Little Bodyguard(GL) 29

Chapter 29

Li Qinyue waited for a long time. Finally, Zhuo Zhi emerged from the room.

Li Qinyue thought she was prepared, but the moment she saw Zhuo Zhi, she couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Zhuo Zhi had obediently put on the entire chicken costume. The chicken head hat covered half her face, and when she smiled, her white teeth and red lips were both comical and adorable.

Li Qinyue took two steps back, saying repeatedly, “Wait, wait, let me take a good look.”

Zhuo Zhi spread her arms, flapping the two large chicken wings, and twirled around, “Does it look good?”

“It looks good,” Li Qinyue took out her phone.

She had wanted to secretly take a few pictures, but the chicken head suddenly lifted, revealing Zhuo Zhi’s eyes, staring at her.

Caught red-handed, Li Qinyue raised her phone awkwardly, “Ah, the takeout should be here soon.”

Zhuo Zhi crossed her chicken wings over her chest, leaned forward, and chuckled, “You wanted to take a picture of me, didn’t you?”

“No,” Li Qinyue tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, “Why would I take a picture of you?”

“Oh,” Zhuo Zhi swayed towards her, looking down at her feet, “How does a chicken go down the stairs?”

Li Qinyue thought for a moment, “Probably the same way as a human?”

Zhuo Zhi tilted her head, “The chickens at the nunnery next door don’t have stairs.”

“This big chick does,” Li Qinyue patted her head gently and pointed at the stairs, “Go!”

Zhuo Zhi flapped her wings, playing along enthusiastically, clucking as she ran downstairs.

Li Qinyue leaned on the railing, laughing so hard her stomach hurt.

Zhuo Zhi ran to the second floor, then suddenly stopped and shouted upwards, “Sister, come here.”

Li Qinyue hurried over, clutching her stomach, “What’s wrong?”

“Didn’t you want to take a picture of me?” Zhuo Zhi said, “Stand here and film me going down. I’ll show you a rooster spreading its wings.”

“You’re a hen,” Li Qinyue quickly took out her phone and started recording.

“A hen spreading its wings,” Zhuo Zhi shouted, placing one hand on the stair railing and jumping down.

This kind of scene was common in chase scenes in movies.

But when it happened in real life, seeing someone jump from a height without warning was still visually impactful.

Especially since Zhuo Zhi jumped a long distance, landing in the middle of the next flight of stairs. Especially since she was wearing a costume, she really looked like a graceful yet majestic yellow chicken.

Especially since her movements were agile and graceful, and especially since Li Qinyue was watching through her phone camera, it felt both real and unreal.

After landing steadily, Zhuo Zhi looked up at Li Qinyue, flapping her wings and crowing proudly, “Cock-a-doodle-doo—!”

The rooster’s crow echoed through the space, and as soon as the sound faded, she started laughing.

“Cluck, cluck, cluck…” like a mischievous little sun.

Li Qinyue looked at her phone, waves of emotion washing over her, making her feel both joyful and peaceful at this moment.

“Sister, did you get it?” Zhuo Zhi asked, flapping her wings.

Li Qinyue put away her phone, let out a long breath, and smiled, “I got it, for my personal collection.”

“Let me see,” Zhuo Zhi was about to run back upstairs.

“You have so much energy,” Li Qinyue waved her hand, not letting her come up. She went downstairs quickly, grabbed Zhuo Zhi’s chicken tail, and said, “Let me see.”

“What are you looking at?” Zhuo Zhi bounced in place, “There’s nothing you want to see.”

Li Qinyue knew she wouldn’t be so obedient as to wear the costume naked, but she couldn’t miss this opportunity to tease her. Who could resist a little fun?

She lifted the chicken tail and peeked underneath, “You know what I want to see…”

Zhuo Zhi spun around, pulling her tail away from Li Qinyue, “You just want to see me lay an egg, don’t you?”

“What?” Li Qinyue stared at her.

“Lay an egg, with my white butt sticking out, doesn’t it look like I’m laying an egg?”

“Hahahahahahahaha…” Li Qinyue burst into laughter, almost punching a hole in the wall.

The doorbell rang, and Zhuo Zhi hopped towards the door, “The takeout is here.”

“Hey, hey, don’t go,” Li Qinyue quickly chased after her, grabbed Zhuo Zhi, and pushed her back, “You sit on the sofa, I’ll get it.”

