"Now I'll take you back to Ruiyuan. Do you agree?"
Jiang Li turned her head blankly. Her eyes gradually regained focus from being hollow. She took a very slow time to digest the content of his words. After understanding, she nodded gently.
Her eyes were as pure as a deer's, but there was little sparkle in them.
They were as hollow as two pitch - black abysses.
Xiao Yanzhi looked at her for a long time, his eyes full of complexity. Finally, he told the driver to drive to Ruiyuan.
Out of habit, he held a cigarette between his fingers, but he didn't light it.
He just pinched it in his hand and rubbed the cigarette tube repeatedly until the whole cigarette went limp in his hand.
In the narrow space of the car, it was almost impossible to feel the breath of life from the other side.
It was dead silent.
...
When they arrived at Ruiyuan, Jiang Li stood at the entrance in her shoes, staring blankly inside.
Everything was still arranged as it was when she left. The environment was clean without any dust. In the vase on the table, there were still two fresh red roses, adding a touch of vitality.
However, the red - carpet photo of the two of them that she had thrown into the trash can on the shoe cabinet was somehow put back.
She stared at it for a while.
"I usually ask an aunt to come and clean." Xiao Yanzhi said calmly, "I guess it was the aunt who picked it up."
"Okay." Jiang Li felt a bit of moisture in the corners of her eyes. She pressed her eyes with her hand, walked over quickly, picked up the photo, and then threw it back into the trash can.
She was decisive and didn't hesitate at all.
The man standing behind her stiffened.
Something was very wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
The feeling of depression and tightness in his chest was very strong. He took a slow deep breath and watched as the figure sat on the sofa. Her eyes started to stare blankly at the two roses again.
Every move of hers seemed extremely strange.
Xiao Yanzhi remained silent and didn't disturb her.
Jiang Li's eyes wandered over the roses. Suddenly, she showed a smile, reached out her hand to pull out the roses, and pinched the petals with her fingernails.
She pinched dark red marks on the petals and then roughly tore them off.
One petal after another.
Finally, only the bare rose stems were left. Then she picked up the other one.
The actions were very mechanical. Xiao Yanzhi's breath caught in his throat. Suddenly, he realized a possibility -
Her bipolar disorder had flared up.
Xiao Yanzhi strode towards her and suddenly pulled her into his arms. Rarely, he was in a complete mess: "What are you doing?"
The sudden embrace made Jiang Li frown, but she still answered in a matter - of - fact way: "I'm playing with it."
"Why play with it? You've always liked it, haven't you?"
Jiang Li did like roses. Every time after an awards ceremony, he would give her a whole bunch, and she would hold it all the way without letting go.
Even when she took it home, she would take good care of it, put it in a vase for several days, and was reluctant to throw it away even after the blooming period was over.
His tone began to lose its rationality. He interrogated her word by word: "The roses bought especially for you, and you just treat them like this?"
"It blooms just to be treated like this." Jiang Li opened her mouth. She sounded so cold that it didn't seem like her: "Even if no one treats it like this, it will wither and die on its own."
"Roses are given a so - called romantic value, but in fact, they are born to be played with."
"This is its destiny, its destiny." After Jiang Li finished speaking, tears rolled down her face at some point.
This was also her destiny, her destiny.
Xiao Yanzhi didn't want to listen to her nonsense anymore. He grabbed her waist with his big hand, forcing her to meet his dark gaze. His tone was not good: "Look at me, Jiang Li."
"You're still alive, and you're alive and well." He tightened his grip on her hand and said firmly: "If you want to die again, I don't mind accompanying you one more time."
This sentence was like an alarm bell. Jiang Li's heart skipped a beat. She shook her head desperately: "No, don't accompany me."
Her life was already so worthless. There was no need to involve Xiao Yanzhi.
Jiang Li was sitting on his lap. Her body was shaking violently. Her eyes were forced to look at him, with no room to dodge.
She was in a daze for a long time. Her emotions went from being tense at first to relaxed, and finally she regained her senses. Her eyes became clear again.
"Did you bring your medicine?" Seeing that her mood had improved a little, he changed the subject and gently hugged her: "I'll go get your medicine. After you take it, you can rest well."
Jiang Li pursed her lips tightly and sat in the same position, watching him get up slowly, walk to the suitcase, and open it very gracefully.
Then, among a pile of sundries neatly sorted by Sister Chen, he slowly picked up a pair of underwear.
It was pink with a lace cut - out pattern on the front.
Jiang Li:...
Her face flushed instantly. She quickly walked over and snatched it away, half - embarrassed and half - angry: "Don't rummage around. I'll find it myself."
Only then did Xiao Yanzhi take two steps back and looked down at her pink and hot earlobes.
They were so charming.
--
When Qin Yaoyao learned that Xiao Yanzhi and Jiang Li had returned to Beicheng at the same time, she became extremely restless. She couldn't even shoot the advertisement well. She would be distracted from time to time or pose in the wrong way.
The photographer called her several times, but she still had a straight face and didn't cooperate at all.
"It's so annoying. I won't shoot anymore!" Qin Yaoyao tore off the hair accessory on her head and walked impatiently to the backstage. She gave orders to her agent: "I want to go back to Beicheng."
Qin Yaoyao's agent was an old - timer in the company and had a lot of say. She didn't indulge Qin Yaoyao just because she was a newbie: "You can't leave. The shooting schedule for the advertisement is arranged for these days. If you leave, how can we shoot?"
"Can't they just wait?" Qin Yaoyao propped her chin up and looked nonchalant: "My best friend is back from abroad. I have to go back and meet her."
"If you leave, all these advertisements will be overdue and in breach of contract. We'll have to pay the liquidated damages."
The agent patiently explained to her: "Moreover, this will affect your professional reputation in the future."
"Then just pay it." Qin Yaoyao said it very casually: "A Yan has plenty of money. As for my reputation, I don't care. Anyway, I'm not going to be a star for a lifetime."
As she was speaking, she showed a longing smile: "I'll be Mrs. Xiao in the future. When those brand owners see me, they'll beg me to try out their new products."
The agent saw that she was determined to leave. Helplessly, she called Xiao Yanzhi and explained the situation.
Sure enough, just as Qin Yaoyao had expected, Xiao Yanzhi said that she could do as she liked. If she didn't want to shoot, she could just stop. They could find another artist to replace her or just pay the liquidated damages.
The agent sighed helplessly. She had a vague feeling that this wasn't a good thing.
...
On the day Qin Yaoyao landed in Beicheng, it was also the day Bai He returned to China.
She wasn't in a hurry to go home. She just dragged her suitcase and waited at the airport to pick up Bai He, whom she hadn't seen for a long time, planning to have a good chat about their recent situations after meeting.