Chapter 38 Chapter 38 (Ye Li’s Perspective) An Umbrella…
Ye Li was abandoned in an orphanage. Because he was more delicate than the other children, he was often bullied. Some would snatch his food from him, and others would secretly beat him where no one could see.
He learned to show weakness and stir up conflicts between others, so that they would both suffer losses and would not have the energy to deal with him.
After entering junior high school, Ye Li chose to live in the school dormitory. Even during the winter and summer vacations, he would only go back home at night and spend the whole day in free public places during the day.
Ye Li's grades were good enough to get into the best high school in the old city.
The best school in the old city had high tuition fees and promised to waive Ye Li's tuition and miscellaneous fees, but it was very close to the orphanage. So Ye Li applied for the high school farthest from the orphanage.
When he was in high school, he was the school's most handsome boy, a good student in the eyes of his teachers, and always ranked first in his grade.
It's not that no one had secretly confessed their feelings to him, both boys and girls, but he rejected them all. But in his senior year, he was noticed by a new freshman. Even after he rejected her numerous times, she persisted. Her boyfriend, a prominent school thug, blamed Ye Li for everything, and from then on, Ye Li was frequently beaten.
The first time Ye Li met Xia Nuan was much earlier than Xia Nuan expected.
At that time, Xia Nuan was just in his second year of high school and he ranked first in his grade in the opening exam. To reward him, Xia Nuan's parents took leave and the family went on a trip to the north city, planning to visit the universities in the north city.
The high school Ye Li attended was near a tourist attraction.
Ye Li applied to stay on campus during the holidays.
During the holidays, the road in front of the school should have been crowded and noisy, but it rained heavily and the tourists dispersed all at once, so there were not many people here anymore.
Ye Li was tutoring a middle school student at the time, and provided him with lunch. When he got back from tutoring, the rain had already turned the water into a river.
He stood at the station, looking at the heavy rain. The wounds on his body hurt, but he didn't want to move.
Xia Nuan's family had just visited the scenic spot at that time, and Xia Nuan's mother asked her to go to the convenience store to buy two umbrellas.
When Xia Nuan passed by the station, she saw Ye Li, who was also soaked by the rain but standing there motionless in his school uniform.
After buying the umbrella, Xia Nuan walked to the station and handed Ye Li an umbrella. She smiled at him and said, "Don't stand here. Let's go home."
The girl's ponytail swayed left and right with her body, drawing graceful arcs in the air.
Ye Li held the umbrella tightly.
He looked at Xia Nuan and her parents. Even though they were shrouded in rain and fog, he could still feel the happiness and joy emanating from them.
Ye Li lowered his eyes, staring at the umbrella in his hand, put it in his arms, and walked back to the dormitory in the rain.
School started a few days later, and Ye Li found out that the gang leader was about to turn eighteen.
He installed a secret camera in the toilet in advance and deliberately provoked the gangster. As expected, he was surrounded in the toilet again, and this time these people were even more vicious than before.
Severely injured, with his limbs crippled, he waited for their own final blow.
Just as Ye Li was about to press the button to call the police, someone broke in.
Ye Li looked expressionlessly at the man who had ruined his original plan and then joined the melee. He never heard from that gangster again.
It was five years later when I saw Xia Nuan again.
He had just graduated and was busy starting his own business. He stayed up all night to organize his plan, then walked into a cafe and ordered a cup of coffee.
The waitress was the same girl from before, and he recognized her at a glance, but the other party did not recognize him.
After that, Ye Li would go to that cafe every day, even though he didn't like coffee.
At first, he just wanted to observe what the child who grew up in such a happy family would be like now. But gradually his thoughts changed.
His emotions would actually change constantly depending on the girl's every frown, smile, and gesture.
Ye Li felt curious and couldn't help wanting to explore.
It was raining heavily, a rare sight in North City. Ye Li ran to the café with an umbrella. He knew Xia Nuan probably had one with her, but he brought it anyway. He wasn't sure what his initial thoughts were. Perhaps he was repaying the favor from five years ago, or perhaps he simply wanted Xia Nuan to remember him.
The result was exactly as he expected, Xia Nuan brought an umbrella.
Later, the company received investment and moved to another place, far away from the cafe, and he had no way to see her during lunch. He had never been very enthusiastic about others, and his persistence in going to the cafe for a month was even beyond his expectations.
But he went there again, but Xia Nuan had already resigned.
Perhaps the two of them would never have any contact again, that’s what Ye Li thought at the time.
But a month later, his team was recruiting a temporary translator, and a team member recommended his classmate, who was Xia Nuan.
At that time, he was sure that Xia Nuan would belong to him.
Later he accidentally learned that Xia Nuan's parents had died two years ago.
At that time, he and Xia Nuan had just confirmed their relationship. When Ye Li learned about this, his first reaction was not sadness for Xia Nuan, but rather that Xia Nuan was also a human being, they were in the same boat, and they should only have each other.
How did he and Xia Nuan become like that? Was it because Xia Nuan was planning to enter the entertainment industry and they had a quarrel, or was it because he locked Xia Nuan up at home? However, Nuan Nuan's world should only have him, why should there be irrelevant people in it?
However, if the two were husband and wife, they wouldn't have separated. Ye Li proposed to Xia Nuan, but he didn't know why she rejected him. They only had each other, but he still let Xia Nuan leave.
He didn't disturb Xia Nuan, but watched her silently from behind.
Xia Nuan was put on ice, but he was actually very happy. Nuan Nuan knew that the entertainment industry was very dangerous and would return to him after the contract expired. So he waited patiently, and Cheng Yaojin suddenly appeared.