“Why are you so hardworking today, Sister?” Zhuo Zhi mumbled as she hopped towards the sofa.

Li Qinyue heard her and shouted back, “I told you, for my personal collection.”

The fried chicken came with various parts of the chicken, as well as beer.

Li Qinyue carried a large bag of food and drinks to Zhuo Zhi and instructed her, “Go move that table over here.”

For aesthetic purposes, the large coffee table was some distance away from the sofa. It looked heavy. Zhuo Zhi didn’t comment on Li Qinyue’s diligence this time, instead asking, “Sister, aren’t we going to eat in the dining room?”

“What’s the fun in eating in the dining room?” Li Qinyue turned on the TV, switched to a show, and patted the sofa beside her, “Come here quickly.”

“There’s a carpet on the floor, what if we drop crumbs…” Zhuo Zhi tried to resist.

“You don’t have to clean up!” Li Qinyue almost jumped up.

Zhuo Zhi didn’t dare to say anything more and went to move the coffee table. Thankfully, she was strong, otherwise, if Li Qinyue tried to move it herself with her skinny arms and legs, she would have thrown out her back.

After some effort, the two of them settled down on the sofa, surrounded by food and drinks, the aroma of high-calorie food filling the air.

Zhuo Zhi, wearing the chicken costume, found it a bit inconvenient to move. She asked Li Qinyue, “Sister, can I take my arms out?”

Li Qinyue glanced at her and said with a smile, “No.”

“Then aren’t you going to let me eat?” Zhuo Zhi lowered her head, the chicken head swaying behind her.

“I’ll feed you,” Li Qinyue took a chicken nugget and put it in Zhuo Zhi’s mouth, “Little chick, how does it feel to eat your own kind?”

“Delicious!” Zhuo Zhi gave a thumbs-up with her wing.

Feeding someone could evoke a sense of intimacy and accomplishment, but Zhuo Zhi wanted to gnaw on a chicken leg.

Li Qinyue let out a disappointed sigh. Zhuo Zhi unzipped the costume, took out her arms, and Li Qinyue glanced at her, scoffing, “Thermal underwear again.”

“It’s very comfortable,” Zhuo Zhi said, “North Pole brand.”

Li Qinyue said, “Those are called long johns.”

“Whatever,” Zhuo Zhi didn’t mind.

“Not fashionable,” Li Qinyue said with a smile, tilting her chin towards the TV, “Look at this girl, not fashionable at all.”

Zhuo Zhi looked over. Li Qinyue had turned on a talent show. The girl singing on stage was wearing a layered cake dress, with big eyes and a small mouth, very cute.

“She’s very pretty,” Zhuo Zhi said.

“There are plenty of pretty girls,” Li Qinyue said, “This level of beauty won’t get you far in the entertainment industry.”

“There are many people who like this type, right?”

“That depends on the show,” Li Qinyue took a sip of beer, “Look, the theme of this show is to find a new generation of musicians. What kind of qualities do ordinary viewers associate with the word ‘musician’?”

Zhuo Zhi thought for a moment, “I’m an ordinary viewer, ‘musician’ sounds very fashionable.”

“Hahahahaha…” Li Qinyue almost choked on her beer, “Then what does a fashionable musician look like?”

Zhuo Zhi looked at the TV and pointed at the judges’ panel, “That one.”

Medium-length hair, an unattractive but rugged face, strange rings, deliberately worn-out clothes.

“Good eye,” Li Qinyue tapped Zhuo Zhi’s head, “Yes, that’s right. Artists, they have to be different.”

“Hmm,” Zhuo Zhi watched the TV for a while, then suddenly asked, “Sister, what kind of people are they looking for on ’12 New Stars’?”

“Teenage idols,” Li Qinyue said.

“Idols can have all kinds of looks, right?” Zhuo Zhi thought of the audition videos she had seen at “Shengle Media.”

“Not really, they can only vary within a certain range,” Li Qinyue said, “The phrase ‘teenage idol’ itself represents a certain style.”

“Because in the eyes of ordinary people like us, it has a fixed image.”

“Exactly,” Li Qinyue put her arm around Zhuo Zhi’s shoulder, pulling her closer, “Our main task today is to watch this talent show. Think about it, out of all the audition videos from ‘Shengle Media’, who has the potential to become popular on ’12 New Stars’?”

“Understood!” Zhuo Zhi was a little excited. She had never imagined that one day she would have the power to decide the fate of those shining stars on TV.

