Qi Xiu Yuan knew that this woman was Sun Ze Yu's subordinate. At first, he did not want to pay any attention to her, but now in the presence of Susu, he had no choice but to shake her hand.
Once he lifted his head to look at her, he thought that this woman's expression was sheltered and strange, provoking him to give her a few more glances.
Zhang Juan Juan returned those glances with a warm and aloof smile before exchanging a few more words. But even after that, she unexpectedly did not bid farewell. Susu on the other hand did not show any sign of disturbance either, perhaps Zhang Juan Juan had said something to convince her beforehand.
Since Qi Xiu Yuan knew that Sun Ze Yu was the one that shadowed Susu yesterday, he somehow felt a sense of relief now. After he finished eating his lunch box, he quickly urged Susu to hurry to work.
Susu was still lingering in fear and incessantly expressed that she wanted to accompany her brother longer but since she was no match for Qi Xiu Yuan's urges, all she could do was call her colleague and asked them to come and get her.
Zhang Juan Juan silently watched as Susu walked out of the sick ward, and then watched the nurse as she inspected the ward. When the nurse finally left, she sat down at the bedside. Somehow, she did not regard herself as a stranger at all when she casually picked up Qi Xiu Yuan's cellphone and began to play around with it.
Even without any revealing any grand actions, Qu Xiu Yuan straightaway knew that this was the subordinate that Sun Ze Yu had mentioned earlier. Now that she appeared, he reckoned she was also the person appointed to keep surveillance on him to prevent him from getting in contact with Xiao Li.
Thinking about it, he couldn't help but feel conflicted, causing him to not even want to give her another glance.
"Qi Xiu Yuan." Zhang Juan Juan, however, smiled at him first. Her expression was no longer the gentle one that painted her face before, instead seriousness took its place, "I've always wanted to meet you."
Qi Xiu Yuan shot her a glance, and somewhat understood why she was strange.
This kind of enthusiastic chatting style and the expression that bore interest toward him was not like that of a watch guard. But even then, he still maintained his silence since whatever the case may be, this person was Sun Ze Yu's subordinate. Therefore, even if she had something to say to him, he simply did not want to let her continue to speak.
For his silence, Zhang Juan Juan began to laugh. Then she flipped her palm over and put Qi Xiu Yuan's cellphone into her own exquisite small handbag before comfortably leaning back into the chair.
Without beating around the bush, she immediately said, "I understand your concerns. Since it's like that, I'll make my identity clear to you now."
She held her chin in contemplation before speaking again, "When I was on a mission last night, I received a call from Xiao Li," Qi Xiu Yuan lifted his eyelids to look at her once he heard that name, while Zhang Juan Juan faintly smiled, "He hired me to ensure your safety. When I heard that it was you, I was really surprised and I immediately contacted Uncle Sun. Now, my mission has an additional detail," she stared at Qi Xiu Yuan and slowly said, "Protecting you while also keeping an eye on you."
Qi Xiu Yuan looked at her and slightly frowned, "As it turned out, you're the independent bodyguard that Xiao Li sought out," he paused then spoke sarcastically, "The bodyguards that I've seen in movies were all really professional. I actually thought that it was really like that."
Zhang Juan Juan laughed and calmly said, "Some time ago, Xiao Li suspected that he was being chased by a professional assassin. Commander Wu[1] from the department of criminal investigation recommended me to him. That time my work performance was really good which allowed me to gain his trust. After that, whenever he needed assistance in saving someone, he would look for me. This time when he needed a guard, he also asked me. If the person he wanted to protect wasn't you, perhaps we would still continue to have this kind of friendly collaboration."
She looked down and smiled, "This was something that he actually neglected. I've always said that I'm a retired public figure, but maybe he had always thought I meant retired assassin. He must have not expected I'm a retired SWAT Team member."[2]
Qi Xiu Yuan gave her a glance and asked, "What's special about me?"
Hearing that question, Zhang Juan Juan promptly picked up her eyes.
"You said that if he didn't hire you to be my bodyguard, you would have not contacted Sun Ze Yu," said Qi Xiu Yuan, stressing that statement, "So, what's special about me."
Zhang Juan Juan did not say anything as she simply looked him up and down to the point that even Qi Xiu Yuan seemed a bit scared. Only then did she calmly say, "It's because you are Qi Feng and Rong Dan's son, and Du Yan San Ge's grandson."[3]
Qi Xiu Yuan asked, "What does this have to do with you?"
Zhang Juan Juan's expression became gloomy, "What does it have to do with me?……'Qi Xiu Yuan' these three words, I've heard it since I was young. Could it be you've never heard the name, 'Zhang Juan Juan' before?"
Qi Xiu Yuan was at a loss for words as he looked at her and frown, as if looking for something in the past to answer her. In the end, he could only shake his head, "I'm sorry, my parents never mentioned anything about the underworld at home. Even though I've tidied their letters, I've actually never seen this name."
Nodding her head with an expressionless look, Zhang Juan Juan remained quiet for a second as if she's thinking about something, then a moment later she slowly said, "Then at that time when Du Yan San Ge surrendered, and bribed a scapegoat to go into prison, did you know about it?"
