Chapter 4: The Perfect Young Master Sinks into the Mire
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Having definitively lost his golden ticket, Jing Yi wilted like a tiny bean sprout, convinced that his days ahead in the Li family would be anything but easy. The four young masters of the Li family were all hopeless romantics; once in love, they disowned all others. Without his system’s miraculous powers to turn the tide, Jing Yi could only imagine how many schemes he would have to devise to prevent inevitable tragedies. If he failed, not only would the Li family be ruined, but he himself would face unemployment as well.
A monthly salary of eighty thousand yuan—gone just like that!
Jing Yi was irritated.
A perfectly good job, vanished without warning.
He sighed and trudged toward the door. As he glanced sideways, his eyes locked onto a human-shaped figure swaying outside the window.
Jing Yi: !!!!!!
Whoa!
In that brief moment, dozens of horror movie scenes flashed through his mind.
Why do these old melodramatic novels always have ghosts?
“Shh—Butler Jing, don’t shout.” A deliberately hushed voice came from outside, so familiar it startled him.
Jing Yi looked closely and, lo and behold, Li Mingzhi had escaped prison.
Jing Yi pushed open the window; Li Mingzhi was swinging back and forth.
“Young master, just swinging on the swing.”
“No.” Li Mingzhi pointed above him. “The bedsheet is too short. Help me find something to prop it up; I can’t get down.”
This clever kid hadn’t just miscalculated the length of the sheet; he had wrapped the rope tightly from armpit to chest, trapping himself in midair, dangling awkwardly like a giant spider bewildered by the wind.
“Hurry up.” The giant spider urged him on.
Jing Yi nodded and turned to run. “Okay, I’ll find a way to catch—save you. Wait for me.”
Li Mingzhi looked on eagerly. “Then hurry up.”
Five minutes later, footsteps approached behind Li Mingzhi. His heart leapt. “Butler Jing, you came up with a plan so fast?”
“Yes.”
“Is it a ladder? I’m coming down now—” Li Mingzhi turned his head and locked eyes with two men in black suits standing by the wall.
“...”
Li Mingzhi looked wronged. “Butler Jing, you lied to me.”
“I didn’t lie.” Jing Yi smiled faintly. “I searched all over the villa, inside and out, and all I found were these two human ladders.”
[Silly kid, so naive. If I didn’t lie to you, who else would I?]
The bodyguards: “...”
Li Mingzhi: “...”
The two bodyguards stepped forward to help him down.
“Young master, we’ll help you down right now—”
“No, no, no!” Li Mingzhi flailed, using both hands and feet to climb the wall quickly, preventing the bodyguards from touching him.
Jing Yi: “...”
More like a giant spider now.
“Butler Jing, make them leave.” Li Mingzhi clung to the bedsheet rope, refusing to let go. “Or I won’t come down, not even if I die!”
Jing Yi was stunned, rare thoughtfulness crossing his face.
[Wait, does this threat… affect me somehow? If you don’t come down, you don’t come down; it’s not me hanging here…]
Li Mingzhi: “...”
Frustrated, wanting to cry.
Two minutes later, the giant spider obediently allowed the bodyguards to lift him off the wall. His first act upon landing was to wipe his face and glare at Jing Yi. “Butler Jing, I’ll remember this.”
Jing Yi remained unmoved. “Thank you for your concern, young master.”
Li Mingzhi: “...”
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The commotion downstairs finally drew the attention of the three brothers discussing business in the study. Li Wenzhao appeared at the door, his expression cold. “What are you doing?”
Li Mingzhi shrank his neck and skillfully hid behind Jing Yi.
Jing Yi: ?
He blinked. “Accompanying the young master on the swing.”
Li Wenzhao glanced at the bedsheet rope still hanging from a second-floor window and immediately understood. “Li Mingzhi, come with me to the study.”
After a pause, he looked at Jing Yi. “Butler Jing, you come too.”
The Li family’s study was practically off-limits. It was cleaned by dedicated staff, and outsiders were forbidden entry, as Li Wenzhao was a workaholic who brought important contracts home. Judging by the novel’s depiction of the Li family, those contracts must be worth tens of millions.
In the study, Li Wenzhao sat at the head of the table. Li Xu and Li Ting sat on either side, expressionless and stern, like ancient magistrates ready to shout “Court is in session.”
Li Mingzhi stood in the center of the room, under interrogation.
Jing Yi thought about where to stand and gradually moved beside Li Wenzhao. This spot was like the adviser’s seat, fitting for his clever and insightful nature.
“What are your plans regarding Ning Jiang?” Li Wenzhao asked.
Li Mingzhi muttered resentfully, “What else can I do? Didn’t you all chase him away?”
Li Ting: “What did you say?”
Li Mingzhi shrank back, afraid.
Jing Yi observed Li Mingzhi, guessing the boy wasn’t giving up yet. Constantly running away wasn’t the solution. A permanent fix was needed.
[Actually, it’s not that hard: arrange a meeting with Ning Jiang, let the young master see with his own eyes what kind of fraud he is. Then have the Li family send someone to break them up, pay Ning Jiang off to leave happily, and then report him for fraud. Bingo! Fraudster gets a scenic tour of prison life!]
[But… in this CEO fantasy world, is there even a police force?]
“...”
The three Li brothers exchanged a furtive glance, contemplating the plan’s feasibility.
Li Mingzhi stared at Jing Yi in disbelief. Tears welled up at the corners of his eyes, slowly spilling over. “He... Jiang Jiang can’t be a fraud! He’s gentle, kind, and refined. He said, even if I’m penniless, he wouldn’t care.”
