Xiao Yanzhi looked at Yu Wan quietly, his voice devoid of emotion. "Yu Wan, we're long over."
"We can get back together even if we're over."
"It's unnecessary." He took a puff of his cigarette and exhaled a thin wisp of smoke. "Moreover, I have no such intention."
Yu Wan didn't expect him to be so cold. Her voice trembled slightly. "Why? Is it because I've been divorced and you despise me?"
"It has nothing to do with that."
"Then why don't you want to make up with me? Is it because you haven't forgiven me yet?"
She sniffed, her eyes tearful. "I admit I left rather resolutely back then, but it was for your own good. Your father was so serious. I was worried that because of Tan Mizong, I would become your weakness."
"There's no need to bring up old matters." Xiao Yanzhi looked at her steadily. "Not wanting to get back together doesn't require so many reasons. It's just that there's no more feeling."
"You're lying."
She bit her lip, her eyes gradually turning red. "You clearly still love me, don't you?" She took a step closer to Xiao Yanzhi, but he calmly took a step back.
"Fine, I believe you don't love me." Yu Wan took a deep breath, nodded, and said, "You don't love me, but after I left, you founded Jiang Entertainment and signed Jiang Li, making her an artist of the same caliber as me. Then you approached Qin Yaoyao. You were on the verge of getting engaged but then chose to call it off."
Xiao Yanzhi was stunned. He suddenly understood something.
No wonder Jiang Li thought the heroine in his story was Yu Wan and said she was a substitute.
As he finally realized this, he also found it utterly absurd.
"A Yan, if you really don't love me, why didn't you choose to be with either of them before?" She choked with sobs. "It's enough that you've hurt me. Don't involve innocent people."
"When we were in love, we traveled around the world together, saw countless beautiful sceneries, and experienced a great deal of happiness. I don't believe you'd be willing to forget those memories."
As she spoke, her voice gradually softened. "We've been through so much. Why should we push each other away because of misunderstandings?"
Xiao Yanzhi hooked the corner of his lips. "You're right."
They shouldn't let misunderstandings push them further apart.
"You also think we shouldn't miss each other, right?" She broke into a watery smile and tried to step closer to him.
Xiao Yanzhi held the cigarette between his slender fingers. He looked at her calmly. "Since it's a misunderstanding, I'll explain everything to you one by one."
"First, regarding the fact that you were placed beside me by Tan Mizong back then, I really noticed it too late. It was so late that I was almost going to marry you, and even my father took it seriously, which is why he stepped in personally to force you to leave. Fortunately, your choice relieved me."
"Second, Qin Yaoyao's value was no different from yours back then. She was just a bit stupider and not as smart as you in her choices. Instead, she became a tool for me to bring down Tan Mizong. I should thank her for that."
Xiao Yanzhi tossed the cigarette into the trash can and lowered his eyes. "Finally, as for Jiang Li..."
When he mentioned her, a slight pain flashed across his eyes.
He had everything under control, but she was the one thing he miscalculated.
"Forget it."
He skipped the topic directly. "I hope you understand that I don't love you as much as you think, and I won't look for a substitute for you. Back then, I could date you to the point of marriage because the Xiao family needed a woman to carry on the family line. To me, it didn't matter who that woman was."
His tone was calm, but Yu Wan felt as if she couldn't breathe. She looked at him in disbelief and asked, "Even so, doesn't the Xiao family need such a woman now?"
"They do." Xiao Yanzhi's eyes were extremely calm. "It's just that now this woman can't be just anyone."
Yu Wan froze. She felt as if she had been hit hard tonight. Her lips turned pale, and her voice began to tremble. "Then why did you send someone to bring me back to the country and why did you agree to sign me into Jiang Entertainment?"
She didn't believe there was pure friendship between a man and a woman, and she definitely didn't believe that Xiao Yanzhi was just helping her out of kindness. "I don't believe it. I don't believe it was just a simple favor."
"Yu Wan, I remember you used to be more sensible than you are now." Xiao Yanzhi raised his eyebrows. "I don't want to say some things too directly, but I think you should know better."
"I helped you because Bai He was being too noisy. I didn't want her to complain to my aunt. That's all."
Besides, there was another reason.
At the bar before, he noticed that Bai He had a good impression of Jiang Li, and they got along harmoniously. Maybe Bai He could help him in the future.
Girls could always talk about feelings.
As for doing a few favors in the early stage, he didn't think it mattered.
Having said that, Xiao Yanzhi was already starting to feel bored. His gaze passed over her, and he thought of the rumors that Jiang Li looked like Yu Wan.
He inadvertently twitched his lips.
There was no resemblance at all.
From her appearance to her temperament, and then to her personality and behavior, nothing matched.
It was really a headache.
He took out another cigarette, put it between his lips, lit it, and said in a flat tone, "The favor was given to you by Bai He. If you really feel grateful, adapt to your identity as an artist as soon as possible. The company doesn't keep idle people."
"Also, tell Bai He to stop trying to matchmake meaningless things. I'm really annoyed."
As he said this, annoyance flashed across his eyes. He walked past Yu Wan as if she wasn't there and headed into Ruiyuan.
When they passed by each other, Yu Wan tried to grab his hand to stop him, but he quickly dodged.
Just like the last time when she stood on tiptoe to kiss him.
It turned out that his rejection had always been obvious. It was just that she hadn't noticed and was still deeply in it.
...
Ruiyuan had been transferred to Jiang Li's name, but she had never come to see it. The password was still the same as before.
Xiao Yanzhi opened the door, propped his hand against the wall, changed his shoes at the entrance, and walked in.
He couldn't remember when he last came back to Ruiyuan.
An aunt came to clean it regularly, but once a house was unoccupied, even if it was cleaned spotlessly, it still had a dusty feeling.
The furniture in the room was complete, and everything was in its original place, but it still felt empty.
A house without people living in it had no vitality.
It had only been a short time, but this house had become lifeless, even more boring than the model houses in the sales office.
For the past four years, Jiang Li had lived in this house.
Now that she was gone, it was still filled with traces of her.
There was an irregular transparent vase she had chosen on the table. The chandelier above the dining table was specially replaced by her later. The bed and the carpet in the bedroom were all selected according to her preferences.
She had once seriously regarded this place as her home and carefully decorated and arranged it.
He still remembered the first time he brought her here. The house was empty. It was a villa he had temporarily purchased.
He remembered that he had just casually said, "This will be your home from now on," but the little girl's eyes had instantly lit up.
She stood nervously at the entrance, her hands clasped tightly together. Joy and nervousness came over her at the same time. She seriously promised, "I'll work hard to make this place feel like home in the future."
Not long ago, she had calmly said that this wasn't her home.
It seemed that everything had happened just yesterday.