Taming a Wild Rose - Chapter 4

 Li Ji looked at the man on the big screen and paused before nodding. He didn’t usually care about celebrities, but he had seen quite a lot of brand advertisements endorsed by Chen Shuoxing, so he recognized his face.

He’d heard things like “national white moonlight” or “male god” before.

But—Li Ji wasn’t interested in this right now. He didn’t care about any of that.

He only wanted to pull Sheng Zhao away and end this annoying scene. Ever since the staff member finished introducing him, Sheng Zhao hadn’t spoken another word and instead only frowned slightly in displeasure.

If any other small celebrity or manager heard such news, they would be jumping up and down in excitement. Yet Sheng Zhao’s expression showed no sign of joy, and she ended the conversation under the young man’s shy and hopeful gaze, then walked towards the dressing room with Li Ji.

Li Ji also felt that Sheng Zhao was acting a little strange. He leaned against the door of the dressing room with a half-smile, looking as if he was ready to scold her. “What? Are you a fan of Chen Shuoxing? Did you get so excited that you stopped talking? Are you going to go ask for his autograph?”

“Huh?” Sheng Zhao was still a little dazed from earlier, but she was surprised by his words. “No…” She frowned slightly. “I used to like him, but I’m not that happy right now. I feel like your words are a little sour.”

She patted Li Ji’s shoulder as if to comfort him and said with a smile, “You’ll become a much more famous celebrity than him anyway.”

“You really flatter me.” Li Ji let out a light laugh and his eyes narrowed slightly in delight.

He was craving a cigarette, but he only swallowed and didn’t say anything. He leaned lazily on the makeup table and chatted with Sheng Zhao.

As Li Ji’s manager, Sheng Zhao was supposed to receive a fixed salary. Li Ji had read the contract and noticed that although this was his first time filming, the pay was still quite substantial. During their casual conversation, Li Ji suddenly changed the topic to this and then shot a glance at Sheng Zhao, saying he wanted to give most of the pay to her.

Sheng Zhao was a little confused, but Li Ji seemed to be a little awkward and pressed his lips together to stop the conversation as if he didn’t want Sheng Zhao to mention it.

From what she had seen earlier, Li Ji’s financial situation was indeed not great. He lived in a cheap and unsafe house… Brother Hong had also hinted that he was in debt.

And now, the amount he wanted to give Sheng Zhao was only about the same as what he made at clubs.

So, even though Sheng Zhao knew he didn’t want to talk about this topic anymore, she still asked, “Why? This is your job. The pay should be yours.”

The house couldn’t be sold, and he didn’t have a job at the club right now, so his financial situation was quite dire.

Li Ji covered his eyes with his hands. After a long while, he finally spoke up again. “…You’re so heartless.”

“I just want to give it to you.”

After that, he refused to speak another word.

Sheng Zhao felt that men were like this—sudden mood swings that were impossible to predict. If she kept asking, he would only pout in displeasure.

After the day’s filming ended, Sheng Zhao washed up and lounged on the sofa in her pyjamas. She squinted her eyes as she mercilessly scrolled past Chen Shuoxing’s trending topics on the news and looked for her next schedule.

Her relaxed and lazy appearance made Li Ji raise an eyebrow and laugh. “You look like a woman waiting for her yellow-faced husband to feed her food.”

Sheng Zhao immediately sat up, not because of Li Ji’s comment, but because she stared blankly at her phone screen.

Li Ji noticed her strange expression and paused. “What’s wrong?”

“Huh?” Sheng Zhao paused, then raised a beautiful smile. “Nothing, just a harassing text message.”

On the screen was the photographer from earlier that day sending a message.

“Hey, little girl, I have a question for you.”

“This photo was taken well, and the model is also very good-looking. I think he’s born to do this kind of work. I don’t see much potential in you guys, but I know a boss who really likes Xiao Li. Do you want to let them meet? He’s not someone with a lot of power, but at least he won’t be worried about his next job. I can see you’ve been running around these last few days and it must be exhausting. Ask Xiao Li if he’s interested—if he is, I’ll help you guys out.”

The photographer felt a little guilty. She had been drinking with her friends that night and had no filter when she spoke. She had boasted about how she’d shot a pretty boy that day and said that even if he didn’t become famous, his looks would at least make him a little known.

Her old friends had asked to see the photos, so she showed them and bragged about how good they were. She hadn’t expected someone to take interest in him and kept pestering her to make a connection. If she didn’t, it would be like she wasn’t giving them face, and she couldn’t afford to offend them.

She had been chatting happily with Sheng Zhao earlier and even joked about taking him as an apprentice, but now she was introducing him to someone else to get him into bed. The photographer felt like she’d lost all her dignity, so she spoke with extra caution.

But she also thought this was a good opportunity.

