Xiwang drove very fast. It did not take him long to arrive at Beiming Road in Dongcheng District. He stopped the car at a corner close to Star International High School and got out.
The Star International High Scholl was one of the most prestigious high schools in the country. It had excellent facilities and a competent line-up of staff. Some of the teachers were hired from abroad and even the student body included some foreign students. The school was an international school in every sense of the word. It also happened to be the school that Xiwang used to attend when he was still living in Beijing.
While Xiwang was studying there, the school was nothing more than a third-rate institution on the verge of closing down due to lack of students. It should not be a surprise that the young Xiwang attended such a school. Although he was from the Zhu family his un-magnanimous family would never allow him to go to a good school. His siblings attended Beijing No. 4 High School, one of the most prestigious high schools in China, while he was sent off to the worst school they could find.
Luckily, the school did not close down while he was there. Later, after he became rich, Xiwang donated huge sums of money so that the school could get an upgrade. He actually owned most of the grounds the school was using today. Before, the school grounds were neither big nor impressive.
Xiwang bought much of the neighboring land and had the buildings torn down. Then, he built a number of world-class facilities on them. Like he did with the apartment building, he also had mature trees and flowers brought in and made the scenery of the area very attractive. He did not directly give the facilities to the school but allowed it to use them without any charge. Basically, he told the school administrators to treat the facilities as their own and they did.
He also tore down and rebuilt the old school building. With the money he donated, the entire school was revamped. Lots of capable teachers were hired and paid excellent salaries. He also helped to design new rules and regulations for the school and planned the general direction for its future.
Moreover, he kept donating huge sums of money to the school every year to help in its running. With the improvements, its reputation and results improved and in recent years it had rose to become one of the best schools, if not the absolute best school, in the nation. It became the first choice school for children of the rich and powerful.
He had a lot of influence in the running of the school. Although he did not really interfere in the affairs of the school, the school administrators recognized his valuable contributions and his words were greatly respected. The fees were high but reasonable. Per his direction, the school also had an excellent scholarship program in place so that poor but gifted students could enroll there. In short, the school had changed completely after Xiwang decided to support it.
Xiwang felt rather nostalgic to see his old school again. But, he was not there to play so he soon got serious and began to stroll around the area. Outside the school gates, he saw three black vans parked in a row. It looked like the bodyguards had already entered the school. Rather than entering the school premises Xiwang decided to scope out the areas surrounding the school instead.
In an alley not far away, a man wearing a black suit was standing motionless, carefully eyeing the gates of the school. He was perfectly camouflaged by the shadows cast by the buildings and hid there in silence, like a predator waiting for its prey. In his right hand he was holding a black Barrett M82 sniper rifle. This man was an assassin from The Dusk. He was only one of their lowest-ranked members. But, The Dusk obviously thought that even someone like him would be enough to take care of such a routine job like assassinating a high school girl.
At the other end of the alley, a car was parked with the door to the driver's seat open. It was his getaway car. He had planned carefully. As the target exited the school, he would kill her and then quickly make his escape in the waiting car. It was a really simple job. Or so he thought.
The man had seen Xiwang as he stood outside the gates of the school. But, he saw him walk off quickly and as he did not detect the slightest hint of threat from him he did not bother with him anymore. He placed all his focus on the gates as he slowly knelt down and arranged the rifle in a shooting position. Not long after, his target walked out surrounded by bodyguards. He smiled as he thought to himself, 'This is too easy.' He placed his finger on the trigger and prepared to shoot.
Before he could squeeze the trigger he felt something grab his neck. In the next instant, there was a snapping sound and he died just like that as his neck was broken. Xiwang had struck. When he was in front of the gates, Xiwang had also noticed the man lurking in the alley. So as not to alarm him he walked off in the opposite direction. He then double-backed and stalked the man.
The man's first mistake was his failure to identify Xiwang as a threat. His second mistake was to ignore his surroundings and focus all his attention on the gates. His third and most glaring mistake was to pick such as an open location to shoot from-his back was not covered at all. Like a phantom Xiwang reached the man's back without a sound. He thought to himself 'Rookie!' as he grabbed and snapped the unsuspecting man's neck.
Xiwang dropped the man's body and observed the girl he was supposed to protect. She appeared to be about fifteen or sixteen years old. She was definitely a very attractive girl. She had an oval face, pretty eyebrows, and a set of soft red lips that were bright red like cherries. She had snow-white skin and long flaxen hair that was resting on her back. Her body was too gorgeous to believe that it belonged to a fifteen or sixteen year-old girl. She was slim and curvy. Her flat stomach contained absolutely no excess fat. The tight-fitting clothes she was wearing accentuated her big chest and firm butt and she looked extremely sexy. She would have seemed like an alluring angel if not for what happened next.
