RIACMET chapter 110

 

“Who says you can’t eat the grass growing near your nest?”

Lu Ningzhou chuckled teasingly. When it came to shameless talk, hardly anyone on the team could rival Liao Yu—except his girlfriend.

He is the youngest and the most talkative. Those who don’t know him well might think he’s a veteran, but those who know him well know he’s just a general on paper.

Liao Yu spread his arms wide.

“I was just saying that under normal circumstances, you don’t eat it unless you’re really starving. Well, now I’m really starving.”

After a moment of thought, he added,

“It doesn’t have to be long term—short term is fine, too. I don’t care.”

As soon as he said that, all his teammates gave him disdainful looks.

Huang Qian finally couldn’t take it anymore. She smacked the back of his head.

“Do you want to die by nibbling on the grass right outside your door? If you’re not looking for something serious, don’t mess with acquaintances. Go eat mud instead! If you’re really desperate, just gnaw on a zombie! You’re indecent. Try acting like a proper person!”

It’s shameful for a young man to pick up bad habits and toy with other people’s feelings. That kind of behavior wasn’t welcome on their team.

The husband followed his wife’s lead. Lu Ningzhou came over and added coolly,

“That’s right. Brother Cheng and Brother Nian, Qianqian and I are planning to get married, so please don’t get any wild ideas.”

“Stop hitting me—stop, okay, okay, I was wrong…”

Liao Yu clutched his head and lowered it in surrender. By the time he looked up again, everyone else had gone back to doing their own thing. They couldn’t be bothered to deal with him.

He blamed himself for being glib. The truth was, though, that he was actually very loyal. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have waited until he was twenty to experience love for the first time.

“Hehehe…”

Jiang Nian laughed so hard that his shoulders shook and he almost covered his face with his book. He couldn’t bear to look at them.

Still, he felt incredibly lucky to have these people by his side in his last days. Others might not realize it, but he knew he was happier with this chosen family than he ever was with his so-called “real family” in the past.

After they finished packing up the scented tea, Jiang Nian made a pot of sour plum soup. Liao Yu added ice, and they all drank big cups of it with some snacks, daydreaming of the time before the apocalypse.

When the apocalypse finally ended, he and Brother Jing would find a remote place to settle down. They would build a small yard and spend the rest of their days peacefully enjoying three meals a day and the four seasons.

…

When evening came, their teammates left one by one, full and satisfied.

While the others said they were going back to the dormitory, Young Master Liao said he wanted to go shopping under the pretext of giving love a chance.

His teammates rolled their eyes and ignored his nonsense.

The young master didn’t mind. He fixed his hair and swaggered out.

Zhao Lei nodded to the others, stood, and followed him.

The others went home as if this were all perfectly routine.

Once they were alone, Jiang Nian asked,

“Brother Jing, why did Brother Zhao go shopping with him?”

He didn’t dare overthink it, but he felt that something was a bit off.

“A bodyguard,” Cheng Jing replied casually as he went around doing final checks on the extension cords in the shop. Seeing Jiang Nian’s confusion, he added,

“Before Liao Yu joined us, Zhao Lei was his personal bodyguard.”

“Ah?”

Jiang Nian was stunned.

“Wait—seriously? You never told me that!”

He had no idea that something so dramatic was happening right under his nose—like a cool young master with a stone-faced bodyguard!

He’d recently been bored and had been binge-watching all kinds of melodramatic web dramas, novels, and comics. Now, his brain immediately conjured up a million soap opera plots.

He’d never noticed before because they all acted as a group, so it never stood out. Plus, no one usually mentioned it, so discovering it like this felt extra weird.

Cheng Jing smiled with mild exasperation.

“What’s there to say? That was all before Yun Hao and I applied to set up the local branch office…”

“Hey, don’t stop—”

Jiang Nian’s gossip radar was blazing.

“Brother Jing, come on. Just tell me everything.”

“…”

“…Alright.”

Seeing how genuinely curious he was, Cheng Jing paused to organize his thoughts, then explained.

