Chapter 320: Crescent Bay
By the looks of it, living the life of a celebrity was no easy task at all.
The thought instantly occurred to Xiao Luo as he watched the group of people clamoring outside their vehicle. A celebrity had to be wary of constantly being tailed by diehard fans and the paparazzi, as their lives were continually being pried upon. Being a celebrity was hard, and Xiao Luo wondered if they ever missed an ordinary person’s life.
Luo Pingxiang rolled down the car window slightly and hollered at the crowd outside the car, “You’re all mistaken, this isn’t Miss Su’s car!”
She then proceeded to put the car in reverse gear to back away and then tried to go around the white van obstructing them.
But she had wholly underestimated this group of scalpers and fanatical sasaeng fans. Seeing that the black vehicle was about to negotiate around the white van, some people got behind it and prevented Luo Pingxiang from reversing. The crowd was swarming around and banging on the windows with their palms, screaming for Su Li to appear.
“Oh dear, we’re done for, they won’t let us leave!”
Luo Pingxiang was reeling from anxiety, and she quickly reached for her cell phone to make a call to the police. The situation was getting out of hand with these crazy fans acting with absolute disregard for their safety and preventing her from driving away.
And things began to take a turn for the worse, as a big man was now approaching their vehicle holding a hammer!
“G.o.ddess Su, please let me have a look at you!”
As he screamed for his idol, he tried to smash a window with a wild swing of the hammer. This crazy sasaeng fan was consumed with having a glimpse of her and would stop at nothing to achieve his goal.
“Aaahhhh!”
Luo Pingxiang screamed and trembled as she struggled to make the call to call the police. She was visibly terrified as this was the first time that she had encountered such a fanatical sasaeng fan, and it almost felt as terrifying as an encounter with a robber.
Suddenly, Xiao Luo pulled open the rear sliding door, and before anybody knew what was happening, a phantom-like figure had exited the black van and, in a flash, disabled the man holding the hammer. A nasty knife-hand chop came down hard against the side of his neck, and the man dropped to the ground, pa.s.sing out without even making a sound.
Having dispatched of the man, Xiao Luo got behind another two men as swift as lightning and quickly knocked them down with another two well-aimed blows.
The last man blocking the rear had his sight obstructed, and all he heard were the door opening and grunts coming from the other side of the vehicle. And when he stepped from behind the van to take a look, he only saw a vicious fist flying right into his face. Xiao Luo punched him squarely on the chin, and as his eyes crossed slightly, he lost all control of his body and dropped to the ground.
With the job done, Xiao Luo immediately hopped back into the vehicle and pulled the door shut.
The entire action did not take more than ten seconds!
Luo Pingxiang’s jaw dropped, stunned by what she saw, and she hadn’t even noticed that her phone had slipped from her hand. She turned her head and stared at Xiao Luo—she did not see precisely how it all happened, but she knew that in the blink of an eye, all four men were taken down.
“We should be able to leave now, I think.”
Luo Pingxiang nodded her head and repeated herself like a hen pecking at rice. “Okay, okay, we can go, we can go…”
She quickly reversed the vehicle a little, then drove around the white van in front of her, and they were finally on their way out.
She was still in a state of shock, and she kept glancing at Xiao Luo from her rearview mirror from time to time. Who really was this man that she only knew as Mr. Xiao? How was it his martial arts techniques were so exceptional?
“Mr. Xiao, you must have practiced martial arts before, you’re incredible!”
Xiao Luo laughed, “Yes, I have.”
He really didn’t know what else to say. To prevent anyone from finding out that the genius system had become one with him, he had to continually make up white lies.
“No wonder you’re so good at fighting, you knocked down the scalpers and sasaeng fans in one go. With you by her side, my sister’s safety can be guaranteed,” Luo Pingxiang said.
Her sister?
She was probably referring to Su Li!
Xiao Luo thought to himself, then he shook his head and said, “You’re mistaken, I’m not here to be her bodyguard.”
“I know that you’re here to act as a father for Bei Bei,” Luo Pingxiang said, giggling.
Xiao Luo didn’t say anything else after getting his answer, and just sat back in his seat and made himself comfortable. He looked out the window at the pa.s.sing streets and recognized familiar landmarks—the bus stop where he used to wait for the bus, the karaoke parlor where he once visited with his cla.s.smates, and the subway station he used regularly.
Fond memories from the time he was in university flashed in his mind, and he never expected to return to this familiar city again. The first person he thought of was his former cla.s.s president, Guo Qinghe, but at the cla.s.s reunion at the end of last year, Xiao Luo had a poor impression of him, so he did not intend to contact Guo Qinghe. They had nothing in common and certainly walked different paths, so it was best he kept his distance.
…
Half an hour later, the black vehicle arrived at the Crescent Bay Hotel.
“Miss Su lives here?” Xiao Luo asked.
Luo Pingxiang nodded. “Yes, the security here is superb, and the hotel also places great emphasis on protecting the privacy of her customers. Sis spent nearly 100 million to buy her condominium here.”
100 million?
Xiao Luo was quite impressed, and she undoubtedly lived the lifestyle of a superstar.
He recalled seeing many people on the internet frequently posting photos of luxurious accommodations belonging to the rich and famous. It seemed to him that these celebrities preferred to live in hotel-style luxury apartments, so he didn’t find it strange for Su Li to live in such a place.
The Crescent Bay Hotel was impressive and had the grandeur of cla.s.sical European styling, both in its layout and décor. Upon entering the hotel grounds, one could immediately sense the scale and elegance of its architecture.
Luo Pingxiang drove directly into the car park, and after parking in her designated bay, she brought Xiao Luo to an elevator, which they then took to the 52nd floor. “Here we are, this is where sis lives.”
After ringing the doorbell, the ma.s.sive mahogany door swung open, and they were welcomed by a woman wearing an ap.r.o.n. She looked slightly aged, perhaps fifty to sixty years old.
“This is Auntie Li, she’s the nanny.”
Luo Pingxiang cheerfully made the introductions. “Auntie Li, this is Mr. Xiao.”
“h.e.l.lo Mr. Xiao, please come in, Miss Su has been waiting for a while,” Auntie Li said, bowing courteously.
Xiao Luo walked in and looked around. The place was tastefully furnished with snow-white leather sofas, mahogany furniture, and a three-meter tall bonsai stood imposingly in the corner by the stairs. The condominium occupied at least six hundred square meters and was equipped with a full suite of modern appliances.
“Are Miss Su, her daughter, and Auntie Li the only ones living in such a large apartment?”
“Yes.” Luo Pingxiang answered.
“What about the rest of her family?”
“Sis has a mother and brother, but neither of them stays here. It’s not that Sis doesn’t want them to, but it’s to protect them from being bothered by the fans, so this way, they can live normal lives.”
So that’s how it was!
Xiao Luo nodded his head in acknowledgment, and he could appreciate why Su Li chose to do so.
“Daddy!”
An excitement, happy voice of a child came from the floor above.
Xiao Luo turned instantly and saw Su Xiaobei running down the stairs barefooted. She looked like a little doll—snow-white skin, a pair of large bright eyes, an impish upturned nose, and smiling lips. She was his little angel.
“Su Xiaobei, don’t run!”
A slender figure dashed out of the room, calling after Su Xiaobei.
She was a stunning beauty, her hair was tied up loosely in a half-bun, accentuating her long slender neck— who else could it be but Su Li.
…