3: bodyguard

Early in the morning, Li Zhan bit into a bun and pushed open the door of his rental room. The room next door was still eerily quiet.

He quickly devoured his breakfast, leaned back on the sofa, and stared blankly at the calendar on the wall.

He couldn't find his cousin for now.

His hometown didn't even have a telephone, and he couldn't remember any of his relatives' numbers.

The most critical issue right now was his ID card, which had been stolen along with his luggage.

Could he find a job without an ID card? He didn't know.

Footsteps of office workers echoed from outside the door.

Li Zhan wiped his mouth, crumpled the plastic bag into a ball, and tossed it into the trash can.

He had to try; he couldn't just wait to die in this dilapidated rental room.

He glanced at the tightly shut bedroom door next door and gently closed the security door.

—

As the sun set in the west, Li Zhan dragged his feet back to the rental building and looked up at the window on the third floor.

He had spent the entire day looking, but all jobs required an ID card.

He went to the police station to ask if he could get a replacement, and the answer was that he needed to show his household registration booklet.

Damn it, who the hell brings their household registration booklet when they go out to work?

When Li Zhan returned to the rental room, the sound of rushing water came from the bathroom.

A hazy figure was visible through the frosted glass, its alluring curves faintly discernible with each movement.

His heart warmed, and he quickly walked into the bedroom to change into clean clothes.

When he came out again, the girl was already sitting on the sofa.

She was still wearing the black silk slip dress, her wet hair draped over her pale shoulders.

Seeing Li Zhan emerge, she raised the Hongshuangxi cigarette in her hand.

Li Zhan took the cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag.

Smoke slowly diffused between them.

"Did you look for a job today?" the girl asked, holding the cigarette in her mouth.

Li Zhan nodded, uttering an "Mm."

"Didn't find one?"

"My ID card was lost with my luggage.

It's fine. If worst comes to worst, I'll do some manual labor first."

The girl didn't reply, got up, and went back to her room.

A moment later, she came out again and tossed a wad of red banknotes onto the coffee table.

Li Zhan was startled. He looked up at the girl. "What's this for? I sell my skills, not my body."

"Such virtue," the girl scoffed.

"Call me A Zhen. From now on, you're responsible for picking me up after work in the evenings. This is your salary.

It's better than you carrying sacks." With that, she turned and went back to her room, and the door slammed shut with a "bang."

Li Zhan stared at the wad of money for a long time, then finally extinguished his cigarette butt and picked up the banknotes.

Any job is a job. It's just being a bodyguard.

As night fell, A Zhen stepped out of her room, wearing high heels.

She had changed into a wine-red off-the-shoulder dress, her curled hair cascaded over her pale shoulders, and the rhinestones on her earlobes sparkled dazzlingly under the lights.

"Come on, I'll show you the way," she said, jingling the keys in her hand.

The two went downstairs and walked through the intricate alleys of Wusha Village.

After turning a few corners, their view suddenly opened up—

The neon sign of Shifu Plaza was particularly striking in the night.

This open-air plaza, built in the late 1990s, was packed with shops; cheap clothing stores, mobile phone repair stalls, food stalls, and arcades were crammed together haphazardly.

The poor-quality speakers of an audio store blared Dao Lang's 'The First Snow of 2002,' deafeningly loud.

Passing a men's clothing store, A Zhen suddenly stopped.

She tugged at Li Zhan's pilled T-shirt with disdain. "I'm taking you to buy two sets of clothes, so people don't see you and embarrass me."

When Li Zhan emerged wearing a navy blue polo shirt and black casual pants, A Zhen was sipping pearl milk tea through a straw.

She looked him up and down.

Although Li Zhan wasn't exceptionally handsome,

his 180 cm height made ordinary styles look as sharp as a model's sample clothes.

His shoulders and back, sculpted by years of martial arts training, were taut under the fabric, exuding strength.

"Not bad."

A Zhen pouted and tossed her empty milk tea cup into the trash can.

After a few more steps, she suddenly turned into a mobile phone shop.

Various Nokia models were displayed in the glass counter, with the newly released 2300 in the most prominent position.

"Are you really going to keep me as a sugar baby?" Li Zhan teased, leaning against the counter.

A Zhen rolled her eyes at him without lifting her head.

"What if I have an emergency? You took the money, so you have to be available at all times."

She paid quickly and tossed the box containing the phone and SIM card to Li Zhan.

"Save my number and keep your phone on 24 hours a day."

The two continued through the noisy crowds of Shifu Plaza and turned into a street glittering with neon lights.

In the distance, a brightly lit building stood out—Phoenix City Nightclub.

This nightclub was a well-known entertainment venue in the area, with luxurious decor, many luxury cars parked at the entrance, and its neon sign particularly dazzling in the night.

