"Have all the guests downstairs left?"
Jiang Li tried her best to keep her voice calm. "Jing Yi, don't panic. First, find the security guards..."
"It's too late, Sister Jiang Li." Even Jing Yi, who was usually calm and composed, was in a panic at this moment. "Those bosses haven't left yet, and there are paparazzi and media recording!"
At this moment, Jiang Li felt cold all over. Her chest heaved violently, and she staggered a couple of steps before collapsing back onto the sofa.
She closed her eyes in despair.
It was all over.
She didn't even need to think to know what a chaotic scene was going on downstairs.
The call hadn't ended yet, and Jing Yi's voice was still urgent. "Sister Jiang Li, don't come down yet. Your car is surrounded..."
Before Jing Yi could finish her sentence, the noisy voices grew louder and louder, and the call was abruptly cut off.
Jiang Li's hand holding the phone began to tremble, and the phone slipped from her palm onto the carpet.
She bent down to pick it up, but a hand reached down first, picked it up, and placed it back in her palm.
"Why do you look like you've seen a ghost?" Xiao Yanzhi's Adam's apple bobbed. Looking at her pale face, he frowned slightly. "What time is it? Why aren't you leaving yet?"
Jiang Li swayed as she stood up. There was a hint of desolation in her eyes. "I can't leave. Something's happened."
Xiao Yanzhi looked down at her, saying nothing.
Just then, Xue An ran over to report to Xiao Yanzhi. "Mr. Xiao, Sister Jiang Li's younger brother is causing trouble downstairs. It's completely blocked. We might not be able to get out for a while."
So that's what it was.
No wonder there was a look of pain on her face.
Xiao Yanzhi said nothing, but his eyes still rested on Jiang Li in front of him.
Her face was still pale, but she still stood stubbornly in front of him. There was a kind of calm acceptance even though she was in utter despair.
She didn't even want to ask him for help.
"Jiang Li, you're always causing trouble," Xiao Yanzhi's voice came from above Jiang Li's head, without a trace of warmth. "You just signed with Vitaly, and now you've caused such a big mess."
"Do you think this little gain is enough for me to clean up your mess?"
Almost at the same time, Jiang Li remembered the words she'd heard outside the private room—
"I'm protecting her because she's valuable right now."
Jiang Li felt her throat go dry. The man's cold voice came again. "Find someone to take Jiang Yi away. Make him shut up immediately. Lock him up in an empty place. Let him name his price."
Upon receiving the order, Xue An quickly rushed over.
In less than half an hour, the people downstairs had all dispersed, as if they'd been swept away by a gust of wind.
Jiang Li still sat on the sofa, her hands tightly clenched.
She looked like a down - and - out swan, pitiful and tragic.
"Satisfied?" Xiao Yanzhi stuffed one hand into his pocket, his tone sarcastic. "Jiang Li, I signed you to make a profit for the company, not to support your family."
"Do you know how much money the company has to spend to deal with the negative publicity this time?"
Xiao Yanzhi exuded the oppressive aura of a superior. Every word was full of pressure.
Jiang Li lowered her head. Listening to his cold tone, she felt as if a large basin of seawater had been poured into her chest. It was bitter and cold.
The hall was completely empty, looking extremely desolate and lonely.
Seeing that she still didn't move, Xiao Yanzhi's patience was gradually wearing thin. He reached out to pull her, only to find that her body was shaking.
Xiao Yanzhi stared intently into her eyes, looking a bit hesitant. "Why are you shaking?"
From the moment she'd learned that Jiang Yi was causing trouble, Jiang Li had been shaking. She could hardly stand on her own feet.
She'd even closed her eyes just now.
It was an instinctive sense of despair and helplessness, as well as fear and resignation about what might happen in the future.
Breach of contract, termination of the contract, negative news, and ruin...
Jiang Li shook her head and stubbornly said, "I'm not..."
She wanted to break free, but her wrist was tightly grasped by Xiao Yanzhi and he didn't loosen his grip at all.
The man's hand was very strong. The warm touch on her wrist made her nose ache badly. "Let go of me. I want to go home."
This was her most instinctive cry for help.
Xiao Yanzhi frowned slightly and couldn't help but ask coldly, "Which home are you going back to?"
"I'm going back to..."
Jiang Li suddenly froze. Her hesitant and evasive eyes were now dull. She looked around blankly.
Where did she have a home?
Jiang Li closed her eyes tightly. She felt her eye sockets burning hot, and the heat was out of her control. "Xiao Yanzhi, leave me alone."
As soon as she opened her mouth, her voice was filled with sobs and a nasal tone. "Don't care about me anymore. Don't give him money either. Let him keep scolding. Let the media write whatever they want. I don't care."
Whether she was ruined, whether she was covered in infamy, or whether she could never act again.
She didn't care about any of it.
"I don't want to be a star anymore. Mr. Xiao, don't waste your time and money on me." Jiang Li clenched her hands tightly, and her voice was almost trembling. "I'm not worth it."
The man's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and his voice turned cold. "Jiang Li, is your ability to handle stress so poor that you're already planning to give up?"
Jiang Li looked up. Her pale face was full of despair. There were tears hanging on her eyelashes, but they didn't fall.
Her stubbornness and pride had now become a mountain pressing down on her, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.
At this moment, that suffocating feeling hit her again.
She wanted to escape, to be free, to leave forever.
Just then, Xue An ran up, out of breath. "Mr. Xiao, the person has been controlled. He's locked in the car."
He was talking about Jiang Yi.
Xiao Yanzhi stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at Jiang Li. He let go of her hand. "Let's go. Go and see the younger brother who's caused you trouble."
Jiang Li didn't say a word. She just stood up blankly and followed Xiao Yanzhi like a puppet.
Downstairs.
All the onlookers had left, and even the paparazzi and media had been driven away by Xue An. The empty space in front of the hotel was very quiet.
If you didn't know, it would be hard to believe that such a lively farce had just taken place here.
Xue An led the two out of the hotel, walked through a deserted alley, and after a few twists and turns, stopped in front of a van.
"Mr. Xiao, he's inside," Xue An said respectfully.
Xiao Yanzhi's eyes were pitch - black, and his voice was a few degrees colder than before. "Tell him to get out."
Xue An opened the car door and pulled out Jiang Yi, who was struggling with his hands and feet tied tightly inside, and made him roll onto the ground.
"Damn it! Don't you know how to be gentle!" Jiang Yi cried out in pain. When he looked up and saw Jiang Li standing in front of him, his expression instantly turned fierce and hideous.
"Slut! You deliberately didn't answer my calls and hid from me for so long. Now that I've scolded you like this, you finally show up?"
He snorted disdainfully. "Hurry up and tell someone to untie me!"