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she went downstairs, she smelled a delicious aroma.
Seeing the delicious breakfast on the dining table, she was stunned for a moment, then saw Shen Wan coming out with utensils. “Miss Dong, breakfast is ready.”
“You got up so early?”
“Yes. I was woken up early by a phone call. Xiao Hu said that those bosses who hired bodyguards before all want to renew their contracts. Even for renewals, we need to eat well, right? After renewing, I might need to recruit and train more people, so I’ll be quite busy in the coming days.”
Dong Zheng nodded and sat down, not standing on ceremony as she ate breakfast. She could understand why those bosses wanted to renew – they must have heard about Zhan’s incident. Such a big event, with their well-informed networks, they couldn’t possibly be unaware.
Today’s breakfast didn’t have tomato and egg noodles, but there was a bowl of tomato and egg soup. After two bowls, Dong Zheng was finally satisfied.
Not long after, there was a knock at the door. It was Li Zhan.
Shen Wan had made plenty of breakfast, more than enough for three people. Dong Zheng quickly invited him to sit down and eat, saying, “Have some breakfast first. Shen Wan’s cooking is really good, it’s delicious.”
Li Zhan glanced at the abundant breakfast, feeling a bit conflicted. After tasting a couple of bites, it was indeed similar to the previous flavor, though perhaps it was his imagination, but it seemed to taste even better.
Shen Wan noticed Li Zhan’s slight discomfort and chuckled to herself.
Her cooking skills were indeed quite good, but in the future, only Miss Dong would get to eat it. As for this future nasty nephew, no matter how well-behaved, he’d only get to mooch meals occasionally.
Li Zhan’s inner turmoil was real. How could he not feel conflicted? The person who used to prepare breakfast for him every day was now at someone else’s home. Although that person was his aunt, it wasn’t his home.
He thought this was just a one-time occurrence, completely unaware that after this time, Shen Wan would often have to stay over at Dong Zheng’s house due to various unexpected circumstances. She said she loved to eat and preferred cooking for herself. Many times when Li Zhan came over, he would find Shen Wan and Dong Zheng enjoying a table full of delicious food.
Later, seeing that he seemed to like it, Dong Zheng would notify him when the meal was ready.
Li Zhan: “……”
His inner turmoil grew, especially as he learned that Shen Wan’s company was doing better and better. From the initial fifty bodyguards, they now had one hundred and fifty. Most had signed contracts with clients, and once these big bosses used Shen Wan’s company’s bodyguards, they would keep renewing, rarely returning them.
That skinny girl had also gained some weight, her complexion looked much better, though she wasn’t fat.
The problem was, why was she often staying at his aunt’s house?
“Aunt, why does Shen Wan often stay at your place?”
Dong Zheng said naturally, “It’s so late, we can’t let her go back alone, can we? It’s not safe for a young girl to return alone.”
“But Aunt, this past month, she’s been staying at your place for more than half the month,” Li Zhan couldn’t help saying. “Are you still not giving up, thinking Shen Wan is good? Aunt, let me tell you, Xuan Xuan and I can’t be separated…”
“Stop right there!” Dong Zheng suddenly remembered her nasty nephew’s history with Shen Wan, and for some reason felt a bit annoyed. “I don’t want to know anything about you and Xia Xuan, and I’m not trying to set you up with Shen Wan. Such a good girl shouldn’t be wasted on you.”
“But…”
“I won’t call you for meals anymore in the future, to avoid misunderstandings. Shen Wan and I have a good relationship, does that bother you? This girl is excellent and capable. I admire her, can’t I be friends with her?”
Seeing that Dong Zheng was serious, Li Zhan didn’t say more.
But he still noticed that Shen Wan often stayed over at Dong Zheng’s house, yet Dong Zheng never called him for meals anymore.
He wondered what delicious food Shen Wan had made today. His aunt was really being stingy.