Li Zhu Yi took the teacup, slowly sat up, and lowered her head, not daring to look into his eyes.
"I have something to tell you…" kuAiδugg
"I have something to tell you…"
They both spoke at the same time.
"You go first."
"You go first."
They both froze for a moment, and Xiang Long remained silent for a beat, "Then I'll go first."
"I thought I could numb myself with work, so I applied for an out-of-town position with the CEO. Turns out, I still can't forget you. I've been enduring the pain and didn't want to bother you. I don't know if I did something wrong, but I still want to try again. Please give me another chance."
He, at over 1.8 meters tall, stood before Li Zhu Yi's bed and surprisingly seemed a little lost.
Li Zhu Yi looked up and saw the determination in his eyes. The thin ice in her heart began to melt slowly.
"I also have something to tell you. Decide if you still want to be with me after you hear it…" she said slowly but firmly.
Her voice was hoarse as she recounted the painful experience again. Li Zhu Yi lowered her head once more. She no longer cried, only felt a stinging ache in her eyes.
Because of this, she missed the tenderness in the man's eyes.
After a long while, not a sound came from the room.
See, she knew it. No one could accept someone like her. Even she herself couldn't accept it, so what right did she have to ask others?
Yet, this inexplicable sadness in her heart, where did it come from…
Li Zhu Yi felt uncomfortable all over, her vision gradually blurred, making it impossible for her to discern direction.
She opened her mouth, about to say, "I don't blame you, you can go."
Suddenly, she felt a weight on her shoulder, and her body was turned around. A pair of large hands pressed on her shoulders.
His eyes were bloodshot, "It was my fault for not protecting you. If you want to break up with me because of this, I can't accept it. Zhu Yi, I only love you. I like your resilient and forward-moving spirit. I like your every move, your every smile. In this life, I only want to be with you."
This heartfelt confession made Li Zhu Yi unable to hold back any longer and tears flowed down.
She hugged Xiang Long tightly, her throat feeling as if it were stuffed with cotton, she choked back sobs, unable to speak clearly, "I… I…"
"I understand everything, don't worry. If I said I didn't care at all, that would be a lie. But I know it's not your fault. As for the person behind this, I will definitely investigate and give you an explanation." Xiang Long stroked her back, his other hand clenched into a fist.
Seeing Li Zhu Yi like this, his heart ached to the extreme.
As a man, failing to protect his wife was his greatest dereliction of duty.
Jiang Mian stood outside the door, Ji Zhi Xiu's voice was deep, "Are you relieved now?"
"I am, but I still have something I'd like to ask my husband for help with." Jiang Mian frowned imperceptibly. She always felt this matter wasn't so simple.
How could the surveillance have coincidentally malfunctioned? How could it have happened to Li Zhu Yi of all people?
"What is it?"
"Let's talk about it when we get home." It was too crowded and inconvenient here.
Ji Zhi Xiu nodded slightly, "Then let's go."
The moment they returned to the Ji residence, they saw Ji Zhi Lan coming downstairs in a good mood.
Upon seeing Ji Zhi Xiu, she reluctantly called out, "Brother…"
Ji Zhi Xiu frowned, his voice cool, "What, you don't recognize me?"
Ji Zhi Lan was about to refuse, but then remembered what Shen Ting Yu had told her.
"Sister-in-law…" she mumbled, and without looking at Jiang Mian, hurried into the kitchen.
Soon, she came out with a cup of coffee and walked up to Jiang Mian, "I know my attitude was bad, so I made you a cup of coffee as an apology."
Jiang Mian raised an eyebrow. If Ji Zhi Lan's expression were any more genuine, it would be more convincing.
It was almost as if she had "This coffee is poisoned" written all over her face.
Ji Zhi Xiu glanced at her with a half-smile. Ji Zhi Lan was already nervous and didn't dare to meet her brother's gaze.
Seeing that Jiang Mian was still not taking it, she almost dropped the cup again.
She held back, raising the hand holding the coffee a little higher, and her voice gained a hint of irritation, "What, you're afraid to drink it?"
