Trillionaire's Slice of Life

Even today, Liu Manli still remembers the scene when her heartbeat quickened for the first time.

It was twenty-four years ago, during fifth grade of elementary school, on a weekend, when her father was very busy and she was swinging alone in the yard.

A tall and strong-looking, handsome boy with an honest smile approached her. He said his name was Lei Ting, and from that day on, he would be moving to this area and would be responsible for protecting her safety.

The twelve-year-old girl was in her carefree early adolescence, and despite feeling shy, she still tried to shoo him away with a stern face, but the boy just stood by her side, grinning foolishly, unwilling to leave.

He was very reserved, and besides his silly laughter, he had nearly no other words to say. Finally, with no other option, Liu Manli let him push her swing. Strong as he was, he would push the swing very high, and only when Liu Manli screamed out did he carefully ask if she wanted to stop. But despite her inner fear, Liu Manli would still shout for it to go higher, ever higher.

Of course, the result was that Liu Manli fell from the swing and even scraped her knee. But when she saw his worried and clueless expression, despite the tears in the corners of her eyes from the pain, she never blamed him. Even when she faced her father's questioning at home, she insisted that she had fallen by herself.

He really did come to ensure her safety. The next day he transferred to her school and joined her class. When Liu Manli saw him introduce himself seriously at the podium, for the first time, she realized that his smile was actually very sunny and radiant.

In the days that followed, she slowly learned that Lei Ting's father was her own father's personal bodyguard, and that Lei Ting, albeit young, had been learning martial arts alongside his father from a young age. Even though he wasn't especially talented, he made up for it with hard work. So despite being only twelve, his strength was already barely reaching third-rate martial artist level.

When Liu Manli first heard about the third-rate rank, she mocked him with contempt. However, there was an instance when a boy accidentally bumped into her and Lei Ting immediately appeared by her side, lifting the boy high into the air with one hand. It was then that Liu Manli truly realized that a so-called third-rate martial artist was far beyond what an ordinary person could achieve.

Having him as a personal bodyguard was more than enough.

Lei Ting was very dutiful, always following close by, and he never allowed anyone to get within one meter of her. If anyone approached, he would scare them off with a deadly glare. This troubled Liu Manli because it meant that the few friends she'd managed to make were gradually distancing themselves from her, and she found herself isolated by the entire class.

Furthermore, even when she went to the restroom, that foolish boy would follow her to the women's bathroom door, which drove Liu Manli crazy for a while.

But later on, as she got used to it, she found that she seemed to be unable to be without that tall, strong boy.

No matter the weather, he would shield her; no matter the danger or trouble, he would step in to resolve it for her. Over time, Liu Manli had become accustomed to the life of him following by her side.

However, this routine was broken after junior high school. When the fifteen-year-old Lei Ting broke through to the second-rate martial artist level, he was given utmost importance by the family. His mission was no longer to secure her safety but to devote himself fully to martial arts training, striving to reach first-rate by the age of eighteen, and then to make a full-on assault towards the illustrious Grandmaster Realm.

It was also from that time on that Liu Manli first experienced what it was like not to have someone wake her up on time for school, leading to her being late. Out of habit, Liu Manli hadn't set an alarm for two years; every morning he would stand on time at her window and call her to get up.

Similarly, from that time on, Liu Manli discovered that though there was no longer a shadow following her around to prevent her interactions with other classmates, she had lost all interest in making friends.

After three months of silence, Liu Manli finally decided to seek him out herself. Every day after school, she would take the initiative to go to the boys' residence area and occasionally pretend as if by coincidence to be near him. Yet every time she saw him, Liu Manli noted that the tall boy no longer cared about her as before.

He had grown taller and darker, and had also become stronger. At the age of fifteen, with a bare upper body, he was all strong muscles, and his attention was no longer on her. Every moment seemed to be spent practicing martial arts, striving for breakthroughs.

Her father said Lei Ting was a martial arts prodigy seen once in a century. After entering the second-rate martial artist level at fifteen, he devoted all his thoughts to martial arts and made rapid progress, reaching first-rate in just two years— a full year ahead of schedule.

It was also during this time that the Liu family rapidly developed, and under her father's meticulous planning, their previously obscure small household began to emerge, even catching the attention of the eight major families.