"Mr. Xiao, Miss Qin called just now," Xue An said tentatively while driving, glancing at the rearview mirror. "She asked when you'll be there. She's waiting for you to cut the cake with her."
It was Qin Yaoyao's birthday today.
Xiao Yanzhi raised his hand and loosened his collar. His brows were visibly gloomy.
"I'll go now." He lifted his finger indifferently, took out a cigarette case from his pocket, pulled out a cigarette, and tapped it twice on the back of his hand. "Have you bought the gift?"
"It's in the trunk. Everything's arranged, Mr. Xiao," Xue An replied.
Noticing that he was about to smoke, Xue An quickly rolled down the car window for ventilation.
The man casually picked up the lighter, flicked it open with a snap, lit the cigarette, and rested his elbow on the car window.
The car drove through the city at a steady speed, shuttling between the shiny and magnificent skyscrapers.
On the towering buildings hung various billboards.
On the billboard with the largest space was Jiang Li's photo.
In the advertisement, she wore the latest model of the "ONE" jewelry series, which was also the new spring collection for the coming year.
Actually, it was a last - minute endorsement deal she took on at the end of last year.
Although the schedule was a bit tight, fortunately, she was efficient, and the final product was quite satisfactory.
On the billboard, Jiang Li wore a practiced and sweet smile. The enlarged photo made her look even more charming. Her eyes seemed to be telling a thousand tender feelings.
She was alluring and swaying.
He pinched the cigarette between his fingertips. His well - defined hand reached out of the car window, flicked the ash, and exhaled a puff of smoke.
Xiao Yanzhi stared at the billboard intently for a while, which was rare for him.
Xue An didn't understand the reason. Thinking that he wanted to enjoy the view outside the window, he slowed down the car even more.
Xiao Yanzhi took a puff of the cigarette. The smoke rose little by little, blurring the face of the woman in front of him.
For a moment, he always felt that Jiang Li, who was smiling flawlessly on the billboard, was far away from him.
She was the rose he had nurtured with his own hands.
He had watched her transform from innocence to charm and allure. But without his notice, she had quietly grown thorns.
One careless move and she could prick his hand with blood.
Xiao Yanzhi's eyes were dark and unclear. The cigarette butt between his fingers had burned to the end, with the sporadic fire flickering on and off.
...
Although the coldest period had passed, winter was not over yet.
Especially at night, the cold dew was so heavy that taking a breath of cold air would make one's trachea ache severely.
After wearing a strapless evening dress for a whole day, Jiang Li rushed home and took a hot bath to warm up her body.
She dried her hair, wrapped herself in a blanket, turned up the heater in the room to the maximum, and sank comfortably into the sofa, reading the script that her assistant had just brought.
Her schedule was always full. Even though she had just won the Best Actress Award during the day, she had no intention of celebrating.
Jiang Li told Sister Chen to take the usual assistants and entourages out for a dinner to relax, and to prepare a few red envelopes to reward everyone.
She didn't forget Xiaoye either. There was also a red envelope for her.
Jiang Li herself was going to go home and prepare for the next scene.
It was the vibration of her phone when Sister Chen sent her a message that made her come back to her senses from the script.
"Li Li, don't forget to have dinner."
Sister Chen sent a group photo of everyone raising their glasses. Everyone's smile was genuinely bright.
Looking at everyone's smiling faces, Jiang Li's mood eased a lot.
"Okay. Have fun, Sister Chen."
Just as Jiang Li was about to put down her phone after exiting the chat interface, a piece of entertainment news popped up—
"Mr. Xiao rushes to a rising starlet's home at night to celebrate her birthday. Their relationship is expected to take a step further!"
Jiang Li was stunned for two seconds. Her fingertips still couldn't help but click on it.
It turned out that Qin Yaoyao had posted another daily update on her social platform. The photo showed a delicate birthday cake and an extremely luxurious gift box.
Most importantly, in the photo, the man's wrist showed a men's watch.
That watch was a customized design from a small - scale French brand. Since it wasn't very well - known, there was no second one like it in the whole North City.
Without waiting for the media to make unfounded speculations, Jiang Li could recognize at a glance that the owner of the watch was Xiao Yanzhi.
Because this watch was the gift she had given him when Jiang Entertainment celebrated its first anniversary. She had spent all her savings on it.
The pattern engraved on the interior of the watch face was a "J" customized in her handwriting.
The reason she gave him this watch was very simple, even a bit clichéd and vulgar.
She wanted him to think of her every time he looked at the time.
Compared with Xiao Yanzhi's wealth, this watch was indeed not expensive or luxurious. It could even be said to be quite ordinary.
But he had never taken it off.
So many years had passed, and she had almost forgotten about it. But she never expected that it would suddenly be noticed by so many people in this way.
"At 23, thank you for being by my side."
After Qin Yaoyao's caption, there was also a big heart.
The comments under this post were also very lively.
"Is this an official announcement of their relationship? It's so fast!"
"It's Mr. Xiao, right? I saw this watch in a video interview before. It's exactly the same as the one on his wrist."
"The rich really know how to have fun. He accompanied Jiang Li to receive an award during the day and still had to accompany Qin Yaoyao for her birthday at night. He's a typical master of time management! [Like]"
"Don't slander our Li Bao, guys. Our Li Bao is a career - oriented star and doesn't engage in such gossip!"
"..."
Jiang Li wasn't really interested in these gossip news. She just casually scrolled through the netizens' comments, smiled at the interesting ones, and then exited.
No wonder Xiao Yanzhi hadn't offered to come to her last night even though she had been so docile and well - behaved this afternoon.
It turned out that he had to celebrate Qin Yaoyao's birthday and didn't have the time.
Thinking of the comment about the "master of time management", Jiang Li couldn't help but laugh.
It was really quite appropriate.
---
Since Qin Yaoyao had the accident last time, although Xiao Yanzhi didn't let her move into Ruiyuan, he still asked Xue An to find another villa under his name for her to live in.
At first, Qin Yaoyao was a bit dissatisfied. But after seeing the villa, the last trace of her unhappiness vanished.
The entire villa was decorated with high - end and elegant furniture. It was much more spacious and imposing than the apartment she used to live in.
The location was also much better than Ruiyuan.
With this comparison, Qin Yaoyao felt more balanced and happily moved in.
She also celebrated her birthday here.
The cake was a strawberry cake made by a top - tier pastry chef in North City. Xue An had asked for Qin Yaoyao's opinion in advance.
The coating was a thick layer of high - quality animal cream, wrapped with pink handmade strawberry jam on top. From the appearance to the taste, it was as delicate as a work of art, making people reluctant to cut it.
"A Yan, thank you for coming to celebrate my birthday with me."