Chapter 56: Only Appetite Left Among the Seven Emotions and Six Desires

Chapter 56: Only Appetite Left Among the Seven Emotions and Six Desires

Jing Yi shouted in a panic, successfully summoning Li Wenzhao.

At that moment, Li Wenzhao had just returned to his office seat, his butt not even warmed up yet, when he was startled by the young butler's desperate inner plea. His expression changed, and he pushed his chair away, heading out the door.

There were some unusual noises in the corridor not far away.

Li Wenzhao opened the door and was immediately stunned.

Jing Yi stood perfectly fine on the platform between floors, seemingly unharmed. Looking down, a man with a familiar silhouette was sprawled face down on the stairs, utterly undignified.

Further down, the new assistant stood awkwardly, at a loss.

This scene, these three people, no matter how you looked at it, seemed bizarre.

Li Wenzhao: "What happened?"

"That's Mr. Shen," Jing Yi pointed at the flattened figure upstairs, calmly explaining, "He was in too much of a hurry and took a tumble."

Li Wenzhao: "..."

The three of them stood silently at three corners, none of them thinking to help Shen Shubai up.

A few minutes later, Shen Shubai snapped out of his daze. He staggered to his feet, his knees and thighs aching terribly.

As he looked up, he saw his long-time business rival watching him with ease.

Shen Shubai's vision went black: "..."

What could be more humiliating than falling in front of your nemesis? Well, there was—falling so hard that you briefly knocked yourself out.

Grimacing, he got up, leaning on the railing as he hobbled upward: "Li Wenzhao, don't think that just because you saw me make a fool of myself, you've won. I'm telling you..."

Reaching the platform, Shen Shubai puffed out his chest, releasing the railing with a flourish, only to hear another splat as his injured knee suddenly gave way, and he knelt on the ground.

Jing Yi: "..."

Is it New Year already? What’s with the kneeling?

After a long, awkward silence, Jing Yi's lips twitched: "Level..."

Shen Shubai snapped his head up: "Don't you dare say that word!"

Jing Yi immediately pursed his lips and took a step back behind Li Wenzhao: "Even."

Shen Shubai: "..." x皿x

Jing Yi: |.o*

Even the honest ones fear trouble.

Li Corporation's security was intact. So far, Li Wenzhao hadn't received any reports of Shen Shubai breaking in, yet here he was, half-dead, standing here, having somehow bypassed the staff downstairs and made his way up on his own.

Li Wenzhao said, "Mr. Shen, you're too kind. It's not even the end of the year yet, and I haven't prepared a red envelope for you."

Jing Yi quietly raised his head, giggling softly. Eldest young master, you didn't let him off either.

Shen Shubai, holding his knee as he got up, snorted coldly: "What are you so smug about? I just slipped for a moment."

"Mhm, I can vouch for that." Jing Yi raised his hand: "Mr. Shen accidentally slipped, and Luo Bo was just helping him with that slip."

Luo Bo was the new assistant.

"..."

"..."

The three people present were all stunned by his description, especially the little mole Luo Bo, who kept waving his hands and retreating, his eyes horrified: "...I-I-I didn't slip, I'm straight."

Shen Shubai turned his face: "...Shut up!"

Luo Bo turned into a silent vegetable.

The sound of footsteps was chaotic, Fan Ming arrived belatedly with the security team, "Mr. Li."

Another intrusion had occurred, and the security captain's face was grim, fearing that Li Wenzhao would blame him. He ordered two security guards to take Shen Shubai downstairs.

"You dare lay hands on me?" Shen Shubai, injured, was dragged away after struggling a few times.

Jing Yi watched with a mixed expression. Why, since he woke up, has the protagonist brother become less and less like a protagonist? Where was the halo? The motherly treatment? The countless sycophantic followers?

Why were they all gone?

Compared to Li Wenzhao, the current Shen Shubai seemed more like a villain at his wit's end.

Look at these petty tricks of deploying undercover agents, you sent a spy and then personally came to meet them, and now you've been caught red-handed.

