Chapter 03: Where’s My Golden Finger?

Chapter 03: Where’s My Golden Finger?

It was as if the entire Li family had been frozen in place.

Even Li Mingzhi, who hadn’t recovered from the shock of the accident, was stuck on the spot in stunned silence.

The Li family estate covered a vast area. In front of the main house was an impressive garden that boasted blooming flowers all year round, a truly breathtaking sight.

And at this moment, Ning Jiang was sprawled in one of those elegant flower beds, having smacked his head into the ground with impressive force.

He wasn’t dead, but it was undignified to have fallen into the flower bed, where he groaned in pain.

"Ah..."

"Ow..."

Jing Yi also groaned, rubbing his buttocks and wincing.

So this is the flooring of a CEO's home? It’s so slippery it could be used as a hidden weapon.

Ning Jiang’s groans snapped Li Mingzhi out of his daze. He took a step forward and pulled Ning Jiang out of the flower bed.

But since Li Mingzhi was quite young, he couldn’t pull Ning Jiang, who was quite large. He managed to turn red in the face and only dragged out part of Ning Jiang’s half-conscious leg.

"Jing Butler," Li Mingzhi called. "Aren't you coming to help!"

"Oh... ow."

That fall really stung.

Jing Yi rubbed his waist and limped to the flower bed. Li Mingzhi generously gave him one of Ning Jiang’s legs. "You pull that one, I’ll pull this one. On the count of three, we’ll pull together."

Jing Yi seriously pondered for a few seconds, looking at Ning Jiang who was awkwardly split into a Y-shape. "Isn't this a bit indecent?"

Li Mingzhi thought about it seriously. "Saving him is the priority."

Jing Yi agreed. "You're right."

"... " The two of them looked at each other and were both struck by how similarly they were thinking.

Ning Jiang, who was already half-unconscious, was dragged by his ankle, his chin plowing a long groove into the ground.

"......"

It looked even more like a crime scene reenactment now.

The air was quiet for a long time.

Li Mingzhi finally muttered, "Actually, we could have one person lift the upper body and the other the lower body."

Jing Yi had a sudden realization. "Oh, right."

"... " The two of them looked at each other, both equally impressed by their thought processes.

Ning Jiang had completely passed out, which startled Li Mingzhi into immediately contacting the family doctor and helping Ning Jiang near a column.

In every billionaire CEO novel, there's always a family doctor who is available at a moment's notice. Like the butler and assistant, they are always there to support the protagonist's love life and career.

The family doctor of the Li family was a relatively young man, a PhD, wearing gold-rimmed glasses. After receiving the call, he thought someone from the Li family was sick and rushed over immediately. However, he saw the unconscious Ning Jiang lying at the front gate.

"Doctor Yin, Doctor Yin," Li Mingzhi grabbed his hand, "He can't die! Please, help him!"

Jing Yi nodded in strong agreement.

There was no other reason—purely because he was afraid that the incident earlier might lead to a manslaughter lawsuit.

Fortunately, after a thorough examination, Yin Liancheng quickly concluded, "He's fine. The injury on his head isn't severe, and he shouldn't have a concussion. If you're still worried, you can take him to the hospital for a full check-up."

Li Mingzhi asked, "Then why did he faint?"

Yin Liancheng put away his stethoscope and said calmly, "His blood pressure dropped, and he probably fainted from shock."

How could he have fainted?

Jing Yi narrowed his eyes, feeling that the family doctor was messing with them.

"With that kind of collision, how could it be a faint from shock? Could it be that he crashed into those elegant but unrecognizable flowers and thought he couldn't afford to pay for them, so he fainted from anger?"

Jing Yi glanced at the flowers and thought it wasn't entirely impossible.

The four Li brothers exchanged awkward glances, speechless.

Ning Jiang was clearly fainted from your antics.

With all that sliding and thrashing around, even a saint would lose it.

"There's indeed nothing wrong with his head, but the injury on his chin is a bit severe," Yin Liancheng took out some iodine and bandages. Catching a glimpse of the deep ditch over by the flower bed, he understood, "Did he use his chin to plow the ground?"

Li Mingzhi: "..."

Jing Yi: "..."

So that's why he passed out—his chin hit the ground hard.

I should have turned him over sooner. This is all my fault.

With Yin Liancheng's authoritative assurance, it didn't take long for Ning Jiang to wake up. The first thing he did upon opening his eyes was to touch his chin.

