Chapter 134: Bodyguard and Chauffeur

From that night onward, and for three days straight, Dragon Hall was locked in one fierce battle after another. Even Yang Jiekai and Old Cudgel, both formidable fighters, were forced to race from place to place like firefighters, leading their men into one bloody clash after another.

With Blind Wu dead, his forces were left without a leader. That did not mean the battle was already won, however. The lesser chiefs controlling his territory continued to resist with astonishing ferocity—far beyond anything Yang Jiekai had anticipated.

Blind Wu’s earlier warning that Yang Jiekai would never dare kill him had not been an empty threat. The very next day after Blind Wu’s death, Yang Jiekai encountered no shortage of trouble.

That day, he was ambushed by a group of highly trained professional assassins. Fortunately, his own strength was formidable enough for him to pass through the crisis without suffering so much as a scratch.

Several days later, after paying a heavy price, Dragon Hall finally subdued every last one of Blind Wu’s forces.

After being ambushed by the professional killers, Yang Jiekai no longer dared to let his guard down. Fearing that his family might be dragged into the matter, he secretly reassigned a group of men to protect the sisters Han Ning and Han Wei for several days. Even so, he still felt far from reassured.

“Wife, let’s discuss something.”

Yang Jiekai cheerfully peeled an apple for Han Ning and handed it to her with a broad grin.

Han Ning was dressed in a well-tailored white business suit. Sitting beside the table, she was sorting through a mountain of documents without even raising her head.

“What is it? Get to the point.”

Yang Jiekai gave an awkward smile and took a bite of his apple.

“I’ve been a little short of cash lately, so I was thinking…”

“I know. I’ll transfer some money to your account later. Just try to spend it sparingly.”

Han Ning interrupted him without looking up. The moment he had seen her that day, he had smiled like a flower in bloom. Anyone who suddenly became so solicitous was surely after something. As it turned out, he wanted money.

Still, Han Ning agreed without a second thought. Not long ago, the man had somehow managed to obtain several hundred million in funding and had contacted more than a dozen companies, bringing her Zi Yu Company back from the brink of collapse. So whenever it came to money, Han Ning had never refused him.

Yang Jiekai stared blankly for a moment, then chuckled.

“That’s not what I meant. I can’t just take your money for nothing, wife. I want to earn my own living with my own hands.”

“Then what do you want?”

Han Ning continued working through the enormous stack of documents without lifting her head. Zi Yu Company was expanding at remarkable speed, but that growth had also brought an endless pile of troublesome affairs that never seemed to get finished.

Yang Jiekai cleared his throat and assumed a solemn expression.

“As an outstanding young man, I want to earn money through my own diligent efforts, rather than…”

“Please, just get to the point. I’m busy.”

Han Ning was already worried sick over the mountain of paperwork in front of her, and Yang Jiekai’s incessant chatter beside her was giving her a headache.

Yang Jiekai froze. After awkwardly rubbing his nose, he gave her an ingratiating smile.

“I just want to do some work at your company. I was hoping you could give me a position.”

“What?”

Han Ning finally looked up, curiosity in her eyes.

“You want to come work at our company?”

She did not know why, but seeing the seriousness on Yang Jiekai’s face and hearing his utterly unexpected request struck her as particularly amusing. She wondered whether he had taken some kind of wrong medicine.

Yang Jiekai nodded.

“That’s right. I want to turn over a new leaf and find a respectable job. From now on, I’ll rely on my own hardworking hands and apply myself diligently…”

“Stop!”

Han Ning hurriedly cut off his rambling, frowning in confusion.

“Don’t you run a debt-collection agency?”

“It went bankrupt.”

Yang Jiekai told a small lie.

Han Ning burst out laughing at his expression. Her interest piqued, she set aside the documents in her hands and looked at him.

“Fine. If you really want to work at our company, I can make an exception for you. No interview—you’re hired directly. Tell me, what position do you want?”

Seeing how serious Yang Jiekai was made Han Ning feel amused, but at the same time, warmth spread through her heart.

They had spent so much time together and gone through so many things side by side that Han Ning had long since stopped hating him. Although she still found it difficult to accept their relationship as husband and wife, she had been trying.

It was just that the man behaved like a carefree idler every day, never showing the slightest sign of seriousness, and he had given her no end of headaches. Hearing him say that he wanted to become a decent man genuinely pleased her.

Yang Jiekai looked at her solemnly.

“There isn’t much else I can do. Just give me a position as your bodyguard and driver.”

Han Ning blinked.

“Bodyguard? Driver?”

Yang Jiekai nodded.

“That’s right—a bodyguard and driver. You know me. If you gave me a position like general manager right from the start, I wouldn’t know what to do with it. So I want to begin at the bottom. I’ll start by serving as your bodyguard and driver, follow you around every day, and learn properly. Once I develop the ability, you can promote me.”

Hearing such earnest words come from Yang Jiekai’s mouth, Han Ning nearly felt like crying. After all this time, the man had finally come to his senses.

