Claire was utterly bewildered.
You two were having your own conversation just fine, why drag me into it?
I don't even know him.
And how am I supposed to know if he's a good person or not?
Being a bodyguard or something?
Forget it.
Claire refused decisively. "Grandpa, I've never hired a bodyguard in over twenty years. You suddenly springing this on me..."
It was rather exasperating.
A bodyguard just appearing out of nowhere? That's just absurd.
Seeing her grandfather was about to say more, Claire continued, "Society is harmonious and stable now, why go through the trouble?"
"Besides, me, a young woman, hiring a man as a bodyguard? Wouldn't I be a laughingstock if word got out?"
"Even if he wants to learn, I can just arrange a position for him at the company."
She completely blocked off Grandpa Bai's line of reasoning.
Grandpa Bai looked at his granddaughter, momentarily at a loss for words.
But Claire had a point.
No bodyguard for over twenty years, and suddenly wanting one now? What was that about?
Yet he still wasn't ready to give up.
After all, he owed his old friend a life debt. Now that his disciple was here, shouldn't he make proper arrangements?
Moreover.
Ye Fan's background wasn't shabby either.
It could perfectly compensate for the Bai family's短板 (weakness) and help them enter the global market.
The domestic market was quite volatile.
Grandpa Bai continued persuading, "Having Ye Fan as a bodyguard isn't a bad thing. You're both young, you could communicate more."
"And Ye Fan's overseas connections are quite..."
Claire said seriously, "Grandpa, that logic doesn't hold up."
"I'm a woman. If I were to hire a bodyguard, forget about a woman, even if it's a man, I'd need to hire several."
"Someone around my age as a bodyguard? Do you think that's appropriate?"
In fact, in the original story, the reason Claire agreed to Ye Fan being her bodyguard was because she was extremely annoyed by Adrien Lefèvre's pestering that day.
So when Grandpa Bai brought it up, she agreed without hesitation.
On one hand, she wanted Ye Fan to know she had a troublesome suitor.
On the other hand, she hoped Adrien would drive Ye Fan away.
That way, she could have some peace for a while.
But now, with Adrien's annoying behavior having decreased somewhat, and with Lucas's words from that night echoing in her mind...
She was much calmer.
She felt Lucas was right. Stick to what you want to do.
Don't let others interfere.
Like right now, making her own decision.
Grandpa Bai was rendered speechless. Looking at his granddaughter, he opened his mouth, wanting to say more to persuade her.
But Ye Fan, standing to the side, tactfully spoke up.
"Sir, it really doesn't need to be so troublesome. Miss Claire is right. Arranging a position for me in your company will be fine."
Ye Fan smiled. "That way, it'll be more convenient for attending social events and such."
Of course, he wouldn't mind being a bodyguard.
But the lady wasn't having it.
Otherwise, being in close proximity to such a top-tier beauty every day would be a delight.
But since her attitude was so firm, it was best to go with the flow.
Since the person in question, Ye Fan, had agreed, Grandpa Bai had nothing more to insist on. He nodded. "Alright. Then you can take Xiaofan to the company tomorrow."
Claire had no objection to this.
Just taking him to the company, that's all.
"Grandpa, I'll head to bed first then." With that, Claire got up and went to the second floor of the villa.
Watching Claire go upstairs, Grandpa Bai couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle.
This girl...
"She must have been led astray by that kid with the surname Xu."
Grandpa Bai muttered to himself.
There was no doubt about it.
He could tell tonight—his precious granddaughter definitely had some other kind of feeling towards Lucas.
Otherwise, why would she sit next to a man?
Putting it out of his mind, Grandpa Bai smiled at Ye Fan. "Xiaofan, you should rest too. The first guest room on the right side of the second floor."
Ye Fan nodded. "Alright, sir."
He was a man of few words, but his actions were clean and efficient.
Picking up his simple luggage, he headed upstairs.
Watching Ye Fan also enter his room, the old man sighed with emotion. "What a fine young man."
"Xiaoying, really now..."
Jiang City, Yujing Garden.
After returning home, Lucas's first order of business was a shower, then he collapsed onto his bed.
The moment he lay down, the system's prompt sounded in his mind.
*[Ding! Congratulations, Host, for gaining Camille Laurent's favorability +10. Current character favorability: 50.]*
*[Gained Stability Points +1000!]*
[Ding, congratulations, Host, for obtaining a Novice Gift Pack. Open it?]
The system's voice continued in his mind. Hearing the last part, Lucas was stunned for a second. "Open."
If there's a gift pack on offer, you take it.
Otherwise, with his own small physique, he probably couldn't withstand a single punch from the protagonist, right?
[Gift pack successfully opened. Congratulations, Host, for obtaining: Suit-Clad Brawler, Grandmaster Combat MAX, Graphene Mass Production Technology, Graphene Battery Technology (from phones to cars)!]
After the rewards were revealed, Lucas was pleasantly surprised.
"A Novice Gift Pack is this generous?" Lucas was somewhat taken aback.
He thought the system might give him a few million in pocket money.
Turns out, he was the country bumpkin.
The system operated on the level of an oil-rich tycoon.
In his mind, the function of 'Suit-Clad Brawler' was clear: upon wearing a suit, the skill automatically activates, granting full proficiency in all forms of combat and firearms.
Most importantly, all his attributes would receive a 100% boost!
This was straight-up cheating.
For example, if his current Strength was 105, doubling it would make it 210!
He could probably take down an ox with that!
"This is probably a self-defense tool for me. And the Grandmaster Combat skill is likely for situations when I'm not wearing the suit, like if I get ambushed during... say, a card game, to save my life."
Of course, there was also something of immense value within it.
That was graphene!
Graphene mass production technology! In today's society, who had mastered mass production of graphene?
Not to mention the complete graphene battery package that followed.
From mobile phones to cars—he could monopolize the entire new energy vehicle supply chain!
Incredible!
After receiving the rewards, Lucas immediately relaxed, closing his eyes as he prepared to sleep.
"Time for bed. And just like that, the game changes, doesn't it? Really now."