Chapter 77: Could It Be That She Was Overly Suspicious?

To avoid giving Shen Ying any reason to nitpick, Xu An’an only managed a few hours of sleep before dawn and got up quietly, only to have the man beside her pull her back in a possessive manner. She struggled, her voice soft and nasal with sleep. “Jiang Li, stop it.”

“I really have to get up.”

She sounded annoyed, but there wasn’t the slightest threat in her tone. The man, his eyes still closed, released her.

Xu An’an truly didn’t want to get up, but she had no choice. She quietly nudged Jiang Li with her foot; after all, she was already up! How infuriating!

Her kick was feeble, and she yawned repeatedly, which only made the man’s lips curl into a smile as he finally opened his eyes.

A faint light filtered through the drawn curtains. He watched as Xu An’an’s slender figure moved around the edge of the bed, picked up a hair tie from the table, and carelessly gathered her hair into a bun. Next, she stooped to pick up the clothes scattered on the carpet.

For reasons he couldn’t explain, he found immense satisfaction in this tranquil scene.

Sensing the man’s gaze behind her, Xu An’an turned, uncomfortable. “What are you staring at?”

“Staring,” he replied.

She glared at his roguish smile, his messy hair and disheveled appearance adding a rebellious charm to his handsome face. His brows and eyes held a fierce, untamable quality, and his gaze was deep and piercing, black as ink.

Realizing she was being teased, Xu An’an shot him a glare, “Boring!”

She stormed into the bathroom to wash up. Fooling around with Jiang Li had already wasted plenty of time.

Xu An’an quickly finished her morning routine. She still had to comb her hair and apply moisturizer, but she decided to skip makeup for now.

She noticed Jiang Li was also awake, sitting against the headboard under the glow of a warm yellow wall lamp.

Seeing him idle, Xu An’an had a sudden idea. She pulled a chair over and sat in front of him. “I’ll comb my hair—you put moisturizer on for me.”

“It’s simple—just rub it in your hands and smooth it over my face.”

Combing her hair required precision, and Xu An’an didn’t trust Jiang Li with that.

Jiang Li raised an eyebrow, scooped up a large dollop of the cream with one finger, nearly making Xu An’an’s heart ache. This was expensive, high-end moisturizer!

Forget it, she thought. Jiang Li wouldn’t understand women’s products anyway.

She tilted her small face up and closed her eyes. Her face was delicately small, with thick, long lashes, an elegant nose, and full, glossy lips—a true beauty in the making.

Jiang Li suppressed his inner urge as he gently dabbed the moisturizer onto her face, softly massaging it in as if afraid his rough palms might scratch her delicate skin.

“Is it done?”

Xu An’an felt her face grow warm from his touch. She opened her eyes and met his deep, dark gaze.

Ring, ring, ring!

Xu An’an’s alarm shattered the fleeting intimacy. She scrambled to her feet, packing her phone and belongings into her bag. “Let’s go!”

Remembering he’d instructed Qi Xize the night before, Jiang Li figured Qi’s people would have breakfast ready for Xu An’an. He got up and headed for the shower.

Indeed, Qi Xize’s people had prepared a lavish breakfast, surprising and delighting Xu Wanwan, Shen Ying, and Xu’s father.

After all, Xu Wanwan’s participation in the program was only possible because her father had pulled every string he could. Why was the production team being so generous?

Xu An’an had to buy herself a sandwich and eat in a corner.

“The production team is so thoughtful! Once Wanwan becomes a star, we’ll never forget your kindness,” Shen Ying said, handing out red envelopes to every staff member.

Xu Wanwan’s vanity swelled with satisfaction. “Dad, thank you!”

Then she ran to Xu An’an to flaunt her triumph.

Still harboring resentment over her seven-day detention, Xu Wanwan lowered her voice. “Do you know why I insisted you join the show with me?”

She planned to humiliate Xu An’an on camera, letting the whole internet turn against her.

That way, no one would ever try to take Xu family’s fortune from her again!

Xu An’an lazily lifted her eyes.

“I have no interest in knowing.”

“Hmph. Just make sure you play your role as my foil. Be the supporting act. And if you dare entertain any other ideas, watch out for your sickly mother—”

Smack!

A sharp slap landed, twisting Xu Wanwan’s face to the side.

“Go ahead, make a scene. The cameras are all on us,” Xu An’an sneered. “Let’s see who’s better at fighting—you or me.”

“Just a reminder, I’ve trained in Sanda.”

It was like a bucket of cold water over her head. Xu Wanwan calmed down, her eyes red as she glared fiercely at Xu An’an, gritting her teeth. “Just you wait!”

Since everything happened in a corner, no one else noticed.

Xu Wanwan went upstairs to cover the handprint on her cheek with foundation, then brought the cameraman to film her room.

The cameraman turned to Xu An’an. “And where is the eldest miss’s room?”

Since the two sisters were both involved, both rooms needed to be filmed.

Unfortunately, the Xu family no longer had a room for Xu An’an.

Shen Ying quickly stepped in. “This way.”

She had already ordered a guest room to be tidied up; that would be Xu An’an’s room.

Xu An’an went through the motions for the filming like a puppet.

Once the home scenes were done, Xu An’an and Xu Wanwan had to leave for the next shoot, first by car, then a half-hour ferry ride to the island location.

Before departure, Shen Ying yanked Xu An’an hard.

“I’m warning you—don’t pull any tricks, or you know what’ll happen.”

“Mother, I understand.”

Xu An’an gritted her teeth through the pain. Damn, of all places, why pinch her waist?

The production team had arranged a luxurious van for Xu Wanwan, complete with a top-tier makeup artist and three personal assistants.

Xu An’an watched coldly.

She assumed her father had arranged all this for Xu Wanwan to build her image as a wealthy heiress. It had always been this way—everything good went to Xu Wanwan first.

Xu Wanwan was smug. “If it weren’t for me, you’d never get to ride in such a nice car or enjoy such privileges in your life.”

Xu An’an was speechless. If she had a choice, she’d rather take the bus.

But no—Xu Wanwan wanted to create the illusion of sisterly affection, getting out of the car together for the cameras.

“Sis, you didn’t put on makeup? Perfect, let Sister Li do it for you.”

On camera, Xu Wanwan smiled sweetly and innocently.

Off camera, she and the makeup artist were already in cahoots. The makeup artist looked at Xu An’an. “Miss Xu, please close your eyes and cooperate.”

Anyone who didn’t know better would think Xu An’an was being difficult.

Xu An’an knew this was the beginning of Xu Wanwan’s schemes, but she had no way to resist. She closed her eyes and let the makeup artist do as she pleased.

At worst, she’d just have to endure an ugly makeup job.

To her surprise, the reflection in the mirror was perfectly normal—a light, natural look. Had she been too suspicious?

Yet Xu Wanwan’s smile was full of malice.

Even Sister Li seemed a bit guilty, avoiding Xu An’an’s gaze.

Xu An’an’s face darkened. What exactly were they plotting?