In truth, she had already resigned herself to their fate. After everything they had experienced together, Han Ning knew that Yang Jiekai was actually a good man at heart. He was not some great villain.

She had even secretly thought that, since matters had come this far, perhaps she should try to accept him.

But the man seemed incapable of growing up. He was forever carefree and unserious, and that had gradually chilled her heart.

“Fine. No problem. You can officially start work tomorrow.”

Yang Jiekai nodded delightedly, then added, “But I do have one small request.”

“Go ahead. What is it?”

Han Ning was in an exceptionally good mood and agreed readily.

Yang Jiekai said, “As your bodyguard and driver, in addition to taking you to and from work every day, I also require permission to protect you around the clock.”

Han Ning’s brows drew together. She was just about to explode when Yang Jiekai hurriedly added, “Of course, I won’t stay by your side while you’re sleeping.”

Only then did Han Ning relax.

“That’s acceptable. But when I’m working at the company, I don’t like having people disturb me.”

“That can be arranged.”

Yang Jiekai nodded.

“I promise not to interfere with your work.”

The two of them chatted for a while longer before Yang Jiekai finally left Han Ning’s room, completely satisfied.

In truth, he had gone to considerable trouble to arrange all this. Although he had managed to thwart one attack by professional assassins, he had a feeling that the matter would not end so easily.

Blind Wu’s forces had been completely replaced by Dragon Hall, but as Blind Wu had said, the moment he died, someone would come after Yang Jiekai with his entire fortune.

Blind Wu had spent many years in the underworld, and the property under his name was certainly worth far more than a trivial sum. Before the conflict began, he must already have made a promise through some channel to a professional assassin organization.

If Yang Jiekai had been alone, he would have had little to fear. What worried him was that once those assassins realized they could not deal with him, they might turn their attention to Han Ning. If that happened, the consequences would be serious.

Yang Jiekai knew the abilities and prices of professional assassins very well. The group that had ambushed him last time had only been worth a few million.

Blind Wu’s fortune had certainly amounted to much more than that. The assassins who had accepted his money would undoubtedly launch another attack.

And this time, their target was very likely to be Han Ning.

But Yang Jiekai could not tell Han Ning any of this. That was why he had come up with this method of monitoring and protecting her twenty-four hours a day.

Han Wei had gone abroad on business during this period, which saved Yang Jiekai considerable trouble. Otherwise, protecting both sisters at the same time would have been difficult.

The assassin world had a strict hierarchy.

An S-rank assassin like Yang Jiekai would not accept a mission worth less than ten million.

But not every assassin was dressed like the killers in movies, in trench coats and sunglasses. Some drug addicts on the streets would take a thousand or two and stab someone with a fruit knife once their cravings took hold. Whether they could actually complete the assignment was another matter. More likely than not, they would fail, and if such a rabble were caught, they would probably betray the employer at the first opportunity.

A true professional assassin would never betray an employer. They would rather die than reveal a single word.

The killers who had previously attempted to assassinate Liu Yan were a good example. Although they were not S-rank experts, they possessed exceptional professional discipline. Once their mission failed, they chose suicide rather than expose their employer.

Assassins like that usually belonged to organizations that imposed strict rules upon them. If a mission failed and they did not kill themselves, the consequences could be worse than death—and might even bring harm to their families.

Given Blind Wu’s wealth, he might not have been able to hire an S-rank expert, but he had more than enough to submit a request to a professional assassin organization.

That evening, Han Ning was in an especially good mood. She even called Han Wei, who was still abroad, and shared a few whispered secrets with her.

“Weiwei, I have something to tell you.”

Han Ning curled up beneath the blankets, a smile on her face.

“What is it? Why are you being so mysterious?” Han Wei asked from the other end of the phone.

Han Ning hesitated, then decided to tell her the secret.

“Answer seriously. What do you think of that man?”

“Which man?”

Han Wei clearly knew exactly whom she meant, but pretended not to.

“Yang Jiekai. What do you think of him?”

“Oh, you mean your brother-in-law!”

Han Wei deliberately drew out the words.

“Why are you suddenly asking about him? Hehe, could it be that you…”

“Stop teasing me!”

A flush rose across Han Ning’s face.

“I’m talking to you seriously. Honestly, what do you think of him?”

The moment Yang Jiekai was mentioned, Han Wei became animated.

“I think your brother-in-law is pretty great. He’s somewhat carefree, but I think that’s just his attitude toward life. Sis, think about how much he’s done for us. If it weren’t for him, our Zi Yu Company would probably have gone bankrupt long ago.”

“Forget what he’s done for us. Tell me what kind of person he is.”

Han Wei thought for a moment on the other end of the phone.

“I think he’s a good person. Your brother-in-law gives me the impression of a hidden master, and he’s especially kindhearted. In my eyes, he’s a true hero.”

The two sisters talked for a long time, most of their conversation revolving around Yang Jiekai. But when Han Ning shyly admitted that she wanted to try accepting him, Han Wei fell silent on the other end of the phone.