Seeing his action, Jing Yi guiltily hid behind one of the Li brothers.

Li Wenzhao watched Jing Yi shrink back, trying to stay calm, until half of his face was hidden behind him, still managing to peek out from behind to watch the spectacle.

"Jiang Jiang, you're finally awake. You scared me. I thought you'd never wake up again, wuwuwu..." Li Mingzhi helped the man up from the ground, nearly crying from relief.

"I'm fine..." Ning Jiang took a breath, his voice hoarse, "just a little sore on the chin."

Li Mingzhi lovingly blew on and rubbed his wound.

Ning Jiang glanced at the spot where he had crashed and gave Jing Yi a venomous look. Jing Yi pursed his lips and shrank his head to the side.

"Jiang Jiang, I've decided. I'm going with you," Li Mingzhi said lovingly, rubbing Ning Jiang's wound on his chin, "I can't leave you alone. Let me take care of you."

Ning Jiang hesitated, glancing at the three older Li brothers. He wasn't sure whether he should agree. While I was out, did the Li family already take everything from Li Mingzhi?

"Jiang Jiang?" Li Mingzhi patted his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Ning Jiang lowered his eyes. "It would be great if you lived with me, but how could I bear to let you work so hard?"

"I'm not tired," Li Mingzhi said innocently. "I can hire a live-in nanny for you, as well as a nutritionist, and I'll arrange everything with the hospital. Don't worry."

Li Ting let out a low scoff. "Mingzhi, have you forgotten? You're not the young master of the Li family anymore. A nanny? A nutritionist? A hospital? What can you arrange now?"

Li Mingzhi was stunned and clenched his teeth. "I can still take care of Jiang Jiang just fine!"

If necessary, he could learn to do housework, avoid spending money, or even get a job. They wouldn’t starve.

"I don't need you to worry about it," Li Mingzhi said. "Jiang Jiang won't look down on me. We'll start a business together and make a comeback!"

Jing Yi quietly poked his head out. "Is this what you call blind love? If you just turned your head, you’d see how bad Ning Jiang looks."

Li Wenzhao slightly turned his head and looked at the person who had unknowingly clung to his arm.

The young butler was engrossed in the drama, pursing his lips, his eyelashes fluttering, his hands unknowingly crumpling the suit into wrinkles.

Li Wenzhao’s gaze narrowed slightly on Jing Yi's face.

The new young butler... had he always been this handsome?

Jing Yi was fully focused on the gossip and didn't notice the change in the expression of the person next to him at all. He blinked and began to analyze in his mind:

"Well, it makes sense. Scammers live in constant fear, trembling at the sight of the police. How would they dare take Li Mingzhi back to their den?"

Li Mingzhi heard everything Jing Yi said and found him utterly ridiculous. He and Ning Jiang understood and accepted each other. He was the person who knew Ning Jiang best in the world.

How could Jing Yi talk about his lover like that?

He didn't believe it.

"Jiang Jiang, let's go—"

He had made up his mind to leave the Li family, and as he turned to look at his beloved, he froze.

Although Ning Jiang quickly masked his expression, Li Mingzhi still caught the fleeting dark look on his face.

His Jiang Jiang, how could he?

Li Mingzhi involuntarily let go of his hand.

After the visit to the Li family, both Ning Jiang's body and mind had suffered varying degrees of damage, so he failed to control his expression well and let it slip in front of Li Mingzhi.

His mind raced as he tried to find a way to cover it up. After a moment, he chose to faint delicately, slumping softly on Li Mingzhi's shoulder.

This made Li Mingzhi even more worried, and he pulled out his phone to call the family doctor who had just left. "Doctor Yin! You said he was fine, why did he faint again? Can you even treat patients? If you can't cure him, I'll have you all accompany him in death!"

The classic line, albeit late, finally arrived...

Typical of these CEO novels, always threatening people with extreme measures. Even Hei Wuchang and Bai Wuchang wouldn’t be this reckless with lives.

Li Wenzhao’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Who are you going to have accompany him in death?"

Li Mingzhi, who acted recklessly but feared his eldest brother, realized his slip and lowered his head. "Doctor Yin, I'm sorry. Please save him."

Doctor Yin, who had checked on Ning Jiang twice in just half an hour, was now exhausted and quickly crouched down to examine him. Again, he concluded that everything was fine. "All his vitals are normal. How long has he been unconscious?"

