Chapter 16: The Minefield Explosion

Chapter 16: The Minefield Explosion

Jing Yi trembled in fear, shrinking further behind Li Mingzhi, silently wishing that Li Wenzhao hadn’t seen him.

“Jing Butler.”

Uh-oh.

Jing Yi cautiously poked his head out like a cat peeking from behind a curtain. “Eldest young master.”

“I told you to fetch clothes for me, but you ran off to the banquet…” Li Wenzhao noticed the cake crumbs at the corner of the young butler’s mouth, his eyebrows twitching in annoyance. “Helping yourself to the cake?”

Jing Yi quickly wiped his mouth. “Not exactly.”

Li Wenzhao: “You mean you were eating it right in front of me?”

Jing Yi shook his head and started making things up. “I was testing the food for poisons. I was worried someone might sneak into the Li family and try to harm you, so I’m using myself to ensure everything’s safe for you, helping you solve potential problems.”

He waved his hand casually. “After my brave and fearless attempt, I discovered these cakes are safe to eat. Would you like to try, eldest young master?”

Li Wenzhao: Hehe.

Yeah, sure I believe that.

Jing Yi swallowed, his curious gaze lingering on Li Wenzhao’s lower waist involuntarily, like a mischievous brat.

Li Wenzhao’s lips tightened. “Jing Butler, what are you looking at?”

Jing Yi rubbed his nose awkwardly, averting his eyes and muttering, “Eldest young master, are you… um, not wearing anything under there?”

Li Wenzhao raised his hand and shoved a cake into Jing Yi’s mouth. “Enough.”

Jing Yi: “Mmm.” Agreed.

Despite his stern expression, the cake Li Wenzhao handed over was surprisingly delicious.

Jing Yi chewed with a cake in his mouth, his cheeks rhythmically puffing up like a squirrel storing food, his eyes still scanning the table for the next victim—uh, cake.

Is it really that tasty?

Li Wenzhao frowned and watched Jing Yi for a moment, realizing the young butler was getting more daring. At a crucial moment, he had actually left him in the changing room for half an hour. If he hadn’t brought his phone and had the main house servants bring over his things, he’d still be in the changing room, waiting around half-naked, for someone who wouldn’t come back.

“Oh, elder brother, you went to change clothes.” Li Mingzhi, holding a packed bag, observed. “This outfit isn’t as nice as the previous one.”

Li Wenzhao ground his back teeth. “No choice. There was a crazy bird that kicked a wine glass onto me earlier.”

Li Mingzhi: “Why would there be a crazy bird in the banquet hall?”

The gluttonous “bird” paused for a moment. Wait, did he just insult me? (Chewing) Never mind, not worth arguing over. Filling my stomach is more important. The grilled skewers over there look good too. Cakes are getting boring; time to switch flavors. (Munching)

Jing Yi clapped his hands and moved toward the new food with laser focus.

The next second, out of nowhere, an arm swooped in, taking both the food and the plate.

Jing Yi: “……!!!”

Who’s this lunatic?! Taking food and running!

Following the line of his arm upwards, he saw Li Wenzhao's cold and stern face. “……”

Seeing the young butler frustrated made Li Wenzhao feel much better. He wasn't interested in the food at the banquet, but if making the young butler unhappy made him happy, then so be it.

The young butler looked over with longing eyes.

Li Wenzhao picked up a skewer of grilled bird and took a bite.

Jing Yi pursed his lips and grumbled under his breath, unwilling to admit defeat.

“……”

“Li Wenzhao eating skewers at a fancy banquet? Not exactly CEO material.”

Li Wenzhao sneered and noticed what Li Mingzhi was holding. “What's that?”

Young Master Li raised it high. “Takeout packed for Jing Yi.”

Li Wenzhao snatched the bag, opened it, and saw it was filled with snacks. “Packing up food and snacks—Jing Yi, you've really made it.”

In retaliation, he confiscated the cake and put it back on the table.

Jing Yi's movements came to an abrupt halt.

His gaze at Li Wenzhao's hand was fierce.

“You've got some nerve! Touching my food like that!”

“Li Wenzhao sure lives up to his reputation as a tyrant. Not even letting the butler have enough cake... Mute the world and listen to me lose it!”

Though he cursed in his heart, Jing Yi remained calm and gentle on the surface, maintaining the respectful demeanor of a butler. “You're absolutely right, young master. I was wrong and won't pack anymore.”

Li Wenzhao: “……”

If I didn't know what you were thinking, I might have bought it.

The banquet continued. Since the main character Li Xu was absent, Li Wenzhao had to take charge. He didn't have time to argue with the young butler and gave him a warning glance before turning away.

