Ever since Jiang Yanchen and Ji Zhaoxi got together, Brother Li often found himself wondering if he was Jiang Yanchen's manager or Ji Zhaoxi's.
He was the one handling all of Ji Zhaoxi's brand events and collaborations.
At the beginning of the second month, Vantier Jewelry and Leviathan Auto simultaneously announced Ji Zhaoxi as their new brand ambassador.
This was a milestone that ordinary actors would take over a decade to reach. Rumor also had it that she was going to shoot the cover for CROWN, the leading magazine among the top five, later this month.
The more people looked at these moves, the more familiar they seemed. The public was in an uproar.
[???]
[Did Ji Zhaoxi agree to be with Jiang Yanchen just for his resources?]
[Jiang Yanchen, you're dead to me! You've been in the industry for so long, only to give all your resources away to pave the way for a woman! Disgusting!]
[Is the person above still not desensitized to this? These two have been together for a while now.]
[Isn't this completely normal? If he doesn't support his own girlfriend, who else would he support?]
Being Jiang Yanchen's manager was actually quite simple, which left Brother Li with little room to showcase his skills.
But ever since Jiang Yanchen asked Brother Li to help out Ding Li, his abilities finally found a place to shine.
From handling various business negotiations and controlling online public opinion to finding suitable scripts for Ji Zhaoxi, Brother Li could no longer spare any time for Jiang Yanchen. He was running around for Ji Zhaoxi every single day.
His excitement only lasted until this very moment.
"Old Li, have you forgotten whose manager you are?" The director crossed his arms, looking at him as if hesitating to speak.
Brother Li whispered, "Yanchen asked me to do this. How about you go ask him?"
The director sighed. "I won't bother asking."
How would he dare to ask?
"But this isn't a long-term solution. Why don't we just have Ms. Ji join our company?"
Brother Li squeezed out a smile. "Director, it doesn't seem like they have any intention of doing that."
The director leaned back in his chair and sighed again. "You're with them all the time. Tell me, how should we handle this?"
Brother Li looked at him with a serious expression. "Director, to be honest with you, Yanchen said he wants to quit."
The director's face changed. "Why? No one is forcing him to do anything, right?"
Brother Li nodded. "I had to persuade him for a long time to talk him out of it. Director, I think the ultimate solution to this is to just let him do whatever he wants. After all, it's not harming our company's interests."
Looking as if he had aged decades in an instant, the director waved weakly at Brother Li.
Although it didn't cause any direct losses to the company, if Jiang Yanchen's resources were given to the company's own artists, there was no telling how much profit it could have brought them.
Brother Li found a script for Ji Zhaoxi. The storyline focused on the struggles between a mother and daughter in an ancient aristocratic family.
The cast consisted entirely of veteran actors who held significant influence.
The director hired was Lu Jun, one of the very few directors to have swept the top awards at all three major film festivals. There was a rumor in the industry that as long as you acted in Lu Jun's films, you were guaranteed to win an award.
Lu Jun never thought the day would come when he would have to bow down to money. From the very first day of shooting, he had been in a foul mood, and he didn't have a single good impression of Ji Zhaoxi.
He was exceptionally strict with Ji Zhaoxi on set. On the first day, she forgot a single line, and Lu Jun mocked her in front of the hundreds of cast and crew members. Over the following months of filming, Ji Zhaoxi never forgot a line again.
Lu Jun scathingly criticized Ji Zhaoxi for her poor action scenes, calling them soft and weak, asking what on earth she was doing. After that, Ji Zhaoxi hired a professional instructor to train with her every day until she filmed a take that Lu Jun couldn't find a single fault with.
Every time Lu Jun yelled at Ji Zhaoxi, she never talked back. After being scolded, she would just obediently start practicing.
There were many times when Jiang Yanchen looked so furious that he seemed ready to rush up and punch Lu Jun, but for some reason, he never actually laid a hand on him.
"This take is not bad," Lu Jun said, looking at the monitor and repeatedly dragging the progress bar back and forth.
The assistant watched Ji Zhaoxi's action sequence. How could this merely be "not bad"? It was absolutely excellent. Anyone could see how much effort Ji Zhaoxi had put in behind the scenes.
Ji Zhaoxi was still going. Suspended on wirework, the freezing wind continuously pierced through her thin costume.
"Three, two, one, action!"
