Wooing my Bodyguard Wife

"Yes Uncle," Jingwei said meekly, staring down at his own bean sprouts. As the minutes ticked on, one couldn't help notice how much better Wei Yan was at preparing his bean sprouts. For every one bowl that Jingwei was done with, Wei Yan had two bowls prepared.

"Were you a bean sprout farmer in your past life? How are you so good at this?" Jingwei asked grouchily, glaring at him from the corner of his eyes. He couldn't stifle a yawn as he absentmindedly swirled his hand in the water.

How was this his life now?

His sprouts weren't cooperating at all, and Uncle had crept behind him and let out several judgemental noises more than once.

It made him so irritable that he smacked his hands into the bowl of water, causing water to splash on him. To make matters worse, this caused his sprouts to splash out from the bowl, causing Uncle to give him a disapproving look and scold him for wasting water and ruining the bean sprouts.

Meanwhile, with every mistake Jingwei made, Wei Yan was steadily emerging as a strong contender for favourite son-in-law!

"I used to help my mother out with meal preparation during dinner time," Wei Yan said, pretending to be humble while inwardly smirking at Sun Jingwei's immature behaviour. "Our family used to run a restaurant too, but we sold chicken bean sprouts."

"Oh?" Xue Ning's father ambled closer, interested. "That explains why you're so good at this. Are you good at deboning chicken and slicing meat?"

"I think so," Wei Yan said. "Uncle, you can give me a try first! If I'm good enough, I can help you with that."

"Excellent!" Tai Cheng declared, with the enthusiasm of someone finding a 50 dollar note on the floor by accident. "This old man will have to trouble you then."

"It's no trouble at all, Mr Li." Wei Yan said, a polite smile on his face. "I'm glad to help."

"Such a good child! Feel free to call me Uncle. You can stay for as long as you like," Tai Cheng said, patting him on the back while beaming. This man was good in the kitchen and polite and didn't lust after his daughter like a pervert. What a pity his daughter was blind!

Jingwei gnashed his teeth and snapped off a root of a bean sprout with uncharacteristic vehemence.

"Jingwei! You're snapping off half the sprout again!" Tai Cheng scolded in exasperation.

"Sorry, Uncle." Jingwei sighed.

"Please forgive him," Wei Yan added. "He had a long eventful night yesterday. We had some unexpected trouble with a woman."

"Oh, I'm sure," Tai Cheng said darkly, in a tone of someone having all his worst fears confirmed. He had a feeling Sun Jingwei might be visiting the motel bar or helping himself to some drinks the night before.

Meanwhile, Jingwei didn't hide the scowl he gave Wei Yan. What was he trying to do, slander him in front of his father-in-law in the guise of being helpful?!

"Uncle, nothing happened!" Jingwei declared hastily, before Wei Yan could say anything more incriminating. "I'm loyal to Xue Ning and Xue Ning alone!"

Tai Cheng gave him a frosty glare and pointed to his sprouts. "Focus before I kick you out of my house!"

"Yes, Uncle," Jingwei said morosely, even as he kicked Wei Yan's ankle, a silent warning for him to stop spewing nonsense.

CLANG!

Wei Yan fell to the floor with a loud thud, and the bowl of bean sprouts he was holding spilled all over the floor, water splashing everywhere!

"What on earth?! Get up!" Jingwei exclaimed, half-panicked as he grabbed Wei Yan. "Are you dying? Did I break your ankle? How can you fall to the floor with a gentle kick like that! You're supposed to be my bodyguard!"

"Sorry Sir, I was caught unaware. I was too focused on my task," Wei Yan said, pretending to be ashamed as hurriedly bent down to pick up the bean sprouts that landed on the floor. Only the kitchen tiles saw his sly smile.

"I'll get a mop," Ming Guang said, frowning as he looked for one. He wanted alcohol. Wei Yan was purposely causing trouble like a concubine in a palace drama - did he not care about his career? Why was he doing this?

If he was trying to get with Miss Li, Ming Guang would smack him in the head. Surely she cannot be worth the destruction of his career!

"You shouldn't be injuring your bodyguards," Tai Cheng scolded as he crossed his arms. Did Sun Jingwei have a hidden temper, in addition to womanising tendencies? He worried for Xue Ning - Xue Ning had his love now, but what would happen to her when his love for her ran out? What would happen if he got angry with her? He couldn't trust Jingwei to not lay a hand on her.

"Wei Yan, are you alright?" Tai Cheng asked. "Do you need to rest?"

"No need!" Wei Yan protested as he quickly picked up the remaining bean sprouts. "Besides, I'm about done already."

"Good job," Tai Cheng said as he prepared to leave the kitchen. "When you're done, come and meet me by the yard. Jingwei, you need to work harder."

"Yes Uncle," Jingwei said through gritted teeth. He didn't mind working hard, but Wei Yan was getting on his nerves!

After Xue Ning's father left, he whirled around to glare at Wei Yan.

"Oi, what's your problem! What are you trying to pull?"

"A bean sprout root," Wei Yan said in a deadpan manner, snapping said bean sprout into half right in front of him.

"That's wasteful," Jingwei seethed. "And I should fire you for insubordination."

"You may if you wish," Wei Yan said, shrugging. "I'll just work for Miss Li's family instead. They might be nice enough to let me live here with them."

Jingwei spluttered, and he spluttered even more when Wei Yan tossed half the sprout in his bowl. "I'm done now. Good luck, Young Master Sun."