"Two days ago, Shengshi Group fired two employees for no reason?" Xiao Yanzhi's gaze swept across Xue An as he asked casually.
Although Xue An had no idea why Xiao Yanzhi would be interested in such company gossip, he shrank his head like a quail and spoke hesitantly, "It wasn't for no reason. I heard they said something they shouldn't have and were fired by Young Master Sheng."
Said something they shouldn't have.
What else could it be? It must be that they spread some negative remarks about Jiang Li, which angered Sheng Jingxi and led to their dismissal.
Xiao Yanzhi took a deep breath and placed his fingers over his eyes. "Xue An, give me a cigarette."
This short sentence seemed to have taken all his strength, as if he had made a decision after much hesitation.
Xue An stood opposite him, witnessing everything. He felt bad too. "Boss Xiao, don't be too sad. Maybe... maybe it's just temporary."
What reason could there be for two non - related adults to suddenly live together and be in each other's company day and night?
Xiao Yanzhi frowned. "Xue An, if you can't speak properly, don't say anything."
Xue An: "..."
Xiao Yanzhi was extremely upset. After thinking for a moment, he finally spoke slowly, self - deprecatingly as if in resignation. "I'm indeed no match for Sheng Jingxi."
At least when it came to standing up for Jiang Li, he was far inferior to Sheng Jingxi.
He wouldn't act impulsively without considering the consequences, nor could he solve problems straightforwardly. With his style, he would first determine the goal, then plan step by step, and finally achieve it.
But by then, it might already be too late.
Xue An felt bad. "Boss Xiao, don't blame yourself too much. Everyone has their own way of dealing with things."
"Then which way do you think Jiang Li would prefer?"
Xue An paused and then stammered, "Young Master Sheng's way is indeed satisfying, but it's too impulsive and seems unstable. Boss Xiao, you handle things steadily and are reliable."
He managed to keep a neutral stance, not offending either side.
Xiao Yanzhi knew well that he wasn't as good as Xue An described. He was just good at calculating and was used to having everything under control.
If he wasn't fully confident about something, he would weigh it carefully.
But dealing with feelings was different.
Women were naturally emotional. They loved romance, the courage to act recklessly, and the impulse to not care about any consequences for their sake. Only in this way could they feel truly loved.
Rather than a temporary compromise under rationality and a delayed satisfaction.
Only losing one's mind for love could be called love.
He thought he could prepare well enough not to lose in matters of the heart. But in fact, he had lost everything, completely and utterly.
Jiang Li's medicine had run out for a while.
She couldn't remember when the medicine bottle had emptied, but she instinctively resisted going to the hospital for a refill.
Back in Huacheng, she would occasionally wake up from a nightmare in the middle of the night, and the frequency had increased recently.
Jiang Li had lost count of how many times she had woken up in a cold sweat, then stared blankly at the ceiling.
This night, she opened her eyes and looked at the as - always pitch - black ceiling. She felt parched, as if there was a fire burning in her throat.
She was so thirsty.
She sat up in bed and wanted to go to the kitchen to get a glass of water.
The Sheng family's villa was very large. She was staying in one of the guest rooms, which was some distance from the kitchen.
She didn't want to wake anyone up, so she didn't turn on the light. Holding her phone, she walked to the kitchen by the faint light of the screen.
To get water, she casually placed her phone on the island counter and picked up the kettle to pour water into a glass.
The screen light was so weak that it only illuminated a small area of the island counter.
Not far away, there was a fruit knife for cutting fruit.
The back of the knife was very smooth, reflecting a bright silver light from the phone screen.
It seemed to be tempting someone to pick it up.
Jiang Li stared at it for a while. It wasn't until the water in the glass overflowed that she stopped what she was doing.
As if out of control, driven by some emotion, she took step after step towards it and reached out to pick up the knife.
Her eyes looked at the knife in her palm as if she was seeking survival.
Or rather, seeking death more accurately.
It wasn't until the knife sheath fell on the island counter with a metallic sound that she suddenly woke up and found that the knife in her hand was about to fall on her wrist.
The daze instantly turned into clarity.
She belatedly realized what she had just been doing, and her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was about to jump out of her throat.
Her condition had become very serious.
She covered her chest, her eyes wide open. She picked up her phone and instinctively dialed a number.
In just about a minute, her mind calmed down. Seeing that the call hadn't connected yet, she calmly hung up.
Jiang Li kept silently telling herself that she was okay. She picked up the glass and returned to her bedroom. Just as she sat on the bed, her phone rang.
"Did you have a nightmare?" The man must have been woken up by the call. His voice was hoarse and tired, but one could hear his patience and tenderness. "Or did something happen?"
Jiang Li had felt like her soul was floating. But the moment she heard his voice, she finally felt grounded.
"I accidentally pressed the wrong button." Her voice was equally soft. "Sorry to bother you, Boss Xiao."
After that, neither of them spoke again.
There was only the sound of their breathing on the receiver. They were silent, just sitting in silence.
Finally, it was Jiang Li who ended the call first, and they said good night to each other.
Xiao Yanzhi couldn't fall asleep.
He always felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
She had only said two sentences.
"I accidentally pressed the wrong button."
"Sorry to bother you, Boss Xiao."
Xiao Yanzhi suddenly opened his eyes and found the problem.
She had called him Boss Xiao.
This distant and unfamiliar title was something he hadn't heard from Jiang Li for a long time. But in this late night, she had called him so coldly.
Xiao Yanzhi sat up in bed and retrieved the information about bipolar disorder that he had asked someone to collect before. He read through it one by one.
His gaze stopped at one item:
Patients with severe bipolar disorder will gradually show serious deviations in some aspects, with symptoms such as insomnia, convulsions, and extreme mood swings.
There was also a bold and red - marked line below: If these symptoms appear, timely medical treatment is required. Otherwise, there will be a significant increase in the patient's uncontrollable suicidal tendencies.
Xiao Yanzhi couldn't fall asleep for the rest of the night.
He wanted to call her again to ask about her condition, but he was afraid of disturbing her if she had just fallen asleep.
It wasn't until dawn that his body finally succumbed to sleepiness and he fell into a deep slumber.
Although he was asleep, the dream he had was extremely terrifying.
In the dream, he was in a meeting when suddenly his phone pushed a news notification. He lowered his head and glanced at it.
"Shocking! Top - tier actress Jiang Li had a bipolar episode and committed suicide mysteriously at home!"