Jiang Lai thought for a moment, then said seriously, "It's not you."
"Hey!" You Yi put his hands on his hips, pretending to hit her.
Jiang Lai played along, dodging for a moment and pretending to beg for mercy: "I was wrong, Mr. You, please spare my life!"
You Yi snorted: "That's more like it."
You Yi placed the shopping bag on the table. It was full of Jiang Lai's favorite snacks, yogurt, and pure milk, enough for her to drink for a month. You Yi knew her too well. This person drank milk like water and would go crazy if she didn't have milk, just like a smoker who can't smoke for a day.
Jiang Lai looked at the snacks like they were money. She took out a carton of yogurt, snapped it off, stuck in a straw, and started drinking: "Not bad, my sister is awesome!"
You Yi also broke off a box and sat down next to her: "Hey, if you become famous in the future, will we not be able to see each other often anymore?"
Jiang Lai tilted her head and glanced at her: "Aren't you busy taking over your dad's company? Besides, whether I can become famous is still unknown. I just like acting."
You Yi lay down, put a pillow under his head, and naturally draped his long legs over Jiang Lai. The latter did not react; such an action between the two was nothing unusual.
"You need to become famous, you need to let more people know about you and see your work."
Thank you, I will.
You Yi pretended to be absent-minded, but in reality, he was looking at Jiang Lai. No matter how he looked at her, she was beautiful and he could never get tired of looking at her. If only she were an ordinary person, if only she could work behind the scenes, then no one would pay attention to her, and no one would criticize her love life. He could then pursue her with peace of mind.
Unfortunately, it won't work. This person is different from me. You Yi took the art exam to get into university, while Jiang Lai did it for her dream.
Jiang Lai was born to be an actress; she was a natural-born star. You Yi felt he was not good enough for her. How could a mortal try to pluck a star from the sky?
The yogurt was quickly gone. Jiang Lai tried to suck it up a couple of times but couldn't. She tore off the lid and was about to lick You Yi when she kicked her.
"what?"
You Yi handed his to Jiang Lai: "What are you doing? Why are you licking the cap? It makes it seem like I can't afford it. Here, drink mine."
Jiang Lai glanced at the habitual auntie-colored lipstick mark, curled her lips in disgust, didn't take it, and continued licking her yogurt.
You Yi got angry and kicked her again: "Damn you, Jiang Lai, you're looking down on me now?"
Jiang Lai rolled her eyes: "Who told you to come to my house with a full face of makeup? Is there a woman you like in this neighborhood?"
You Yi snatched the half-licked yogurt lid from Jiang Lai, threw it into the trash can, and then made a face: "Hehehe!"
"childish!"
"Let's watch a movie," You Yi suggested.
Jiang Lai agreed, got up and turned on the TV. The two spent a long time choosing. Jiang Lai had already seen most of the big movies, and the rest were too cliché and she thought they were too bad. In short, as soon as You Yi found a movie he wanted to watch, Jiang Lai rejected it. After searching for more than half an hour, they finally found a movie that was okay, a few years old, but the rating was alright.
The movie begins with a familiar opening scene: Jiang Lai gets up and draws the curtains, instantly darkening the room. The two open potato chips, each grabbing a bag and crunching away. When they get tired of them, they switch bags.
Halfway through the movie, Jiang Lai suddenly saw a familiar face. She put down her potato chips, picked up the remote, and rewound the movie.
You Yi was taken aback and tried to grab the remote control, but Jiang Lai dodged it.
"what you do!"
"Tsk! Look at this person!"
You Yi looked over and felt that the person on the TV looked familiar. He stared blankly for a long time before suddenly realizing, "Holy crap, isn't that your CEO Lin? She's even acted before?"
"Yes, it's her. Why isn't she in the cast list?"
Jiang Lai knew she had acted in it, but she had never seen it; there was no information about it online.
When Lin Zhi filmed this drama, she was in her youth, playing a pure college student. Her makeup was light, and her hair was neither permed nor dyed. You could easily believe she was a high school student. She looks similar to her current self, but not quite. Now, her hair is permed, and although she still looks pure, the makeup and hair give her a more mature charm.
