Hell’s Handbook

Su Jin arrived in Tang Ning’s office the first thing the next morning. She was busy going through a whole pile of documents when he walked in, so she told him to sit down and wait for her for a while.

An hour had passed by the time she was done. While she was hard at work, Su Jin had just spent the time idling about and she noticed that he had gone into a daze, smiling at himself from time to time. This was the first time she had ever seen someone sit in her office and daydream so openly. She never thought of Su Jin as the nonchalant type.

“Sorry about that, I’ve really got a lot of work to attend to,” said Tang Ning as she got Su Jin a cup of water.

“Miss Tang, what new job do you have in mind for me?” Su Jin scratched his head as he tried to think of what Tang Ning had in store for him. Could it be that he had displayed too much chivalry the day before and his boss had now fallen in love with him? So, she was using her authority as manager to transfer him to a position that worked closely with her so that they might get together?

Tang Ning had no idea what ridiculous ideas were going through Su Jin’s mind. She looked a little awkward as she said to him, “Well, hear me out first. If you’re not willing to take it up, I won’t force you to take it either.”

“Why don’t you tell me about it first?” said Su Jin with a nod.

“It’s like this. I have a younger cousin who’s run into some issues recently. She… has some suicidal tendencies, so I was hoping that you could help look after her for the time being.” Tang Ning was clearly a little embarrassed to say these things since this concerned her family and was therefore a private and personal matter.

“She? Since your cousin’s a girl, isn’t it weird for you to get a big guy like me to protect her?” asked Su Jin puzzledly. He didn’t particularly mind, but he just found it rather strange.

Tang Ning wasn’t sure how to explain things to Su Jin either. She rotated the cup in her hand again and again as she made a face and then said, “I know what you mean, but this cousin of mine is… a little on the aggressive side and she can really fight. Most men aren’t a match for her, never mind women. I don’t know what to do either. My family just told me to find an honest and down-to-earth guy whom I know well and …”

“AHEM! Are you sure you’re looking for a bodyguard? Not a son-in-law?” teased Su Jin as he burst out laughing.

To his surprise, Tang Ning smiled at him and actually started nodding away. “That’s an option too! She’s not getting any younger herself, so if you’re able to capture her heart, I’ll send both of you my blessings!”

“No thanks, she’s both a she-hulk¹ and an old lady? Not for me!” Su Jin shook his head, but Tang Ning continued to grin widely at him, which made all his hair stand on end.

“I won’t force you in that aspect, but you’re okay with being a bodyguard, right? I’ll pay you double, and you won’t need to do anything else besides following my cousin around. If she makes any attempt on her life, you’ve got to stop her,” said Tang Ning sternly.

Su Jin wasn’t so sure about that. How was he supposed to stop someone who was bent on committing suicide? If a person really wanted to die and bit their tongue hard enough for that to happen, then he wouldn’t be able to do anything about that. He couldn’t possibly tie and gag her either.

Tang Ning could see what Su Jin was worried about, so she quickly added, “Don’t worry! My cousin is leaning in that direction, but she’s not trying to hang herself every day. Honestly, we wanted to hire a professional bodyguard too, but we were afraid that doing so might trigger her rebellious side even more, which would make the situation worse.”

“Also, we’re looking for someone to be by her side as a last resort, actually. If anything really does happen, my family is mentally prepared for it. You won’t be blamed, so you don’t have to feel so stressed about that.”

Su Jin was even more puzzled after hearing what Tang Ning said, but since his boss was the one who arranged for him to take up this job, he decided to agree to take it up. If it was really too difficult, he could always tell her that he couldn’t continue. He didn’t think she would fire him for doing that.

Tang Ning was overjoyed when Su Jin agreed to take up the job. She handed her work to some colleagues and led Su Jin out of the office.

