After that, Xiao Yanzhi couldn't remember anything that happened.
Actually, it wasn't that he couldn't remember, but that he didn't want to.
He remembered how proud she was, with sky - high aspirations. She would unhesitatingly give the middle finger to men who harassed her. She would confidently say that she was going to win all the major awards in the film and television industry. She was even bold enough to kiss his Adam's apple without any hesitation and actively tell him that she wanted him.
Those passionate, wonderful, and straightforward emotions were like sand flowing through the gaps of his broad fingers, leaving only empty bubbles.
On the night when he was supposed to accompany Jiang Li to her celebration banquet, he was suddenly and deliberately called back to the Xiao family. Xiao Yuanfeng inexplicably dragged him along and said a lot of irrelevant things. While he was coping, he kept looking down at his phone to send messages, but there was no reply from the other side.
Su Jialan suddenly asked him casually, "A Yan, you've been looking at your phone. Are you messaging Jiang Li?"
Xiao Yanzhi was stunned for a moment while looking down at his phone. Then he put the phone back into his pocket.
He replied slowly and calmly, "It's work - related."
"That's good." Su Jialan gave him a meaningful look. "You should focus on the company recently. Also, don't forget what I told you before."
It was not until he got out of the Xiao family's main gate that Xue An hurriedly reported to him that Jiang Li had been taken into a hotel.
"Fortunately, our people got there in time. She wasn't in any danger and wasn't..."
Xue An was interrupted coldly by Xiao Yanzhi before he could finish. "That's enough. Don't say anymore."
At that moment, Xiao Yanzhi suddenly understood why he had been called back home with so much fanfare tonight and why Su Jialan had said those words when he left.
Just like when they strangled his love for painting when he was a teenager, history was repeating itself this time.
It's just that when he grew up, the object to be strangled had changed from countless paintings to a living person.
The moment he realized this, he let out an almost inaudible laugh.
He didn't know if he was laughing at his life that he couldn't fight against or at his own over - imagination.
His fate had been so controlled that he even needed the permission of his parents to keep a canary.
He wasn't allowed to have emotions.
He couldn't have his own hobbies, couldn't choose his own life, and couldn't even protect the woman beside him. He had to watch her being humiliated with his own eyes.
This time, it was a warning to him.
Previously, he had been used to being lazy and had never thought there would be any ripples in his stagnant life.
But at this moment, he began to feel a sense of frustration for his lack of ability.
...
Xiao Yanzhi woke up to the beeping sound of medical instruments.
His face was pale, his eye sockets were deeply sunken, and he looked haggard, as if he had lost a lot of weight.
He struggled to reach up and pull off the oxygen mask on his face. Soon someone ran in and called his name. Su Jialan, sitting in a wheelchair, directly lay on the edge of his bed and cried.
Looking at all this, he had a strong sense of unreality.
It was as if he had died once but then come back to life.
"Is Jiang Li okay?"
His voice was hoarse. The first thing he said when he woke up wasn't asking how long he had been asleep, how serious his injuries were, or what his current situation was. Instead, he asked about Jiang Li.
The moment he asked, the ward fell silent.
Su Jialan looked at him with a complicated expression, and the atmosphere fell into a subtle silence.
Xiao Yanzhi's voice was hoarse and rough. He repeated, "Is Jiang Li okay?"
Seeing that no one answered him, he frowned slightly, lowered his head to pull the tube on his arm, and his movements were as if he was going to get out of bed. Su Jialan cried and stopped his movements.
"She has already woken up. You should care about yourself!" Su Jialan couldn't bear to see him like this. With tears on her face, she said, "A Yan, don't you care about my life at all? You're my only son!"
Facing his mother's cries, Xiao Yanzhi remained unmoved. He just breathed a deep sigh of relief when he got the answer.
Fortunately, she was okay.
Although Xiao Yanzhi had woken up, because his wounds were too deep, he couldn't get out of bed for the time being and could only lie in bed for recuperation.
He had thought about contacting Jiang Li, but considering his current wretched appearance, he put down his phone and asked no one to tell Jiang Li that he had woken up.
He didn't want her to see him looking so embarrassed.
He was even more afraid that she would cry when she saw him.
He learned from Xue An that her ankle sprain was quite serious and her arm was also fractured. She was currently actively cooperating with the treatment.
But overall, she hadn't suffered any fatal injuries and was in the same hospital as him.
He decided to go and see her after he had recovered from his injuries.
---
Jiang Li recovered very quickly. From time to time, Sheng Jingxi would come to chat with her and they often had lunch together. So the days in the hospital weren't too boring.
But she still missed Xiao Yanzhi very much.
She would be in a daze while eating and only remember to pick up the chopsticks when they dropped to the ground.
"If you really can't stand it, just go to his ward and see him. I think you're about to get lovesick." Sheng Jingxi raised his eyebrows. "Even if a person is dead, you have to go and take a look at the body."
Jiang Li gave him a disdainful look. "You talk too much."
At first, Jiang Li thought that Sheng Jingxi was a hard - to - serve young master, but now it seemed that he was just a dissolute young man. Their relationship had become closer day by day.
Jiang Li said that it wasn't that she didn't want to go, but that she didn't dare to.
According to Xiao Ye, Su Jialan had been guarding in the ward for the past month, hardly leaving for a moment.
Under such circumstances, how could she dare to go?
Remembering what Su Jialan had said to her that day, she couldn't help but lower her head and let out a bitter laugh. "Forget it. It's not convenient."
Sheng Jingxi looked carefree, but actually, he was very sensitive to emotions. He noticed her depressed mood and guessed that she must have some difficulties that she couldn't tell.
"Okay, just pretend to be calm for now. Anyway, it's not me who sneaks into the quilt and cries at night."
Sheng Jingxi pretended to sigh. "However, if you need it, big brother's shoulder is always available for you to lean on."
After saying that, he deliberately patted his own shoulder.
Jiang Li pushed him away with a smile.
In the afternoon, an unexpected guest came to Jiang Li's ward.
When Zhou Ningyun pushed the door open, Jiang Li never expected to see her. She was stunned for a few seconds.
"My poor daughter..."
She didn't even need any time to prepare. She walked to the bedside, held Jiang Li's hand, and shed tears at a visibly rapid speed. "You've lost a lot of weight. Is your injury very serious?"
Jiang Li's gaze fell on the hand that was holding hers, and she pulled her hand out of Zhou Ningyun's palm without hesitation.
"Stop acting. Aren't you tired?"
Jiang Li's voice was cold, without any emotional fluctuations. "Xiao Ye, show this lady out."