Chapter One Hundred and Two
Shen Qianzhan’s resignation sent shockwaves through the industry.
Leading the commotion were several film and television companies that had once tried to poach her but failed. Their HR departments and executives flooded their social media feeds, almost popping champagne in celebration.
One film and media company posted: “Remember that producer who’s been trending lately? Our boss was really keen on her—offered a high salary, even promised a villa and luxury cars—but she still wouldn’t budge. Wonder if our boss still regrets it now…”
Another film company chimed in: “The trending topics these days are brutal. I actually feel sorry for this producer. When her future was bright, she didn’t jump ship or play both sides—just focused on helping the company go public. I used to think Thousand Lights must have offered amazing terms, but when I found out it was just a tiny bit of equity, all I felt was respect. I was expecting some dramatic ‘new ruler, new ministers’ saga, but Thousand Lights didn’t even cherish her—they broke up my favorite pairing halfway through.”
Of course, there was no shortage of those kicking her while she was down—
“She was too arrogant back then and offended who knows how many people. Now that the wall’s collapsing, everyone’s piling on. Serves her right, doesn’t it?”
“I still haven’t forgotten those shady moves of rejecting and blocking people. Now I’m waiting to see her job-hunting, sending out resumes, and hitting that midlife crisis. [Bye]”
“This producer’s been put on too high a pedestal these past few years—probably forgot how pathetic she used to be. Only remembers the good times, not the beatings. A crash was inevitable.”
“Is there still anyone who doesn’t know? This producer is a repeat offender. Seven or eight years ago, she and her boyfriend pulled some lowlife stunt—scamming investors out of funds and running off with the money. Somehow she managed to clean up her image later—guess good looks open doors anywhere. These past few years, she’s been pushing this ‘golden producer mogul’ persona to attract investors, packaging herself like a celebrity. Her PR, marketing, and personal branding have been pretty successful, I’ll give her that.”
“Since people are listening, I’ll share a bit more. Back then, this female producer and her boyfriend sold Penglai Chengguang a pipe dream, swindling tens of millions in investment. They even held a launch ceremony. Maybe they had a falling-out over the spoils—the boyfriend ditched her and ran. She went all-in too, pinning all the blame on the boyfriend who was off hiding in some paradise, living it up. She filed police reports, hired lawyers—only to end up incriminating herself. The court ordered her to repay all the debts within three years. Unable to escape, she joined Thousand Lights and went back to her old tricks. The woman does have some skills, otherwise she wouldn’t have paid off all that money in just a few years, plus buying a house and car in Beijing. Once she had money, this producer started getting cocky—only taking on big projects, and her greed became downright ugly. Basically, after 8 p.m., you could spot this beautiful female producer hunting for sugar daddies at Beijing’s nightclubs, hotels, or bars. The men around her were either investor big shots old enough to be her dad, or fresh-faced young guys young enough to be her little brothers. Sounds enviable, right? Oh, and recently she’s hooked up with the Asia regional executive president of Endless Year. Guess the big shot must really like her—he’s been suppressing her hot searches for her. Some naive girls even envy their ‘love.’ Wake up—there’s no love there, just power and sex transactions.”
These last two gossip pieces, due to their explosive revelations, were screenshotted and reposted on Weibo. After several marketing accounts added their own spicy twists, they directly ignited the trending searches."Damn, I'd heard before that this producer has a bad reputation. My baby worked with her before, I don't dare think about whether he suffered at her hands."
"So she's the one the gossip accounts exposed for knocking on people's doors at midnight claiming to discuss scripts? Does she treat the film set like her personal harem?"
"Isn't the reason society looks down on women precisely because of people like her who sell themselves for success?"
"Isn't that super handsome chief watch restorer from Endless Year the highest quality big shot she's ever been involved with? Hope that handsome brother sees her true colors soon and doesn't get ruined."