Ye Li didn't want to go to that variety show at first, but when the producer who invited him said that Xia Nuan would be a guest on the show, Ye Li immediately agreed.
He didn't think anything of it at the time, but later Lou Su officially announced his relationship with Xia Nuan. He saw the expression in Lou Su's eyes that he liked Xia Nuan, and Ye Li saw it at a glance.
But Ye Li didn't think that Lou Su and Xia Nuan were really together. He lived across the street from Xia Nuan and had never seen Lou Su. There was no chance that the two of them would ever meet, so how could they suddenly be together?
Later, when Lou Su's scandal was exposed, Ye Li guessed that perhaps the two were not really in love, but it was just a common tactic in the entertainment industry, and they were just contract lovers.
Ye Li knew that Xia Nuan was avoiding him, and she might not want to be with him anymore. But he only had Xia Nuan, and he didn't mind slowly laying the groundwork. He didn't mind if Xia Nuan got lost along the way and briefly spent time with others. In the end, she would choose him, and only him.
Wen Jianjie looked at the young investor across from him in a daze and couldn't help but cough lightly, "Mr. Ye, let's continue our conversation."
Ye Li came back to his senses, looked at him and nodded.
Wen Jianjie handed the contract to Ye Li, "Mr. Ye, please take a look. If there are no problems, then let's sign the contract."
After Ye Li left.
Wen Jianjie's assistant is his nephew. Xiao Wen whispered to Wen Jianjie, "Ye Li is Xia Nuan's ex-boyfriend, right? I didn't expect him to invest 100 million in our movie. If we had known earlier, we should have cast Xia Nuan as the leading actress last year. We wouldn't have had to wait until now to secure this much investment."
Wen Jianjie looked at Ye Li's name on the contract. With the money, he could make the movie more refined. His mind was full of things about the movie, and he didn't care what his assistant said at all.
Xiao Wen was still immersed in the fact that Ye Li had so readily signed a 100 million contract. He sighed and said, "Why did Xia Nuan break up with him? If I were Xia Nuan, I would definitely cling to Ye Li. Uncle, I've looked up Ye Li before. Do you know how amazing this guy is? He started from scratch and in seven years, he made drones the world's number one. He must be worth over 30 billion now."
"Uncle, do you think Ye Li still has feelings for Xia Nuan? Uncle, what are you looking at so seriously?"
Wen Jianjie carefully put the contract away. "Mr. Ye is our God of Wealth now. He only invests money and does not interfere. We should do whatever he asks us to do. Stop talking about so many irrelevant things and don't talk or ask about other people's affairs."
Xiao Wen smiled obscenely, "Then do you want to take Xia Nuan——"
Wen Jianjie slapped Xiao Wen on the head and said, "Boss Ye said he didn't want to make it public, so just keep this matter to yourself and don't think of any crooked ways."
——
On the night Xia Nuan won the Silver Image Award, fireworks celebrating Xia Nuan appeared on the lake in front of the Grand Theater of the Hong Kong Cultural Center.
Many Hong Kong people took photos and posted them online.
Netizens in mainland China speculated that this was probably the work of Xia Nuansi, as the Silver Image Awards never sets off fireworks to celebrate for any winning actor.
And those special fireworks with names on them cost around 5,000 each; the ones with images were even more expensive, running into tens of thousands. Not to mention setting off 30 fireworks in a row, plus the rent for the venue, it would have cost 500,000. You can't pull off such a big show without money.
Xia Nuan didn't see the live broadcast of the spectacular fireworks display, but she did see the video footage captured by netizens later. However, she wasn't as excited and happy as some people online thought.
Xia Nuan has never supported fans doing this kind of support that costs money but is useless. She is very serious about this kind of thing, so her fans will not organize such activities.
This wasn't the work of Xia Nuan's fans as speculated online. Xia Nuan actually had a vague idea of who was responsible, but she didn't want to dwell on it. But every birthday and holiday, the gifts signed by "Y" that she would send to the company reminded her that person was still there, watching over her, waiting for her.
The companionship she had in her youth had taught her about Ye Li's temperament, and it had also made her wary of him to a certain extent. Even though Ye Li seemed to have changed a lot later on, every time Xia Nuan looked into his eyes, she knew that he hadn't changed at all.
After turning 31, it seems like everyone has become interested in her love life. There are discussions online saying that she is old enough and should get married and have children. In recent interviews with Hong Kong magazines, many people have talked openly about her relationship issues.
Xia Nuan doesn't like to talk about this topic, nor does she want to talk about it.
Many people around her tried to please her, but her attitude never changed.
What’s different after turning thirty?
Xia Nuan looked at her resume on the encyclopedia. Xia Nuan, winner of three Golden Horse Awards. There wasn't much difference, but there were indeed many differences.
She doesn't like being led by the nose, at least that has never changed.
When Xia Nuan returned to North City, she moved her schedule forward by a day to avoid the fans who came to pick her up at the airport.
But it happened to rain.
The assistant had to rush to the restroom. The weather forecast said the rain would continue for another twenty minutes, so Xia Nuan planned to wait in the airport lounge before leaving.
Xia Nuan leaned on the sofa, propped up with her hands and took a short nap.
The light in front of her eyes seemed to be blocked by someone, and Xia Nuan opened her eyes.
What caught my eye was an umbrella. It looked a bit old, but seemed to be kept as new by its owner.
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The author has something to say: Ye Li’s love for Xia Nuan is more about possession.
There are many obsessions in youth, but obsession may be obsession after all.
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