The Exclusive Bodyguard of the Top Idol - Chapter 4

In the blink of an eye, it was time to sign the contract at the new company. After her morning jog, Ji Qingshi stopped by a breakfast stall outside the neighborhood for a meal. Ever since moving here to protect Ren Jiao, she had been eating breakfast at this spot every morning. The stall’s steamed buns were especially fragrant, and Ji Qingshi loved them.

Remembering the departure time Ren Jiao had told her yesterday, she packed some steamed buns and soy milk and headed straight to Ren Jiao’s place.

But after knocking on the door for a long time with no response, Ji Qingshi took out her phone to call, puzzled: Could she have already left? No way…

The phone rang for a long time, nearly hanging up automatically before it was finally answered. “…Hello…”

Hearing the weak, lazy voice on the other end, Ji Qingshi realized—this little princess isn’t even awake yet…

“Uh… it’s already 7:30. Didn’t you say we had to leave by 8 yesterday?”

“Mmm…” A series of groggy murmurs came through the receiver, the kind of hoarse voice unique to someone just waking up. Ji Qingshi instinctively rubbed her ears, which felt inexplicably warm.

After the murmuring, there was a rustling sound, and Ren Jiao mumbled, “So sleepy.”

Ji Qingshi sighed. “Just open the door for me first. I’m outside your place.”

“Mmm, come in yourself. The passcode is 271305.”

Ji Qingshi: “…”

This little princess is way too trusting, just casually giving her home passcode to an outsider like me. What if I weren’t a good person?

Though she mentally complained, her hands acted honestly, inputting the code and opening the door. Ji Qingshi walked in, carrying the takeout.

The call was still connected. “Get up and get ready. Sister Cen will be here in half an hour. I brought you breakfast, eat something.”

“Mhm, mhm, getting up now.” Ren Jiao buried her face in the blankets and let out a heavy sigh.

Ji Qingshi reheated the steamed buns and wontons she’d brought and set them on the dining table, waiting for Ren Jiao to come out.

Fifteen minutes later, the bedroom door opened, and the top-tier female idol emerged barefoot, her face completely bare. She glanced at the steamed buns on the table, sat down, and started eating.

Ji Qingshi studied her for a moment, wondering, Is this how all female celebrities are? So glamorous and polished outside, but like this at home?

Ren Jiao bit into the juicy steamed bun, looked up at Ji Qingshi, and raised an eyebrow. “What’s up, Officer Ji?”

Realizing she’d been staring, Ji Qingshi awkwardly averted her gaze and only said, “You should change your door passcode later.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Don’t just give your passcode to outsiders like that.”

Ren Jiao blinked. “I don’t, though. I’ve never told anyone else.”

Ji Qingshi pointed at herself. “You just told me.”

“Oh…” Realizing what she meant, Ren Jiao propped her chin on her hand and looked at her with amusement. “But it’s fine if it’s you, right?”

“I’m still an outsider.”

Ren Jiao shook her head, laughing. “Not really, though. Aren’t you here to protect me, Officer Ji? With a relationship like ours, we’re practically on the same side, aren’t we? Like how Qianqian and Sister Cen both know my passcode.”

Ji Qingshi was taken aback. She hadn’t considered that.

Ren Jiao loved seeing her make this kind of dazed expression. “So, Officer Ji and I are on the same side. Don’t call yourself an outsider anymore.”

Her tone and expression were serious, and Ji Qingshi instinctively nodded. “Oh, got it.”

Ren Jiao popped a small dumpling into her mouth and narrowed her eyes in satisfaction.

“By the way, Captain Qi called me this morning. You remember her, right? The officer who brought me to meet you.”

“Yeah, I remember. What did she say?”

“Captain Qi asked where your mother is now. If needed, the provincial department could also arrange protection for her.”

Ren Jiao’s hand holding the chopsticks paused, and the smile on her face instantly faded.

Normally cheerful and playful, her sudden cold expression was noticeable even to someone as oblivious as Ji Qingshi: “What’s wrong? Is there some difficulty?”

Ren Jiao lowered her gaze, concealing the turmoil in her eyes as she stirred the wonton soup with her spoon. Finally, she said flatly, “It’s nothing…” After a moment of silence, she continued, “My mom’s in a sanatorium, the specialized rehabilitation center affiliated with Binhai Medical University, out in the western suburbs. Why the sudden offer of protection? Is she in some kind of danger?”

As she asked this, Ren Jiao looked up at Ji Qingshi.

Meeting her gaze, Ji Qingshi was momentarily taken aback. For the first time, she saw this emotion in Ren Jiao’s eyes. Though the younger woman was trying hard to mask it, the raw fear in her heart was unmistakable to Ji Qingshi.

