Seeing Li Yi come downstairs, Lu Xingluo hurriedly wiped away her tears. Even if people were cursing her online, she was still the Lu family's third daughter in real life.
She would never let Li Yi see her crying and disheveled.
"A female ghost crying in the dead of night, huh," Li Yi muttered. In his slippers, he passed through the living room, took a bottle of milk from the refrigerator, then returned to the living room and smiled at the two people on the sofa. "That online show of beating a dog while it was down was spectacular today. Did you watch it?
"I certainly enjoyed every minute. Loved it, wanted to see more."
"Li Yi! Did you do this?" Lu Junjia demanded.
He had thrown out the accusation at random, but Lu Xingluo believed him. She abruptly looked up at Li Yi. "You did this?"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Are you Lu Junjia's dog?" Li Yi looked at Lu Xingluo. "You believe everything he says. With your IQ, it's a good thing you're only a C-lister. If you became an A-lister, the endorsement compensation alone would give the Lu Corporation a hard time."
"Li Yi, you'd better not mess with me right now!" Lu Xingluo glared at him furiously.
"Dumbass." Li Yi's eyes curved with his smile. "A brainless dumbass. Yes, I mean you. That donkey must spend all day doing nothing but kicking you in the head.
"You still don't even know who your enemy is. You deserve all the abuse you're getting online.
"Use your brain and think about whose advice you took at the start to end up in this sorry state.
"Think about who was benefiting in the first place."
With that, Li Yi took his milk upstairs. He would let those two dogs bite each other.
Hearing this, Lu Xingluo turned to Lu Junjia. "Junjia, did you do it on purpose? You were the one who hinted that I should post the photos online in the first place."
"You've really misunderstood me," Lu Junjia said aggrievedly. "I really just said it in passing. I was concerned about you."
"No, you wanted my fans to cyberbully Li Yi for you," Lu Xingluo said.
"But I couldn't have predicted what happened afterward," Lu Junjia said. "Weren't you the one who slandered that big-name fan first?"
"You're actually blaming me?" Lu Xingluo flew into a rage. "Who was I doing it for in the first place? Who brought me all this bad luck?"
"Calm down." Lu Junjia tried to take her arm, but Lu Xingluo shoved him away. "I must have been blind to favor you and help you all this time! Get away from me."
"I know you're still angry, so I'll leave for now and come back once you've calmed down." Lu Junjia had long since wanted to leave. If he hadn't wanted to leave a good impression, he would have walked out ages ago.
Lu Xingluo had simply brought it on herself. She had spent so long in the industry and remained a nobody. If she hadn't lucked out and met a big-name fan willing to help her, would she have the standing she had now?
Instead of making more of an effort to butter up that fan, she had now offended her completely.
She deserved to suffer the consequences herself!
Lu Xingluo was furious. On her phone, her manager was still trying to persuade her to stay out of the public eye for a while. Although a few endorsements had been canceled, she hadn't reached the point where the entire internet hated her. There would always be a chance to turn things around.
Things online came in waves. New gossip would always replace the old. When the time came, she could do a few more good deeds, appear on a few minor variety shows, and market her public persona.
Everyone would forget the things she had done in the past.
As for the fans who had stopped supporting her, she could consider it a filtering process. She was better off without such disloyal fans.
The company gave her an extended break so she could rest at home for a month.
Lu Xingluo reluctantly agreed. A vacation was fine, too. It had been a while since she'd had any time off, so she might as well rest at home for a while.
Morning.
Li Yi got out of bed and had just reached the stairs when he heard Lu Xingluo calling him.
He looked ahead. The whole family was already sitting at the dining table, playing on their phones as they waited for the servants to set out breakfast. They showed no intention of waiting for him to eat. Instead, they ordered him around like a servant.
"Li Yi, make me a cup of coffee by hand. I'll be resting at home this month, so make me a cup every morning to reduce puffiness."
"Make me one while you're at it. I didn't sleep well last night. I'm a little drowsy," Lu Hongshen said, scrolling through his phone without even looking up.
"I'll have a cup too, then. Sorry for the trouble, little brother," Lu Junjia added.
Not one of them had called him to breakfast, but when they wanted coffee, they started ordering him around. It seemed he hadn't taught them enough lessons yet.
"Sure. I'll go upstairs and change into something more practical. Go ahead and have breakfast." Li Yi agreed with a smile, then turned and went upstairs.
Only when she heard Li Yi's voice did Qiao Xinyue glance suspiciously toward the stairs. Why was Li Yi being so obedient today?
Was it because he was afraid after all, afraid that if he really angered them, the family would throw him out?
He was still just a child, after all. He only dared to throw a tantrum for a couple of days.
At this thought, Qiao Xinyue began to feel smug again. She planned to find an excuse later to teach Li Yi a proper lesson and vent her anger.
She had put up with plenty from Li Yi these past few days. She had to let it out!
Li Yi hadn't gone upstairs to change at all. He picked up Sheriff and put the cat in the litter box instead.
He gently patted the base of Sheriff's tail and gave the cat an encouraging look. "Sheriff, push! Give them a big one."
Sheriff's eyes widened, as though saying, That's asking a bit much. I already went this morning.
Li Yi stood up, stuffed some toilet paper into his nostrils, put on disposable plastic gloves, and halfheartedly cheered Sheriff on.
After trying for ages, Sheriff managed only a single pellet. The cat couldn't even be bothered to bury it, flicking that tail and walking away.
Li Yi took out a box of Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee beans he had intended to drink himself, picked up the pellet of cat poop with his gloved hand, and dropped it into the coffee box.
Authentic Kopi Luwak was born!
Downstairs, he didn't even wash his hands before pouring the beans straight into the coffee machine. Watching the cat poop go into the machine, he smiled calmly. Drink up, drink up. I hope Sheriff's poop reduces your puffiness and wakes you up.
Before long, four cups of coffee were ready.
He personally brought two cups to Lu Hongshen and Lu Xingluo, smiling as he said, "The coffee's ready. Take your time and enjoy it."
Lu Hongshen looked down at the light brown liquid in the pristine porcelain cup and asked, "What kind of coffee beans are these?"
"Authentic Kopi Luwak. I had a friend buy it for me. I haven't even had a chance to try it myself, but I'm serving it to you first."
"Kopi Luwak? Not bad. You know quite a bit about coffee. Let me see if it's authentic." Lu Hongshen calmly took a sip and frowned slightly. "This doesn't taste like Kopi Luwak."
"It doesn't smell like it to me either. Let me take a sip and taste it." Lu Xingluo lifted her cup and took a small sip. She savored it carefully before saying, "It's smooth and soothing on the throat, with a hint of sweetness, but there's also a strange flavor. Aside from that odd taste, it should be Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee."
Before you continue