Chapter 333: A Shield
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"Is he your boyfriend? You got a boyfriend?" Fen Luo looked at Dai Li immediately with glaring eyes.
Dai Li had just left the training room, and he hadn't changed his clothes because of the power outage, so he was wearing his ordinary-looking gym suit, which was not a low-priced product, but was also not a luxury brand either.
Dai Li was wearing a pair of sports shoes, which were a little bit worn from his frequent visits to the training grounds. From Dai Li's ordinary attire, Fen Luo couldn't get any information about Dai Li and his background; so Fen Luo took a glance at Dai Li's wristwatch.
How could he wear an electronic watch? How could an adult wear an electronic watch? Fen Luo was surprised.
Like a saying goes, the poor went in for vehicles, the rich were keen on wristwatches, and the fool compared mobile phones, while the proletariats had a deep love for computers. Although it was just a joke, it was quite ironic in reality.
The last two sentences of this saying, "the fool compared mobile phones, while the proletariats had a deep love for computers", were added by modern people, while the first two sentences, "the poor went in for vehicles, the rich were keen on wristwatches" , were quite popular in the 1970s to the 1980s.
The poor went in for vehicles. The vehicles descibed here were not automobiles, but bicycles. In the 1970s-1980s, a Forever brand bicycle was absolutely an expensive item in many families, although it could not be considered as a luxury good. This bicycle was as important as were the cars in modern families. Now, many people misunderstood "the poor went in for vehicles" as standing for automobiles. From the aspect of price, the low-end cars were more expensive than low-end wristwatches, while the high-end cars were more expensive than the high-end wristwatches. The price of the limited edition wristwatch was lower than the price of the limited edition cars, naturally. A hobby in cars would cost more money than a hobby in wristwatches.
The rich were fond of wristwatches. The wristwatches here meant Swiss watches. In those days, a Seagull wristwatch would make the wearer feel very good. The rich people would wear wristwatches imported from the Swiss. At that time, the foreign currency of the country was very limited. Most ordinary people were not rich, therefore, the Swiss watches were considered as being top-grade limited luxury goods, which could not be purchased, even if you had money.
Now, the economy is much more developed. The Swiss watches are no longer rarities. Some brands, which were considered as luxury goods in the last century, are common nowadays. However, most of the time, the status of a man can still be roughly revealed through the wristwatch he is wearing.
People, who were good at choosing wristwatches, wouldn't choose the most expensive wristwatches. The match of wristwatch with clothes or occasion could reveal the taste of the wearer. For example, the wristwatches for meeting customers and a girlfriend should be different. Of course, taste was only for the rich people.
Dai Li was not a rich man, and was also far from having good tastes. He didn't like to spend money on expensive wristwatches. An electronic watch, which could be used for timing, was elementary equipment for a professional coach, and therefore, what Dai Li was wearing was an electronic watch.
People, who like wristwatches, always wear mechanical wristwatches. They would not spare a glance at quartz watches. As for electronic watches, to Fen Luo, they were just baby products, which could only be used by kids.
Fen Luo couldn't figure out Dai Li's status and background. From Dai Li's attire, Fen Luo couldn't get any useful information. He even felt Dai Li was quite mysterious. Then Fen Luo looked at Yunan Xiao's clothes, and he was quite frustrated by what he saw.
Yunan Xiao also wore a gym suit. Fen Luo could easily figure out that Yunan Xiao and Dai Li were doing exercises together just now, since they were wearing their gym suits.
He did exercises together with Yunan. Could he really be Yunan's boyfriend? Fen Luo's face was filled with the expression of deep sorrow immediately.
Dai Li hadn't figured out what was happening, but his instinct told him the best thing he should do now was to leave.
He returned the key to Yunan Xiao and said, "General Manager Xiao, it's time for me to…"
"Didn't I tell you that you should call me Nannan privately?" Yunan Xiao interrupted Dai Li.
"Nan…nan?" Dai Li was slow in reacting, for he didn't remember anything about this term of endearment being mentioned by Yunan Xiao before.
"Let's go inside." Yunan Xiao held Dai Li's arm and walked into the villa together with him.
Then Yunan Xiao stopped halfway, turned around and said to Fen Luo, "Fen Luo, I have got a boyfriend now, so stop clinging to me in the future!"
At this moment, Dai Li finally figured out that he was only being used by Yunan Xiao as a shield.
...
Yunan Xiao dragged Dai Li back to her room. Now Dai Li's thought was already stagnant, and he moved his feet mechanically, just like a bewildered little puppet that had just been deserted in a strange environment.
"Thank you!" Yunan Xiao let go of Dai Li's arm, her face flushing a little bit.
This kind of intimacy act with a man she was unfamiliar with made Yunan Xiao a little bit shy.