"Upstairs is naive, at best they're birds of a feather. Endless Year isn't any good either—the founder is clearly Chinese but went abroad to create revenue for foreigners. That Ji Qingzhen you all worship as god-tier, he's considered a top industry big shot too. He advocates protecting traditional culture on the surface, but ended up going to Endless Year as a watchmaker for the brand, joining this garbage brand in fleecing Chinese people?"
"Upstairs is the real idiot. Would it only count as fleecing if they didn't charge? Finally there's a luxury brand centered on Chinese elements, and you either attack the founder's nationality or criticize just to criticize. Endless Year already issued a statement, does your face hurt?"
On Weibo, battle after battle raged on.
Endless Year consistently stood on Ji Qinghe's side—not withdrawing investment, not making excuses, silently supporting. It was like a lighthouse standing in the vast ocean; though its light was faint, it could be seen from thousands of miles away.
——
Shen Qianzhan remained unaffected.
Back when she was managing Xiang Qianqian's agency work part-time, she had been attacked repeatedly and had long since developed an impenetrable steel will.
On the flight from Wuxi back to Beijing, she even had the leisure to discuss with Ji Qinghe: if she hadn't experienced that low point early in her career and had sailed smoothly to where she was now, would she have collapsed immediately?
"No." Ji Qinghe pulled down the window shade for her. In the slightly dim light, he took Shen Qianzhan's hand, their fingers intertwining, and said softly, "Being wronged inevitably brings grievance. But you're not the type to sit back and take it—sinking into depravity as they wish isn't your style."
"You could stop being a producer, but I think the only reason you'd pause would be because you wanted a break, not because you gave up due to those insignificant people."
Beyond the first-class curtain was the quiet cabin.
Occasionally, the sound of passengers talking could be heard, but it was quickly drowned out by the plane's engines, becoming indistinct.
Shen Qianzhan leaned against the armrest, propping her chin as she looked at him: "Not worried about me at all?"
Ji Qinghe withdrew his gaze from the newspaper and turned to meet her eyes: "Have I not made it obvious enough?"
These past few days, aside from occasionally stepping away to take calls, he had been by her side almost constantly. Even if the sky fell outside, he wouldn't bat an eye, as if nothing mattered more to him than her eating three meals on time.
Moreover, Shen Qianzhan's strong mental resilience meant that even at her lowest, she had only skipped one dinner.
In contrast, Qiao Xin had cried through two large packs of tissues at the hotel. Lately, whenever Shen Qianzhan saw her, her face was flushed red.
Her eyes, nose, and cheeks were all swollen.
Su Zan was the same, so stressed he had blisters all over his mouth.
Either dealing with the police station or making calls to smooth things over.Although neither of the two tasks had been accomplished, Shen Qianzhan still felt gratified seeing it all unfold—the hopeless case she had tried so hard to prop up over the years was finally undergoing active rehabilitation and preparing to stand on his own after she let go.
Even though he was still some distance away from being fully independent, learning to walk, like a toddler, couldn’t be mastered in just a day or two. It would inevitably involve a few stumbles and bloody setbacks.
——
Early this morning, Shen Qianzhan disbanded the film crew.
She left the cleanup work to Su Zan and Qiao Xin, returning to Beijing ahead of them to submit materials and cooperate with the review.
Along the way, she also handled her resignation procedures.
Her resignation letter, approved by Su Lanyi, had already been forwarded to human resources for the next steps of the handover.
Though called a handover, there wasn’t much to hand over.
The only project she had was Time, which had consumed most of her energy over the past year. With the crew now disbanded, aside from financial reconciliations, there were no other ongoing projects requiring someone to take over.
In contrast, there was Ji Qinghe.
It wasn’t until Shen Qianzhan boarded the plane and overheard his conversation with Ming Jue that she learned about the new product concept launch event for the Endless Year couples’ watch series scheduled for that afternoon.
If she remembered correctly, the watch launch should have been around October, meaning this was nearly a month ahead of schedule.
Shen Qianzhan’s first thought was that Endless Year had suffered significant backlash due to the negative impact of Time, and the brand was likely using the launch event to address the recent public scrutiny.
