"No need," Jiang Li took a deep breath and tightened her grip on the phone. "I'm not interested in your love history, nor do I have the desire to listen to your stories."
Xiao Yanzhi's body stiffened.
"Lili, is there still some misunderstanding you have about me?" His Adam's apple rolled uncontrollably, and he sounded a bit hasty. "Or did I fail to explain something clearly, making you still resentful towards me?"
"I have no resentment towards you," she replied calmly. "I probably understand what you mean. In short, you did all these things just to be with me."
Xiao Yanzhi felt a momentary relief, but then his heart tightened again because of her words. "But can all the past be erased just because of your so - called 'hardships'?"
Jiang Li let out a laugh. "So you've always remembered that I'm allergic to milk. You know I've never slept with other men, and you also know..."
Jiang Li choked up, her voice barely audible. "You also know that I love you, right?"
Xiao Yanzhi's voice was hoarse. "Except for the last one."
He wasn't unaware of Jiang Li's feelings for him, but she was so reserved that it was hard to be sure of her true emotions.
She was too cautious to expose her affection for him.
"Good, it's just perfect," Jiang Li smiled faintly. "You should win the Oscar."
"Lili..."
"You remembered that I'm allergic to milk, but you just watched as Qin Yaoyao forced me to drink a beverage containing milk. You knew I hadn't had an affair with other men, but you insulted me with your words again and again, trampled on my dignity, hurt my self - esteem, and sneered at my efforts..."
After she finished speaking, she took a long breath and then smiled brightly. "Now you tell me you had your hardships and ask if I still resent you?"
"Who do you think you are to assume that I'll still like you as much as before after all you've done? Am I a dog that you can call and dismiss at will?"
Her voice rose with her emotions and trembled.
Xiao Yanzhi's breath caught in his throat. He opened his mouth to explain, but he knew he was in no position to defend himself in the face of all his wrongdoings.
Jiang Li's palm holding the phone was slightly sweaty. "Xiao Yanzhi, people shouldn't be so greedy. You've already got what you wanted, the Xiao Group, haven't you?"
"... I'm sorry." When saying these three words, Xiao Yanzhi felt utterly powerless.
"I also have no reason to forgive you just because you apologized."
Jiang Li countered. "Is there a rule in this world that the injured must forgive the wrongdoer just because the latter apologized?"
"Xiao Yanzhi, I don't hate you, nor do I resent you, but I'll never forgive you again."
She enunciated each word calmly. "Thank you for giving me an umbrella once, but after all these years, we're even."
He had rescued her from that rainy night but then pushed her back into an even darker and deeper one.
"What do you mean by 'even'?" Xiao Yanzhi asked in a low voice. Standing on the balcony of Ruiyuan, even the hand holding the cigarette was shaking. "Jiang Li, explain yourself clearly."
"You and I are even, both materially and spiritually."
Before Xiao Yanzhi could say another word, he heard a beep.
She hung up the phone.
She didn't even want to listen to one more word of his explanation.
Jiang Li placed the phone beside her pillow. After the call was disconnected, the screen gradually dimmed and finally went black.
She lay on her side. Tears welled up in her eyes many times, and finally, she couldn't hold them back. Her hands were tightly clasped against her chest as two streams of tears slid down the corners of her eyes, across the bridge of her nose, and onto the other side of the pillow.
From then on, he probably wouldn't call her again.
In the following days, Jiang Li stayed at Sister Chen's place. She waited until the holiday was over, sent Xixi back to school, and then bought a plane ticket back to Huacheng.
On the first day back at the drama troupe, Du Shiming approached Jiang Li and told her with a smile that from then on, all the affairs of the drama troupe would be handed over to her.
"This is an arrangement from General Manager Sheng. He said he wants to entrust the drama troupe to you," Du Shiming smiled slightly. "I believe you'll surely lead the drama troupe to greater success in the future."
The arrangement came so suddenly that Jiang Li was very puzzled. "Why me? Aren't you in charge of the drama troupe, General Manager Du?"
"Not entirely," Du Shiming scratched his head and said somewhat embarrassedly. "Although I work in Huacheng, my parents are in Beicheng. It's really difficult for me to take care of both at the same time."
"General Manager Sheng understood my difficulties and said I could shift my work focus to Beicheng, but it's not easy to find someone to take over my work here."
"Other projects are okay, but many things in the drama troupe need to be handled personally. I can't stay in Beicheng for a long time."
Jiang Li understood.
In the past two years, with the rise of online popularity, more and more people were chasing after instant fame and online traffic. The drama industry had been affected to some extent, and it was also very difficult to find talents in this field.
It wasn't easy to find a suitable successor in a short time.
"Next month is my mother's sixtieth birthday. The only wish of her old age is for me to settle down earlier," Du Shiming said with a sigh when talking about his family. "I've been separated from my wife for a long time. She's been taking care of everything at home. I feel really sorry for her."
Hearing this, Jiang Li began to feel sorry for him. She could feel his sincere request, so she said, "Okay, I'll do my best and won't let General Manager Sheng and you down."
Du Shiming tightened his grip on her hand and said seriously, "You can definitely do it. I have great faith in you."
From then on, the Baijiao Drama Troupe was completely in Jiang Li's hands.
Besides the regular performance arrangements, Jiang Li also had to handle the internal and external affairs of the drama troupe, including publicity, purchasing scripts, and a series of other tasks. She had to take charge of the overall situation.
Her life suddenly became fulfilling and busy.
After taking over the drama troupe, Jiang Li learned that the drama troupe also needed to attract investments and do external publicity from time to time. It was very much like running a small business.
Sheng Shuocheng was also concerned about her. He would ask about the situation of the drama troupe from time to time and give her some advice. Gradually, she made progress.
One day, a potential investor wanted to invest in their drama troupe. They also said they had several well - known foreign scripts and were willing to sell them at a low price as a sign of goodwill.
Currently, the drama troupe's repertoires were all old ones, and they had been performed many times. Many audiences had already seen them and wouldn't come for a second time.
Introducing new scripts, rehearsing, and performing them could bring new vitality to the drama troupe and attract more audiences.
Jiang Li consulted Sheng Shuocheng in advance and shared her views and ideas. After getting his approval, she replied to the investor, saying they could meet and talk.
On the way to the meeting, she learned that the investor hadn't been back to China for many years and had been living abroad all the time.