Chapter 85 - Establish as Boyfriend
Beauty and the Bodyguard
Zou Ruoming, naturally, knew the same things that Kang Xiaobo did- heâd brought a couple of his lackeys to the street food area long ago, ordering some skewers and beer at Tang Yinâs motherâs stand. They were waiting for Tang Yin to come.
Tang Yinâs mother knew who Ruoming was- the guy was an infamous tyrant in the school. She was trying to figure out why heâd bring so many people to eat here today. He didnât usually eat here at all.
Mrs. Tang would be lying if she said she wasnât scared of Zou Ruoming. Heâd gotten a stomachache a while back after eating at one of the seafood stands here, returning the next day to smash the place apart, even going as far as to beat the vendor up. The wounds were so bad that he wasnât seen until a couple of days later.
She wasnât the only one selling skewers here- there were a lot other skewer stands, and Zou Ruoming always ate at one of the other stands. Mrs Tang saw that as a blessing: businesses like hers didnât earn much money in the first place, sheâd rather have less customers than to expose herself to trouble- she didnât want to end up like the seafood guy.
âHereâs your food- Ah!â Mrs Tang was serving Zou Ruomingâs table with some freshly barbequed chicken wings when her hand slipped a little, causing some of the sauce from the chicken wings to fling onto a fattyâs leg. The lackey looked down at the splotch of oil as Mrs Tang panicked.
âIâm sorry, Iâm sorry!â Mrs Tang apologized immediately. Young masters like these terrified her- there was little stopping them from thrashing her entire stand. âI... I can wipe it for you? I can wash it for you, even, if youâd like...â
This barbeque stand was Mrs Tangâs sole source of income after being laid off. Her lover was bedridden after having injured his leg, and the factory didnât seem very willing to pay a compensation. Sheâd went up to the factory a couple of times, only to be sent back out by a rough factory chief.
Mrs. Tang was the classic example of a housewife from the lowest social tier: weak and soft, but still holding the family together through her two hands, earning money for her daughterâs school fees and her loverâs medical bill.
âHa, itâs okay!â The fatty said, not one trace of anger in his voice as he wiped the oil stain away. âIâd never ask aunty to wash my pants for me- Ming Bro would kill me! Youâll be our elder soon!â
âYou little-!â Zou Ruoming pressed at fattyâs forehead. âKissing ass already?â
âHeehee....â Fatty started laughing, followed by the otherâs lackeysâ laughter- none of them had a care in the world.
Mrs. Tang, on the other hand, looked at fatty blankly, not sure of what the words meant, not did she understand what everyone was laughing about. One thing was clear: the fatty seemed to have let things go.
Mrs Tang let out a breath of relief as she voiced her words carefully. âThen... This oneâs my treat, if you donât mind.â
âThat canât do, aunty- our Ming Bro isnât that kind of guy, he wonât just eat without paying!â Fatty said with a wave of his hand. âYouâre the last person heâd do that kind of thing to. After all, the two of you will be family soon!â
Zou Ruoming couldnât help but grin gleefully at fattyâs words. The guy was saying all the right things- he didnât raise him up for nothing.
Mrs. Tang was confused- family? What was this fatty trying to say?
Tang Yin appeared some distance away, and fatty started wobbling his fat body around as he danced in greeting, whistling along with Ruomingâs other lackeys.
âMrs. Zouâs here! Mrs. Zouâs here!â Fatty cried out loudly. (What fatty actually calls Tang Yin is something Chinese people do: itâs like you calling your close friendâs gf saozi (literal translation sis-in-law), but I changed it to Ms. Zou for adaptability purposes)
Tang Yinâs face paled instantly upon seeing Zou Ruoming and his lackeys- she never expected them to show up at her motherâs stand! The fatty over there was spouting some ridiculous nonsense in front of her mother, as well!
Ruoming had written her a love letter before, but Tang Yin didnât hold back in rejecting him... But the guy didnât seem to care at all! He only smiled stupidly as he followed her around, running back to his classroom after the bell rang.
She hadnât heard from the guy for two days after that, and assumed that Ruoming had decided to give up on her... Something like this happening was completely unexpected- how saddened would her mother be if she thought Tang Yin got herself a boyfriend at this age?
âBoss, Zou Ruoming and his lackeys are there!â Xiaobo said to Lin Yi after spotting Ruoming, evidently a little pissed off. âThese bastards are bullying her!â
âOh, so that guyâs called Zou Ruoming?â Lin Yi took a closer look at Ruoming, remembering him as the guy heâd sent flying with a basketball a few days ago.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âYou know him?â Xiaobo asked as he turned to Lin Yi. âHeâs the Second of the Big Four! Itâs like I said, youâll be able to replace him as Second if you defeat him!â
â......â Lin Yi shook his head in response. He smiled a bitter smile- didnât he just destroy him a couple of days ago?
âIâd heard long ago that Tang Yin rejected him, but I didnât expect him to do something this shameless! Making things up in front of her mother like that!â Xiaobo waved his fist angrily as he heard what fatty was shouting.
Lin Yi didnât particularly care about what Ruoming did- the guy was a jerk, but Lin Yi had better things to do than trouble himself with his antics, unless it involved Lin Yi himself.
âSit, Sis! Ming Broâs ordered the food already, we were only waiting for you!â Fatty said very enthusiastically.
âCome, Yin Yin! Donât be shy- we have to tell your mother sooner or later anyway!â Zou Ruoming waved as his shamelessness pumped him up. He was pretty displeased at Tang Yinâs rejection, and was trying to think of something when one of his lackeys proposed this tactic- heâd decided to go all in with that, establishing himself as Tang Yinâs boyfriend right in front of her mother. He understood Mrs. Tang as a housewife, and that his fame wasnât a very positive one... He had, however, youth and riches- there wasnât much Tang Yin could do if even her own mother agreed to the relationship......