But upon further reflection, she realized this didn’t align with Ji Qinghe’s usual approach.
Product launch events had the most direct market impact on post-launch sales and brand reputation, affecting the brand’s annual performance metrics. He wouldn’t let personal feelings interfere with business decisions.
Moreover, such an important event would undoubtedly require internal discussions within Endless Year before being finalized.
It had little to do with her.
Still, despite her rational reasoning, Shen Qianzhan couldn’t help but quietly remind Ji Qinghe as he reviewed the key procedures for the launch event: "Holding the launch now might make it easy for reporters to steer the narrative."
Ji Qinghe didn’t look up, but leaned slightly in her direction to listen.
Shen Qianzhan asked, "You’ll be giving a speech on stage, right?"
Ji Qinghe was reviewing the speech Ming Jue had prepared for him. Hearing her rhetorical question, he couldn’t help but smile faintly and turned to look at her. "What are you trying to say?"
Shen Qianzhan gathered her thoughts and said, "You don’t interact much with reporters, so you might not realize how treacherous they can be. There are plenty of journalists like Jiang Mengxin in this industry, and to grab attention, they’ll likely ask questions that are nearly impossible to answer. Even if you manage to handle them, if the launch event gets derailed, customers might question the brand’s public image. That kind of hidden damage is immeasurable."
Especially now, with the situation so delicate, if Endless Year mishandled it, expanding into the domestic market would face significant obstacles.
Ji Qinghe seemed to take her words to heart. After a moment of thought, he said, "Endless Year has long-standing partnerships with media outlets, and those relationships have been well-maintained. So, you don’t need to worry about reporters giving me a hard time."
Both of them had their own careers and were leaders in their respective fields.
Their meeting was somewhat like two worlds on opposite ends of a scale unexpectedly tilting one day, creating the starting point for their intersecting story.Apart from their shared interest in "watch restoration," the only thing that could draw them to each other was themselves. Within the scope of work, they always maintained clear boundaries of respect and distance.
After reflecting for a moment, Ji Qinghe said, "It seems there are many things I haven’t had the chance to tell you."
"Endless Year didn’t suffer any actual damage in this recent turmoil. Mainstream media has a favorable impression of the brand, and this wave of public opinion actually helped address some previously unspoken rumors."
"When Endless Year first entered the domestic market, it faced repeated skepticism due to Ms. Meng’s political stance and nationality. However, these doubts never gained widespread traction and were limited to small circles boycotting the brand. Issuing a public statement would have been an overreaction, potentially harming the brand’s image, but ignoring the issue allowed it to fester as a hidden problem. The PR department struggled with this for a long time. This opportunity turned out to be perfect for clarification."
He set the documents aside and chatted with her about the content and purpose of the press conference.
The two of them usually focused so much on the spiritual and physical connection between them that they rarely discussed such everyday topics. As a result, Shen Qianzhan often overlooked his ambitions and plans in his career.
When she realized that Ji Qinghe was using this wave of attention to save Endless Year a significant amount on publicity expenses, she thought to herself: Good thing I didn’t get ahead of myself.
—
The plane arrived in Beijing at one in the afternoon.
Although their travel plans were kept entirely confidential, a small unexpected incident occurred upon their arrival at the airport.
Some media outlet had caught wind of the news that Ji Qinghe and Shen Qianzhan were returning to Beijing that day. Though they didn’t know the specific flight, they stationed one or two reporters at every flight from Wuxi to Beijing.
By the time Shen Qianzhan noticed the reporters at the airport, it was too late to escape.
The reporters trained by Xin Yu Kuaibao seemed almost identical to Jiang Mengxin in their approach. Without hesitation, they shoved their cameras in her face and fired off a barrage of questions—
"Ms. Shen, are you returning to Beijing to undergo an investigation?"
"Did you announce your resignation on Weibo to distance yourself from Thousand Lights, or was it simply an expression of dissatisfaction with the company’s inaction?"
"Ms. Shen, how do you feel about the disbandment of the production crew? As a tribute drama scheduled to air early next year, what impact will the cancellation of 'Time' have on your career?"
