Raindrops fell on Jiang Zhiyuan's face. His coat was soaked by the rain and his hair was wet into wisps. In the shadow, he stared at Jiang Se without blinking. He held his breath after she came out and dared not breathe loudly.
Even if he knew, even if he coughed and breathed loudly, she might not notice him in the corner.
The cinema was surrounded by a busy street, with people holding umbrellas bustling around, and the cinema door was crowded with people coming and going. Maybe no one would notice him in the corner, but he was still afraid of disturbing Jiang Se, afraid that she would turn around and look at him with a strange and surprised expression.
The shadow cast by the illuminated billboard clearly separates darkness and light, making people afraid to take that step easily.
She was destined to be in the light, while he should live in the shadows.
After learning that Cesare had spoken for her and worked with her, and that there would be a premiere of Cesare's movie "The Lost City" tonight, which was just a guess made online that given Jiang Se's relationship with Cesare, she might attend such an occasion, Jiang Zhiyuan had stood here very early, waiting for a tiny chance to see her.
He knew his identity and that the Feng family was still keeping an eye on him, so he would not do anything rash, nor would he recognize Jiang Se and make her related to him and tarnish her reputation.
But this couldn't stop him from wanting to see his daughter. He just needed to look at her from a distance.
When Jiang Se really came out of the cinema, even though she was wrapped in a down jacket, Jiang Zhiyuan recognized her at once. She was thinner than she looked on TV, and looked very similar to him when he was young.
She inherited his tall and thin figure, and is well-behaved and quiet.
He still remembered how she cried loudly in his arms when she was just born. He never expected that it would become the closest memory he had with his daughter in his life.
At this moment, he felt extremely jealous of Zhou Hui. Jiang Se could call her "mother" openly, and he could get her phone and hear her voice at any time.
In the distance, Jiang Se seemed to be talking to someone. Jiang Zhiyuan stared at her and reached into his pocket with trembling hands, where there was a pack of cigarettes that had been opened for several days and was now soaked by the rain.
In fact, he hadn't smoked for several days. This hobby had been with him for most of his life. He developed this bad habit when he was young and ignorant. He could not quit it when he was in prison and always found ways to get some.
He never stopped even the cheapest ones.
But after being released from prison, Jiang Zhiyuan decided to quit smoking.
He has no diploma, and the jobs he finds all rely on physical effort, and the salary is not much. For someone like him who wants to "chase stars", smoking is a considerable expense even if he is frugal.
He reached into his pocket and grabbed the pack of cigarettes that was already a little moist. He tried to take it out several times, but put it back every time.
After Feng Nan said this, he looked confident of victory, raised his chin, and looked a little proud.
Jiang Se smiled, turned to Xia Chaoqun and said:
"Sister Chaoqun, let me talk to her for a while."
Xia Chaoqun nodded without even looking at Feng Nan, as if there was no such person standing in front of him.
Feng Nan was somewhat unwilling to accept her neglect, and could not help but said:
"Aren't you afraid of what I might do to her? Or do you think I wouldn't dare? Xia Chaoqun!"
Jiang Se couldn't help but curl up the corners of her mouth. She had practiced fighting for more than half a year for the movie "God's Redemption". Although she later changed to play the role of "Lanni" and lost weight according to Cesare's requirements, she did not stop the fighting lessons.
Rather than worrying about Feng Nan hitting her, Xia Chaoqun might be more worried that she would beat Feng Nan and get in the news.
Xia Chaoqun didn't bother to pay attention to Feng Nan. The two walked a few steps and chose a seat in a corner. Feng Nan was about to speak when Jiang Se suddenly asked:
"Who are you?"
It was Feng Nan who asked this question in the beginning, threatening Jiang Se with it, but he didn't expect that Jiang Se would throw the same question back at him.
She was caught off guard, her expression froze, and the hand holding the cigarette trembled. The cigarette butt fell and landed on her arms around her chest, leaving a little ash, which eventually fell into the puddle and went out with a "hiss". The few wisps of smoke were quickly extinguished by the rain and fog.
