"You're pregnant. How come you're still drinking?" Jiang Li's tone was flat, and her eyes showed no emotion.
"Sister Jiang Li, you're so observant." Qin Yaoyao blinked her eyes, her tone coquettish. "I'll ask A Yan to prepare non - alcoholic drinks for me in advance. You don't have to worry about me."
While they were chatting, Xiao Yanzhi walked over. He stood gracefully beside Qin Yaoyao.
"What are you talking about?"
Seeing Xiao Yanzhi coming, Qin Yaoyao immediately showed a brighter smile. She originally wanted to hold his hand, but as soon as he stood still, he put his hands in his trouser pockets. So she had to settle for linking his arm.
"I'm inviting Sister Jiang Li to our engagement banquet."
Qin Yaoyao blinked her eyes. "After all, she's the witness of our relationship. If she doesn't come, I'll feel regretful."
"A Yan, what do you think?"
Xiao Yanzhi looked down at Qin Yaoyao for a few seconds, then replied with a non - emotional "hmm".
Watching the two of them standing in front of her chatting back and forth, Jiang Li's eyes just skimmed over Xiao Yanzhi's face and then quickly withdrew.
She was as calm as still water.
...
The day before the engagement banquet, Sister Chen confirmed with her, "Lili, if you don't want to go, I can tell Mr. Xiao that you have a high fever and are not convenient to attend."
Jiang Li slightly shook her head. "There's no inconvenience. It's just a formality."
If nothing unexpected happens, tomorrow's engagement banquet will invite major media to film and report the whole process to record this grand occasion.
As the pillar of Jiang Entertainment and an artist who used to be inseparable from Xiao Yanzhi, the relationship between the two of them has been speculated about countless times, either explicitly or implicitly.
If she were absent, it would be hard not to imagine what the media would write about her.
She must attend gracefully and sincerely offer her blessings to silence those who like to watch the show.
Seeing Jiang Li so calm, Sister Chen couldn't tell what she was feeling. She just sighed. "Lili, you're a good girl. It's Mr. Xiao who let you down."
Jiang Li slightly pursed her lips. "Sister Chen, it's because you've mixed in your personal feelings that you think he let me down."
"I was the one who didn't know my place and hoped he would stop for me." Jiang Li shrugged and smiled. "We've been in this circle for so many years. We both know it's impossible."
Sister Chen was momentarily speechless.
Jiang Li was telling the truth. It was Xiao Yanzhi's remaining single for Jiang Li in the past few years that made Sister Chen also think he would be a good man and that Jiang Li could end up with him.
But good men are really rare.
Not to mention powerful men.
Jiang Li first lowered her head, then gradually raised her eyes. "After Director Ying's movie is finished, it will be around August. At that time, please trouble Sister Chen to help me go through the contract - termination procedure directly."
After saying this, Jiang Li's mood obviously relaxed.
She used to want to leave because she had been disappointed enough; now she wanted to leave because she had let go completely.
Hearing the calmness in her tone, Sister Chen felt a bit helpless and a bit sad. She reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "It's good that you've thought it through. Sister Chen will support you."
Hearing this, Jiang Li's eyes welled up with tears. "Thank you, Sister Chen."
The engagement banquet was very grand. Everything was arranged according to the royal - standard specifications.
On every dining table in the hall, there were delicate flower bouquets, and there were also beautiful card invitations on the seats, creating a very charming atmosphere.
The guests came one after another, took their seats according to their status, and the hall was soon full.
As expected, there were also many media on - site.
Since Jiang Li hadn't shown up, some people had already started to speculate and discuss.
Some said that Xiao Yanzhi was "only seeing the new lover's smile and not hearing the old lover's cry" and deliberately didn't invite Jiang Li; others said that Jiang Li was so disappointed that she chose to be absent.
All these discussions stopped instantly when Jiang Li appeared.
The car smoothly stopped in front of the hotel. Under countless flashlights and cameras, Jing Yi got out of the car respectfully first, then bent down to open the car door.
Under the intense gazes, a pair of long, slender and fair legs got out of the car. The champagne - colored high - heeled shoes stepped on the carpet, and then the upper body emerged, showing that charming face.
It was Jiang Li.
She was wearing a short, pearl - white, classical and custom - made evening dress today. Her hair was neatly coiled up at the back of her head, looking tidy, low - key and gentle.
In order not to steal the limelight, she didn't even wear any jewelry.
But even so, her beauty was still amazing, and the clicking sounds of cameras kept coming.
Jiang Li walked gracefully across the carpet. The smile on her face was flawless, and the dress fit her body curves perfectly. Someone recognized it as the new style of Vitaly.
Vitaly really chose the right spokesperson this year.
Jiang Li was so eye - catching. It was not until her figure disappeared behind the triumphal arch that the reporters realized that this was not Jiang Li's show.
It was just that she was too dazzling.
After entering the front hall, Jiang Li was guided by the staff to her assigned seat.
Just like when attending other events, she smiled and nodded, greeted the people she knew, and exchanged polite greetings. The whole process was smooth without any flaws.
During this period, some people wanted to half - jokingly and half - gossiping ask about her relationship with Xiao Yanzhi, but she deflected them all smoothly.
She was really good at dealing with such situations, leaving no trace of weakness.
It was thought that today's engagement banquet would go smoothly, but there was a problem at the last minute. The banquet was delayed for a long time and didn't start on time. It was supposed to start at seven o'clock but was postponed until eight o'clock, and the ceremony still hadn't begun.
Jiang Li didn't care about this. She just listened to the people around her whispering that the groom was missing.
"Do you know? Mr. Xiao didn't come today!"
"So explosive! Maybe there was a traffic jam on the way?"
"Not necessarily. Maybe Mr. Xiao regretted the engagement at the last minute and deliberately didn't come."
"Not only Mr. Xiao didn't come. Look, the seats of Mr. Xiao and Mrs. Su in the front row are also empty!"
"... "
Jiang Li was stunned. She subconsciously looked forward too -
Sure enough, they were empty.
As the discussions grew louder, the people in the hall began to get restless. No one could suppress the chaos. Everyone was thinking in the most sensational way.
Some people even kept looking at Jiang Li with meaningful looks.
Jiang Li could, of course, guess what these people were thinking. They were probably speculating whether Xiao Yanzhi had regretted the engagement for her sake.
She closed her eyes and cursed in her heart countless times.
On the surface, she just smiled, with the same doubt in her eyes as everyone else. "Isn't the ceremony going to start yet?"