Xiao Li was good-looking, but he was too pretty and alluring. That one glance could make a person’s heart melt.

A man with this kind of face was always a beauty who loved to show off and wanted to sell his body for a good price. Her friend wasn’t too bad; he didn’t like to torture people like other bosses. It wouldn’t be too bad to work for him for two years.

So she didn’t ask Li Ji what he thought and instead asked Sheng Zhao.

She was afraid she’d embarrass Sheng Zhao. They weren’t family or anything, but they were still women.

Of course, the big decisions were always made by the women. What did men know?

She was also afraid that if she went to Li Ji first, she would embarrass Sheng Zhao.

Sheng Zhao lifted a hand in apology and said, “No need.”

The photographer was taken aback. This wasn’t right—why would anyone refuse? It was just selling their body. Every man in the entertainment industry had done it before. Wasn’t it better to be with one person for a few years than different people every day?

She couldn’t help but try to persuade her friend. “Little girl, you’re still young. The men in the entertainment industry are all about the same. He might even resent you for protecting him right now. I think Xiao Li is quite ambitious, so talk it out with him and give me an answer.”

You must be tired from running around and setting up connections. Now that you’ve climbed up the ladder with Li, you can relax a little. You’ll also get your share of the benefits.

Sheng Zhao’s eyes were calm and dark. Just as she was about to type out a reply, Li Ji snatched the phone from behind her. Before she could react, he had already responded in a voice message.

“Get lost.”

His voice was cold and hoarse, his expression blank, and his eyes were cold. He seemed to be suppressing his emotions as he said this.

The photographer on the other side of the line froze at the response and awkwardly closed her phone without another word.

Li Ji was clearly in a terrible mood. He draped a coat over himself and went to the balcony without a word, cigarette in hand.

He was wearing thin clothes, but even with a coat, the wind still blew through him. His hair was messy from the wind, and his eyes filled with dark emotions. When he noticed Sheng Zhao open the balcony door, he didn’t turn around but instead said in a hoarse voice after a long time.

“I’m sorry.”

Sheng Zhao walked over and draped another coat on him. She asked gently, “Why are you sorry?”

She thought he would say something like an emotional outburst or complaint, but it was a simple “I’m sorry.”

Why was he sorry?

Li Ji extinguished the cigarette between his fingers, burying his head to hide his expression from Sheng Zhao. Only the tip of his nose was a little red.

After a long while, he finally spoke in a hoarse voice. “Because you ran around for days to get this shooting.”

“I scolded her… I messed it up.”

He held himself back for another long time before saying in another hoarse voice, “I’m sorry.”

Sheng Zhao let out a light laugh, which was quite cheerful and clear like an oriole.

“What are you sorry about? It’s just a few words. Besides, even if she really is angry and cancels the contract, we’ll still get liquidated damages. You have nothing to feel guilty about.”

She patted his back gently with a soft voice. “If you hadn’t snatched my phone earlier, I would’ve kept cursing. I always keep my promises and would not let you suffer.”

Well, not only was the tip of his nose red, but the rims of his eyes and his nose were also starting to tingle.

Li Ji asked in a purposely nonchalant tone to cover up the sourness in his voice, “Then what would you have said?”

Sheng Zhao paused slightly and thought for a moment before saying, “Are you sure you want to know? It’s just some vulgar words like ‘dad’ or ‘old man’.”

“…Then I’m not listening.”

Sheng Zhao wasn’t joking around with Li Ji. She had prepared a series of insults like ‘dad’ and ‘old man’. Sheng Zhao looked gentle and refined, but her temper wasn’t as good as she appeared.

Those words made her a little upset.

He kept his head down, unwilling to let Sheng Zhao see his expression. He pretended to be unbothered by the wind and sniffled, then cleared his throat. “Let’s go eat. I’ve already cooked.”

Sheng Zhao leaned against the balcony railing and gazed at the stars in the sky. She asked casually, “Is there braised fish?”

Li Ji kept his head down. “No.”

“Then what about egg soup?”

“No…” He took a deep breath, his voice muffled but also angry. “Eat what’s there or don’t eat at all!”

“Okay.” Sheng Zhao nodded, then said sternly, “Besides, you’re not a yellow-faced husband.”

She was answering Li Ji’s joke from earlier.

The rims of Li Ji’s eyes weren’t as red anymore, but they were still a little watery. He abruptly stood up and walked into the house, lowering his head slightly so that his hair covered his dark eyes and avoided Sheng Zhao’s gaze.

His voice was hoarse as he said nonchalantly, “I’m going to eat.”

Sheng Zhao asked, “You’re not going to lose weight anymore?”

“…None of your business.” He pressed his lips together, feeling the warmth of the clothes on his shoulders. The corners of his lips still curved slightly.