One day, during a business dinner.
Shen Qianzhan brought Su Zan along.
The other party was a well-known producer and investor in the industry, interested in collaborating with Shen Qianzhan on the production of an epic historical drama. For this purpose, they had specifically brought along the screenwriter and planner to the meeting.
Shen Qianzhan also placed great importance on this collaboration opportunity. After expressing her willingness to cooperate over drinks, the other party suddenly changed the topic, inquiring about her wedding date and plans.
In this industry, those who have reached the level of a big shot all have their own tricks up their sleeves.
As soon as Shen Qianzhan heard the underlying message, she understood that the other party wanted a resource exchange—either aiming to take advantage of her or hoping to ride on her coattails to access Endless Year's fashion resources.
In fact, ever since Ji Qinghe and Shen Qianzhan made their relationship public, the media had tacitly regarded her as the future daughter-in-law of the Ji family. Her personal popularity had shifted from being a behind-the-scenes powerhouse to an unofficial figure in the entertainment industry, occasionally trending on social media.
Ji Qinghe had stepped in to suppress the news a few times, but with limited effect.
Shen Qianzhan herself didn’t mind much. She ran a company, and although it was a production company, having a top-tier female producer like her in charge was like having a living, breathing cash cow attracting wealth and talent. Who could resist such joy?
Thus, when Ji Qinghe visited her on set, netizens knew about it;
When Ji Qinghe purchased a luxury home for Shen Qianzhan near a film studio to build their love nest, netizens knew about it;
Even when their parents met and traveled together to Xi’an, they couldn’t escape the watchful eyes of netizens.
Fortunately, out of respect for Endless Year, the media, while fond of reporting on the couple, mostly did so with goodwill, using the news to drive traffic to their platforms without crossing the line.
Endless Year also benefited from having its own "boss’s wife" in the spotlight, exercising extreme caution in its marketing efforts.
Overall, the couple remained relatively low-key, but in the era of traffic, popularity reigned supreme.
—
After sensing the other party’s intentions, Shen Qianzhan’s enthusiasm for the collaboration instantly cooled, and her interest in pushing the project forward waned.
Although it was a pity to let the project fall through, Shen Qianzhan’s value had skyrocketed over the past year, and she was not short of high-quality projects. After a few days of regret, she let it go.
Unexpectedly, the other party felt slighted, and over time, some unpleasant rumors began to circulate.
For example, "Shen Qianzhan’s persona is just a marketing gimmick. She can’t even access Endless Year’s resources, and when it comes to resource exchanges, she doesn’t dare utter a word."
Or, "There are plenty of contractual couples these days. The approaching wedding date is just the woman’s one-sided publicity stunt, right? Have you ever seen the man publicly acknowledge her?"
And, "Shen Qianzhan’s reputation wasn’t exactly stellar in previous years. Now that she’s latched onto a wealthy family, she doesn’t even dare breathe. She markets herself as an independent woman but lives a pathetic life. At her level as a producer, she could do anything, but deep down, she’s still materialistic, just looking for a long-term meal ticket without lifting a finger."
The content of the rumors wasn’t particularly damaging, but as they spread, their impact became increasingly negative.
Even though many people merely treated what they heard as casual gossip, those with ulterior motives seized the opportunity to stir trouble.
Within a week, every word of these rumors reached Ji Qinghe’s ears.
At the time, Ji Qinghe was attending a high-level business dinner. When confronted directly, he raised an eyebrow slightly and glanced at the other person. "This is the first time I’ve heard of it."He offered no further explanation, ended the meal, and instructed Ming Jue to investigate. He then changed his schedule on the spot, driving overnight from Shanghai to Hengdian.
——
Late-night filming on set.
Shen Qianzhan had just finished a meeting with the director of Group A when she looked up and saw Ji Qinghe standing at the conference room door, slightly surprised.
Their approach to work had always been one of non-interference. Even when visiting the set, Ji Qinghe would inform her in advance and seek her opinion. Later, as more people took notice, they became even more low-key. Their dates and overnight stays were carefully concealed, and even if occasionally caught by paparazzi, they would handle it through paid PR.
After a brief moment of surprise, Shen Qianzhan asked, "Here to check up on me?"
Every member of the crew had received favors from Ji Qinghe. Seeing him, they all swiftly exited the conference room, leaving the two of them alone.
Ji Qinghe, noticing she still had work to do, pulled out a chair and sat beside her. "I was worried you might be upset, so I came to see you."
Shen Qianzhan had also heard the recent rumors about herself. Guessing he must have found out, she set aside the ledger she was working on and said, "I’m not upset." She’d heard far worse before and hadn’t taken it to heart. "People talk when there’s a crowd. I’ve probably been blocking someone’s path recently, which is why they’re making things difficult. It’ll blow over soon."
Ji Qinghe remained silent. He stayed with Shen Qianzhan as she went over the accounts, and when they worked until three in the morning, he even went to Jichun Erwan to buy her a bowl of seafood porridge.
He stayed with her like this for three days.
Before he left, Shen Qianzhan made a point of seeing him off to his car.
Outside the car window, the film set was brightly lit, while inside the car, a faint fragrance lingered, with only the ambient lights glowing softly.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Shen Qianzhan gazed at the lights ahead and suddenly smiled. "A long time ago, I asked Song Yan how she endured the malice directed at her, which was purely meant to vent anger."
"She said that pure malice isn’t worth worrying about—it doesn’t change the facts." That was during the height of the conflict between Fu Xi and her fans. Tossing her hair, she raised an eyebrow and laughed, "As long as he’s mine, that’s enough."
"Now I understand." Shen Qianzhan gently touched Ji Qinghe’s chin. Lately, she’d taken to doing this every morning, the slightly prickly sensation like a feather tickling her fingertips all the way to her heart.
She narrowed her eyes, lazily studying the man whose features looked especially refined under the ambient lights. "Ji Qinghe, everything else is fake. Only you are real."
"As long as you’re here, I feel completely at ease."
"You don’t need to worry about me being wronged. No one but you could ever make me feel that way."
She didn’t know if all love was like this.
When apart, the whole world seemed connected to you—every topic, every scene carried your shadow. When together, the rest of the world faded away. You became the most, most, most important presence.
Everything else?
Truly didn’t matter.
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