Chapter 11: The Sewer Wedding

Chapter 11: The Sewer Wedding

"This one's no good, that one's even worse, and these are definitely out of the question..."

The artist profiles were tossed aside by Jing Yi after just a glance.

In truth, these artists were extras among extras in the novel, cannon fodder among NPCs. It really wasn’t necessary for the original author to waste so much ink describing the lives of characters who would disappear as soon as they appeared.

But in order to make the downfall of the massive Li family more plausible and to highlight the protagonist’s rags-to-riches story, the author had planted bomb after bomb throughout the storyline, which would explode at the end, sending the Li family spiraling into oblivion while the rags-to-riches boy band successfully took over.

While following the serialization, Jing Yi had noticed a lot of detailed descriptions of these cannon fodder characters and had suspected the author of padding the text.

But now, Jing Yi was extremely grateful for those details, as they allowed him to help the Li family avoid these human-shaped pitfalls in advance!

As Jing Yi was sorting through the pile, the office door was pushed open, and Li Wenzhao walked in with a dark expression.

"Oh, here comes the warden."

The unofficial warden’s footsteps faltered.

"CEO," Fan Secretary stood up.

"Hmm." Li Wenzhao, feeling irritated, tugged at his tie. "How's the selection coming along?"

Fan Secretary hesitated, glancing at the criminal law reference on his notebook. He felt like he had spent the entire morning doing nothing productive.

He really didn’t know how to report his progress. "...Jing Butler has shortlisted a few candidates."

Fan Ming took out a few thin sheets of paper from the drawer.

Just a few people.

Hundreds of artist profiles condensed into five thin sheets of paper. Talk about cutting to the chase!

Li Wenzhao was slightly stunned, wondering how so few had been selected.

So few?

He couldn’t imagine how the company’s background checks had been done. How could so many problematic artists have slipped through the cracks? Once their scandals were exposed, the entire branch company would collapse, and it would also affect the image and capital chain of the headquarters.

No wonder the young butler had mocked him, calling it a dumping ground for troublemakers.

It was really quite accurate.

Seeing that Li Wenzhao wasn’t moving and his expression was becoming unpleasant, Jing Yi thought he was dissatisfied with the small number of selected individuals and hurriedly pressed down on the files of criminal artists on the desk. "These won’t do, really won’t do!"

"Sign them, and they’ll drag you down with them."

Li Wenzhao nodded. "Fan Secretary, sign these five people."

Fan Ming asked, "What about the others?"

Li Wenzhao spoke firmly, "Terminate the rest of the contracts."

The branch company needed a thorough cleaning, and all the trash had to be cleared out.

Fan Ming looked uncertainly between Li Wenzhao and Jing Yi, feeling like someone had played a joke on him today. With a nod, he replied, "Yes, CEO, I’ll draft the termination contracts right away."

Li Wenzhao undid the buttons on his coat and sat down to rest, only to suddenly notice Jing Yi staring at him with a puzzled expression from not far away.

Li Wenzhao was taken aback, and he held his breath to listen carefully, realizing that Jing Yi was speaking to himself in his mind.

"How could he agree so easily?"

"Does he know I'm from another world?"

"No way, my performance as the butler is flawless, without a single flaw. He couldn't possibly have figured it out."

"But those artists..."

"Mr. Jing."

Li Wenzhao's voice interrupted Jing Yi's thoughts: "Huh?"

Li Wenzhao lightly tapped the table: "Pour me some tea."

"Oh." Jing Yi walked towards the water station in the corner.

As he walked, he kept turning to look at Li Wenzhao, feeling that something was off, but upon closer inspection, he couldn't find anything unusual.

Tsk.

That's strange.

"There's no way he could hear what I was thinking, right?"

Did the golden finger of the Black and White Impermanence transfer to Li Wenzhao?

Li Wenzhao's fingers twitched slightly.

Was he discovered so quickly? The young butler was sharper than he expected.

But after a while, he heard Jing Yi muttering to himself again.

"Impossible."

"Those two must be some shady con artists."

Li Wenzhao raised an eyebrow.

Fan Ming had just brewed the tea, and it was still very hot. Jing Yi had zoned out and overfilled the cup. He bent down, cupped the teacup, and carefully shuffled over to Li Wenzhao.

Li Wenzhao turned his head and watched the young butler as if he was handling a bomb.

Jing Yi: "Mr. Li, here's your tea..."

"CEO." There was a light knock on the office door, and Secretary Fan entered with the freshly drafted documents.

Jing Yi put down the tea cup with a bit too much force, causing some of the tea to splash out. "Secretary Fan, is it time for lunch?"

Fan Ming looked at his watch, 10:23.

It was still an hour and a half, seven minutes until lunch.

"Not yet, Jing," Secretary Fan pushed his glasses up.