Whew—

Jing Yi let out a long breath.

“Jing Yi,” Li Mingzhi carefully approached and secretly hung a heavy bag on Jing Yi's hand. “Don't be upset. I stashed away a whole bag for you, grabbed one of every flavor. My brother didn't notice, so you can sneakily eat it in your bed at night.”

“Young Master, you're the best.” Jing Yi was touched.

Li Mingzhi smiled shyly. “I'm glad you like it, Jing Yi.”

·

·

The banquet hall was brightly lit. Qiu Minzhi wandered through it, her face pale. She couldn't leave, nor could she contact her lover who had stolen the seal. Conflicted and panicked, she felt like she was in a completely different world from the lively banquet.

It wasn't clear what Qiu Minzhi was thinking, but eventually, her attention turned to Jing Yi.

“Jing Yi,” Qiu Minzhi called softly.

At that moment, Jing Yi was slightly distracted, wondering if Li Xu would catch the thief when he returned to the company.

"Hmm, I wonder if the second young master bumped into the burglar on his way back to the company. That scene must have been quite something."

"Too bad there's no live stream."

"It would be great entertainment."

Li Mingzhi nodded lightly in strong agreement.

Indeed, he wished he could have seen it.

"B-Butler Jing," Qiu Minzhi spoke again, not having received a response.

Was this the right surname? Why wasn't he responding?

Jing Yi finally snapped out of his daze, turning to see Qiu Minzhi and nearly jumping out of his skin. "What do you need?"

Qiu Minzhi wasn't concerned with the slight discourtesy from the young butler. She had bigger issues. "I'm not feeling well. Can you help me make a phone call from my car and have my family come to pick me up?"

Jing Yi pointed to the distance. "The guards at the main gate can help run errands."

"..."

If that were an option, she wouldn’t be scrambling like this.

The Li family seemed to have caught on. Li Wenzhao was keeping a tight watch on her, and at least three pairs of bodyguards’ eyes were fixed on her every move. She couldn't make a single move.

She had to notify her lover immediately, or the next time they met would be through iron bars.

"Butler Jing, please help me." Qiu Minzhi grabbed Jing Yi's hand and slipped a lustrous jade bracelet into his palm.

Beside them, Li Mingzhi’s eyes widened.

He had grown up surrounded by ancient jade and knew at a glance that the item was extremely valuable.

Qiu Minzhi was willing to risk everything for her lover.

Butler Jing wouldn't...

Jing Yi looked at the bracelet. "Is Miss Qiu trying to bribe me?"

"No, no," Qiu Minzhi said, "It's a fee for running the errand."

"We butlers do not accept bribes," Jing Yi shook his head like a rattle, "Miss Qiu should behave herself."

Qiu Minzhi froze.

Li Mingzhi’s eyes lit up.

Butler Jing is amazing! Amazing!

A perfect and righteous butler!

"Tch, do you take me for a fool? A scammer wouldn't have anything good on them. It's probably just cheap glass, not even worth recycling. And they still try to fool me, humph."

"Do you think Sherlock Holmes is that easy to deceive?"

Li Mingzhi: "..."

It turns out that Butler Jing just doesn't know quality when he sees it.

Qiu Minzhi nearly fainted in despair.

Jing Yi was holding a small cake, hoping to find another spot to continue indulging in it with the innocent and harmless young master, but Li Wenzhao suddenly appeared out of nowhere and assigned him extra work.

Jing Yi’s face puffed up in disbelief: “... Really?”

"I’m working at a fancy party? What a bummer."

"Such bad luck, and I can’t even take the small cake to go, my life is so hard..."

Li Wenzhao: “……”

He cleared his throat and handed Jing Yi a thick notebook, preparing to sift through the guests and weed out the troublemakers.

This is the perfect chance.

All the people who should and shouldn't be here were present. It was the perfect time to do an elimination round with the guests, so future social and business interactions could be more targeted, skipping over any risky partners.

"I’ll tell you who’s here, and you write it down," Li Wenzhao said. Afraid that the butler might quit halfway, he quickly added, "There’s a reward after completion."

Li Mingzhi was stunned for a few seconds before realizing what his elder brother was about to do—they were about to get an upgrade!

Sweeping away evil, becoming their true selves!

His brother never failed to impress him!

Jing Yi went from deflated to energized in a heartbeat. "What... is the reward?"

Li Wenzhao: "A bonus of 10,000."

"Nice!"

"Yahoo!"

"Even the tightwad is loosening the purse strings! I’m so happy, I might want to set off a couple of firecrackers to celebrate, heheh."

Li Wenzhao: “……”

The butler’s enthusiasm for cash was showing.