"The one that just showed up is your admirer, right?" Dai Li asked knowingly.
"Yes, his name is Fen Luo. His family firm has some business relations with Dingtian," Yunan Xiao said.
"It seems you hate him very much, right?" Dai Li continued to ask.
"Actually I don't hate him, but I don't like him either." Yunan Xiao continued to say, "And I don't know him very well. He keeps showing his love to me, but the chemistry just isn't there. I feel he is quite annoying, but my father hopes he could be my boyfriend."
"A political marriage?" Dai Li asked in a low voice.
Yunan Xiao didn't answer, but her silence was just like an answer.
Maybe being rich is also not good; at least they can't decide their marriages. Compared to the rich, the ordinary people…As Dai Li thought of this, he laughed with self-mockery. He found it seemed that many ordinary people also couldn't have 100% control of their marriages.
House property had become a rigid criterion for marriage. Besides the economic factors, it was also quite often that the marriage was stopped because of the opposition from the parents. In China, marriage was not only decided by the resonance between two lovers, but also by the two families. The so-called freedom of marriage was never absolute. In case a Chinese call his parents and said "I am getting married, come and attend my wedding ceremony" like what the foreigners did, his parents would definitely rush to him and beat him black and blue.
The topic of marriage was too heavy for both of them, so they started to talk about the issues of the club, which brought them to share a more common language.
They chatted for over half an hour. When Fen Luo had left and gone far away, Dai Li also rose and took his leave.
Walking out of the villa area, Dai Li couldn't help looking back. The price of the cheapest villa in this area would make ordinary people desperate.
"Dai Li, wake up, Yunan Xiao and you are people from different worlds. Stop daydreaming!" Dai Li said to himself. Looking at the lamps in the villa area, Dai Li became more rational.
A shield is not as good as a spare tire. However, for Yunan Xiao, indeed I don't deserve to be her spare tire. The experience of being a shield for her is still a good memory!
...
In a spacious and bright office, Fen Luo was staring at the screen of the computer and looked quite busy.
"Bang bang bang…" his secretary knocked at the door and entered the room.
"General Manager Luo, the investigation company has sent the investigation results to us," his secretary said.
"What did they find? What is the background of this guy?" Fen Luo looked up.
"His name is Dai Li. He has been working as a coach in Dingtian Club for less than a year," his secretary said.
"A coach?" Fen Luo doubted whether he had heard that right.
For Dai Li's identity, Fen Luo had made a lot of speculation, such as a second-generation rich, an officialling, a third-generation of a Founding Father, or a man engaged in finance and securities, investment or real estate industries. However, a coach had gone beyond Fen Luo's imagination.
"How could he be a coach?" Fen Luo continued to ask, "What about his background?"
"They have also checked his background, but they found nothing. This guy is from Yuzhou, and his parents are ordinary salariats," the secretary continued to say.
After thinking of the place for a while, Fen Luo finally remembered the whereabouts of Yuzhou, then asked, "How did he come here? It is really far away from Yuzhou to here?"
"He was recommended by Chairman Fang of Dalu Group," his secretary said.
"Dalu Fang?" Fen Luo frowned.
"But Dalu Fang is not Dai Li's backer. The investigation company found Dai Li used to be a coach of Dalu Fang's son. I think this is also the reason he knows Dalu Fang," his secretary continued to say.
"OK, leave the investigation results here." Fen Luo waved his hand to let his secretary go, then started to read the investigation results.
"He used to be a track and field coach, and also worked on the National Table Tennis Team." As Fen Luo read the results carefully, he became more and more angry.
This Dai Li is definitely an ordinary person. How could he win Yunan Xiao's heart? And how could I lose to such a loser? Fen Luo tossed the investigation results aside angrily. After a while, Fen Luo finally calmed down.
Fen Luo could also be considered as being one of God's favored ones. He had been treated as a revered leader by a lot of people since his childhood. However, Fen Luo was not a second-generation rich, who only wanted to lead a life of pleasure. As a successor of an enterprise, Fen Luo had been qualified till now. At least he could be considered as being a young talent among the top-grade second-generation riches.
But at this moment, Fen Luo felt he was suffering a gross insult. He thought he was defeated by a loser, who had no money and social status, in pursuing Yunan Xiao.
Damn it! Yunan Xiao was definitely fooled by that Dai Li! He must have other objectives by acting as a coach in Dingtian Club. His target must be the property of Dingtian Group. No, I won't let it happen. How could a property of hundreds of billions Yuan be obtained by him? Hatred flashed in Fen Luo's eyes. The next second, he picked up the telephone suddenly.
"Try to publicize the news that Yunan Xiao has got a boyfriend!"