"Fang Yu?" A voice rang out the moment his first foot crossed the threshold. Fang Yu's gaze swept the room, landing on a middle-aged man seated behind a grand executive desk not far ahead.
"Good day, Uncle Yan." Fang Yu closed the office door behind him and stepped slowly forward to stand before the man.
The middle-aged man appeared to be in his forties, his lean, sharp-featured face bearing an air of unyielding acuity. Even as he looked at Fang Yu with a warm smile, he exuded an imposing, commanding presence that demanded respect, a quiet authority that needed no anger to make itself felt.
This was Yan Huaimin, Chairman of the Yan Group, and the very man who had hired Fang Yu for this assignment.
"Have a seat." Yan Huaimin rose slowly from his chair, stepped forward to meet Fang Yu, and gestured courteously to the leather sofa beside him.
Fang Yu sat down without pretense or ceremony, waiting patiently for his new employer to speak his mind.
"The old master has told you everything, I presume? I earnestly beg for your assistance in this matter." The stern authority on Yan Huaimin's face faded away as he sat down beside Fang Yu, his expression softening into one of sincere, heartfelt urgency.
What in the world was this? Fang Yu stared at Uncle Yan, a man he was meeting for the very first time. Had he not been the one to hire him as a bodyguard? By all rights, as the one footing the bill, he should be the one holding all the power. Yet here he was, acting as though he was begging Fang Yu for a favor.
Though his mind went briefly blank with bewilderment, Fang Yu recovered quickly, smiling and saying, "The old master has told me everything. There's no need for formalities, Uncle Yan. I will do everything in my power to keep the young miss safe."
"Hehe, that is a tremendous relief." At Fang Yu's words, the heavy weight that had been hanging over Yan Huaimin's heart finally lifted. His daughter had been kidnapped once before, and though she had been rescued unharmed, the incident had haunted his nightmares ever since. It was that fear that had made him think of the old master, and he had sent men all the way to the mountains to beg him to come out of retirement. The old master had refused outright, but thankfully, he had recommended Fang Yu, insisting he was far better suited for the task. And so, Yan Huaimin had brought him all this way, across hundreds of miles, to his side.
"By the way, where is Uncle Li? Was he not the one sent to pick you up?" A thought suddenly occurred to Yan Huaimin, and he asked the question at once.
"Uh… Uncle Li, he… he must have had other urgent business to attend to." Fang Yu stammered awkwardly. He could hardly tell the man that he'd kneed Uncle Li square in the crotch, and that the old man was currently laid up in the hospital being treated for it, could he?
"You weren't hurt, were you?" Yan Huaimin asked hastily at Fang Yu's evasive answer. There had been something off in his tone; something must have happened along the way.
"I'm perfectly fine, hehe." Fang Yu shook his head. I'm unharmed, that's for sure. Can't say the same for Uncle Li, though.
"That's a relief." Yan Huaimin smiled apologetically. Perhaps he had gone too far with this. He had been uncertain of Fang Yu's skills, after all, and had told Uncle Li to test his mettle on the way to the headquarters. He had no idea how the test had gone.
At the sight of the man's awkward, apologetic smile, Fang Yu snickered silently to himself. If the man knew he'd knee'd Uncle Li right in the family jewels, he wondered if he'd still let him anywhere near the fabled young Miss Yan.
"Now that the formalities are out of the way, I'll have someone escort you to Yan Ting at once. I must warn you, though, my daughter can be rather headstrong and unruly. If she offends you in any way, I hope you'll forgive her." Yan Huaimin smiled faintly, then picked up the phone and called for Lei Yu, instructing him to take Fang Yu to the mall to buy a few sets of proper, well-fitting clothes.
In that moment, a single question circled in Fang Yu's mind. Just how headstrong and unruly was this young miss he'd been sworn to protect?