Jiang Li has been afraid of the cold since she was a child. Except for shooting, she mostly huddles at home. She wishes she could be a hibernating bear at home.
She hardly goes out unless it's necessary.
One day, she was sleeping groggily when suddenly she received a phone call.
The number wasn't noted, but the moment Jiang Li saw the string of digits, she almost woke up immediately. She pressed the answer button excitedly.
"Hello, is that Lili?" Zhou Ningyun's kind voice came from the other end of the phone, gentle as water. "Did I accidentally wake you up?"
Jiang Li rubbed her eyes. Her voice was a bit hoarse from just waking up, but it was still lively. "No, it's time for me to get up anyway."
Zhou Ningyun rarely called her actively.
"Do you have any plans today?" Zhou Ningyun asked tentatively.
Jiang Li replied immediately, "No, I'm off today."
Hearing her answer, Zhou Ningyun let out a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Then how about going shopping today? The New Year is coming soon. Mom will take you to buy something."
...
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Li was extremely excited. She quickly got up, washed up, put on a light makeup, and paced in front of the wardrobe for a long time before choosing a set of clothes.
Before leaving, she didn't forget to take the pink scarf.
Mom would surely be happy to see her wearing the gift she gave, Jiang Li thought.
---
Jiang Li hadn't looked forward to something like this for a long time. Even on the way to the shopping mall Zhou Ningyun mentioned by car, there was a smile on her face.
Jiang Li wore a mask and a hat, so no one could recognize her.
It was near the end of the year and a few days before Christmas. There were a lot of people in the shopping mall. In the bustling crowd, Jiang Li spotted Zhou Ningyun at a glance.
Her eyes lit up, and she ran over quickly. "Mom, I'm here!"
Zhou Ningyun turned around. She was stunned for a few seconds at first, and a look of uneasiness flashed across her eyes, but she quickly suppressed it. "Lili, you're so early."
Zhou Ningyun was also dressed very warmly. A silk scarf covered half of her face, and her hat was pulled down very low. It seemed that she was very afraid of being recognized.
Jiang Li paused. She didn't understand what she meant. "Mom, are you waiting for someone else?"
Zhou Ningyun quickly shook her head and pulled her along. Her voice was muffled. "No, Mom only made an appointment with you today. I specially wanted to go shopping with you."
Seeing how tightly she was wrapped, Jiang Li was a bit worried. "Mom, did the family allow you to come out?"
Hearing this, Zhou Ningyun sighed helplessly and tightly held Jiang Li's hand. "They've all gone to another city. I sneaked out. I thought it's been a long time since I saw you, so I came to meet you."
Hearing this, Jiang Li finally felt relieved and showed a smile again.
Sure enough, Mom still thought about her.
It was a rare meeting for the mother - daughter pair. They walked and shopped, chatted, and tried on several sets of clothes.
It was supposed to be for buying things for Jiang Li, but Jiang Li couldn't help but buy several sets of clothes and some precious jewelry for Zhou Ningyun.
Zhou Ningyun couldn't stop smiling and kept saying that her daughter had grown up.
The two walked into a store. Jiang Li was accompanying her mom to pick out clothes when suddenly a familiar sweet female voice came from behind. "A Yan, the styles of the clothes in this store are so special."
Jiang Li's back suddenly stiffened.
She didn't even need to turn around to know who was behind her.
Qin Yaoyao was holding Xiao Yanzhi's arm and snuggling up to him affectionately. "I want to wear couple - outfits with A Yan. Is that okay?"
Xiao Yanzhi seemed very patient. "Sure, go pick. I'll pay."
Qin Yaoyao immediately beamed. "A Yan, you're so nice!"
Hearing their conversation, Jiang Li just lowered her head even more. A trace of annoyance flashed through her heart.
It was such a rare opportunity to be with Mom. She didn't want irrelevant people to disturb them.
But just as she turned around and wanted to pull Zhou Ningyun away quickly, Qin Yaoyao suddenly caught sight of her. She pointed at her and let out an exclamation -
"That person looks like Sister Jiang Li..."
Qin Yaoyao's voice was neither too loud nor too soft. Xiao Yanzhi also seemed to have just seen Jiang Li. He stared at her coldly.
Although Jiang Li was wearing a mask, her charming eyes were very recognizable and were immediately spotted.
"It really is Sister Jiang Li!" Qin Yaoyao was very excited. She walked over quickly. "Sister Jiang Li, are you here shopping too?"
She turned her head and looked at Xiao Yanzhi beside her with bright eyes. "A Yan, what a coincidence today. We even ran into Sister Jiang Li."
Since she couldn't avoid them, Jiang Li was in a mess. She just perfunctorily replied, "Yeah, what a coincidence."
It wasn't a coincidence. She didn't want to see the two of them at all.
Qin Yaoyao said cheerfully, "Since we've met, how about shopping together?"
She tugged at the corner of Xiao Yanzhi's clothes and looked shy. "I'm picking couple - outfits with A Yan. We're going to Huacheng to ring in the New Year in a few days."
Jiang Li wasn't in the mood.
She shook her head. "You guys go ahead. I won't disturb you."
Saying that, Jiang Li wanted to pull Zhou Ningyun away quickly.
But Zhou Ningyun stood still. Her eyes were fixed on Xiao Yanzhi. After a long time, she murmured, "Jiang Li, isn't this your boss?"
Jiang Li tugged at her twice but couldn't move her, so she had no choice but to introduce him resignedly. "Mom, he's my boss, Mr. Xiao."
Xiao Yanzhi nodded coldly.
Zhou Ningyun's eyes instantly became strange. "Aren't you on good terms with your boss? Why don't you even talk when you meet?"
"Mom, let's talk about it when we get back." Jiang Li didn't want to continue in front of the two of them. She continued to pull Zhou Ningyun. "Let's go first."
"Are you Sister Jiang Li's mom?" Qin Yaoyao walked over and got closer to Zhou Ningyun. "Auntie, you look so young."
Qin Yaoyao showed two dimples when she smiled, looking very sweet. "I didn't expect Sister Jiang Li's mom to be so good - looking too. You really look like mother and daughter. I'm so envious."
Saying that, her eyes suddenly fell on the scarf around Jiang Li's neck.
"Hey? This scarf... looks so familiar!" She suddenly looked as if she had discovered a new continent and was very happy. "Sister Jiang Li, I seem to have one too."
As she said that, she frowned and thought. "When exactly did I buy it?"
Hearing this, Zhou Ningyun's face suddenly changed. She didn't care about anything else. "Lili, let's go quickly."
Saying that, she pulled Jiang Li's hand and was about to leave, but Qin Yaoyao suddenly grabbed Jiang Li. Her smile was even brighter than before. She got closer to Jiang Li. "I remember. It was a free gift when buying a coat."
A free gift.
Jiang Li's breath caught in her throat, and her face visibly turned pale.
Qin Yaoyao seemed not to notice Jiang Li's expression and continued talking on her own. "There was a promotion from some brand before. If you bought a coat, you'd get a scarf."
She shrugged. "But it was so ugly and the style was so old - fashioned. I've never worn it."
"I didn't expect Sister Jiang Li to like it so much. It really suits you, I guess."