"Little girl, what on earth do you want?" Sheng Shuocheng squinted his eyes, his look full of meaning, but he was truly asking her.
After about two minutes of silence, Jiang Li finally calmed down.
She slowly loosened her tightly - clenched hands, then slowly raised her head, meeting Sheng Shuocheng's gaze. Her tone was rather stiff, yet with her unique stubbornness. "I want equal respect."
"Tell me more."
Jiang Li of course knew that it wouldn't be difficult for Sheng Shuocheng to protect her. The hard part was how she could convince herself and achieve self - harmony.
By doing things this way, she wouldn't earn anyone's respect. Instead, people would look down on her and say that she got where she was only by relying on her "godfather". That would be so disgraceful.
Whether it was helping Xiao Yanzhi or agreeing to Chen Siqi, all she wanted was just a bit of equal respect.
"I know this might be hard for you to believe, but I really just want respect," she said, putting away the disappointment in her eyes and smiling. "This circle is too chaotic. Some people can live comfortably by using some underhanded methods, but I don't want that."
In this industry, many artists are eager to catch the eye of the capital.
Once they are favored, they will surely rise to success, getting more resources and endorsements than they can handle, and their star - paths will be smooth and shiny.
But she was the only one who didn't want that.
"I want to live on my own, upright and proudly."
Her pride was as high as the sky.
Hearing this, Sheng Shuocheng curled his lips slightly, a faint smile in his breath.
"Not bad. You have backbone."
Sheng Shuocheng quietly waited for her to finish, then calmly shifted to another topic. "Baijiao was the name of a drama troupe founded by my late wife. She was also a member of it."
"Later, we got married, but she became always unhappy. She suffered from depression and finally committed suicide behind my back."
This answer wasn't a surprise. Jiang Li had guessed it before.
Rich people usually live long. If they die early, it's either because of a serious illness or suicide.
"It has a special meaning to me. So later I acquired it, expanded its scale, and founded a company with the same name. But the main focus is still on the drama industry."
In just a few words, Jiang Li could feel Sheng Shuocheng's aura gradually softening.
It was the same when he mentioned his late wife last time.
"She must have loved you very much," Jiang Li summarized.
Sheng Shuocheng looked surprised. There was a different emotion in his eyes when he looked at her. "You're the first one to say this. Others all think that I loved her very much."
"Your love for her is well - known to the world. But she was willing to stay by your side despite the secular prejudice. Maybe that was even harder."
Sheng Shuocheng's late wife was an actress, of low status. She wasn't supposed to marry someone like him.
But she was willing to bear the secular abuse just to love him.
"I'm sure I couldn't do that," Jiang Li smiled. "Unless I loved this person very, very much."
After she said this, she looked up and accidentally noticed that Sheng Shuocheng's eyes were already wet.
He swallowed a few times, and his hand holding the teacup began to tremble. The tea inside almost spilled out.
He took a sip of the tea to cover it up, but it was useless. His flustered expression was already obvious.
"Thank you, child."
"Thank you for making me finally believe that she really loved me, and it wasn't me forcing her to stay by my side."
Jiang Li silently listened to his feelings. There was an indescribable sadness in her heart, mixed with complex emotions.
There must be an unknown story between Sheng Shuocheng and his late wife.
What kind of love - hate relationship could it be?
...
In Beicheng.
"Jiang Li has signed an agreement with Baijiao. It's estimated that she will transform into a drama actress in the future," Xue An reported the information he got to Xiao Yanzhi.
After hearing this, Xiao Yanzhi said in a deep voice, "Let her do as she wishes. Just pay attention to her safety secretly."
Xue An nodded, then hesitated a bit. "There's another thing, Mr. Xiao."
"Speak."
"Qin Yaoyao... She said she wants to apply to quit Jiangyu."
Xiao Yanzhi had just lit a cigarette. He gently tapped the ash and said in a normal tone, "Has her contract expired?"
"She hasn't been officially employed. It should be at the end of this month."
After losing Tan Mizong's support, Qin Yaoyao's status dropped sharply. She could hardly hold her head up in Jiangyu.
Everyone knew about the relationship between her and Tan Mizong. Even the way they looked at her was full of disgust.
People thought that after dealing with Tan Mizong, Xiao Yanzhi would also deal with Qin Yaoyao. But he just ignored her and let her stay in Jiangyu.
Officially, she was still an artist of Jiangyu. But she had no acting skills, and no endorsements came to her. She was just a useless person in the company.
The longer she stayed like this, the greater the psychological pressure on her.
Finally, she couldn't bear the panic in her heart and voluntarily submitted an application to terminate the contract with the company in advance.
"Since the contract period hasn't ended, let her stay," Xiao Yanzhi took a puff of the cigarette and said calmly. "Even if she can't sit still, she has to stay obediently."
His voice was cold, with an intimidating chill. Xue An's heart tightened.
"I understand, Mr. Xiao."
-
After learning that her application for contract termination was rejected, Qin Yaoyao was anxious and angry. She asked the HR department, but they only gave a vague answer, saying it was the meaning of the superior.
She was restless, like a fish on the chopping board, not knowing when the knife would fall.
Helplessly, she turned to Bai He for help.
It took four or five calls to get through. As soon as she was about to start pretending to be pitiful and gain sympathy, "Hehe, I..."
"Stop talking," Bai He interrupted her first. "I know what you've done. As a friend, I'm very disappointed in you. Don't call me again."
"Hehe, please listen to my explanation. It was all Tan Mizong who..."
Just as Qin Yaoyao was speaking, another extremely gentle female voice came from the other end of the phone. "Xiao He, it's time for us to go. The movie is about to start."
Bai He's last bit of patience disappeared. She said into the receiver, "Qin Yaoyao, I used to consider you a friend, but now it seems that you've always had other motives."
She said without hesitation, "I've never told you this before. Now I can finally tell you that my cousin will never be with you. His first love has come back. You have no chance."
Qin Yaoyao was stunned.
Who was Xiao Yanzhi's first love?
After Bai He said this, she hung up the phone.
"Who were you talking to?" Yu Wan's voice was still soft.
Bai He shook her head and answered vaguely, "No one. Just a nuisance call."