In that moment, Ji Qingshi felt the dynamic between them shift. Over the past few days, Ren Jiao’s constant joking and playful teasing had almost made Ji Qingshi forget her role as a protector, even leading her to genuinely play the part of a top idol’s assistant.

But now, the little diva had finally shed her cheerful façade or perhaps the thought of her mother’s potential danger had overwhelmed her with fear, making it impossible to hide her true emotions: fear, dread, and perhaps even sorrow and helplessness.

The unguarded fear in Ren Jiao’s eyes stirred something in Ji Qingshi. The righteous SWAT officer felt a surge of protective instinct well up inside her. She quickly moved to sit beside Ren Jiao and said gently, “Don’t worry, your mother isn’t in immediate danger. But potential threats do exist. I’m sure you understand that. So, I hope you’ll consider letting the provincial department provide protection for her, just like I’m protecting you.”

“Your mother isn’t just a witness’s parent. She’s also the family of a martyr. She deserves our protection and care.”

Ren Jiao’s eyes reddened at the mention of “martyr’s family,” as if the words had struck a nerve. She seemed agitated, and long-suppressed memories came flooding back. She would never forget that day ten years ago. The heavy snow in Binhai, the endless white covering her father’s departing footprints, burying the path that might have led him home.

Ren Jiao’s father, Li Hong, had been a narcotics officer who died in the line of duty a decade ago. To protect Ren Jiao, her mother, Ren Xiuxian, had changed her surname and raised her alone.

As the family of a martyr, they received some compensation, so life wasn’t unbearably hard at first. But Ren Xiuxian had always been frail, unable to sustain long hours of demanding work. Still, to maintain her daughter’s standard of living, she took on multiple jobs, determined to endure no matter how exhausting it was.

Ren Jiao had been a clever little girl since childhood. She knew what her father did for a living and why he had sacrificed his life. At such a young age, she would forever remember the heavy snow that buried everything, etching that day deep into her heart. She watched as her mother clutched her father’s memorial tablet, weeping as if her heart had shattered. Her father, who would never return, and her mother, who seemed to have aged ten years overnight, made the exceptionally bright ten-year-old Ren Jiao feel that she ought to do something, anything at all.

Now, ten years had passed in the blink of an eye. She had done what she set out to do. Personally, gathered evidence and sent one of the criminals from back then to prison.

Though she believed everything she had done was insignificant. Nothing compared to her parents, nothing compared to the police officers who risked their lives day and night on the front lines. It was still her own small contribution.

Her fingers gripping the chopsticks turned white from the force. Ren Jiao pressed her lips together, her voice trembling as she said, “My mother became a vegetative patient a year ago due to a car accident. She’s the surviving family member of a martyr, so please, you must protect her.”

She fixed her gaze on Ji Qingshi, searching for a sense of security from her.

Ji Qingshi, affected by Ren Jiao’s sorrow, nodded solemnly. “Don’t worry. Your mother isn’t just the family of a martyr. She’s also the mother of a key witness. We have a duty to protect her!”

The key witness, that was Ren Jiao herself.

Ren Jiao’s lips thinned into a tight line before she shook her head lightly. “I… I’m nothing special. I only did a few small things.”

“Small things?” Ji Qingshi looked at her in disbelief, her tone rising involuntarily. “This is anything but small! If gathering that evidence counts as a small thing, then you’re seriously underestimating our work as police!”

“No, that’s not what I meant.” Afraid of being misunderstood, Ren Jiao hurriedly explained, “I just feel like what I did really wasn’t much.”

Ji Qingshi frowned, clearly displeased. “Don’t say that. Are you belittling yourself?”

“I—”

“Whether you are or not, you need to remember. You’ve done more than enough!” She reached out and gently patted Ren Jiao’s shoulder, smiling. “You’re just an ordinary person, and you’ve already done so much. I think if your father knew, he’d be proud of you. He was an outstanding narcotics officer; like father, like daughter!”

Ji Qingshi’s words comforted Ren Jiao, the shadows on her face lifting slightly as she gave her a grateful smile. “Thank you, Officer Ji.”

“Ah, no need for such formal thanks; I didn’t do anything. By the way, about your mother, give me the exact address. I’ll inform Captain Qi.”

Ren Jiao nodded and sent the address to Ji Qingshi via WeChat.

Ji Qingshi swiftly forwarded it to Qi Xuesong, receiving a confirmation reply almost immediately. The provincial department would arrange for someone to go to Binhai Medical University’s convalescent home today.