After Becoming a Cannon-Fodder Lackey, I Swore to Protect the Young Lady to the Death - Chapter 5

On Saturday morning, Li Gangjiao had just finished her morning jog. She was torn between getting soup dumplings or sticky rice chicken when a familiar voice called out to her.

“Li Xi?” Lu Jiaoyue called again, sounding a bit uncertain as she watched the figure in the distance.

Li Gangjiao was dressed in a white athletic hoodie and black gym shorts, with a pair of black over-ear headphones draped casually around her neck. She radiated a sense of effortless, lazy cool.

“Huh?”

She turned around and saw Lu Jiaoyue. Holy crap! Is the Eldest Miss always this stunning in her off-hours?! Help, this is a literal feast for the eyes!

Compared to Li Gangjiao’s casual attire, Lu Jiaoyue was dressed to the nines. She wore a cold-shoulder, wine-red midi dress paired with dark red stilettos. Even her handbag and the ribbon woven into her hair matched in the same deep crimson hue. While the school discouraged makeup, they had no jurisdiction over the weekends; Lu Jiaoyue had applied a sophisticated, light look that made her appear even more like a delicate heiress.

“Why do you keep staring at me?” Aware of the intense gaze, Lu Jiaoyue seemed slightly flustered, her grip on her handbag tightening and loosening.

“Because you’re beautiful,” Li Gangjiao replied earnestly, snapping out of her daze.

“You look quite different today as well.”

“Different how?” Li Gangjiao pointed at herself, genuinely confused.

“You cut your hair,” Lu Jiaoyue said, gesturing toward her head. “I think… it looks better on you than before.”

“Oh, that! Honestly, I just got tired of washing long hair, but the stylist did say this cut suited me.”

“Have you eaten yet?” Lu Jiaoyue asked.

“Not yet. What about you, Jiao Jiao?”

Lu Jiaoyue shook her head and suggested they take her car to find a place to eat; the driver was already waiting outside the complex.

After breakfast, they spent the rest of the morning at the mall. Li Gangjiao went from being empty-handed to being laden with shopping bags, many of which contained designer clothes and jewelry that Lu Jiaoyue had insisted on buying for her.

“Li Xi, is there anything you specifically want?” Lu Jiaoyue asked suddenly, checking her phone.

“Specifically? Money, I guess.” With enough money, most problems could be solved, and most unpleasant tasks could be refused.

【Ding! Alipay: 50,000 yuan received.】

Li Gangjiao pulled out her phone with trembling hands. Listening to that heavenly chime, she felt like the future was finally looking bright.

“Jiao Jiao, has anyone ever told you that you’re like Aladdin’s lamp?” Li Gangjiao stared at the zeros on her screen with pure adoration.

“No. But if your wish is money, then it’s a good thing I’m not short on it,” Lu Jiaoyue replied nonchalantly, waving her phone. To her, any problem that could be solved with cash wasn’t really a problem at all.

Just as Li Gangjiao began to fantasize about how she’d decorate her future house, Lu Jiaoyue pinched her cheek, forcibly ending her daydream.

“My dress is ready for pickup,” Lu Jiaoyue said, nodding toward a boutique.

The staff clearly recognized her. One of the available clerks hurried over with a professional smile. “Miss Lu, are you here for the fitting?”

“Yes,” Lu Jiaoyue nodded.

At her signal, another clerk brought out a stunning, handcrafted black fishtail gown. “We’ll have this packaged for you immediately.”

“I’ll take this dress.”

Two voices spoke almost simultaneously.

A young man stood there with one hand in his pocket. Despite the blistering summer heat, he was dressed impeccably in a custom-tailored suit and leather shoes.

Li Gangjiao: Wow, a textbook ‘Male Lead’ face. But it’s 36 degrees out… is he seriously wearing that? I guess he really is the ‘Cold-Blooded Protagonist.’ The man clearly lacks normal human thermoregulation.

“Gu Yan, I didn’t say I wanted this one,” Su Momo said softly beside him.

Li Gangjiao: Is it just me, or did I just see a flash of pure annoyance in the female lead’s eyes?

“I’m sorry, but this dress was pre-ordered by this young lady,” the store manager intervened, trying to de-escalate the situation before it got ugly.

“I want this dress.” The male lead didn’t even grant the manager a glance. He swept a cold, arrogant gaze over the two girls and simply repeated himself.

“…” Su Momo looked at him, then lowered her head, her fingers tightly clutching the hem of her own skirt.

“Wait, do you not speak the language? We already bought this!” Li Gangjiao pulled Lu Jiaoyue behind her and raised her voice. The guy was handsome, sure, but his arrogant attitude was insufferable. Moreover, he actually had the audacity to try and snatch the Eldest Miss’s dress!

“The consequences of provoking me are more than you can handle.” Gu Yan patted Su Momo’s head with a deceptive tenderness, even as his words remained malicious.

Su Momo kept her head down, saying nothing.

“Are you threatening us? We live in a society governed by law, you know. Those cameras up there run twenty-four-seven,” Li Gangjiao countered. She wasn’t buying his act for a second. Funny guy. Fighting is one of my few actual talents. If he wants to solve this with violence, I’d be happy to give him a reality check.

“Sir, I’m afraid I truly cannot sell this to you,” the manager added, trying to keep the peace. “We have many other styles. Why don’t you browse a bit more with this lady?”

Seeing the tension rise, the manager reached out to nudge Gu Yan away. Instead, Gu Yan gripped the manager’s arm and shoved him violently to the floor.

The manager had officially had enough. “Security! Second floor boutique, we have a disturbance!” he shouted into his radio while rubbing his bruised arm.

“Lu Jiaoyue, this is one of your little schemes, isn’t it? Don’t think for a second that this will get my attention.” Gu Yan glared at Lu Jiaoyue with a sneer.

“Are you an idiot? Do you even hear yourself?” Li Gangjiao snapped, stepping in front of Lu Jiaoyue. She didn’t hide her disgust. “If you can’t talk like a normal person, go back to your mother and start over. What makes you think you’re such a rare treasure that people are dying for your attention? Please!”

In the original novel, this guy was a nightmare. Kidnapping the female lead and crippling the second male lead, all while hiding behind the mask of “devoted love.” He was a criminal, plain and simple. While Li Gangjiao loved money and a pretty face, she loathed people with zero moral compass.

Gu Yan was visibly incensed. His dark eyes narrowed like a venomous snake, glinting with a chilling light.

“Is this your new lapdog, Lu Jiaoyue?” Gu Yan’s tone was thick with menace. He reached out and grabbed Li Gangjiao’s arm, using considerable force.

Lu Jiaoyue, who had remained silent, looked at him flatly. She glanced at his hand on Li Gangjiao and said, “The cameras are broken today, aren’t they?”

The manager caught her drift instantly and hurried away to “check.” Even Su Momo quietly shuffled a few steps back.

“You—!”

Gu Yan suddenly gasped and let go. A look of agonizing pain washed over his face as he stared in disbelief at Li Gangjiao, who had just buried a fist into his stomach.

When it comes to a fight, Li Gangjiao didn’t believe in wasting words.

She didn’t give him a chance to recover, delivering two sharp kicks to his shins followed by a precisely aimed blow to his left kidney.

The security guards arrived just in time. Li Gangjiao pulled back her fist and pointed at Gu Yan, who was struggling to stay upright. “That’s the one. He’s the one causing trouble.”

The guards looked at the well-dressed but clearly suffering Gu Yan, then at the manager. When the manager nodded, they promptly hauled Gu Yan out of the store.

Su Momo followed silently behind them.

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