Jiang Li moved her shoulders and neck and simply nodded. "Thank you, General Manager Xiao, for allowing me to rest here. I'll be going now."
"Don't be so polite," Xiao Yanzhi said, pursing his lips as he lied calmly. "Xiao Ye couldn't find a suitable room. You have nowhere to go tonight."
Jiang Li clearly didn't believe him and insisted on calling Xiao Ye. However, she realized her phone wasn't on her, so she wanted to return to the door of her room to look for it.
"You don't trust me that much?" As her footsteps approached the door of the room, the man's voice came from behind her, and his eyes grew darker. "I don't need to lie to you."
Jiang Li responded halfheartedly. "I didn't say you lied to me. I just have something to ask Xiao Ye."
As she said this, she continued walking toward the door of the room.
Xiao Yanzhi could see that she was determined to leave, so his eyes instantly darkened. He took a few large steps forward and grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to stop.
Jiang Li immediately pushed him away forcefully, freeing her shoulders from his grasp. Her brows furrowed slightly, but it was only for a moment.
She seemed to be extremely resistant to his touch.
Her inexplicable stubbornness made Xiao Yanzhi feel something was wrong.
"What are you causing trouble for 'again'?"
When he said 'again', the conversation sounded like a couple bickering. After all the crying and shouting, they were still able to quickly make up.
"I'm not suitable to be here," Jiang Li took a step back, creating a safe distance between them. "General Manager Xiao is already engaged. I don't want to be gossiped about."
"The engagement banquet didn't happen. You should be clearer about that than I am, right?" Xiao Yanzhi began to get angry. "I haven't received the marriage certificate with her either. You seem to be eager to distance yourself from me."
"So, you don't intend to be responsible for Qin Yaoyao?" She was referring to the pregnancy.
Hearing this, Xiao Yanzhi's eyes darkened, and his tone turned cold. "What did I do to her? What responsibility do I need to take?"
Jiang Li was extremely tired of his attitude of pretending to be innocent, so she only gave a faint smile.
Even now, he still wanted to lie to her on purpose. Did he think she still didn't know about Qin Yaoyao's pregnancy?
She was too lazy to play dumb with him here.
Jiang Li took a deep breath and put on a perfect smile. "This is your private matter. It has nothing to do with me."
"It's getting late. I really have to go. Goodbye, General Manager Xiao."
She was determined to leave, and Xiao Yanzhi had lost all his patience. He used a commanding tone, with a coldness that had no emotion. "Jiang Li, don't go anywhere tonight. Stay with me."
He finally understood. This woman didn't know what was good for her. The gentle approach didn't work. He had to use force.
His sudden coldness made Jiang Li fall silent for a moment.
After a long while, she said softly, looking troubled. "General Manager Xiao, I'm not convenient tonight."
She didn't say what was inconvenient, and she didn't directly refuse him. She just said in a soft voice, "My period has been delayed recently. The doctor told me to pay attention to rest. I..."
Xiao Yanzhi looked at her in surprise with a look of disbelief on his face. "Jiang Li, what do you think I'm going to do?"
It was too troublesome to keep going back and forth at night. There was another bedroom in the suite. He just wanted Jiang Li to have a good sleep here.
He originally wanted to say this, but because she had been disobeying him since she woke up, he had forgotten to tell her his original intention.
Jiang Li raised her head and smiled at him, but the smile was only on the surface. "What else could you do? General Manager Xiao is asking me this. Haven't you done it before?"
She said this with a straight face, but at this moment, she suddenly felt her nose turn sour. She tried hard to hold back her emotions so that they didn't show in her voice.
If she didn't say this, it would be okay, but when she did, she realized that the way she interacted with him had only so much meaning and value.
The feeling of humiliation and shame began to spread from the bottom of her heart.
It was like a mockery.
"Goodbye."
She nodded slightly, as if thanking him for "letting her go." After that, she opened the door without hesitation and left his room.
Xiao Yanzhi watched her slender back with a momentary daze.
...
She returned to the door of her room and rummaged through the pile of clutter until she found her phone. She called Xiao Ye and asked for the address of the hotel. Then, she quickly took a taxi there.
Xiao Ye quickly opened the door for Jiang Li. When she saw that she was standing at the door of the room unharmed and her clothes hadn't changed, she was confused.
"Sister Jiang Li, weren't you going to stay in General Manager Xiao's room tonight?"
"Who said that?" Jiang Li gave her a look and carried her clothes to the bathroom.
The hot water came down from above, and the steam filled the bathroom. Jiang Li closed her eyes, and her tense emotions and nerves finally relaxed.
She had finally escaped another disaster.
The deep, dark eyes that were without emotion appeared in her mind, but they gradually disappeared from her sight like water mist.
The next day.
Since she didn't stay with the main group and the filming was in another location today, Jiang Li didn't want to affect the overall progress by being late, so she got up early to wash up and pack.
As a result, she was the first to arrive.
Director Ying thought he had arrived early enough, but he saw Jiang Li sitting on a chair from afar. One hand was holding the script, while the other was holding a large cup of Americano. Her expression was focused, but there was also a hint of laziness.
"The early bird catches the worm," Ying Chengqi said with a gentle smile. "But if you're so competitive, it'll make the other actors feel embarrassed."
Jiang Li said with a smile, "Even if I'm a 'bird', I should be a 'stupid bird'. Today's scene is rather unfamiliar. I came early to get used to it. It's not being competitive. It's just making up for my lack of talent."
Her voice was gentle, and her tone was appropriate. While she was being humble, others could feel her strength. It was very comfortable to listen to.
"You sure know how to talk," Ying Chengqi said with a laugh. "Your EQ is really high. It's difficult for people in the industry to say anything bad about you."
This was true.
There were many famous people in the industry. Although Jiang Li was usually cold and aloof and didn't get close to others, she had never refuted anyone's face, much less offended anyone powerful.
She walked through a field of flowers without getting a single petal on her.
She didn't touch either the good or the bad.
Hearing Ying Chengqi's praise, Jiang Li only smiled and didn't say anything.
The reason she had such a good reputation was not only because of her own behavior but also because Xiao Yanzhi had been helping her clean up her mess.
Over the years, Xiao Yanzhi had indeed treated her well in this aspect and had done everything he had promised her.
However, it wasn't for her, but for himself.
It was to better possess her.
Previously, she couldn't see through Xiao Yanzhi, but now that she could, she knew that all his actions had long ago had signs.
He was both despicable and selfish.
When the others arrived, the stagehands began to set up the props and scenes, and Jiang Li took this time to change her clothes.