Chapter One Hundred
Shen Qianzhan couldn’t stop laughing even after getting into the car.
From time to time, she glanced at Ji Qinghe, whose expression remained calm and composed as if he hadn’t just been singled out and admonished by the doctor, teasing him openly and brazenly.
Ji Qinghe didn’t understand her amusement. Only after paying the parking fee and leaving the hospital did he ask, “Are you that happy?”
Perhaps as adults, many things become reasonable and lawful, falling within the realm of normal needs. Ji Qinghe hadn’t experienced the kind of shyness or embarrassment typical of childhood in a long time.
In his understanding, the doctor’s advice was entirely within the normal scope.
Shen Qianzhan offered a perfunctory denial.
Thinking he couldn’t see her while he focused on the road, she bit her lower lip and smiled subtly.
Ji Qinghe glanced away from the rearview mirror, releasing his right hand from the gear shift to take hers.
His palm was warm and dry, and when he held her hand, it felt like opening a protective umbrella.
He brought her hand to his lips, lowering his head to kiss the back of it. “Actually, there are less intense forms of exercise.”
Ji Qinghe glanced at her, a faint smile playing on his lips. “Perhaps you’d like to try?”
Shen Qianzhan caught the hint of threat in his words and immediately backed off.
It was strange.
Before coming to the hospital, she had felt a sense of urgency, as if only she could hold up the sky if it fell. But after leaving the hospital, the tension in her heart eased slightly, and she became indifferent.
She wasn’t sure whether it was due to the doctor’s laughable advice or Ji Qinghe’s unflappable calmness in the face of crisis.
For some reason, she also felt a newfound confidence to take things one step at a time.
—
After cooperating with the police to conclude the investigation, Shen Qianzhan returned to the hotel first to take charge.
The reporters at the hotel entrance hadn’t dispersed. In addition to the media, more and more fans, worried about their idols’ safety after hearing rumors of “a murder on set,” had gathered.
With the direction of online public opinion still unclear, everyone in the crew was strictly prohibited from making public statements.
Aside from food delivery and couriers coming and going, not even a fly had shown up at the hotel’s main entrance.
Shen Qianzhan’s first task upon returning to the hotel was to hold a meeting with Thousand Lights’ public relations department.
The PR manager, who had collaborated with Shen Qianzhan for years and shared a strong rapport, immediately uploaded several emergency PR plans drafted that afternoon as soon as she appeared on the screen.
Thousand Lights’ internal staff were still unaware of Shen Qianzhan’s intention to resign, so the PR budget was allocated according to the highest standards.
Shen Qianzhan quickly reviewed all the work Thousand Lights had done that afternoon and examined the major public opinion trends compiled and printed by Qiao Xin. She marveled at how Ji Qinghe’s promises were not just empty words and sighed at Endless Year’s immense wealth.
The PR expenses for suppressing trending topics and buying promotional articles in a single day were equivalent to Thousand Lights’ annual PR budget.
The PR manager said, “Thanks to Endless Year’s PR department joining forces with Thousand Lights in time, we wouldn’t have been able to suppress the sudden surge of leaks on our own.”
Shen Qianzhan nodded slightly but didn’t comment further on the matter.
She circled the second PR plan and said, “Follow this plan. If public opinion continues to escalate, issue a statement and a lawyer’s letter immediately to nip all rumors in the bud.” Then, pointing at the initial bloggers who started the leaks with her stylus, she added in a cold, calm tone, “Immediately notarize the evidence and retain the right to sue.”The PR manager nodded one by one, quickly gathered the team, and prepared the statement.
Shen Qianzhan kept Qiao Xin to continue liaising while she went to the adjacent lounge to summon Su Zan and inquire about the crew's packing progress.
She had originally planned to delay the relocation for a few days, gradually moving the set to keep some manpower on hand to deal with Old Chen's family's provocations. However, Chen Yan's move today of pulling the rug out from under her completely disrupted her plans. Keeping the crew here would only waste funds and make them an easy target for media scrutiny and criticism.
Moreover, the negative impact caused by Old Chen's family's disturbance on the hotel was significant. The hotel management was already very dissatisfied with the crew and was waiting for the contract to expire to clear them out, leaving no room for negotiation.
Su Zan had been detained in the hotel manager's office all afternoon negotiating compensation and was already overwhelmed. After reporting on his work, his face was dark, looking as if he had been suppressing his anger for a long time and was about to explode.
Shen Qianzhan's mind had been in a state of high-speed operation since earlier and hadn't paid any attention to Su Zan's mood. Upon hearing his report, she entrusted the crew's relocation to Su Zan, instructing him to arrange manpower to move the crew safely to the filming location in Beijing as soon as possible.
