Little Bodyguard(GL) 18

Chapter 18

The fighters participating in the cage match today, regardless of their skill level, all possessed exceptional willpower.

Even when pinned to the ground and relentlessly pummeled, they would struggle to get up, exhausting their last ounce of strength.

There were no major injuries, but minor ones were constant. The medical staff on the side were kept busy, pouring bottles of iodine solution.

Half an hour had passed, and the crowd was still hyped. As more people joined the competition, the area around the cage entrance remained packed.

Li Qinyue found a high platform to sit on. Beside her was a pile of snacks and drinks brought by Lingzi. Li Qinyue ate slowly, watched with amusement, looking utterly relaxed.

In contrast, Zhuo Zhi, who had been closely following the fight inside the cage, was different. She stared intently, her back hunched forward even while sitting, her elbows resting on her thighs, her hands clasped together so tightly they were almost wringing out water.

“Here, try these chips,” Li Qinyue offered her a bag of chips, nudging Zhuo Zhi’s arm.

Without turning her head, Zhuo Zhi reached out, grabbed a chip, and popped it into her mouth.

“And these cookies,” Li Qinyue offered another bag.

Zhuo Zhi repeated the same motion, her chewing absentminded.

“Tsk, you’re not even paying attention to what you’re eating, wasting food,” Li Qinyue sighed, rummaging through the snack bags and pulling out a bag of spicy strips.

She tore it open and held it near Zhuo Zhi’s face, “Here, open your mouth.”

Zhuo Zhi finally turned her head slightly, her eyes still glued to the cage, only her mouth reaching out to take the snack. Li Qinyue, being mischievous, deliberately moved the bag a little.

The spicy strip missed her mouth and landed on Zhuo Zhi’s cheek, leaving a red mark.

Li Qinyue brought a tissue closer, ready to gently wipe it off, but Zhuo Zhi suddenly raised her sleeve and wiped her face carelessly.

Her light yellow cotton sweatshirt was now stained with chili oil, making Li Qinyue cringe.

Li Qinyue stared at the oil stain on her clothes, “You’re not even competing, why are you so nervous?”

Zhuo Zhi didn’t answer, continuing to stare at the fight.

Speaking of which, Li Qinyue was a bit annoyed. After she had teased Zhuo Zhi, the little girl had stopped in her tracks as she was about to rush into the cage.

This decisive hesitation and refusal were within Li Qinyue’s expectations, so she was only a little annoyed.

Besides, judging by Zhuo Zhi’s current attitude, even if she didn’t compete, she definitely wouldn’t have dinner with the champion afterwards.

Thinking about this, Li Qinyue felt a sense of satisfaction.

The feeling of Zhuo Zhi refusing her unreasonable demands yet being unable to leave her alone was quite amusing to Li Qinyue.

She had been pampered all her life, believing that the higher the pedestal, the harder the fall. But with Zhuo Zhi, she suddenly realized that she was truly being protected and cared for.

Li Qinyue was getting addicted to this feeling, so she kept pushing the boundaries, just to see Zhuo Zhi’s concern. When she thought about it, she felt both childish and crazy.

But it was fine. Zhuo Zhi was a little naive, and she was a big naive. Life was all about having fun.

A new fighter with a green headband entered the cage, clearly on a different level from the previous competitors.

He quickly and ruthlessly subdued the fighter who had already lasted three rounds, not giving him any chance to recover, pinning him down until he begged for mercy.

Zhuo Zhi stood up. After the green headband quickly defeated another opponent, she walked briskly towards the edge of the cage.

Li Qinyue put down her snacks and looked at Zhuo Zhi.

Zhuo Zhi was carefully observing the green headband. Li Qinyue changed her position so she could see Zhuo Zhi’s profile. Her expression was serious, as if this was a life-or-death battle.

The green headband continued to quickly defeat his opponents, accelerating the pace of the competition, pushing towards the final victory.

Lingzi ran to Li Qinyue’s side and said, “Sister Yue, I don’t want to go up anymore.”

“Hmm?” Li Qinyue looked at him.

“I’m so unlucky. That guy is the champion of last year’s underground competition, I don’t know why he suddenly showed up here.”

“Good job advertising it,” Li Qinyue squinted at him.

“It’s still thanks to your generous bonus, Sister,” Lingzi said with a smile, “Anyway, I’m not going up, I don’t want to get beaten up by him.”

