Chapter 43: Breakup Hangover

Chapter 43: Breakup Hangover

Jing Yi wasn't exactly a car expert and couldn't tell what brand the emblem on the car represented, but he knew one thing—this stubborn bull definitely didn't represent a Wuling Hongguang.

He would ask the eldest young master tomorrow and find out.

“Third Young Master, why are you here?” The door was still open, and cold air was rushing into the room, causing Jing Yi to huddle deeper into his quilt.

Li Ting wiped the water off his face and let out a long sigh. “Jing Butler, I feel like I’ve been reborn.”

Jing Yi: “……”

“You seem a little off your rocker.”

“……” Li Ting lifted his bangs, his wet eyes glistening. “Yuan Tingxuan cheated on me in a hotel, and I caught her red-handed.”

Jing Yi froze and asked cautiously, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Li Ting sneered, a somewhat crazed grin on his face. “I’m better than ever.”

The biggest thorn in my side is gone. From now on, I won’t have to live in constant fear. The Li family won’t be framed and bankrupted, and I won’t be wearing any more metaphorical green hats... So, I’m better than ever.

I even feel like running out to the yard to cut loose.

Jing Yi looked at him in shock, shrinking further into his quilt. Li Ting really didn’t seem like he was in his right mind right now.

Instead, it was as if he had been stunned by the huge surprise Yuan Tingxuan brought him.

He chuckled, “Third Young Master, if you’re not feeling well, you can actually let it all out.”

“Let it out? Why would I let it out?” Li Ting sneered coldly. “Jing Butler, I personally caught them. I even found contraband in the hotel room. Now, all three of them are going to prison... After today’s events, I think I’ve matured.”

Jing Yi’s eyes widened.

Three… three people?

Li Ting leaned closer. “Jing Butler, are you mature?”

As Li Ting approached, Jing Yi smelled a faint scent of alcohol. He wrinkled his nose and played along with the drunk, “Mature, very mature.”

Li Ting pressed on. “Are you sure? Tell me about your journey to maturity? We can exchange notes.”

Jing Yi covered his nose and leaned back. “The other day, I proactively put on long underwear. I’m very mature too.”

Li Ting: “……”

“You’re still not quite there...” Despite smelling strongly of alcohol, Li Ting seemed surprisingly lucid as he insisted on having a deep conversation with Jing Yi, even trying to climb onto the bed.

“Third Young Master, this isn’t your room...”

Before Li Ting could even reach the bed, he was grabbed by the shoulder and flipped over to the side of Li Wenzhao, who was dressed in his pajamas. “Third.”

Li Ting was lifted up, his head spinning as he let out a belch full of alcohol. “Ugh... Big brother, you’re here too. Listen, I’ve grown up. Tonight, I’m all grown up. I’ll never let trouble into my home again. You won’t have to worry about me anymore...”

Before he could finish speaking, Li Ting’s head drooped, and he fell asleep leaning against his older brother.

Li Wenzhao wrinkled his nose at the strong smell of alcohol and looked up. “Is everything okay? How did he get in?”

Jing Yi shook his head. “I forgot to lock the door.”

"Lock it properly next time," Li Wenzhao reminded him. Last time, the second young master barged in, and this time it was the third young master. Next time, it might be Li Mingzhi joining the party.

The young butler’s room is busier than the town square.

Jing Yi nodded seriously.

·

Li Wenzhao supported the unconscious Li Ting. Jing Yi jumped off the bed, quickly threw on some clothes, and helped Li Wenzhao carry Li Ting back to his room.

Drunk people are heavy. By the time they got Li Ting back to his room, Jing Yi was sweating from his forehead.

Although Li Ting usually appeared carefree and often lacked seriousness, he was actually very sentimental. The incident with Yuan Tingxuan had dealt him a huge blow. After his earlier emotional outburst, he now appeared quite vulnerable while sleeping.

Li Wenzhao helped him remove his damp jacket and wiped his hair.