After they jointly removed Shen Shubai, Li Wenzhao finally had time to care about Jing Yi, "How did you end up with them?"

"Um, Mr. Li..." A timid little hand was raised.

The silent vegetable spoke: "I want to report to you."

Jing Yi: "...??"

"Wrong word, right? It should be confess."

Li Wenzhao glanced at the confused Jing Yi, thought of something, and chuckled, "Go on."

Luo Bo suddenly raised his hand, pointing at Jing Yi, indignant: "I report! Assistant Jing is colluding with Shen Shubai from Shen Group, they conspired to enter your office to steal secrets, I heard it with my own ears."

Jing Yi's expression twisted.

Turning the tables? Right in front of the main guy, brother, you're something else.

"I didn't," Jing Yi said.

"I saw it with my own eyes," Luo Bo said: "Mr. Li, look, he's holding a high-tech USB drive provided by Shen Shubai, planning to hack your computer tonight."

Li Wenzhao lowered his eyes, the young butler was indeed clutching something tightly, "Let me see."

Jing Yi opened his fingers, sounding a bit angry.

"He's slandering me."

"I know."

Jing Yi then hummed twice and leaned over to look: "What is this? Can it really hack your computer?"

This kind of cutting-edge technology is a high-tech product. Li Wenzhao is not a professional technician and doesn’t understand the functional details: "I don’t know, but we’ll have the technical department take a look later and find out."

Seeing the two of them chatting warmly, Luo Bo looked puzzled: "?"

Jing Yi pursed his lips, not very interested: "Alright then."

Li Wenzhao put away the USB drive and looked at Luo Bo: "Go to the Human Resources department this afternoon and handle your resignation."

Luo Bo showed a surprised expression: "Why, Mr. Li? Assistant Jing is the corporate mole!"

Jing Yi was speechless. How could someone so stupid be a mole? He buried his head, grabbed Li Wenzhao’s hand, and interlocked their fingers tightly, raising it: "He’s my boyfriend. How could I possibly be spying for Shen Shubai? Please, while you’re working on your physique, maybe work on your brain too?"

"How could Shen Shubai choose him to be a spy? What, does the cousin also have the halo of an important supporting character?"

Li Wenzhao was stunned for a moment, then the corners of his mouth curled up gently.

Luo Bo froze, looking as stiff as a board.

"Mr. Li, Shen Shubai has already been taken away." Fan Ming’s voice came from afar, startling Jing Yi, who quickly withdrew his hand and flashed to the window.

Li Wenzhao: "..."

His hand lingered awkwardly in the air, unsure where to go.

"Hmm." Calmly putting his hand back in his pocket, Li Wenzhao said: "Take Luo Bo to HR to handle his resignation."

Fan Ming: "Understood."

Li Wenzhao continued: "Tell HR to remember to do thorough background checks when hiring next time. If this happens again, the year-end bonus will be cut directly."

Even Shen Shubai’s cousin was hired, which shows how careless HR has been. It’s clear that the big issues at Li Corporation have been infiltrated bit by bit.

Fan Ming nodded: "Yes, Mr. Li."

Fan Ming led the stiff Luo Bo away, and Li Wenzhao turned to settle accounts with the young butler by the window, "What are you hiding for?"

Is he that unsightly? Or is this relationship unsightly?

"No." Jing Yi explained: "Don’t many companies prohibit workplace romances? I’m considering your image, Mr. Li."

Li Wenzhao chuckled: "Then I should thank you?"

Jing Yi pursed his lips: "A small thanks will suffice."

"..."

His courage is growing.

Jing Yi grinned mischievously and slipped away, while Li Wenzhao sent someone to take the USB drive to the technical department for evaluation.

In the afternoon, Mr. Xie’s grandfather came by for a visit. Li Wenzhao personally went downstairs to greet him and brought him to the office for a long talk.

The old man was not in good health, and the person accompanying him was the family’s long-time butler. The butler was professional, spoke little, and had an expressionless face, not lively at all.

