Wooing my Bodyguard Wife

The rest of the drive was peaceful. The two men in front occasionally talked, but the bulk of the time, it was comfortable silence.

However, behind them, Xue Ning wasn't feeling well-rested at all! Her heart was racing a mile a minute, all thanks to the words she overheard when she was supposed to be dead to the world. Her ability to know when someone was talking about her never seemed to rest, it seemed.

"If it's not Xue Ning, I don't want anyone else."

Her eyes nearly opened in shock; thankfully she managed to suppress that urge. She squeezed her eyes shut instead, focusing on keeping her breathing even.

How was she supposed to live with that knowledge? She could have pretended it was about her as a bodyguard, but deep down, she knows, Sun Jingwei harboured other intentions. Romantic intentions, the kind that led to a huge church wedding and walks on the beach during sunset and owning dogs together.

His words had put the kiss they shared in a whole new light.

But Xue Ning was very good at ignoring things she didn't know how to resolve. Even if she wanted to pretend she hadn't heard it, her mind wouldn't let her forget it. It replayed the smooth baritone of Jingwei's voice, the firm conviction of his words.

It set her heart ablaze.

She was still tired, but she could no longer fall back to sleep like before. Now, what was the best course of action? Should she confront him on this? That would mean admitting that she overheard him when she was supposed to be asleep. If something like that happened to Xue Ning, she'd be too embarrassed to even face him.

What could she even say if she pointed it out? Did she like him? He was definitely considered one of her friends at this point, but did she like him… as a lover?

The very thought of that word released a flight of butterflies through her stomach.

Her feelings were a mess. She takes a deeper breath and tries to think about this rationally, before arriving at a conclusion.

If her feelings for him weren't definite, she wasn't going to say anything. That would be disrespecting his feelings. She needed to treat them with the same gravity that he had when said those words in the car, words not meant for her ears but still sincerely meant.

Yes. That was the right course of action for now. She needed rest, a good meal and a hot shower. Everything else can wait.

Decision made, she calms down slightly and tries to go back to sleep… anytime now…

"Xue Ning, wake up. We're arriving soon," Jingwei calls to her.

Xue Ning jolts awake, internally despairing. She rubs her eyes and squints at the scenery. Currently, the car was on a path lined by tall trees. There were only tiny lights at the foot of each tree, and together, they looked like stars in the night sky, making a constellation of a beautiful winding road in the dark of the night.

The path looked long. Was this entire land considered their property too? It seemed like an awful waste of space. As the car got closer to the main mansion, she spied tall garden hedges and lighted fountains, as well as a variety of fancy marble statues, also lighted from the base to make them look like tiny landmarks.

This place almost didn't look real. People really live in places like this? She must be hallucinating.

Then they pulled up to the actual mansion, and Xue Ning's mouth dropped open in surprise.

There was already a whole line of staff waiting for their arrival. Ah, it must be because both of his sons are coming home. Perhaps this was protocol for them, to all assemble at the front of the mansion to greet them.

If Xue Ning worked here, she would have hated that.

Jingwei parks the car right in the middle of the two lines of staff.

"We're here!" He announces proudly.

Tianwei merely gets out of the car without fanfare. Xue Ning hesitantly opens the door and follows suit, before Jingwei could even help her open the door. He beamed brightly at her and pulled her beside him, so she could get an even better look at the mansion.

Xue Ning barely managed to avoid gawking at its sheer size.

Was this a mansion, or was it a hotel that looked like a mansion? It was at least three stories tall, and it was wide enough that she had to turn her head, and even then, she wasn't able to see the real end of the house.

She mentally counted at least a hundred glass windows, reinforced with intricate steel window frames gilded with gold.

How did she know they were gilded gold?

There were tiny decorative lights under every window to highlight it!

Xue Ning wonders how expensive their electricity bill would be. The cost of electricity for the lights on the mansion grounds could have fed her for a month!

Sun Jingwei really came from a different world.

"Welcome back, Young Master Tianwei, Young Master Jingwei," an older woman greets them.  "Welcome back!" The rest of the staff chant in unison, before they bow and straighten up with the precision of soldiers running drills in the army.

