On the very first day at the drama troupe, Jiang Li was warmly welcomed by the other members. Taking a closer look, she found that they were all familiar faces.
"Sister Jiang Li, we meet again!" A female actress came over to greet Jiang Li. With a beaming face and twinkling eyes, she asked, "Are you going to perform in the drama too?"
Jiang Li hesitated for a second, fixed her eyes on the girl in front of her, and then gave a knowing smile. "I remember you. You're the girl who played in the Republican - era drama before."
It was obvious that this girl had become more confident than before. Her eyes were full of vigor, no longer the timid look she used to have.
"Thank you for teaching me back then. I now know how to perform a drama well. You're really professional," the girl said.
Jiang Li just shook her head with a smile. "You're a professional actress from a formal acting school. I just know some tricks. It's my honor to be able to help you."
"I'll have to ask all of you for more guidance during my days in the drama troupe."
...
For several days later, Jiang Li delved into in - depth learning in the drama troupe. The troupe arranged some simple plays for her, which were not very difficult to handle.
Although she played minor roles, some of which didn't even have names, she performed very seriously. Her meticulous attitude even made some actors who slacked off from time to time feel ashamed.
In just half a month, the atmosphere of the drama troupe had changed a lot.
Originally, this drama troupe was under Sheng Shuocheng's care, so there were plenty of performance opportunities. The actors could easily win the audience's applause with a casual performance, and gradually they lost some enthusiasm.
But Jiang Li's arrival injected new vitality into the whole drama troupe, and everyone was more motivated than before.
Time passed quickly. Thanks to Jiang Li's efforts and talent, she was soon assigned her first leading - role play, and the premiere was coming up soon.
One evening, after practicing the play for the last time, Jiang Li came out just as the sun was setting. She was about to hail a taxi to go home when she suddenly heard someone calling her.
Looking up, Jiang Li saw Chen Siqi standing there waiting for her.
Chen Siqi was dressed in light - colored casual clothes today, looking very amiable. He waved to her, signaling her to come over.
After a moment, Jiang Li walked towards him.
"How have you been lately?" Chen Siqi asked her with a hearty voice and a smile.
Under the setting sun, Jiang Li was wearing short denim shorts and a simple, loose white T - shirt. Her stage makeup hadn't been removed yet, and she looked a bit tired.
"I'm very happy every day as a drama actress." Jiang Li pursed her lips and then asked him, "What about you? Have you made up your mind?"
"Let's talk somewhere else."
Jiang Li agreed.
Chen Siqi took her to a restaurant. When she entered, the waiter noticed the stage makeup on her face and couldn't help showing surprise in her eyes.
"Does it look good?" Jiang Li noticed her look and gave her a confident smile. She behaved gracefully and didn't feel uncomfortable being stared at.
She was born proud and would never be afraid of people's gazes.
Hearing her response, the waiter immediately nodded with a smile. "It's really beautiful. I've never seen stage makeup under stage lights before. It's so exaggerated."
"Under strong lights, the way people look is indeed different from their real appearance." Jiang Li answered her doubt. "Let's order now."
After the waiter left, Jiang Li asked Chen Siqi, "You came to see me. I guess it's about the thing we talked about last time. Have you made a decision?"
"...Yes." Chen Siqi nodded slightly and said calmly, "I've consulted a lawyer. In our current situation, you're Zhou Ningyun's biological daughter, and she's now my father's legally recognized wife. That means we're siblings now."
"Siblings can't get married." Jiang Li continued his words. "So, the previous agreement is void, right?"
Chen Siqi nodded seriously.
Jiang Li slowly exhaled. "Then let it be void. There's no other way."
Now she had successfully terminated her contract with Jiang Yu. Currently, Xiao Yanzhi was entangled in the trivial matters of the Xiao family and had no time to care about her. This agreement was of no value to her.
Now that Chen Siqi had proposed to void it, she actually felt much more relaxed.
Chen Siqi said, "Although we can't get married, we can be friends. I can still fulfill the previous promise and keep you away from Xiao Yanzhi's harassment."
Just as Jiang Li was about to say it was unnecessary, Chen Siqi suddenly lowered his voice, as if hinting, "Someone has been following you these days. Haven't you noticed?"
Jiang Li's expression changed suddenly.
She had no idea.
"From the moment you came out until now when we're sitting here having dinner, at least three people have been following you all the way, observing your every move."
Jiang Li's palms immediately began to sweat.
She was silent for a while, then said calmly in a steady voice, "How can I believe what you said is true?"
"If you don't believe me, when you take a taxi home later, ask the driver to take a few detours and see if there's anyone following."
When Chen Siqi said this, his words were full of meaning.
...
After dinner, Chen Siqi didn't send her home but let her take a taxi by herself to verify whether what he said was true or not.
Jiang Li did as he said.
When they passed the same cross - road for the third time, the driver finally became impatient. "Miss, where on earth are you going?"
Jiang Li looked back and saw the black car that had been following them at a constant distance all the time. She lowered her head as if admitting defeat.
Jiang Li didn't understand.
She didn't understand why Xiao Yanzhi, even when he was so busy, still sent someone to secretly watch her.
Jiang Li covered her face with both hands and took a deep breath, but her chest still heaved violently, and her shoulders trembled.
He clearly didn't love her, but he wouldn't let her go.
—
Another week passed, and it was the day of Jiang Li's premiere of the drama.
The first leading - role play she got was the protagonist in *The Tragic Butterfly*. In it, she played a colorful butterfly that transformed into a woman, fell in love with a human, but was finally separated due to fate.
She had gone through the lines and actions in her mind so many times that she didn't need any more preparation and could just take the stage.
There were a lot of people coming to watch the drama today. The seats were all occupied. The other actors joked that Jiang Li was lucky to have so many audiences for her premiere. Her future performances were bound to be a hit.
She just smiled and said nothing.
There were many people who came to watch the drama, but not many came specifically to watch the actors.
The actors on the stage changed one after another, but the audience wouldn't stop watching the drama just because a certain actor stopped performing.
The world was just like this, full of coldness and warmth.
...
The premiere was a great success. When the curtain fell, many people were still wiping their tears for the dead butterfly - woman.
In the audience.
Xue An, who was sitting next to Xiao Yanzhi, leaned over and whispered, "Mr. Xiao, if we don't leave now, we'll miss our flight."
The man looked indifferent. "Got it."
Then he stood up and left directly.