14 The Infuriating Little Steward
Jing Yi spent several days thoroughly slacking off at the Li household. With paid leave and a full monthly salary of ten thousand dollars, he could afford to indulge himself for quite some time.
Having only recently arrived, after finishing his duties as the butler, Jing Yi always found ways to slip outside, pockets full of cash, living lavishly—ordering milk tea with extra toppings and cheese foam, freshly baked cupcakes, refusing to take the bus, insisting on taxis with air conditioning.
This was the only extravagance a penniless soul like him could imagine.
After a few carefree days, the Li family hosted a grand banquet.
Though belated, the second young master Li Xu’s birthday had finally arrived.
On the day of the banquet, Jing Yi, as the butler, rose early. The venue decoration, menu planning, and invitation distribution were all handled by specialized staff of the Li family. Jing Yi’s role was merely supervisory, patrolling the grounds like a foreman; once done, his duties were complete.
Making eighty thousand dollars was truly easy money.
That evening, the Li residence was filled with distinguished guests.
Before their downfall, the Lis were a renowned noble family in this novel’s world. According to the author’s words, “At eighteen, Li Wenzhao took control of the Li family conglomerate and, within just ten years, pushed the family to unprecedented heights, establishing his own commercial empire.”
This was a typical tycoon novel, beginning with an empire.
Without some grandiose title, it would be shameful to step outside.
At the second young master’s birthday banquet, all the influential figures of the novel’s world were present, luxury cars gathered, each guest adorned in jewels, and an array of elegant evening gowns dazzled the eye.
To others, these people represented the pinnacle of wealth, but to Jing Yi, no matter how rich or extravagant, they were merely NPCs—cannon fodder created by the original author to bring about the Li family’s downfall.
As the banquet was about to begin, Jing Yi found a corner to observe the scene, intent on spotting any traitors plotting against the Lis. To stave off boredom, he brought along some sunflower seeds, quietly crunching away.
“Butler Jing,” Li Mingzhi searched for him for some time before finally finding him and plopping down a small stool beside him, “You’re hiding here? I’ve been looking everywhere.”
Crunching seeds, Jing Yi asked, “What do you want?”
What else but to gossip?
Even the usually composed and reserved second brother could be foolish sometimes—Jing Yi, as the younger, was quite interested.
“The banquet’s too boring. Thought I’d come find you for some fun.” Li Mingzhi grabbed a handful of seeds himself. “You’ve been sneaking out these past few days. I couldn’t find you. Where have you been?”
Moving chairs and tables with the seeds, Jing Yi felt warm and loosened his collar casually. “It’s hot at home, needed to escape the heat.”
Li Mingzhi glanced up at the 20-degree constant temperature air conditioning overhead. “Is it still hot now?”
Jing Yi sighed. “Not anymore—when the salary’s gone, the heat disappears naturally.”
Li Mingzhi was speechless.
“Look, second young master, the banquet’s starting.” Li Mingzhi tried to say more, but Jing Yi patted his hand and, through the bustling crowd, nodded toward a distant corner.
All the invited guests had arrived and scattered throughout the hall, many congratulating Li Xu.
After brief pleasantries, Li Xu sought out Li Ting in a corner for a quiet chat. “All the guests are here. Where’s Butler Jing?”
“Don’t be impatient, second brother.” Li Ting elegantly sipped his red wine. “He’s over in that corner, Mingzhi is with him.”
Li Xu raised his glass, taking a sip, his gaze unintentionally sweeping toward the hall’s hidden corners, catching sight of Jing Yi and Li Mingzhi whispering together.
“How can I not be anxious?” Li Xu loosened his tie and lowered his voice. “This concerns the company’s very survival.”
His tone grew grave. “Haven’t you seen how busy big brother has been these past few days? Nangfeng Port was found to have hundreds of tons of counterfeit building materials. Chairman Zhang and Chairman Li were arrested for embezzlement and bribery. Even big brother, so calm and steady, made mistakes. My situation... is definitely worse.”
Li Ting narrowed his eyes, gently swirling the glass of deep red wine, the color sharp against the crystal.
“Don’t worry. As long as Butler Jing can find the culprit, second brother, I will make him pay a thousandfold.”
Li Xu nervously drained his glass, checking the time. “Keep an eye on things for me. My wife is arriving; I’ll go greet her.”
A woman in a silver cocktail dress stood at the entrance, her makeup delicate and beautiful. The strapless design revealed fair skin, and a sapphire at her collarbone shone brilliantly.
“Xu,” she called softly.
Li Xu, usually cold and taciturn, showed a rare gentle expression. “You’re here.”
She nodded, her eyes scanning the room. “It’s lively tonight.”