Feng Nan felt the pain in his arm and came back to his senses. He shook his arm and couldn't help scolding:
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
"You wanted to introduce me to Jufeng Entertainment. It's obvious that you know a lot about Jufeng Entertainment and you want to harm me. You helped Zhu Pan and wanted to suppress me. These prove that there is a grudge between you and me. According to the people in the Feng family, a few years ago, your personality changed drastically and your preferences were completely different."
Jiang Se looked at Feng Nan who was still holding a cigarette, "Without any setbacks or changes, I learned to smoke and drink, and my fake relationship with Zhao Junhan became real. I took the initiative to enter the entertainment industry, and I became unfamiliar with the people and things that were familiar to me before."
Feng Nan's pupils constricted at this moment. Even though she had put thick powder on her face, it was difficult to hide her extremely ugly expression.
Jiang Se was very close to her and could feel her trembling body and see the fear in her eyes.
What she thought was the biggest secret and the greatest support in the world was now exposed nakedly by Jiang Se, making her instinctively want to cover her ears, close her eyes, and hide in a safe corner.
The face in front of me turned into the hysterical and aggressive woman in my memory. Her eyes, with extremely exaggerated eyeliner, looked like the eyes of a devil when they widened. They were very scary.
Feng Nan wanted to reach out and push her away, but her body seemed to be out of control. She thought she had used up all her strength, but she only moved a finger.
Maybe she was too shocked, she thought that 'herself' no longer existed in this world and no one would discover her secret, but it was revealed tonight.
"Everyone in the Feng family says that you are very strange. You don't know a lot about Feng Nan. Your handwriting doesn't look like his own. You can't tell much about your past. Who are you?"
At this moment, the blood in Feng Nan's body began to flow faster, making her hands and feet cold. She could hear the sound of blood vessels beating violently in her head, and every beat made her dizzy.
When she saw Jiang Se's face, it overlapped with the expression she had when she reached out to push her in her previous life. She suddenly screamed, raised her arms to hug herself, and the next moment she wanted to reach out to grab Jiang Se.
Jiang Zhiyuan's eyes were always on Jiang Se. He just wanted to take a closer look at her and didn't think about getting closer to her.
But after she followed Feng Nan away, Jiang Zhiyuan noticed Feng Nan standing aside.
He never paid attention to news in the entertainment industry that was not related to Jiang Se, but he recognized Feng Nan, or to be more precise, recognized her identity.
This is also a coincidence. Jiang Se and Feng Nan have worked together on the filming of "Rescue Operation".
The media had hyped up her identity. To many viewers, netizens and Feng Nan's fans, she was the daughter of Zhongnan Industrial and the fiancée of Zhao Junhan, the heir to Jianghua Group.
But to Jiang Zhiyuan, she was an ant that was once in his hands, a fish that escaped the net and almost died at his hands in his early years.
When she stood with Jiang Se, Jiang Zhiyuan was already alert.
Jiang Zhiyuan knew very well that he had a grudge with the Feng family in his early years and that the Feng family had sent people to keep an eye on him after he was released from prison.
He has always behaved well. After he was released from prison, he cut off contact with his old friends and declined invitations from some gangs. Now he keeps to himself and has no contact with his old gang friends. Whenever he meets Feng Zhongliang, he raises his hands to show his obedience.
The Feng family should know very well what kind of results he wants to get from doing these things.
But now that Feng Nan has found Jiang Se, what does she want to do
While he was trying his best to expose everything to the Feng family and allowing their subordinates to monitor him, the little girl who survived the Feng family was bullying his daughter.
He exhaled slowly, lowered his head, took out a cigarette from his pocket, took out one and put it in his mouth. His hanging hair blocked his forehead, and drops of water rolled down the corners of his eyes. His breath became a little gloomy, and his eyes were tainted with the chill of the imperial capital in February.
The cold air around Jiang Zhiyuan seemed to freeze. He bit the cigarette, sighed, smiled slightly, lowered his eyes, and murmured softly:
"Don't make me angry."
Jiang Se saw that Feng Nan seemed to be crazy. He first screamed, then hugged his arms, and tried to push him away.
When Feng Nan reached out his hand, she hesitated for two seconds, wondering whether to use his backhand to pin her to the ground.
