"Sir, as a grown man, how can you be so petty? Don't you want a good job? Being my bodyguard is a good job, isn't it? Why won't you take it?"
An Qi felt somewhat disappointed. She had thought he would be thrilled, over-the-moon even, given that the job she offered paid much higher than the lifeguard position at Royal Pool No.1—many times over, in fact.
"Even if I want a good job, I'd prefer one with personal dignity, not one where I have to curry favor and bow to the powerful, becoming a lapdog for the elite, taking bullets for them."
Lin Yifan replied uprightly, full of integrity, refusing to bend for wealth.
"Didn't you just take a bullet for me?" An Qi asked with a smile.
"Which of your eyes saw me taking a bullet for you?" Lin Yifan retorted.
"Just now, you got shot because you tried to save me from the man in black who was holding me captive." An Qi answered.
"I accidentally got shot, not taking a bullet for you. Please don't conflate the two, okay?"
"Okay! Okay! Even if you didn't take the bullet for me, it was indirectly caused by me, right?" An Qi asked.
"Indirect is indirect, direct is direct. Don't mix them up, okay?"
"By your logic, should those behind the scenes ordering a hit not be convicted?"
"Murder and taking bullets are two different things. Don't try to switch the concepts on me; in any case, I did not take a bullet for you."
Lin Yifan kept the conversation on track, not giving An Qi a chance to divert the topic.
An Qi gave up trying to persuade him, responding with a sigh: "Fine! Since you don't want a high-paying job, I won't force you."
Although she really wanted Lin Yifan, an exceptionally skilled bodyguard, she couldn't force someone uninterested.
"High-paying job?" Hearing these words, Lin Yifan's interest piqued, his eyes lit up, and he casually asked, "How high-paying?"
His eager expression had already betrayed his desire; An Qi couldn't help but smile openly and asked, "Are you interested now?"
"Who said that! I, Lin Yifan, will definitely not bow to the powerful for money!"
Lin Yifan immediately adjusted his stance, aloof and peerless.
"Hmph! Such an air of pride." An Qi smirked, feeling that Lin Yifan, this straightforward man of steel, was somewhat endearing.
Letting the matter rest, she changed the subject: "By the way, I have a question I'd like you to help me with."
"What question?" Lin Yifan inquired.
"You were clearly shot just now, so how come you're unharmed?"
"Because I wasn't shot at all!"
"Really?"
An Qi was skeptical unless she had been hallucinating or was out of her mind at the time. But she was certain she had been normal, so what she saw must have been real.
"Really!"
Lin Yifan replied with certainty.
In fact, he had indeed been shot, but a special reason had allowed him to dodge disaster.
This special reason dated back to a jungle war several years prior.
Back then, he had been seriously injured and crawled into a dense thicket to evade enemy sight.
Soon after, the enemy passed by without noticing him, and he narrowly escaped danger.
Just as he was thinking about crawling out, he felt his hand touch something round.
In the primitive world of the jungle, round objects were rare, especially perfectly round ones, so it immediately caught his attention.
He found the round object and held it in his hand.
Upon examination, he discovered it was a black bead.
The black bead was deep and lustrous, unlike ordinary stone, crystal, or glass beads; its material was unknown.
Lin Yifan thought he had found a treasure and kept the black bead safe.
Little did he know, miraculous things began to happen.
The black bead possessed mysterious powers that protected him whenever his life was in danger.
Although he felt the bead was to blame, in gratitude for saving him numerous times, he spared it from being cast away.
Now, the black bead had once again demonstrated its prowess by stopping a bullet for him, increasing his gratitude and curiosity. He was very keen to find out what it truly was.