Chapter 60: I Am Not a Scumbag

Chapter 60: I Am Not a Scumbag

The sound of camera shutters clicked incessantly as the pre-arranged reporters swarmed in, capturing Shen Shubai's stiff and visibly green face in their lenses.

"Mr. Shen, is this the welfare you provide for your company's employees?"

"Rumors say Shen Group is financially strained, with several projects in trouble. It seems these are just baseless rumors from the outside world."

"Clearly, that's the case."

"Exactly, otherwise, they wouldn't be able to offer luxury cars and high-end apartments at Tomson Riviera as welfare."

"Shen Group employees are truly fortunate. Nowadays, there aren't many company bosses with such a conscience."

Shen Shubai: "…………"

What a bunch of crap!

Who the hell prepared this welfare lottery? Lamborghinis and luxury apartments at Tomson Riviera? How bold! Why not toss in a yacht or a rocket for good measure!

"I won too, I won! A yacht! A luxury yacht!"

Shen Shubai: "…………"

Shen Shubai's expression was about to crack. The person in charge of the event planning was sweating profusely: "Mr. Shen..."

Shen Shubai gritted his teeth: "Is this what you call employee welfare? Mr. Zhao, are you a spy sent by Li Wenzhao?"

"No, no, no, no... I'm not, Mr. Shen." Mr. Zhao wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his lips pale: "I really don't know how these things ended up in the lottery box. I'll investigate immediately."

"Is it any use?" Shen Shubai looked at the false praises from the audience below, feeling like the world was ending: "Everyone knows about this. Should I pay out the prizes or not?"

Mr. Zhao: "No, don't pay them."

Shen Shubai sneered: "So you want the whole city to laugh at me? Where would my face be then?"

Mr. Zhao trembled: "Then... then pay them."

Shen Shubai laughed in anger: "Are you trying to bankrupt me?"

"..."

Below the stage, Jing Yi was laughing his head off.

"Giggle giggle... Shen Shubai's face is all green... Pay out the prizes, no money; don't pay them, no face."

"Let's see if he values his face or his money more."

Li Wenzhao, seeing the young butler, Jing Yi, laughing his head off, steadied his wobbling shoulders, "Never mind him. Are you hungry? Let me take you to eat something."

Jing Yi had already set his sights on the freshly grilled steaks on the dining table. He walked over and waved his hand grandly: "Bring me ten servings."

The chef was stunned.

Li Wenzhao: "Getting even?"

Jing Yi nodded, "Mhm. Shen Shubai incited the 'Collapse Five' to kidnap and kill me. If it weren't for my connections, I wouldn't have made it back. Just eating a few of his steaks isn't asking too much, right?"

Li Wenzhao nodded enthusiastically: "Not too much, but can you finish all that?"

Jing Yi watched the sizzling steak in front of the chef and swallowed hard: "Can I get some to-go? I'll bring some back for the young master and Fan Ming."

He pointed to the label beside it: "Top-grade Wagyu beef flown in from overseas. It’d be a shame to let it go to waste."

The chef's eyes widened: "..."

He was so shocked that he accidentally snapped the rosemary in his hand in half.

...What kind of guest eats and takes food home?

While Jing Yi was drooling over the steak, on the stage, Shen Shubai put on a forced smile and accepted the prizes, his fingers turning white from gripping the microphone so hard. If it weren’t for the microphone’s quality, it would have snapped in half on stage.

After stepping down, Shen Shubai was no longer in the mood to mingle in the hall and hurriedly returned to the backstage lounge. He barely said a word before smashing two large decorative vases.

"Who did this!"

Manager Zhao, scared, hid in a corner and dared not make a sound.

Shen Shubai's newly hired beautiful secretary approached with the clacking of high heels: "Mr. Shen, we've found it. Here's the surveillance footage."

Shen Shubai turned to look, his face turning even darker.

In the footage, the notoriously resilient Jing Butler sneaked up to the prize box, peeked inside for a while, and seeing no one around, grabbed a pen and paper and began scribbling furiously. After finishing, he casually folded the paper and tossed it into the prize box.

