It was already evening when Jiang Li and Sheng Jingxi came out of the company.
In late November in Beicheng, there were already signs of getting colder. But the real arrival of winter would start with a snowfall.
The streetlights outside had already been lit. Under the hazy light, snowflakes were drifting down bit by bit, and there was already a thin layer of snow on the ground.
Stepping on it would leave footprints. The snowflakes that hadn't had time to melt stuck to the soles and uppers of shoes, and finally mixed with the dirt.
"Hey, it's snowing?" Sheng Jingxi came out and saw the snowflakes all over the sky. He couldn't help but shrink his neck. "This should be the first snow this year."
"Yeah."
Jiang Li looked up at the sky. The gray sky seemed to be scattering countless willow catkins all over the sky, floating down gently.
She inexplicably thought of last winter.
It was also a snowy evening.
She stubbornly stood in the heavy snow, and later was pulled into someone's arms by Xiao Yanzhi without any explanation.
She remembered that embrace.
It was cold on the outside but burning warm inside.
He blocked all the wind and snow outside.
Obviously, it was she who asked him "Don't you want me anymore?" at that time. But in less than a year, it was actually she who abandoned this relationship.
Everything had changed.
She took a deep breath. The cold air rushed into her nasal cavity and reached the place closest to her heart.
This winter seemed colder than last year.
She felt her face was wet.
It was so strange. It turned out that people would shed tears involuntarily when recalling the past.
Jiang Li could sense that Xiao Yanzhi would gradually fade out of her life, then approach extinction, and be completely peeled off from her life without a trace.
From then on, even if they met, they would be like strangers.
Sheng Jingxi first went to the car to get an umbrella, then ran back to the company entrance and held the umbrella for Jiang Li. "Hurry up. It's quite cold outside."
Not knowing it would snow today, Jiang Li was wearing a knee-length overcoat, which wasn't very warm. She wrapped her clothes tightly, making her figure look even thinner and more frail.
Noticing something was wrong with her, Sheng Jingxi leaned his face close to hers, almost touching. He asked her seriously, "Are you crying?"
Jiang Li quickly wiped the tears on her face with the back of her hand. Looking at the handsome face in front of her that was magnified, she pursed her lips and shifted her gaze. "No. It's the snow melting on my face."
"... Jiang Li, sometimes I feel like you're treating me like a fool." Sheng Jingxi glanced at her and didn't ask about the reason for her tears on a snowy day. "Alright, everyone has their own little secrets."
"Get in the car first."
The two held an umbrella together. Under the wind and snow all over the sky, they supported each other and got into the car, then quickly disappeared into the night.
Just a few minutes ago, there was a long-waiting Maybach parked across the street, witnessing the whole process.
The car window rolled down. The two people at the company entrance just came out. Sheng Jingxi trotted out first, and only the woman was left standing there on the steps in a daze.
She was looking up at the sky, not knowing what she was thinking.
Xiao Yanzhi was sitting in the back row, quietly looking at Jiang Li standing at the entrance.
She stood there as if she had no vitality at all. She was cold and aloof, as if having no connection with everything in the world.
She seemed to be isolated from the world.
Xue An was sitting in the passenger seat, chattering non-stop. "Mr. Xiao, you don't have to worry so much. Sister Jiang Li definitely won't be with someone else so soon."
"Not to mention how good you were to her before. Every time in the recent incidents, didn't you save her at the risk of your own life? Moreover, the fact that Embroidery Lady could be released was all because of your hard work. She must know that."
"Where can you find someone as good as you? You even helped her find her biological parents privately. If I were her, I would be so touched that I would cry."
"You've been so good to her. She definitely won't be willing to leave you. I guarantee it with my personality. Sister Jiang Li definitely..."
Before Xue An could finish his words, he saw Sheng Jingxi running back with an umbrella. The two stood together and didn't know what they were talking about. Suddenly, the man's face got close to Jiang Li's.
From the angle where the car was parked, it looked as if they were standing in the snow, hugging and kissing.
Xue An: "..."
The words he originally wanted to say got stuck in his throat all of a sudden. He silently turned his head and swallowed his saliva. "... Mr. Xiao, why don't we just..."
Xiao Yanzhi closed his eyes silently and pressed his fingertips against his temples. "Let's go."
"... Okay."
At the last second when the rear window rolled up, a snowflake was blown into the car by the wind and landed on the man's palm, then quickly melted.
It disappeared without a trace.
---
The car blocked the cold air outside. The warm air made people feel sleepy.
Sheng Jingxi yawned and put his hands behind his head. He turned to Jiang Li and said, "Anyway, we'll be staying in Beicheng for a while. It's not very appropriate for us to keep staying in hotels. My dad said he wants me to take you to live in the Sheng family's place."
Sheng Jingxi was a pampered person. Staying in a hotel was really not as convenient as staying at home. Besides, the Sheng family's villa in Beicheng was big enough to accommodate the two of them.
Jiang Li didn't listen to what he was saying carefully. She just replied casually. Seeing that there was fog on the car window, she unconsciously wrote and drew on it.
When she came to her senses, there was a big character "Xiao" on the car window.
"Your brother is talking to you. Did you hear that?" Sheng Jingxi poked his head over. Jiang Li was startled and immediately wiped the word on the glass with her hand.
Then she quickly tried to cover it up and replied, "Yes, I heard."
"It's good that you heard." Sheng Jingxi raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms. "If there's anything you're not used to, just say it. There are servants at home. Don't be polite."
Only then did Jiang Li realize what he had said just now. She nodded. "Then I'll trouble you."
"What trouble or not." Sheng Jingxi reached out and flicked her forehead. "You're my sister. If you keep saying such things, I'll knock your head next time."
"Yes, sir, brother." Jiang Li laughed and echoed him in a proper manner.
Being called like this, Sheng Jingxi felt that every part of his body and every organ in his body were in harmony. He felt extremely comfortable.
"That's more like it."
He deliberately acted cool, but actually he was very happy inside.
It felt so good to have a sister.
The news that Jiang Li had moved into the Sheng family's place wasn't deliberately hidden. People in the entertainment circle who were a bit gossipy could find out about it. It wasn't strange that it reached Xiao Yanzhi's ears.
It was clearly an expected result, but at the moment he heard it, the hand that Xiao Yanzhi was using to approve the contract still paused.
The tip of the fountain pen was pressed on the paper, and soon a big ink stain appeared.
His heart began to be in a mess.
Xue An was standing in the office. He didn't know whether to leave or stay. He could only lower his head and look submissive, hoping that Xiao Yanzhi just wanted to be alone.
After a moment, Xiao Yanzhi raised his head and said in a calm voice, "The Sheng Group just fired two employees without reason the other day?"