Chapter 14: Go Ahead and Try

“Resign?”

She had just woken up from her afternoon nap when she heard Hua Man say such words. Yang Zhao shifted her position on the sofa and looked up at Hua Man. “Are you expressing dissatisfaction to me?”

“No.” Hua Man shook her head.

She was not dissatisfied.

“How are you not?” Yang Zhao sneered. “You’re resigning because I docked your pay, aren’t you? You’re unhappy, so you come to threaten me? What nerve!”

She had not even settled the score with her yet and had only deducted a bit of her salary, but Hua Man dared to threaten her. Yang Zhao frowned unhappily.

“I’m not threatening you. I just feel I can’t handle this job.” Hua Man explained with a headache, completely unable to understand the eldest miss’s thought process.

It was just a resignation. Personnel changes were normal.

In just this past week, the eldest miss had gone through two batches of bodyguards. Hua Man had been there less than two weeks but was already one of the longest-tenured employees.

Yang Zhao did not want to hear her nonsense and stated directly, “I disagree.”

“Why?”

“Why?” Few people ever countered her like that. Yang Zhao was stumped but not angry. She looked at Hua Man with interest. “Probably because you asked me why. I find that amusing.”

Hua Man: “…”

She was clearly brushing her off.

“In any case, I won’t approve your resignation.” Yang Zhao did not waste words with her. Though one night had passed and last night’s frustration had mostly dissipated, she hesitated for a few seconds, turned her head away, and said stiffly with a taut face, “You’ve been with me for a week now… Hmm, time for your weekly bonus.”

She looked at Yu Shan. “Arrange it.”

Yu Shan froze.

Weekly bonus? What was that?

Hua Man was also a bit dazed. She had heard of year-end bonuses but not weekly ones.

It was not until the money hit her account that Hua Man realized the eldest miss had probably used it deliberately to keep her around.

But her resignation was not just about the docked pay.

Yang Zhao did not care what her reasons were. She would not let her go either way, which was troublesome.

After thinking it over, she approached Yang Zhao again.

Unfortunately, Yang Zhao was focused on archery and ignored her completely.

Hua Man simply said, “If I stay by your side from now on, situations like yesterday’s will probably happen often.”

Yang Zhao narrowed her eyes and set down her bow. She turned to Hua Man. “If anyone dares to poach from me again, I’ll shoot her dead with one arrow.”

At that, a possibility occurred to her. “Someone offering you a higher price to poach you?”

Was that why she kept wanting to leave her side?

“No.” Hua Man had black lines on her face. “What I mean is, if I stay with you and you get into a conflict with someone else, I’ll probably intervene again, maybe even call the police. Are you sure you want to keep me?”

This was an obvious threat.

Yet she claimed she was not threatening her.

Yang Zhao laughed. “You think I’m afraid of your threats?”

She hated threats, but she feared them the least.

“Go ahead and try.”

With that, Yang Zhao raised her bow again.

The arrow flew out and hit the bullseye. Yang Zhao curved her lips in satisfaction.

She turned back. “Don’t think of He Qiuyan as some good person. She won’t be your next employer.”

Seeing her mention He Qiuyan, Hua Man frowned. “What did you do?”

“What could I do?” Yang Zhao sighed faintly. “Don’t you all like taking the legal route? Well, now we’re taking it. You really think she’s clean?”

“She hasn’t shied away from illegal stuff or crimes. She’s even got blood on her hands. I had heard rumors before but couldn’t be bothered with irrelevant people.”

“Now…” She narrowed her eyes, trailed off, raised her bow again, and hooked her lips. “She’ll rot in jail for at least a few decades. You won’t be waiting for her.”

Hua Man’s breath caught.

She had thought He Qiuyan just had a messy private life, but she had actually killed someone?

How complicated was this circle?

Hua Man came out after changing and saw someone standing at the door.

Yu Shan’s expression was poor.

The moment she saw Hua Man, her picky, anger-filled gaze landed on her.

Hua Man raised a brow.

She did not need to hear it to know what Yu Shan wanted to say.

Sure enough, Yu Shan soon spoke. “This is your last chance. If you let the eldest miss get hurt again, pack your things and leave when we get back!”

Hua Man sighed.