Most of the cars parked in the company parking lot belonged to the employees, so there were no luxury cars to be found among them. But Tang Ning led Su Jin into the deepest end of the parking lot where a red Ferrari was parked. Su Jin didn’t know anything about cars, but he knew that a car that looked like this definitely cost a bomb.

“Get in!” Tang Ning hopped in and told Su Jin to get in too.

Su Jin got in without hesitation and closed his eyes to rest. Tang Ning started the engine and drove out of the company parking lot. After a while, the car stopped outside S City’s most luxurious neighborhood. A security guard walked over immediately.

“Good morning, Miss Tang. Are you headed to Mr. Ye’s?” The security guard took a blue card from Tang Ning, scanned it with a machine and smiled at Tang Ning as he spoke.

“That’s right! Do you need to check the boot?” Tang Ning pointed to her car boot.

“No need, I know I can trust you. Please go ahead!” The security guard shook his head and opened the gate for her.

“Ye? Isn’t that… isn’t that the surname of our company’s CEO?” Su Jin opened his eyes and looked at the estate they had just entered. This estate was extremely luxurious and was dotted with bungalows. The surroundings were pleasant and luxury cars like the one Tang Ning was driving could be seen driving along the roads.

Tang Ning nodded. “Yeah. He’s my uncle from my mother’s side.”

“Oh, so the rumors are real?”

“Yup, they’re real.”

“You know what I’m talking about?”

“Of course, I know. Did you think I wouldn’t know what you guys talk about all the time? It’s just that there’s actually no untruth in it, so I can’t defend myself and say that what you guys just said is not true. I’ve been working so hard all this time precisely because I want to prove that I didn’t make it here only because my uncle owns the company. I’m capable on my own too,” said Tang Ning in a fiercely independent voice.

Su Jin nodded. Tang Ning was indeed capable, and everyone could see that. But her way of thinking was still a little too naïve. The ones who spoke ill of her behind her back didn’t care about whether she was capable or not. As long as her uncle was the CEO of the company, her capabilities were inconsequential, and the gossiping would never stop. But Su Jin wasn’t going to tell Tang Ning all this.

During their conversation, Tang Ning had driven the car to one of the bungalows and parked outside the door. Once they got out of the car, a valet came over to help Tang Ning park the car in the designated parking lot.

“Come with me,” Tang Ning said to Su Jin before heading straight into the bungalow in front of them.

This bungalow was huge and the one that Su Jin had rented recently was nothing compared to it. It took them a good three minutes just to cross the front yard and get to the Kano Main door of the house.

“A bungalow like this in this particular part of town has got to be really expensive, right?” said Su Jin as they walked together.

Tang Ning laughed and said, “Of course it’s expensive. But it’s not just a matter of money. You’ve got to be somebody if you want a place in this neighborhood.”

Su Jin grinned. “Of course you’ve got to be somebody. As long as you’re human, you’re some body. Get it?”²

Tang Ning rolled her eyes at him and couldn’t be bothered with his lousy joke. Just then, an older well-dressed man approached them, and Su Jin thought that this man was the CEO of the company. But the man bowed slightly at Tang Ning and greeted her, “Good morning, Miss Tang.”³

“The Master knows you’re here and he’s waiting for you inside with Madam.” The man looked like he was in his fifties, not a single strand of his hair was out of place and his suit was definitely expensive. If he walked around on the streets, nobody would ever imagine that he was only a servant.

“Thanks, Uncle Yu!” Tang Ning seemed very polite to this man, so it was obvious that this Uncle Yu wasn’t an ordinary servant of this household.

After they walked further into the house, they saw a middle-aged man and a middle-aged woman seated on the couch. Their faces immediately lit up when they saw Tang Ning walk in.

“Tang Ning! You’re here! How have you been? Let me check if you’ve lost any weight,” the middle-aged woman welcomed Tang Ning warmly.

Tang Ning walked over to hug her, then hooked her arm and asked eagerly, “So? What’s the verdict? Did I lose any weight?”

“I think so!”

“Yes!! I’ve finally lost weight!”

