The Beautiful Boss's Personal Bodyguard
Chapter 242

Chapter 242: 242

In the courtyard, no one could say exactly what happened during those three days and nights. All in all, Liu Liyue, as a woman, single-handedly took down that Gyrfalcon with a wingspan over three meters. This became the first deed she did after rising to power, though it wasn’t much of a deed, it shut those up who were displeased with Jia Dafang appointing Liu Liyue as the president. At the very least, this woman was not just a vase.

"How did you manage to take down that eagle? You’ve never told me about it, and you refuse to tell others when they ask. When I ask you, you should at least tell me. My dear auntie!"

To Qin Gui’s bantering, Liu Liyue always chose to ignore him, including Old Mr. Jia who had a dominating presence. She believed that anyone could betray her, and relationships maintained with mutual attitudes were the least reliable.

"What else could I do, but endure? The eagle was on the tree, merely looking up without eating or drinking. I just sat on a chair under the tree, watching it during the day and the moon at night, and so it was done."

Her casual description left Qin Gui incredibly shocked.

But this was Northeast China, and it was winter. The temperature during the day would fall to minus ten degrees or so, and at night it could drop to minus thirty degrees. How did she endure that?

Observing the woman walking forward nonchalantly, Qin Gui found her more and more resembling a Gyrfalcon, absolutely uncontrollable, no matter how long one tried to wear her down.

Ye Tian’s first interaction with Zuo Zhengyang was a face-to-face game of chess.

By the time they returned from the garden square, it was already midmorning, a time for lunch preparation at eleven o’clock. To Ye Tian’s surprise, Zuo Zhengyang, donning an apron, was squatting down picking vegetables.

"Back already?"

"Yeah. Let me take over. Ye is here for a rare visit. You’ve been worrying about having no companionship, now that there’s someone here, you should rest, and I’ll cook for you. I’ll take care of you this time."

"Hehe, great, great. I remember the last time I had your cooking was about two months back. Haha, Ye Tian, come on, let’s go to my room, just wait and eat the meal your godmother prepares. This is a real delicacy in the Human World. I only get to enjoy it once every three months."

At this moment, Zuo Zhengyang didn’t carry the dignified manner seen on TV; he looked entirely like a henpecked old man.

Ye Tian smiled and followed him upstairs. The study on the second floor had an independent bathroom. Zuo Zhengyang entered to wash his hands and asked, "Ye Tian, do you play chess?"

"I know a bit of Xiangqi, not too good at it. Don’t know how to play Go."

A sound of running water came from the bathroom.

"Then Xiangqi it is. Take it out from my desk."

Ye Tian approached the desk, where two circular boxes, one black and one white, likely held the Go pieces. Beside the black box was a paper square box with a Xiangqi symbol drawn on it—this must be the chess that he was talking about.

A small table by the wall in the study, one of the sparse pieces of furniture in the room, was made of Rosewood and had a Xiangqi chessboard carved into it. The lines were still fresh without many scratches or peeled paint, indicating the old man didn’t play too often.

Opening the paper box, there were chess pieces in red and black, shiny and transparent, possibly made of acrylic.

"I’ll use the red ones, the color of our flag. I like it," Zuo Zhengyang shook his hands and sat down on a chair, still wearing the apron, probably having forgotten to take it off.

Ye Tian also sat down, and both began placing their pieces.

Zuo Zhengyang watched as Ye Tian arranged the pawns first and then set up the back line of chariots, horses, elephants, advisors, and generals. Astonishment flickered in his eyes, he had some words but withheld them.

This was the second person Shen Xuepei had brought home.

Everyone in Tianhe City said that Zuo Zhengyang’s home had a tigress. His position as the city’s Party Secretary wasn’t very stable. Although his rank was high, he appeared to be dominated by a woman—his wife. This was usually a laughing matter, but it also made him popular with a large number of women, who called him a friend of women in the new century. Zuo Zhengyang typically turned a deaf ear to these remarks. Decades of experience in officialdom taught him that the most important thing was to play dumb, and secondly, to be tolerant. If he were to take every little thing too seriously, he would have been stressed to death long ago.

In the view of most people, even though Zuo Zhengyang could tolerate Shen Xuepei’s oppression on the surface, he must be very discontent internally. But what outsiders didn’t know was how much Zuo Zhengyang cared about his wife. She had a pair of eyes that he didn’t possess. Those eyes could help him see through everyone in front of him.

Recalling the rare joy and happiness on Shen Xuepei’s face just then made him increasingly curious about this young man. Compared to Liu Ping, of course he leaned towards Liu Ping. Liu Family’s influence in Tianhe was unimaginable, and this outsider, Ye Tian, couldn’t comprehend. Only with Zheng Xinru’s covert help did he avoid being suffocated by numerous rivals—it wouldn’t be his turn to engage in aggressive takeovers otherwise. But then again, how Ye Tian had managed to survive so well and still be alive was a surprise in itself. Zuo Zhengyang was no philanthropist, he wouldn’t engage in risky ventures, not even exceedingly profitable ones. To this day, he still feared the risky bet he placed on Ye Tian. If this guy slipped or got stabbed in the back, he would also fall into doom. Currently, the central government’s disciplinary measures for officials were extremely severe, even more so for high-ranking ones. Losing a car to save a chariot was a reluctant but resolute move when necessary.

He had no interest in Chen Pingrui, Zheng Xinru, and the likes, at least not as much as Ye Tian thought. So, he could eject these people anytime, as long as he could protect himself. However, Shen Xuepei’s behavior today changed Zuo Zhengyang’s attitude towards Ye Tian somewhat.

"A central cannon opening? Still sticking to the old moves?"

After opening with the central horse, Zuo Zhengyang asked cheerfully, smiling. Playing chess was like exchanging moves; though Xiangqi didn’t have the grand strategic scope of Go, it had a unique way of understanding people. A game of chess was a perspective on life.

"Since this central horse opening has lasted for hundreds of years, there must be a reason for it. I just follow it. The opening has been the same for centuries; I don’t know about other aspects, but the first move should be steady," Ye Tian moved his team’s elephant up next.