Seeing that Su Jialan had noticed him, Xiao Yanzhi walked over and said, "You seemed so focused that I didn't want to disturb you."
Xiao Yanzhi was dressed in a shirt and suit pants, looking extremely noble and elegant.
Su Jialan smiled and put down the pruning shears in her hand. "They're just some plants that can't talk. Since they won't chat with me, I just do some pruning to kill time."
Xiao Yanzhi followed her gaze and glanced down.
The potted plants had been neatly pruned. The withered branches had been removed, and they were all growing well. However, because they had been trimmed too neatly, they looked a bit rigid.
They were like products from an assembly line, completely lifeless.
"I'll push you back to your room," he said.
Su Jialan nodded, with a gentle smile on her face.
After walking a few steps, she suddenly asked, "How's your little girlfriend? I heard you celebrated her birthday yesterday."
Xiao Yanzhi was holding the wheelchair. A fleeting look flashed across his eyes, but he quickly concealed it without a trace.
"Everything's fine," he replied calmly, clearly not wanting to talk more about this topic.
Su Jialan didn't notice his expression. She just continued talking to herself. "You're a mature man now. I know you have your own plans and don't want others to interfere too much with your choices.
"However, at least you should consider the special situation of the Xiao family."
Xiao Yanzhi's jawline tightened. He looked a bit cold. "What do you want to say?"
Su Jialan was sitting in the wheelchair. She looked at Xiao Yanzhi tenderly. "A Yan, you know you're the heir of the Xiao family. You have heavier responsibilities.
"In the past two years, you've had a really bad fight with your dad because of starting an entertainment company. Do you really plan to be on bad terms with him for the rest of your life just for a woman?"
At this point, Su Jialan let out a soft sigh. "It was okay with Jiang Li, but now there's this Yaoyao. You, my child..."
The conflict between the father and son of the Xiao family had been going on for a long time.
Strictly speaking, the Xiao family was a traditional aristocratic family. Most of the family's business was related to the nobility and the royal family.
That's why there was that necklace.
But Xiao Yanzhi had defied convention and started a small - scale entertainment company. If this got out, it would definitely damage the Xiao family's reputation.
Especially when Xiao Yuanfeng found out that Xiao Yanzhi had started such an unorthodox entertainment company just for a woman, he was so angry that he almost fainted.
That's when the relationship between father and son hit rock bottom.
Later, even though Jiang Li knew her place and behaved appropriately, she couldn't change Xiao Yuanfeng's prejudice against his son.
Su Jialan pursed her lips. "Your dad and I have been respectful to each other all our lives. Although our love wasn't passionate, at least we've come this far together."
Hearing this, Xiao Yanzhi let out an almost imperceptible sneer.
Respectful to each other?
In the early years, the Su family was indeed on par with the Xiao family. Their arranged marriage was reasonable.
Whether they had feelings or not was unknown, but Su Jialan had indeed played the role of a good wife and mother, running the Xiao family in an orderly manner.
She had over - exhausted herself in the early years, which was why she had a sudden cerebral infarction due to over - fatigue and had to sit in a wheelchair.
The communication between the couple was not as frequent as before, and their relationship had reached a kind of balance.
Even so, she still had a lot of influence in the Xiao family.
"The responsibilities on you mean you need to love a woman that the Xiao family needs."
Xiao Yanzhi frowned slightly.
Knowing that he didn't like to hear this, Su Jialan changed her words. "Let's not talk about love for now. At least you should find a woman suitable for the Xiao family."
Xiao Yanzhi frowned. His imposing manner, which was hard to hide after a long time in a high - position, was a bit intimidating. "What kind of woman is suitable for the Xiao family?"
Su Jialan smiled and looked directly at her son. "At least Jiang Li isn't."
Xiao Yanzhi didn't say a word.
"Of course, your new little girlfriend definitely isn't either."
At this point, Su Jialan's tone became harsher. "You've caused so much trouble with a woman you've known for just a few months. Do you really want outsiders to laugh at our Xiao family?"
Xiao Yanzhi replied calmly, "No one in the entire North City dares to laugh at the Xiao family."
"Indeed, no one dares to laugh at us openly," Su Jialan said helplessly. "But can you stop them from talking? They'll talk about our Xiao family without a bottom - line during their leisure time and in places you can't see."
"So what?"
Xiao Yanzhi asked meaningfully, "Aren't the affairs of aristocratic families, whether positive or negative, topics for others to talk about?"
"A Yan, you..." Su Jialan opened her mouth, wanting to say something else, but his absent - minded look with his head down made it hard for her to continue the conversation.
Finally, Su Jialan forced a smile and asked the key question, "How does that girl compare to Jiang Li?"
"Not comparable at all," Xiao Yanzhi said calmly, hardly thinking. "She's very innocent and has a purer heart than Jiang Li."
With just this one sentence, Su Jialan understood how important Qin Yaoyao was in Xiao Yanzhi's heart.
The key was her purity.
Xiao Yanzhi accompanied Su Jialan for an entire afternoon. It was almost evening when he was about to drive away.
Before leaving, Su Jialan finally relented.
"Find some time to bring that girl to meet me," Su Jialan said kindly. "Maybe she'll be likable, and I can help you plead your case."
Xiao Yanzhi looked up. It seemed that everything was as he had expected. "Okay, I'll arrange the time. I'm sure she'll be eager to meet you."
For some reason, Su Jialan had a feeling that Xiao Yanzhi had been waiting for this sentence from her.
It seemed pre - meditated.
——
This shooting would last for a week.
Sister Chen had also heard about the previous scandal between Jiang Li and Chen Siqi. She called Jiang Li in a hurry and was told that the matter had been resolved.
Sister Chen was shocked. "Using your negative news to increase popularity was arranged by General Manager Xiao. Why has he suddenly changed his mind?"
"Sort of. He promised me," Jiang Li said casually, holding the script in her hand. "If I follow his wishes, he has no reason to keep making things difficult for me."
Hearing this, Sister Chen understood and couldn't help but sigh. "Lili, I think you've changed."
At least she was more insightful than before and no longer let her emotions get the better of her.
Especially when it came to her feelings for Xiao Yanzhi.
"I've realized that if you want to stay in this industry for a long time, you have to learn to rely on others," Jiang Li said casually.
"If you don't have a roof over your head, more rain will fall on you."
It was her ability to find a roof to shelter under. But it was just for shelter. She shouldn't expect to live in the house.
On the other end of the phone, Sister Chen hesitated several times and finally sighed. "Okay, Lili. As long as you've thought it through."