Chapter 07: Thomas the Tank Engine

Chapter 07: Thomas the Tank Engine

Li Wenzhao sneered, no longer willing to waste time on the eccentric butler, and smiled as he went to greet Elder Xie.

The Xies and the Lis had been close for generations. Even though the older generation of the Li family was gone, Li Wenzhao still maintained their relationship.

"Elder Xie," Li Wenzhao nodded slightly.

Elder Xie, with kind eyes, leaned on his cane and said with a smile, "You're here. Oh, Li Mingzhi is here too."

Li Mingzhi smiled obediently, "Grandpa Xie."

Li Wenzhao softly said, "My second and third brothers have overseas meetings and couldn't come. They asked me to send their regards."

"Work is important for young people. I'm already happy that you're here," Elder Xie tapped his cane, "Come, come, follow me inside."

At his age, Elder Xie couldn’t help but dote on his favorite young ones, holding Li Wenzhao with one hand and Li Mingzhi with the other, savoring their company.

Jing Yi was scanning the crowd for any suspicious individuals who might be carrying dangerous items when Secretary Fan suddenly started the car. Jing Yi turned his head, "Secretary Fan, aren't you going in?"

Fan Ming said, "No, I need to calm down."

Jing Yi boldly speculated, "Blown away by the Xie family’s wealth?"

"The raise was too much," Fan Ming said, looking down at the steering wheel, "I'm overwhelmed."

Jing Yi was jealous: "..."

Three hours and you still haven't calmed down?

Yeah, people really do experience joy and sorrow differently.

Secretary Fan drove off to calm down, while Jing Yi entered the banquet hall as part of the entourage.

The Xie family, being a wealthy clan, had a very luxurious setup at the banquet.

Li Wenzhao was led by Elder Xie, exchanging toasts among the noble crowd, while Li Mingzhi had hopped around and disappeared.

"Butler Jing," a hand landed on Jing Yi's shoulder, and Li Mingzhi appeared out of nowhere, "There's cola chicken wings on that table, let me take you to eat."

Speak of the devil. Jing Yi pursed his lips and glanced at Li Wenzhao. The banquet was still early; the criminal probably wouldn't make a move so soon. He could go and come back in time.

I just wanted to see if the cola chicken wings at a fancy banquet were any different from those at regular places.

Nothing to do with being greedy.

At the dining table, Jing Yi found Secretary Fan, "Secretary Fan, have you calmed down yet?"

"Not yet," Fan Ming grabbed a lobster and quickly shelled it, "I plan to calm down while eating. Would you like some, Butler Jing?"

"..."

Butler Jing: "Yes."

Li Mingzhi joined them, not particularly hungry, but started peeling shrimp for Jing Yi as he tried to get more information, "Butler Jing, why did you want to come to this banquet?"

The chicken wings at the banquet were indeed different from elsewhere, crispy on the outside and tender inside, with rich flavor. Jing Yi chewed heartily.

He mumbled through a mouthful of food, "Because I had a hunch that Mr. Li would face some trouble tonight, so I came to help out."

Fan Ming paused for a moment and looked at Jing Yi's plate full of seafood. "You think Mr. Li is going to be 'kidnapped by a lobster?'"

"What’s with the jokes?" Jing Yi shot him a reproachful glance. Clearly, Secretary Fan was still worked up.

Li Mingzhi pressed on. "Jing Butler, you haven’t told me yet. What kind of trouble is my brother in?"

Jing Yi thought for a moment. It was time to drop a subtle hint. If he played his cards right, he could get some extra eyes on the situation, reducing the chances of Li Wenzhao getting ambushed.

"There's a Miss Huo," Jing Yi began.

"Miss Huo?" Secretary Fan looked up. "Huo Cenxin?"

Li Mingzhi asked, "Who's being malicious?"

A key phrase instantly triggered Jing Yi's combat mode. He whipped his head around. "You know the 'villainess?'"

Fan Ming had no idea what 'villainess' meant. He pointed in the direction of where Li Wenzhao was. "Miss Huo is drinking with Mr. Li right now."

Jing Yi: !!!!

In the distance, a crowd had gathered around Li Wenzhao. Among them, a woman in a blue mermaid dress was standing very close, holding a glass of red wine, about to clink glasses with Li Wenzhao.

In the original story, the person who drugged the drink was Huo Cenxin. Jing Yi only knew her name but couldn’t match it to her face.

Unexpectedly, this 'villainess' had already made her way to Li Wenzhao's side.