"Then I..." Jing Yi paused, only to realize Li Wenzhao had already grabbed him.

Jing Yi: ?

Li Wenzhao’s hand closed firmly around Jing Yi’s wrist, effortlessly enclosing the delicate bones and pulsing vein beneath his skin, as if they could shatter with just a squeeze.

Li Wenzhao imperceptibly rubbed his thumb over the spot.

To anyone watching, the gesture seemed oddly intimate.

Fan Ming was speechless.

He finally understood why Mr. Li let Jing Yi get away with causing trouble at the branch company.

Li Wenzhao pulled Jing Yi back to the small desk and gave a command expressionlessly: “Write up a detailed report explaining why you eliminated those artists.”

Jing Yi: “?”

Li Wenzhao tapped his fingertips on the pile of documents that were half his height: “You made me eliminate so many people; you owe me a reason.”

Jing Yi’s eyes widened in surprise. *You didn’t mention anything about a report!* he thought.

As a recent grad, he struggled enough with basic essays, let alone something as complex as this.

Forget it. I’m not doing this.

Jing Yi tried to pass the buck. “Why don’t you write it, Secretary Fan?”

Fan Ming pushed the task back with a straight face. “Jing Butler, I honestly have no idea why you eliminated so many people.”

Jing Yi gave him a mournful look. *Fine, we’re no longer desk buddies,* he thought bitterly.

·

·

Li Wenzhao started working, while Jing Yi carried the stack of files—dubbed “criminals”—to the small desk, trying to figure out how to smooth things over.

Judging from Li Wenzhao’s reaction just now, he probably didn’t have any special abilities, and it was impossible for him to hear his inner thoughts. It must have been a coincidence.

…Right?

Jing Yi slouched at the desk, idly twirling a pen, feeling like he was back in a boring college political theory class—bored, tired, and completely unmotivated.

His eyes caught the laptop on the desk. Seeing that Li Wenzhao was busy, he quietly opened it.

“There are some data errors in this file,” Li Wenzhao frowned and called Fan Ming in, “Send it back to the planning department to redo it. If such basic mistakes appear again, I’ll speak to their department head.”

Fan Ming: “Yes.”

Li Wenzhao rubbed his temples and casually glanced sideways. The young butler sat upright with a serious expression, his fingers flying across the keyboard.

At least he’s taking it seriously.

It seemed he wasn’t suspecting his thoughts were being leaked anymore.

Li Wenzhao leaned over to see what Jing Yi was typing, only to catch a glimpse of a colorful online game on the screen.

The red and blue characters flipped back and forth in the young butler's hands, avoiding all the traps.

Li Wenzhao: “……”

·

·

Jing Yi was immersed in his game, not lifting his head. After a while, his phone alarm went off promptly at 11:50, signaling it was time for lunch.

He turned off the alarm and looked at Li Wenzhao. "CEO, can I get off work now?"

The CEO's office was too high up, separated from the cafeteria by more than ten floors. He wasn’t sure if people were already rushing to grab lunch, so he had set an alarm to leave ten minutes early.

He asked so casually that Li Wenzhao didn’t feel right arguing over those ten minutes. "Have you finished the written material?"

"Yes, I have."

Li Wenzhao: ???

How did you manage to finish it? You were playing games all morning, weren’t you?

Bang.

Jing Yi placed something heavy on the desk next to him. "Then I'm off."

Jing Yi rushed out, leaving a breeze in his wake.

Li Wenzhao looked down and saw a thick copy of the "Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China" placed next to his desk.

Li Wenzhao: “……”

·

·

"Secretary Fan, Secretary Fan." Jing Yi knocked on the CEO secretary's office door.

Fan Ming pushed up his slipping glasses and looked up. "Young butler."

Jing Yi smiled. "It's lunch time."

Fan Ming glanced at his watch. "Actually, there are still eight minutes."

Jing Yi: "The CEO said it was fine."

Fan Ming stood up and took out his meal card from the drawer. "The cafeteria is on the 25th floor. You can go by yourself."

Jing Yi rubbed his mouth awkwardly. "I know where it is, but I don’t have a meal card."

Secretary Fan: “……”

Understood. He wasn’t looking for a lunch buddy; he just needed the meal card.

Jing Yi left ten minutes early, hoping to beat the crowd and get a seat by the window. But when he got there, the cafeteria was already packed with coworkers who had beaten him to it.

"Secretary Fan."

"Secretary Fan."

Several people greeted Fan Ming. As the CEO's secretary, it was only fitting for him to have this level of respect.

Just as Jing Yi was about to stand in the long line, he saw Fan Ming bring him to cut the line and approach an empty window. "Two portions. Choose whatever you want, Butler Jing."

Jing Yi looked at the long line in the distance. "Don't we need to queue?"

Secretary Fan pushed his glasses up. "This is the CEO window, only supplied to the 45th floor."

