Chapter 09: They Are All Wolves and Tigers

Chapter 09: They Are All Wolves and Tigers

With Jing Yi's continuous complaints, Li Mingzhi could barely force a smile.

Each of Jing Butler's statements could have destroyed Wen Suoan's reputation on its own.

What hurt him the most was that he had always considered Wen Suoan a friend, sharing all his thoughts with him and proactively helping Wen secure resources. He had even used the Li family's background to shield Wen from the unsavory side of the industry.

Yet the friend he had trusted and treated sincerely turned out to be a disgraced artist who had betrayed the Li family.

Li Mingzhi found it hard to believe.

But after everything that had happened these past few days, he had no choice but to accept the truth.

"Mingzhi?" Wen Suoan waved a hand in front of Li Mingzhi's eyes. "What's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything?"

Li Mingzhi forced a smile, but before he could respond, Wen Suoan suddenly glanced at Jing Yi. "Who is he? Your new friend?"

"No, he's the new butler..."

"Oh, the butler." Wen Suoan gave Jing Yi a contemptuous look, chuckling lightly without much expression. "If the butler is so close to you, I'd say you're too soft. If even a butler can treat you like this."

Hearing this, Li Mingzhi's expression changed. "He's not just a butler; he's also my friend..."

"Mingzhi, why would you make friends with a butler?" Wen Suoan didn't notice the subtle change in Li Mingzhi's expression and continued to impose his classist views. "The more you treat them well, the less they'll see you as their master. They'll think you're easy to bully, and in the future, they'll become even more audacious, possibly stealing from your family. I'm only telling you this for your own good. If you weren't my best friend, I wouldn't even bother saying these things."

Li Wenzhao narrowed his eyes.

In his memory, Wen Suoan had always been like this, seemingly unchanged. But ever since Jing Yi appeared, Li Wenzhao felt as though he had awakened from some sort of dream. People who had once seemed fine now appeared unbearable.

He even felt like kicking this man out.

Li Wenzhao wasn't sure how this strange transformation had come about, but for now, it didn't seem like a bad thing.

Li Mingzhi stayed silent, lost in thought. Wen Suoan thought his words were having an effect and continued, "The new bodyguard at my place is the same. My father was too good to him, which led to him forgetting his place. He even dared to lecture me and interfere with my personal matters. I was so angry that I beat him up and threw him out. Mingzhi, you really need to learn from me, or you'll end up being bullied to death!"

Jing Yi understood what Wen Suoan was implying.

He was suggesting that Li Mingzhi should assert his authority and not hesitate to discipline or even punish him.

What a despicable person.

But Jing Yi vaguely recalled that this disgraced artist had more scandals. What were they again?

Li Mingzhi's expression turned sour. Jing Yi is the son of the Li family's former butler. The old butler had retired earlier this year due to poor health. Concerned that the Li family might struggle to find a trustworthy replacement, the old butler recommended his son to fill in temporarily until a suitable replacement was found.

However, after observing him for the past two days, no one seemed more fitting for the position than Jing Yi.

The three older brothers in the family were also highly satisfied with Jing Yi's performance.

Worried that Jing Yi might misunderstand, Li Mingzhi was about to explain and comfort him when suddenly—

"I... I remember!"

The Li family young masters: "..."

Their eardrums nearly burst. How could the young butler have such a loud voice? Was there a volume control for his abilities?

Apparently not, because the sound grew even louder.

"Wen Suoan and his bodyguards have some juicy drama too."

——Huh?

The Li brothers perked up, eager to hear the latest scoop.

"I remember this bodyguard is a very upright and kind person. Every time Wen Suoan did something shady, he’d find someone else to clean up his mess. The bodyguard, fed up with it, warned Wen Suoan to stay on the right side of the law—truth has a way of coming out.

"But Wen Suoan took it as a challenge and had the bodyguard roughed up before kicking him to the curb that same night."

"If only that were the end of it!"

Wait, there's more?

The Li brothers were startled and stopped whatever they were doing, focusing on Jing Yi's revelations.

"Turns out, Wen Suoan is a fraud who’s been living as the Wen family’s heir. Last month, while filming a scene, he got injured and, while in the hospital, discovered his true background. Following the trail, he uncovered the real young master..."