At the martial arts choreographer's command, the wires instantly tightened. Ji Zhaoxi was violently yanked into the air, completing a highly difficult mid-air somersault.
Just then, a stuntman landed a heavy punch directly on Ji Zhaoxi's shoulder. She instantly lost her balance, rolling several times across the coarse, sandy ground before seamlessly grabbing a handful of sand and throwing it at him.
In those few seconds of opening, Ji Zhaoxi thrust her knee fiercely into the stuntman's chest. The wires creaked incessantly. During the backdrops, Ji Zhaoxi not only had to precisely match her opponent's force time and time again, but she also had to execute a side flip in mid-air before landing heavily on the ground.
Lu Jun's eyes were glued to the monitor before he finally spoke. "Cut."
A collective sigh of relief echoed through the set.
As soon as it was over, Jiang Yanchen silently picked Ji Zhaoxi up in his arms.
Her face was extremely pale, and from being constantly battered by the cold wind, the rims of her eyes and the tip of her nose were glaringly red.
The next scene didn't involve her, so she could rest for a while. Ji Zhaoxi leaned limply against Jiang Yanchen's chest, and it wasn't long before exhaustion dragged her into a deep sleep.
Jiang Yanchen carefully applied medicine to her injuries. Upon seeing a dark purple bruise on her wrist, his eyes immediately reddened.
But it was obvious that she loved acting. Every time she finished a shoot, her eyes would sparkle as she looked at him. At home, she would happily ask him to run lines with her.
She simply loved acting. No matter how many thoughts or reservations he had in his heart, he couldn't voice them.
"What, does your heart ache? Are you regretting it?" Lu Jun walked over, looking amused.
Where was that arrogance from when he was throwing money at him?
Jiang Yanchen remained silent for a moment. "As long as she doesn't regret it, neither do I."
He would only give her what she wanted, not what he merely assumed was best for her.
This was the path she had chosen for herself.
The filming for this movie took a long time. Lu Jun was incredibly strict about his films, refusing to let even the smallest detail slide, which meant they had to shoot many additional scenes later on.
After the movie wrapped up, Ji Zhaoxi stayed home catching up on sleep. Aside from eating and using the restroom, she spent almost all of her time sleeping.
Jiang Yanchen slept with her as well. He had originally wanted to play games next to her, but he felt it would be a shame not to spend this time sleeping beside her, so he held her in his arms and slept too.
He didn't know how long they had slept. Jiang Yanchen suddenly felt a tickle on his face. The moment he opened his eyes, Ji Zhaoxi took a bite of his neck.
Jiang Yanchen's face flushed bright red. He instinctively shrank back a little, his voice still thick with sleep. "Are you hungry?"
Seeing his shy demeanor, Ji Zhaoxi couldn't hold back a laugh.
Jiang Yanchen, embarrassed and flustered, grumbled, "What's so funny?"
Before Ji Zhaoxi could react, Jiang Yanchen suddenly pinned her beneath him. He bit down hard on her lip, forcefully making her part her lips as he kissed and sucked every inch, giving her no room to retreat.
Both of their breaths began to quicken, and an intimate, romantic atmosphere filled the entire room.
After a long while, the room finally fell quiet again.
Jiang Yanchen tightly embraced Ji Zhaoxi around the waist, burying his face in her arms. The mere thought of what he had just done made his ears burn bright red.
He mumbled, "Ji Zhaoxi, stop bullying me all the time."
He liked her so much, yet she picked on him every single day.
Of course, Ji Zhaoxi refused to listen. "No!"
Jiang Yanchen choked on his words and fell silent.
Whatever. He was already happy enough just having her by his side.
Jiang Yanchen suddenly recalled what his older brother had said to him the other day.
"You treat her so well. Aren't you afraid she will abandon you after she gets everything?"
"I'm not afraid."
"Why?"
"Because I treat her well."
His brother looked utterly speechless. "Isn't that just pure simp behavior?"
Jiang Yanchen replied with complete confidence, "So what if I'm a simp? If I don't dote on her for a single day, I feel uncomfortable!"
His brother was completely at a loss for words and couldn't even be bothered to speak to him anymore.
Jiang Yanchen closed his eyes, holding Ji Zhaoxi in his embrace, and sleepily nuzzled against her.
It was true, anyway. She had even told him before that he was like a little puppy.