Xue Ning is more impressed by them than anything she has seen so far.

"The main house is pretty cool right?" Jingwei asks proudly, waiting for her reply like an eager puppy.

"...House?" She asks blankly. This was a house, the same way the Great Wall of China was just a wall.

He nods.

She stares at him, then looks back at the mansion in its entirety. What else could she do but nod?

"Yeah. Cool. It's very… bright," Xue Ning says, trying to be polite in front of his staff. They sure had their work cut out for them; maintaining a place of this size would be difficult. She bows to the staff politely. "You guys have worked hard, sorry for making you greet us outside this late. Thank you."

The crowd of staff stared back, nonplussed. Xue Ning mentally slapped herself - who was she to tell them that they've worked hard? It wasn't as though she was their boss, or god forbid, the lady of the house.

Before she could try to retract her statement, Jingwei cuts in, a hand looping through hers. She blinks in surprise.

"Yes, Xue Ning's right, you guys did great with the mansion!"

"Quit dawdling and enter. You can give her a tour of the grounds tomorrow when it's bright," Tianwei scolds. Honestly, his brother was sticking to Miss Li like gum on the bottom of a shoe, as though he's afraid she'd be taken from him at any moment.

"Right, let's go then, Xue Ning," Jingwei smiles and leads her up the steps, because of course they had equally gigantic steps leading to the equally gigantic heavy wooden doors of the mansion.

The door handles were ornate and gilded with gold. Even the hinges were also gold in colour. If someone wanted to rob this house, they'd have their hands full of treasure. Well, assuming they got past the tight security. Xue Ning had also spotted a frighteningly large number of CCTVs, and their camera lenses all seem to be eerily capturing her on video.

The staff behind them followed them back into the mansion in a neat file, supposedly going back to their jobs. However, none of them wanted to miss the chance to see the possible future Mrs Sun in the flesh! This was the most delicious gossip they have gotten in years - and best of all, it wasn't because of some fuck up their Young Master did.

Their handsome Young Master was in love, and that fact broke the hearts of more than a few young maids who still harboured a flame for him. This, paired with the fact that she had casually talked to them like she was the lady of the house, made her a target of their intense dislike.

Who was she, to monopolise Young Master Sun's time and attention? Thanking them for their hard work? It wasn't her place to do so!

Under the twinkling lights of the crystal chandelier hanging high in their living room, the mysterious Miss Li that Young Master Sun declared his wife doesn't look like any beauty at all.

More than one young staff had to do a double-take when they saw her - she just looked like an ordinary, albeit cute, woman, who had been through the wringer and was in a desperate need for a bath and sleep.

This was the woman that enchanted Young Master Sun to the point where Lady Yu was bringing out all the stops in making sure she was comfortable? Preposterous. Sun Jingwei liked tall, statuesque women, such as supermodels.

This woman he eagerly brought in was tiny in comparison!

The younger staff felt even more puzzled, but their confusion didn't matter. Sun Jingwei still wasn't letting go of this woman's hand.

Meanwhile, the older workers merely shook their heads at such childish behaviour from their younger colleagues. To them, Miss Li's words were an indication of her good upbringing, and showed that she was empathetic to their struggles as staff, which was a refreshing change.

Most of the guests that arrive in the mansion tended to treat them like order-obeying furniture, meant to be used and then faded into the woodwork, but Miss Li had noticed them, appreciated them, more than she had the fancy decorations that Lady Yu ordered to be put up for the mansion.

Miss Li had the approval of the older staff, but only time would determine if she could keep it. After all, she hadn't met Lady Yu or the Sun family patriarch yet.

All of Sun Jingwei's love would be worth nothing if his father didn't approve of her!

Speaking of the devil, that very same patriarch was already waiting in the living room, sitting on the leather sofa with his arms crossed. He was wearing a very impressive frown, one that only grew bigger when he saw his youngest son holding the hand of his bodyguard.

"What's this I hear about attempted murder and a car accident? Explain yourselves now!" He roared.