"Eldest young master, should I go get Doctor Yin?"

"No need. A broken heart can't be cured. He's been fortunate enough not to lose his life to the schemes against him," Li Wenzhao said, turning off the light, leaving the room dim. "Don't worry; he’ll pull through on his own."

Jing Yi nodded, absentmindedly walking out. In the dark, he bumped into something, causing a loud clatter as something rolled down.

"Eldest young master," Jing Yi said, startled. "It seems I've knocked something down."

"Come a little closer." In the dark, a warm, dry hand took his. Jing Yi felt a sense of reassurance.

Li Wenzhao turned on the light and saw that Jing Yi had accidentally knocked over the globe that was placed by the wall as decoration. "You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?"

Jing Yi shook his head. "I'm fine, but it's almost broken."

"Everything in the CEO’s house is pricey. It could cost half a year’s wages for a regular worker."

"It's just an object. If it’s broken, we’ll just get a new one," Li Wenzhao said, turning to walk out. Only then did Jing Yi realize that their hands were still clasped together.

Jing Yi instinctively struggled.

Li Wenzhao tightened his grip, glancing back slightly. "When there’s trouble, you call me. But when everything’s fine, you try to run away. Are you ungrateful or what?"

Jing Yi: "..."

He lowered his head and blinked. "...I'm not."

Li Wenzhao moved their joined hands. "Then why are you running?"

Jing Yi thought Li Wenzhao was twisting the situation. This was the Li family mansion, and aside from the servants, there were three other young masters here. If anyone saw them pulling at each other like this, it would look bad.

Just as he was feeling nervous, footsteps were heard from the stairway. Li Xu returned late, talking on the phone as he went upstairs.

"Ah Yun, will you please pick up the phone?"

"I just want to know if you're really safe. You won't let me come see you, so I've been patiently staying at home."

"But I heard there was another flood in the mountains. I want to go into the mountains to see you. Is that okay?"

"..."

"Winter is coming soon. Are the children in the mountains still lacking clothes and food? My company has an extra batch of winter coats to dispose of. It would be a waste to throw them away, and I think they'd fit the children perfectly. Should I send someone to deliver them?"

"..."

"I'm not the kind of person who overstays their welcome. I'll come back after dropping off the padded jacket, but I promise not to stay for even one night, alright?"

"..."

"Ah Yun, can you please pick up the phone?"

Even the typically aloof Second Young Master Li was pleading humbly.

But Jing Yi was completely uninterested in eavesdropping.

Li Xu was getting closer, and Jing Yi was anxious, not knowing what to do. As Li Xu was about to round the corner and appear before him, Jing Yi looked left and right, grabbed a rag placed by the wall, and crouched down.

Li Wenzhao: "..."

After sending a long voice message with no reply, Li Xu looked troubled. As he raised his head, he was startled to see the two standing in the corridor, "Big brother? Jing Butler?"

Jing Yi, his face red, remained silent, busying himself with scrubbing.

Li Xu glanced at the cold-faced Li Wenzhao, then at Jing Yi who was crouched on the floor, and immediately imagined some sort of punishment scene. His expression turned uncertain, "Big brother, what wrong did Butler Jing commit? Is it necessary to make him do cleaning so early in the morning? And hand-scrubbing the floor at that, we’ve never had such rules in the Li family, have we?"

Li Wenzhao: "..."

Jing Yi kept his head down, scrubbing vigorously, pretending to be engrossed in his task, "This is my due punishment."

Li Xu looked at his elder brother with even more suspicion.

Li Wenzhao: "..."

Li Wenzhao was unfairly saddled with an undeserved accusation, but his strong psychological resilience allowed him to remain calm, hands in his pockets, expression serene, "The Third Young Master got drunk; we escorted him back home."

Li Xu's thoughts were slightly diverted, giving a strange squint, "Did you two... overhear anything?"

Jing Yi: "..."

"The villa was quiet in the early morning, it’s impossible that you didn’t hear anything, right?"

