Chapter 17: Top-notch Translation

Chapter 17: Top-notch Translation

Jing Yi was woken up by a cold, hard object.

He opened his eyes groggily and found himself leaning against a stone. His face was numb from the pressure, and when he raised his hand to touch it, he felt pits and bumps on his previously smooth skin.

Who had the nerve to ambush him like this?

How dare someone throw a stone into his cozy nook! Even a dog wouldn’t stand for this, let alone a person!

Was he supposed to just take this lying down?

Jing Yi grabbed the stone, ready to throw it out, when a sliver of sunlight flickered through the window, and the object in his hand glimmered with a unique shine.

Jing Yi: Hmm?

He tilted his head slightly and saw that he was holding a gold watch, its body a rich golden hue with small diamonds embedded around the edge of the dial. It looked extremely valuable.

Well, well. Looks like his cozy nook started producing gold on its own!

Jing Yi sat cross-legged, turning the gold watch over in his hands, examining it closely, and even put it in his mouth to bite, nearly chipping a tooth.

Just as he was at a loss, a sentence suddenly echoed in his mind—

“Recent performance has been good, this is a reward for you.”

Jing Yi: ???

Jing Yi: !!!

A gold watch from the second young master!

Jing Yi grinned from ear to ear as he held the gold watch. The second young master was so generous. It seemed that he had run into some troublemakers last night and had dealt with them effectively.

Without delay, in the early hours of the morning, he eagerly shared his happiness with everyone in the household, even the butler getting a gold watch.

Looks like those romance novels were right—CEOs really do have money!

Jing Yi marveled at the watch for a moment, then carefully hid it away. He hummed a tune, hopped off the bed, and headed to the bathroom to wash up and prepare for work.

·

·

After the banquet, the Li family mansion was unusually quiet.

Breakfast was prepared for three, but Li Mingzhi had not yet risen. The three brothers sat at the table, unusually quiet.

“I’ve investigated the person from the Hua family,” Li Ting broke the silence first. “There’s evidence of illegal income, but I’m not sure if it involves organ trafficking. The time was too short, and he hides too well.”

Though he said this, based on what Butler Jing had demonstrated, the Hua family’s involvement in illegal dealings was certain.

Li Wenzhao spoke calmly, “Report it to the proper authorities. We won’t get involved.”

Li Ting nodded and then turned to his second brother, who had been quiet throughout, “Second brother, how did it go last night? Did you catch the person?”

Li Xu paused in his actions, “Yes.”

They not only caught the person but also found them with the stolen goods. Now, they're locked up with Qiu Minzhi.

"Second brother," Li Wenzhao looked up. "What are you thinking?"

As the family head and eldest brother, Li Wenzhao wasn’t into being controlling. He fully respected his three younger brothers' freedom, and unless absolutely necessary, he never interfered in their affairs.

Even now, he gave Li Xu a great deal of independence.

"Eldest brother..."

Li Xu put down his chopsticks, his expression somewhat pained. "I can't bring myself to do it. Can you take care of it?"

Li Wenzhao looked at him. "Alright."

With two major issues settled, the atmosphere at the dining table didn't lighten much. Li Ting drank a spoonful of soup and said with a smile, "Second brother, I heard from the family servants that last night you barged into Jing Butler's room?"

Li Wenzhao's movement paused.

"Yes," Li Xu replied. "Without his help, I couldn't have caught the internal traitor. I gave him a reward for his help."

Li Ting asked, "What was it?"

"The watch I bought just last week."

He had been in a hurry and didn’t bring anything valuable, just the new watch he had put on before the banquet, which he casually pulled off his wrist.

Li Ting recalled the watch and clicked his tongue in approval. "Second brother, you’re really generous."

Li Xu continued eating with his head down.

Li Wenzhao's eyes narrowed slightly. "Did you only give it to Jing Butler and no one else?"

Li Xu nodded. "Of course."

Li Ting quickly realized. "Oh no, if Jing Butler realizes he’s the only one who got a reward, won’t it give away his thoughts?"

There was a brief silence at the table.

Then Li Xu stood up. "I'll go deal with it now."

"Wait," Li Wenzhao said.

Both Li Xu and Li Ting looked over. Li Wenzhao took out his phone and tapped the screen a few times with his long fingers. "Install this software on your phones."

Li Xu and Li Ting had no objections and followed his instructions.

The next second, the familiar alarm sound echoed through the living room—

The alarm blared—

The three Li brothers exchanged glances.

·

·

At 8 a.m., Jing Yi wrapped up his breakfast.

When he came out of the kitchen, he saw Aunt Fang and Uncle Li quite animatedly huddled together, whispering and discussing something.

Curious, Jing Yi went over. "Aunt Fang, Uncle Li, what are you doing?"

"Oh, Manager Jing! You startled me," Aunt Fang said with a cheerful smile, showing Jing Yi what she was holding in her hand. "The second young master gave this, saying we've been doing well recently, so he gave everyone a little bonus. I don't really understand, so I asked Uncle Li to help me check."

