Chapter 7 Pretending to be a Stranger
Xia Li's eyes went unfocused, her mind went blank, her breath stopped for a moment, and she stared blankly at his movements.
His well-defined knuckles and prominent veins made his face appear even more slender. He pulled out a wet towel from the side and wiped the liquid off his neck. When she didn't respond, he called her name again, his voice unusually warm after being soaked in alcohol.
Xia Li stood frozen upstairs, her hand gripping the railing tightly and trembling slightly. She opened her mouth awkwardly, but no sound came out.
Such a scene was undoubtedly embarrassing for her.
She and Ji Ling hadn't seen each other for almost ten years, and they were still in a cold war before they parted ways. No one could have imagined that after many years, when they met again, she would become his fiancée.
They were also asked to live together.
And then there was the time she secretly watched him at night, which he discovered.
It wasn't really peeping; I just happened to wake up, go out of my room, and see him drinking alone in silence.
Xia Li breathed softly, swallowed, and stood upstairs responding to him, adding with concern, "Still not resting?"
Ji Ling paused in pouring the wine, his throat bobbed silently, and when he looked up again, from a distance that was neither too close nor too far, his deep-set eyes held a profound yet ardent gaze.
Too heavy, too hot, and unmasked.
Xia Li immediately looked away.
Even though I couldn't understand his emotions, I felt that his eyes seemed to speak, conveying desire, reason, struggle, and clarity.
"Come down," Ji Ling said casually, beckoning his finger to the table.
He then tilted his head back and took a swig of wine. His Adam's apple was clearly visible, and beneath his slightly reddish skin, faint blue veins could be seen rising and falling gently with his breath.
Unable to control her mind, Xia Lizhen listened to him and, following the light and the increasingly strong smell of alcohol, walked unnoticed to his side and sat with him by the window.
When she came to her senses, she had already picked up her wine glass and taken two sips of strong liquor. She couldn't hold her liquor well, and within two minutes, her cheeks flushed red, and she was slightly tipsy. She rested her elbows on the long table, propped her head up, and lowered her eyes.
Ji Ling stared at her, his gaze slowly falling. He himself had also drunk quite a bit, his Adam's apple bobbing, and the strong taste of alcohol still lingering on his tongue.
His gaze lingered on her face, almost greedily, from her arched eyebrows to the tip of her small nose, finally settling on her moist lips.
Xia Li's original
Her lips were pale, almost transparent pinkish-white. After taking a few sips of wine, the pale color seemed to have blurred, leaving only a warm pink.
Ji Ling turned his head shyly, struggling to look away from her lips, and then asked calmly and casually, "Why did you come to keep me company?"
Although Xia Li wasn't a heavy drinker, she had only taken two small sips and was still somewhat clear-headed. She slowly raised her eyes, her gaze landing precisely on his lips as they opened and closed.
What is this person muttering about? Didn't he tell her to come down? Why is he asking him that?
She shifted her posture, leaning back slightly in her chair, her fingertips gently stirring the ice cubes in her glass with a thin spoon, turning it in circles, her eyes lowered without answering.
Ji Ling asked again, "Weren't you resting?"
He watched her go into the guest room.
"I had a dream, and I woke up in the middle of the night," Xia Li told the truth.
"Who did you dream about?" Ji Ling narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of alertness in them, and looked into her gaze, unwilling to miss a single change in her expression.
Xia Li felt uncomfortable under his intense gaze, her brows furrowing slightly. At the same time, she recalled the various things in her dream, the youthful face of the person in front of her, and the photography club on campus.
She turned her head away, refusing to answer.
She couldn't very well say that he was in her dreams, as that would easily lead to misunderstandings given their complicated and intertwined relationship.
Seeing that she didn't speak, Ji Ling's eyes dimmed. He grabbed the wine glass she was stirring with his long fingers and asked with a sour tone, "You dreamed about him? Your senior, you can't forget him."
The last sentence is almost a statement.
Xia Li sighed helplessly, truly not understanding what Ji Ling meant.