"Have you considered reassembling the crew to complete the filming after this turmoil subsides?"
Shen Qianzhan was nearly hit in the nose by the cameras thrust toward her several times. If Ji Qinghe hadn’t quickly shielded her in his arms, the reporters emerging from every corner would have immediately engulfed her in the crowd.
Ji Qinghe’s protective gesture clearly caught the reporters’ attention. Some of the cameras and microphones shifted focus, turning toward him, who had also been at the center of recent discussions.
Amid the chaotic chorus of "Mr. Ji" and "Ms. Shen," a sudden exclamation stood out like the first domino being tipped over. Soon, a wave of pushing and shoving sent the already crowded group stumbling in all directions.
A slightly petite female reporter in front of Shen Qianzhan was jostled from behind, causing her camera to slip from her hands and fly directly toward Shen Qianzhan.
The sudden turn of events drew gasps of shock from many who witnessed it.Shen Qianzhan instinctively looked up. The out-of-control camera, mere inches from the corner of her eye, was now gripped tightly by a hand that had clamped down on its lens.
The chaotic scene suddenly fell silent, as if someone had pressed the pause button.
The other end of the camera was still hanging around the female reporter’s neck. Her face pale with fright, her lips trembling, she quickly took hold of the camera as soon as she regained her composure and began apologizing repeatedly, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
Ji Qinghe did not let go.
His expression was dark, as if a storm were brewing. His gaze was shadowed, like gathering storm clouds, casting a heavy silence over the scene.
He blocked the lens, pressing his wrist downward to force the camera’s angle toward the ground.
At the same time, Ming Jue led several bodyguards into the area, effortlessly forming a protective circle around Ji Qinghe and Shen Qianzhan, separating them from the reporters.
Tall and burly, the bodyguards stood stern and unsmiling, forming an impenetrable wall that kept the once-arrogant reporters at arm’s length.
The sudden shift in atmosphere and the overwhelming presence left everyone momentarily stunned.
They exchanged uncertain glances, hesitating over whether to continue with the interview.
Ji Qinghe released his grip. His eyes, behind the frames of his glasses, shifted back to the ashen-faced female reporter before him. In a low voice, he said, “Hold your camera properly.”
His tone was barely restrained, his words not particularly sharp.
Yet, there was a weight to his presence that seemed to press down like a thousand pounds, making it impossible for the reporter to lift her camera again. The oppressive atmosphere spread like a tangible force, seeping into their skin and chilling everyone to the bone, leaving them momentarily frozen.
It wasn’t until Ji Qinghe escorted Shen Qianzhan away, followed closely by the imposing bodyguards, that the tense air in the confined space finally began to ease.
The reporters stood rooted for a moment before scattering like startled birds, dispersing in all directions.
—
Ji Qinghe’s somber mood lingered all the way into the car. Ming Jue, aware of his own lapse in duty, began self-critiquing as soon as he got in.
The two business vehicles drove out of the parking lot one after the other.
Ji Qinghe acted as if he hadn’t heard Ming Jue at all, turning instead to Shen Qianzhan. “Stay at my place for the next few days?”
Though phrased as a question, there was little room for negotiation in his tone.
Ming Jue, knowing he had already displeased Ji Qinghe, wisely fell silent.
Before Shen Qianzhan could respond, Ji Qinghe made the decision for her. “I’m not comfortable with you staying alone. I’ll have the driver take you to Time Hall later.” Then, lowering his voice, he asked hoarsely, “Should I have Meng Wangzhou prepare another guest room?”
In the front passenger seat, Ming Jue kept his eyes fixed straight ahead, calmly instructing the driver to take Shen Qianzhan to Time Hall later.
Still shaken by the earlier scare, Shen Qianzhan met his gaze across the distance. Silently, she mouthed three words: “With you.”
A faint smile tugged at Ji Qinghe’s lips, pleased by her understanding.
Reaching across the armrest, he took her hand and silently mouthed three words in return: “Don’t be afraid.”
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