The soup dumplings were delicious, but the broth inside was scalding. Li Yi had rarely eaten them before and had not mastered the technique, so he accidentally burned himself every few bites, his hisses and gasps rising and falling.
It kept making Zhou Xuanze, sitting beside him, glance his way.
He kept suspecting Li Yi was doing it on purpose. Other people ate soup dumplings without making any noise, so why did he keep making sounds that left him itching?
This had to be another one of Li Yi's tricks!
"Brother Xuanze, are the soup dumplings too hot? Want me to blow on them for you?"
Lu Junjia came over with a glass of warm water and said snidely, "I know how to eat soup dumplings without burning myself. I certainly wouldn't be like some uncultured people who manage to burn themselves several times on a single dumpling."
He set down the warm water and plopped into the seat between them, turning toward Zhou Xuanze and completely blocking Li Yi from view.
"No, I can eat them myself. It's just a soup dumpling. How hot could it be?"
He popped a little soup dumpling into his mouth in one bite, only to leap to his feet from the heat. Not only did he spit out the dumpling, but he also stuck out his tongue, hissing and gasping nonstop.
"Quick, drink some water." Lu Junjia anxiously handed him the glass.
But the water in the glass was warm. When it washed over his freshly scalded tongue, the stinging pain was unbearable. Unable to stand it for even a second, he hurried to the trash can and spat out all the water in his mouth.
Realizing his mistake, Lu Junjia quickly apologized. "Brother Xuanze, I'm sorry. I'll get you a bottle of ice water."
Their commotion seriously disrupted Li Yi's meal. Between the tongue sticking out and the water being spat out, he was so disgusted that he lost his appetite completely.
Looking at the one soup dumpling left on his plate, he no longer felt like eating it. He finished his soy milk in one gulp, picked up his plate, and stood to leave.
"Li Yi," Zhou Xuanze called out to stop him, crouching beside the trash can. "Didn't you see that I burned myself?"
What was wrong with Li Yi? In the past, whenever he saw him get hurt, he would be distressed beyond measure, fussing over him, blaming himself and offering comfort.
"I did." Li Yi turned to look at him, his expression faintly disdainful. "Not only did I see it, but it disgusted me, too."
"Li Yi!" Lu Junjia came over with the ice water and looked at him angrily. "Brother Xuanze's hurt. How can you have no sympathy at all?"
"He burned himself eating. He's not dying. If you're really worried, hurry up and take him to the emergency room, or the wound will heal before you even get to the hospital." Li Yi could not be bothered to watch their performance. He put his dishes in the kitchen and went upstairs.
"Brother Xuanze, look at him." Lu Junjia unscrewed the cap and handed Zhou Xuanze the ice water. "Ever since Li Yi found out Grandpa left him something, he's been treating us with less and less respect.
"All he does is bully me every day."
"Don't worry." Zhou Xuanze took a sip of ice water, his gaze darkening. "It doesn't matter even if he knows. He's all alone with no one to rely on. He can't hold on to that much money. The day he gets his inheritance, he'll become a prize everyone wants a piece of.
"Li Yi really has changed. He's nothing like that obedient little kitten he used to be. Now he's starting to show his claws."
Zhou Xuanze licked the corner of his mouth. "He's just sulking at me right now. In a few days, he'll realize I'm the one he can rely on. Then he'll definitely come obediently back to me."
"Brother Xuanze, are you really going to marry him someday?" Lu Junjia leaned closer, a little afraid. "Then what will I do?"
"Marry him? Is he even worthy?" Zhou Xuanze slipped an arm around Lu Junjia and lowered his head affectionately. "Junjia, don't you know who I like?"
"I... I know." Lu Junjia shyly leaned in and shared a brief kiss with Zhou Xuanze.
"All right, I'll come see you again tomorrow. We shouldn't be too intimate from now on, in case Li Yi sees us and starts sulking again. For the sake of our plan, can you bear with it for now?" Zhou Xuanze patted his shoulder reassuringly.
"Okay," Lu Junjia said aggrievedly.
Zhou Xuanze stood up and suddenly asked, "Aren't the Gaokao results coming out soon?"
"Soon." Lu Junjia glanced toward the stairs. "Brother Xuanze, remember to ask for his exam admission ticket number as soon as possible."
"I know. Looks like I'll have to speed up my dog-training plan." A mocking smile appeared on Zhou Xuanze's face.
Since Li Yi already knew the old man had left him an inheritance, he had to hurry up and tame him. Otherwise, who knew how much of that inheritance would be left by the time it reached their hands?
As an adopted son, Junjia needed some shares to secure his position.
He had two older brothers ahead of him. Although Lu Hongshen doted on him too, when it came to the company's interests, he would certainly favor his biological children. The lion's share would definitely go to Junjia's two older brothers.
But if Li Yi's shares were given to Junjia, Lu Hongshen presumably would not be so opposed.
Li Yi naturally knew that receiving Grandpa's inheritance would not raise his standing. Instead, it would make him a little slice of cake everyone thought they could take at will.
The Lu family had never publicly disclosed his identity. On the contrary, Qiao Xinyue had even told outsiders he was merely a relative from their hometown.
Once outsiders learned about the inheritance, they would certainly realize he was the Lu family's unfavored youngest son.
A youngest son who could not even compare to an adopted son, with no backing and no one to rely on.
All they had to do was sweet-talk and deceive him a little, and they could swindle away the shares in his hands.
When that happened, there would not be a single decent person around him.
Before outsiders learned of the inheritance, he had to choose a suitable partner for himself.
This person had to be powerful enough that the wealthy families would not dare offend him lightly!
He also had to be wealthy enough, preferably too wealthy to care about Li Yi's little bit of money.
Preferably, he would not be interested in Li Yi either. Li Yi did not want any romantic entanglements with these wealthy families.
Once he had taken his revenge, he would start a robotics company specializing in assistive robots for the elderly.
Then he would live with the grandpas and grandmas at the nursing home and enjoy the rest of his life.
Li Yi scrolled through his WeChat contacts. The most suitable candidate right now was probably this Shi Yan.
The Shi family had been in business for generations and ranked among Beicheng's top-tier wealthy families. Their family businesses spanned the globe and covered multiple industries. They were considerably more prestigious than a bottom-tier wealthy family like the Lu family.
Moreover, rumor had it that Shi Yan was a sinister psycho who kept strangers away. In business, he was ruthless toward his opponents and never gave anyone the slightest chance to catch their breath.
That was what the rumors said, but he had seemed quite normal when they met last time. Li Yi had tentatively asked about being kept, and the man had refused without another word.
He could not have been colder.
Crazy or not, he would definitely make a very good partner!
Right now, Li Yi would rather work with someone with such a fearsome reputation than with people harboring ulterior motives.
Before you continue