Font Size:
Chapter 55: You Really Wanted Me to Come
Exhausted, Ji Xueli collapsed into the nanny van. This had become her daily routine. The dinner she had planned with Duan Qingyu kept getting postponed, and she didn’t even make it in time to pick him up when he was discharged from the hospital yesterday…
She looked at the still-unread message on her phone and figured he was definitely upset.
“Chengdu, when will I stop being so rushed?” Ji Xueli hugged a pillow and sighed.
“It’s going to be like this for the next ten days. The crew is trying to catch up. You’ve missed too much,” Chengdu replied helplessly.
Ji Xueli bowed her head in frustration. Glancing at her phone, she saw how late it was, but she didn’t care anymore. If she didn’t go see him now, he might actually run off.
She dialed his number.
Just when she thought no one would answer after the long mechanical ringing, a voice finally came through. The man’s voice was hoarse: “Something wrong?”
“I didn’t wake you up, did I?” Hearing him pick up, Ji Xueli’s mood instantly lifted.
“No, I’m working,” Duan Qingyu replied while flipping through documents and placing his phone on speaker.
From time to time, the sound of pages turning could be heard. Ji Xueli glanced at her watch — it was already past midnight. “It’s so late, why are you still working?”
Her voice carried genuine concern. He’d just been discharged from the hospital yesterday, and his body hadn’t fully recovered. He should’ve been resting, yet he was still buried in work.
“You’re still working this late, too,” Duan Qingyu replied.
“Fair enough… but why didn’t you reply to my messages today?” Ji Xueli began to interrogate him.
Han Chen, sitting up front, overheard her tone — it sounded exactly like a girlfriend whining. He was surprised. Have they progressed this far already…? Don’t tell me they’re secretly dating now.
“I was too busy, didn’t check my phone,” Duan Qingyu replied as he opened their chat thread and looked at the messages.
Of course he saw them — every single one — but he hadn’t replied on purpose. She had stood him up way too many times…
He was obviously mad. Ji Xueli pursed her lips, then called out, “Han Chen, send me the schedule.”
“Oh.” Han Chen took out his phone. She usually never bothered with the schedule… Don’t tell me—
She was going to send it to Duan Qingyu!
Han Chen’s eyes widened. It’s over — Ji Xueli’s fallen hard. She’s even reporting in now.
“I’ve been waking up at five every morning and coming back past midnight to make up for filming delays,” Ji Xueli pouted, playing the sympathy card.
She sent over a picture. Duan Qingyu opened it — it was her schedule, outlining everything she’d been doing and what appearances she had to rush through.
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. “Lili, why are you sending me this?”
“Because I just wanted to. I wanted you to know what I’ve been up to,” Ji Xueli replied.
She didn’t believe this tactic wouldn’t work. In old-school romance stories, the male lead usually had an intense possessiveness, while the female lead hated it — hence the classic “she runs, he chases.”
But she was different — she was the second female lead. The “she runs, he chases” dynamic could drag on for a thousand chapters. She didn’t have the patience for that. If they weren’t together after a few dozen chapters, she’d be getting antsy…
So instead, she took the initiative, drawing him into her life and work. She refused to believe this wouldn’t get results.
Han Chen nearly pinched his philtrum in disbelief. Ji Xueli had become love-brained. She was nothing like when she was with Ji Yanzhou — totally different.
“Seems like Lili won’t be back in the Shangjing district for a while,” Duan Qingyu said while looking at his documents, his voice laced with mock regret.
“I won’t get the chance… but Your Highness will. When do you have time to visit the set?” Ji Xueli chuckled, bringing it up again.
Even Liu Bei visited Zhuge Liang three times. She’d brought this up more than three times already, and he still hadn’t shown. She couldn’t believe it.
Duan Qingyu’s slender fingers toyed with his pen, lightly tapping the desk. His voice was half-smiling: “You want me to come?”
“Mm. I really do.” Ji Xueli answered without hesitation, expressing her feelings directly.
He went silent for a moment. His eyes were as dark as the night outside. Then he finally replied, “Then I’ll let you choose the time.”
He finally agreed to come — a small but definite step toward success. Ji Xueli raised her eyebrows, triumphant: “The day after tomorrow. My schedule isn’t too packed then.”