Yu Shan had not been around when she said those harsh words to the eldest miss, so she did not know Hua Man was not afraid of the threat at all.

Her current situation was that she wanted to leave, but the eldest miss would not let her.

“It’s dangerous outside, especially outdoors, and it’s summer now with lots of mosquitoes and bugs. Take these.”

Hua Man took the items. It was a crossbody bag that looked small but was quite heavy.

“Our duty is to not let anyone harm the miss.” Yu Shan emphasized again. “I hope you remember that. We pay you high salaries not to feed a bunch of good-for-nothings.”

Hua Man: “…Got it.”

In a way, she had indeed failed in her duties, and taking the money did weigh on her conscience.

On the way to the Wilderness Archery Competition, Hua Man pondered countermeasures. The eldest miss was incredibly strong in fights, powerful, and influential—no one would mess with her usually. It was always her initiating.

She mainly could not bring herself to help the eldest miss harm others proactively or become her accomplice.

What if she calmed the eldest miss down before she acted out? Or at least distracted her?

Hua Man suddenly saw the light.

“Thought of something? You look so happy.”

Yang Zhao, who had been watching her, laughed.

It was rare to see such rich expressions on Hua Man’s face.

“Don’t give me nonsense to brush me off.” Before Hua Man could speak, Yang Zhao warned her.

After a few seconds of silence, Hua Man found a suitable excuse. “Thinking about the Wilderness Open.”

“It’s just a competition. That happy already?” Yang Zhao snorted a laugh. “Wait till I win the championship for you. Then you can be happy.”

The eldest miss looked confident and radiant, practically glowing and dazzling.

Hua Man was momentarily lost in thought.

Recalling the eldest miss’s usual archery scores, she nodded. “Mm.”

She was not worried about whether the eldest miss could win but whether the competition could end without incident.

*

The Wilderness Open was held the next day, so they stayed at a nearby hotel.

It was under the Yang Family banner. Since she was the only bodyguard, she did not stay separately from the eldest miss but in the same suite.

She got to enjoy the Presidential Suite thanks to the eldest miss.

The Presidential Suite looked no different from a small villa—multiple rooms, large area, even an aerial garden and a pool.

“Pick a room for yourself. Anywhere but the master bedroom.” Yang Zhao stretched lazily. “I’m tired today and won’t go out. Feel free, treat it like a vacation.”

Not going out meant much lower risk. Hua Man relaxed. “Okay.”

But she was not foolish enough to treat this trip as a real vacation.

She did not shop around and took the room closest to the master bedroom. The soundproofing was too good, though—she could hear nothing from Yang Zhao’s side.

It made her uneasy.

After sitting in her room a bit, she went out to look for Yang Zhao.

The master bedroom door was open, but it was empty. She was not in the living room either.

Hua Man’s heart sank. She checked the other rooms quickly, growing more anxious. Not in the garden or pool either.

Had she gone out?

Just as she planned to check outside, a voice came from the master bedroom. “Hua Man, come blow-dry my hair.”

Hua Man’s heart settled.

In the master bedroom, Yang Zhao lay on the sofa with her damp long hair hanging down, the air filled with shampoo fragrance.

The eldest miss always smelled sweet, like a walking cake.

It was Hua Man’s first time blow-drying someone else’s hair, so her movements were clumsy. Soon, she heard the eldest miss hiss, then a slap on her hand. The eldest miss’s voice was full of dissatisfaction. “Be gentle! It hurts!”

The slap was light, like coquetry.

Hua Man suppressed her discomfort and lightened her stiff movements.

“It’s just blow-drying hair.” Looking at Hua Man in the mirror, Yang Zhao rolled her eyes. “Why do you act like you’re on the battlefield?”

Hua Man did not retort this time. “Afraid of hurting you.”

The eldest miss clearly liked that answer. She was like a cat being scratched just right, all lazy, her tone drawling. “What are you afraid of? I wouldn’t bear to punish you…”

Yang Zhao suddenly realized she had voiced her inner thoughts.

She glanced up at Hua Man.

Her words had been soft, plus the hairdryer noise—Hua Man seemed not to hear, showing no reaction as she focused on her hair.

Yang Zhao relaxed.

Of course, Hua Man could not know those words. She was bold enough already; knowing this might make her even more presumptuous.