"You... are together?" Xiao Yanzhi's voice was low, making it hard to tell his true emotions.
Sheng Jingxi swiped the phone screen, stuffed the phone back into his pocket, and put down his crossed legs.
"Who are you?" Sheng Jingxi folded his arms across his chest and asked knowingly, "Are you very familiar with Lili?"
Hearing his address for Jiang Li, Xiao Yanzhi paused for a moment and said politely, "I'm pursuing her, so I'd like to know her current situation."
Originally, Sheng Jingxi wanted to tease him, but since Xiao Yanzhi was so serious, he couldn't bear it anymore. "Dude, if I said 'yes, they are together', would you give up?"
Xiao Yanzhi paused for a moment.
After a brief silence, he suddenly said, "Then I can wait for you two to break up."
Sheng Jingxi: "..." I respect you as a real man."
Originally, Sheng Jingxi wanted to tell Xiao Yanzhi the truth, but for some unknown reason, the words on the tip of his tongue took a turn. "They're not together yet, but it's hard to say in the future."
Xiao Yanzhi's face obviously darkened a bit, but he just nodded and said "I see" and didn't say anything else.
Sheng Jingxi found it strange.
This man really seemed to be planning to pursue Jiang Li again after "he and Jiang Li broke up".
It sounded absurd, but the man in front of him didn't seem like someone who would joke around.
Sheng Jingxi put away his careless attitude and became serious. "Dude, instead of queuing up here with me, you'd better think about how to deal with your mom."
Sheng Jingxi had heard clearly what Su Jialan had said to Jiang Li at that time.
Since Jiang Li called him "brother", there was no way he would let his sister be wronged. "She won't be wronged in the Sheng family. Can she be the same in your Xiao family?"
Sheng Jingxi stood up, walked over and patted his shoulder. "I'll go to the toilet. Dude, think it over slowly."
Jiang Li changed her clothes and followed the staff to the shooting studio.
The staff explained to her that because of what had happened before, General Manager Xiao had directly converted an entire floor of the building into a photography studio so that there would be no more disputes over renting a photography studio in the future.
Jiang Li certainly remembered this.
It was really strange. Although it had only been a few months, she felt as if it had been a long time ago.
It seemed like something from a past life.
Today, they were going to reshoot the indoor stills. Jiang Li got her makeup and styling done. Wearing the dark green cheongsam from the drama, she stood in front of the simple wooden window. Half of her face was outside the window, while the other half was still inside the room.
She leaned against the windowsill, not looking at the camera. Her natural relaxation and languor were so effortless.
There was an artificial set outside the window. The fluorescent lights simulating sunlight shone in from outside, covering Jiang Li's side face with a thin layer of gold.
She blinked slightly and reached out her hand to block the glaring light. The sunlight leaked through her fingers and landed on her eyelashes, fully revealing the fragility in her eyes.
The photographer was instantly moved. He immediately raised his camera and took this scene from top to bottom.
It was as if she was blocking the light, yet also trying to catch it.
—
Although Jiang Li hadn't been working as an artist recently, her shooting process was as smooth as ever. The photographer was still a bit reluctant to stop. He held the camera and repeatedly looked through the pictures he had taken.
"That's enough!" He made an "OK" gesture to Jiang Li and waved to everyone. "Call it a day!"
Jiang Li walked down the stairs, thanked the people around her, and asked the photographer if there were any other arrangements.
"No, but the next task will give me a headache."
Jiang Li asked him, "Is the quality of the original photos too poor? I can continue shooting."
"On the contrary, every single photo is excellent." The photographer sighed with a smile. "I have to carefully select which ones to use for the drama crew's publicity."
...
Back in the dressing room, Jiang Li took off her clothes and removed the hairpin from her head. Her long hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall.
She didn't have a hair tie on hand, so she had to let her hair loose.
Her makeup was a bit heavy. She casually grabbed a few makeup wipes from the makeup artist and slowly wiped off the makeup on her face. Then she reapplied a more daily lipstick shade.
Compared to the charming and amorous Republican-era woman just now, she now looked more plain, like a simple and elegant Chinese ink painting.
She was always charming whether in heavy or light makeup.
After coming out of the dressing room, Jiang Li remembered Sheng Jingxi who was still waiting for her in the meeting room.
So she quickened her steps and pushed open the door. Sheng Jingxi wasn't inside.
Xiao Yanzhi was sitting on the sofa. There were two untouched glasses of water on the table in front of him.
Jiang Li was stunned for a moment. "Where's Sheng Jingxi?"
"Toilet." He looked up and turned his gaze towards her. "Finished shooting? Are you tired?"
Jiang Li unconsciously softened her voice. "It's okay. The shooting went smoothly."
The topic between the two suddenly became scarce. Neither of them took the initiative to bring up a new topic, and they fell into silence again.
Xiao Yanzhi said lightly, "You can sit down and wait."
Only then did Jiang Li realize that it was a bit awkward for her to be standing at the door. So she sat down opposite him.
Seeing Jiang Li's loose hair, Xiao Yanzhi took a black hair tie from his wrist and handed it to her.
Looking at the hair tie, Jiang Li felt a bit dazed.
"It's yours." Xiao Yanzhi replied briefly. "You left it in the hospital before."
At that time, he casually picked it up and put it on his wrist, and rarely took it off afterwards.
Jiang Li's breathing tightened. She clenched the hair tie in her palm. It took her a while to realize what to do. She stiffly tied up her hair.
The two still looked at each other in silence.
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Li took the initiative to start a conversation. "Is your wound healed?"
"Yeah, it's scabbed over."
Jiang Li bit her lower lip and nodded politely. "That's good. I saw the news not long ago that you had stopped managing the group's affairs due to health problems. I thought it was very serious."
Xiao Yanzhi glanced at her and said calmly, "The health problem is fake, but it's true that I've stopped managing the company."
Jiang Li unconsciously raised her head. "Why?"
"Because it's unnecessary." His voice was very steady. "Whether I do it or not, my life won't change. It's better to be a carefree person. At least it's more relaxing."
He said it casually, but there was indescribable bitterness in his tone.
His fate couldn't be changed.
They didn't talk for long before Sheng Jingxi came back from the toilet. He pushed open the door and saw the two of them. He couldn't help joking, "Am I coming at a bad time?"
Sheng Jingxi's appearance largely broke their stiff conversation.
Jiang Li immediately stood up and walked quickly towards him. She even kindly hooked his arm and spoke sweetly.
"Brother Jingxi, let's go."
Sheng Jingxi first looked down at the small hand on his arm and got goosebumps all over. Then he saw the fake smile on Jiang Li's face. He instinctively said, "Did you take the wrong medicine..."