She was holding a beautiful jade bracelet in her hand.

Jing Yi didn’t understand it, but he felt it looked much nicer than the glass Qiu Minzhi had taken out last night. The entire bracelet was purple, symbolizing good fortune.

Uncle Li received a jade ornament, and the new maid Xiao Ke got a pendant… all were valuable, and even the dozens of bodyguards each received a prize.

Jing Yi was amazed.

Was the second young master on a spending spree?

He must be really happy!

Originally, Jing Yi had suspected this was related to him, but now it seemed like he was overthinking.

Li Xu wouldn’t scatter money around the house just to keep the truth hidden from him, right?

Even the God of Wealth wouldn’t be this lavish.

Jing Yi threw his doubts completely out of his mind and, around 8:30, continued to follow Li Wenzhao to earn some extra money.

As soon as he arrived at the company, Jing Yi noticed something was off with the atmosphere at Li Corporation. No one was chatting, walking around with files, or gossiping in the break room. The entire office was dead silent, with only the sound of typing indicating there were still people in the building.

Jing Yi looked around with a strange expression on his face.

He hadn’t been to Li Corporation for a few days—what happened?

Before he could ask, he and Li Wenzhao reached the elevator doors. Jing Yi immediately tensed up. "Eldest young master, I’ll take the employee elevator."

He couldn’t enjoy the CEO’s view of overseeing the world; it was better to obediently be a corporate drone.

Li Wenzhao, expressionless, pressed the elevator button. "No need."

"No need?"

"It’s not you who’s afraid."

Li Wenzhao stumbled slightly.

Jing Yi was about to speak when the elevator dinged and opened to reveal… a tropical rainforest.

"Am I seeing things? Why am I seeing a tropical rainforest in the CEO’s elevator?"

Li Wenzhao obviously didn’t expect this kind of opening either; he paused for two seconds before stepping inside.

The interior of the elevator was completely covered with stick-on panels. Since Jing Yi couldn’t see the precarious view outside, he was less afraid and began to observe his surroundings.

The panels were very realistic, depicting a primitive forest. Towering ancient trees, vines coiling around them, weak sunlight filtering through the rustling tree shadows, casting golden spots on the ground beneath him. Jing Yi could even see the dew on the grass clearly.

The air inside felt refreshingly crisp.

The elevator ascended slowly, swaying slightly.

"Eldest young master," Jing Yi spoke up, "I feel like we’re swinging around like monkeys in a jungle."

"In the primitive forest."

Li Wenzhao gave him a blank look. "You’re the one acting like a monkey."

"..."

Not minding Li Wenzhao’s cold response, Jing Yi, in a good mood, let his thoughts wander. After a moment, he asked curiously, "Just hypothetically, not that I’m tempting fate, if there’s a natural disaster or fire, your building is so tall—wouldn’t it be hard for you to escape if you’re on the top floor?"

"The lower floors are easier to escape from. In case of an emergency, the employees might all get away, but the CEO would be clinging to the massive windows, sobbing and shaking... haha, imagine that!"

"..."

Li Wenzhao lifted his lips slightly. "Add the 'we' back. Now you’re on the top floor too."

Jing Yi: "..."

Jinx, jinx, jinx! Knock on wood.

As they spoke, the elevator stopped smoothly at the 45th floor. Secretary Fan, who hadn’t been seen in days, was waiting at the door, impeccably dressed.

Jing Yi took the initiative to greet him, "Secretary Fan, good morning."

"Good morning, Jing Butler," Secretary Fan said, nodding as he handed a sealed envelope to Li Wenzhao. "Mr. Li, everything you asked for is ready."

Li Wenzhao nodded but didn’t take it. Understanding the gesture, Secretary Fan slid the envelope towards Jing Yi. "For me?"

"Yes, for you, Jing Butler."

Jing Yi took it with suspicion and opened it cautiously. "...!!"

A thick wad of cash!

"Bonus from last night," Li Wenzhao tossed out, and walked away quickly.

"Wow~"

"The Li family sure knows how to pay well. My boss is too generous! As long as the Li family’s around, I’ll be happy to keep shining in this job forever! Haha!"

Li Wenzhao walked into the company, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

With the money in hand, Jing Yi’s happiness level hit 100%. He caught up with Li Wenzhao and, unusually proactive, asked for work, "Eldest young master… Mr. Li, where’s my task for today?"

Li Wenzhao looked at him. "You’re unusually eager today."

Jing Yi modestly pressed his lips together. "When you take people’s money, you eliminate their troubles for them. It’s only right."

Li Wenzhao: "..."

Secretary Fan: "..."

Is that saying even appropriate here?

In the CEO's office, Jing Yi sat down at the small table, with Li Wenzhao not far away from him, like a troublemaker in class who was seated next to the teacher for closer supervision.

