Chapter 67: Chapter 065: The Deed of Servitude

“Heh heh…” Ye Chen chuckled, accepting without protest, which made Li Ruo’s face turn dark with anger. She glared at Ye Chen, this scoundrel who could drive anyone mad. Shooting him a look of annoyance, she sneered, “Anyone with half a mind could figure this out just by calmly analyzing the situation!”

“Huh? How… how would they figure it out?” Ye Chen asked curiously.

“The entire Jianghuai Police Department is offering a reward to track the whereabouts of Zhang Dadan’s five million. From what I know, you got involved in that case!” The corners of Li Ruo’s mouth curled with a hint of triumph. With her IQ of 200, she had easily unraveled the truth. She snorted, “That case just wrapped up, and suddenly you’ve got thirty million yuan to your name—about five million in US dollars. Tell me—aren’t you practically confessing without being asked?”

Ye Chen instantly sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes wide. He muttered to himself, “Damn it, if this gets exposed, I’m as good as dead!”

“Hmph!” A sly gleam flickered in Li Ruo’s eyes as she said, “So, you’d better not tell anyone you bought the Jiangnan No. 1 villa. Otherwise, it won’t take much for people to put two and two together—especially Zhang Yantong, Captain Zhang herself. In all of Jianghuai, she’s the famed female Sherlock Holmes. You’d better watch your back!”

“Uh…” Ye Chen was stunned, then quickly nodded, offering a bitter smile to Li Ruo. “President Li, please keep this a secret for me!”

“Hee hee, that depends on your sincerity!” Li Ruo’s lips curled in a playful smile.

“I… I’d work myself to the bone for you, isn’t that enough?” Ye Chen pleaded, looking utterly miserable.

“Hmph, work yourself to the bone? Do you know how many times you snapped at me last night?” Li Ruo was a woman with a long memory—perhaps not just her, but all women remember slights. She fixed Ye Chen with a frosty gaze, saying, “You snapped at me fifteen times last night, and even got your spit on my clothes once!”

Ye Chen could only shake his head in resignation—never offend a petty man or a woman, it’s absolutely true.

“So… what do you want, then?” Ye Chen asked anxiously.

“I want you to be my slave!” Li Ruo’s eyes sparkled with delight as the idea suddenly leapt into her mind. It seemed quite amusing—having someone like Ye Chen, who could shield her from bullets and help win car races, as her slave would be rather entertaining. At twenty-three, fresh into the business world, Li Ruo had yet to lose her youthful playfulness.

“Come on, Li Ruo, are you serious?” Ye Chen sprang up from the sofa, indignant. “A man can be killed, but never humiliated!”

“Pfft!” Li Ruo played with her ten slender, translucent fingers, casting Ye Chen a cold glance. “Think carefully. If your secret gets out, what awaits you is endless pursuit and a police manhunt. In a country as vast as China, there’ll be nowhere to hide.”

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll do something to you first?” Ye Chen’s gaze turned icy.

“Hmph, would you dare? Do you really have the guts?” Li Ruo snorted, her eyes full of disdain.

“Oh, come on, my dear madam, you can’t mess with people like this!” Ye Chen said with a pained expression, sitting beside Li Ruo. “Can’t we play a different game? Why do you have to be the queen and I the slave?”

“Idiot, I don’t want to play some queen game with you—I have no such perverse interests!” Li Ruo’s face flushed bright red. She retorted, “I want you to be my slave just so you’ll obey my every command, at all times, without question.”

“Fine, fine, whatever you say!” Ye Chen groaned. “But ‘slave’ sounds terrible—can’t we call it something else?”

“All right, if you dislike the word ‘slave,’ let’s call you my attendant. From now on, you’re my attendant!” Li Ruo’s lips quirked as she shot Ye Chen a sidelong glance. Ye Chen’s face looked more miserable than ever, and seeing his pain, Li Ruo felt an inexplicable sense of glee—was this the pleasure of revenge?

Ye Chen shook his head and muttered, “Forget it, ‘slave’ it is. ‘Attendant’ just sounds like a eunuch to me!”