"..."

"..."

Shen Shubai slammed the tablet onto the ground: "Li Wenzhao!"

He randomly pointed at the accompanying beautiful secretary: "I don’t care how you do it, but make Li Wenzhao pay ten times over!"

The secretary nodded blankly: "...Yes, I'll go figure something out."

This is serious—it seems she’s working for a crazy boss.

Having only been on the job for half a month, she hasn’t done much except watch the big boss throw tantrums, which is quite terrifying.

Just as she was about to go back and think of a way to retaliate, Shen Shubai's phone, temporarily in her possession, rang, "Mr. Shen, a call."

Shen Shubai leaned against the wall, breathing heavily: "Tell them I'm not here."

The secretary had to answer, and after listening for a couple of sentences, her expression changed. She took a couple of cautious steps back and said softly, "Mr. Shen, it's a call from the Jiang family, the richest man."

Shen Shubai was startled: "What? Give it to me."

"They've already hung up."

Shen Shubai had a bad feeling: "What did they say?"

"They said..." the secretary whispered, "they're withdrawing their investment."

"..."

It was like adding insult to injury. Shen Shubai, furious to the extreme, instead looked less ferocious, "Li Wenzhao, I swear I'll never coexist with you!"

His voice was laced with bitterness.

Outside the door, Jing Yi could only finish two steaks and, without hesitation, asked the chef to pack eight more.

Suddenly, Jing Yi paused, tilting his head slightly.

Li Wenzhao noticed his movement: "What's wrong?"

Jing Yi listened for a moment, then pursed his lips and chuckled: "Shen Shubai is throwing a tantrum, cursing at you backstage and smashing a lot of stuff, hahaha."

Li Wenzhao sighed helplessly: "He probably thinks I taught you all these tricks."

Jing Yi immediately frowned: "Why does he underestimate me so much?"

"..."

Is that something to be proud of? Why are you even arguing about it?

Once the eight steaks were packed, Jing Yi didn't stay long. He picked up the clearly high-end takeout boxes and left the main hall with Li Wenzhao.

"Will he try to get revenge on us?"

Li Wenzhao wasn't surprised: "Obviously, he will."

"Then we need to be careful recently and not mess around."

"..."

Li Wenzhao glanced at him but didn't say anything. In his heart, he wasn't particularly worried about Shen Shubai's revenge tactics.

After being forced to endure the young butler's amateurish business tactics time and time again, Shen Shubai had done plenty of foolish things in his rage. This time should be no different. Once he's driven mad, he'll probably only think of retaliating the same way.

Moreover, Shen Shubai had suffered a significant financial loss this time and likely wanted Li Wenzhao to feel the same pain.

But financial issues were precisely where Li Wenzhao needed the least defense.

Let's see what tricks Shen Shubai will pull.

After leaving the hall, Jing Yi patted his full stomach and sighed contentedly: "This is great. Eating, taking, and even getting one over on Shen Shubai."

Nothing could make him happier.

"Eldest young master," the excited Jing Yi stood on tiptoe and patted Li Wenzhao's shoulder, trying to act as a life mentor: "Let me tell you, when it comes to revenge, it's better to act sooner rather than later, and..."

Li Wenzhao raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue.

However, Jing Yi just stopped walking lightly and sighed: "I'm so full. Let's walk back."

Li Wenzhao: "..."

This silly young butler, not a second of seriousness.

Since the company wasn't far, walking back would serve as a nice post-meal stroll.

Jing Yi, afraid of the cold, hung the takeout boxes on his wrist and stuffed his hands into his coat pockets, which were filled with warm air.

After all the commotion, he felt a chill on his neck. After a moment's thought, he decisively turned around: "Eldest young master, help me zip up my jacket. My neck is cold."

Li Wenzhao stopped and turned to him: "Lift your head."

Jing Yi raised his chin high, instinctively reminding him: "Don't catch my skin."

