The Beautiful Boss's Personal Bodyguard
Chapter 565 - 564

Chapter 565: 564

"Forest Protection Team? I had no idea."

"It’s as if I’m supposed to report everything to you."

Among those present, Ye Tian teased the two men other than those two women freely, and Zhang Liang was no exception.

Zhang Liang ignored him, his brows furrowed with worry—it was unclear what was troubling him. Zhang’s Mom put a piece of meat into Ye Tian’s bowl, her eyes filled with kindness. While Ye Tian nodded and smiled, his mind was also pondering the family’s attitude toward Zhang Liang.

Through his observations over the past few days, Ye Tian noticed that the family had varying attitudes toward Zhang Liang.

Monk Ku Rong’s demeanor toward Zhang Liang was neither good nor bad, even containing a hint of respect. There was a subtle hierarchical dynamic in the way he spoke and acted. As for the little monk, it wasn’t a matter of good or bad; he simply obediently followed Monk Ku Rong’s orders. This young fellow didn’t seem to read people’s expressions, the only ones he paid attention to were the old monk’s and his master’s, and lastly, he just aimlessly followed Zhang Ling’er around. What made Ye Tian curious was the attitude of Zhang Ling’er and her mother; they didn’t seem very fond of this handsome and well-mannered government official. During this period, Ye Tian hadn’t even seen them exchange a single word with Zhang Liang. The closest they got was setting a pair of bowls and chopsticks for him during meal times—the rest was the distance of strangers.

Ye Tian couldn’t figure out the reason for this, nor did he want to bother Monk Ku Rong with such a trivial question, and he certainly wouldn’t dare to ask the mother and daughter pair. Gossiping is a woman’s natural talent, and nitpicking is their specialty. Even without a brain, Ye Tian wouldn’t trouble himself over this matter.

By the time dinner was over, the sky outside had darkened.

After the heavy rain, the weather cleared up, so this evening wasn’t as dark as usual. On the contrary, the setting sun lit up the sky quite brightly.

Monk Ku Rong and his wife went to the backyard, while the four youngsters played cards in the Buddhist temple. After a while, Zhang Liang excused himself, saying he had some matters to deal with. It seemed that Zhang Ling’er couldn’t have been happier to have him leave. No sooner had he gone than she called over Ye Tian and the little monk for a game of Fight the Landlord. The little monk, thinking himself slow-witted, wanted to decline but was dragged into the game by Zhang Ling’er, who claimed that being slow-witted was all the more reason to play cards, as playing would smarten him up. The naive little monk even asked if that was really true. Ye Tian almost kicked him there and then.

Card playing was terribly boring. After three games, losing two, Ye Tian discovered that the little monk claimed to be slow-witted not out of modesty, but because he truly was. Either playing cards left to right or from right to left, exactly like the sequence of counting Buddha Beads, invariably the little monk had excellent cards, making the game really dull for Ye Tian. Whoever was partnered with him was bound to lose—even with a great hand, Ye Tian could only watch him helplessly lose! The little monk didn’t mind, scratching his head and chuckling, saying that not all good luck could fall into one person’s lap; having a good hand and losing a bit was also fine.

Ye Tian was speechless at this explanation.

A chirping sound rang out, and a little bird snuggled into Ye Tian’s chest. All three of them looked at the little bird in Ye Tian’s arms. Zhang Ling’er’s maternal instincts overflowed as she clamored to hold the little bird. But unexpectedly, the little birdie didn’t give her any face at all, clinging tightly to Ye Tian’s clothes, no matter how much Zhang Ling’er coaxed, it was to no avail. In the end, she could only watch the little bird roll around in Ye Tian’s arms.

"This is my son, he’s shy with strangers."

Ye Tian jokingly explained, while Zhang Ling’er just smiled. The little monk beside her, however, took it seriously, "Benefactor, you and this bird are predestined. Perhaps there really is a father-son bond between you."

Ye Tian gave him a sideways glance.

Deservedly so, you can’t find a wife with the way you speak—your son is the bird!

Zhang Ling’er didn’t mind the little monk’s lack of eloquence. She propped her chin on her hand and playfully teased the chirping little bird on Ye Tian’s palm, saying with a mischievous tone, "You little thing, you’re so ungrateful. Wasn’t I the one who fixed up your nest? Forgotten so soon? Ignoring me now, are we? Be careful, or I’ll tear down your nest and throw you into the forest. Hey, scared now, aren’t you?"

The little bird, with its tail up in the air, wobbled out of Ye Tian’s palm and headed straight for Zhang Ling’er across the table. Suddenly, it froze as if discovering something and then dove into Zhang Ling’er’s embrace. Zhang Ling’er, only wearing a short-sleeve shirt, was tickled by the little bird and giggled uncontrollably.

Ye Tian was stunned at first, then cursed inwardly; damn it, this little bird rascal is definitely a male!

"Brother Tian, how did your son grow up so quickly?"

Zhang Ling’er finally managed to extract the little bird from her embrace and held it in her palm, staring at it in amazement. The bird appeared unhappy being dragged out of its comfortable spot, sitting sulking with its little head buried between its wings, unwilling to show its face.

Hearing Zhang Ling’er’s words, Ye Tian took the little bird into his hand. Indeed, how did this little guy grow feathers in just one day? While they were only a short layer of green feathers, the growth rate was still quite astonishing. The initially somewhat awkwardly cute fledgling had now gained a look of endearment.

The green bird, aside from the touch of red and yellow around its beak that hadn’t faded, had already manifested the general characteristics of its species.

Sleek in shape, covered in green feathers all over, besides its color, there wasn’t much else that was significantly different. Ye Tian flipped and turned the little bird rascal over, trying to find something special but came up empty, receiving nothing but an eye roll from the bird.

"What are you looking at? Keep staring and I’ll roast you for a meal, just right to wrap into a dumpling," _{fre\e(w)ebn ov.e l\. co.m}

Ye Tian cursed at the little bird a couple of times, not expecting it to be the slightest bit afraid. On the contrary, the bird broke free from Ye Tian’s clutches and flew straight into Zhang Ling’er’s arms, flapping its wings and chirping at Ye Tian as if picking a fight.

"Goodness! You think you’re something, huh? What, planning a rebellion?"

Ye Tian reached out to grab it, but the bird flew straight out of the window. Although it was still slightly awkward in the air, its speed was not weak. The residual glow of the sunset over West Mountain fell on the little bird, giving it a somewhat elusive aura. Ye Tian squinted and pondered, perhaps this bird was indeed a creature brimming with Spiritual Power, but what kind of trouble could such a little guy stir up?