Xi Jia: "Weigh out a larger one for me. Boss, I can't hear you, please write down the price for me."
The boss agreed, packed it up for her, and wrote the amount on a piece of paper.
Xi Jia paid, picked up the roasted sweet potato, and said, "Thank you, Uncle."
The boss smiled gently and nodded.
Xi Jia left.
The boss looked out the door, sighed, and packed up to go home.
Xi Jia walked to the sycamore-lined path again.
Mo Yushen's car was parked on the side of the road. He rolled down the window.
Soon, Xi Jia walked past the car.
The sweet aroma of sweet potatoes wafted into the car.
Mo Yushen watched Xi Jia's retreating figure until it disappeared into the night. He clung to the fantasy that Xi Jia would forget him after their first wedding anniversary.
There are only twenty-odd days left until the anniversary.
He doesn't need much time, just over twenty days.
But I can't wait for that day.
Chapter 59
By mid-March, Xi Jia had written quite a few scripts.
Ji Qingshi decided to go on a business trip tomorrow, and the plane ticket was already booked. He had been staying in Beijing for the past few days because he was worried about Xi Jia's condition.
Xi Jia's days have been simple and monotonous lately.
During the day, she chats with Qin Sulan online, reviews the scripts she's written before, and then spends a few hours writing new content. In the evenings, she goes out for a few hours, always bringing back a roasted sweet potato.
However, the aunt said that since the day before yesterday, Xi Jia has been coming back empty-handed. She even forgot to buy roasted sweet potatoes.
That evening, Ji Qingshi returned to see Xi Jia.
Xi Jia was in her bedroom. He brought some fruit upstairs. [Open the door.]
[Unlocked.]
Ji Qingshi came in, and Xi Jia turned around, "Not working overtime?"
Work is not as important as you.
Xi Jia propped her head up with her hand, a smile playing on her lips. "When did you become so pretentious?"
Ji Qingshi: [I'm going on a business trip tomorrow and won't be back for two days. Message me if you need anything.]
Xi Jia: "Where to?"
Ji Qingshi: [It's only accessible by plane; it's very far.]
Seeing that he was being coy, Xi Jia said, "Fine, don't tell me then."
Ji Qingshi wanted to take her out for a walk. "Why don't you come with me?" he asked.
Xi Jia shook her head and pointed to the computer screen, "Aunt Qin invited me to her house tomorrow. She has a sick son, so I'll go and give him some psychological counseling. His name is quite interesting, Qin Cucu."
Ji Qingshi: "..."
Xi Jia picked up a strawberry and put it in her mouth before continuing to write her script.
Ji Qingshi leaned against the edge of the table, staring at Xi Jia for a long time before deciding to take her on the business trip with him. Otherwise, he would have no reason to go there.
Jia, come with me on my business trip the day after tomorrow.
Xi Jia continued typing: "No time, I'm busy submitting manuscripts and making money. You should leave now and don't bother me."
Ji Qingshi: [The place I'm on this business trip is a good place for you to find writing inspiration. Sharpening your axe won't delay your work.]
Xi Jia reached out her hand, and Ji Qingshi took out a savings card and gave it to her.
How much money is inside?
[At least seven figures.]
For the sake of money, Xi Jia decided to accompany Ji Qingshi on his business trip.
Ji Qingshi sent a message to his secretary, asking her to reschedule the flight to the day after tomorrow and book an additional ticket. He sent Xi Jia's ID number to her.
Upon receiving the message, the secretary revised the order and sent a screenshot of a trending topic to Ji Qingshi.
Yesterday, the set of "The Rest of My Life" was open to reporters. At the time, they were filming a scene between Ye Qiu and Huo Teng, during which Huo Teng carried Ye Qiu in a princess carry.
This GIF went viral and became a trending topic online.
Ji Qingshi deleted the screenshot his secretary had sent. The room was a bit stuffy. He asked Xi Jia, "When will you be finished? I'll walk with you tonight."
Xi Jia was writing a key dialogue when Ji Qingshi interrupted her.
"Ji Qingshi, are you annoying or what! If you want to stroll around, go by yourself. I don't have time for that." She shoved the fruit plate into Ji Qingshi's hands and pushed him out the door. "Don't bother me, I need to write my script."
Then, he locked the door from the inside.
Ji Qingshi stared at the door. These days, she'd even forgotten how to stroll down the street.
At 10 p.m., Xi Jia finished today's draft, went through it once, and was quite satisfied.
The chat window lit up. Qin Sulan: [Jiajia, what time are you coming over tomorrow? We'll make dumplings.]
Xi Jia: [Is 9 AM okay?]
