Little Bodyguard(GL) 54

Chapter 54

As the taxi stopped, Zhuo Zhi carefully looked at the name of the residential complex.

“White Birch Lane.”

It sounded quite poetic.

Li Qinyue was standing at the entrance, waiting for Zhuo Zhi to take out their luggage from the trunk. Zhuo Zhi, feeling empowered by her new status, called out to Li Qinyue, “Sister, come help me!”

Li Qinyue, clicking her tongue in mock annoyance, walked over and helped her carry the lightest bag.

Zhuo Zhi unloaded the two heavy suitcases. Li Qinyue nudged her with her shoulder.

“What?” Zhuo Zhi asked.

Li Qinyue tilted her chin towards the driver.

“Hmm?” Zhuo Zhi still didn’t understand.

“Pay the fare,” Li Qinyue lightly kicked her calf, “I’m broke now, you know.”

“Okay, okay,” Zhuo Zhi happily took out her phone, scanned the QR code to pay the fare, and said goodbye to the driver.

Then she turned to Li Qinyue and said reassuringly, “Don’t worry about being broke, we have hands and feet, we can earn money by working.”

Li Qinyue couldn’t help but laugh, seeing her like this.

Zhuo Zhi sighed, “You’re probably the happiest bankrupt CEO ever.”

Li Qinyue rubbed her cheeks, “I’m laughing so much my face hurts.”

“I’ll give you a massage later,” Zhuo Zhi said, picking up the travel bag and pushing one of the suitcases.

“You can massage faces?” Li Qinyue walked ahead.

“Yes, anywhere with muscles can be massaged,” Zhuo Zhi suddenly stopped, “The suitcase!”

“Oh, right, I forgot,” Li Qinyue turned back and pushed the other suitcase, “It’s heavy, we should have asked the driver to bring it in.”

Zhuo Zhi looked at the narrow road inside the complex, “It’s hard to reverse here, there are too many trees.”

“The environment is nice though, so many old trees.”

“Yes!” Zhuo Zhi agreed, “Tranquil amidst the hustle and bustle.”

After a few steps, she turned to Li Qinyue and asked, “Didn’t you used to go out often? How can you forget your luggage?”

“I didn’t forget my luggage,” Li Qinyue stared at her hands, “I just forgot what it feels like to carry luggage myself with someone else around…”

“Eww…” Zhuo Zhi looked at her in disgust.

Although she was determined to take this opportunity to teach Miss Li some essential life skills, when they reached the bottom of the stairs, she still said, “Put it down here, watch the luggage for a moment.”

White Birch Lane was an old building with no elevator. Their apartment was on the fourth floor, and the stairwell was narrow. Zhuo Zhi couldn’t bear to let Miss Li, with her delicate skin and tender flesh, carry such heavy things upstairs.

Li Qinyue smiled at her, “You don’t have the keys.”

Zhuo Zhi, one hand on the suitcase, the other on the travel bag, didn’t turn back, “The key is hidden in the compartment on the right side of the door…”

Li Qinyue muttered, “Damn, good memory.”

Zhuo Zhi had already climbed a flight of stairs. She looked back at Li Qinyue, “I remember everything about you very clearly.”

The stairwell was dimly lit, but as Li Qinyue looked up at Zhuo Zhi, bathed in sunlight, she felt that Zhuo Zhi was the one who shone brightly.

For Zhuo Zhi, those words were simply stating a fact. But to Li Qinyue’s ears, they sounded like a love confession.

Zhuo Zhi’s figure quickly disappeared up the stairs, leaving only the sound of her footsteps.

Li Qinyue sighed, then smiled, picked up the suitcase, and followed.

After climbing a few steps, she heard Zhuo Zhi shout from above, “Put it down, Sister, it’s too heavy, I’ll come down for it later.”

“You underestimate me,” Li Qinyue shouted back.

“Your arms, back, and legs will hurt if you carry it, then I’ll have to massage you…”

“That sounds nice.” Li Qinyue held her breath and climbed the stairs quickly.