“You’re already so skinny and you want to lose some more weight? That’s terrible,” said the older lady with a frown at Tang Ning. Tang Ning just stuck her tongue out cheekily and grinned back without saying anything.

“Didn’t you know? Young ladies these days are so obsessed with their weight. If you dare to say that she’s gained weight, she’ll fall out with you,” said the older man with a laugh. He glanced at Su Jin and nodded slightly with a smile to greet Su Jin.

Tang Ning noticed that and quickly introduced her uncle and aunt to Su Jin. “Oh yes! This is Su Jin, he works at our company and I’ve brought him here to introduce him to both of you. Su Jin, this is my uncle, Ye Shaoshi, CEO of Stellar Skies, and my aunt, Sun Tong.”

“Hello, Mr. CEO. Hello, Mrs. CEO.” Su Jin quickly nodded at both of them and greeted them politely.

“You work at our company? I haven’t been to the office in a long while. Looks like I’ve got to take a look one of these days, otherwise I’ll have no idea that we’ve gotten some new and handsome young lads.” Ye Shaoshi carried a smile all the time and seemed very easygoing.

Tang Ning said, “Uncle, about Xiaoyun… is she still like that?”

This “Xiaoyun” was obviously referring to Tang Ning’s cousin. The moment Tang Ning mentioned her, the smiles on everyone’s faces faded and they had grim expressions on their faces. Sun Tong’s eyes reddened as she nodded at Tang Ning. “You’re one of us, so we won’t hide anything from you. Xiaoyun has been behaving more and more oddly recently and I’m really afraid that she’ll… she’ll…”

“We have a visitor,” Ye Shaoshi reminded his wife with a frown. But at the same time, he looked equally at a loss as to what to do. “Xiaoyun’s situation is pretty bad and you know about it … since you’re here, why don’t you go upstairs and talk to her? She responds so much better to you.”

Tang Ning nodded, then said, “Uncle, didn’t you say you wanted to find someone around Xiaoyun’s age to look after her? I think Su Jin’s very suitable. He’s good at fighting and he’s an honest and reliable person too. The people in the company can vouch for that.”

“Is that so? You’re trained in martial arts?” Ye Shaoshi turned to ask Su Jin curiously after hearing what Tang Ning said.

“I learned a thing or two from one of my uncles when I was younger.” But of course, Su Jin had never been trained in martial arts before. His reflexes, strength and speed had increased tremendously purely because he had consumed that elixir. If he had to fight someone trained in martial arts, he was probably going to get himself injured.

“Oh? He looks amiable and he’s honest and reliable too? Not bad! Tell you what. Why don’t you go upstairs with Tang Ning and talk to that daughter of mine first? I’ll just say you’re a distant relative of mine, so just focus on befriending her first. We’ll talk about the rest later.” Ye Shaoshi was the CEO of a big company after all, so he immediately started delegating work to Su Jin.

Su Jin wasn’t bothered by Ye Shaoshi’s tone. He nodded and Tang Ning brought him upstairs. Once they had gone upstairs, Sun Tong said worriedly to her husband, “Do you think that’s going to work? What if he’s up to no good …”

“What are you afraid of? You know what our daughter’s capable of. Even if he does try something funny, he might be the one who ends up getting injured. Also… did you think just anyone can do whatever they like in my house?” Ye Shaoshi raised an eyebrow and gave off an imposing air that he seemed to be born with.

1. The original title literally means Barbie King Kong, a term that first referred to Russian female bodybuilders with sweet doll-like facial features but muscles that could kill.
2. Yeah, not so chad anymore.
3. The original says that the butler literally greets Tang Ning as “Miss Cousin/Young Mistress Cousin”. Which generation you belong to, and family relations are very clearly spelled out especially for the servant class in Chinese cultures, but it sounds really strange in English. But that’s how Su Jin knows that Tang Ning meant it when she said that she’s a niece of the CEO.