Without turning his eyes away, Qi Xu Yuan took in her features, then five seconds later he said, "That was your——"
Zhang Juan Juan laughed, "My grandfather worked for your grandfather. In the end, he even took his place and sat in prison for 20 years, and after being released for not too long, he passed away. My father worked for your father. In the end, he was mistaken as Du Yan San Ge's relative and died by the hand of someone seeking revenge." Her voice gradually lowered, "In spite of everything, you actually didn't know……"
Qi Xiu Yuan strenuously straightened his body. He silently looked at Zhang Juan Juan, then after a moment, he asked, "And you?"
His question seemed to have awakened her from the past that overtook her. After being startled for a few more seconds, she faintly smiled, "A kind man took me in and cared for me. Can you guess who he is?"
"……Sun Ze Yu."
Zhang Juan Juan's smile brighten just a bit more as she paced her tone, "Even though he only took me in for the sake of tracking down Du Yan San Ge's matters, I'm still very grateful towards him. After all, he allowed me to eat my fills, have warm clothes to wear, received education until I became a member of the SWAT team."
Qi Xiu Yuan carefully observed the expression on her face, and slowly said, "I'm sorry."
This time Zhang Juan Juan genuinely burst out in laughter, "You're a really interesting person! What are you sorry towards me for?"
Not saying anything, Qi Xiu Yuan simply lowered his head and muttered to himself.
Zhang Juan Juan couldn't help but look at him, "The older generation's feelings of gratitude and resentment are too complicated. I don't know how to clearly settle it so it's better not to. And the reason why I told Uncle Sun when I heard your name was not because of my own family matters," she paused, then continued, "In any case, since Uncle Sun has been kind to me, I just want to do some things to repay him. Since I was young, I've constantly heard him mention your parents, you and also your sister……"
Qi Xiu Yuan laughed coldly while Zhang Juan Juan patted his shoulder to pacify him, before speaking again, "He actually really regret it. Over the years……he also has your parents' memorial tablets in his house……"
"I don't care about these things." Qi Xiu Yuan interrupted her, "I shouldn't have looked for him. If it wasn't……"
"It was only later on that I found out you went to look for him," said Zhang Juan Juan, "After I retired, I slowly drifted away from him, that was until I heard Xiao Li said your name last night. I'd even thought that maybe it was just the same name. Originally, I wanted him to investigate it first. Who would have imagined that he'd be stirred up like this and said that it was definitely you? This morning, he waited outside the entire time. Once he saw that you woke up, he immediately came over."
Qi Xiu Yuan shook his head and faced her, "Don't tell me that you told me these things in the hope that I would forgive Sun Ze Yu?"
Zhang Juan Juan laughed, "I'm only representing myself and hope that you will listen to my explanation," she laughed again, "Just so that Xiao Li does not misunderstand me, and for me to lose him as an old client."
Looking at her with a strange gaze, Qi Xiu Yuan asked, "Sun Ze Yu doesn't know what you did, right?"
"What does it matter if he knows or not?" said Zhang Juan Juan, "As long as I keep a close eye on you, prevent something from happening to you, and stop you from contacting Xiao Li, then no matter what I've said to you are all trivial matters."
After a moment of silence, Qi Xiu Yuan said, "What exactly are you guys worried about? If you don't want me to get in contact with him, then can you at least tell me what exactly happened to Xiao Li now?"
"Can I answer you a little later?" After saying that, Zhang Juan Juan went silent, got up and walked towards the side of the window, and looked at the sunlight shining outside in the courtyard. Then she returned to Qi Xiu Yuan, smiled, changed the topic and asked instead, "Have you ever felt your parents' matters is like a shadow that's not easy to escape?"
"What?" Qi Xiu Yuan was at a loss as he looked at her.
Although Zhang Juan Juan stood with the light to her back, allowing her expression to be hidden in the shadows, her voice was in fact tranquil, "I was taken in and raised by a police officer, studied at a police academy, was a SWAT Team member for three years, has good colleagues and no one angered me out of happiness. But I couldn't continue on with it."
She paused as if looking for the right words, "It was as if…as if someone was always calling out to me, telling me that I'm the descendant of the underworld, born to despise rules and trifle without respect……I have no means to resist this way of thinking. And slowly, I began to think that I was not happy being a police officer so I took it upon myself to retired." She lifted her hand brushed away the strands of hair at the side of her ear, "Do you also remember those things?"
"What things?"
"The things about your parents. When you were little, you've never seen those kinds of things? Your dad rushing out, strange visitors would sometimes come to your house, or they would always be secretive about their conversations……these types of things. No matter how well your parents protected you from it all, you're bound to discover certain things."
She let out a faint sigh, "Take me as an example, I will never forget, and the older I got the clearer it became. I always thought that was the life I want to live in. That's why I said I've always wanted to meet you. Even though Uncle Sun had mentioned it before, I've never believed that Feng Long Shuang Sha's son would honestly be a teacher who taught brats, who haven't even grown a single pubic hair, single variable quadratic equations and inequalities and so on."
