Hearing him mention Mao Xin Ci, the ecstatic Master Gao was momentarily taken aback.
His expression became complicated, revealing a mix of sympathy and admiration.
“Alright, go contact her.
We’ll take care of the dojo.”
Finding a quiet corner, Gao Lian made the call.
It took a while for the other side to answer, but he waited patiently.
“Hello, Xiao Gao? What made you think of calling me?”
A calm, warm, and steady female voice came through.
It was low-pitched, carrying a sense of strength.
Just as Gao Lian was about to speak, a baby’s cry came from the other end.
Mao Xin Ci immediately lowered her voice and went to soothe the child.
“Sorry, Xiao Gao.
I’m at home, really busy these days.
I haven’t even had time to visit you all.
I think I missed your father’s birthday too.
That’s really bad of me.
I’ll make up for it in a few days.”
“No, no, Sister Xin Ci, that’s not why I called.”
Gao Lian quickly interrupted.
Mao Xin Ci was puzzled, holding her baby and gently patting her back.
“What is it?”
“Sister Xin Ci, my Boss she’s looking for a female bodyguard. Someone good at driving, reliable, steady, not talkative, and highly skilled!”
“The first person I thought of was you!”
Mao Xin Ci was taken aback.
She never expected that, after years of not seeing each other, Xiao Gao would suddenly call to offer her a job.
She froze mid-motion while patting her child.
The baby, sensing something important, stopped crying and looked up at her with big, curious eyes.
“A job? A female bodyguard?”
Mao Xin Ci gently put the child down and stepped out onto the balcony to take the call.
Behind her, the sound of her husband, drunk and playing drinking games, mixed with the sizzling of oil in the pan.
She had just been preparing a dish, but when her daughter started crying, she had to leave everything behind to comfort her.
A curtain separated the rooms, muffling the noise, allowing her to clearly hear this call from Haishi.
“Yes, Sister Xin Ci! This is an incredible opportunity!”
“I didn’t even consider anyone else I immediately thought of you!”
“This Boss is amazing! She even bought our dojo and personally drove Tan Li away!”
Gao Lian spoke passionately, almost moved to tears.
“Sister, you were a national martial arts champion! There are hardly any female bodyguards out there with skills as strong as yours!”
“You’re a great driver, reliable, and never talk too much.
If this were an arms-dealing operation, you wouldn’t even leak a word!”
“This job is meant for you!”
Listening to Gao Lian, Mao Xin Ci was stunned.
She glanced back inside the house.
Through the lifted curtain, she saw a group of shirtless men with flushed faces.
Her younger daughter sat in a walker, quietly playing with a small bell, tears still in her eyes.
“I…”
Her gaze fell on her daughter.
She was just about to refuse when, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the doorknob of another room turning.
The door opened, and her elder daughter stepped out.
A tall, slender girl in her late teens, her expression stiff.
She looked at the men playing drinking games and said, “Dad, can you lower your voice? I need to study.”
The men froze, their expressions turning to displeasure.
One of them slammed the table, shaking the carefully prepared dishes.
“What kind of attitude is that?”
“You study all the time! Can’t you study outside? Real learners can study even in a noisy market! If you can’t, then you’re just not focused!”
The girl clenched her fists.
Mao Xin Ci’s pupils shrank.
She immediately stepped in.
“What are you doing? She’s in her final year of high school let her study!”
Her husband hesitated, clearly somewhat intimidated, but still muttered, “If she’s so smart, let’s see her get into Tsinghua!”
Mao Xin Ci took a deep breath, then turned to her daughter and whispered,
“Can we move out?”
The sound of oil splattering in the pan grew louder, crackling and jumping out.
Suddenly, it burned her hand.
Mao Xinci was almost stunned on the spot.
After a while, she finally put down the piece of egg she was holding with the chopsticks and hurriedly turned off the stove.
Her daughter watched her flustered back, seeming disappointed, yet also realizing she had misspoken.
She held back her emotions and said in a low voice, “I won’t eat dinner.
I’m going to study now.
Tomorrow is the monthly exam.
Mao Xinci responded with a simple “Mm” and lowered her head, cleaning up the messy stove.
After a while, she finally remembered the phone call she had abruptly left behind.
She froze for a moment, quickly returned to the balcony, and grabbed her phone.
On the other end, Gao Lian had assumed there was no signal and had been repeatedly calling out, “Hello?
Hello?
Hello?”
Mao Xinci clutched the phone with both hands and was about to speak.
But just then, she saw her younger daughter toddling over in a baby walker.
Bending down, the little girl picked up a piece of egg that had fallen to the ground.
She didn’t think it was dirty at all.
She just held it in her tiny hand, giggling, and stuffed it into her mouth, eating it happily.
Mao Xinci suddenly felt a tightness in her throat.
“I…”
On the other end, Gao Lian was relieved to finally hear her voice.
But knowing the situation in Mao Xinci’s home, he didn’t press her too hard.
He just said, “Sister Xinci, think it over yourself.
If you don’t want to come, I’ll just decline the boss’s offer.
It’s not a big deal, don’t worry about it…”
“I’ll come tomorrow.
He hadn’t expected that.
Mao Xinci spoke calmly.