"Sigh, life is truly dramatic... While the fake young master strutted around the Wen family like he owned the place, the real young master was barely scraping by as a bodyguard. Once Wen Suoan found out the truth, he wasted no time booting the real young master out. This fake is truly vicious."

What?

The Li family’s faces fell.

The only son cherished by the Wen family was actually a vicious fake young master?

It was too dramatic.

If Jing Yi hadn't mentioned it, who would have known?

"To keep his secret safe, Wen Suoan plans to go after the bodyguard’s family next. But acting directly would be inconvenient, so he chose to play the pity card at the Li family. Poor naive Mingzhi, trying to help his best friend vent his anger, almost ruined the bodyguard’s family... Sigh."

Li Wenzhao's eyes widened, his anger suddenly rising quite a bit.

Half of it was anger at Wen Suoan’s manipulation, and the other half was frustration with Mingzhi’s naivety.

Jing Yi was still immersed in the story.

"The real Wen parents are truly pitiful. No, I need to find a way to secretly warn them..."

Upon saying that, Jing Yi suddenly shook his head and sighed.

The Li family members, the melon-eating onlookers: ?

What other unspeakable scandal is there?

The next moment, they saw Jing Yi's eyes slowly shift towards them, filled with regret and pity.

The Li family members tensed for a moment. W-What?

What other bad news is coming?

Jing Yi sighed softly.

"No wonder the Li family later fell into ruin, surrounded by these wolves and tigers helping to rack up the hatred... I need to find a way to drop some hints again."

"Being a butler is such a grind... And no raise in sight!"

Lucas: “…….”

That last sentence was probably what you really meant.

No wonder the young butler’s eyes nearly popped out when Secretary Fan got a raise yesterday, and he didn’t even try to hide his envy.

However, the young butler did help the Li family avoid some dangers, so he really should be rewarded.

Maybe we should give him a raise and round it off to a nice number.

Jing Yi still didn’t know that his obsession with getting a raise had been noticed by the Li family. His gaze lingered on Wen Suoan.

“Taking over for twenty years, ruthlessly driving away the real young master, and using his best friend to achieve his goals. How can someone like that be 1.8 meters tall? Life is so unfair!”

Jing Yi glared down at his 175 cm frame, still bitter about it.

“Jealousy.”

“……”

“Wow, I’m not even as good as a humanoid trash.”

“……”

The Li family’s living room suddenly fell into an eerie silence.

Wen Suoan looked at Li Mingzhi, then at Li Wenzhao, and finally at Li Xu and Li Ting. Everyone was frozen in place, their expressions shifting unpredictably—surprise, anger, and then the urge to laugh.

Wen Suoan was taken aback.

Why does it feel like the Li family is haunted after just a few days of me being gone?

Feeling an inexplicable chill, he moved closer to Li Mingzhi. “Mingzhi, what’s wrong with you?”

What’s going on with your family?

“It’s nothing…” Li Mingzhi took a deep breath, sat down next to Li Wenzhao, and subtly avoided Wen Suoan’s touch. “What urgent matter do you need to see me for?”

“What urgent matter could it be?” Wen Suoan said. “I missed you.”

“Like I miss you. You’re after the Li family’s name, power, and want them to take the fall for you without paying a dime!”

Li Mingzhi: “……”

“Speaking of money… the young master doesn’t know that Wen Suoan secretly took one of his cards, right?”

What?!

He stole his card too?

Li Mingzhi’s face darkened.

He had grown up comfortably, with his older brothers giving him pocket money every month. Once he came of age, his brothers set up several cards for him, most with an eight-figure limit. Since he had so many bank cards, Li Mingzhi rarely kept track of them and couldn’t even remember how many he had.

Had Wen Suoan really been using the card without permission?

How long had it been going on?

How much had he racked up?

Li Mingzhi couldn't hold it in anymore, his face turning dark with anger.

What a waste. That money could have gone toward raising Jing Butler’s salary.

Li Mingzhi and Wen Suoan were classmates, having known each other since childhood. Because the Wen family was relatively weaker in influence among the upper class, Wen Suoan was often looked down upon by other rich kids and was always being bullied.

Li Mingzhi couldn't stand by and watch. He helped chase away those bullies, gradually building a deep friendship with Wen Suoan. He treated Wen Suoan as a friend, sharing good things with him and never leaving him behind in times of danger.

