Chapter Eleven
Shen Qianzhan’s thought process was simple and direct.
Ji Qinghe had repeated the phrase “I hope Producer Shen won’t need to come begging in the future” twice. The first time he said it, Shen Qianzhan had chalked it up to wounded male pride—a face-saving threat.
Honestly, she hadn’t taken it seriously at all the first time.
After all, from investors to talent agents, such threats occurred like clockwork every month, rain or shine, without fail.
Investors had their reasons—some insisted on artistic integrity, some wanted to install their mistresses, and others craved control over the production. The excuses were as varied as they were plentiful.
The most common follow-up to such threats was pulling funding.
Shen Qianzhan’s response was straightforward: sue those who breached contracts, kick out those who tried to insert their mistresses, and crush those who attempted to seize control and sideline her.
If she could handle investors with such ease, talent agents were even less of a challenge.
Just two days after a heated exchange, both parties would silently agree to cut ties forever. Then, two days later, after Shen Qianzhan had painted a rosy picture of a project, the agent would show up as if suffering from amnesia, eagerly presenting their artist’s portfolio again.
What could she do? Pretend to reconcile, then block them again.
Ji Qinghe’s case was slightly different from the two examples above. When he brought up the phrase a second time, Shen Qianzhan took it seriously.
This bastard was handsome, skilled, and exceptionally decisive.
If he repeated something twice, it was clearly a fixation. Maybe it was like how the deeper the breath, the greater the pleasure?
Shen Qianzhan speculated that Ji Qinghe was likely holding a grudge over her “payment for services” joke and was convinced that, aside from him, no other watch restorer met her requirements. No matter how hard she tried, she’d never escape the grasp of his metaphorical twin peaks.
Ji Qinghe wasn’t wrong.
Investors could be replaced, but at the moment, he was indeed the only watch restorer who met her criteria.
But asking him for help? She couldn’t bring herself to do it.
A woman’s softness should never come at the expense of her dignity or principles.
This was also one of the reasons she was so resistant to working with Ji Qinghe. Who knew if, once they collaborated, she’d lose her mind again and crave his body?
Besides, pretending nothing had happened while working closely with a man she’d had a fleeting affair with, all while ignoring his good looks and playing the role of a virtuous sage… If it weren’t for the lack of suitable alternatives, would Shen Qianzhan ever agree to such a lousy deal?
—
Ji Qinghe looked up, his gaze scrutinizing Shen Qianzhan’s face.
From the day he met her, this woman had been like a meticulously maintained vase, maintaining her flawless appearance twenty-four hours a day, from every angle.
Today, she seemed even more polished than usual.
Ji Qinghe’s eyes traveled from her deep, earthy sunset-inspired eye makeup down to the new nails she was deliberately showing off, finally settling on her lips.
She smiled, three parts provocative, seven parts amused.
Clearly, she was here to cause trouble.
He smirked, his eyes darkening as he glanced at her, then picked up the children’s watch without comment.
The watch had a round, silver-edged dial made of ordinary material, with Minnie Mouse printed on the background. The hour and minute hands, one long and one short, both pointed to twelve.
Ji Qinghe flipped the watch over and examined the back cover. “You went to great lengths to find such a vintage piece,” he remarked. “From twenty years ago?”
Shen Qianzhan nodded slightly. “A gift from my mom when I started first grade.”Ji Qinghe understood. He pulled over a leather pad, casually wrapped it up, and tossed it directly into the cabinet of the workbench. His expression was indifferent, his voice cold: "It can't be fixed. Go get another one from Meng Wangzhou."
He smiled, each word deliberate and forceful: "I'll compensate you."
Shen Qianzhan: "..." What a ruthless man, resorting to such shameless tactics?
Just as she was about to argue, she heard him "shush" her, his expression impatient, clearly conveying the rogue-like attitude of "if you keep making trouble, I'll deal with you."
Shen Qianzhan fell silent for a moment.
The plan to annoy Ji Qinghe by having her watch repaired... seemed as childish as a terrible idea from an opponent at Su Zan's kindergarten level.
She suddenly felt as though she had lost Jingzhou and the battle was already over—she was no match for Ji Qinghe at all.
Ji Qinghe unfastened his cufflinks and asked her casually, "Today it's a watch repair, tomorrow, a clock?"
"Or do you have no plan at all, just taking things one step at a time, as long as it targets me?" He rolled up his sleeves, the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose catching a few cold, sharp glints of light from the fading sun outside the window.
