In one of the private high-class restaurants on the top floor of the mall, the four took a corner table. Wei and Lihua were on one side while Jiang Ruiling sat opposite them.

Shen Yang stood upright near the table in attention.

Lihua glanced at him and her mouth twitched. "You should sit down too."

"Appreciate your kindness Madam, but I am just a mere bodyguard. I am not worthy to share a table with the members of the Jiang family."

Jiang Ruiling quietly stared at him. Though he felt her sharp looks, he refused to look back at her.

Lihua sighed. "Right now, you are not just a bodyguard, but Jiang Ruiling's…"

How should I address him? Can I call him as her boyfriend?

She coughed. "Somebody close to her. So, you are not doing your job now. You should sit with us."

"Madam I cannot-"

"Are you defying my order?" She pouted.

Wei's ears perked up at her disappointed tone, and he shot an icy stare at him. "Sit."

He was already in a bad mood because their shopping date was interrupted by them.

Shen Yang straightened up.

Who could defy the Mafia King's order?

He slowly sat opposite him but at the very edge of the seat, maintaining his obvious distance from Jiang Ruiling to which she sneered. Shen Yang seemed really uncomfortable.

They ordered some food and then Lihua curiously looked at them and asked, feeling excited. "So, so! We saw you two coming out of the men's changing room which *cough* cannot be an accident so...are you two dating?"

There was no point in beating around the bush.

Jiang Ruiling said nothing. But Shen Yang immediately said, "No, Madam. Rest assured. Nothing is going between us-"

"Yes, we are dating," she cut him off. His eyes widened and he stared at her in horror.

"Young mistress!"

She shrugged. "Did I say something wrong?" Then she smiled. "Or do you defy a member of the Jiang family?"

He was in a tight spot. "Young mistress. I won't ever dare to defy you, but-"

"Great. So there is his answer. We are dating."

Shen Yang was feeling miserable. He didn't know how to get his words across them.

"Young mistress…"

Lihua blinked her eyes. "If you two are dating, then why does he look so uncomfortable in accepting it?"

Jiang Ruiling smiled. "Yes, Shen Yang. Tell them. Why are you so hesitant?"

He cleared his throat. "Madam, I am not hesitant. There is really nothing going on between us. I wouldn't dare have any thoughts about the young mistress."

Lihua asked, "Why are you talking so formally?"

"Of course, Madam. I am the Jiang family's servant. I cannot be rude in my behavior," he sternly said.

She gasped. "Who said you are a servant? You are a part of our family. You and all the maids and butlers, gardeners, drivers, bodyguards who work so hard and with dedication are just like family to us. Don't disrespect yourself like that."

Shen Yang watched in her a daze. For the first time, he felt his mind go blank.

Family?

He didn't know if she was really being nice or just dumb? She was talking about the Jiang family, after all.

Jiang Ruiling watched her silently. For a moment, she froze but her expression quickly turned back of indifference.

He was unable to utter anything but he gathered himself. "I appreciate your kindness, Madam. But we are really just servants. The Jiang family has strict boundaries. We are not allowed to act familiar to anybody. The family members are always above us."

"Not above. Equal," Lihua stated.

His mouth opened in a small O. Shen Yang failed to converse with this woman. She was saying such alien things.

"Madam. We just get money from the family. We are not-"

"And what will we do of that money if you aren't there to help us? You work for us. You get the money. But we need your help, too, around the house That's why we hire you. We both need each other. So, I don't understand why would somebody be above or below anybody," she rubbed her chin questioningly.

He couldn't retort which Jiang Ruiling found utterly amusing.

She sighed. "Anyway. We will talk about that later. We are here to know more about you two. You like Jiang Ruiling, right?"

He froze. "No, Madam!"

Jiang Ruiling's gaze was unreadable, but a faint glint passed in her eyes.

"Don't lie. You really like her, don't you? It is so evident in your eyes how much you care about her."

"That is because I am her guard. It is my job to protect her."

Jiang Ruiling looked away.

Lihua raised her brow. "Protect her even in the men's changing room?"

"..."

"That... young mistress…"

"How did you two get in one cubicle then?"

Jiang Ruiling said this time, "I forced him."

She looked at her in surprise.

"Well he wasn't ready to get cozy in the public, so I had no choice," she snorted.

"Young mistress!" He exclaimed.

Lihua observed the two and nudged Wei's hand. "What do you think, Wei?"

His gaze was warm as he dotingly looked at her. "En. Beautiful."

"Huh? What is beautiful?"

"You."

"..."

"Wei, did you even listen to them?" She fumed. Though she blushed with his sudden flirting.

"I did."

"So what do you think?"

Wei blankly stared at her. "About?"

She facepalmed. "Their relationship of course!"

"Nothing."

"What nothing? They like each other."

"So?"

"But Shen Yang is denying his feelings. What do you think? He likes her too, right?"

"Maybe."

Her mouth heavily twitched. "So you are fine with this, right?"

"Is there anything wrong?" He tilted his head.

Shen Yang's ears twitched at his words and he said, "B-Boss!"

Wei glanced at him.

"How can it not be wrong? I am just a bodyguard and young mistress is an heiress."

"So?"

Shen Yang felt exasperated. First, Lihua said some strange things and now Wei acted as if wasn't a big deal at all. Honestly, he was prepared to get his head rolled off.

Lihua said, "What? So are you treating yourself as some poor Romeo who likes a noble Juliet?"