“Wait, why do extras even have a dress code?”
004
The next second, an unfamiliar voice came through the other end of the phone: “Steward He, I heard my older cousin brought you along too. Is that for real?”
Hello, who are you?
He Xingluo picked up his phone and glanced at the screen. It was indeed Young Master Li’s number. He Xingluo: “…”
“Steward He, you haven’t forgotten me, have you?” The voice on the other end was noisy at first, but then it sounded like the speaker had moved to a quieter place before continuing, “It’s your Tao-ge!”
So it was this Young Master Li.
He Xingluo instantly lost interest. “What do you want?”
“Steward He, we’re holding a racing meetup, are you coming? I just picked up a brand-new car. It wasn’t too expensive, only a little over thirty million, but the modifications took a lot of effort.”
Li Zhitao went on and on, but He Xingluo wasn’t listening at all. He leaned against the window and watched Wen Tian work. Waiters didn’t just need to serve drinks to guests at the banquet; they also had to help pitch in with the banquet preparations. He Xingluo silently felt a wave of lingering fear. Good thing he wasn’t the protagonist and didn’t have to do so many part-time jobs. He wouldn’t be able to survive a single day living like this.
He was an NPC who deeply loathed working.
The little system hopped onto his shoulder. “Host, don’t you need to listen to the phone call?”
“When dealing with brats, you don’t need to be so polite.” He Xingluo smiled faintly, picked up his phone, and switched it to speaker mode. “Hello, hello, hello? Steward He? Is your signal bad or something?”
Li Zhitao shouted “hello” a few more times before finally hanging up.
The little system: “Do you hate him that much?”
“I just don’t want to do any extra work.” He Xingluo sighed. “It’s bad enough that I’m forced to be the eldest young master’s human alarm clock every day, as if I’d also want to voluntarily babysit the young master’s cousin.”
He Xingluo gave a bitter laugh and switched his phone to silent mode.
“Host, you look terrible,” the system said. “What’s wrong?”
He Xingluo sighed.
“It’s nothing, just feeling like my future is pitch black.”
Meanwhile, Li Zhitao was earnestly asking the veteran steward of the Li residence, “Is the signal at home broken from a lack of maintenance?”
The veteran steward: “…”
What on earth are you talking about? Unwilling to answer that question, the veteran steward raised his eyes toward the stairs. “The eldest young master is coming down.”
“Cousin, you’re finally done talking with Grandpa!” Li Zhitao recovered his inner oriole nature and began chirping away. “I’m planning a big event tonight, and you have to support me! To pump myself up, I’ve decided to set up a racing meetup with Old Ge and the rest first. Do you want to come along? I heard you didn’t come alone this time and even brought your steward along. I just called him earlier and invited him to join the fun.”
“Oh.” Li Zhanbei finally deigned to respond. “Is he coming?”
Such a precise dismantling of his face.
Li Zhitao: “…”
Li Zhitao choked up for a moment, seemingly searching for some kind of excuse, before finally repeating dryly, “The signal at home is broken from a lack of maintenance.”
Li Zhanbei: “It just happened to break the signal between you and him?”
Li Zhitao: “.”
“Did my older cousin smile just as he was leaving? Was he laughing at me?” Li Zhitao flew into a helpless rage, frantically shaking the veteran steward. “How could my older cousin treat me like this?”
Dizziness washing over him from the shaking, the veteran steward replied in a trembling voice, “It has been a long time since the young master smiled this happily!”
He Xingluo finally found a suitable lounge. The indoor temperature was pleasant, sunlight poured in, and there was a soft leather sofa alongside a large TV.
More importantly, no one was disturbing him.
He decided to slack off here until the plot ended today and refuse to step outside!
He Xingluo pulled out a few tissues, closed his eyes, placed them over his face, and slowly leaned back. The little system didn’t understand. “What are you doing?”
“I’m missing an eye mask, but it’s fine, I can fool my own eyes.” He Xingluo relaxed his hands as well and began his grand enterprise of cosplaying a corpse.
He Xingluo tried exploring the system’s multi-functional uses. “System, can you play movies inside my head?”
The little system: “…”
“Why aren’t you talking?” He Xingluo took a small step back. “Then audiobooks are fine, right? Give me a crosstalk segment first!”
“…”
His definition of audiobooks was certainly unique.
He Xingluo urged, “What’s wrong, is that not allowed?”
“Everything is allowed, my entertainment functions are very advanced!” The little system’s tone hovered inexplicably somewhere between exasperation and gritting its teeth in humiliation, sounding unusually bristly.
He Xingluo smoothed down the system’s metaphorical fur. “Alright, alright.”
Just as the crosstalk special was reaching the audience’s cheers and before the performers had even introduced themselves, the little system delivered terrible news: “Host, Young Master Li is coming over.”
He Xingluo asked absentmindedly, “Which Young Master Li?”
“Li Zhanbei.”
“Why is he here!” He Xingluo opened his eyes in fierce indignation, only to see a blinding sheet of white. Angrily, he yanked the tissues off his face and began tearing them into strips.
When Li Zhanbei arrived, he found He Xingluo staring blankly into space while ripping up paper strips.
Li Zhanbei: “…”
He Xingluo maintained his vacant stare. “Young master, how did you know I was here? Did you install a tracker on me?”
“Suspects usually commit crimes in areas they are familiar with,” Li Zhanbei explained. “By the same logic, you would naturally end up in the lounge closest to the kitchen.”
“Because I’m a glutton?”
“Because you only know your way to the kitchen.” Li Zhanbei offered a weak comfort. “There’s no need to be so hard on yourself.”
“…”
Enough was enough.
“Let’s go, young master.” He Xingluo stood up with resignation. “Where are we heading?”
“Xu’s young uncle came over to celebrate the birthday. He’s very skilled at equestrian sports, and the Old Master wants me to accompany him for a few laps.” Li Zhanbei glanced at him. “You’re coming with me to change clothes first.”
Wait!
Why did he need to change clothes?
Wasn’t he supposed to just quietly play an NPC off to the side?
What kind of household was this where even extras had a dress code?
Perhaps sensing He Xingluo’s utter astonishment, Li Zhanbei kindly explained, “Uncle Xu likes a lively atmosphere.”
“…” Coming to make up the head count, are we?
Despite his inner resistance, He Xingluo maintained an outward expression of: “Understood, Young Master Li.”
Just an ordinary new-age working stiff, that was all.
Li Zhanbei nodded in satisfaction, and the two drove using something resembling a scenic tour vehicle to the family’s horse racing track. He Xingluo offered timely flattery: “Amazing, truly amazing, there’s even a racecourse at home! How many horses are there in the stable, and are they all paired up? Any plans for them to have foals in the near future?”
“…”
Li Zhanbei’s mouth seemed to twitch. “What, are you planning to adopt?”
He definitely couldn’t afford to feed them.
He Xingluo momentarily didn’t know how to respond. He was just an ordinary worker who only knew that he couldn’t leave himself and his employer hanging in silence inside the vehicle.
As for whether he could precisely charm Young Master Li into a good mood, that would cost extra! He Xingluo silently turned his head and looked forward. “We’ve arrived at the racecourse! How strange, why is everyone wearing masks?”
At that, He Xingluo’s gaze drifted nervously. Surely this wasn’t because of what he had told Foreman Wang…
He wasn’t sure, better take another look.
Banhua Novels, infinite joy.