But when the old man pursed his lips, he knew to serve tea at the right temperature. When the old man coughed, he took out a thin blanket. When the old man frowned, he stood behind him to pat his back and massage his shoulders.

Mr. Xie was served very comfortably.

Jing Yi was utterly impressed.

This is what a legendary professional butler looks like. Compared to someone of this caliber, he is at best an inexperienced young doorman.

Half an hour later, Li Wenzhao saw off the elderly Mr. Xie and returned to his office to find the young butler resting his chin on his hand, lost in thought, not even noticing his return.

Li Wenzhao walked over and pinched the fleshy cheek that Jing Yi had been cradling, "What are you daydreaming about?"

Jing Yi blinked, "I'm reflecting."

"Hmm?"

"Today, I finally saw what a real butler is like."

Jing Yi sighed softly, "I used to think that a butler was just a manager of miscellaneous tasks in a wealthy family's home. But now I see, being able to manage every detail so meticulously is quite impressive."

Li Wenzhao: "Envious?"

Jing Yi shook his head, "My own failures are distressing, but the comparison with my peers makes me grind my teeth."

Li Wenzhao: "..."

This silly young butler really doesn't dwell on his frustrations.

·

As the workday neared its end, Jing Yi had already completed all the tasks Li Wenzhao had playfully assigned him and was packing up when he received a text from Li Mingzhi—

[Young Master]: Jing Yi, have you forgotten about me?

[Your Jing Grandpa]: How could I, young master? Though far apart, we are close at heart.

[Young Master]: Hehehe.

[Young Master]: I have a live stream later to promote the TV series, but I'm a bit nervous and want someone from home to accompany me in the stream.

[Your Jing Grandpa]: Someone from home is here! Young master, go for it with confidence.

[Young Master]: Hehe, now I feel better.

[Young Master]: Here's the live stream link, it starts in five minutes, remember to come.

Jing Yi glanced to the side; Li Wenzhao was busy with documents, so he quietly put on his headphones and entered the live stream.

It was a group live stream, with almost all the main actors from the series present. Jing Yi quickly scanned through them all; aside from the alpha actor, Li Mingzhi had the highest popularity.

The young master is really something.

Soon, the live stream began, with Li Mingzhi still in his costume, his makeup flawless.

"I had a few poster shoots today and didn't have time to remove my makeup, so I'll just go live like this," Li Mingzhi smiled, showing his tiger teeth.

The comments were all positive.

[Wuwuwu, brother is so handsome]

[The most beautiful Omega in the world! When will the boys' love drama be scheduled? I want to see the marking! I want to see the waves! I want to see the Omega cry hard!]

[Remember, you're living off your looks, control that stray mouth of yours, wouldn't it be nice to just be a quiet handsome man!]

[Who understands, such a handsome little brother, why do I just want to laugh when I see him ahahaha...]

Li Mingzhi started his career as a comedian, and his image has deeply rooted in people's hearts.

After the live broadcast started, the main actors connected and gathered together to chat about interesting things during filming, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.

Until Ke Minghua suddenly spoke up, his biting remarks aimed directly at Li Mingzhi, "...We all finished early today and even had a meal together, but unfortunately, Mingzhi was kept by the director to reshoot some mistake scenes, so he couldn't join us. What a pity."

The comments section gradually skewed—

[Wasn't it for shooting stills? How come it's reshooting mistake scenes?]

[Do you believe his excuses?]

[After all, he's not professionally trained, how can he compare with Ke Ke who is a professional? A comedian shooting an idol romance drama, haha.]

[Some people online keep defending him all day, and I actually believed it.]

Seeing the change in comments, Ke Minghua feigned a slip of the tongue, dramatically covering his mouth: "...This seems to be something I shouldn't say, sorry Mingzhi, I'm just straightforward, no harm intended."

Since the live broadcast was related to the drama's promotion, Li Mingzhi could only smile: "Yeah, I know Ke Ke doesn't think before he speaks."