“Hey, hey, hey, hey…” Zhuo Zhi shouted, having already put down her luggage and running back downstairs, “What are you doing, what are you doing, what are you doing…”

Li Qinyue switched the suitcase to her other hand, preventing Zhuo Zhi from taking it away.

“Be careful, you’ll hurt your back!” Zhuo Zhi said anxiously, “Slow down!”

“I told you…” Li Qinyue looked at her, “You can call me ugly, but you can’t say my waist is weak.”

“But,” Zhuo Zhi chuckled, “You’re not a man.”

“You actually understand,” Li Qinyue said as she continued climbing the stairs slowly, “Women need strong waists too.”

“Mine is strong enough,” Zhuo Zhi said, snatching the suitcase from Li Qinyue and quickly climbing the stairs, almost running.

Li Qinyue took a few breaths, unsure what to be more amazed by: Zhuo Zhi’s strength or her stubbornness.

When she caught up to Zhuo Zhi, the little girl was carrying the bag on her shoulder and the suitcase in her hands.

They reached the apartment door. Zhuo Zhi breathed a sigh of relief, reached up on tiptoe to find the key, and unlocked the door.

Li Qinyue watched her for a moment, then said, “If I ever get the chance to meet your master, I’ll have to ask her how she trained you to be so strong. Is it child abuse?”

Zhuo Zhi entered the apartment, checked the electrical panel, and turned on the lights, “No abuse, Master treated me very well. If you started training at a young age, every day, day after day, you might be even stronger than me.”

“Training every day, day after day, isn’t that abuse?” Li Qinyue said, “Normal children have summer and winter breaks.”

“There’s homework during breaks, it’s like homework for me,” Zhuo Zhi started unpacking, “I’m used to it, I feel restless if I don’t expend some energy.”

Li Qinyue finally entered the apartment and squatted down beside her, “Now that we’re living here, there’s no place for your morning runs, how will you expend your energy?”

Zhuo Zhi didn’t even look up, “There’s no place to run? Anywhere will do.”

“The air pollution in the city is so bad, you’re going to go out and inhale smog early in the morning?”

“I can practice martial arts at home. One session is enough to make you sweat.”

Li Qinyue flicked her forehead, “You stubborn fool.”

Zhuo Zhi rubbed her forehead, smiling.

As Zhuo Zhi unpacked, cleaned up the apartment, and checked the water and electricity, Li Qinyue sat on the sofa, watching her.

It wasn’t that she was feeling particularly affectionate at this moment, it was mainly because she had no phone, no computer, no internet, and couldn’t even watch TV. Only Zhuo Zhi was worth watching.

It was peaceful.

She had left her phone at the villa complex because she wanted some peace and quiet.

Once the news of today’s incident got out, her father, her grandfather, her siblings, and her friends would all pester her endlessly.

However, she had taken out her SIM card and put it in her bag, at Zhuo Zhi’s insistence.

As far as she was concerned, it was better not to use this SIM card anymore.

She couldn’t think of anything in this world that absolutely required her presence. The world would keep spinning even without her.

Zhuo Zhi was almost done unpacking. She turned to Li Qinyue and asked, “Are you hungry, Sister?”

“Not really,” Li Qinyue said.

Zhuo Zhi glanced at the time, it was almost dinner time. She said, “Let’s go downstairs and get something to eat, then we can go to the supermarket to buy some kitchen supplies. We should cook at home from now on, it’s safer and saves money.”

She had said the same thing when they first met.

Back then, Li Qinyue had thought, “What good is the little bit of money you save from cooking?” Now, fate had played a cruel trick on her.

The money they spent now was earned by Xiao Zhuo Zhi’s hard work, so they had to be frugal.

“Okay,” Li Qinyue agreed.

Zhuo Zhi walked over to her, “Don’t worry, Sister, I’ll find a job soon.”

“I’m not worried,” Li Qinyue said with a smile.

