Chapter Three: The Humble Security Guard

The reason why he chose this place was very simple: it was close. At least he could save the money for taking the bus. For him who was short on money, that amount of money was quite considerable.

 

Compared with other catering giants in Longdu, Shangri-La was not particularly outstanding, nor was its scale especially large. However, in addition to catering, it had a full range of entertainment facilities such as karaoke, oxygen bars, saunas, and bowling alleys. Therefore, the wealthy people nearby still enjoyed coming here on weekends to enjoy the one-stop service and consume their excessive testosterone hormones.

 

After changing into his security uniform, Ye Chenghuan came to the awning beside the gate outside the parking lot. A cup of tea, a newspaper, and a chair constituted the whole content of his work.

 

Just a short distance from the gate stood the imposing hotel building. Luxury cars were gathered in the parking lot, and well-dressed people streamed into that money-burning place like a long, thin stream, enjoying shark fin and abalone feasts that cost 18,000 yuan per table, hugging charming women, and living life in a heroic manner.

 

Just a short distance away, however, was Ye Chenghuan's life as a security guard. Two completely different lives, two completely different worlds, but he still enjoyed it.

 

His job was not complicated. All he had to do was press the button to open the gate and then press it again to close it. So his salary was the lowest among all the hotel staff.

 

At this time, as usual, he sat on the chair, with a cigarette in his mouth, holding the whitish tea in one hand and a newspaper that others had read in the other, leisurely shaking his feet.

 

"Beep, beep..." Accompanied by a shrill horn sound, a black BMW 535 stopped at the hotel entrance. A bald head stuck out of the car window and shouted impatiently, "Hey, you there! How do you do your job as a security guard? Don't you see I'm trying to get in? Open the door!"

Ye Chenghuan raised his hand and gave the man a rather odd salute. Then he pressed the button, and the gate slowly opened. He stroked the shiny hood of the car, took out a cucumber from his arms, rubbed it on his clothes, and put it in his mouth, chewing with relish. "Tsk, tsk. What a magnificent car! How nice it would be if I had one too."

The bald man sneered smugly, "This is a German BMW. Selling you wouldn't even be worth one of its wheels."

"Yeah, it's really nice. Even if it's a fake, it should be worth a lot of money, right?"

The bald man's face stiffened, and he said angrily, "What do you mean by fake? Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand. Get out of the way! A good dog doesn't get in the way!"

Suddenly, Ye Chenghuan's eyes fell on the back seat of the car, and he frowned slightly because there was a woman lying unconscious there.

The woman was wearing a professional OL office suit. Her slender and beautiful legs wrapped in flesh-colored stockings were slightly curled up. The wrinkled skirt couldn't cover her alluring buttocks with the lace edges of her shorts faintly showing. Her full breasts were squeezed into an exaggerated shape by her arms, as if they would burst out of her white waist-tied shirt at any moment. Her slightly curly permed hair covered half of her face, but one could still see her delicate eyelashes, small and pretty nose, and her bright red lips were slightly parted, breathing quietly...

Ye Chenghuan withdrew his gaze, scratched his hair, and smiled, "Boss, who is this? She's so beautiful."

"It's none of your business. Get out of my way right now! If you keep dawdling, believe it or not, I'll tell your boss to fire you!"

"Don't be like that. Harmony brings wealth. I'm just fulfilling my duty. Please get out of the car and accept the inspection first."

"What!" The bald man thought he had heard wrong. "You're just a lousy security guard and you dare to talk to me like this. Do you know who I am!"

"A lousy security guard is still a security guard. Let's take care of each other and not make things difficult for each other, okay?" Ye Chenghuan smiled gently.

The joints of the bald man's hands gripping the steering wheel turned white. He stared fiercely at the man in front of the car and made a ferocious expression. "Believe it or not, I'll step on the gas and run you over!"

"You can try!" Ye Chenghuan's gloomy eyes suddenly flashed. In an instant, his eyes became extremely cold, pale, empty, bloodthirsty, and emotionless, as if a god was looking down on ants. The bald man's movements froze. It was as if he had plunged into an ice cave that had been frozen for thousands of years. An invisible sense of oppression made his breathing extremely difficult, and cold sweat broke out on his back. He opened his mouth to say something but swallowed it back.

What kind of gaze was this that could make a person lose his courage in the blink of an eye and even seem to freeze his heart!

"Boss, can we do something more skillful? It's not the old days anymore. You still use drugs." Ye Chenghuan gestured towards the woman in the back seat, and his expression relaxed. The bald man let out a long breath as if he had been pardoned. That short moment just now seemed like a long nightmare to him. "What did you say?"

Ye Chenghuan didn't answer him directly but just curled his lips. "This isn't the way to pick up girls. At least you should make them willing. Boss of the fake BMW."

"What do you want?" By saying this, the bald man had admitted the fact.

"Are you going to let her go, or should I call the police?" Ye Chenghuan knew that people like him cared most about their face and would never want to get into trouble for this kind of thing.

The bald man was both angry and helpless. He had no choice but to open the car door without a word. Not until Ye Chenghuan carried the woman out did he start the car and said grudgingly, "Good boy, I'll remember you. We'll see!"

"I'm so scared!" Watching the BMW disappear from the edge of his vision, he couldn't help but sigh. He had seen too many people who looked glamorous on the outside but were dirty inside.

He shook his head and suddenly realized that the woman in his arms was staring at him with a pair of moist eyes. He gave a charming smile, "Beauty, nice to meet you..."