Jing Yi let out a soft "wow." "Then does that mean we're bullying others with our power?"

Secretary Fan: "..."

The lunch at Li Corporation was exceptionally delicious. Besides the main course, fresh fruits and dessert cakes were also provided. What intrigued Jing Yi the most was that there were several ice cream machines in a corner of the cafeteria!

This wasn't just a company; it was a paradise for office workers.

Jing Yi stayed in the cafeteria until almost work time, eating two dessert cakes, three ice creams, and some fresh fruit. After eating his fill, he patted his stomach and headed back to the top floor.

In the afternoon, Li Wenzhao had back-to-back meetings and was basically not in the office, which he was quite happy about, taking it easy for the rest of the afternoon.

At 5 p.m. in the evening, work at Li Corporation ended.

After enduring the glass elevator's torment again, Jing Yi sprawled out on his seat once he got into the car.

Li Wenzhao glanced at him from the back seat. "If you're afraid, why didn't you take the employee elevator?"

Jing Yi said weakly, "During rush hour, I was afraid of getting the office worker smell."

"..."

Well, you got what you deserved.

The driver drove the car smoothly and, upon returning to the Li family mansion, Jing Yi noticed many workers by the roadside.

"Mr. Li," the driver said, "This area is undergoing sewer maintenance, so we need to take a detour."

Li Wenzhao, focused on reviewing documents in the back seat, responded with a brief nod. "Mm."

Jing Yi's fear of heights had eased up, his limbs not trembling as much. He casually looked out the window at the scenery.

The Li family estate was vast. After avoiding a small maintenance section, the driver ended up taking a half-hour detour.

Finally, they pulled up to the main gate of the Li family estate. Jing Yi blinked and suddenly sat up straight.

Outside the gate of the Li family mansion, Ning Jiang, who had left the hospital, appeared, holding a large bouquet of vibrant roses. She was dressed formally, not at all like someone who had been lying in a hospital bed a few days ago with uneven makeup.

Soon after, Li Mingzhi also came out.

Jing Yi suddenly felt the temperature in the car drop.

??

He thoughtfully turned his head and met Li Wenzhao's dark, icy gaze.

Wow... So it’s true that a CEO’s glare can freeze the room, just like in the novels!

It's even more refreshing than air conditioning.

"Zhizhi, you're finally out." Ning Jiang held a bouquet, her face lighting up with surprise and joy.

The temperature in the backseat was plummeting, and Jing Yi hurriedly opened the door. "Young master."

"Jing Butler." Li Mingzhi smiled warmly. "You and Elder Brother are off work?"

"Yes, is the young master heading out?" Jing Yi glanced at Ning Jiang.

"Zhizhi." Ning Jiang took the opportunity to cling closer, her eyes full of deep, lingering affection. "I have amazing news! I’m not sick! I went to a specialized hospital for a full check-up, and it was a misdiagnosis! Zhizhi, it was a misdiagnosis! I’m so happy, you must be relieved for me too, right?"

Li Mingzhi's expression was indifferent. "Hah."

Do I look happy to you?

"This guy sure knows how to switch tactics fast—must be a pro at this."

"Is he trying to keep milking Li Mingzhi for cash? But then again… after escaping last time, Ning Jiang probably realized that Li Mingzhi has wised up. It won't be easy to scam money again. This time, she’s probably after him for real..."

"Tsk... Has Ning Jiang gotten in touch with black coal mines? Or connected with organ traffickers?"

"..."

"Zhizhi, I'm here today to propose to you." Ning Jiang's face was filled with an inexplicable depth of emotion and gratitude. "We've been through life-and-death and farewells; it's not easy for us to still be together. Zhizhi, I love you, I want to be with you for the rest of my life."

"..."

"Zhizhi!" Ning Jiang moved in front of Li Mingzhi in a large stride. "I want to marry you! I’m willing to join the Li family as a live-in son-in-law!"

"..." Jing Yi nearly jumped out of his skin at Ning Jiang’s sudden move.

"What the hell?"

"In this day and age, someone actually wants to mooch off wealth by marrying in?"

"Huh, is she eyeing the joint marital property, planning to marry and grab a share? Taking advantage non-stop, wanting to take everything."

Li Mingzhi looked at Ning Jiang with clear eyes; he no longer had the impulsive infatuation from a few days ago. Now, he saw Ning Jiang as nothing more than a clown putting on a show.

"Zhizhi, please say yes." Ning Jiang said, "I will always love you."

Li Mingzhi suddenly let out a scornful laugh. He held his forehead and chuckled for a while, just as Ning Jiang thought her plan was foolproof.

The young master suddenly kicked Ning Jiang into the outside sewer.

"Get the hell out of here! Do you really think I’m that dumb? Trick me once, trick me twice, and now you want to scam me for life? Scram!"