She said that, but in reality, she wasn’t worried about not having money.

Zhuo Zhi was young and had no work experience. It wouldn’t be easy for her to find a suitable job.

But she didn’t want to discourage her. Since they had reached this point, they might as well experience a normal life for a while. Being with this little girl was always entertaining anyway.

Li Qinyue put her arm around Zhuo Zhi’s shoulder and they went downstairs. Before they even left the building, Zhuo Zhi pulled her arm down and tucked it into her pocket.

“It’s cold,” she said.

“It’s not cold,” Li Qinyue squeezed Zhuo Zhi’s soft hand in her pocket, “But this feels nice.”

Zhuo Zhi’s earlobes turned slightly red, but she didn’t object.

Li Qinyue suspected that the redness was from shyness, not the wind.

They walked hand-in-hand, browsing the shops near the entrance of the complex, then turned into a nearby alley.

This alley held good memories for them. They both chuckled before even speaking.

The alley was much more lively during the day than at night. Some of the shops looked shabby, but the food was delicious.

Although Li Qinyue hadn’t lived here for many years, she would occasionally visit, so she knew where to go. She took Zhuo Zhi to a restaurant and ordered two bowls of lamb soup.

And with a wave of her hand, she added, “Extra meat!”

Zhuo Zhi, sitting across from her, couldn’t help but laugh.

When the food arrived, Li Qinyue took a flatbread and tore it into small pieces, dropping them into her soup. She asked, “What are you laughing at? Are you worried about me spending your money?”

“No,” Zhuo Zhi looked at her, “I just think it’s funny how you’ve eaten everything, yet you’re not picky about anything.”

“I’m only picky about people, not food,” Li Qinyue said, “To be honest, the best thing I’ve eaten this year was that instant noodles you made.”

“Not the steamed eggs I made?”

“The steamed eggs were delicious too,” Li Qinyue paused, “But taste and memory are connected, it’s the meaning that matters most.”

“Hmm,” Zhuo Zhi nodded.

Li Qinyue looked at her. Zhuo Zhi’s expression clearly said, “Please be more specific with your praise.”

Li Qinyue stopped eating and thought for a moment, then said, “Countless people have wished me a happy birthday every year, but yours made me the happiest.”

“But you weren’t happy at that time, Sister,” Zhuo Zhi said smugly, “You hated me back then, you were so angry, and you always yelled at me…”

Li Qinyue didn’t know if it was because they were back in this familiar place that she felt more genuine, or because she had shed her Miss Li persona and dropped her pretenses. She suddenly didn’t want to tease Zhuo Zhi anymore.

Truthful words, spoken to someone who deserved the truth, couldn’t be a betrayal.

She looked down at the steaming bowl of soup and felt a little embarrassed, “When did I ever hate you?”

“Hmm?” Zhuo Zhi’s eyes lit up like a puppy’s. She leaned closer to Li Qinyue, “Not even at the beginning? Not even when I beat you up? Not even when I recited legal clauses to you? Not even when I told you to stop swearing and smoking?”

“You’re right, it was quite annoying,” Li Qinyue looked up at her.

Zhuo Zhi’s excitement vanished, “Huh?”

Li Qinyue paused, then said, “But I never hated you, I liked you from the moment I saw you.”

It was a cliché, a line used in half of all love confessions. But Zhuo Zhi’s face flushed, and even Li Qinyue felt her cheeks warming.

“The soup is quite hot…” Li Qinyue blurted out randomly.

“You haven’t even had any yet, Sister,” Zhuo Zhi said.

“Can’t I tell it’s hot without drinking it? Look at all the steam…”

“You’re blushing because you’re shy, Sister.”

“Nonsense, you’re the one who’s shy, you blush at everything.”

“Save it, I’ll kiss you later,” Zhuo Zhi said, “Stop looking at the soup, look at me.”

Li Qinyue looked up.

Zhuo Zhi’s eyes sparkled, “Li Qinyue, I accept your confession.”