Xiao Yanzhi turned his head, and his gaze gradually fell back. "No need. There's nothing to say."
Xue An paused for a moment. He still felt it was a pity for Xiao Yanzhi. "But it was you who had been busy searching for clues. You should at least let Sister Jiang Li know."
"It's not necessary." His expression was cold. "I didn't do all these things for her gratitude."
He had no ulterior motives.
The only thing that made him feel dejected was that he couldn't share the joy with her.
Faint laughter could be heard from the other end of the corridor. He stubbed out the cigarette butt in his hand, and there was a dull ache in his heart.
Seeing this, Xue An didn't say anything more. He just felt it was a pity.
Now everything was moving in a good direction, but the two of them could never go back to the past.
They were like two intersecting lines. They had once crossed paths, but soon they would drift further and further apart on their own tracks until they could no longer see each other.
It was such a pity.
...
After digesting this news, Sheng Shuocheng gradually calmed down. On his way back, he started to make arrangements. He said he was going to prepare wedding invitations and invite old acquaintances and friends from all walks of life to celebrate his reunion with his long - lost daughter.
At Sheng Shuocheng's age, he actually preferred a quiet life to a noisy one.
But in this matter, he especially wanted to make a grand occasion. He wished that everyone would know about his daughter.
He was reluctant to miss out on anything that he could give to his daughter.
Hearing Sheng Shuocheng giving instructions to his subordinates, Jiang Li hesitated and opened her mouth, but she didn't know how to put it.
Sheng Jingxi noticed her hesitation. "Do you have something to say?"
At this time, Sheng Shuocheng put down his phone and looked over with the same concerned eyes.
Feeling these two caring gazes, Jiang Li pinched her fingers and finally made up her mind.
She stammered, "Uncle Sheng..."
Half - way through, she suddenly remembered that Sheng Shuocheng was her father. Calling him "uncle" seemed inappropriate.
But the sudden change of address made her really uncomfortable, and she found it hard to say.
Sheng Shuocheng nodded. He understood and didn't make things difficult for Jiang Li. "There's no rush to change the address. You can still call me uncle."
The address was secondary. Her happiness was the most important thing.
Jiang Li looked at him gratefully. She took a deep breath and said, "Although it might be a bit of a dampener... Can I request that we don't make this news public for the time being?"
Feeling the question in Sheng Shuocheng's eyes, she explained, "I need some time to digest this. It's really unbelievable for me, and..."
She thought of a most appropriate excuse. "I have a movie coming out next month. I don't want to attract too much attention."
"The whole crew has spent a lot of effort and time on this movie. I don't want my personal affairs to have any impact on it."
Her current reputation was mixed. Now was the pre - heating period for the movie. If it was suddenly revealed that she was the daughter of a wealthy conglomerate at this critical moment, the situation would be even more difficult to control.
Most importantly, she didn't want her private life to be infinitely magnified and gossiped about by irrelevant people.
"Is that okay?"
After she finished speaking, she was still a bit nervous, not knowing if Sheng Shuocheng would agree.
His eagerness to show off his daughter was obvious.
Sheng Shuocheng's deep gaze rested on her face. His eyebrows frowned, and there was a helpless smile on his face.
It seemed like he was sizing her up and also showing concern.
After a moment, the smile on his face gradually faded, and he slowly returned to a calm state.
His deep gaze met hers. After a long time, he sighed with a smile, "The two children left by A Zhi for me are both disobedient. They only give me headaches."
"If this is what you want, of course I respect it." He lifted his chin. "Back then, I wanted him to inherit the family business, but he insisted on going abroad to race cars. I didn't stop him either."
"Don't be too stressed. Do what you want. No matter what, the Sheng family will support you." After he said seriously, he coughed lightly and gave Sheng Jingxi a warning look. "But you must follow the rules."
Sheng Jingxi immediately looked unhappy. He shrugged and said, "Why do you always mention me?"
Sheng Shuocheng pretended to be angry and stared at him. "If you could just set a good example for your sister, I wouldn't have to use you as a negative example all the time."
"I'm already headache - stricken because of your incompetence. Now that I finally have a daughter, don't lead her astray."
Watching the father - son duo bickering, Jiang Li's lips curved into a smile.
Sheng Shuocheng was serious and profound in public, but he was very amiable and elegant at home. He was very approachable.
That was why Sheng Jingxi was able to develop such an optimistic attitude towards life even after losing his mother at a young age.
The growing environment could make a person or break a person.
It made sense.
...
Life went on as usual.
It seemed that everything was the same as before, but Jiang Li could still detect some subtle changes.
From time to time, there would be extra money in her bank card, and asset advisors would call every now and then to ask if she needed consultation. Even without checking, she knew clearly that Sheng Shuocheng must have secretly transferred a lot of assets to her name.
Even Sheng Jingxi seemed to have suddenly had an epiphany. He spent all his time in the company, as if he was determined to make a name for himself in the business world.
Occasionally, after Jiang Li finished a play or when she had no performance arrangements, she would go to the company to bring lunch to Sheng Jingxi.
Watching him put away his usual casual attitude and communicate with the company's supervisors, she had the feeling that "a child in my family has just grown up".
During the lunch break, Jiang Li pushed open the door of the office and put the lunch box on the opposite table with a smile. "You've been quite hard - working lately. Are you afraid that I'll compete with you for the family property?"
Sheng Jingxi had indeed become more steady than before. He looked up at her and didn't say a word for a long time.
On the night when Jiang Li was recognized, Sheng Shuocheng had a private conversation with Sheng Jingxi.
"I'll be 58 this year." Although Sheng Shuocheng was well - maintained and looked energetic, people would eventually grow old. This was an unchangeable fact.
The older he got, the more he felt the cruelty of the passage of time.
Sheng Shuocheng said, "I'll always leave before you young people. I can't protect you for a lifetime. Your sister has suffered for so many years. It's really not easy for her to come back."
"You're the elder brother. You have the obligation to protect your sister well."
Sheng Shuocheng rarely smoked, but during this father - son conversation, he lit a cigarette.
After the smoke dispersed, Sheng Shuocheng sighed.
"Jingxi, you have to be your sister's support - after I'm gone."
-
Seeing that Sheng Jingxi didn't answer for a long time, Jiang Li said with a smile, "If I had known that this would arouse your motivation, I would have agreed earlier..."
Sheng Jingxi suddenly said, "When Mom left, I was still young and didn't understand anything. I really didn't have the ability to protect her. But now it's different. I want to become stronger and protect my sister well."
"Protect you."