Chapter 252: Chapter 252: Give a Full-Time Bodyguard a Chance
Hearing that Sang Ning didn’t intend to ditch him, Li Juezhou let out a sigh of relief.
Once his rationality returned, he realized what a foolish thing he had done just moments ago.
Regret wouldn’t help now, so he could only apologize to Sang Ning, "Sorry."
"Let’s have a proper talk, okay?" After helping Li Juezhou sit down on the floor, Sang Ning stood up.
From here on, Li Juezhou could completely stand up on his own. After a few rounds of confrontation with him earlier, she had a pretty good grasp of his abilities.
To put it bluntly, they were evenly matched.
That Sang Ning was willing to communicate was a good sign. Li Juezhou believed that for a couple to survive the adjustment period, the key lay in whether the two could maintain normal communication.
"First, call Secretary Wang and tell him not to interfere with my trending negativity on Weibo tonight," Sang Ning laid out her first request.
"Why?" Li Juezhou couldn’t understand, "I have the ability to ensure you don’t endure this ridiculous wave of criticism. Why not stop it? Give me a reason."
Sang Ning had pretty much figured out the crux of her conflict with Li Juezhou: they were both inherently strong-willed people, neither willing to back down.
Li Juezhou continued sitting on the ground, unwilling to stand up, so Sang Ning straightforwardly crouched down again.
"I know your original intention is to protect me, but I don’t want to slowly become useless under your protection," Sang Ning said, her gaze level with his.
"I have my own principles. I am fundamentally not a fragile woman. Call it my damn pride if you want.
If you truly are such an excellent and powerful man, then I’ll work to become the equally excellent woman who can stand beside you, rather than have you accommodate me."
Sang Ning’s tone was slow and deliberate, her words plain and unadorned, yet they delivered an impact that stunned Li Juezhou.
"So, Li Juezhou, I don’t need your protection!" Sang Ning said with a serious and sincere expression. "You need to trust me. I will carve out my own path in the entertainment industry by relying on myself. I don’t want all my efforts to be dismissed because of you, nor do I want to hear nonsense about how I climbed my way up by depending on you. Do you understand what I mean?"
Li Juezhou pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek, the metallic taste of blood filling his mouth. He let out a helpless smile, "You’ve already bitten me this hard. How could I not understand?"
Sang Ning wasn’t asking for much—just an equal relationship. All he had to do was respect, understand, and support her.
Right in front of Sang Ning, Li Juezhou called the head of the legal department, instructing him not to intervene in tonight’s matter anymore.
The department head was utterly baffled; what on earth had happened?
He had already arrived at Secretary Wang’s door, ready to break it down, only for the boss to now tell him to stop.
"Understood, Mr. Li." Although he couldn’t figure out what was going on, it was never wrong to obey the boss unconditionally.
Just as the department head was about to leave, Li Juezhou added another remark over the phone, "Since you’re already at Secretary Wang’s place, kindly inform him that due to his work error tonight, his salary will be halved."
The department head couldn’t help but wince on Secretary Wang’s behalf—what bad luck he must have run into.
For someone with his level of responsibility, how dare he casually turn off his phone?
Imagining Secretary Wang still soundly asleep in bed, the department head didn’t have the heart to deliver the bad news in person, so he simply sent him a text.
Hopefully, Secretary Wang would take care of himself after receiving the news.
Meanwhile, Secretary Wang was sleeping soundly, even dreaming about getting a raise.
Little did he know that in reality, due to his negligence in turning off his phone, his boss had ruthlessly halved his salary.
Back in the luxury apartment, Li Juezhou was still having a heart-to-heart with Sang Ning.
"Sangsang, we’ve come to this point. Aren’t you even curious about who I really am?"
"Not curious. It’s not necessary to know right now," Sang Ning shook her head. "Maybe someday, my identity will intrigue you even more."
"What identity?" Li Juezhou asked reflexively.
"You’ll find out in the future." Sang Ning refused to elaborate.
The upcoming year was crucial. She needed to focus on her career, build her Weibo following, and avoid dealing with personal matters involving Li Juezhou for now.
Whatever happened, it could wait until next year.
"Fine, I won’t ask. But can you promise me one thing?" Li Juezhou asked.
Sang Ning replied, "Go ahead, as long as it’s not an excessive request, I’ll agree."
"I want to join your company as your full-time bodyguard. Is that okay?" Li Juezhou said, his gaze filled with anticipation.
Any attempt to assist Sang Ning through his identity or authority had already been blocked off by her.
Since he’d agreed to let her fend for herself, he couldn’t break his promise.
But as her boyfriend, offering physical support was still within acceptable limits.
"Are you sure?" Sang Ning was rendered speechless.
She couldn’t quite grasp Li Juezhou’s intentions. His family was obviously wealthy, and he had much better options, yet his career choices so far seemed outright baffling.
Temporary worker at a police station, temporary bodyguard for a wealthy heiress, and now he wanted to be her company’s bodyguard?
"Is it that your family wants you to go through hardship training and doesn’t give you money?" Sang Ning felt like this was the only plausible explanation for Li Juezhou’s puzzling behavior.
Li Juezhou froze for a moment; Sang Ning was treating him like a spoiled rich kid.
"You could say that. So, Sangsang, I’m not as amazing as you think. Everything I have today came from my family, but now they’re forcing me to go back and inherit the family business. Since I refused, they’ve cut off my living expenses. To get by, I’ve had to take on some tough jobs." Li Juezhou started crafting a story, speaking so earnestly that even he almost believed it.
"So now, the only thing I can use are certain privileges from my family. As for money, they’re not giving me a single cent. Recently, I even offended an employer and am about to be fired. Didn’t you mention last time that you could recommend me to your company as a bodyguard? Can you help me with that?"
Too much talk could lead to mistakes, and Sang Ning couldn’t quite tell if Li Juezhou was making things up, yet she felt like something didn’t quite add up.
Li Juezhou carried an aura of wealth but also seemed oddly strapped for cash.
Sang Ning admitted she didn’t quite understand the way rich heirs thought. What was wrong with inheriting the family business? At least it spared them the pain of being a struggling worker.
"Sangsang, I’ve agreed to everything you said earlier. I won’t interfere with any of your matters in the future. I just have this one request—can you grant me that?" Li Juezhou had made up his mind. No matter how much he had to plead, he was determined to seize this opportunity.
Right now, it was the perfect time to cultivate his relationship with Sang Ning. Given her demanding job, there was no guarantee they could meet within ten or fifteen days, and if she joined a filming project, there was a chance they wouldn’t see each other for months.
If he couldn’t stay by her side to create a constant presence, she might soon forget about him.