“Suit yourself,” Li Qinyue said, “It’s not like you can even win an arm-wrestling match against a teenage girl.”

“Sister Yue, reverse psychology doesn’t work on me, I wasn’t in it for the money.”

“You’re in it for me?” Li Qinyue laughed.

“Even if I can’t have dinner with you today, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. I need to save my life.”

Li Qinyue patted his shoulder, “You’re quite the strategist.”

“Of course,” Lingzi sat down beside her and started eating snacks.

The people who came here today were all regulars, and many of them recognized the green headband.

Even if they didn’t recognize him at first, they should have by now, after he had defeated his opponents one after another on stage.

Those who were confident and wanted to challenge him would still take a chance, but many, like Lingzi, wisely chose to withdraw.

Soon, the originally crowded area became sparse. Zhuo Zhi stared at the man on stage, her fingers gripping the cage bars, her anger burning.

This guy was too ugly. With that fake hair, he looked like a caveman, his exposed skin rough and uneven, like mud after a rainstorm.

Zhuo Zhi never made personal attacks before, but the thought of this person standing next to Li Qinyue made her uncomfortable, everything about him unpleasant to look at.

Although Li Qinyue had a bad temper and was childish and impulsive, she was beautiful.

Beautiful people should be with beautiful people, that was only fair.

Yes! Zhuo Zhi clenched her fist, supporting her own nonsensical thoughts.

As the number of people waiting to fight dwindled, Zhuo Zhi stopped looking at the green headband and turned to look at the remaining people.

None of them looked like they could defeat the green headband, and even if they did, they weren’t worthy of Li Qinyue.

Zhuo Zhi frowned and looked back at Li Qinyue.

At some point, Li Qinyue had come down from the high platform and was now standing not far from her, half her body illuminated, half shrouded in darkness.

There was no expression on her face now, no arrogant recklessness, no mocking smile, no frivolous demeanor.

The moment their eyes met, she was quiet, as quiet as a mountain flower silently blooming.

Zhuo Zhi suddenly felt that besides her duty as a bodyguard, she also had a 100% responsibility to protect this flower.

It was a responsibility she gave herself, she was willing to bear it.

And protecting someone inevitably came with a price. Thinking about it carefully, some things were not a big deal.

Besides, Zhuo Zhi turned her head and smiled to herself, if she won the match, she could also play dumb. Then, without these annoying men, Li Qinyue could do whatever she wanted.

Zhuo Zhi moved her wrists and ankles, walked to the side, and took off her jacket.

At this point, signing up was simple, you just had to say you wanted to fight. In everyone’s eyes, she wouldn’t win anyway, she was just there to provide entertainment.

As she stood at the foot of the stage, all eyes turned to her.

A skinny guy next to her looked at her, “Girl, if you’re here to watch, stand over there.”

“I’m here to compete,” Zhuo Zhi said.

“Do you know what kind of competition this is?” the guy asked with a smile.

“Of course she knows,” someone answered for Zhuo Zhi.

Lingzi patted the guy’s shoulder, pushing him aside, and leaned towards Zhuo Zhi, “You’re going up?”

“Yeah,” Zhuo Zhi looked up for Li Qinyue, who hadn’t moved much, still standing in her original spot.

“You don’t have to do this,” Lingzi looked at her, “You’re Sister Yue’s person.”

“That’s why I have to,” Zhuo Zhi lowered her head and carefully wrapped her hands with bandages.

“Is Sister Yue paying you too little? Do you need the 200,000 yuan that badly?”

Zhuo Zhi paused. Her employment contract stated her salary, but she didn’t actually know how much Li Qinyue would pay her.

Talking about money was always a bit awkward, especially since Li Qinyue had said on their first day of meeting that she would deduct her salary.

But Lingzi’s question was still easy to answer. She turned to him and said, “Are you all so rich? You don’t even want 200,000 yuan?”

“You have to be capable of earning it,” Lingzi tilted his chin towards the stage, “Can you beat him?”

“Yes,” Zhuo Zhi nodded.

“So confident?” Lingzi patted her shoulder, “Good luck.”

“Thanks,” Zhuo Zhi replied flatly.

Actually, when it came to fighting, without knowing the opponent’s strength, how could one be 100% confident?

But now, Zhuo Zhi had to win.