Lin Zhi had very few scenes. You Yi might think she was just a background character, an extra, but Jiang Lai could tell that it had been edited. Her original scenes must have been much more than this, and the transitions between them felt a bit forced.
Jiang Lai had a premonition that this drama was very likely the reason why Lin Zhi decided to change careers.
--------------------
Author's Note:
Jiang Lai, you're incredibly strong! Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2022-03-26 20:33:09 and 2022-03-28 20:25:47!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Unsuccessful, Available 1 bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 31
Seeing that Jiang Lai didn't speak, You Yi nudged her arm: "What's wrong?"
Jiang Lai waved her hand and put on her slippers: "I'm going to make a phone call."
"Jiang Lai!"
"What's wrong?"
"Are you going to treat me to dinner later?"
Jiang Lai paused for a moment, then nodded somewhat reluctantly: "Wait until I finish my call."
Jiang Lai closed the balcony door, cutting off the sound. You Yi's smile stiffened slightly, and he picked up the remote and pressed play to continue watching the movie.
Seeing that Jiang Lai wouldn't arrive for a while, You Yi tore off the lid of his empty yogurt, added some water, then took out half a pack of cigarettes from his bag, lit one, took a drag, and exhaled a long plume of smoke.
"ha..."
You Yi sighed and turned her head to look at the balcony. She was so engrossed that the movie playing on the screen no longer attracted her attention.
Jiang Lai called Lin Zhi, but she didn't answer. She called twice more, but still no answer. She frowned and paced anxiously on the balcony. She then tried calling Lin Zhi via WeChat, and this time she finally got through after a while.
The other person spoke first: "Jiang Lai? I'm President Lin's assistant. President Lin is in the hospital right now and can't talk about work. We can discuss this tomorrow."
"Hospital?" Jiang Lai exclaimed excitedly, her words tumbling out, "How did you end up in the hospital? Is it serious? Do you need surgery? How much will it cost?"
The assistant was taken aback, then suppressed a laugh and said, "You don't need to be nervous. Mr. Lin just fainted from overwork and is currently receiving an IV drip. He's been too busy these past few days and hasn't been getting enough sleep, so he's resting now."
"Then...why didn't anyone answer all those calls?"
"Oh, it's like this, Mr. Lin's phone was lost when he was getting into the ambulance. No one noticed it at the time, and by the time they found out, it was too late. Mr. Lin was asleep the whole time and didn't have time to get a replacement SIM card. I only bought Mr. Lin a phone, and now it doesn't have a SIM card, but luckily Mr. Lin's iPad is in his bag."
Jiang Lai felt relieved and caught her breath: "Which hospital are you at? I'll go find her."
The assistant hesitated for a moment. Although judging from Lin Zhi's attitude, Jiang Lai and she had a good relationship, it didn't seem right to let an artist come to the hospital so openly. Moreover, she remembered that Jiang Lai was about to debut. If this was photographed, who knew what rumors would spread in the future.
"Isn't this inappropriate?"
"What's inappropriate about it? Sister Lin is good to us, so can't we be good to Sister Lin too? I happen to have nothing to do today, but you must be busy, right?"
The assistant did have something to do but received a call from Lin Zhi. She rushed to deliver the contract to Lin Zhi and was initially quite happy to get a free meal. However, as soon as the meal ended, Lin Zhi collapsed and scraped her forehead. The assistant took Lin Zhi to the hospital and learned that Lin Zhi's health was actually not good at all. She had no major illnesses but a lot of minor ones. In short, she was very weak and needed to recuperate.
The assistant was persuaded: "Then be careful when you come."
Jiang Lai assured her, "Don't worry."
After hanging up, Jiang Lai opened the glass door to the balcony and frowned as soon as she entered the room: "You Yi! You're smoking again!"
You Yi shrugged and turned off the TV: "If you're craving a cigarette, just open the balcony door and get some fresh air, right?"