Jiang Mian looked her up and down, wondering what act she was putting on now.
Ji Zhi Lan gradually became uneasy. In a rare moment of quick thinking, she said, "If sister-in-law doesn't drink it, it means you're still mad at me… We're all family…"
Jiang Mian took the coffee from her hand. She wasn't afraid to drink it; she figured Ji Zhi Lan wouldn't dare to poison her in front of Ji Zhi Xiu.
However, her eyes curved, and the corners of her lips turned up. She shifted the direction of the coffee in her hand, "I don't want to be unable to sleep tonight. Thank you for the coffee, sister. My husband can have it for me."
She winked playfully and, in front of Ji Zhi Lan, brought it to Ji Zhi Xiu's lips.
Ji Zhi Xiu lowered his gaze and took a sip from her hand.
Seeing this, Ji Zhi Lan ran upstairs with rapid steps.
As soon as she entered, her phone rang.
"How was it? Did you find out?" Shen Ting Yu's voice was anxious.
"Don't even mention it. I poured her a cup of coffee, and she made my brother drink it. I can't tell if she's pregnant or not!"
Shen Ting Yu frowned. Relying on Ji Zhi Lan was indeed not very smart.
"Forget it, let's put this aside for now."
…
The room.
Jiang Mian leaned against the dressing table, while the man stood tall by the window, gazing into the distance.
After Jiang Mian recounted the events, she tilted her chin, "What do you think?"
Ji Zhi Xiu turned around, his gaze falling on the young girl's bright red lips. His dark eyes were unreadable.
Hearing her question, he hummed, "Don't dwell on it. I'll hand this over to Xiang Long. He can investigate it himself. He'll be able to find out."
Hearing him say this, Jiang Mian was relieved.
Her people could not be bullied so easily.
"Come here," he called out in a deep voice.
His gaze fell on Jiang Mian's fair face.
Jiang Mian took a few steps forward, her eyes alluring, her red lips slightly parted, "What is it?"
At this moment, the scattered, thin sunlight filtering through the window shone entirely on the young girl's face.
Even the pores on her face were clearly visible, her skin dewy, looking as tempting as a peach on the lunch table.
Ji Zhi Xiu's eyes deepened, his throat bobbed, and he whispered something in her ear.
Jiang Mian's peach blossom eyes shimmered, and she glared at him playfully and coquettishly.
The next day.
Jiang Mian received a call from Li Zhu Yi. In the call, her tone was cheerful, her gloom swept away, "Sister, I have good news for you."
Jiang Mian curled her lips, "What good news?"
"Xiang Long and I got our marriage certificate," she said sweetly. "We plan to have the wedding later. In short, we are now legal husband and wife. He said he would take care of me for the rest of my life, and I believe him."
"Congratulations," Jiang Mian said, genuinely happy for them. "I'll send you a big red envelope later."
"No, no, no," Li Zhu Yi quickly stopped her, earnestly saying, "Don't do that, sister. Your appearance has already helped me a lot. I still have something I'd like to ask you and President Li for help with."
"Go ahead."
"When we have the wedding, I'd like to ask you and President Ji to be the witnesses."
Jiang Mian nodded, "Of course, that's not a problem. Just let me know when the time comes."
"Okay, thank you, sister. You must be busy."
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Mian let out a sigh.
She pulled open the curtains. Light snow was already falling outside.
Jiang Mian suddenly remembered the welfare she had promised her fans a while ago for reaching ten million followers.
She took two selfies with her phone and found a few more from her storage, making a nine-grid post before clicking send.
When she went downstairs, Ji Zhi Lan was sitting on the sofa cracking walnuts. Upon seeing her, she said sarcastically, "Do you really think you're the mistress of this house? Waking up so late?"
Before Jiang Mian could speak, Mother Ji gave her a warning look.
"Go and eat. I've asked the maid to prepare it for you."
Early in the morning, her son had instructed her not to wake the young girl, so how could a mother not understand her son's intentions?
Jiang Mian nodded obediently, "Thank you, Mom."