There were people coming and going here. She was wearing a thick down jacket and the lights were dim. The people entering and leaving the theater were there to attend the premiere of "The Lost City" tonight.
People who came to the theater were all there to see the movies or the stars who attended the premiere, and no one would notice her and Feng Nan.
But if she had an argument with Feng Nan, someone might have seen it.
She still remembered Xia Chaoqun's previous look. If she pushed and shoved Feng Nan and was photographed, it would be news.
She was still a little embarrassed, but the next second Jiang Se didn't have to care about such things anymore.
Because she keenly noticed that a stranger was walking towards this side. This person took big and rhythmic steps, making dull sounds when stepping on the ground. Jiang Se could even hear the subtle sound of water splashed by the soles of his shoes.
Before she could look up, the man had already walked towards her. She instinctively felt that something was wrong and moved aside. However, Feng Nan, who was rushing towards her, was unable to avoid her and bumped into her.
With a bang, Feng Nan felt as if he had hit a solid wall and fell backwards.
A hand reached out and held her arm firmly, "Be careful."
A deep male voice reminded him softly, but for some reason, Feng Nan felt a chill in his ears. It didn't sound like a caring reminder, but rather a warning.
She raised her head and first noticed Jiang Zhiyuan's eyes. Those eyes were dark and calm, like the endless sea at night, containing an elusive crisis.
That face seemed somewhat familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere before. She frowned, thinking about it.
After Jiang Zhiyuan helped her stand up, he quickly let go of her hand and put it back into his pocket.
He could feel Jiang Se's eyes on him. He lowered his head and walked quickly forward. Soon his tall figure disappeared in the shadows at the corner outside the cinema door.
Jiang Se just saw his profile when he grabbed Feng Nan, but he lowered his head in the night, so he couldn't see clearly. He vaguely felt as if he had seen him somewhere.
Goose bumps appeared on my arms, like an instinctive reaction to danger.
She rubbed her arms and wondered if she was overreacting.
The man looked like someone who just passed by accidentally. Fortunately, he interrupted him and avoided being grabbed by Feng Nan.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Xia Chaoqun turning his head to look at her. Mo Anqi drove out of the garage. Jiang Se frowned, and without paying any attention to Feng Nan who was obviously a little abnormal at the moment, she trotted towards Xia Chaoqun.
"Who is it?"
She was still thinking about the person she had met before. Jiang Se had a good memory and must have an impression of the people he had met before.
It was like when she first met Tao Tao from Longxing Studio and was interviewed by her once, and she could still call out her name when they met again a few years later.
If she had seen the man before, she would definitely remember where she met him.
She thought about it again and again, carefully thinking about the chances of meeting this person since her rebirth, but she really couldn't remember.
Seeing her frowning and thinking hard, Xia Chaoqun recalled Feng Nan's aggressive behavior and could not help asking:
"Did Feng Nan say anything?"
"It's okay." Jiang Se shook her head. It was difficult for Feng Nan to cause trouble to her. Even if Feng Nan had ill intentions towards her now, he was powerless.
Since he had been on guard against her and Feng Zhongliang had recognized him, even if Feng Nan had evil intentions, it would be difficult for him to make any waves.
She was still thinking about the man who turned and left after only a vague glance at him, and instinctively felt that something was not right.
"Sister Chaoqun, last time you mentioned to me that you wanted to hire a bodyguard..." Jiang Se thought about it and mentioned the matter of hiring a bodyguard to Xia Chaoqun. She felt that the previous man was very dangerous.
She has always been very concerned about her own safety.
The nightmare of being kidnapped in her childhood made her very sensitive to this feeling. Once she found that something was wrong, she would first want to protect herself better to avoid regretting it later.
Xia Chaoqun nodded without asking her the reason. Jiang Se was still wondering who the man was before, and the car suddenly became quiet.
Feng Nan felt the same as Jiang Se at this moment, and she found it even more strange than Jiang Se.
The words the man said earlier and the look in his eyes made her feel cold all over.
People who have died once are always particularly sensitive to crises. The words of that person echoed in her ears again and again, "Be careful."
This sentence was unusually calm, without any waves. The more Feng Nan thought about it, the more he felt it was a warning. (To be continued)