"I didn’t expect that the usually steady and straight-laced Second Young Master would be so persistent in pursuing a girl. With such persistence, he could achieve anything."

Li Xu: "..."

His expression changed, as if someone had caught his hidden weakness. He tried to persuade Li Wenzhao and Jing Yi, "You were sleepwalking, you heard wrong."

Finishing, he hurriedly stepped into his room, flustered.

The sky was beginning to brighten, and the night had been quite torturous. As Li Wenzhao turned to find the young butler to settle the score, his peripheral vision caught something.

The person beside him had already quickly run away.

"..."

Li Wenzhao chuckled softly, his fingers slightly closing.

Running away after causing trouble, quite fast indeed.

·

Jing Yi returned to his room, locked the door, and threw himself onto the bed, rolling around.

In his chaotic thoughts, he realized, oh no, he felt like he was truly done for.

Today is the weekend, so there's no need to go to work. He stretched luxuriously, slept for a few more hours, then got up and went out for a meal.

Li Mingzhi, who rarely had any engagements, stayed home engrossed in a script filled with colorful notes, occasionally letting out a puzzled "hmm... wow."

Li Ting was still hungover, and Li Wenzhao hadn't come downstairs yet. The only one in the living room, Li Xu, looked up with an air of the eldest brother and spoke, "What difficult problem are you looking at? Let Second Brother help you."

Li Mingzhi twisted his body and turned his back to him. "You won't understand it."

Li Xu, indignant, put down his phone and furrowed his brows. "Tell me, what problem can I not solve?"

"Do you know what ABO is?"

"..."

"Do you know where the glands of an Alpha and an Omega are located? Do you know what those glands look like?"

"..."

Li Mingzhi pouted. "See, I told you you wouldn't know."

Li Xu frowned in confusion. "What kind of gibberish are you reading?"

Li Mingzhi rolled his eyes. "It's not gibberish. There are many things in this world that you are unaware of, Second Brother."

Li Xu: "..."

As Jing Yi exited the dining room after finishing his meal, Li Mingzhi sprang up excitedly. "Jing Butler, do you know about ABO?"

Jing Yi, who had read many novels of the genre, nodded. "Yes, it's a gender trope in certain novels."

Li Mingzhi, finding a like-minded person, nodded and placed the colorful script in front of Jing Yi. "I knew you would know. I was right to come to you."

Jing Yi looked at the script. "What is this?"

"This is my first ABO BL drama adaptation from a novel—it's super popular." said Li Mingzhi.

Jing Yi, upon hearing this, widened his eyes. "You can actually film this kind of show here?"

ABO, television dramas, and BL adaptations.

All of these sounded like sensitive and taboo subjects.

"Sure, we can," said Li Mingzhi. "I’m playing an Omega this time, but I don’t know much about this setup—not even where their glands are. Plus, there are so many lines; it’s really tough, Jing Butler."

He looked at Jing Yi expectantly. "Can you explain this setting to me?"

Jing Yi hesitated, glancing at Li Xu. "I can... but..."

It might not be appropriate to discuss this in public.

Li Mingzhi said happily, "That's awesome... Jing Butler, this family wouldn't be the same without you."

The two leaned in close, whispering softly.

Drawing from his novel-reading experience, Jing Yi explained, and Li Mingzhi listened intently. When he heard that the glands were located at the back of the neck, Li Mingzhi reached out and touched Jing Yi's neck. "Is it here?"

Caught off guard, Jing Yi giggled and slumped onto the sofa. "Young master, that's my ticklish spot."

Li Mingzhi touched another spot. "Here?"

Jing Yi immediately shuddered.

Li Mingzhi exclaimed, "I got it, this is your rebellious bone, right?"

Jing Yi: "..."

Just then, Li Wenzhao came downstairs wearing casual clothes. Remembering his own irrational framing earlier that morning, Jing Yi hesitated, made an excuse about not sleeping well, and ran off.