She shouldn't have gone downstairs. She should have pretended to be confused and left the moment her eyes met Ji Ling's. After all, Ji Ling had been drinking, and whether he would remember the next day was unknown.
Seeing that she didn't deny it, Ji Ling felt a pang of jealousy, but he remained rational and changed the subject, saying, "Were you peeping at me from upstairs just now?"
"I just happened to be passing by." She stopped herself as soon as she finished speaking.
She should remain silent; at least silence is a form of equal treatment. Ji Ling wouldn't think that much about it, but thinking about it, how much could Ji Ling remember in such a confused state?
Perhaps it was just a casual question, but it disturbed her peace of mind.
Xia Li silently took a sip of wine. The icy touch of the glass against her lips felt so unreal, and her heart felt heavy.
As for what happened in the end, Xia Li didn't remember much. With a heavy heart, she drank several glasses of wine and got quite drunk. In her dazed state, she was picked up by someone.
When she woke up the next day, she found herself in an unfamiliar room. When Aunt Wang knocked on the door, she told her that this was the master bedroom.
Ji Ling has already left.
Xia Li quickly washed up, ate breakfast, and prepared to go to the studio. Just as she stepped out the door, a white car slowly drove past her and stopped directly in front of her.
Her heart pounded like a drum as she stared expectantly out the window, wondering if the person inside the car was Ji Ling.
At that moment, the car window rolled down smoothly, and the driver got out and walked to her side. A face similar in age to Aunt Wang's appeared. The driver opened the back door for her.
It wasn't him.
Xia Li was somewhat resistant.
The driver replied, "Mr. Ji arranged for me to pick you up and drop you off every day. It's my job."
Mr. Ji.
Is it him? There's no one else with the surname Ji besides him.
After arriving at the studio, Xia Li first organized the schedule for the next few days, and then began to plan today's shooting tasks.
While she was incredibly busy, Wang Shu suddenly clung to her like a piece of chewing gum, putting her arm around her arm and saying, "Sister Xia Li, I've missed you so much!"
Xia Li almost lost her balance. It had only been a dozen hours since they last met, and she was already saying she missed him. Afraid that Wang Shu would bring up marriage, she patted her head, signaling her to let go, and changed the subject to work: "Okay, have the models arrived yet?"
Wang Shu asked, "Are you talking about Jiang Xue?"
Xia Li pondered, recalling the model she was going to work with today. Last time, during gossip, she mentioned that Ji Ling was good-looking. She covered her mouth and coughed lightly twice, responding to Wang Shu: "Right? I don't really know her name either? She's a rather unique dark-skinned girl."
"Oh, it's her!" Wang Shu exclaimed excitedly, whistling as she complained, "She's notoriously late, and she keeps nagging me after every shoot! Last time I spent a whole day retouching her photos, and she still wasn't satisfied! She's so hard to please! I don't even know if she'll come today."
Jiang Xue had been downstairs for almost two minutes without seeing anyone, and she was getting anxious. She ran around the whole building, and finally managed to get to their floor and see them. But before she could even greet them, she was met with harsh words. She pointed at Wang Shu and retorted, "Who are you calling a little girl!"
Wang Shu immediately jumped up, eager to prove herself, when Sheng Minyang entered from the doorway: "Since everyone's here, let's stop chatting. Jiang Xue, you're late again. Although I have no reason to scold you, as a model and part of our shoot, you should still be punctual. Wang Shu, go and load the filming equipment into the car, and bring extra fill lights. Xia Li..."
He paused, thinking about how to arrange things, when Xia Li chimed in, "I'll go with Wang Shu."
Sheng Minyang pursed his lips: "Okay, then I'll drive the car to the door."
This time, the shoot was outdoors, at the beach.
They were almost at their destination when Jiang Xue clicked her tongue, slapped her forehead, and said in a panic, sitting in the car, "I forgot to bring my nursing kit!"
Extremely exaggerated.
Seeing this, Xia Li replied, "I brought some, use mine."
Jiang Xue pouted: "No. I can borrow things like fans and safety pins from you, but mosquito repellent and sunscreen are things I have my own tastes about and I'm not used to using, Teacher Xia."
