The Versatile Master Artist

Mrs. Sakai having the two young people bring along a bodyguard seemed like a very wise and judicious decision.

Spring in Yangon is a good time for traveling.

It’s still a few weeks before the official start of the continuous wet rainy season.

The mountains to the northeast block the cold air from moving south, while the extensive estuarine plains in the south allow the warm currents from the Indian Ocean to pervade every breath of the city’s air unhindered.

Aside from being somewhat hot, with outdoor temperatures often climbing above 35°C, the weather is still beautiful.

But try thinking from another perspective.

After the cold winter and spring seasons, a large number of tourists from Europe pour annually into seaside cities like Marseille, Lisbon, and Valletta to enjoy the sunshine.

Sunshine, regardless of development status, shines upon the earth with fairness and impartiality.

Yangon can offer the same sunlight, the same sea breeze, yet the per capita cost is only five percent of those sun-kissed cities in Europe, making it quite a bargain.

The vibrant blue sky seems to have a thin layer of translucent paint brushed on it, and the young women around appear as if they walked right out of an oil painting.

This is supposed to be a time to genuinely marvel at the beauty of youth.

The only thing not so wonderful is that when traveling publicly in countries with chaotic security conditions, one will always unexpectedly encounter trouble.

While the group was waiting for Uncle Ah Lai to queue up and buy tickets at the ticket counter,

they encountered something unexpected—a police officer demanded to take Koizumi Katsuko to the security office for a search.

”You’re foreigners.” The officer, sporting a little pot belly, tugged at his gun belt, looking quite imposing.

Under the influence of military factions.

Some of the military police in Yangon carry MKIII rifles, which are imitations of Galil automatic rifles from abroad, standardized for the Myanmar government forces.

Myanmar’s army’s heavy equipment like tanks and fighter jets are Soviet series, but in the last century, they received a lot of military aid from the West, so many light equipment are of Israeli models.

When Uncle Ah Lai was still a senior officer, it was for this reason he was dispatched to Tel Aviv for training.

”This lady…she must come with me! I need to check her special pass.”

The officer kept his words relatively respectful, but his tone was very assertive and left no room for doubt.

He hadn’t even removed the rifle on his back—the mere sight of the folding bayonet glittering coldly from the gun’s muzzle was persuasive enough.

Special pass—in Yangon, this is not a new term.

Southeast Asia is a popular choice for many foreign tourists seeking cheap travel and enjoying the customs, but to this day, Myanmar has yet to fully cease fire.

The chaotic situation, the government’s superficial allegiance with warlords, the ever-unextinguished drug traffickers in the Golden Triangle… even looking across the whole country, Yangon remains a relatively peaceful tourist city.

There are also many areas around that nominally require special permits for foreigners to enter.

The problem is—

”Officer, we’re not going to any military-controlled area, just to the botanical garden.” The female bodyguard repeated the same words for the fifth time.

She didn’t have much confidence in her tone that the misunderstanding could be resolved through communication.

The bodyguard was sure of her expression; anyone with normal comprehension should understand.

The officer seemed as if he couldn’t comprehend, deemed them suspicious, and insisted on taking them to the train station’s security office for questioning.

He also demanded to check the memory card of the exquisite Leica M11 camera hanging on Koizumi Katsuko’s fair neck.

”Professional photography equipment requires special approval upon entry.” He looked quite pleased, as if catching them making a small mistake.

It seemed as if he was deliberately trying to create trouble.

The bodyguard’s expression grew increasingly tense.

Allowing a young girl like Koizumi Katsuko to go to the security office for a search was clearly not a wise decision.

If something did happen,

waiting dumbly for embassy staff to arrive and protest, the opportunity would be gone in vain.

However, due to needing to take public transport, she wasn’t carrying any weapons and was dressed like a servant accompanying Koizumi Katsuko.

On the other hand, even if she herself held an automatic rifle,

legitimate security wouldn’t possibly resort to forceful confrontation with an official violent agency in a sovereign country.

That wouldn’t be a dedicated bodyguard king.

That would be courting danger.

”Don’t worry, I can handle it.”

Gu Weijing stopped Ah Wang from stomping wildly and gently pulled on Miss Shengzi’s hand, gesturing to her not to be afraid.

As for Jasmine beside him, the young girl had a lollipop in her mouth and her big, shiny black eyes turned curiously, glancing at the officer’s pot belly.

In the superstitious worldview of the little girl, there was nothing in the world that Brother Gu Weijing couldn’t solve.

She wasn’t afraid in the least.

”Mr. Gu, explaining is useless, he’s deliberately acting like he doesn’t understand...”

Uncle Ah Lai returned from buying tickets at the ticket counter,

he held the five just-purchased first-class tickets, returned to their side, listened to both sides’ conversation for a few seconds, and then sneered slightly.

He lowered his head a bit, lowered his voice, and softly said into Gu Weijing’s ear, ”…You all look too affluent, he just wants to extort some money as a bribe.”

Yangon is a place with a huge disparity between the rich and the poor, and a severe sense of social division.

Within Fitz School, Gu Weijing’s family circumstances were barely noticeable, but in society as a whole, his attire indicated he was among the wealthiest group.

Not to mention Koizumi Katsuko.

Wherever such ladies go, the eyes of the crowd are drawn there.