Boyfriend For Hire - Chapter 6

Little brother, are you an adult? (2)

Meng Yufan: “…Well,” he laughed dryly, “your neighborhood is really nice, and your neighbors seem friendly and actually know each other.”

Yang Xiao reminded herself not to get angry.

“Mr. Meng, allow me to remind you that you are my “rental boyfriend” for today only. All you need to do is accompany me home and help me get through this. Would you believe me if I told you that now that those high school students think we’re really dating, the entire neighborhood will know about it by tonight? They’ll be making plans about when we should get married, which hotel to hold the wedding in, which hospital’s obstetrics and gynecology department is the best, which agency we should hire a nanny from, and even the name of our second child.”

With every word she said, Meng Yufan’s body curled up a bit.

She spouted facts like a machine gun for a few more minutes until Meng Yufan looked like he wanted to hide under the passenger seat. But he had long legs so his body was stuck there, looking like an aggrieved, 6 foot tall child.

Yang Xiao told herself not to be soft-hearted. She was the boss, she was the one who paid for his services, so she had the right to give him feedback.

“Didn’t your company teach you to stick to the script and not add any extra scenes without permission?”

“…I’m sorry, I just started this part-time job and I’m not really skilled in this type of business.” 

Since she was his biggest customer yet, Meng Yufan hurriedly apologized, “You are the third customer I’ve ever had, would you like a discount?”

“The third?” Yang Xiao asked, “Were the first two orders also for meeting their parents?”

“No, no, no.” Meng Yufan shook his head, “One was just to accompany her when she went shopping. All I had to do was help her carry her bags, go to the milk tea shop to take a few pictures, and give her compliments when she tried on clothes. The other one needed me to go with her to ask for her paycheck because her company saw her as a small, weak girl that they could take advantage of. They owed her three months salary, so she told them that her boyfriend was a boxer, and then hired me to go over there…”

Yang Xiao was still angry, but after listening to him, she almost couldn’t hold back her laugh.

Damn, he broke her cold persona in less than three seconds!

She hurriedly turned her head away, not wanting him to see that she was amused. Tang Shuge thought she rented her a guy that was sharp and handsome, but it turned out he’s a bit silly.

She managed to stop smiling and pretended to be serious. 

“What made you start doing this kind of thing?”

“Lack of money ah!” The young man replied bluntly, “I didn’t apply for a scholarship this year and I didn’t want to reach out to my family to ask for money, so I had to find a part-time job.”

“Scholarship? You’re still a student?”

“Well, a graduate student.” Meng Yufan proudly puffed out his chest, “Do you want to see my student ID?”

“No need.” Yang Xiao hurriedly stopped him.

She thought about it a bit: So he really was a student, he hadn’t left the ivory tower* yet. 

No wonder he didn’t seem to be even a little bit guarded. In a relationship like theirs where money and services are involved, it’s taboo to share real information about themselves. They’re pretending to be boyfriend and girlfriend, but in reality they’re just two strangers. It would be rather awkward if they know too much about each other.

The two sat in the car and went over the script again — including how they met, how long they had been dating, their interests…

Once they finished going over everything, Yang Xiao let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes. 

“…Let’s stick to this for now, the rest can be improvised.”

She hoped this comrade of hers wouldn’t mess up right away and help her successfully convince her parents.

* * *

Yang Xiao got out of the car and took out the gifts she’d prepared from the trunk.

Supplements for her mom, wine for her dad, and beautifully packaged melons and fruits…

It was the first time she brought her boyfriend home, so she didn’t know what she should buy. She ended up buying them things they could actually use, and when the time came she would tell them that Meng Yufan was the one who bought everything.

The gifts were heavy, and she remembered that she had to bring them in several batches just to load them in the car. But Meng Yufan was strong, so just by using both his hands he was able to gather all of the gifts into his arms.

Not only that, but Meng Yufan even bent his right elbow and extended his arm towards her.

Yang Xiao: “……?”

Meng Yufan moved his arm towards her again.

Yang Xiao took about three seconds before reacting, trotting up to him and holding his arm.

They were so close, her soft curves were pressed against his body, and her sweet perfume slowly floated up to Meng Yufan’s nose.

He was a little embarrassed, he hadn’t gotten this close to his other employers.

The underground garage had an elevator that went straight upstairs, and it had three mirrors that clearly reflected their figures.

Meng Yufan was about 6 foot 2, so when Yang Xiao leaned against him, she looked like a little bird by his side. She wore a bright yellow dress today, and when she moved the skirt spread around her like a wave. The mirror reflected her bright red lips and her sharp eyeliner, the very picture of a blooming rose.

Meng Yufan observed the two intimate figures in the mirror. If he had a tail, it would probably be wagging right now.

Meng Yufan couldn’t help but think: Such a beautiful young woman (although she has a bit of a temper) if she wanted to get a boyfriend, wouldn’t it be an easy task? Why did she need to go online and rent a boyfriend?

* * *

The elevator door opened, and the two walked out in sync.

The first floor of the building had six apartments, the Yang family’s being in the far left corner. The doorway was clean and tidy, the Yang parents had even cleaned the floor mats in order to welcome their daughter and her boyfriend into their home.

Yang Xiao stopped, still holding Meng Yufan’s arm, and stood in front of the door of her house. She could feel her heart beating fast, thumping like a drum.

Growing up, she told many white lies to her parents, all with good intentions. Like once in elementary school, when her mother forgot to make her dinner and had to do the night shift, she told her mom that she wasn’t hungry because she was afraid her mother would blame herself. Or when she lost the election for student body president by one vote in college, she told them she wasn’t upset and would just continue focusing on her studies. And just last year, she told her father that his heart surgery would be 100% covered by the insurance, but she actually used her own savings to pay for it. 

But this would definitely be the biggest lie she’s ever told.

“Meng Yufan,” her fingers tightened around his arm, “my parents’ health isn’t good. You must not reveal yourself, understand?”

Not giving him any time to answer, the security door in front of them suddenly opened.

A harmonious old couple appeared behind the door, and just by looking at their faces you could tell that they were related to Yang Xiao.

“XiaoXiao is back!” Mother Yang spoke enthusiastically, “Oh, you guys didn’t have to do that, why did you buy so many things?”

Next to her was Father Yang, solemnly observing Meng Yufan with the critical eye of a father-in-law looking at his son-in-law’s…chin.

Their house had low ceilings and door frames, so from inside, they could only see up to Meng Yufan’s jaw.

Thankfully, Meng Yufan had tact and quickly squatted down to align himself with Father Yang’s line of sight.

Father Yang didn’t expect his daughter’s boyfriend to be so tall, and having to look up at Meng Yufan made him feel like his parental authority was crumbling. He coughed and asked in a deep voice, “Are you XiaoXiao’s boyfriend? What’s your name?”

“I’m…” Meng Yufan’s voice was caught for a few seconds.

Yang Xiao didn’t expect him to be down for the count so fast, so she quietly pinched his arm.

And her pinch finally brought him back to his senses…

“I’m Meng Yufan!” The young man roared. He was so loud that even the chandelier in the hallway seemed to shake. 

“Mom, Dad, it’s our first time meeting. Please take care of me!”

Yang Xiao: “……”

What’s going on? You’re calling them “Mom and Dad” now???

Footnotes:

Edited By: Kin GiGe <3