Jiang Xue has a fiery temper, both fierce and delicate. Wang Shu, sitting behind her, said sarcastically, "Everyone spends the same amount of money, it's all called RMB, so why don't I see you having any trouble using money?"
Jiang Xue immediately felt wronged but refused to back down, saying firmly, "Why are you being so fierce? We're business partners. Show me some respect. It's not like you're making unreasonable demands. You can just get out of the car to pick it up when you pass by my company later. It won't affect the filming."
At Sheng Minyang's request, the driver turned the car around and silently accepted Jiang Xue's suggestion.
To everyone's surprise, as soon as she parked, Jiang Xue asked for two people to help her, because she couldn't carry it by herself.
Wang Shu retorted, "Are you going to move your whole family to the seaside?"
Jiang Xue replied logically, "I have a lot of stuff to do, and I'm ambitious. I want to shoot more, and finish all the work today. Is that not allowed?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Shu was so angry that she almost stood up in the car, but Xia Li immediately stopped her.
Xia Li sighed softly and said, "Alright, Wang Shu and I will keep you company. You can coordinate today's tasks later and send us the script. We can only start filming after we receive it."
Jiang Xue snorted in agreement, then got out of the car with an air of superiority and led them to the private lounge.
After they finished moving their things, they entered the elevator together. People were coming and going at the agency. Xia Li kept her head down and was busy with her work. At this moment, she heard the soft sound of the elevator descending.
With a "ding," the door opened again.
The dark black Oxford shoes were the first thing that caught her eye. She lowered her head and moved closer to Wang Shu, making room for him. Then she smelled the familiar scent of grapefruit, clean and refreshing, lingering around her nose and dispelling the stuffiness in the elevator.
Jiang Xue suddenly spoke, her voice unusually excited in the small space: "Good afternoon, Mr. Han Rui. Wow! Mr. Ji is here too!"
Mr. Ji.
This is the second time Xia Li has heard this title today.
After a three-second silence, she casually looked up, only to find her eyes meeting Ji Ling's. Her heart skipped a beat.
Ji Ling looked her up and down, frowning, then glanced at Wang Shu before asking his friend, "Old Han, is this a new hire? She looks a bit unfamiliar."
He was referring to Wang Shu.
Wang Shu stood aside and was about to explain after hearing this, but Xia Li grabbed her hand.
Then a hearty laugh followed, and Han Rui complained, "You've only been here a few times? There's no one in this company you don't recognize except me."
Ji Ling pursed her lips and turned her head away: "I don't know."
Seeing that the atmosphere was good, Jiang Xue mustered up her courage and explained to Ji Ling, "This is the photographer who will be taking pictures of me today. We're going to the area around the island beach later."
Han Rui stood to the side listening, somewhat puzzled. He pointed at Xia Li and Wang Shu and asked, "Then why are they here at the company?"
Jiang Xue's mind raced. "There's been a small problem with the coordination. The planning teacher wants her to come over."
Han Rui nodded, glanced around, and asked, "Sheng Minyang isn't here? You can usually see him wherever that photographer is around."
Upon hearing Sheng Minyang's name, Ji Ling's gaze sharpened slightly as he looked towards Xia Li.
Xia Li almost hid behind Wang Shu.
What a small world! Who would have thought I'd run into Ji Ling here? And yet, what a vast world! They've been separated for so many years and have never met again.
Just then, the elevator arrived at the first floor. Jiang Xue was about to reply to Han Rui when Wang Shu, who was carrying filming props, tripped over them and almost fell.
Han Rui reached out to support her: "Be careful."
.
He then prepared to take care of the costumes and props and send them on their way.
Wang Shu was a little embarrassed and declined with a shy smile: "No need, no need, Brother Sheng is in the car outside, he will come to help later."
Han Rui laughed and said, "So Sheng Minyang is here."
Then he turned to Ji Ling and said, "It's good that you're here too. Sheng Minyang is a nice guy. I'll introduce you two later."
A note from the author:
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