Li Xu smiled lightly, offering his arm. “Come. I’ll introduce you to big brother and younger brother.”
She agreed quietly.
Jing Yi, watching from his corner, saw this scene and a flicker of memory passed through his mind. Before he could grasp it fully, a sharp voice interrupted.
“Li Mingzhi?”
Jing Yi looked up to see a flamboyantly dressed young man standing before him—blue eyeshadow, red-painted nails, bright yellow hair—a walking peacock dazzling his senses.
“Where did this peacock come from?”
“Word is you were scammed by a man.” The peacock chewed gum with a swagger, eyeing Li Mingzhi up and down. His exaggerated long false eyelashes fluttered dramatically.
“He’s a habitual fraudster. You always say you’re smart and clever, so how did you fall flat on your face? Tch, how could you stoop to that? Was he just that good at satisfying you?”
Li Mingzhi’s expression darkened.
The peacock sneered disdainfully. The Li family’s second young master was still so easy to bully—never fighting back, never complaining to the family. He must be itching to get picked on every day.
Just as the peacock prepared to escalate his taunts, his vision blurred, and a sharp pain shot above his eyelid.
“Ah!”
He screamed in agony. “What are you doing?!”
“Turns out they’re fake after all.” Jing Yi held up the peacock’s false eyelashes, longer than his own nails, voice dripping with disgust. “So heavy—don’t you get tired wearing them? You’re almost giving our second young master a cold.”
Jing Yi remembered.
In the original story, Li Mingzhi had a nemesis who loved adorning himself with gaudy colors. Jing Yi couldn’t recall the name, but the peacock was known to be an accomplice in illegal organ trafficking.
When Li Mingzhi was betrayed and sold into a trading house by Ning Jiang, the peacock would daily beat and humiliate him, driving him to multiple suicide attempts. Near death, he was taken to surgery and left a hollow shell.
“Bastard!”
“Why sell organs? Why traffic in such filth? Today you’ve met your reckoning!”
Jing Yi was truly angry.
Though the original text’s cold, bleak ending for the Li family was softened by the protagonists’ triumphant comeback, seeing it firsthand made Jing Yi deeply uncomfortable.
“You son of a—” The peacock fumed but wasn’t hurt, only startled by Jing Yi’s lightning-fast strike.
Jing Yi was about to hit him again when a voice sounded nearby.
“What’s going on?”
Li Wenzhao emerged from the crowd, his gaze cold.
Jing Yi’s brow twitched. Quickly covering Li Mingzhi’s forehead, he countered, “Why are you hitting each other? Is the second young master all right?”
The peacock was stunned.
Jing Yi cradled Li Mingzhi’s forehead like a fragile glass flower. “Ouch, there’s bleeding. Aunt Fang, please call the family doctor immediately!”
Li Wenzhao’s cold gaze swept over them.
The peacock straightened nervously. “It wasn’t me. I didn’t hit him. Everyone saw—I didn’t touch him!”
“Ugh...” Li Mingzhi finally regained consciousness amidst the chaos, leaning softly on Jing Yi’s shoulder. “Butler Jing, my head hurts.”
Jing Yi grimaced, “Look what you did to our second young master.”
Whispers began among the guests.
The peacock retorted, “I didn’t touch him at all. If you’re so sure he’s hurt, why don’t you let go and show the wound? If Li Mingzhi’s not injured today, I’ll make you regret it!”
He yanked Jing Yi’s arm in frustration.
“Eek...”
“Oh...”
“Oof...”
The guests all gasped simultaneously.
Li Mingzhi’s forehead was bruised purple and red, with blood trickling down—the wound was unmistakably severe.
“What a vicious hit.”
“To barge in and attack like this—clearly no respect for the Li family.”
“That’s a slap to their face.”
“The Hua family has really made an enemy.”
Jing Yi looked suspiciously at the crowd. Did the peacock actually believe the Hua family?
The peacock’s face paled, struck dumb by anger.
Li Wenzhao was momentarily stunned.
Jing Yi, fully committed to his butler role, supported the fainting Li Mingzhi and boldly leaned toward Li Wenzhao. “Young master, I don’t think this matter should be let go so easily. What do you think?”
[Look at my eyes! Look at my eyes!]
[This guy’s a villain! The mastermind behind your brother’s kidney injury! Arrest him! Capture him! Retribution!]
[When night falls, the bastard comes to bully the Li family. It’s time to bring down the Hua family, young master!]
Li Wenzhao lowered his gaze, meeting the butler’s urgent eyes. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly felt a poke in his lower back.
“...”
He tried to speak, only to feel another poke.
“...”
In an unseen corner, Jing Yi’s fingers boldly jabbed the villain’s waist repeatedly—one, two, three, four times—each poke harder than the last.
