Chapter 262: 24-Hour Personal Protection?

The moment the car stopped, Xiao Lang, who had been waiting at the front desk, shot to his feet.

"Mom, I can smell Sister Shen! She’s back!"

Cai Su, who had been worried sick, immediately rose and walked with her son toward the shop’s entrance.

Fu Cheng had sensed Shen Lu’s presence even before Xiao Lang did, but for reasons of his own, he didn’t join them to greet her at the door. Instead, he turned and went upstairs.

Shen Lu dashed into the shop in a few quick strides, shaking the sand from her hair and pulling off her mask.

"Phew, I’m finally back."

"Sister Shen." Xiao Lang hugged her leg. "You’re finally back! Mom and I were so worried about you!"

Cai Su looked her over from head to toe. Seeing no injuries, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. "As long as you’re okay, that’s all that matters."

"Sorry to have worried you."

Little Bei and a few others carried the three members of the Liu family inside and, on Shen Lu’s orders, placed them in an empty room in the staff dormitory.

Shen Lu said to Cai Su, "They’ll have to stay here tonight. I’ll make other arrangements for them later."

Cai Su replied, "That’s fine. I’ll follow whatever arrangements you make."

"Oh, right." Shen Lu remembered something. "Um, I told them that the real owner of this shop is Fu Cheng. If they ask, Sister Cai, please don’t let the cat out of the bag."

She then ruffled Xiao Lang’s hair. "You too, Xiao Lang. You have to help your big sister keep this secret, okay?"

Xiao Lang declared, "I won’t let a single word slip out!"

Cai Su nodded. "Neither will I."

Liu Qiang had a knife wound on his leg. The bleeding had stopped, but it still needed to be treated.

There was a spare first-aid kit at the front desk. Shen Lu grabbed it and went into staff room number two.

The layout of the staff rooms was identical: a bunk bed, a desk, and two large wardrobes.

The beds were 1.2 meters wide, large enough for two smaller people to share.

Considering that both Liu Yaozu and Liu Qiang were injured, Little Bei had placed Yang Jing on the top bunk, while Liu Qiang and Liu Yaozu were squeezed together on the bottom.

Normally, Liu Yaozu would have thrown a fit and ordered Shen Lu to move Liu Qiang.

But today, he just leaned obediently against the headboard, not saying a word.

Shen Lu paid him no mind, simply tending to the wound on Liu Qiang’s thigh, sprinkling it with medicinal powder, and wrapping it with gauze.

"You’ll sleep here tonight," Shen Lu said coolly. "I’ll arrange a new place for you tomorrow."

"Huh?" Liu Yaozu spoke up timidly. "C-can’t we just stay here?"

’It’s dangerous outside!’

’Boss Jin suffered a huge loss; he’s definitely going to retaliate like a madman.’

’Shen Lu is a tough nut to crack, so he won’t go after her. But he’ll definitely come after us to make a point!’

"No," Shen Lu refused him mercilessly. "The boss was kind enough to let you stay for one night. You’re not employees, so you can’t stay in the staff dorms."

"But we’ll die if we have to live out there!" As he spoke about his own life being in danger, Liu Yaozu’s voice grew louder without him realizing it. "We were dragged into this because of you!"

Shen Lu didn’t deny it. ’After all, it was the truth.’

"You’d best not raise your voice at me in the future. I don’t like it."

The young woman’s voice was as cool and clear as water, but to Liu Yaozu’s ears, it sounded like a demonic whisper.

He flinched. "I-I didn’t mean to."

"Remember this: as long as you do exactly as I say, I’ll keep you alive. But if you disobey me, I’ll make sure your death is a particularly ugly one."

With that said, Shen Lu picked up the first-aid kit and left the room.

Liu Yaozu let out a long sigh of relief, his feelings a tangled mess.

’At first, he’d thought his own sister would be easy to control. At least, she seemed more reasonable than that little bitch Shen Lan.’

’But now, it was clear she was the devil incarnate.’

’A few casual words from her, and people either end up dead or bankrupt. It’s terrifying.’

Shen Lu returned the first-aid kit to its place. Xue Can approached her, his expression grave.

"Boss Shen, can we speak privately?"

Shen Lu pointed to the booth seating. "Over there."

The two of them sat down in a booth, and Xue Can was the first to speak. "It must have been Jin San. He’s the one who told Boss Jin that the food in your shop can heal the Spiritual Sea."

Shen Lu asked, "Jin San?"

"He was one of the Superpower Users who tried to kidnap you yesterday. He escaped." Xue Can clenched his fists. "It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have shown mercy."

He had dealt a fatal blow to the other two, but because Jin San had once been his teammate, he had gone easy on him and spared his life.

But who would have thought that Jin San would immediately turn around and target Shen Lu?

Shen Lu leaned back in her seat. "It has nothing to do with you. Even if you hadn’t gone easy on him yesterday, Boss Jin would have found out sooner or later."

"Ultimately, I am responsible. If it weren’t for me, Jin San never would have come to your shop to eat and found out about your ingredients."

Shen Lu shrugged. "Fine. Since you insist on taking all the blame, I might as well indulge you. How does Mr. Xue plan on compensating me?"

Xue Can seemed to have his answer prepared. "Once one person like Boss Jin knows, countless others will soon follow. Boss Shen, forgive me for being blunt, but you’re in a very dangerous position. So, how about this: I’ll provide you with twenty-four-hour personal protection for one month."

Shen Lu froze for a second. ’So I’m getting a free bodyguard?’

’That doesn’t sound too bad. I can’t stay cooped up in the shop forever; I have to go out sometimes. Having Xue Can as a bodyguard would certainly improve my safety.’

Before she could even say "okay," Fu Cheng suddenly appeared.

"That won’t be necessary. Mr. Xue only needs to follow Little Deer when she goes out." Fu Cheng’s tone was icy, his eyes flashing with cold fury.

’This Xue Can is definitely up to no good. This isn’t the first time he’s tried to trick Shen Lu.’

’Today, he’s even trying to take advantage of his own mistake to achieve his shady objectives.’

’Twenty-four-hour personal protection?’

’How dare he even say something like that?’

Xue Can narrowed his eyes. "This is a matter between Boss Shen and me. We don’t need an outsider meddling."

"Little Deer." Fu Cheng knew perfectly well that the key to this deal wasn’t Xue Can. As long as Shen Lu disagreed, it wouldn’t matter how silver-tongued Xue Can was. "He can’t be trusted."

Fu Cheng’s words carried a hidden meaning. He was reminding Shen Lu: ’Don’t forget, he has hurt you time and again.’

’Besides, you have secrets to keep. You can’t let someone like him get too close.’

Xue Can wished he could just kick Fu Cheng out of the room.

’Shen Lu was clearly tempted when he proposed his compensation plan.’

’But then Fu Cheng had to show up and ruin everything.’ Shen Lu had obviously recalled something, and her expression grew serious.

"Mr. Xue is the leader of his group; you must be busy with your duties. I can’t push my luck. So, how about this: if I need to go out, I’ll ask you to accompany me then."

Shen Lu had indeed caught on. She watched Xue Can with a beaming smile.

’You’re up to no good, aren’t you?’

’Twenty-four-hour personal protection... Was he planning on standing guard while she showered and slept, too?’

At that horrifying mental image, the little figure in Shen Lu’s mind drew a huge ’X’ over the idea.

’Not that Shen Lu was thinking about it in a romantic sense. She figured that, deep down, Xue Can was no different from Boss Jin—he was single-mindedly focused on digging up the identity of her mysterious ingredient supplier.’

’No, no, no. That was absolutely not allowed to happen.’