"Hehe, yes, I know a little." Seeing that Li Yuyan looked somewhat sullen, Xiao Tian wasn't quite sure what to do, so he offered a somewhat awkward smile.
"Tomorrow, you'll go to school on your own. We'll split up. That way, you'll be in a better position to protect me from the shadows." Li Yuyan looked out the car window at the scenery passing by and quietly said to Xiao Tian.
"Alright, no problem." Hearing Li Yuyan's words, Xiao Tian smiled and replied. He felt that what Li Yuyan said made sense, and it would indeed allow him to protect her more effectively from the shadows.
After that, the two of them rode in silence.
Ten-odd minutes later, Xiao Tian and Li Yuyan returned to the Li Family Villa. When Li Zheng saw Xiao Tian with his new hairstyle, he was quite taken aback.
Li Zheng's reaction was much like Li Yuyan's: he had no idea Xiao Tian could look this handsome! Moreover, the aura of serious focus Xiao Tian now carried made even Li Zheng feel somewhat inferior. At that moment, Li Zheng couldn't help but wonder what Xiao Tian's true background might be.
In fact, before having Xiao Tian serve as his daughter's personal bodyguard, Li Zheng had investigated him. Through his connections, Li Zheng had verified that Xiao Tian had indeed spent four years in the military.
However, before Xiao Tian entered the military, no one knew where he had been. Nor did anyone know where he came from or what he had been doing prior to enlisting.
Still, Li Zheng figured that there wasn't all that much a thirteen-year-old child could have been up to. Perhaps he came from a very poor family, or perhaps he was an orphan, which would explain why there were no records to be found.
Even the focused demeanor Xiao Tian was now displaying, Li Zheng assumed, was something he must have picked up in the army. With that thought, Li Zheng let go of his curiosity about Xiao Tian.
Besides, with Xiao Tian's improved appearance and presence, perhaps his precious daughter wouldn't harbor quite as much resentment toward her new personal bodyguard.
The next day arrived. Since it was Monday, Li Yuyan had to go to class. As her personal bodyguard, Xiao Tian naturally had to tag along to school.
Li Yuyan was a senior in high school this year, and her grades had always been ranked first in the entire school. She was perennial material for the school's model student awards. Meanwhile, Li Yuyan's best friend, Dongfang Wan'er, was in the same class as her.
At the same time, Dongfang Wan'er's academic performance was second only to Li Yuyan's in the entire school. The difference between their scores was usually just a matter of a few points, both of them coming close to perfection.
Not only that, but Li Yuyan and Dongfang Wan'er were also universally recognized as two of the four great campus beauties of the school. Therefore, no matter where they went, Li Yuyan and Dongfang Wan'er were always the most dazzling and eye-catching figures!
After finishing breakfast, Li Yuyan drove her BMW out toward the school. The moment her car pulled away, a black Ford Explorer fell in closely behind it.
Xiao Tian had already seen this Explorer yesterday; it belonged to Li Yuyan's regular security detail, a team of four men. Every single one of these four was a burly, rough-hewn giant—all retired special forces soldiers recruited by Li Zheng.
Seeing that Li Yuyan had already left, Xiao Tian prepared to follow, but at that exact moment, it dawned on him: he didn't have a car!
Uh-oh. The atmosphere suddenly turned rather awkward.
"Ahem, let's go see what's left in the garage!" To break the awkward silence, Xiao Tian muttered to himself. With that, he immediately strode toward the garage.
"You'll do!" After searching around the garage for quite a while, Xiao Tian finally spotted an unlocked mountain bike tucked away in a corner. It was a white bicycle, though the frame was now caked in a thick layer of dust.
Xiao Tian shook his head helplessly, wheeled it outside, and hosed it down with water before joyfully riding it off toward Li Yuyan's school.
When the school security guards saw Xiao Tian pulling up to school in his uniform astride a bicycle, they were completely baffled. This was, after all, the finest elite academy in Modu; how on earth could a student still show up to school riding a bicycle?!
Baffled as they were, once they inspected the admission documents Xiao Tian produced, the guards let him through.
And so, Xiao Tian swaggered into the campus on his bicycle, heading straight for the bicycle parking area. Classes had already begun by this point, so his arrival didn't cause any real commotion.
"What the fuck? Which showboating bastard is this, riding a bicycle to school and showing up late to boot?" As Xiao Tian made his way toward the parking area, a fair-skinned male student on the fourth floor of the teaching building caught sight of him through the window and let out a string of curses.