"..." Li Wenzhao: "Do you think I'm some kind of idiot?"

Jing Yi giggled: "Just a little heads-up, don't get all touchy, eldest young master."

He tilted his head back, only catching a glimpse of Li Wenzhao's forehead hair, his slender neck fully exposed.

Li Wenzhao looked down at that patch of snow-white, his eyes darkening slightly, his fingers pulling the zipper up with force, not immediately letting go, his warm fingertips brushing lightly but firmly under the young butler's small throat.

Jing Yi shivered all over: "...Hmm!"

He instinctively tucked his neck and chin into his collar, asking, "What are you doing?"

Li Wenzhao casually helped him pull his hood over his head, "Just zipping up, young butler, don't be too sensitive."

Jing Yi: "..."

A villain's a villain; they don't wait to get even.

The spot on his neck where he'd been touched felt tingly, the sensation of being rubbed lingering on his skin, making it itch.

Jing Yi turned his head, rubbing against his collar, his whole body warming up from the motion.

After walking a while, they passed by a night market snack street.

Jing Yi pursed his lips, unable to move on, "Hey, eldest young master, wanna grab some snacks?"

Li Wenzhao glanced at his stomach: "Aren't you full?"

Jing Yi shamelessly said: "I'm full from the main course, but there's still room for snacks."

Li Wenzhao: "..."

What kind of stomach does this young butler have, with separate compartments for different foods?

Seeing Li Wenzhao's tacit approval, Jing Yi turned and ran in. The night market was full of greasy and spicy snacks, which suited Jing Yi's taste perfectly. After tasting meatballs, grilled pancakes, milk tea, and lemon chicken feet, he finally stood in front of a barbecue stall, unwilling to leave.

"This, this, this, and that." He almost turned his head: "Do you want any?"

Li Wenzhao was only left with astonishment: "You can still eat?"

Jing Yi started to talk nonsense: "Isn't there still the snack area? Just squeeze over there."

"..." Li Wenzhao said: "Just get your own stuff."

"Okay." Jing Yi turned his face: "Then those just now, one of each."

Li Wenzhao had no impression of these snack streets. He was born and raised in a mansion, with star chefs preparing his meals every day at home. Even when dining out for business, he was quite picky, always politely declining such oily and smoky barbecues.

But seeing the young butler's face full of drooling anticipation, he couldn't help but wonder... is it really that delicious?

Since crossing over, Jing Yi's twenty-year poor man's stomach had been spoiled by the Li family's delicacies, but deep down he still missed this kind of smoky barbecue.

In his previous life, he often went to night markets with his roommates, Jing Yi could eat from start to finish.

Ten minutes later, Jing Yi stood shivering in the cold wind, clutching a dozen skewers.

"Eldest young master." He said with a trembling voice.

Li Wenzhao stood beside him, looking down. Jing Yi somewhat embarrassedly spoke: "Could you help me hold these for a bit?"

Li Wenzhao paused for a moment, his expression unchanged as he took over the skewers, not minding the oil stains from the bamboo sticks on his hands.

He thought Jing Yi wanted to adjust his position before eating, but to his surprise, the young butler tucked his hands into his pockets, tilted his head, and took a bite of the skewer.

Li Wenzhao: "?"

"It's too cold, I'll hold them after I warm up a bit," Jing Yi said, shrinking his neck cautiously. "But I couldn't resist, the smell is too good."

Li Wenzhao: "..."

Forget it.

"Just eat like this," Li Wenzhao thought. Feeding the young butler felt surprisingly nice.

Jing Yi smiled, his eyes curving: "Thank you, eldest young master."

Li Wenzhao chuckled, dutifully acting as a snack stand, taking all the items from Jing Yi's hands and even freeing one hand to feed his boyfriend.

Walking through the bustling night market, filled with lively sounds, Li Wenzhao seemed to find a different kind of joy.

The young butler was all eyes but had a small stomach, wanting to taste everything he saw. At such times, Li Wenzhao only needed to steer in the right direction and place some food in front of Jing Yi, and the young butler's attention would be easily diverted.