Jing Yi smiled slightly.

The young master was no longer the naive boy who could be easily deceived. Look at how the soft thorns pricked, Ke Minghua's face changed.

After the casual chat, the live broadcast entered a fun PK stage, where the main actors sold drama-related merchandise in their own live rooms, such as keychains, posters, and small fans. All proceeds were donated, and the actor who sold the most would hold a fan meeting offline.

This way, it could stimulate the audience to buy more.

Once the shopping cart was up, each main actor's sales were skyrocketing, except for Li Mingzhi's side, which was more laid-back.

"Everyone, take a look, buy if you like, no need to bulk buy just to help me win."

"I do care about the lives of children in mountainous areas, but you don't need to use your money, I can donate offline myself."

"...I'm a newcomer, whether it's popularity or fans, I can't compare with other teachers, I'll just honestly stay at the bottom."

[Hahahaha, Mingzhi has such a stable mindset.]

[At least you know your place, you can't beat Ke Ke.]

[Can't act well, slack in live broadcasts, what's left for Li Mingzhi? Just unfunny jokes.]

[He said he would donate offline, what are you sour about in the comments?]

[Offline donations, who knows if it's true, unlike our Ke Ke, who volunteers at disabled children's hospitals every year, that's what charity should be.]

The comments became more and more chaotic, the discussion content had deviated from the original intention, gradually shifting towards a direction of bickering.

Jing Yi frowned as he watched.

The sales in other live rooms were steadily rising, only Li Mingzhi's side was full of disputes, the young master's smile slowly faded, and it seemed that many staff members were considering remedial measures.

Jing Yi was on edge.

He knew the entertainment industry was competitive, but not this competitive, a few words could start a war, catching people off guard.

Seeing Li Mingzhi at the bottom of the rankings, Jing Yi opened the drawer and took out the supplementary card given by Li Wenzhao...

A minute later, Li Mingzhi was shocked to find that his shopping cart was overwhelmed.

The mysterious buyer bought everything in one go.

Actually, it wasn’t that mysterious. He carefully scrutinized the ID of the order—Your Jing Grandpa, wielding a long sword, took down Ke Maluo in one strike.

Li Mingzhi: "..."

He had never seen such a long and direct ID before.

No guessing needed, it had to be Jing Butler.

Li Mingzhi secretly took out his phone: [Jing Yi, stop swiping, your salary is going to run out. It’s fine to be at the bottom, I don’t care about these rankings.]

[Your Jing Grandpa]: Bully me all you want, but don’t mess with the young master!

[Young Master]: Are you really going to bankrupt yourself competing with them?

[Your Jing Grandpa]: Don’t sweat it, young master, I’ll just swipe the eldest young master’s card to cover you.

[Young Master]: ...

Li Wenzhao’s phone on the CEO’s desk vibrated dozens of times in a row.

Li Wenzhao frowned, suspecting his phone had gone crazy.

He picked it up and saw—oh, just a bunch of deduction alerts.

Over 100 of them.

Li Wenzhao: "..."

Is the young butler buying salt one grain at a time or something?

He turned and saw the boy next to him hunched over the desk, furiously tapping his phone, making Li Wenzhao’s phone buzz nonstop.

"What are you doing?" Li Wenzhao muted his phone.

Jing Yi didn’t look back: "Just rescuing a poor little soul."

Li Wenzhao: "??"

Jing Yi didn’t go overboard, just swiped enough to get Li Mingzhi into the top three. Too strong and you invite envy, too weak and you invite ridicule.

The money came from Li Wenzhao’s account. Jing Yi didn’t calculate how much he spent, but it felt amazing.

Spending money felt amazing.

Spending money without caring about the balance felt even more amazing.

Swiping without limits felt like pure bliss!

He had never felt this good in his life.

Except that Li Wenzhao’s phone ran out of battery from all the vibrations.

Jing Yi finally settled down, wiped the sweat off his forehead, and let out a soft sigh, like he’d just pulled off something huge.

