The Guarding Angel (Guardian BL fanfiction) ✔completed

Chapter 08

Yezun accepted the invitation to stay for the night. He did not realize they have been talking for long hours, until the time the sun lit the sky in pink and orange when hitting the horizon to say goodbye to the day. An assistant led him through the building to the private quarters where he was allowed to stay overnight in one of the apartments. The room had a stunning view of the ocean and simple equipment which both put Yezun's mind at ease a bit.

"What just happened?" he thought to himself when staring out of the window, still not fully believing how his life changed so much in mere two days. When he tried to go over the conversation he had with Mr. Zhao his head spun from exhaustion. He contemplated whether to take the medicine given to him or not, but when his chest started burning again he just gave it a go to have a good night sleep. And in the end, he slept without waking up once until the afternoon of the next day.

+++

Upon opening his eyes, he was confused a great deal. The ceiling was a foreign mass of concrete and the sheets were softer than anything he ever touched. The air seemed to be clearer and more welcoming than the air at his own place. He sat up and saw a stack of new fresh clothes on a chair next to the bed. The memories of the past few days hit him hard and he collapsed back to the soft mattresses with a headache.

Yezun's brother had some out-of-the-human-world powers, he was also part of a big-scale protection deal between two families. He worked for a special organization, finding love along the way. On top of it all, the man he loved was someone Yezun met before. Someone he owed his life to. If this was not enough, there was a man offering him a job which would, without a doubt, change his life completely.

"It is time for me to find a reliable person as my replacement."

When the words echoed in his mind, Yezun started re-evaluating his whole life. He did so for a very long time because he knew Mr. Zhao would ask for some response to his enigmatic offer.

Yezun had a boring office job. He spent the whole day seated behind a computer screen, matching invoices with payments. He hardly spoke with anyone in the office, trying to concentrate on the infinite rows of transactions. He always preferred facts above numbers, so one might be surprised why he chose accounting as his life job. The truth was, Yezun just went with the flow. His grades were average, and he just happened to pass the entrance requirements to one and only university. They had a compulsory praxis at one company which, after graduation, hired him full-time. That was it. He settled in his new job and stayed for long years, not event thinking of a change as it was way too much of a struggle.

Living in a ruined down apartment did not bring him any joy either. He picked the place simply based on the benefits it had – close to work, grocery shop and cheap enough to be able to pay for it.

He knew he could not describe the people he was familiar with as "friends". The coworkers at his department were just as busy as him. Some of them gathered weekly for a Friday's beer to finish the working week on a good note, but they never invited him. And the truth was, Yezun never wanted to be invited. Sometimes he exchanged a few words with the postman delivering letters to his street or the shop assistant, but that was it.

After Wei's disappearance, Yezun turned into an empty being. His life was boring, shallow and lonely.

No friends, no joys, no life goals.

What is worth returning to such life?

If he accepted Mr. Zhao's proposal, as unspecified as it was, he could be finally reunited with his brother. He could do something for him. He could protect him just as Wei did when they were young. That thought made him sat up straight on the bed again.

"That is what I wanted all those years... to do something for my brother."

Yezun was indebted to Wei, to Yunlan. And more than anything he wanted to be useful to his brother, for once he wanted to take care of him.

And so, he made the decision to accept Zhao Xinchi's proposal.

+++

„What it would mean for me?" he asked the older man during dinner time.

Mr. Zhao smiled and wiped his lips with a napkin. „The job is not an easy one, I can tell you that. No one shall know you exist. Everyone at this mansion, in these offices and laboratories, dedicated their life to live in seclusion."

Yezun's eyes widened. „I will not be allowed out of the building?"

„If you need to, you will use a fake identity. I want you to understand this is not only about the protection of someone, but also about keeping international relationships safe. Your job is to keep an eye on everything going on behind these walls to secure Shen Wei's safety."

Yezun was not sure he understood. He must get rid of his lame existence. That was something he could gladly give up. But to be responsible for international affairs was way too much.

Mr. Zhao noticed his pale face. "You don't have to worry that much. We have a team dedicated to international issues. People who studied diplomacy, law or even tactics are there working as one."

"Can I meet with Wei? You said I will scarcely be allowed outside."

"I am afraid that meeting with your brother would be... troublesome. He, of all the people, cannot know we are watching over him."

Yezun's heart sunk when he heard that. He hoped they would spend more time together, but by accepting Mr. Zhao's proposal their relationship will not strengthen, quite the opposite. "Wouldn't it be easier if he knew? Wouldn't that make this clearer?"

"Would it be a good idea to post all profiles of secret agents on social media for people to know who guards their safety?" Mr. Zhao replied with another question, which shut Yezun's mouth. Of course, it was a bad idea, but he still hoped to changed Mr. Zhao' mind, he hoped to see his brother again.

"I would be living here?" Yezun changed the topic.

"Of course. You can stay at the apartment you spent a night in or we also have two other units available."

Yezun inhaled and nodded. He will be moving in, starting a new exciting life.

"Now, let me show something," Mr. Zhao rose from his seat and Yezun followed. They walked past a few closed doors into one of the offices run by a bulky man resembling one known e-sport player. And Yezun was right to guess this man specialized in everything IT-related.

"This is Mr. Lee, one of our specialists you will be working closely with in the future," Mr. Zhao introduced the man who gave Yezun a firm handshake. "Mr. Lee is the man to go to if you need to create a new passport, track someone or even hack something."

"That last thing is the biggest pleasure," Mr. Lee joked, but did not receive the wanted response, so he cleared his throat and nonchalantly waved his hand to one of the unoccupied computers. "Everything is ready, just waiting for the final blow."

"Can you sit down, Mr. Shen? This is something which I leave up to you."

Yezun wanted to protest he is not going to blow something up, but he was motioned to sit down before he could even open his mouth. And once seated he could finally read what was written on the screen.

[Delete the data of Shen Yezun?]

Yezun gulped. Was that all? He just hit enter and his whole existence will be erased? For a few seconds he hesitated, but then his fingers pressed the keyboard in a swift resolute motion.