Xiwang looked on in stunned silence as the seemingly delicate-looking girl suddenly pushed the bodyguards closing in on her and yelled, "FUCKERS! KEEP OFF!! I keep telling you you're too close. You stink! DAMN IT! What's that old man thinking sending you ugly goons here. I was just in the middle of class. I can get back on my own. DAMN IT!" Her voice was clear and pleasant but her words spoiled everything.
The bodyguards backed off a bit and tried to placate her by saying in a mild tone, "Miss, please calm down. We're only here for your protection." The girl continued to shout at them, "I don't need any protection. I keep telling you that. You guys are nothing but a bother. DAMN IT!"
Xiwang continued to watch as the attractive girl continued to point and shout at the dumbfounded bodyguards who were doing their best to placate the fuming girl. After a long time, the bodyguards finally managed to get the still fuming girl into one of the black vans and drove off. Xiwang watched them drive off and thought to himself, 'This is the angel that Gu Delan was talking about?! More like a little devil!' With a sigh he made his way back to his car and followed the procession.
Xiwang followed the cars back to Gu Delan's mansion. Gu Delan had already told his men about him so he was able to enter without too much hassle. As Xiwang passed through the doors of the mansion he heard a familiar voice shouting, "DAMN IT! You senseless old man. I'm so tired of being embarrassed by you. It was totally not okay for you to send your goons to drag me out of class. How am I supposed to go back after the scene they caused today. Are you purposely trying to make me die of shame?!"Gu Delan's mild voice sounded, "WeiWei, it was all for your own good. Please try to understand. Everything I do is for your own good."
"How is embarrassing me in front of all my friends supposed to be for my own good?"
"WeiWei, daddy didn't mean to embarrass you. Daddy just wants to keep you safe. Right now.."
At that point he noticed Xiwang walking into the room. He smiled happily and said "My friend, you're finally here. Welcome! Welcome!"
The girl also saw Xiwang and was immediately stunned by his handsome appearance. She was captivated by his enchanting deep purple eyes and almost shouted in amazement. She had never seen such an attractive man before and momentarily forgot all about her previous anger with her father.
Gu Delan chose that moment to introduce the two to each other. "Xiwang, this is my one and only daughter Gu Beiwei. WeiWei, this is your uncle Xiwang. Say hello."
Gu Beiwei was still stunned by Xiwang's handsome appearance. She replied subconsciously, "Hello, handsome guy." Her voice was actually very pleasant and soothing when she was not shouting or yelling vulgarities. Xiwang smiled and said, "Hello, nice to meet you." Gu Beiwei subconsciously returned a bright smile.
Gu Delan continued, "WeiWei, your uncle Xiwang will be your bodyguard for the next few days. He'll follow you around and keep you safe. You must do everything he says."
Gu Beiwei was still dazed and immediately replied, "Good!" She was very happy to know that the handsome young man would be able to keep her company. But, then she suddenly woke up from her trance and realized that she was still angry with her father. So she immediately said, "What? NO, I don't want that. That's gross, having some guy following me around all the time."
"WeiWei, you can't say no to this. This is for your safety. Your uncle Xiwang is actually a very busy man. I had to beg him to do this. And it would be best if you stop going out for the next few days"
"I said NO! I wasn't the one who asked him to do anything. Just send him back to wherever it is that he came from if he's so busy. And the same goes for those other goons. I don't need any babysitters. Stop trying to meddle in my life, you senseless old man. JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"
After saying that, she stormed off to her room on the second floor and closed the door with a big BANG.
Gu Delan gave Xiwang an apologetic look and said, "Sorry about that. She's been somewhat rebellious lately. She's actually very.." Xiwang cut him short, "She's definitely not an angel, Old Gu. How in the world did you ever manage to raise such a fierce little tigress?"
Gu Delan had an embarrassed look on his face. "*sigh* I suppose I have spoiled her a little too much. Ever since her mother passed away, I just couldn't bear to scold her or say no to her. I gave her everything she wanted because I didn't want her to be sad. She was very obedient at first. But lately she's been acting out. She's been acting very rebellious this past year, going to clubs and hanging out with useless boys. But, I still can't bear to scold her. *sigh*"
Xiwang chuckled lightly, "Well, I think it's mostly because she just wants to get your attention. She'll come around. She's your daughter after all."
"I hope so. Your presence gives me great relief. This situation is a lot worse than I've led her to believe. If anything were to happen to her I won't be able to forgive myself."
"Be at ease, old friend. I'll keep her safe. Now, why don't we retire to your study and you can tell me more about your present situation over a nice bottle of Scotch."
"Right. Follow me. I have a lot to tell you, old friend."
With that the two men left the room and headed to Gu Delan's study.