"Aren't you going to sleep yet?"
Jiang Li stopped short in surprise. She hadn't expected Xiao Yanzhi to still be awake. Looking up, she met his inky eyes.
Seeing that he was still awake, Jiang Li came up with an idea.
"Xiao Yanzhi, I..."
Xiao Yanzhi felt annoyed at her mechanical tone and impatiently pinched the space between his eyebrows. "What on earth can't wait until tomorrow?"
Her charm came and went in a flash, like a limited - edition item with an expiration date.
"Yes, it has to be said now." Jiang Li said seriously. "I plan to open an agency with Sister Chen. After that, I'll shift my focus to the new company."
Her tone was mild, but as soon as she finished speaking, the temperature in the once - amorous room seemed to drop instantly.
Xiao Yanzhi let out a laugh, as if he'd heard a joke. "You want to open an agency? Do you plan to be a boss?"
Jiang Li remained calm, seemingly oblivious to the sarcasm in his words. "Jiangyu Entertainment's next move is probably to polish Qin Yaoyao up and make her a top - tier star in the industry. Am I right?"
The corner of Xiao Yanzhi's mouth curled up slowly as he sneered. "You're not stupid."
"No, I'm just relatively familiar with these things."
Jiang Li gave a faint smile, but there was little sincerity in it. "Mr. Xiao groomed me in the same way back then. Naturally, I know."
Xiao Yanzhi's face darkened even more. Suppressing his anger, he said coldly, "Are you throwing a tantrum at me?"
"How dare I." Jiang Li stared at him steadily. "I just think it's not conducive to Qin Yaoyao's future development if I stay at Jiangyu Entertainment any longer."
It was obvious to everyone that as long as Jiang Li was at Jiangyu Entertainment, Qin Yaoyao wouldn't have a moment of peace.
Ignoring Xiao Yanzhi's increasingly cold expression, Jiang Li continued, "I've done the math. If this agency is up and running, I'll be able to pay off my debts sooner."
"The sooner I pay off my debts, the sooner I can leave Jiangyu Entertainment." Jiang Li's voice was flat. "Isn't this exactly what Mr. Xiao wants to see?"
With each word she uttered, the man's face grew more and more unpleasant.
The vein on Xiao Yanzhi's temple bulged slightly, hinting at his barely - contained emotions.
He lazily squinted at her for a few seconds and then suddenly sneered.
"No wonder you were so cooperative just now. You had an ulterior motive."
Even the dullest person would be able to sense the man's anger at this moment, and Jiang Li was no exception.
"Are you jealous that I'm too nice to Qin Yaoyao?"
Xiao Yanzhi pressed his tongue against his teeth and said coldly, "There's no need to use such tricks to gain my favor. I don't fall for such nonsense."
"You're overthinking." Jiang Li said calmly. "If I have any goal, it's the agency I mentioned just now."
This was the only thing Jiang Li needed Xiao Yanzhi's help with.
The atmosphere had turned freezing cold. The man's eyes instantly turned cold and menacing as he grabbed her chin.
Just moments ago, they had been intimate, but now their relationship had become extremely tense.
Xiao Yanzhi roughly bit her lips, his kiss domineering and aggressive. As their lips and tongues intertwined, Jiang Li tasted the coppery flavor of blood.
"It hurts." She couldn't help but moan, and the corners of her eyes turned red.
This was the first time Xiao Yanzhi had been so rough with her. Unlike his previous tenderness, this was just pure dominance with a strong sense of punishment.
His big hand dug into her waist, making her want to gasp in pain, but the man blocked her lips.
Jiang Li's breathing became erratic, and she almost suffocated. Her face turned red from lack of oxygen, but the man showed no mercy. He finally let go of her.
The moment she was set free, Jiang Li coughed violently, tears streaming from her eyes.
"Think you've grown wings and want to strike out on your own?"
Xiao Yanzhi squinted his eyes, lowered his voice, and said icily, "Jiang Li, since you're so short of money, how about I pay you by the number of times we sleep together?"
"Fifty thousand yuan per time. Are you in?" Xiao Yanzhi said with a half - smile, the mockery in his words undisguised. "Before I get tired of you, you can make quite a fortune from this business."
Jiang Li was silent for a moment.
Xiao Yanzhi thought she would surely be enraged by his words.
But it seemed that Jiang Li just thought for a while and then raised her head. Disheveled, she gave him a bright smile. "Sure. Then please settle the fee for just now, Mr. Xiao."
Self - esteem?
Didn't Xiao Yanzhi say last time that she didn't deserve any self - esteem?
...
When Xiao Yanzhi slammed the door and left, Jiang Li sat on the bed, staring at the ceiling for a long time until her phone vibrated.
It was a notification that fifty thousand yuan had been transferred to her account.
She stared at the light on the screen and forced a smile, a touch of desolation in her voice.
It seemed that her life was no different from before.
Broken, humiliating, and hidden from the light.
And the last word Xiao Yanzhi left her with.
"Cheap."
---
The next day, Jiang Li went to the filming set as usual.
When the makeup artist was doing her makeup, she carefully noticed Jiang Li's swollen lips.
"Allergic?" the makeup artist asked with concern.
Jiang Li nodded vaguely. "Yeah, I've been a bit over - heated lately. Maybe my lips are inflamed."
The little assistant was quick - witted and immediately handed over a water cup.
Jiang Li opened her mouth to thank her. While taking a sip of water, she glanced at her schedule and found that it was the birthday of Duan Yibo, the eldest son of the Duan family.
Jiang Li and Xiao Yanzhi used to attend many parties together, so she had met Duan Yibo a few times and had chatted with him on several occasions.
Due to his family background, Duan Yibo was a rather indulged person. Apart from his straightforward way of speaking, he was actually a decent guy.
At one party, Duan Yibo had specifically invited her in advance and told her to come to his birthday celebration.
Jiang Li checked the time. She thought she should be able to make it after filming.
"Xiaoye, find some time later to prepare a birthday gift for the young master of the Duan family."
One should always bring a gift when attending a birthday celebration.
The little assistant nodded and patted her chest. "Sister Jiang Li, you just focus on filming. I'll go to the mall to pick out a suitable gift later."
Jiang Li nodded, her mind on something else.
Should she inform Xiao Yanzhi about going to Duan Yibo's birthday celebration?
Forget it. She'd deal with it after filming.
...
In the large private room of the bar.
Men and women were sitting together, their faces beaming with smiles. Duan Yibo was sitting in the center, surrounded by people. He was wearing a strange birthday hat, looking a bit comical.
On the other side of the sofa sat Xiao Yanzhi with a cold expression. The young girl beside him was shy and timid, clinging tightly to his arm and not daring to lift her head.
After the previous incident, everyone knew that the girl Xiao Yanzhi had brought this time was the apple of his eye. No one dared to make any jokes.
But Duan Yibo was not afraid.
He was a bit drunk. Staggering to his feet, he carried his wine glass and walked over to Xiao Yanzhi. He bent down to look at the girl's face.
The girl was fair - skinned and looked very innocent. Her eyes were like a rabbit's, very endearing.
But she wasn't Jiang Li.