Qin Sulan: [No rush, you should sleep a little longer.]
Xi Jia asked, "Auntie, what musical works has Cu Cu composed? I'd like to know."
This stumped Qin Sulan. Mo Yushen had no idea how to compose music. She turned to look at her son in the living room; Mo Yushen was watching a video on his camera.
It's a clip of Xi Jia's competition that Secretary Ding recorded back then.
Qin Sulan: [He's currently refusing to discuss anything related to music. He's been engrossed in photography lately.]
Xi Jia: [Photography is good too, at least you have a hobby. Auntie, please get some rest, see you tomorrow.]
Finally, she got through it. After saying goodnight, Qin Sulan exited the chat window.
She went out to find Mo Yushen and explained the situation. "I told Jiajia that you're obsessed with photography, so you two won't have to communicate too much. You can take Jiajia out to take some photos."
Mo Yushen turned off the camera; that was a good idea.
Qin Sulan suggested, "Then you should study photography."
Mo Yu responded.
Qin Sulan also wanted to ask him about the group's situation, the cooperation plan with Professor Xiang, and what the board of directors had to say.
Mo Yushen turned off the camera and leaned back on the sofa to rest with his eyes closed. Qin Sulan swallowed her words again.
"Go to bed early if you're tired."
"Not sleepy."
Qin Sulan took a blanket and covered him with it. She picked up a book and read it, keeping Mo Yushen company.
Mo Yushen received a phone call; it was from a friend.
My friend was also asked by his father-in-law to inquire about Xi Jia's condition. "Xi Jia didn't go to buy roasted sweet potatoes again tonight. My dad is worried about her condition, so he asked me to find out."
His father-in-law was unaware that he knew Mo Yushen. He first asked Zhou Mingqian for information, but Zhou Mingqian didn't have Xi Jia's contact information, so he asked Zhou Mingqian for help.
Mo Yushen: "She doesn't remember. Thank you, Uncle Su. Tell Uncle Su not to leave her any more; she probably won't go there again."
After a few seconds of silence, my friend asked, "What about the collaboration with Professor Xiang?"
Mo Yushen: "The cooperation proposal was not approved."
Mo Lian and his associates voted against it.
However, this won't affect the professor's research progress for the time being. But it can't be delayed indefinitely. The two teams might be able to complement each other in terms of extraction methods.
Before formal cooperation, neither party will reveal their hand to the other.
Mo Yushen brought up another topic: "You're a camera expert, can you recommend one for me to use when shooting outdoor scenes with Xi Jia?"
Friend: "Your Mo family is about to have a leadership transition, and your vacation is over. You still have time to take photos?"
Mo Yushen: "It won't affect anything." If it weren't for his grandfather's feelings, he would have already pulled the rug out from under Mo Lian and removed him from the board of directors.
Grandpa hoped he could help the Mo Group weather this crisis. Grandpa referred to his equity dispute with Mo Lian as the Mo Group's calamity.
Before hanging up, Mo Yushen once again asked a friend to convey his gratitude to Uncle Su.
Qin Sulan put the book aside, and only after Mo Yushen put down the phone did she speak, "Mom wants to discuss something with you, and Mom will listen to whatever you say."
Mo Yushen had already guessed most of it, and he gestured for his mother to speak.
Qin Sulan: "Your dad messaged me yesterday, asking to meet up to talk about company matters. I'm guessing it's related to Mo's Group."
Mo Yushen replied without hesitation, "No. You didn't take any money from him 25 years ago. Now that you're old, wouldn't you feel resentful if you asked him for money again? You can go see him if you want, but I don't want those shares."
Qin Sulan: "Then Mom won't go." She couldn't let her son feel uncomfortable.
As for whether I'm still upset or not, I've long since let it go.
Qin Sulan: "When I was young, I was proud and didn't want a single penny from him. Now that I'm older, I've become more realistic. What's the point of talking about being noble with that kind of person? Once the friendship is gone, it's all about money."
Mo Yushen chimed in, "Then have Xi Jia write you a time-travel script. Travel back to before you divorced that scumbag."
Qin Sulan chuckled. Her mood improved considerably.
"Good night." Mo Yushen picked up his camera and stood up.
Qin Sulan: "Good night."
Mo Yushen returned to his room and went to the walk-in closet to find clothes for tomorrow. He finally chose a black shirt; black was a somber color. He hoped this would elicit sympathy from Xi Jia.
Xi Jia was also awake, choosing what to wear tomorrow.
She chose a white dress; she had to be gentle, like a kind older sister next door, to lead Qin Cucu out of her closed-off world.