Li Qinyue pulled her even closer, “Don’t just watch and eat, tell me what you think.”

She lowered her voice, making Zhuo Zhi unconsciously lower hers too, “Okay, I’ll be objective and fair.”

“What did you say?” Li Qinyue pretended not to hear.

Zhuo Zhi leaned closer, her breath brushing against Li Qinyue’s cheek, “I said I won’t play favorites.”

Li Qinyue smiled and nodded, satisfied.

Finally, they had a shared activity.

Li Qinyue didn’t rush to go out anymore. Every day, she would cuddle with her little bodyguard on the sofa, watching TV and chatting, occasionally taking advantage of Zhuo Zhi’s inattention to steal a touch.

Zhuo Zhi took this “serious business” very seriously. She watched TV with rapt attention, taking notes and comparing the audition videos she had seen, ranking the contestants in her mind.

Li Qinyue, feeling a twinge of guilt at seeing the little fool’s serious demeanor, assured herself that she would make it up to her in other ways.

After spending more than a week at home like this, when Mi Xingyi called again, Li Qinyue knew she couldn’t refuse any longer.

He was one of the few people in her circle who she was genuinely friends with, a third-generation official. No one wanted to make an enemy of him.

The last time she had gone to a dinner with Mi Xingyi, that incident on the bus had ruined her mood. This time, even if knives were falling from the sky, she had to attend this dinner.

After getting dressed, Li Qinyue went to Zhuo Zhi’s room and rummaged through her few clothes, managing to dress her up.

“I need to buy you some clothes,” Li Qinyue said.

Zhuo Zhi tugged at her clothes, “These are all new.”

“It’s not about whether they’re new or old…”

“It’s about fashion,” Zhuo Zhi finished her sentence.

“Those words sound so outdated,” Li Qinyue laughed.

“You said it,” Zhuo Zhi had become quite cheeky after spending so much time with Li Qinyue. After saying that, she jumped out of Li Qinyue’s reach.

They laughed and got into the car, chatting all the way, the atmosphere very different from their previous outings.

The journey was smooth this time, but the destination was nothing like Zhuo Zhi had imagined.

It wasn’t some rustic farmhouse with delicacies. It was a huge club far from the city center, the shiny sign making Zhuo Zhi’s neck hurt just from looking up at it.

As they got out of the car, a young man was smoking nearby. He turned his head, saw Li Qinyue, put out his cigarette, and walked over with a smile, “Finally managed to get you here.”

Li Qinyue opened her arms and hugged him, “Long time no see.”

“Yes, it’s really not easy to see you,” the man sighed.

He was handsome and spoke gently, but he had an air of superiority. Zhuo Zhi couldn’t help but take a few extra glances.

The man quickly looked at her, still smiling, and asked, “And this is?”

“Zhuo Zhi,” Li Qinyue directly said her name, then said to Zhuo Zhi, “President Mi.”

Zhuo Zhi extended her hand, “Hello, President Mi.”

Mi Xingyi shook her hand, “Just call me Brother Mi when we’re out having fun.”

Zhuo Zhi just nodded. Li Qinyue walked towards the club, changing the subject, “You said you’d let me try something different last time, what’s different about this place?”

Mi Xingyi said, “You’ll miss out if you miss this opportunity. President Wang is here this time, this place should be more to his taste.”

Li Qinyue said, “Which President Wang?”

“Wang Zilai.”

Li Qinyue smiled, “He does have this kind of taste.”

They were talking about people Zhuo Zhi didn’t know. She quietly followed them, observing her surroundings and summarizing the information she could gather. She felt that her previous guess was correct, this Brother Mi was going to eat endangered species.

So, she still needed to find an opportunity to educate Li Qinyue, warning her not to get involved with these people.

The three of them walked inside. It was relatively quiet along the way. But when they reached their destination and pushed open the door, the smell of smoke, alcohol, and the noise made Zhuo Zhi frown.

There was a huge dining table surrounded by people. The food was untouched, but a row of empty wine bottles lined the table. There were both men and women. Zhuo Zhi scanned the room and even spotted a familiar face.

The blue-haired lead singer from “Shengge” was sitting next to a middle-aged man whose belly spilled over the table. Her expression was blank, she looked out of place.

Before Li Qinyue could even sit down, the middle-aged man slammed the table and stood up, “Little President Li, you’re late!”

He poured wine as he spoke, filling a glass and pushing it towards Li Qinyue on the lazy Susan.