A cliché and dangerous situation was about to unfold right in front of him.

Jing Yi patted Secretary Fan's shoulder. "Mr. Li just gave you a $20,000 raise. Shouldn't you go and take one for the team?"

Fan Ming, remaining calm, said, "I’m driving tonight, so I can’t drink."

Jing Yi said, "I’ll call you a designated driver. You drink."

Fan Ming: ???

·

·

At the center of the banquet.

Huo Cenxin, with a cheerful smile, raised her glass. "For the cooperation between our two families, I propose a toast to you."

Business deals often involved drinking, so Li Wenzhao took a glass of wine from a passing waiter. "Miss Huo, please."

The waiter bowed slightly and secretly winked at Huo Cenxin. Huo Cenxin understood and raised her glass. "Cheers."

Li Wenzhao slowly brought the glass to his lips.

Huo Cenxin took a sip of her wine, her eyes flashing with emotion.

"Miss Huo, hello." A figure suddenly appeared next to Li Wenzhao and clinked glasses with her. "Mr. Li can’t hold his liquor well, so I’ll accompany you instead."

Huo Cenxin was stunned. Who is this guy?

Li Wenzhao frowned slightly, clearly not understanding why his secretary had suddenly started acting strangely.

Until he noticed Jing Yi staring intently at the glass in his hand.

"Is there something wrong with this cup... or the wine?"

"Apologies, I can't handle much alcohol." Li Wenzhao moved the cup away from his mouth. "Next time, I'll host and properly entertain **Mr. Huo**."

Huo Cenxin's smile almost faltered. "Mr. Li is joking. I thought you were genuinely committed to working with the Huo family. I didn't realize I was overestimating your sincerity. You can't even share a drink with me?"

Upon hearing this, Jing Yi could barely hold back his laughter.

"Haha, who names their company after disaster? Didn't you think it was bad luck when you introduced yourself? Haha!"

Li Wenzhao: "..."

So, this is why you're stopping me from drinking?

"Mr. Huo is overthinking," Secretary Fan raised his glass and downed it in one gulp. "Our Mr. Li values the contract with the Huo family greatly. He just can't drink due to recent health issues. I'll drink on his behalf. I'll go first, please drink at your leisure."

Huo Cenxin gave a forced smile and took a small sip. "Alright, Secretary Fan, let's drink together."

Having someone block the drinks wasn't a problem. Even if she got the secretary drunk, Li Wenzhao would still be within her grasp.

Fan Ming was exasperated and glared at Butler Jing. He picked up the glass and was about to drink when—

A pale hand reached over, and Jing Yi took the glass from him. "Secretary Fan just got a promotion and a raise, so he's feeling quite excited. It's not suitable for him to drink. I'll drink with Miss Huo instead."

"You're one ruthless villain, huh? Let's see if I can't drown you!"

Jing Yi grabbed the bottle and poured a generous amount into Huo Cenxin's glass. "It's all in the wine, Miss Huo, please."

Huo Cenxin: "..."

Huo Cenxin's hand trembled, spilling half the wine.

Where did this big grasshopper come from?

Huo Cenxin was almost shocked to death. She couldn't even get this small glass of wine down.

...Not important, not important.

Even if he got drunk, she could still get what she wanted from Li Wenzhao...

"Butler Jing, I remember you don't drink alcohol." **Li Mingzhi** raised his glass. "Miss Huo, I'll drink on behalf of our family's butler."

Jing Yi modestly said, "I'll handle it."

Secretary Fan, thinking of his recent raise, stood his ground. "Blocking wine is the secretary's duty. Since Butler Jing doesn't drink, he shouldn't trouble Mr. Li."

**Li Mingzhi**: "As the younger brother, it's only right for me to drink in place of my elder brother."

A few people lined up between Li Wenzhao and Huo Cenxin like a little train.

Huo Cenxin: "..."

"This is ridiculous."

The three started bickering, seemingly out of nowhere, and Jing Yi was pushed, staggering into Li Wenzhao. His hand flew out and knocked the cup from his hand.

The glass clattered to the floor with a sharp sound.

The drinks were spilled all over the floor.

Jing Yi blinked, clearly pleased that the crisis had been averted.

Huo Cenxin’s face turned a sickly green as she mumbled something about having urgent business, then hurried off, lifting her dress as she went.

Jing Yi exhaled deeply.

"Crisis averted, Mr. Li probably didn’t get drugged..."

Li Wenzhao’s eyes narrowed. Drugged? Would Huo Cenxin really try to drug him?