[Then why did he run off as soon as he heard you were broke?] Li Wenzhao shot him a look of disdain.
“He…” Li Mingzhi’s face flushed. “He must have his reasons… Maybe that call was from his boss, something urgent came up, so he left first! He’ll definitely come back.”
[Wow, you can even find excuses to convince yourself?]
Jing Yi sighed deeply.
This kid swinging on the swing had made himself even more foolish.
The storyline had deviated slightly from the original. Li Mingzhi didn’t know why he couldn’t leave with Ning Jiang.
Jing Yi thought carefully, trying to recall Ning Jiang’s subsequent actions. This part happened at the beginning, and the story was sprawling with many characters, making it hard to remember clearly.
He cleared his mind for a moment and retrieved a brief memory tucked away in a corner.
[I remember now!]
Jing Yi yelled loudly, startling Li Wenzhao so much he nearly dropped his pen.
Li Ting, standing nearby, rubbed his ear.
[Ning Jiang, to acquire all the assets under the young master’s name, bribed an unscrupulous doctor to fabricate a false medical report claiming he had leukemia—a disease all tragic protagonists in melodramas get. The young master was heartbroken and immediately transferred his company shares to Ning Jiang’s name so he could focus on treatment without worries.]
[However, while the young master was rushing around looking for a matching donor, Ning Jiang took the opportunity to move into the company and, under Li Mingzhi’s name, embezzled over a hundred million yuan of project funds, causing the company’s bankruptcy. Six months later, the young master discovered the truth but it was too late. Ning Jiang broke his legs, threw him out the door, forcing him to beg for a living… Soon after, he was sold into a black coal mine and almost died in a mining accident. Just when he barely escaped, Ning Jiang caught him again and sent him to an underground auction, where his organs were harvested…]
[A once noble young master met a tragic end.]
Jing Yi sighed deeply.
[This is the price of being love-struck.]
The ending for Li Mingzhi was so brutal that Jing Yi felt uneasy. He pondered how to hint to the young master when he looked up and saw all three brothers’ faces burning with fury.
Li Wenzhao’s face had turned as black as night.
Li Mingzhi stared at the carpet, pale as a ghost.
Jing Yi: ?
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What happened while he was piecing together the plot? Did Li Mingzhi do something foolish again?
The Li brothers looked at Jing Yi with complicated expressions.
Li Mingzhi’s short life could be described as a series of disasters—his perfect life destroyed, falling from heaven into the mire, and ending as a mutilated corpse in a filthy underground market!?
If Li Wenzhao had earlier considered simply sending Ning Jiang to prison, now all he could think about was destruction and revenge, his mind filled with dark thoughts.
He wanted Ning Jiang to endure the same darkness.
With their parents long gone, Li Mingzhi was raised tenderly by his three older brothers. No matter how harshly they scolded him now, they could never abandon their brotherhood. Their cherished youngest brother had been so terribly betrayed by Ning Jiang.
Even clay figures would have been consumed by rage.
“Big brother,” Li Ting, usually a joker, now wore a serious expression. “Leave it to me.”
Li Xu and Li Ting were twins, but their personalities and methods were vastly different. Li Xu was somewhat cold. “I’ll handle it.”
Jing Yi’s unspoken thoughts shocked Li Mingzhi. He couldn’t believe the foolish, all-giving idiot the butler described was himself.
Pouring all his heart out only to be left dismembered.
Though he didn’t know if the truth was exactly as Jing Yi described, the story was shocking enough to stun him for centuries.
Li Mingzhi found it hard to accept. “How could he… treat me like this?”
Li Ting gave a sarcastic smile, half exasperated. “What, do you still harbor illusions about him?”
Li Xu frowned, disappointed in their younger brother. “We never interfered with your decisions. You wanted to learn horseback riding, big brother built you a stable. You wanted to play music, I found you the best team. After your trip abroad, you fell in love with skiing; third brother spent months building you an indoor ski slope… Li Mingzhi, you’ve had elite education and the best resources since childhood. How could you become so blind to right and wrong?”
Jing Yi listened, eyes wide in amazement.
He knew the Li family was wealthy, but he had no idea they were this rich.
Li Mingzhi was left speechless. Indeed, how had he become like this?
Could it really be, as the butler said, that love had clouded his judgment?
He lowered his head in silence, just as his phone suddenly vibrated.
[Dearest Jiang Jiang]: [photo][photo][photo]
Li Mingzhi opened the message. It was a diagnostic report from a top-tier hospital.
[Patient: Ning Jiang]
[Date of Visit: Two months ago]
[Diagnosis: 1. Malignant tumor, ongoing chemotherapy; 2. Acute myeloid leukemia, high risk…]
Li Mingzhi couldn’t understand the complex medical terms, but he recognized the word “leukemia” on the lab report.
Everything matched exactly what Jing Yi had said.
His phone vibrated again several times.
[Dearest Jiang Jiang retracted three messages]
[Dearest Jiang Jiang]: Sent to the wrong person, Zhi Zhi, sorry for hiding this from you; I was just afraid you’d worry.
[Dearest Jiang Jiang]: I’m in the hospital now; my condition seems to have worsened. You know I have no friends and no one to talk to. Can you come keep me company?
Li Mingzhi gripped his phone tightly.
Li Xu sighed in disappointment, thinking Li Mingzhi had fallen for a fantasy again. “Forget it, big brother. I’ll handle Ning Jiang’s side…”
“No need.”
Jing Yi’s brow twitched as he looked at Li Mingzhi.
The young master standing in the center of the room lifted his face, his expression stripped of its former innocence. Calmly, he said to Li Wenzhao, “The mess I caused, I’ll clean up myself.”