"Done swiping?" Li Wenzhao asked as he saw Jing Yi stop.

Jing Yi shook his head, picked up the water cup on the table, and took a sip: "Done. Spending money is exhausting."

Li Wenzhao smiled, "Actually, you can set the purchase quantity to the maximum; no need to pay for each item separately."

Jing Yi was stunned.

Damn... I was so caught up watching the comment wars that I forgot about this. I'm really not a competent online shopper. My fingers are numb from tapping the screen.

It was already late. Li Wenzhao glanced at his watch, "We can call it a day now."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm tired. I need to eat something hearty to recharge."

Li Wenzhao looked at his stiff fingers, "Then let's eat pig trotters."

Jing Yi thought for a moment, "To replenish collagen?" Seems not bad.

Li Wenzhao lowered his eyes, "You are what you eat."

Jing Yi: "..."

·

Walking out of the office, Jing Yi heard gossiping in the secretary's room.

"...Really?"

"No doubt about it. Shen Group is in complete chaos. I heard they laid off dozens of people in just one afternoon."

"So serious?"

"Of course. I heard even Mr. Shen was invited for tea by the higher-ups."

"Tsk tsk tsk..."

Jing Yi slightly turned his face to look at Li Wenzhao, "Was that your doing?"

Li Wenzhao nodded without surprise, "Reported one of his non-compliant projects."

Jing Yi blinked, slightly dazed.

He remembered, in the original text, there was indeed such a segment.

Shen Shubai was caught off guard, successfully counterattacked by Li Wenzhao, resulting in the bankruptcy of several projects and indeed many layoffs.

So the plot has already progressed to the middle and late stages.

Jing Yi took two steps forward, then suddenly stopped. Li Wenzhao, "What's wrong?"

Jing Yi raised his head, a sly smile on his face, "Eldest young master, do you want to acquire both the Crouching Dragon and the Young Phoenix at the same time?"

Li Wenzhao, "...?"

·

At the entrance of Shen Group, a somber atmosphere filled the air.

Dozens of employees, looking miserable, held small cardboard boxes, forced to leave their livelihood, shaking their heads and sighing.

In the original text, these people voluntarily bowed under Shen Shubai's protagonist aura, willingly taking the blame to help Shen Shubai escape the vortex.

But now, it seems these people were clearly forced. Given Shen Shubai's ruthlessness, they might have been thrown out as scapegoats.

In modern society, office workers bear the burden of car loans, mortgages, raising children, supporting the elderly, and credit card repayments, facing immense life pressures. Losing this job means the whole family might have to go without food for a period of time.

If they remain unemployed, they also face the crisis of social security payment interruptions. No wonder these people look like it's the end of the world.

Jing Yi stood by the roadside of Shen Group, tiptoeing and scanning the crowd, trying to spot the people he was looking for.

Li Wenzhao, worried he might fall, reached out to steady his shoulder: "What exactly are you looking for?"

Jing Yi looked around: "Talent."

He remembered that there were two people in Shen Shubai's company who were very knowledgeable about finance. Later, when Shen Group faced a crisis, Shen Shubai realized he had misjudged the talent and personally went to the countryside to bring these two back.

These two did not disappoint, and after some maneuvers, Shen Group was eventually revived.

Such good talent should not be discarded by Shen Shubai.

Of course, they should be absorbed into Li Corporation.

Li Wenzhao heard the young butler's murmuring thoughts and smiled silently.

It's tough for the young butler, being so busy every day, either helping Li Mingzhi boost rankings or thinking about poaching from Shen Shubai, making each day incredibly hectic.

"Found them," Jing Yi patted Li Wenzhao's shoulder, grabbed his hand, and walked against the crowd to the flower bed at the entrance of Shen Group.

A man and a woman were sitting on the flower bed, staring blankly at Shen Group, the girl murmuring softly: "After working for so long, how did we suddenly lose our jobs?"