Li Wenzhao sensed the desperate urgency. Beyond the drilling pokes, Jing Yi’s sharp voice buzzed in his ear—
[Ahhh! Can’t you see my eyes? Why no reaction?]
[Too thick clothing to feel it?]
[Help! Another day longing for a magic finger!]
Li Wenzhao was speechless.
“Did you give me a chance to talk or not?!” Jing Yi’s buzzing continued.
“Brother, let me handle this,” Li Ting pushed through the crowd, smiling as he grabbed the peacock’s shoulder. “I’ll have a nice chat with him.”
Li Wenzhao caught the poking hand behind his back. “...Fine. Go ahead.”
Jing Yi stiffened as a warm, dry palm firmly encircled his slender wrist. The broad touch made his heart tighten, a sudden helplessness blooming within him.
He dared not move again.
The peacock, pale and frightened, was led away by Li Ting, and the splendid banquet resumed.
Li Mingzhi feigned illness, unsuitable to remain, and Jing Yi intended to leave with the injured party, but Li Wenzhao stopped him.
Jing Yi put on his most dutiful butler face. “Young master, don’t stop me—I need to check if the second young master’s injury is serious.”
Li Wenzhao sneered. “Oh? I thought you wanted to check how deep the newly drilled well is.”
Grasping the thin wrist, where did so much strength to poke come from?
Jing Yi was speechless.
He smiled awkwardly. “Sorry, young master. Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
[It’s all for the Li family’s sake. How dare you punish me?]
Li Wenzhao took a deep breath. “Don’t run around. Stay here.”
Jing Yi asked, “Why?”
Li Wenzhao rubbed his lower back. “Rub for me...”
“Rub?” Jing Yi reached out.
Smack.
Li Wenzhao slapped away his playful hand. “Pour wine.”
“...”
[Should’ve said so earlier.]
[Just say pour wine, why mention rubbing your back? Such a tricky test, even immortals couldn’t answer.]
[But the feel is nice—slim, smooth waist, must be irresistible elsewhere...]
Li Wenzhao had reached his limit. “Butler Jing!”
Jing Yi looked up blankly. “Hmm?”
[What now?]
[Did I cause trouble? Why does he look like he’s about to blow a gasket?]
Li Wenzhao gritted his teeth. “...Pour wine.”
“Oh.”
Jing Yi muttered as he fetched the decanter. It was heavy; he lifted it with both hands, resting it on the rim of Li Wenzhao’s glass. With effort, he pushed, and wine swirled and spilled from the bottom.
Li Wenzhao felt the glass grow heavy in his palm as the liquid overflowed.
“...”
Jing Yi was startled, instinctively leaning toward the glass, about to sip. Suddenly, a cold gaze brushed his cheek.
Oh no, a bad habit.
Snapping back to reality, Jing Yi pulled his neck away. “You drink, you drink, you drink yourself.”
Li Wenzhao was speechless.
Such a cheeky little butler.
Just as the atmosphere cooled, Li Xu approached arm in arm with a beautiful young woman. “Big brother, Butler Jing, what’s going on here...”
His gaze fell on the overflowing glass.
Li Xu chose his words carefully. “...Thirsty?”
That thirsty?
Li Wenzhao exhaled softly, handing the glass to a passing servant. “Nothing. Shall we cut the cake?”
“Mm.”
The kitchen brought out a freshly baked, fragrant double cake, ornate in design, with the sweet scent of fruit and cream blending into the signature aroma.
Jing Yi swallowed hard.
[This is the tycoon’s cake—surely it has something special about it.]
[So fragrant.]
[How can I get even a little piece...]
“Butler Jing,” Li Xu said, “It’s my birthday today. You should have some cake too.”
Jing Yi’s eyes lit up instantly. “Thank you, second young master!”
[Waaah, second young master is such a good person!]
Just as Jing Yi stared at the cake, salivating, Li Xu quietly introduced the woman beside him. “Big brother, this is my girlfriend, Qiu Minzhi. I’ve mentioned her before; tonight I’m formally introducing her.”
“Minzhi, this is my big brother...”
A sudden explosion rang in their ears.
Li Wenzhao and Li Xu’s ears nearly rang deaf.
...What now again?
[Qiu, Qiu Minzhi!!!]
[Remember now? She’s the biggest stumbling block in Li Xu’s life, one of the main causes of the Li family’s troubles.]
[Such a shame—second young master looks handsome but is foolish. Qiu Minzhi doesn’t truly love him, only wants his money. She secretly colluded with his secretary to siphon off his assets. I bet they’ve almost emptied him out by now...]
“...”
The second young master stumbled, nearly crashing into the towering cake.