The night market was crowded, and Li Wenzhao, with his striking appearance and tall stature, attracted many onlookers. However, seeing the young man beside him being fed so obediently, they quickly dismissed any thoughts.

All of the man's attention was captivated by the young man beside him. Their chemistry was perfect, their interactions sweet, and no one could come between them.

Finally leaving the night market, Jing Yi was full and let out a small burp, "I'm full."

Li Wenzhao looked down: "Sound familiar? You said the same thing earlier."

Jing Yi shyly pursed his lips: "Didn't you say that flags are meant to be broken?"

Li Wenzhao: "..."

He snorted a laugh: "You're turning your reasoning skills on me now, huh?"

Jing Yi smiled sheepishly, noticing something out of the corner of his eye. He turned slightly and saw two secretaries walking closely together.

Secretary Fan was holding several snacks, eating a stick of takoyaki. Just as he opened his mouth to take a bite, Zou Ting leaned in slightly, biting the ball he offered, his warm lips brushing against Fan Ming's mouth, causing Fan to freeze.

"Let's keep it a bit more discreet in public, Secretary Zou," Fan Ming said softly, turning his face away, just as his eyes met Jing Yi's.

Fan Ming: "..."

Jing Yi: "..." Oh ho.

Fan Ming visibly panicked for a moment. Zou Ting, however, remained calm, though his thought process was always a bit unconventional, so his reaction wasn't surprising.

Seeing Li Wenzhao beside Jing Yi, Fan Ming became even more flustered, grabbing Zou Ting and quickly walking away, as if chased by ghosts.

Jing Yi: "?"

Secretary Fan, why are you running?

He turned to Li Wenzhao: "Secretary Zou isn't married, right?"

Li Wenzhao shook his head: "Probably not."

"Then why did Secretary Fan look so guilty, as if he were having an affair?"

"..." Li Wenzhao looked at the boy in front of him: "You can imagine, going on a date with your boyfriend and bumping into your boss, and your boyfriend used to be the chief secretary of a rival company."

Jing Yi: "..."

Alright, he understood, but that didn't stop him from thinking that Secretary Fan seemed very suspicious.

Li Wenzhao threw away the trash in his hand and carefully wiped his hands with a tissue, "Let's go, we need to stay at the main house today."

Jing Yi followed, "Why?"

"It's a Li family tradition to stay at home as the year-end approaches."

The Li family has few members, and whenever there's an important holiday, no matter how busy they are, the four brothers would always head home, at least to have a meal together.

·

Returning to the Li family, Jing Yi indeed saw that Li Xu and Li Ting had returned, and Li Mingzhi had also ended his gathering early. The three brothers were sitting in the living room playing cards.

Li Ting and Li Mingzhi appeared lively and playful, but at the card table, the two of them combined were no match for Li Xu. They hadn't played for long before they were covered in paper strips by their second brother.

"Big brother, you're finally back," Li Mingzhi couldn't take it anymore, casually pulling off the paper strips and calling for reinforcements: "Second brother is too good at calculating and remembering cards, third brother and I have been losing all night. Can you play a couple of rounds for me? Third brother, do you need help?"

Li Ting said, "I just have bad luck, don't worry about me, I don't believe I can't win against second brother even once."

Seizing the rare free moment, Li Wenzhao sat down and played a couple of rounds with them.

Li Mingzhi got some free time and pulled Jing Yi aside to chatter.

"Big brother, what's that smell on you," Li Ting wrinkled his nose, "Did you go to the kitchen?"

Jing Yi was startled.

Li Wenzhao slightly lowered his eyes and took off his coat; it must have been the smell from the snack night market they had visited earlier.

"Doesn't smell like the kitchen," Li Xu came over and sniffed, "More like the mix of gutter oil and super MSG from a street stall. Big brother, did you go to the night market?"

At this, even Li Mingzhi turned to look at his big brother.

Jing Yi: "..."