Most of the team for "Time" were people Shen Qianzhan had worked with for years. The key department heads had followed her for many years, and their character and abilities were all reliable. Relocation was also a common occurrence for film crews, and whether it was the production manager or the on-set producer, they all had sufficient capability to handle it, so she wasn't worried.
Su Zan agreed. Seeing her leaning back in her chair with her back unsupported, he thought for a moment and asked, "How's your injury?"
Only then did Shen Qianzhan snap back to reality and casually replied, "It's fine."
It was only now that she noticed Su Zan's foul expression, as if he had been provoked to the brink but was holding back, looking as if he had suffered a great injustice. Her heart softened, and she asked, "Did the hotel give you a hard time?"
She had been so busy all day that she had only managed to hastily stuff a few bites of food into her mouth and hadn't had time to micromanage minor issues. After thinking about it, the only person who could make Su Zan this angry was probably the hotel manager.
He wasn't skilled in handling matters and was too proud and stubborn to let others take advantage of him—no match for his opponent.
"No," Su Zan denied. "I've resolved things with the hotel; you don't need to worry about it. Just focus on the PR side. Once this is over, we can return to Beijing, finish filming the show, and then take a break."
Shen Qianzhan was surprised. "No one took advantage of you?"
Su Zan looked awkward and after a long pause said, "You once said that many things can't be resolved just by reasoning. Besides, this is a special time, and it wouldn't be good to clash too much with the hotel. Anyway, the contract is signed in black and white—they can't go beyond that. Making a few concessions isn't a big deal."
He didn't want to elaborate on how much effort he had put in or how much groundwork he had done, feeling that talking about it in front of Shen Qianzhan would seem like he was fishing for praise, which made him uncomfortable.
Su Zan cleared his throat and casually changed the subject. "Since you know it's Xiao Sheng playing dirty tricks, have you thought of a way to deal with it?"
At this, Shen Qianzhan's expression grew slightly serious. She pursed her lips and said, "It's not just Xiao Sheng. If your sister isn't involved, he must have teamed up with someone with a certain background to target me." Xiao Sheng alone couldn't stir up such a storm.
Su Zan stiffened and said in a low voice, "My sister wouldn't do that."
Su Lanyi was a sensitive topic between her and Su Zan. Shen Qianzhan had no intention of driving a wedge between the siblings, nor did she plan to persuade him with her own views.
Su Lanyi truly wasn't involved.She could not jeopardize the future of Thousand Lights just to retaliate against Shen Qianzhan, with whom she had once shared a deep bond.
When speculating about Xiao Sheng, Shen Qianzhan had also considered whether Su Lanyi might have played a part in this matter. But based on her understanding of Su Lanyi, if she had known about Xiao Sheng’s terrifying intentions, regardless of whether it would endanger Thousand Lights’ prospects, given their past friendship alone, she would have firmly refused.
There was no irreconcilable conflict between Su Lanyi and her—they had simply parted ways due to differing perspectives. Su Lanyi was someone who dared to love and hate, fiercely independent and strong-willed. Over the years, she had strayed from her original ideals, gradually prioritizing profit and ambition above all else. Given how much she valued Thousand Lights, having fought tooth and nail for it, she would never allow Xiao Sheng to trample on her bottom line or cross her boundaries.
What Shen Qianzhan feared most was that the force behind Xiao Sheng was Penglai Chenguang. If they had reached some kind of agreement, not only would the project "Time" be doomed, but Thousand Lights would likely also fall within their schemes.
In that case, for self-preservation, Su Lanyi would not hesitate to disregard her friendship with Shen Qianzhan.
Shen Qianzhan suspected Xiao Sheng’s involvement with Penglai Chenguang after reviewing the news briefs Qiao Xin had compiled all afternoon and the data reports provided by Thousand Lights’ public relations department.
The familiar tactics were strikingly similar to the methods Zhao Zongchen had used seven or eight years ago, manipulating the media to pressure her into repaying debts.
If her suspicions were correct, she would soon find herself back in the hellish battlefield.
—
Just as Shen Qianzhan had anticipated, Chen Yan’s disturbance was merely the fuse.
He was a pawn, easily provoked and manipulated to attract public attention and escalate the conflict.
While Thousand Lights’ public relations department was still preparing the official statement, news about the "Time" crew—"crew member dies from overwork during filming, production team conceals the incident"—had already spiraled out of control. It was climbing the trending charts at rocket speed, securing the top spot for the day’s headlines.
The topic’s views and discussions surged by hundreds of millions, quickly capturing widespread attention online.