Jing Yi nodded slightly, unable to hide the joy in his eyes. "I am willing to serve the eldest young master with all my effort."

Li Wenzhao chuckled.

No need for dogs or horses, but feel free to try bulls and mules.

Li Wenzhao scanned the room, his mind already working on a plan. "Ma Chushen."

Fearing that just the name might not provide enough reference information, Li Wenzhao added some details. "The Li Corporation's biggest partner, a family business, with many years of business dealings with the Li family..."

Jing Yi nodded, but then forgot how to write a character. "Eldest young master."

"Hmm?"

"How do you spell 'Chu Shen'?"

"……”

"Jing Butler, no need to worry about the details."

This is just a mine-sweeping game; who cares if the characters are written correctly or not.

Jing Yi nodded. "Got it."

"That makes sense, then let's do this."

Li Wenzhao nodded with satisfaction, seeing Jing Yi burying his head in writing energetically, feeling a sense of satisfaction. He glanced over.

"Ma Chusheng (literally 'Horse Beast')."

"……"

Li Wenzhao waited quietly for a moment, and as expected, he heard the sound of the young butler's pen scratching away.

"Who on earth would name their kid that..."

"But he's a partner of the Li family, also surnamed Ma. There does seem to be such a person..."

Li Wenzhao held his breath.

"So I got it right; this guy really is a beast. On the surface, he's a prominent entrepreneur, but behind the scenes, he's involved in illegal surrogacy. His factory is so large that one prison can't hold him. He'll soon face legal sanctions and spend the rest of his life in prison."

"His parents were truly geniuses in naming him!"

Li Wenzhao secretly noted it down and then mentioned another name.

They were all influential figures with important business ties to the Li family, outwardly friendly but hiding who knows what beneath their calm exteriors.

"Oh, this person! An infamous case of an old man marrying a much younger woman, married a 20-year-old beauty at 68, living it up every night, still going strong at his age, died at 68 from overindulgence, indirectly causing a capital chain break for the Li family, leading to large compensation payments... Truly inhuman."

"……"

"This one loved eating endangered wildlife and died from a bacterial infection."

"This one had a loose private life and even harbored inappropriate thoughts about young butler Li Wenzhao, but it didn't work out in the end."

"This one was a spy sent by a rival company to steal Li Wenzhao's new project collaboration proposal."

"This one... this one... has killed!"

"Too many, too many, help... why can't I be a cop? Aaaaaah!"

Li Wenzhao's face grew darker and darker.

In just a few words from the young butler, half the guests were obliterated.

The mine-sweeping revealed a catastrophic explosion, too many pits to fill, threatening to undo all the Li family's efforts over the years.

For the first time, Li Wenzhao, who had been an atheist for over twenty years, wondered if divine punishment was real.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain why all the trashy characters were around them.

"Eldest young master." Jing Yi hinted by holding the pen. "I feel like the Judge of the Underworld."

Li Wenzhao: "?"

Jing Yi looked at the notebook. "This is my Book of Life and Death, whoever's name is written in it will die."

"......"

Jing Yi wrote until his hand went numb from writing. He thought for a moment, "Hey, Eldest young master, can I borrow your phone for a sec?"

Li Wenzhao handed it over.

Jing Yi fiddled with the phone for a moment, then handed it back.

Li Wenzhao looked closely and saw that an anti-fraud app icon had appeared on it.

"Beep beep beep beep beep beep beep!"

The phone started ringing frantically.

All of Li Wenzhao's call records were flagged in red, warning of potential fraud.

Li Wenzhao: “…………”

Jing Yi sneaked a peek, shocked.

Wait... is the anti-fraud app really that effective?

He nodded, satisfied with how subtle the hint was, and asked, "Eldest young master, do you understand?"

"With such an obvious hint, even a fool should get it."

Li Wenzhao looked like he wanted to be left alone. "Yes, go and rest."

"Sure."

Jing Yi ran off without looking back.

Worried about being dragged into more work, Jing Yi dove straight into his cozy bed.

As soon as he closed the door, a low rumble of thunder shook the windows. Soon, lightning flashed and thunder roared, followed by heavy rain.

Shivering under the blanket, Jing Yi nervously munched on his packed dinner.

After writing all night, his stomach was growling.

It was late, and after washing up, Jing Yi yawned and burrowed into his bed.

Huu.

……

After an unknown amount of time, a wave of humid air swept through the room.

Jing Yi was fast asleep when, without warning, someone yanked him out of bed. Without a word, they tossed a heavy object at him.

Drenched, Li Xu stood in his room, "You've been doing well lately. This is your reward."

Jing Yi, with messy hair and sleepy eyes, "...Ah?"