It turned out that Liao Yu was an old client of Cheng Jing’s security company. After several staff members resigned or were transferred, Zhao Lei—who had just turned twenty—was transferred from the headquarters to Qingyun City to be Young Master Liao’s personal bodyguard.

At the time, Liao Yu was still in high school. He was sixteen, rebellious, and a little bratty.

Later, Cheng Jing and Liang Yunhao applied together to open a branch office in Qingyun City.

Since they got along well, Cheng Jing promoted Zhao Lei to deputy captain of the branch’s security team.

Around the same time, Liao Yu graduated from high school. After his family experienced major upheaval, he insisted on joining them. From that moment, the wheels of fate began to turn.

Due to Liao Yu’s special status, even after joining the team, he was still “someone to be protected.”

He and his teammates worked missions guarding other people, but they were also guarding him at the same time.

Most of the time, Zhao Lei and Lu Ningzhou were paired with Liao Yu, watching over him and helping him grow.

Then, the apocalypse came. Lu Ningzhou partnered with Huang Qian, leaving only Zhao Lei to stay by Young Master Liao’s side.

Even though they were all official teammates now, before the apocalypse, Liao Yu had lent Zhao Lei ten million yuan. He lent it to him as an advance on his salary. Privately, the dynamic hadn’t changed much.

No matter how talkative Zhao Lei was, he still treated Liao Yu as a young master in need of looking after.

“…”

“Oh, so that’s how it is!”

After hearing the whole story, Jiang Nian smiled knowingly.

“I knew it—Liao Yu never really struck me as a professional security guard. This explains a lot.”

He didn’t mean it as an insult. With all the team’s training, Liao Yu was doing great. When he was out, he could appear slightly aloof and completely reliable. Only those close to him knew he was still an amateur at heart.

Cheng Jing also smiled.

“Young Master Liao works very hard.”

Over the years, they’d met many rich kids, each with a different personality and level of capability. Liao Yu wasn’t the most remarkable, but he was definitely hardworking.

Even after such drastic changes, he remained optimistic, rational, and forward-looking. No matter how painful things got, he never allowed the negativity of the past to consume him year after year.

“His efforts are obvious to everyone.”

Jiang Nian nodded in sincere agreement. Then, his eyes lit up as he began to gossip.

“Do you think Brother Zhao could end up with him? I mean, Liao Yu does seem pretty proactive.”

“Tsk…”

Cheng Jing shook his head and chuckled.

“Hard to say. They’ve known each other for so long—there has to be something there.”

Jiang Nian wagged his finger.

“Times have changed. Everyone’s different now. I think he might be really hungry. In times like these, the grass closest to the nest is better than the wild weeds outside. If he comes to us, we should support him.”

After all, if Liao Yu was serious about eating the grass at his own doorstep, there was still hope.

“…”

Cheng Jing looked like he was thinking about it, like he actually agreed.

Moreover, Liao Yu had been kidnapped on several occasions during his youth. Although he acted carefree, deep down, he lacked a sense of security and didn’t trust anyone outside their circle.

If he really had to choose someone to stay by his side permanently, it would be better to pick someone from within the team.

Seeing Cheng Jing nod thoughtfully, Jiang Nian ran his fingers over his chin and asked,

“By the way, why did Brother Zhao borrow so much money back then?”

“That was… complicated.”

Cheng Jing frowned and sighed.

“His parents were kidnapped by a crime syndicate in Southeast Asia because of gambling debts. After he scraped together the ransom, they came back half-crippled but still wouldn’t stop gambling. Once Zhao Lei gave them the money, he cut ties with them completely.”

Jiang Nian felt his chest tighten with sorrow.

“That’s such a tragedy.”

People could face all kinds of misfortune, but the pain caused by one’s own family was the cruelest of all.

It wasn’t easy for Zhao Lei to repay Liao Yu for both the money and the kindness he had shown him. So, even though they were now equals as teammates, it was only natural that he still watched over him like a bodyguard.