Shen Qianzhan had stayed up until dawn in meetings with Thousand Lights’ public relations team, revising the statement over a dozen times. Exhausted and unable to continue without rest, she had only managed to sleep for three hours.
The sudden loss of control was something no one had anticipated.
At the same time, the opposing side seemed well-prepared, unearthing solid evidence of Endless Year’s investment in "Time" and recounting Endless Year’s "dark history" over the years, attempting to paint the investor and the production team with the same brush.
When Qiao Xin frantically woke her up, Shen Qianzhan felt like tearing Xiao Sheng apart with her bare hands.
Clenching her teeth, she scrolled through the trending topics, her expression growing increasingly grave.
The resurgence of the suppressed news briefs was largely thanks to Jiang Mengxin’s latest Weibo post—her account, with its innate ability to attract attention, had ignited the firestorm.
In a lengthy, impassioned post, she detailed how a crew member of "Time" had died from overwork during filming and how the producer, in an attempt to cover it up, had forced hotel staff to sign strict confidentiality agreements. She vividly described Shen Qianzhan’s alleged misdeeds, including detaining the deceased’s family in the hotel and refusing interviews, all in the name of suppressing the incident.Chen Yan's image was also whitewashed into that of a weak victim who "had no choice but to fight back to seek justice." The subsequent so-called video evidence further labeled the crew's self-defense actions as bullying and lawless behavior by those abusing their power.
After reading it, Shen Qianzhan was filled with nothing but questions.
She looked up at the crowd standing in the room and even had the mood to joke: "This story is quite well-written, very timely. Since the authorities are currently cracking down on the entertainment industry, it’s bound to attract significant attention."
Qiao Xin was on the verge of tears: "Sister Zhan."
Shen Qianzhan pushed the mouse away and reached out to Su Zan for a cigarette.
Her hand hung in the air, trembling slightly, though not noticeably.
Su Zan glanced silently at Ji Qinghe sitting on the sofa, desperately signaling with his eyes: Your woman, do something. If you don’t, I’ll give her the cigarette.
Shen Qianzhan waited for a while but didn’t get what she wanted. Following Su Zan’s gaze, she looked at Ji Qinghe.
Outwardly, she appeared calm, but inwardly, she was seething with rage, wishing she could crush everyone under her feet. At that moment, she was holding back a surge of fury with nowhere to vent it. Her blood pressure was skyrocketing, right at the breaking point, when Ji Qinghe placed a stick of gum in her palm.
She froze.
The anger that had already surged inexplicably subsided by half. She glanced at the green-wrapped gum in her hand, then looked at him and asked, "Where did this come from?"
"Bought it at the hospital convenience store," Ji Qinghe said, taking a seat in the empty spot Su Zan had vacated. "When you were getting your medicine, I was afraid you’d be in pain, so I bought this to comfort you."
But she hadn’t made a sound, so it hadn’t been needed.
Most people in the room knew that Consultant Ji and Shen Qianzhan had something going on. As for what exactly, they weren’t sure, but it wasn’t hard to guess—there were only a few possibilities for such a clandestine relationship.
A few others were completely oblivious, slow to react, and only now began to sense something between the two.
Just as everyone was exchanging bewildered glances, Shen Qianzhan unwrapped the gum and popped it into her mouth. "By the way, let me reintroduce everyone. Teacher Ji, my boyfriend—the kind I plan to marry. I didn’t mention it before because I didn’t think it was necessary. Now I’m admitting it to give everyone a heads-up. Don’t be too surprised if you see Teacher Ji and me in the news later."
Everyone was instantly dumbfounded.
Wait?
Boyfriend and girlfriend?
Producer Shen was actually willing to give up an entire forest of fresh young men for just one tree?
Of course, when all the idle crew members waiting to relocate with the production saw Ji Qinghe’s photo listed under the investors of Time as Endless Year that afternoon, they were stunned.
They had thought the "heads-up" Shen Qianzhan mentioned was about the tabloid gossip targeting her "improper" private life. They had even felt she was making a big deal out of nothing, overly doting on her current partner. Little did they know, Shen Qianzhan wasn’t doting on her partner at all—she was injecting them with a dose of capitalist adrenaline.
Unlike the chaotic criticism and discussions outside, the crew of Time wasn’t greatly affected.
Everyone was completely floored by the revelation that the usually quiet, aloof, and unassuming Teacher Ji was actually the executive president of Endless Year.
Aside from discussing "whether the production would be shut down this time," the entire crew was reflecting on how they had failed to recognize a titan in their midst, missing the chance to curry favor with the executive president of Endless Year and climb the corporate ladder to marry a rich, handsome man.
So much regret.Can time be reopened once more?
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