He forgot, Li Wenzhao's persona is completely out of place in the chaotic night market street. If he hadn't been there tonight, he would probably be surprised too.

Li Wenzhao: "Passed by. Are we still playing?"

Li Ting oh-ed and buried his head in dealing the cards. Li Xu slightly lowered his eyelashes and thought for a while, looking at Li Wenzhao, then turning to look at Jing Yi, pondering something.

They hadn't played for long before Li Xu received a call from Xie Yun, left the card game, and went away. Li Ting called Jing Yi to take his place.

Jing Yi could play, but his skills weren't great, and he certainly couldn't calculate like Li Xu. He mainly relied on intuition and chance.

"Eldest young master, do you have any bombs (a powerful card combination)?"

Li Wenzhao casually glanced at Li Ting, seeing no reaction from the other party, he raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Is the telepathy acting up again?

The range of amplification suddenly became much smaller.

Something feels off, let's check again.

Li Wenzhao remained calm: "Cheating?"

Jing Yi pursed his lips: "This is called being competitive."

Third Young Master always bullied him, but this time he would see how he could bully back—he was going to cover Li Ting's face with paper strips!

"Jing Butler, play your card," Li Ting tapped the table, urging, "Can't you even play a 3?"

Jing Yi: "..."

He was so caught up in discussing the game with Li Wenzhao that he forgot to play his card. Hesitating, he threw down a 4.

Li Wenzhao's fingers twitched.

"Eldest Young Master, don't interfere!"

"I want to play a whole sequence..."

Li Wenzhao paused, "Pass."

"Hehe, thanks, Eldest Young Master."

Li Ting: "Bro, are you serious? You don’t even have a 5?"

Li Wenzhao looked at the four 5s in his hand and blatantly lied, "No."

Li Ting glanced at Jing Yi, "K."

Jing Yi: "???"

Using a sledgehammer to crack a nut?

Jing Yi didn't have any high cards, so he shifted slightly closer to Li Wenzhao, "Eldest Young Master, handle him."

Li Wenzhao: "Four of a kind."

Li Ting: "? Didn't you say you didn't have any 5s?"

Li Wenzhao sighed helplessly, "I missed them earlier."

Li Ting: "........"

Unbelievable, his brother’s already going blind at his age.

With Jing Yi cheating non-stop, the game turned into a total mess, and Li Ting ended up losing two more rounds.

Jing Yi rubbed his hands together, grinning, "Third Young Master, my bad, it’s my turn to tag you now."

Li Ting looked at him with a half-smile, "You sure about that?"

Jing Yi: "Why wouldn't I dare?"

Li Ting: "You think my face is that easy to mess with? Watch out, I’ll get you back..."

Before he could finish, there was a loud *smack*, and two paper strips firmly stuck to his forehead, the ends dangling just enough to block his eyes.

The culprit had already bolted.

Li Ting: "..."

Jing Yi!

Even the act of pasting paper strips was just an excuse; Jing the butler simply wanted an opportunity to slap him.

·

·

After finishing the card game, Jing Yi dashed off to his cozy spot.

Having provoked Li Ting, he didn’t dare step into the living room tonight, afraid of getting payback.

After lying in bed, scrolling through his phone for a while, Jing Yi felt thirsty. There was no water in his room, so after enduring for a while, he finally gave in and decided to get some water, quietly opening the door.

It was already late at night, and it seemed everyone had gone to rest.

Jing Yi slipped out quietly, quickly ran to the dining room to grab a glass of water, and on his way back, he noticed the light in the study on the second floor was still on. Hesitating for a moment, he gently ran upstairs.

The study door was slightly ajar, and sure enough, Li Wenzhao was at his desk, sitting straight.

"Eldest Young Master?"

Li Wenzhao looked up, "Hmm?"

Jing Yi pushed the door open and walked in, "It's so late, why aren’t you resting yet?"

"Soon," Li Wenzhao pinched the bridge of his nose and put down his pen, "What's up?"