Jing Yi blinked and subtly shifted the table a bit farther from Li Wenzhao.

"Jing Butler," Secretary Fan brought over a few documents, "These are the project directions for Li Corporation over the next few months. Please take a look."

Five documents sat on the otherwise empty table.

There were far fewer than before.

Jing Yi nodded, "Am I still supposed to categorize them?"

"No," Secretary Fan shook his head, casting a somewhat strange glance at Li Wenzhao, "You need to read through them and then summarize for Mr. Li."

"???"

"What’s going on?"

"Am I a human dictionary now?"

Secretary Fan wiped his brow. Ever since Jing Butler arrived, he felt like he'd hit a career plateau. Lately, things have been on a whole different level, but he respected it anyway. As long as the paychecks kept coming, he’d do whatever it took, even if it meant pointing out every word.

Fortunately, he was lucky and didn't have to suffer this ordeal.

Secretary Fan pushed his glasses up and turned to go about his business.

Jing Yi secretly glanced at Li Wenzhao. Seeing that he had no reaction, he knew Secretary Fan hadn't lied.

"Alright," Jing Yi picked up the documents.

The next second, subway, elderly person, looking at a phone.

What the hell?

Why are the documents in English?

Although Jing Yi had just graduated, he majored in art, and his academic performance was average. His English level was only good enough to pass the CET-4 after three attempts.

Asking him to read through a document filled with professional terms was akin to public execution.

Jing Yi, at a loss for words: "What the heck?"

Did Hei Wuchang and Bai Wuchang ever mention that time travel would come with an English test?

Was it too late for him to go back now?

"What's wrong?" Li Wenzhao noticed his hesitation and asked, "Is there a problem?"

"Yes, there's a big problem."

Li Wenzhao instantly went into alert mode.

Jing Yi stammered, "I don't have a large vocabulary, and these professional contracts are a bit difficult for me."

Li Wenzhao: "..."

He was nearly scared to death by Jing Yi's dramatic pause, thinking he had uncovered a landmine.

"It's okay, just skip the words you don't know," Li Wenzhao said like a teacher assigning homework, "Read it and then summarize it for me."

Jing Yi: "......" You said it, not me.

He opened the file, sat up straight, and cleared his throat. "......Something about the development of a small island... what's this part about?"

Li Wenzhao: "......?"

Jing Yi: "......It talks about national development, some kind of industrial transition, and funding... (flipping through pages) ... and at the end, someone signed it on ______, ____ year ____ month ____ day."

"..........."

The office was dead silent several times that day.

"'Limited vocabulary,' 'a bit difficult,'" Li Wenzhao came to his senses and sneered, "Did you pad your resume or something?"

Jing Yi shyly: "That's how it goes when you're job hunting."

"......"

Li Wenzhao rubbed his temples, "I'll do it myself."

Jing Yi quickly handed over the task and offered a quick compliment, "Thank you, Mr. Li. I appreciate your hard work."

Li Wenzhao: "You're welcome. After all, I'm only doing this because of you."

"......" Jing Yi smiled, "Actually, there's another option. We could ask Secretary Fan to translate the documents, and I can give you a summary in Chinese."

Li Wenzhao sneered, "Outsourcing the work?"

Jing Yi shyly: "Extreme situations require extreme solutions."

Li Wenzhao had a headache.

Just as Li Wenzhao was about to refuse, his phone rang with a work call. He waved Jing Yi out of the office, letting him figure it out on his own.

"Secretary Fan, Secretary Fan!"

Jing Yi, the foreman, ran out with the documents, heading to the secretary's office next door, only to find no one inside.

He looked around suspiciously but couldn't find Secretary Fan anywhere.

Just as Jing Yi was about to give up, the elevator doors opened. Secretary Fan looked up and saw Jing Yi. Both of their faces lit up.

Jing Yi approached, "Secretary Fan......"

"Butler Jing!"

"Secretary Fan......"

"Butler Jing!!"

Jing Yi speechlessly: "Secretary Fan, let me finish my sentence."

Fan Ming rushed out of the elevator with hurried steps, "Let me say this first. Didn't you graduate from M University?"

Jing Yi nodded, "Yes, so what?"

Fan Ming asked, "How good are you with foreign languages?"

"..." Jing Yi said, "I don't have a large vocabulary, so it's a bit challenging."

"You're too modest, Jing." Fan Ming glanced at the English documents in his hand and hurriedly said, "We've got two foreign clients visiting, and we’re short a translator. Can you help us out, Jing?"

"Me?" Jing Yi pointed at himself.

"Yes, you." Fan Ming, anxious, glanced at his watch. "We don’t have a second to spare." He grabbed Jing Yi and dragged him toward the elevator. "It's urgent. They’re a key overseas client for Li Corporation. We can’t risk offending them. Can you fill in for me? I’ll treat you to a big dinner tonight."

Jing Yi didn’t know what to say.

Before Jing could even protest, Fan Ming had already dragged him down to the meeting room.