After encouraging Zhuo Zhi, Lingzi ran back to Li Qinyue’s side and reported the situation to her.

“She said she’s doing it for the 200,000 yuan,” Lingzi laughed, “Sister Yue, your little bodyguard is a money-grubber.”

Li Qinyue narrowed her eyes.

“Can she really beat him? She’s so skinny…” Lingzi was a little worried, “Should I get a couple of referees up there? Just in case something…”

“Shut up,” Li Qinyue said.

Lingzi obediently shut his mouth.

The green headband had defeated another opponent. The crowd stepped back, leaving only two contestants left.

Zhuo Zhi, who had been standing at the back, suddenly stepped forward, cutting in line.

Someone whistled. Zhuo Zhi entered the cage and climbed onto the ring, her movements graceful and light, as if she possessed supernatural agility.

The crowd, who had lost interest after watching the green headband dominate, suddenly became excited again.

Beast versus girl, it was bound to be thrilling.

Zhuo Zhi took two steps forward and bowed to the green headband.

The green headband said something, and the crowd burst into laughter. The fight didn’t start immediately.

Li Qinyue looked away and said to Lingzi, “Get the referees over there.”

“Alright!!!” Lingzi jumped up and ran off.

Surrounded by referees, the match suddenly seemed much more formal and serious.

Anyone could see that the sudden appearance of the referees was to protect the little girl. People were laughing, clapping, booing, shouting at the green headband. No one took this match seriously.

Neither did the green headband.

He had dreadlocks, a strange tattoo on his neck, and looked incredibly fierce. But now, he stood there with his arms crossed, smiling at Zhuo Zhi, like an old man playing chess, saying to her, “Little girl, I don’t hold back, I’m afraid…”

Zhuo Zhi had already listened to the people around her chatter for a while, and now the green headband was also being long-winded. She sighed inwardly, feeling helpless.

She had originally planned to be humble when she entered the cage, but now it seemed that if she continued being humble, she would be asked to leave the stage.

So, Zhuo Zhi didn’t waste any more time. She rushed forward and punched the green headband, cutting him off.

The green headband reacted quickly, dodging the punch and scoffing.

The match officially began. Since there were no rules, Zhuo Zhi didn’t bother circling around her opponent just to show off to the audience.

After her first punch missed, she attacked his stomach with her left hand, aiming for the most painful spots.

The green headband didn’t dodge, his fist coming straight at her face with impressive speed.

Zhuo Zhi twisted her body and dodged the attack. They had exchanged their first blows, and the green headband’s eyes lit up.

The audience was yelling at the green headband to go easy on her, not to bully a child.

But Zhuo Zhi didn’t give him any chance to be merciful. In front of this underground boxer, her advantage was her speed, agility, and unconventional techniques.

The green headband couldn’t figure out her fighting style, nor could he find an opening to attack her.

Soon, the cheers were roaring, no longer asking the green headband to be merciful, but instead urging Zhuo Zhi on, asking the little girl to avenge them.

Zhuo Zhi had never fought in front of so many people before. Accompanied by the intense music, her blood also started to boil.

She looked up, searching for Li Qinyue, and found her standing at the edge of the cage, frowning at her.

Zhuo Zhi thought she was worried, she must be worried, so she deliberately took a punch from the green headband, throwing herself to the side.

She landed right in front of Li Qinyue, who took a step forward, about to intervene in the match.

Zhuo Zhi winked at her and said, “Sister, you can only have dinner with me tonight.”

She spoke in her normal voice, easily drowned out by the music and the cheers, but Li Qinyue heard her clearly.

Ever since Zhuo Zhi entered the cage, Li Qinyue’s attention had been solely on her, both proud and worried, both happy and mixed with an inexplicable sadness.

So when Zhuo Zhi smiled at her and said those words, the world fell silent, every word, every syllable, incredibly clear.

And her expression, that slightly provocative, youthful brilliance and gentleness, it was like the silent world Li Qinyue had experienced during her bungee jump.

Her heart skipped a beat, then started racing, as if a hand had grabbed it and was trying to pull it out of her throat.

Li Qinyue looked at the cage, her vision blurry.

She abruptly turned away, bent over, and gasped for air, feeling a rush of heat, her throat dry.

Just a single sentence from you, and it’s more potent than any aphrodisiac I’ve ever taken.