Why didn’t the young butler mention this sooner!

"Nice one, we managed to help the Li family dodge a major disaster."

"But… despite being ruthless, she’s quite skilled at romance. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have turned the eldest young master into an even bigger lovesick fool than Li Mingzhi. At least the young master only gave away his own property, but Li Wenzhao packaged the entire Li family and handed it over."

"Hiss... now that I think about it, have I messed up the Li family’s romantic prospects? And what about Li Xu and Li Ting…? Amitabha, please protect me."

Li Wenzhao: "..."

He... is he also a love-struck fool?

More foolish than Li Mingzhi... a lovesick fool?

Out of the corner of his eye, his younger brother Li Mingzhi looked over with a complex expression.

Bro, our whole family is a bunch of lovesick fools.

Li (potential big lovesick fool): "..."

Nonsense!

"All clear, it’s safe to eat now. I’ve protected Mr. Li’s pure body. Wow, I’m such a dedicated and loyal butler. I deserve a slice of cake for all this loyalty."

"Butler Jing," said Li Mingzhi. "The cakes over there are delicious. Want to try them together?"

Jing Yi looked at him approvingly. "Sure."

Secretary Fan looked at the overly sweet cakes on the table. "I don’t like sweets. You guys go ahead. I still want to eat seafood."

The three of them split up right in front of Li Wenzhao and dashed off to a corner of the banquet to indulge.

After all that commotion, Li Wenzhao found everything suspicious, as if something had been added to the food and drinks. He didn’t dare to touch anything. After wishing the old man a happy birthday, delivering the birthday gift, he grabbed the three hungry ghosts from the corner and headed home.

The young butler hadn’t eaten enough and, before being dragged away, stuffed a few small cakes into his pocket, taking them with him.

The designated driver Jing Yi had called earlier had already arrived. Secretary Fan sat in the front passenger seat, while Li Wenzhao and Li Mingzhi got into the back seat.

Jing Yi...

"Butler Jing, Butler Jing," Li Mingzhi scooted over, pushing Li Wenzhao to the window with his butt. "Sit next to me. We can chat and eat together."

"Good idea." Jing Yi sat in the car and generously shared his spoils from the Xie family. "Eldest young master, would you like a small cake?"

That said, Jing Yi knew that since Li Wenzhao disliked sweets, he wouldn’t eat such things. But as a dedicated butler, he still asked out of courtesy.

"Mm-hmm."

A cold male voice.

Then Jing Yi watched in disbelief as the little cake in his hand was taken away.

Jing Yi: staring...

Didn't you say you don't eat sweets?!

Li Wenzhao tore open the packaging and took a small bite.

He hadn’t dared to eat anything at the banquet, so he was starving. This little cake had been tested for poison; it was safe to eat.

·

·

At nine o'clock in the evening, the three returned to the Li family's home.

Li Wenzhao was extremely tired; attending a birthday banquet was more exhausting than a full day of meetings.

Li Ting was boxing in the gym next to the living room. When he saw Li Wenzhao return, he took off his gloves and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "You're back early; I thought Grandfather Xie would have asked you to stay the night."

Li Wenzhao hummed and called the kitchen to bring out some food. "I came back because I was hungry."

Li Ting: "?"

Wasn't there a single dish at the Xie family’s banquet that you liked?

At the main entrance, Li Mingzhi and Jing Yi entered the house, muttering to each other.

"Hey, bro," Li Ting said, "We’re planning to build a new amusement park in the northern part of the city, but we’re still short on funding. Are you interested?"

"An amusement park in the northern part of the city?!?"

The shout was so loud it felt like a thunderclap in their ears.

The three Li brothers jumped—was the young butler yelling again?!

Jing Yi's eyes fell on Li Ting as he quickly recalled the novel's plot in his mind.

"That's right, I remember now, the site of that amusement park had issues. There was an underground river beneath it. Not long after construction began, the ground collapsed and buried the entire project site."

Li Ting was greatly shocked.

"If we invest in this project, I’ll end up losing everything and going bankrupt, won’t I?"

"We need to find a way to hint at it..."

"Third brother," Li Mingzhi cut in, "You’re too smart and steady for something as risky as an amusement park. Maybe you should pass on this one."

Li Ting nodded decisively. "My little brother makes a good point. I'll contact my secretary right away to withdraw the investment."

Jing Yi: ???

Wait, how does that make sense?

Do novel characters get to steal all the lines?

Can I even get a word in edgewise?