The boy comforted: "It's okay, if the job is lost, we'll find another. I won't let you suffer."

The girl said in a low voice: "But our rent is due, it's annual, and there's my father's medical expenses... where can I find such a large sum of money?"

"Don't worry," the boy hugged the girl's shoulder, "I'll deliver takeout at night, earn some extra, surely we can make it back."

The girl silently lowered her head, tears falling from her eyes.

"Eldest young master."

Li Wenzhao: "Hmm?"

Jing Yi said seriously: "Do you trust me?"

Li Wenzhao was slightly startled, then nodded.

Jing Yi pointed to the two not far away, "Poach them, they're super talented, worth a super high salary and a housing allowance in the millions."

In the original text, to highlight Shen Shubai's respect for talent, the author had him personally go to the countryside to invite them back, thus depicting the background of these two supporting characters—poor, the boy is an orphan, the girl's parents are chronically ill, requiring high monthly medical expenses, hence their lives are very tight, and unemployment is more terrifying than a nightmare for them.

Li Wenzhao looked calmly at Jing Yi, nodded, and without hesitation said: "Okay."

Only then did Jing Yi smile: "Then it's your turn."

Li Wenzhao, having long held a high position, naturally knew how to recruit talent. He walked over, identified himself, and the two stood up in surprise. Li Wenzhao clearly articulated his intention to hire them.

Both were taken aback, the girl said: "But we were originally employees of Shen Group..."

Li Wenzhao said calmly: "Not anymore."

The boy: "You don't mind?"

Li Wenzhao said: "If I did, I wouldn't be here."

The two of them exchanged glances.

Li Wenzhao knew they needed time and said gently, "Our company's investment management division is in its growth phase and needs to recruit talents in this field. I’ve reviewed your resumes, and they’re impressive. Joining Li Corporation would be your best bet."

The boy hesitated for a moment, "Can I ask about the salary for the position?"

Li Wenzhao stated a figure, "Moreover, the company will provide housing allowances tied to your position and performance."

Both of them were stunned, "Seriously?"

Li Wenzhao nodded.

The girl's face turned red with excitement, "Then, if we agree, when can we start working?"

Li Wenzhao replied, "Whenever you're ready."

They shared an excited look, seeing satisfaction and eagerness in each other's eyes, and quickly agreed, "Alright, we'll do it."

Li Wenzhao nodded in satisfaction and turned to look at Jing Yi.

Jing Yi, who had been standing far away to avoid disturbing Li Wenzhao's recruitment skills, slowly walked over, "Done?"

Li Wenzhao nodded.

The boy and girl, seeing Jing Yi, were momentarily stunned. Their excitement slowly subsided, and they remembered to ask about their identities, "Excuse me, are you two from the HR department of Li Corporation?"

Jing Yi smiled lightly, "No."

He pointed at Li Wenzhao, "He's the boss, not in HR."

Li Wenzhao paused while taking out his business card, "..."

The boy and girl, "..."

Jing Yi, realizing what he'd just said, "..."

Well, he better keep his mouth shut.

Li Wenzhao handed over his business card and instructed them to report to Fan Ming the next day. They would start work the following week and would be provided with housing.

The two were stunned by this stroke of luck, repeatedly thanking them and wishing they could start working that very day.

By the time they finished talking, it was already dark. The talents Li Wenzhao had recruited finally left, their figures light and cheerful, with the girl's relaxed laughter still audible from afar.

Li Wenzhao walked back to Jing Yi, "It's settled, time for dinner, right?"

Jing Yi, who had been starving, nodded eagerly, "Let's go, let's go."

Li Wenzhao, "Slow down, the food isn't going anywhere, but if you walk too fast, you'll get a stomachache."

Jing Yi, ignoring him, walked quickly and urgently, "Eldest young master, you don't understand, I'm so hungry, all I care about right now is food."

"If you don't want to see me gnawing on tree bark on the street, you better pick up the pace with those long legs of yours."

"Better yet, start running."

Li Wenzhao, "..."