Suddenly finding herself in the arms of a dirty and shabby man, the woman was both shocked and shy. Her face flushed red, and she made a gesture to stop him. She didn't even want to hear another word. She stared at him with a complicated look, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something but choked in her throat. She suddenly stamped her foot, flicked her hair, and had just run a couple of steps when suddenly she let out an "ouch" and sprained her ankle. Instinctively, she crouched down and rubbed her ankle.

Ye Chenghuan followed her and said with a wry smile, "Beauty, I'm really sorry to have startled you so much that you made such a violent movement. Do you want me to rub it for you?"

The woman opened her eyes wide in surprise. Obviously, she didn't like this odd remark and shook her head vigorously as if she had seen a pest. She stubbornly got up and walked away.

Just as she walked out of the gate, Ye Chenghuan heard a low sob. He frowned, looked at the woman's receding figure, and let out a slight sigh. Alas, was it really necessary? I just wanted to help you out of kindness. At most, I just wanted to take a little advantage. Look how scared you are, as if you saw a cat when you're a mouse.

These days, it's hard to be a person, and it's even harder to be a good person.

On second thought, how could such a delicate urban white-collar worker have anything to do with that wretched old man? It seemed that she had deep troubles. In life, nine out of ten things are unsatisfactory. So what if you're an urban white-collar worker? In order to climb to the top of the pyramid, some people sell themselves, and some sell others. They're not as good as himself, a little security guard. Although his income was meager, he lived a relaxed and carefree life.

While he was lost in thought, the duty phone rang. "Ye Chenghuan, General Manager Qi wants you to go to his office."

Ye Chenghuan seemed to have guessed something and deliberately asked, "Is it to give me a raise?"

"Humph, you're dreaming! It doesn't look good. It's going to be a big trouble for you."

General Manager Qi was the boss of Shangri-La. As a small security guard, Ye Chenghuan being called to the boss's office naturally meant there was something important. However, the atmosphere in the office was rather solemn.

"Was there a guest driving a BMW just now? I heard that you didn't let him in and even threatened him!" The fat on General Manager Qi's face was twitching.

Ye Chenghuan nodded with some understanding. He already knew what was waiting for him.

"Do you know who he is? He's a senior executive of Oriental International, a VIP of Shangri-La! Do you know Oriental International? It's the largest commercial empire in Longdu. That person coming to Shangri-La is giving us face. How dare you, a lousy security guard, stop him? Do you know how much loss it will cause to the hotel!" General Manager Qi slapped the table and stood up. His well-nourished body was like a wall.

Ye Chenghuan smiled ingratiatingly and casually sat on the office desk. He took out two soft packs of Zhonghua cigarettes from it and handed one to General Manager Qi, "Well, have a cigarette first to calm down and listen to my explanation slowly..."

How thick-skinned this guy was, using other people's cigarettes to please others. General Manager Qi was so angry that he pointed at his nose and cursed, "You lousy security guard! How dare you sit on my desk! Get down!"

Ye Chenghuan obediently got down. "Here's what happened. That guy drugged a girl and was about to do something bad in our hotel. Anyway, I'm also a security guard of our hotel. It's my unshirkable responsibility to safeguard the hotel's security. So I stepped forward at the critical moment and personally stopped a bad incident from happening. However, you don't need to thank me. It's all what I should do. If possible, I'd be very grateful if you could give me a raise." Ye Chenghuan lit the cigarette and took two hard puffs of the good cigarette that didn't cost him anything.

General Manager Qi was so angry that the fat on his face was trembling. He had caused such a big mess, but after what he said, it seemed that he should be thanked instead. "You lousy security guard! How dare you talk to me about your duty! Pack your things and get out of Shangri-La right now! From now on, I don't want to see you again!"

"General Manager Qi, are you joking too much?" Ye Chenghuan's smile was not as friendly as before.

"Damn it! As the boss of Shangri-La, would I joke with you, a lousy security guard? Hurry up and get out of here!"

Ye Chenghuan didn't mind at all and stretched out his hand, "Where's my salary?"

General Manager Qi stared at him blankly and suddenly laughed angrily, "Are you out of your mind? You've caused me such a big loss and you still dare to ask for your salary. I should ask you for compensation instead. Are you leaving or not? Do I need to call the police!"

"Do you mean you won't give me my salary?" Ye Chenghuan's smile disappeared, and his eyes suddenly turned into two ice picks, ice picks that could penetrate everything!

"I'm telling you, I won't give you a penny!" Obviously, he didn't notice the change in the other's mood.

Ye Chenghuan pursed his lips and nodded. He scanned the room and muttered, "Which thing is the most valuable?" Finally, his eyes fell on the safe in the corner.

General Manager Qi stared at him blankly, "What are you going to do?"

Ye Chenghuan didn't even look at him. Without a word, he took off his undershirt, wrapped it tightly around his hand for several layers, and finally tied a knot on his wrist. Then he walked towards the safe step by step.

"What on earth are you going to do? Don't do anything rash!" Perhaps affected by some kind of aura, although he knew he wouldn't be in trouble, he still involuntarily took two steps back.

Ye Chenghuan looked at the safe in front of him for a while, then reached out and touched it. Finally, he nodded and suddenly raised his fist...

Bang!

This punch hit the top of the safe heavily. The dull sound rang out instantly, as if a bomb weighing dozens of kilograms had exploded. The fist penetrated the thin iron sheet and the concrete barrier and actually punched a four-inch square hole in it!

The safe that couldn't be opened even by a bomb was like a piece of worthless tofu under this punch!