Thinking carefully, if she hadn’t decisively flushed away the drugs that afternoon, the moment the drugs were discovered would have ruined her entire life.
Now, she suddenly realized how close she had been to disaster, breaking out in a cold sweat.
She took a small sip of alcohol, not drinking much.
Now was not the time to get drunk. She couldn’t afford to be intoxicated.
No one knew what might happen in the next few hours.
Perhaps Ji Yuan would continue to smear her to deflect blame, or Yue Ding would pressure her to beg for mercy, or Ji Zhixian might find her too troublesome and want to terminate their contract.
Ji Zhixian – Lin Xiaoman thought of him again.
Since her debut, she had constantly been plagued by scandals and troubles. It was Ji Zhixian who had always cleaned up her messes behind the scenes. Although he never said it directly, she knew this very well.
The company saw her negative press as beneficial and never attempted to clear her name. So, every time she tried to salvage her reputation, the people praising her online were not just fans, but some were arranged by Ji Zhixian.
Things she couldn’t accomplish, Ji Zhixian always helped her complete.
She knew all of this.
Although Ji Zhixian had a difficult temper and strange demands, he had always been dedicated to her.
She wondered if Ji Zhixian was truly only doing this because he harbored resentment towards Tang Feifei, and seeing her resemblance to Tang Feifei made him feel he could restore his self-esteem?
But every time he mentioned Tang Feifei, his tone seemed more like admiration and fondness rather than dislike.
Feeling frustrated, Lin Xiaoman couldn’t help but take another sip of alcohol.
At that time, when she had just met Ji Zhixian, their relationship was not yet hostile.
Ji Zhixian would inexplicably get angry with her, dislike her drinking, and sarcastically mock her when she was hurt, but she had just seen it as childish contradictory behavior.
“Do you like me?”
This was after Huo Qizhi became jealous because of Ji Zhixian, and she decided to have an open conversation with him.
“Don’t flatter yourself! Do you think everyone would like you? That you’re the center of the world?” Ji Zhixian flatly denied.
“You care about me,” she said casually, “Isn’t that love?”
Ji Zhixian showed an expression of disgust: “No, I absolutely would not like you.”
Later, Tang Feifei discovered that he seemed to truly dislike her – he always opposed what she said and was extremely averse to her actions, even avoiding proximity when filming.
Arrogant and self-confident, she believed everyone would like her and was accustomed to people being kind to her. Only Ji Zhixian looked down on her. Like a child, she became antagonistic and made him her enemy, constantly opposing him.
But if Ji Zhixian truly hated her, then who was the wonderful person he spoke of?
A ridiculous thought suddenly crossed Lin Xiaoman’s mind.
No, it was impossible. Ji Zhixian could not possibly like her.
It couldn’t be that he signed the keeping contract just because her face resembled his past love. Impossible, he is gay. Yes, he absolutely could not like her. Lin Xiaoman shook her head and leaned back. She guessed she was probably thinking nonsense because she was drunk, something she never used to do before.
A shadow fell over her, and Lin Xiaoman looked up with blurry, intoxicated eyes. The man in front of her pursed his lips, his cold and handsome face shrouded in shadow, his eyes seeming to absorb all light, deep and bottomless.
“Ji Zhixian?” Lin Xiaoman called softly, her voice hoarse from drinking. Ji Zhixian’s heart stirred, and his Adam’s apple bobbed.
“I must be drunk,” Lin Xiaoman laughed lightly. “Why are you here?” He shouldn’t be here.
“You are drunk,” It was Ji Zhixian’s usual cold voice.
Lin Xiaoman’s eyes widened, becoming more clear: “Why are you here?” As she asked this question, the thoughts she had just tried to suppress were restless, about to break through the ground.
She seemed to have an answer in her heart, but didn’t dare believe it. She stared intently at Ji Zhixian’s lips, afraid of hearing the words she was thinking.
“Just happened to have a project in this area.”
Lin Xiaoman breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t here for her.
“Came to check out the excitement?” she teased.
Ji Zhixian looked at her deeply, his profound eyes appearing even darker in the dim light.
Lin Xiaoman avoided his gaze, laughing: “But this doesn’t mean you’re right. My agent is very capable, just unfortunately stuck with an unlucky person…”
“And me,” Ji Zhixian suddenly spoke, low and reliable.
From the moment he entered the bar, he had seen Lin Xiaoman huddled in the corner. He had always thought Lin Xiaoman was unbreakable, that nothing could defeat her, but now he realized she wasn’t as strong as she appeared. She was just in her early twenties, a girl who needed protection.
“With me, they can’t touch you,” Ji Zhixian’s gaze became tender.
Lin Xiaoman felt uncomfortable, her previously relaxed heart tensing up again.
Suddenly, a clear female voice rang out in the bar, echoing in the quiet space.
It was the song Ji Zhixian wrote for her.
To help her sing it well, Ji Zhixian had spent seven days and nights with her, correcting her note by note.
Thinking about it now, when had Ji Zhixian ever done something like this for any other singer? At the time, she only thought he was difficult, overlooking the fact itself.
If not for her, why would this god whom all singers begged for guidance actively seek out trouble?
It was because of her.
Did he really like her?
This thought, which she had always kept hidden in her heart, finally emerged in the light. Looking at the man before her with his slightly changing expression, a hint of sadness in his cold features, she became increasingly uneasy.
“This is Tang Feifei’s song,” she suddenly spoke to test him.
Ji Zhixian remained silent.
Lin Xiaoman forced a smile, with a hint of sarcasm: “Didn’t expect anyone still listens to her song.”
Ji Zhixian’s previously tender gaze turned cold, and the unsettling shadow in Lin Xiaoman’s heart grew larger.
“Shut up!” Ji Zhixian could no longer hold back, standing up with a gaze as cold as ice.
“Did I say something wrong?” Lin Xiaoman laughed defiantly.
“It seems I’ve been too indulgent with you, allowing you to be so disrespectful,” Ji Zhixian’s expression grew increasingly ugly, and Lin Xiaoman’s heart grew colder.
Lin Xiaoman’s mind seemed to explode, unable to hear what he was saying, with only one thought—
Ji Zhixian liked Tang Feifei.
That’s why he chose to keep a mistress who was 60% similar to Tang Feifei, why he made her learn Tang Feifei’s mannerisms, why he had always been unconditionally good to her… everything was because of Tang Feifei.
Lin Xiaoman’s expression became sad.
Ji Zhixian’s heart softened. He felt his words were too harsh, but he couldn’t tolerate anyone speaking ill of Tang Feifei. So he turned away, avoiding looking at Lin Xiaoman.
“I’m just stating facts,” Lin Xiaoman continued to laugh coldly. “Didn’t even know her boyfriend was cheating with her best friend, isn’t that stupid?
Enough!” Ji Zhixian interrupted her, his face showing anger, “Get out. The contract is terminated.”
Lin Xiaoman quietly looked at Ji Zhixian, feeling relieved: “Okay.”
After knowing that Ji Zhixian had done everything for her, she couldn’t comfortably accept it all. Even if she would have to walk a path a hundred or thousand times more difficult without Ji Zhixian’s help, she couldn’t take advantage of him.
She couldn’t hurt him again.
Otherwise, how would she be any different from that scumbag Huo Qizhi?