"Morning, eldest young master," Li Xu looked up.

Li Wenzhao caught a glimpse of a disappearing figure around the corner and calmly retracted his gaze, "Has the third one not come down yet?"

"No," Li Xu replied, "I just checked; there's a strong smell of alcohol in his room."

Li Wenzhao sat down. "Let him sleep."

Li Xu shook the newspaper. "Well, he's got a lot of cuckoldry; they need to be removed slowly."

Li Wenzhao: "..."

He sighed. "If one day the third one lays a hand on you, just bear with him."

·

After a short break, it was Monday again.

Jing Yi had been avoiding Li Wenzhao for the past two days, afraid of getting into trouble. Given the awkward situation, he could only temporarily hide from him.

After two days, Jing Yi gradually gained some courage and became less afraid.

"Good morning, eldest young master."

Li Wenzhao looked at him calmly. "Not avoiding me anymore?"

"No more," Jing Yi furrowed his brow, a resigned expression on his face. "Whether I die sooner or later, it’s inevitable. I’m ready to face the storm."

Li Wenzhao opened the door, and a cold wind blew through, causing Jing Yi's teeth to chatter repeatedly, numbing his face.

Li Wenzhao said, "If you can't even handle the cold wind, how do you expect to survive the storm?"

Jing Yi tightened his clothes and shivered, starting to babble nonsense. "Mainly because the winter wind is too much like a thug, freezing everyone indiscriminately."

Li Wenzhao: "..."

As the two were bantering, Li Ting drifted over with an ill temper. Since his breakup, he seemed more gloomy, neither sad nor happy, finding everything pessimistic.

"You're still easier to fool," Li Ting stood at the windy spot and spread his arms. "See, why doesn’t it freeze me, hmm hmm hmm?"

Jing Yi: "..."

"The third young master seems to have activated vibration mode."

Li Ting: "..."

Li Xu, dressed in a thick woolen overcoat, stood tall and straight, and walked to the door. Suddenly, his phone rang. He answered it with a slightly brightened gaze. "Ah Yun? ... Not busy, I'm free right now ... Okay, a cotton jacket? ... Yes, I'll personally deliver it this afternoon ... Alright, see you this afternoon."

After hanging up, Li Xu rarely wore a comforting and content smile, glanced at the gloomy sky outside, and sighed, "The weather's decent today, isn't it?"

"..."

Li Ting glanced over with a gloomy look. "Did Miss Xie agree to see you?"

Li Xu smiled faintly. "Yes!"

Li Ting let out a cold laugh. "Second Brother, I advise you to be careful. When it comes to love, when you're in love, it's poetry and distant dreams. When you're not, it's corpses and cops."

He gave Li Xu a cool expression. "Weigh it yourself."

Li Xu's mood turned stormy in an instant. "..." His good mood was shattered by Li Ting's words.

Jing Yi carefully inched closer to Li Wenzhao.

... He felt a little scared.

The Li family brothers seemed to be getting more and more abnormal.

Only Li Wenzhao was relatively normal.

Li Wenzhao watched Jing Yi slowly creep to his side, like a mushroom seeking shelter.

Feeling a soft spot in his heart, Li Wenzhao generously overlooked the framing from the other day. "This is some fresh lotus seed cake made by Aunt Fang this morning. Eat up and you won't feel cold."

Jing Yi's heart leapt with joy and he snatched the pastry, feeling that sticking with Li Wenzhao was the right choice.

Great food, drinks, and a high salary for slacking off.

Where else could you find a job this good?

Thinking this, he leaned a little closer to Li Wenzhao, distancing himself from the low-pressure Li Ting.

But even though Jing Yi had moved so far away, Li Ting's sharp words still reached him.

"Jing Butler, be careful. If someone tries to win you over with food, watch out—it might be leftovers."

Li Wenzhao: "..."

Jing Yi, with the pastry in his mouth, froze. "..."

Well, Third Young Master is now attacking everyone indiscriminately.