Security guards in uniform stood at the entrance,

and occasionally, men in suits would enter and exit, embracing glamorous women, with faint sounds of music and laughter emanating from inside.

A Zhen pointed to an inconspicuous side door next to the nightclub and said,

"I'll call you tonight, and you wait for me here after work."

She paused, then added, "Be smart, don't stand too close, and don't let the security guards notice you."

Li Zhan nodded, his gaze sweeping over the flashing sign of the nightclub, then looking at the hidden side door.

He vaguely understood—

This place was probably not that simple.

—

At three in the morning, Li Zhan received a call from A Zhen.

Ten minutes later, he arrived at the side door of the nightclub that A Zhen had mentioned.

He stood at a distance from the security guards, yet close enough for A Zhen to see him when she came out.

The security guard not far away was yawning and playing on his phone, occasionally looking up to scan the street.

Twenty minutes later, the side door creaked open.

A Zhen walked out in high heels, her makeup still exquisite, but the fatigue in her eyes was undeniable.

She scanned her surroundings, her gaze falling on Li Zhan, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

"Finishing so early tonight?" Li Zhan greeted her, taking her small bag.

"It's not every day some rich sucker orders a champagne tower."

A Zhen rubbed her shoulders. "I'm hungry. Come have a late-night snack with me."

Li Zhan expected her to go to some lively food stall,

but A Zhen led him through twists and turns, into an alley filled with the smell of cooking oil.

At the end of the alley, a makeshift fried noodle stand and barbecue grill were set up, the stove fire was blazing, and the iron pot sizzled.

"A Zhen! So early today?"

The proprietress was a round-faced woman, her apron stained with oil.

She smiled when she saw A Zhen and quickly set up a small table.

"Third Sister-in-law, two portions of fried noodles, extra spicy, and twenty skewers of small beef."

A Zhen plopped down and gestured to Li Zhan with her chin. "There's an extra man today, add an extra portion of meat to the noodles."

The proprietress cheerfully agreed, then turned and shouted inside, "Old man! Cut another half-jin of pork neck meat!"

Li Zhan looked at the greasy little stall,

then at A Zhen skillfully breaking apart disposable chopsticks, and suddenly found it a little amusing.

"What are you laughing at?"

A Zhen rolled her eyes at him, pulled two bottles of beer from the fridge, and opened them by knocking the caps against the edge of the table.

"What, did you think people in our line of work eat shark fin soup and rice every day?"

Li Zhan took the beer and took a gulp. The cold liquid slid down his throat, making him feel completely comfortable.

"I just didn't expect..."

"Didn't expect a 'lady' like me to eat street food?"

A Zhen sneered, poking at the bean sprouts in the fried noodles with the tip of her chopsticks. "My hometown is in the mountains of Jiangxi. I came to Dongguan when I was sixteen.

I've been eating at this stall for seven years; it's much more authentic than the fake foreign liquor in Phoenix City."

The proprietress served the golden, glistening fried noodles.

A Zhen gently stirred them with the tip of her chopsticks, picked up a few strands of noodles, and slowly brought them to her mouth.

The way she ate was very peculiar;

even at a street stall, she ate with an elegance befitting a high-end restaurant, not even getting a speck of oil on the corners of her mouth.

A Zhen picked up a beer bottle and clinked it with Li Zhan's.

"Half a bottle?"

She raised an eyebrow and asked, then tilted her head back and downed half the bottle without waiting for an answer.

Li Zhan smiled at the sight and followed suit, drinking half a bottle.

This girl was so refined when eating noodles, yet so bold when drinking.

"Why did you come to Dongguan?" A Zhen suddenly asked.

Li Zhan was silent for a moment. "Something happened back home."

A Zhen's eyes narrowed. "Did you kill someone?"

Li Zhan shook his head with a wry smile but didn't answer.

He picked up the beer bottle and took another sip, his gaze fixed on the distant flashing neon lights.

A Zhen didn't press him, merely stirring the fried noodles gently with her chopsticks, allowing the steam to dissipate slowly.

The night breeze swept by, bringing the distant clamor of the food stalls.

"If you don't want to say, then don't."

She finally snorted softly, but then picked up a braised duck wing for Li Zhan. "Eat, don't waste it."

Li Zhan noticed that even when gnawing on the duck wing,

A Zhen took small bites, and even the bones were neatly arranged.

"You don't seem to be short on money now, so why are you still living there?" Li Zhan suddenly asked.

A Zhen's movements paused.

"I lived there when I first came to Chang'an," her voice softened slightly.

"The landlady, Auntie, might seem a bit harsh usually, but she's a good person.

Back then, I didn't have much money, and she let me owe a few months' rent..."

Li Zhan looked at the woman before him—

A woman making a living in a nightclub, yet she always carried an inexplicable sense of incongruity.

And so, Li Zhan's days in Dongguan began.