“Three glasses as a penalty!” the middle-aged man said with a smile, thinking this was a rule everyone understood.

Li Qinyue didn’t touch the glass, just smiled and said, “I just got here after braving the cold wind all the way, and President Wang wants me to drink cold wine? That’s not fair.”

Zhuo Zhi silently noted that this was Wang Zilai, the person Li Qinyue and Mi Xingyi had been talking about.

“Hey, don’t say that,” Wang Zilai’s face was flushed, “Alcohol warms you up.”

Mi Xingyi blocked Li Qinyue and pushed her towards an empty seat, “It’s not President Li’s fault for being late, I invited her late, it’s my fault.”

Wang Zilai laughed and sat down, “President Mi is as protective of our Little President Li as ever.”

As he said this, he winked at a man next to him, as if this was another topic that would bring them closer and create a harmonious atmosphere.

Several people at the table echoed his words. Mi Xingyi ignored them, led Li Qinyue and Zhuo Zhi to their seats, and gave Zhuo Zhi a set of bowls and chopsticks.

Wang Zilai’s gaze fell on Mi Xingyi’s actions. He smiled at Zhuo Zhi and said, “This little girl looks unfamiliar, President Mi, aren’t you going to introduce her?”

Mi Xingyi smiled and said, “She’s with President Li, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to introduce her.”

Wang Zilai looked at Li Qinyue, who raised an eyebrow and said jokingly, “Since she’s my person, of course I wouldn’t introduce her to you. You’re all like wolves.”

Wang Zilai laughed again, then suddenly patted the blue-haired girl’s arm, “I’m not as stingy as President Li. The people I bring are for everyone to get to know. Xiao Lan has already had a drink with everyone, except for President Li. Come on, toast President Li.”

Upon hearing this, the blue-haired girl stood up. Her glass was full. She raised it with both hands and said, “Hello, President Li, my name is Lan Xi.”

Her face was still expressionless, but Zhuo Zhi could tell that her eyes lit up when she looked at Li Qinyue.

They clearly knew each other, but they had to pretend to be meeting for the first time. They had already heard each other’s names, but they had to repeat them for everyone to remember.

Zhuo Zhi looked at Lan Xi, then at Li Qinyue, wondering if Li Qinyue would accept the toast.

There was a brief silence at the table, everyone watching the two of them.

Li Qinyue didn’t move or speak. Lan Xi paused, then raised her head and started drinking.

Her glass wasn’t small, her Adam’s apple bobbed several times, but she didn’t spill a drop, and she finished the entire glass.

After finishing, she smiled at Li Qinyue, “This is my first toast to President Li. Thank you for coming on such a cold day.”

Wang Zilai was very happy. This time, he patted Lan Xi’s hand, which was holding the glass on the table, “Little President Li, it seems Xiao Lan really likes you. Young people these days are cool. Xiao Lan has had quite a few drinks with everyone, but this is the first time she’s smiled at you. For that, you have to drink a glass too.”

Lan Xi looked at Li Qinyue intently. Li Qinyue leaned back in her chair and smiled at her.

“Then I’ll smile back at you, do I still need to drink?”

Wang Zilai slapped the table, “Little President Li is too clever, too clever…”

Several people laughed along. Lan Xi smiled and looked at Li Qinyue, “No need.”

She sat down and was teased by Wang Zilai, who then pulled her to toast others, saying he wanted to see who had the prettiest smile so they wouldn’t have to drink.

Zhuo Zhi frowned, finding this person truly annoying.

Li Qinyue didn’t pay much attention to Wang Zilai. She chatted with Mi Xingyi for a while, then with another person.

Zhuo Zhi noticed that two more wine bottles had quickly appeared on the table. She tugged at Li Qinyue’s arm, indicating that she had something to say.

Li Qinyue turned to her and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Zhuo Zhi leaned close to her ear and whispered, “Sister, if you don’t want to drink, don’t drink.”

“It’s not up to me,” Li Qinyue said with a smile.

“It is up to you,” Zhuo Zhi looked at her seriously, “Don’t worry, I’ll block them for you if I have to.”

“How will you block them?” Li Qinyue’s eyes curved into a smile.

“I’ll drink for you,” Zhuo Zhi said.

“Do you even know how to drink?” Li Qinyue said, “You didn’t even touch your beer during dinner.”

“That’s because it wasn’t necessary,” Zhuo Zhi pouted, “Who doesn’t know how to drink?”