Jiang Lai opened the balcony door again, waved her hand to clear the smoke from her eyes, and said, "I can't treat you to dinner today, something's come up."
You Yi felt a pang of disappointment, but maintained an indifferent expression: "Sure, I'll treat you next time. You'll be staying in City A for quite a while anyway, right?"
"Okay, definitely next time. You decide what we want to eat."
"Alright, I'm off then."
You Yi got up to put on her shoes in the entryway, but Jiang Lai stopped her and handed her a bag: "Here, these are some local specialties I brought for you, a seafood gift pack. It's a small gift but carries great sentiment."
You Yi took the bag, raising a single eyebrow in a flippant manner: "At least you have a conscience. Let's go."
Jiang Lai pressed the doorknob, pushed gently, and opened the door: "Take care, don't bother seeing me out."
You Yi changed his shoes, stood up, and glared at her.
After You Yi left, Jiang Lai changed her clothes. She took off her crop top and put on a T-shirt, casually put on a hooded sweatshirt, casual pants, and canvas shoes. She looked like a student.
Before leaving, I grabbed a mask and put it on. Then, after thinking for a moment, I went back inside and found a pair of round, black-rimmed glasses. I looked in the mirror to make sure I wouldn't be recognized before leaving.
She's not a big star, and none of her representative works have been released yet. Even if she didn't do that, no one would notice who she is; they would just think she's pretty and take a second look.
When Jiang Lai arrived at the hospital, Lin Zhi was still asleep. The IV drip had already finished, and she was sleeping soundly. She didn't even feel the nurse removing the needle. Her assistant couldn't bear to wake her up, so she let her sleep a little longer.
When Jiang Lai arrived, the assistant got up and went to greet her: "Please take care of President Lin. This is something I should be doing."
Jiang Lai's eyes were glued to Lin Zhi, and she didn't even look at her assistant: "It's okay, you're not a personal assistant. Just do your job. Leave Lin Zhi to me."
The assistant nodded, then realized something was off, thinking: Why does it feel like they're trying to get me to leave sooner?
"Then I'll leave President Lin to you. Oh, by the way," the assistant said, taking out a bag containing a mobile phone brand—a domestic brand that Lin Zhi had always used.
"This is a new phone for Mr. Lin. Be sure to tell him to get a new SIM card tomorrow."
"good."
As the assistant packed her things to leave, Jiang Lai stopped her and asked, "Um..."
She touched her nose and continued, "Do you know where Sister Lin's family moved to?"
The assistant asked suspiciously, "Didn't President Lin tell you?"
"No, she only told me that she moved and that she was too busy filming to ask."
The assistant, somewhat skeptical, wrote the address in his notebook, tore it off, and handed it to Jiang Lai: "Don't lose it."
Jiang Lai carefully folded the address and put it behind her phone case: "Okay, take care."
Jiang Lai didn't see her off. After watching her leave, she turned around and sat down in the empty seat next to Lin Zhi. Lin Zhi was sleeping with her head tilted to one side, without anything to lean on. When Jiang Lai saw this, she straightened up and moved her shoulder towards Lin Zhi, resting it on her shoulder.
Jiang Lai took a breath, not daring to move for fear of waking Lin Zhi.
This person was breathing evenly and was so thin that she weighed almost nothing. Jiang Lai really wanted to take her to the gym for a good workout.
About half an hour later, a man behind me started arguing. It sounded like the intern nurse's hand was shaking when she tried to insert the needle, and she couldn't get it in after a few tries. Then the man got angry and started cursing at the nurse. People around were watching and whispering among themselves. It was very noisy.
Jiang Lai frowned and raised her hand to cover Lin Zhi's ears, but the movement woke her up.
Jiang Lai quickly withdrew her hand, only to see the person dazedly straighten up, her cheeks slightly flushed. She raised her hand to rub her temples, still in a daze.
After a minute, she looked around and saw Jiang Lai. She thought she was seeing things, so she rubbed her eyes. When she opened them again, it was still Jiang Lai.
What are you doing in the hospital? Are you injured?