Ji Zhi Lan's punch landed in the cotton. She threw the hard shell in her hand into the trash can and muttered softly, "Mom, do you really like Jiang Mian now? Didn't you say you wanted to find a daughter-in-law for my brother who was a good match? What about Miss Jing?"
"That's not your concern," Mother Ji was almost exasperated. One child was brainless, the other too clever.
"If you learned from your brother and were smarter, you wouldn't have been deceived by Jiang Cheng."
Ji Zhi Lan's face stiffened. The mention of that name annoyed her, and she couldn't help but recall how foolish she had been. "Mom, why are you bringing this up when we're talking about me?"
"Then why are you bringing up Jiang Mian?" Mother Ji retorted.
"Who is your daughter, us or you?" Ji Zhi Lan sneered.
"Don't try to play the victim with me," Mother Ji frowned. "If you want your brother to discipline you, then by all means, make things difficult for Jiang Mian. I won't help you then."
Ji Zhi Lan immediately fell silent.
After finishing breakfast, Jiang Mian had to go to the company.
When she drove herself to the company, the snow had stopped. From a distance, she saw two people with reporter badges standing downstairs.
Jiang Mian thought for a moment, then took the scarf from the passenger seat and wrapped herself up tightly, leaving only her eyes visible.
The people at the entrance saw her and hesitated, "Excuse me… young lady, have you seen Jiang Mian today?"
Jiang Mian shook her head, "I'm a new cleaner, I don't know either."
After they left, the two looked at each other, "A cleaner dressed so pretty…?"
Jiang Mian entered the building and went straight to the eighteenth floor. As soon as she opened the elevator, she saw Ye Yi leaning against the glass door.
Jiang Mian quickly unwrapped her scarf. She was too hot.
Ye Yi raised an eyebrow, "What, got cornered?"
Jiang Mian frowned, "There are two entertainment reporters staking me out downstairs."
"Okay, got it. I'll have someone go and get rid of them later."
Jiang Mian, "Thanks then. Where's Ning Jie?"
"She's in a meeting downstairs," Ye Yi said casually. "Come and sit. I have some good news for you."
Jiang Mian sat down on a chair, "What good news?"
"I've got you a Xianxia romance drama. It's adapted from a novel. It has many original fans, are you scared?" A playful smile played on his lips.
"Scared of what? As everyone knows, original fans and drama fans are two different things." Jiang Mian crossed her arms, "When do we start filming? What's the title? What's my character's number?"
Ye Yi clapped his hands, "Sister, you're so confident! I arranged this for you. How could it be a supporting role? You're the female lead, of course, it suits you. Our company invested and bought the copyright ourselves."
"Did you pay for it yourself?"
"Uh-huh," Ye Yi responded, nonchalantly, "Of course. With my discerning eye, this drama will be a hit."
"Who's the male lead?"
Ye Yi suddenly leaned in, his handsome face close to hers, with a mix of seriousness and jest, "How about me?"
"How about me—" Jiang Mian drew out the word, reached out her small hand to gently push his face away, and said with a smile, "Not very good."
"Tsk, the male lead is undecided. If you have any suitable recommendations, let me know." Ye Yi stood up straight and said.
Jiang Mian suddenly thought of that man, Song Xing Jia. She wondered how he was doing now.
It seemed like a long time since she had seen him.
"You're thinking of someone else right in front of me?" Ye Yi complained.
Jiang Mian looked up and said earnestly, "If I recommend someone, can our company afford to hire them?"
"Who are you looking down on!"
"Song Xing Jia."
"We can't afford him," Ye Yi replied immediately. He had no interaction with that old man at all.
Jiang Mian spread her hands, her face clearly showing "See, you're bragging again."
Ye Yi rubbed his nose, "Alright, if you really want to collaborate with him again, it's not impossible to try. I'll arrange for someone to contact him."
"You said, 'High School Class Three' had such good reviews, the audience will definitely want to see you two partner up again, preferably with a happy ending."
Ye Yi stroked his chin, "I think it's feasible. I'll contact him later."
Jiang Mian pretended to make a respectful gesture, "Looking forward to Manager Ye's good news."
"How will you thank me if it works out?"