Chapter 65: Guilty and Awkward—Then a Compromise
N-No?
Even acting cute had failed?
Wasn’t Assistant Wu the one who said that as long as she buttered Uncle up and acted a little cute, he would agree?
Looks like Assistant Wu’s method didn’t work either.
Sigh…
Su Keke deflated like a balloon pricked by a needle—whoosh, all the air gone—and wilted on the spot.
Completely puzzled, she asked her uncle, “Uncle, you spent money to hire me—was it really so I could help you get through this hurdle?”
The little girl’s face was full of confusion. “When other people spend money to hire a feng shui master, they can’t wait to keep them by their side twenty-four hours a day, afraid that if they look away for even a moment something terrible might happen. But you’re different, Uncle. You send me to school to study—fine, I don’t see you during the day—but you won’t even let me follow you when you go out on weekends.”
Qin Mochen choked, left with nothing to say in rebuttal.
Looking at the clean, innocent little face in front of him, he suddenly wondered how, that day, he could have had such a… misunderstanding about a little girl who knew nothing at all.
A rare hint of embarrassment appeared on the man’s face.
He raised a fist to his lips and coughed lightly.
“Uncle, if you don’t mind, could you give me your birth date and time? Let me calculate it for you again?”
Qin Mochen froze slightly, his gaze drifting.
Seeing the change in his expression, Su Keke hurried to explain, “I don’t mean any disrespect to the previous master. Being able to narrow this life calamity down to a specific month already means the feng shui master Uncle hired is incredibly skilled. I just want to calculate it myself too, so I’ll have a clearer idea.”
In their line of work, one’s birth date and time were extremely important and not something to be casually given to fellow practitioners, which was why she asked so solemnly.
Qin Mochen gave a vague mm and very stiffly changed the subject. “I’ll take you with me tomorrow. Just like you said—you’ll disguise yourself as a female bodyguard. But remember to stick close to Assistant Wu and don’t run around.”
He couldn’t help rubbing his forehead.
What a headache of a little girl.
“Oh my gosh—Uncle, does that mean you agree? Uncle, I promise I won’t cause you any trouble!”
The little girl beamed so hard her eyes turned into two thin crescents, with tiny sparks of light shining through.
Just minutes ago, Uncle’s attitude had been firm and unyielding. And yet, the moment she asked for his birth date and time, he had inexplicably relented.
Although she didn’t know why Uncle cared so much about his birth details, Su Keke felt as if she’d found a trick. In the future, whenever Uncle went out without her, she could just ask for his birth date and time—hehehehe…
Elated, Su Keke hummed a little tune as she went back to the living room and quickly sent Assistant Wu a text: I succeeded! Uncle agreed to take me tomorrow!
Wu Zongbai had been anxious this whole time. When he saw Su Keke’s message, he barely had time to sigh in relief before his phone suddenly rang.
He’d set a special ringtone for Fourth Master—a grand, epic piece of music, motivational in style, with a rising choral section that could instantly fill one with energy.
But at this moment, it sounded like a death-summoning tune.
Wu Zongbai’s hand shook, and with a pah!, the phone fell straight to the floor.
The phone was sturdy; it lay there perfectly fine, continuing to blare the music.
This time, he didn’t dare delay. He hurriedly picked it up and answered, “Hello, Fourth Master.”
He held his breath, not daring to breathe too hard.
“Tomorrow I’ll be taking the girl with me to Elder Xu’s birthday banquet.”
Wu Zongbai was waiting for what came next, but the other end paused. He hurriedly responded with a couple of acknowledgments.
“Assistant Wu, keep an eye on her then. Don’t let the little girl run around.”
Wu Zongbai replied, “Don’t worry, Fourth Master. I’ll watch Miss Su carefully.”
“In the morning I’ll take the girl to buy clothes. You go to the framing shop for me—the one I used to visit. Ask Granny Liu to give you the calligraphy piece. That’s the birthday gift for Elder Xu.”
Wu Zongbai was somewhat surprised and quickly agreed.
So Fourth Master had already prepared the gift.
He knew the shop Granny Liu ran. Fourth Master would sometimes stop by there after work, browsing and buying scrolls. If he was too busy, he would have Wu Zongbai go in his stead.
But… Fourth Master was only giving a single piece of calligraphy?
Wasn’t that a bit… modest?
Granted, Fourth Master’s calligraphy had been praised by the renowned Master Qian and was beyond reproach. Still, this was the Xu family, and it was Elder Xu’s seventieth birthday banquet. Was Fourth Master really planning to give just this?
Then again… it’s the thought that counts. Even if Fourth Master went empty-handed, Elder Xu would probably still be delighted.
If Wu Zongbai had known that the scroll rods of this calligraphy were made from a piece of Hetian jade that he and Fourth Master had acquired at an auction two years ago, and that the ancient sandalwood was also a treasured item Fourth Master had collected for years, he would never have thought “it’s the thought that counts.”
If this counted as modest, then everyone else’s gifts might as well not be looked at!
“Fourth Master, I’ve noted everything. Is there anything else you’d like me to handle?”
“No.”
Hearing this, Wu Zongbai finally relaxed a little. At least Fourth Master hadn’t suspected him.
“Old Wu,” Qin Mochen suddenly called.
The heart Wu Zongbai had just settled leapt straight back up. “Yes?”
“You’ve worked hard lately. Next month, I’ll increase your bonus.”
Wu Zongbai was pleasantly shocked and was just about to thank him when Fourth Master had already hung up.
Then, on second thought—
Wait. Didn’t he say the bonus would be increased this month? How did it become next month?
After a long while, Wu Zongbai finally realized.
…As expected, Fourth Master had still figured it out.
This was Fourth Master blaming him for being too talkative and giving the little cutie such a terrible idea.
Forget about a bonus increase this month—heck, whether it would be docked or not was another question entirely.
Had the little cutie not followed his advice to butter up Fourth Master? If she had, why was Fourth Master still so cold-hearted?
Wu Zongbai’s inner self was crying.
—
Early the next morning, Qin Mochen took Su Keke to the mall to buy a suit.
There was no time for a custom suit, so they had to buy one off the rack.
“…Uncle, how about this one?” Su Keke tugged at the hem of the suit jacket and stepped in front of him.
After changing into four or five outfits, Su Keke felt each one was fine. She didn’t understand why Uncle kept frowning, as if this wasn’t good enough and neither was that.
Changing clothes was exhausting too, okay?
The sales assistant standing to the side tried hard to suppress her laughter. “Sir, this young lady is still quite young. If this suit is for some kind of performance, you could consider the casual women’s suits over here. The ones you’ve picked are all too formal—they’re not suitable for her.”
Like a child sneaking into adult clothes—comical and adorable. The more mature the outfit, the younger that little face appeared by contrast.
Qin Mochen pressed his fingers to his temple, then placed a hand on the back of Su Keke’s head and steered her toward the exit. “Let’s go. I’ll take you somewhere else.”
Twenty minutes later.
In the bustling commercial district, inside a high-end image design studio.
The chief designer, John, circled Su Keke once and asked Qin Mochen, “Fourth Master Qin, I didn’t hear wrong, did I? You want to style this little girl into a sharp, capable female bodyguard? She’s only fifteen or sixteen, tops. Tsk—this won’t be easy.”