After more than ten years of pouring his heart out, this was the ungrateful creature he ended up with?

Li Mingzhi's heart ached with anger.

"Mingzhi... Mingzhi?" Wen Suoan pushed his shoulder. "Mingzhi!"

Li Mingzhi turned his face impatiently. "What?!"

Wen Suoan flinched at the sudden shout.

Just as he was about to speak, he looked up and met Li Mingzhi's completely unfamiliar gaze.

Anger, regret, and unwillingness stirred together, forming a completely unfamiliar Li Mingzhi.

What's wrong with him?

Wen Suoan's heart skipped a beat, momentarily afraid that his little secret had been exposed.

But he quickly regained his composure.

Impossible.

How could it be?

Li Mingzhi was so foolish, believing everything he said, agreeing with whatever was told. How could someone this clueless figure out his secret?

"Mingzhi." He asked cautiously, testing the waters. "Are you feeling unwell?"

Li Mingzhi, stiffly: "Hmm."

"Do you want me to accompany you to the hospital?" Wen Suoan said. "Although I have an important engagement this afternoon that I can't miss, I can cancel it for my best friend."

Jing Yi rolled his eyes.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. If I didn't care about ruining her rep, I'd have exposed you to the media already!"

"You sly one, if you don't want to go, then don't. Who's forcing you? And an important engagement? Isn't it just to silence a girl who was taken advantage of?"

The young butler was full of energy, and Li Wenzhao couldn't help but chuckle lightly.

Jing Yi turned his head suspiciously as laughter reached his ears.

"What’s got the eldest young master giggling to himself? Feeling guilty, huh?"

Li Wenzhao: "..."

Li Mingzhi felt torn between feeling sick and being amused by Jing Yi, almost like he was splitting in two. Forcing himself to be patient, he said, "No need. We’ve got a family doc at home. I don’t feel like going out today."

Wen Suoan: "Then let me keep you company with some video games. Remember how we’d always hole up in a room playing games whenever we had free time?"

Li Mingzhi shook his head. "I'm tired; I don't feel like playing."

Wen Suoan: "Then maybe we can..."

"Mr. Wen," Jing Yi, unable to stand it any longer, stepped forward, "The young master is tired and needs to rest. Why don't you come back another day?"

"And who do you think you are..." Wen Suoan glanced at the young masters of the Li family and quickly shut his mouth.

He almost slipped up.

"Butler, how can I leave when Mingzhi is unwell?" Wen Suoan said, "I should stay and keep him company. You're just a butler, how dare you boss around a guest? That's incredibly rude! In my family, you'd be made to kneel for three hours as punishment!"

Li Wenzhao could no longer bear it and frowned.

Jing Yi sighed helplessly.

Fine, you left me no choice.

I had planned to reveal your true nature to the young master in private, but since you're pushing it, so be it.

Alright, let's see how he reacts.

"Young master," Jing Yi said, "The bank called a few days ago about some unusual activity on one of your cards that requires your personal attention..."

Before he could finish, Wen Suoan visibly tensed up, his face turning pale.

Following along, Li Mingzhi said, "Oh, which bank was it?"

"XX Bank," Jing Yi said, looking at Li Mingzhi, giving him a knowing look.

Do you understand what I'm implying?

Before Li Mingzhi could respond, Wen Suoan's face paled further, and his lips trembled as he tried to stay calm. "Mingzhi, it's getting late, and I might miss my appointment. I should go now..."

Without waiting for Li Mingzhi's answer, he turned and ran.

"Young master, your car is ready—oh!" A young maid came around the door and accidentally bumped into Wen Suoan, hitting the door panel.

"Ouch..."

"Are you alright?" Jing Yi quickly helped the maid up. There wasn't a bump on her head, but who knew if she had a concussion.

"Aunt Fang," Li Wenzhao instructed, "Take Xiao Ke for treatment."

"Yes, eldest young master," Aunt Fang quickly came out from the kitchen and led the young maid away.

"Huh?"

"Where's Wen Suoan?"

Jing Yi looked towards the door, but the garden outside was empty. Did he really run that fast?

Just then, he spotted someone hiding behind the large flower bed nearby.