After moving back to Ruiyuan, Jiang Li's previously dull and listless mood improved a bit.
This was what the psychologist had told her before. One could relax more easily in a familiar environment, which would play a positive role in improving the condition.
It happened to be the weekend. After seeing Sheng Jingxi off, Jiang Li cleaned the room alone.
Although the house had been idle before, it had always been kept very clean. Jiang Li simply wiped off some dust and mopped the floor inside and out. The whole room looked a bit brighter.
Since it was still early, she decided to go to the supermarket again to buy some fresh vegetables and seasonal fruits so that she could cook at home.
Ruiyuan was a wealthy area. Most people drove luxury cars in and out. One had to walk a certain distance to get to public transportation.
She walked to the nearest bus stop from Ruiyuan. She bought some daily necessities, as well as some fruits and vegetables in the supermarket before returning.
It was already afternoon when she was on her way back. The sky was gray, and large, thick flocculent clouds covered the already rare sunlight.
The wind had also unknowingly turned cold.
When getting off the bus, there was an old woman sitting under the bus stop. In front of her was a red plastic bucket with a few flowers stuck in it. Presumably because of the cold weather, they didn't look very good. The flower buds were starting to wither.
On such a cold day, Jiang Li was originally going to hurry by, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw the old woman's rough and chapped hands. She paused for a moment and then walked back.
"Grandma, how much are all these flowers?" She bent down slightly and pointed at the flowers in the bucket.
The old woman looked up at her with dim, old eyes and tremblingly held out five fingers.
"Fifty."
"Please wrap them all up for me. I'll take them all." After saying that, she lowered her head to look for cash in her wallet and added, "It's too cold. You should go home quickly. Otherwise, there won't be any buses later."
She took out a fifty - yuan bill and handed it over.
The old woman took the money with her hand, bent down to wrap up all the flowers in the bucket, and tied them together with a ribbon.
---
When she got back to the house and opened the door, the warmth from the room rushed towards her, dispelling some of the cold on her body.
Jiang Li took off her shoes and coat, changed into slippers at the door, and carried the things into the kitchen first.
Worried that the already withered flowers would wilt prematurely, she quickly washed an idle vase, simply trimmed the branches and leaves of the flowers, put them in the vase, and placed it on the most prominent table at the entrance.
Just like her old habit.
Jiang Li walked into the bedroom, changed into her pajamas, and then walked back into the kitchen.
She wasn't very hungry and planned to simply make a vegetable salad. Her loose hair was a bit in the way. She was used to taking off the black leather hair tie on her wrist. Just as she was about to tie up her hair, the image of Xiao Yanzhi handing her the hair tie flashed through her mind.
Before that, he had always carried her hair tie with him.
"Yeah, I'm getting used to living here."
"Wait until it snows in a few days. You can come here for hot pot."
"You're underestimating me. I'm quite good at cooking. I'll stir - fry a couple of dishes for you to see."
Jiang Li was sitting at the dining table, eating salad while calling Sheng Jingxi to report the situation. She said that everything was fine with her here and told him and Uncle Sheng not to worry.
What she didn't know was that from the moment she stepped through the door, there was another pair of eyes in the room quietly watching her.
When he received the monitoring reminder again, Xiao Yanzhi hesitated for a long time before clicking it open. He was worried that he would see Jiang Li and Sheng Jingxi moving into Ruiyuan together.
Fortunately, Sheng Jingxi just dropped Jiang Li off at the door and waved goodbye to her.
It seemed that she was going to live alone here.
Xue An reported the situation to him. "Recently, Chairman Sheng has the intention of letting his son take over his position. Young Master Sheng will stay in the northern city to learn company management. The public opinion storm in Huacheng hasn't passed yet. Sister Jiang Li should stay here for a while."
"Got it." Xiao Yanzhi responded and naturally clicked open the monitoring screen.
The room was empty. He had just seen her go out, presumably to go shopping.
Later in the day, Xiao Yanzhi finally saw Jiang Li come back. She was carrying a lot of things in her hands and seemed to have bought a few flowers.
After that, he saw her put the flowers in a vase.
She was still the same as before, liking to arrange some flowers and plants in the room.
A bit later, he saw her sitting at the dining table, eating while on the phone.
There was no sound in the monitoring, but he could see that she was smiling.
He didn't know who she was talking to, but she was obviously very happy.
Xiao Yanzhi showed no expression. He picked up the cup on the table and drank the remaining water in one gulp.
...
At nine o'clock at night, Xue An opened the door and came in to ask when he was leaving.
"You can get off work first. I'll take a taxi later." Xiao Yanzhi showed no expression. He just glanced at the screen again, as if he was particularly concerned about what was on the computer.
Xue An was curious. He glanced in the direction of the computer and saw the woman in the monitoring video. He couldn't help but say, "Isn't this Sister Jiang Li?"
As he was speaking, Xue An looked at Xiao Yanzhi in confusion. Gradually, he realized something from his cold look. "Oh, okay. Mr. Xiao, you can keep watching. I'll get off work first. Bye."
After Xue An left the office, Xiao Yanzhi closed his eyes. He felt a bit embarrassed, as if he had been caught cheating. He couldn't help but mock himself.
He didn't need others to remind him that he now looked just like a perverted voyeur.
Although there were monitors in the villa, there were no cameras installed in the bedroom and bathroom, which were private spaces. After seeing Jiang Li go into the bedroom to rest, Xiao Yanzhi turned off the computer.
When he left the company, the building was already pitch - black. The light gray coat he was wearing was a bit thin.
The autumn wind was cold and penetrated everywhere, as if it was going to blow into his bones.
...
Moving back to Ruiyuan was indeed a wise choice. Jiang Li woke up less frequently in the middle of the night than before, but it was still a bit difficult for her to fall asleep. She didn't want to go to the hospital for medicine, so she just bought some melatonin at the pharmacy.
Once it snowed, the temperature dropped very quickly. Just last week, people were still wearing windbreakers, but this week, they had to change into thick cotton - padded jackets. Otherwise, it was so cold that one couldn't stand still and would shiver all over, and even one's teeth would feel cold.
Jiang Li was standing by the roadside, waiting for the bus silently.
It was almost December. The movie Embroidery Maid was about to be released in Lyon on December 25th.
To increase the popularity and attract more audiences, all the leading actors of the movie had to go on promotional tours. They were asked to clear their schedules from December to January.
Ying Chengqi was very excited. He was beaming during the arrangement meeting. He was full of expectations for the movie's release.
"Good things come after a lot of difficulties. This movie Embroidery Maid will definitely be a magnificent chapter in the film and television industry!"