"Nothing," Jing Yi stood by the desk, "I saw the study light was still on, so I came to check it out."

He figured someone had left the light on, but instead, he found Li Wenzhao burning the midnight oil.

"Has Shen Shubai made another move?" Jing Yi couldn’t think of anything else that would make Li Wenzhao work through the night.

"Something like that, but it’s taken care of," Li Wenzhao glanced at him and suddenly asked, "Have you been feeling unwell lately?"

Jing Yi was puzzled, "Why do you ask?"

"Nothing," Li Wenzhao averted his gaze.

The young butler still didn’t know that his brothers could hear his thoughts. It seemed the range of the mind-reading ability was shrinking, so it was better to observe a bit longer.

Perhaps in a while, the mind-reading range would be limited to just him?

What was the reason?

Confirming their relationship? Or intimate contact?

Li Wenzhao leaned toward the latter.

"Actually..." Jing Yi moved his shoulders and slightly pulled open his pajama collar, "I do feel a bit uncomfortable around my neck..."

Li Wenzhao, "Where exactly?"

Jing Yi roughly pointed to a spot, "Here."

Li Wenzhao looked puzzled, "Here?"

Jing Yi tilted his neck, "A little to the left."

Li Wenzhao moved his finger: "Here."

Jing Yi giggled and leaned slightly, then stood straight again. "You can press a bit harder; it's too light and tickles."

Li Wenzhao: "..."

"What's wrong?" Jing Yi said. "Did the little trumpet come out again?"

"No," Li Wenzhao tapped the skin on Jing Yi's neck. "This is the mark from earlier; it's a bit itchy, but that's normal."

"When did I pinch myself..." Jing Yi's voice trailed off.

He did pinch.

At the entrance of the hotel where Shen Shubai held the annual meeting, Li Wenzhao pinched his neck.

Just that one pinch left a mark?

He didn't even feel pain at the time.

"Eldest young master, you're not messing with me, are you?" Who has skin this delicate?

Li Wenzhao said indifferently, "It's not on the back of your neck; why would I lie to you?"

That's true.

On the neck, he can see it anytime, no need to lie.

What's going on? Did I turn into some fragile prince after crossing over?

Can Hei Wuchang and Bai Wuchang stop randomly adding weird buffs to me?

"Then I..."

A sudden click echoed in the night, and footsteps slowly approached. Jing Yi panicked instinctively, his mind blanked, and he quickly ducked down beside Li Wenzhao's legs.

Li Wenzhao: "..."

"Big bro, aren't you going to sleep yet?" Li Xu passed by the door, holding a water cup.

Li Wenzhao: "Soon."

Li Xu: "?"

What's up? Why does his big brother sound like he's gritting his teeth?

Must be from working overtime.

Sigh.

Li Xu drifted away with the water cup in his mouth, and the sound of a door closing came from next door. Jing Yi peeked out from under the table with his eyes. "Is he gone?"

"Jing Yi."

He turned his head. "Huh?"

"Are we having an affair?" Li Wenzhao asked.

Jing Yi gulped. "N-no, it's not that scandalous, is it?"

Li Wenzhao said, feeling a headache, "Then why are you hiding?"

"Eldest young master... and the butler," Jing Yi stammered, "it seems quite taboo as well."

Li Wenzhao: "..."

A few hours ago, he had empathized with Fan Ming who faced a similar situation, and now, a few hours later, he skipped the empathy and experienced it firsthand.

Fate has a funny way of turning things around. Who knows whose house the young butler will stir up trouble in next.

Li Wenzhao really wanted to grab the young butler and give him a good lesson, but before he could act, the young butler slipped away like an eel.

"Eldest young master."

Li Wenzhao: "Huh?"

Where is he?

Is he talking to thin air?

Li Wenzhao: "Hmm."

The familiar voice then said slowly, "I'm not a scumbag, I want to show you off to others too."

"..."

Li Wenzhao was momentarily stunned, then suddenly chuckled and lowered his head.

The young butler is getting better and better at handling him.