"Those are high school learning materials, right now we are teaching elliptic and hyperbolic equations." Qi Xiu Yuan smiled, "And also, what you've said before about yourself, those might just be a characteristic issue. The reasons you like adventures, taking risks and excitements, really doesn't have much to do with your parents. When I was little……I've also seen those kinds of things, but I honestly want to be a teacher and for the majority of the time, I really do like those brats that haven't even grown a strand of pubic hair. I feel that this is the life I want to live."
"But you have an ambiguous relationship with Xiao Li," said Zhang Juan Juan as she crossed her arms and used a kind of judgmental tone to speak, "If being an ordinary teacher is really the life you want to live, why did you fall for a dangerous person? If Xiao Li was not a gang leader, would you still like him? Why can't you admit what you naturally possess? You're a son of the underworld. You like the intensity and uncertainty that comes with it. And, even if you don't mix in with the underworld, you will still be attracted by one of its leader."
"Why do you need me to admit it?" Qi Xiu Yuan's intense gaze refuted, "Is it because you're unsure of whether or not the choice you made from being a police officer to someone in the underworld was the right decision, so you want to find some sort of balance from me?"
Seeming as if she was stumped by that question, Zhang Juan Juan remained silent for a moment.
"I didn't fall for 'Xiao Li.'" Qi Xiu Yuan continued to say, "I'm simply in love with him. It doesn't have anything to do with my parents. It doesn't have anything to do with the fact that he's a gang member, nor does it have anything to do with the intensity, the uncertainty or adventure," he looked squarely her before speaking again with a resolute tone, "Whether he's a gang leader, teacher, bus driver, police officer, fugitive, or whatever identity, all of it doesn't matter. There are a lot of things about him that captivated me, but none of them has to do with his occupation."
Zhang Juan Juan looked at him for a moment, and then she slowly approached him with a smile at the corner of her lips.
"If it's like that, then I can't tell you."
Qi Xiu Yuan did not show any reaction, "What?"
"You asked me a moment ago what happened to Xiao Li, and I said I'll answer you later." Zhang Juan Juan lowered her head towards him, "I'm answering you now. I can't tell you."
Hearing that, Qi Xiu Yuan slight frowned.
"You said that you don't care about his identity, but he does." Zhang Juan Juan slightly bent down, wearing an extremely oppressive expression, "You don't have any intention to join the underworld, so the more you know, the more you'll just become someone who will get in his way. Since you like being a teacher, why don't you find someone with the same pure identity as you to love? Qi Xiu Yuan, you escaped from your parents' shadow. Now, you are already someone that is completely different from us," she lightly sighed, "Is it necessary to fall even deeper again and increase the other person's complications?"
Qi Xiu Yuan looked her and finally he could not help but ask, "Are you really familiar with Xiao Li?"
Zhang Juan Juan froze, stunned at his words before she laughed heartily, "You…what exactly are you……I said so much and none of it went through? You're actually just jealous?"
Qi Xiu Yuan simply replied, "It went through," then looked at her again and asked, "Have you killed anyone before?"
"No."
"What about drugs trade? Forcing girls in prostitution? Luring someone into gambling?"
With each sentence that Qi Xiu Yuan asked, she would shake her head, then he asked, "Then you feel no shame in using the term 'we' with Xiao Li?"
He lowered his head and looked down at the cast on his arm, "Those are all things that Xiao Li's gang has done before. Do you think that I am only carried away by an impulse to pursue Xiao Li? Do you think I've never wavered and stepped back?"
In just seconds, his voice seemed to become softer, "I've witnessed him struck someone before. I've seen his friend give my student a drug with the intention of forcing him. I've made a firm decision to stay far away from him before……however, no matter what you think, Xiao and I are not 'completely different people'. The one that added to his complications is not me. And, I won't look for anyone else to fall in love with."
Zhang Juan Juan lightly laughed, stood straight and took a step back, then she unhurriedly said, "How touching ah. Have you said this to Xiao Li before?"
With his aching body, Qi Xiu Yuan slightly bent his back, picked up his head and looked straight into Zhang Juan Juan's inquisitive eyes, with a hint of expectation riding his expression.
"If I want to say it to him, would you allow me?"
–
Translator's Note:
 [1] Commander Wu - refer to chapter 18, he was the person that gave Xiao Li the screenshot images from the traffic light when Qi Xiu Yuan carried Xiao Li on his back after saving him from the alleyway of the Arc D' Triomphe.
 [2] SWAT - Special Weapons and Tactics! BAM, our girl is BADDDAAASSSSS!! XD
 [3] Du Yan San Ge - refer to chapter 17!! XD THERE YOU HAVE IT! BAHAHA who said our Qi Laoshi is a liar?!! Gangster grandfather and gangster parents!!! (I prefer to say killers)
Feng Long (mentioned in chapter 58 by Sun Ze Yu is Qi Feng)
If you can remember or just look back to chapter 17, the gang that Du Yan San Ge was the leader of is call "Feng Long" which is Qi Xiu Yuan's father's name. "Qi Feng Long."