"He just fainted," Li Mingzhi replied. "Maybe he hit his head just now?"

Doctor Yin frowned. "That doesn't make sense..."

"Hahahaha! 'He's pretending to faint!' His eyelashes are dancing, and he's been holding onto Li Mingzhi's wrist so tightly. Who faints like that? This guy's acting is terrible!"

Li Wenzhao subtly turned his head and rubbed his ear, trying to block out the laughter.

The young butler laughed too loudly.

Li Mingzhi quickly looked down at Ning Jiang and indeed saw his fluttering eyelashes and the strong grip on his wrist. Was Ning Jiang really pretending? Was it really a trick to deceive him, just like Jing Yi said?

The young master couldn't believe it.

Just then, Ning Jiang's phone rang, making his eyelashes flutter even more. He slowly opened his eyes, looking weak and disoriented. "Where... where am I?"

"Hahahaha! What a performance!"

The three Li brothers didn't bother to respond, and Li Mingzhi was too stunned to react, while Jing Yi laughed loudly.

With no one paying attention, Ning Jiang's act fell flat.

"Zhizhi..."

"Mr. Ning suffered serious injuries, leading to several fainting spells," Li Ting, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke. "Doctor Yin, please help send him to the hospital for a full check-up."

Doctor Yin was momentarily surprised but quickly responded, "Yes, Third Young Master."

Ning Jiang, anxious, tried to protest, "But, Zhizhi..."

Before he could finish, Doctor Yin grabbed him with one hand and began dragging him toward the door.

Ning Jiang: "..."

He felt like he was being dragged through the mud by the Li family.

Li Mingzhi stood in a daze as Ning Jiang was dragged away. His heart softened, and he ran after them toward the door.

"Mingzhi," Li Wenzhao said sternly, "stay at home for the next few days and don't go anywhere. Jing Butler..."

He lowered his eyes and met the gaze of the boy still clinging to his arm.

Jing Yi immediately stood up straight, his fingers awkwardly hiding behind his back. "Yes, Eldest Young Master."

Oh no.

Too focused on the gossip, he had treated the eldest young master like a stone pillar.

"Watch him," Li Wenzhao said.

"Me?" Jing Yi pointed at himself, confused.

Li Wenzhao raised an eyebrow. "What else could it be?"

"I don't—" Jing Yi suddenly remembered the Li family butler's impressive monthly salary of 80,000. He hesitated for a second, then quickly agreed, "If not me, then who? Don't worry, Eldest Young Master, I'll definitely keep an eye on the young master."

Only then did Li Wenzhao coldly hum in response.

Jing Yi remembered that, in the original story, Li Mingzhi always managed to anger his brothers for various reasons. Each time, the three brothers, unable to bear punishing him severely, would just lock him up and call it a day.

Li Mingzhi had long been used to being locked up and always found ways to escape.

Slippery as a fish, always finding ways to slip through the cracks.

Jing Yi realized he had just taken on a ticking time bomb in the form of Li Mingzhi.

But as a corporate drone, he had no choice but to accept the job. Jing Yi pinched his nose and took on the fool Li Mingzhi.

The farcical scene finally came to an end. The three elder brothers of the Li family exchanged glances and headed together toward the study.

Li Mingzhi was locked into his room. As soon as Jing Yi closed the door, two imposing figures in black suits approached, "Butler Jing, we are here on orders to watch the young master."

Ah, so I'm not supposed to guard the door after all.

Startled, Jing Yi immediately smiled and said, "Good, thank you both for your hard work."

"It's our duty." With that, the two bodyguards took up positions on either side of Li Mingzhi's door, like two stone-faced sentinels.

With the hot potato off his hands, Jing Yi was more than happy to let them take over. He swung his keys as he walked downstairs.

As he reached an unoccupied corner, Jing Yi suddenly remembered something. He looked around. No one. Then he quickly dodged into the shadows.

Almost forgot—he needed to summon his cheat ability.

Jing Yi squinted and mentally called out, "Come on, system, show yourself."

……

System?

……

Sub-system?

……

All systems?

Silence.

Damn, where was his big, powerful cheat ability?

A few seconds later, it hit Jing Yi—this was a scam.

Damn, he was the one who got played.

The shameless Hei Wuchang and Bai Wuchang had deceived an innocent college student. Was this a distortion of ghost nature or the downfall of morality?

Jing Yi felt like the world was crashing down around him.