“Hee hee…” Li Ruo rose from the sofa and walked toward her desk. Ye Chen’s gaze was glued to her shapely curves. Perhaps from sitting too long, her short skirt had ridden up, revealing a tantalizing glimpse of her smooth, rounded hips and the edge of black lace underwear. Ye Chen sighed inwardly—if only he could get a closer look, what a sight that would be! Sensing his gaze, Li Ruo quickly smoothed her skirt, then turned and caught Ye Chen’s look of disappointment, breaking into a victorious smile.

“Sign here, Mr. Ye!” Li Ruo sat down beside him.

“Sign what?” Ye Chen was taken aback.

“The contract!” Li Ruo sipped her coffee lightly. Ye Chen quickly picked up the two copies of the contract—just a few lines, scrawled in sweeping handwriting. One glance and his face turned from shock to fury. “Damn, you even drafted a contract? If I sign this, am I even a man anymore?”

“If you’re a man, you’ll sign it!” Li Ruo huffed. “A true man doesn’t fuss over trifles! You agreed to be my slave, so naturally you have to sign a contract!”

“But… there’s no term limit in this contract?” Ye Chen grumbled.

“Hee hee, it lasts until I’m satisfied!” Li Ruo said with a laugh.

“Clause one: The slave must always obey the master, for the master is always right. Why do I have to obey everything? If you told me to die, would I have to die?” Ye Chen protested.

“Relax, I wouldn’t let you die so easily!” Li Ruo replied, coffee cup in hand, legs elegantly crossed, the picture of an office lady. Ye Chen moved on to the second clause, reading aloud as he went: “If the master is wrong, refer to clause one. Li Ruo, are you messing with me?”

“Of course not, I just want you to behave!” Li Ruo flashed a bright smile.

“Can we not do this?” Ye Chen pleaded miserably.

“No. Sign the contract, now!”

Under Li Ruo’s coaxing and threats, Ye Chen finally signed the deed of servitude and pressed his fingerprint to it. Li Ruo swiftly locked one copy in her drawer and handed Ye Chen the other. He forced a wry smile. “Damn, so you called me here today just to make me sign myself away. By the way, why isn’t there a single clause in this contract that benefits me? For example, if I’m your slave, shouldn’t you at least give me some allowance every month?”

“Hee hee, you realized too late!” Li Ruo giggled.

Knock, knock, knock…

A series of knocks sounded at the door, and Lin Ziwen’s voice came through, “President Li, the board meeting is about to start. You should head over.”

“All right, I’m on my way!” Li Ruo pinched Ye Chen’s cheek and said, “From now on, you’re mine. Go pack your things and get ready to report to the Business Department. Do a good job—I have high hopes for you!”

With that, Li Ruo donned her icy expression and swept out of the office like a proud peacock. Ye Chen trudged downstairs, dejected, holding his letter of appointment from Lin Ziwen. The woman from Human Resources, with her broad hips, gave him a curious look. “Didn’t expect you to be transferred to the Business Department after just one month?”

“Ah… life has always been full of sorrow,” Ye Chen replied with a bitter face.

“Do your best—President Li has a keen eye for talent!” she said with a faint smile, quickly processing his paperwork.

Ye Chen returned to the Security Department, where Fatty Li Cheng was squatting by the door munching on sunflower seeds. When he saw Ye Chen, he quickly stuffed the seeds in his pocket and grinned. “You’re late, kid—careful, someone’s bound to catch you slipping!”

“No worries, my biggest secret’s already been caught!” Ye Chen replied miserably as he walked in.

Inside the bodyguard lounge, the standoff was as tense as ever. Mouse and Big Prawn were still locked in a glare with the other guys, neither side willing to back down. Ye Chen shot the opposing group a cold look and said icily, “Good dogs don’t block the way. Move it!”

That line instantly infuriated Captain Cao. In all his years as a bodyguard, he’d never seen someone as brazen as Ye Chen. He waved his hand and barked, “Brothers, get him—let’s show this brat what we’re made of!”

With a roar, the group rushed forward, teeth bared.

Just as Mouse and Big Prawn prepared to leap into the fray, Ye Chen barked, “You two stay out of this—let me handle it!”

At his command, both men halted. Ye Chen strode forward alone, facing a dozen opponents. Hands in his pockets and spirits smoldering from just signing his life away, he was practically seething. As the first bodyguard charged, Ye Chen pushed off with his left foot, spun a full one hundred eighty degrees on his right, and slammed his foot squarely into the man’s face.

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