Chapter 53: Couldn't Be Bothered With Him

When Li Shuang parked her car beneath the villa, Li Jingche was on the fifth-floor outdoor terrace, making a phone call. His brows were knit tightly, his face exuding a chill.
“Qin Jin, tell her not to worry. I’ll be there soon.”
He ended the call abruptly. After three hours on the phone, the man looked exhausted. He hurriedly grabbed a jacket and made his way downstairs. As he stepped out of the elevator, he saw Xiao Yunchen standing in the living room, surveying the furnishings with a mix of curiosity and astonishment.
“Is this a home or a museum?” Xiao Yunchen muttered in awe.
Li Jingche hadn’t expected to run into Xiao Yunchen here, and his already stern face darkened further. He didn’t speak, one hand in his pocket, his jacket draped over his arm, eyebrows slightly raised in silent inquiry. Before he could say a word, Xiao Yunchen turned and immediately flushed with anger upon seeing him.
“What are you doing here?”
Xiao Yunchen strode over, hand raised as if to grab Li Jingche by the collar, but Li Jingche landed a punch first.
“Damn it!”
Caught off guard, Xiao Yunchen staggered back and fell to the ground. “You son of a—”
Before Xiao Yunchen could get up, Li Jingche pressed his foot against the man’s abdomen. “What are you doing here?”
“Why do you care? So, this is why you dared to impersonate He Jiangyu—you’re a servant of the Li family. No wonder you’re so brazen!”
Xiao Yunchen was livid, too eager to trample Li Jingche to notice that the household staff had discreetly withdrawn at a single glance from their master.
Li Jingche recalled Li Shuang returning just now and had his suspicions. He hadn’t expected the girl to take such wild liberties. Leaning down, he warned grimly in Xiao Yunchen’s ear,
“If you dare harbor any wicked thoughts toward Li Shuang, I’ll make you disappear from River City.”
His voice was cold and menacing. The words sent a chill straight through Xiao Yunchen. After delivering a final, forceful kick, Li Jingche strode out of the villa in haste.

When he arrived at the meeting room, Qin Jin handed him a cell phone sealed in an evidence bag.
“Mr. Li, she just brought this over. She was in a terrible state, so I sent her home first.”
Li Jingche nodded, examined the phone for clues, and finding none, asked, “How long has he been missing?”
“She said her brother last messaged her three days ago. After reporting it, because it’s a cross-border case, gathering evidence and searching is extremely difficult.”
Li Jingche exhaled heavily and sat, his face clouded with frustration.
“Contact Thousand Mechanisms.”
“Thousand Mechanisms?”
Hearing the name from Li Jingche again, Qin Jin was taken aback—this was the hacker who, a few years back, had breached Jingjiang Corporation’s servers and stolen tens of millions worth of confidential data.
He’d expected Li Jingche to bear a grudge, but Li Jingche was a man who knew how to recognize value and always left room for cooperation, no matter the person.
Qin Jin nodded repeatedly. “I’ll contact him right away.”
He transferred a large sum of money and messaged: “Thousand Mechanisms, there’s a missing person to find. The pay won’t disappoint. Interested?”
No amount of small talk could compare to a hefty payment—Qin Jin, a working man himself, knew this well.
Soon, Thousand Mechanisms replied:
“Yes.”
Just one word, but it was enough to make Qin Jin breathe easier. He handed the phone to Li Jingche, who nodded in satisfaction.
“Send over everything we have.”
“Yes, sir!”
Shortly, Qin Jin forwarded all available information. Thousand Mechanisms sent back an “OK” hand gesture and then went silent.
Staring out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the flow of traffic, Li Jingche’s brows were tightly furrowed.
“He’s a life-saver. No matter what, we must find him...”
“What about his sister? Living alone isn’t safe. Should we...”
Qin Jin hesitated, glancing at Li Jingche’s cold, handsome profile.
“Take her to your place for now. Li Shuang and she don’t get along.”
At that, Li Jingche remembered something.
“By the way, I won’t be attending the birthday banquet tomorrow. Order a cake for me and have it delivered to Jiaohai Bay.”
“You...won’t be going?”

The old madam had spent a month arranging the birthday banquet just to cheer him up, and to play matchmaker as well. Yet the guest of honor was simply refusing to attend?
Qin Jin’s heart leapt to his throat. If the old madam and Li Jingche fell out, it was always the staff who suffered in the end.
“I’ll celebrate with her. Don’t mention this to anyone else. I’ll show my face first; after that, you handle things.”
Cold sweat broke out on Qin Jin’s forehead. He was already on the old madam’s blacklist—she often said he and Li Jingche were two of a kind and up to no good.
He nodded reluctantly, anxiety gnawing at him.

Sitting at her computer, Jian Qing was just as anxious. She tugged at her hair, not even having had time to look at the photos sent to her when her phone rang. To her surprise, the caller was Mrs. Jian.
“Mom?”
“Sweetheart, how have you been lately? Are you satisfied with the suitor I introduced you to?”
Mrs. Jian’s tone was elegant and composed. Hearing the bustle of cars in the background, Jian Qing was at a loss for words.
“He’s certainly good-looking, but Mom, where did you even meet someone like that?”
Did you look for a male model, too?
Of course, Jian Qing didn’t dare say that aloud.
“As long as you’re satisfied,” her mother replied gently, before cutting to the chase. “Darling, yesterday your Uncle Xiao called me. You know how things are for the Xiao family—real estate’s in a slump and they’ve lost a lot of money, with unpaid project funds piling up. I happen to know Li Jingche. It’s his birthday tomorrow; can you introduce your Uncle Xiao to Mr. Li at the banquet?”
“Mom, you...know the Li family?”
Jian Qing knew her mother was formidable, but not to this extent.
Mrs. Jian nodded without hesitation. “Mr. Li is a very good man. I once accidentally sent his business card to the wrong person, and he didn’t get angry. Xiao Yunchen may be a piece of work, but the Xiao and Jian families have been close for generations, and he’s helped us before. I’d like you to meet Li Jingche for my sake. What do you think?”
Jian Qing hesitated. Speaking of Xiao Yunchen saving her life, she felt a weight pressing on her chest.
“Mom, Xiao Yunchen did save my life, but does he have to hold it over me forever? I know it sounds ungrateful, but he’s gone too far in some things.”
When it came to her romantic life, Jian Qing felt as if fate were playing endless tricks on her—but none of them made her laugh.