This time, it was as if she was reminding herself, or perhaps warning herself.
She raised a hand to her face, lightly wiping away the traces of tears.
Her gaze was so resolute that no one would have noticed she had been crying.
Just as no one noticed her daughter eating food picked up from the floor.
“I’ll come tomorrow.
The earliest train.
I’ll be there.
Gao Lian was taken aback.
The female bodyguard that Gao Lian introduced was in a small fourth-tier city not far from Haishi.
To get there, she had to take a high-speed train to the provincial capital first, then transfer to another train to Haishi.
Including the transfer, the fastest route would take at least eight hours.
Gu Zhaoping was a bit surprised when she heard that the woman would arrive the next day.
But she had been keeping an eye on this matter for a while.
Gu Zhaoping normally had bodyguards around her, but she found them unsuitable.
In fact, she was quite skilled in combat herself.
She valued improving her abilities because, in real danger, the only one she could truly rely on to protect her was herself.
However, a bodyguard’s job wasn’t just about protection.
They also needed to maintain order around her and deter threats without her having to act personally.
She needed a reliable, versatile person to stay by her side, someone who could replace the female bodyguard she had in her past world.
But she knew that finding such a bodyguard was nearly impossible.
Her former bodyguard was practically the most perfect one in the world.
Even with Gu Zhaoping’s high standards, there was nothing to criticize.
However, that bodyguard wasn’t an ordinary person.
She came from a special department and had a unique identity.
Becoming Gu Zhaoping’s bodyguard was just a cover to complete a mission.
After the mission was over, she left.
Later, in Gu Zhaoping’s world, she saw that the same bodyguard had worked as an agent, taken down drug lords, saved a boat full of people in a bombing, and became a world-renowned figure.
Gu Zhaoping felt proud of her but also regretful.
There was no way to find someone like her again.
She didn’t have high hopes, but she still wished Gao Lian could introduce her to someone reliable.
“Has she arrived?”
Gu Zhaoping answered the phone and stepped out of the car.
The driver in the front seat glanced at her reflection in the rearview mirror, hesitating to speak.
He had a feeling that the young lady was looking for a new female bodyguard.
And if she needed someone who could drive, did that mean he would be replaced soon?
The driver felt a little anxious.
He thought of many solutions but had no idea what to do.
All he could do was hope that the woman from the countryside wasn’t very skilled and wouldn’t be chosen by the young lady.
As the driver parked the car, he saw a woman, around her forties, standing at the entrance.
She wasn’t tall, dressed plainly, with her hair neatly tied back.
She looked solidly built, with strong hands.
She hadn’t brought anything with her, just arrived simply and efficiently.
The driver was stunned.
As someone trained in martial arts, he could often act as a bodyguard when necessary.
But looking at this middle-aged woman, who even seemed to have post-pregnancy weight, he couldn’t believe it.
Was this his competition?
No way, right?
Was this a joke?
To prepare for the interview, Mao Xinci had washed up, tidied her hair, and dressed in simple, loose-fitting clothes suitable for movement.
She looked no different from a full-time housewife or a mother of two at the market.
The driver gripped the steering wheel, his expression growing more bewildered.
Was this really someone applying to be a bodyguard?
Could she even be qualified?
“You’re here.
Gu Zhaoping glanced at the woman being led in by the housekeeper, Aunt Zhang.
Her appearance was pleasant simple, easygoing, with broad shoulders and a medium build.
She walked in, clasped her hands together, and greeted Gu Zhaoping, “Hello, Boss Gu.
I’m Mao Xinci.
Gu Zhaoping nodded.
She didn’t need lengthy introductions.
She wasn’t interested in titles.
“I need to see your skills.
Mao Xinci had just opened her mouth, feeling nervous as she prepared to explain her qualifications.
But suddenly, she stopped.
Looking at this powerful woman, she unexpectedly felt at ease.
She nodded and responded simply, “Alright.
A moment later, the driver, who had just parked the car, was suddenly dragged into the courtyard.
He stood there in confusion, realizing that the young lady’s test for the new bodyguard was a fight against him.
Wasn’t this a bit much?
Was he supposed to fight this woman?
But his career was at stake, so he had no choice.
He took a stance and said, “Alright then, I won’t hold back.
Come at me.
He was a trained martial artist, a former champion in his city.
This felt like bullying.
He had no idea what this woman from the countryside was thinking.
The woman in front of him nodded and moved aside.
She rolled up her sleeves and pulled off her loose shirt.
The driver’s eyes widened!
It wasn’t just shocking to see someone take off their shirt.
Underneath, she was wearing a tight athletic tank top.
Freed from the loose T-shirt, she revealed a muscular chest, broad shoulders, and well-defined arms.
Without even flexing, her muscles were already sharp and clear!
The driver almost swore out loud.
What was this?
That wasn’t just abs those were six-pack abs!
Wait, wasn’t she supposed to be a mother of two?
Was this really a middle-aged woman from a small county?
A full-time mom?!
Who introduced her like that?!
Mao Xinci clenched her fists and took a fighting stance.
As she shifted her right leg back, her toned thigh muscles became visible.
Her fingers twitched slightly, as if locking onto her target.
“Apologies in advance.
“
This punch, she threw for her two daughters.