If it weren't for the fact that everything here was new, Jiang Li would really have the illusion that she had never left.
It was as if she had been living here all along.
Realizing her own thoughts, she helplessly scratched her hair, shook off the thoughts in her head, walked over and turned on the shower, letting out hot water.
Since becoming an entertainer, Jiang Li had been extremely strict with herself in terms of body and appearance management. She even took bathing and skin - care to the extreme. Every strand of her hair was delicate and beautiful.
It was precisely because of her strict self - discipline that she was flawless in every shot, always radiant and brightly beautiful.
After taking a shower, Xiao Yanzhi was no longer in the living room. She didn't know where he had gone.
According to previous habits, he should be busy with official business in the study at this time.
Looking at this familiar house, Jiang Li's eyelashes drooped. A faint sense of desolation filled her eyes, gradually giving way to reluctance.
In fact, she was a very nostalgic person.
All she craved was a sense of stability and peace, but fate never went as she wished, always subjecting her to a wandering life.
Jiang Li finished blow - drying her hair in the living room. The warm air made her sleepy, and her eyelids couldn't help but feel heavy. She took lazy steps towards the bedroom.
After a tiring day of travel, she was so sleepy that all she wanted was to lie in bed and have a good sleep.
She pushed open the door and walked into the bedroom. On the hanger were the man's daily clothes and several ties.
On the bedside table, there were also a few empty cigarette cases casually placed. Jiang Li glanced at them. They were the brand that Xiao Yanzhi was used to smoking.
Xiao Yanzhi had the habit of smoking, but he wasn't addicted. The total number of these cases was almost the amount he smoked in half a month.
In fact, she had noticed since just now that it seemed someone had been living in this house all along.
An empty house, even if it was cleaned regularly, would be much colder than a house with people living in it.
But Ruiyuan showed signs of life everywhere.
Counting the time, it had almost been a month since she moved out of Ruiyuan.
Could it be that during this period...
He had been living here alone?
Jiang Li was slightly stunned.
No wonder she was surprised. After all, when she lived here before, the number of times Xiao Yanzhi stayed overnight could be counted on one hand.
When she came in just now, Jiang Li had also brought her phone in. Just then, a call came in, a familiar number.
There was no contact name, but she knew exactly who it was.
It was her mother, Zhou Ningyun.
Jiang Li held the phone and hesitated for a moment. Her first reaction was actually not to answer the call.
But just as the call was about to be automatically disconnected, she pressed the answer button.
"Lili..." On the other end of the phone, her mother called her nickname right away, and her voice was a bit choked up. "I saw the local news. My poor daughter, why are you so unlucky!"
Hearing the concern in her mother's words, Jiang Li was at a loss for a moment.
"Lili, I heard from the media that you've been discharged from the hospital. Are you feeling better now?"
Zhou Ningyun's tone was very sincere, not like she was faking it. "Seeing the photos of you spitting up blood really broke my heart! If it weren't for the fact that I'm not convenient here, I would really come to take care of you."
Jiang Li paused. Somewhere in her heart softened inexplicably.
She said softly, "I've recovered a lot. I can eat normally now. You don't have to worry about me."
Hearing this, Zhou Ningyun heaved a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "That's good. Your health is the most important thing. Only when you're healthy can everything get better."
Jiang Li had heard this sentence many times since she was a child. She knew it was Zhou Ningyun's concern for her, and a warm feeling welled up in her heart.
Zhou Ningyun added, "Jiang Yi has also found a job recently. He will surely be down - to - earth from now on. Seeing you two siblings getting better and better, I can rest assured."
Mentioning Jiang Yi, Jiang Li immediately sobered up a bit. Her tone lost the gentleness from before and became very serious.
"Mom, Jiang Yi can't stay at Jiang Entertainment."
Jiang Li lowered her eyelashes and said softly, "After this weekend, I'll ask the human resources department of Jiang Entertainment to fire him on Monday."
There was a sudden silence on the other end of the phone for a few seconds, followed by Zhou Ningyun's angry voice, "Your younger brother has turned over a new leaf! He just wants to live a down - to - earth life. Is that not okay?"
Hearing her mother's protection, Jiang Li pulled at her lips bitterly.
She really shouldn't have answered this call.
Hearing that Jiang Li didn't say a word for a long time, Zhou Ningyun got a bit panicked and said anxiously, "Your younger brother finally found a job. Are you going to mess things up for him again?"
"Did he really find this job on his own?"
Jiang Li closed her eyes and tried to keep her tone calm. "Mom, I've told you that I'll terminate my contract with Jiang Entertainment soon. By then, I won't have any relation with the company. Why do you still let him cause me trouble?"
"What do you mean by causing you trouble? We're all family. Why are you so selfish, child?" Zhou Ningyun's emotions also flared up, and her tone became tough. "He's your younger brother. Helping him a bit, how could that be trouble?"
Jiang Li took a deep breath and said helplessly, "Mom, it's not my company. It's not that easy to just help him out."
Zhou Ningyun's voice became shrill. "Aren't you on good terms with your boss?"
"Moreover, you're about to take over the branch of Jiang Entertainment. Then you can just take your younger brother with you and arrange a good position for him. Is that really difficult for you?"
Jiang Li had expected that Zhou Ningyun wouldn't accept driving Jiang Yi away, but when she heard this sentence, she was still stunned for a few seconds in shock, and her hand holding the phone trembled slightly.
After a long while, she asked in a trembling voice, "Who told you that I'm going to take over the branch of Jiang Entertainment?"
Hearing something was off in her words, Zhou Ningyun got even more panicked and quickly explained, "No one, no one! Mom just heard it, just heard it!"
"Impossible." Jiang Li felt a bit dizzy, but still kept her tone calm and raised her voice. "This matter hasn't been finalized yet, and the news hasn't been announced. Where on earth did you hear this from?"
"Mom, please answer me."
Feeling guilty, Zhou Ningyun had to confess honestly, "Jiang Yi told me. He said it was a girl surnamed Qin from your company who told him, and also told him to work hard in the future."
Qin.
Qin Yaoyao.
The day they talked about the branch in Huacheng, the people present were only Xiao Yanzhi, herself, and Qin Yaoyao.
Apart from her, no one else could have known about this.
"Lili, don't make things difficult for your younger brother. Just do it for mom's sake, okay?"
There was a sob in Zhou Ningyun's voice, and she was crying. "You've been a sensible child since you were young. Mom has no other concerns, just afraid that your younger brother won't amount to anything..."
The air - conditioner was on in the bedroom. It was clearly very warm, but Jiang Li felt cold all over.
Even though she had just taken a warm shower, she still couldn't resist the chill that kept welling up from her heart.
She was freezing cold.