With a weary expression, he pushed the glasses up and pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes slightly closed: "I've seen Producer Shen's resume. I originally thought your business tactics were quite formidable, but now it seems..." He opened his eyes, a faint, mocking smile on his lips: "Nothing special."
"Not bad," Shen Qianzhan replied, as if she hadn't heard the latter part of his sentence, calm and composed. "I just didn't expect Mr. Ji to be so shameless."
Her phone vibrated lightly in her pocket.
Shen Qianzhan guessed it was Su Zan, unable to sit still any longer, asking for an update. While checking WeChat, she casually asked Ji Qinghe, "Want to grab dinner? My treat tonight."
Before Ji Qinghe could refuse, she gracefully added, "Aren't you curious about my business tactics? Give me a chance?"
—
Imperial Banquet.
A renowned Beijing-style restaurant famous for its Manchu-Han Imperial Feast, where the wine's aroma needs no introduction, hidden deep in an alley.
Shen Qianzhan had called for a reservation at ten in the morning and only managed to secure a private room in the afternoon.
After they were seated, Su Zan took charge of ordering the dishes while Shen Qianzhan handled the drinks. Once the appetizers were served one by one, Producer Shen, with a sense of ceremony, officially began the evening by introducing Xiang Qianqian to Ji Qinghe.
Ji Qinghe didn't touch the wine she had just poured for him. Instead, he picked up a cup of clear tea to moisten his throat. Naturally, he also ignored Xiang Qianqian's attempt to raise her glass for a toast.
After finishing his tea, he glanced at Shen Qianzhan and remarked ambiguously, laced with sarcasm: "Business tactics? Quite business-like indeed."
Xiang Qianqian felt awkward.
She turned to look at Su Zan, who appeared calm and unfazed, as if this were nothing out of the ordinary. Only then did she feel slightly reassured.
Su Zan was quite accustomed to the bickering dynamic between Mr. Ji and his "Sister Zhan."
After all, these two didn't hold back even in front of the big shots. They were just a bunch of nobodies, even less significant.
Shen Qianzhan smiled, avoiding a direct confrontation: "Didn't Mr. Ji mention a couple of days ago that you just settled in Beijing? I'm just being thoughtful. Beijing is such a big place, and connections matter..."
Ji Qinghe interrupted her: "Endless Year has thousands of top-tier clients."
Shen Qianzhan smiled.
You shameless man, can't you go a single sentence without a retort?
She raised a knife in one hand and a glass of wine in the other, toasting Meng Wangzhou directly: "Boss Meng, it must have been tough all these years, hasn't it?"Suddenly called upon, Meng Wangzhou put down his live gossip stream in the WeChat group and raised his wine glass for a shallow toast. "Qinghe might be a bit different from the businesspeople Producer Shen usually deals with. He's devoted to watch restoration and can be a bit old-fashioned. Though he's cunning, he doesn't hold grudges much..."
The more Meng Wangzhou spoke, the more he felt he was straying from his original intent. He immediately bit his tongue to stop the damage, awkwardly forcing a recovery: "Once you get to know him better, Producer Shen will naturally understand."
Old-fashioned?
Probably not.
She thought Ji Qinghe seemed quite modern—couldn't possibly be self-taught, right?
Shen Qianzhan clicked her tongue and pulled her thoughts back.
At the moment, she hadn't even assembled her screenwriting team yet. Apart from one percent of the script concept, everything about the project preparation was still at ground zero.
Meng Wangzhou's words had reminded her: butting heads with Ji Qinghe like this wasn't just useless—it might even backfire.
Had she slept so soundly that she lost her emotional intelligence along the way? None of the usual tactics she used to charm investors had come out; she just wanted to force Ji Qinghe into cooperation. On what grounds?
Shen Qianzhan turned the corner in her thinking, and a plan formed in her mind.
She stood up, picked up her wine glass—a true man knows when to yield and when to stand firm—and offered Ji Qinghe an apology toast: "Mr. Ji, please don't take it to heart. I invited you to this meal today, firstly to thank Brother Wangzhou for his hospitality last night, and secondly to apologize to you."
She poured another cup, her hand steady as an old dog, not a single tremble: "It's my fault for presuming on the... friendship between you and me, and speaking offensively."
Shen Qianzhan tilted her head back and downed the cup without changing expression.
Her eyes glistened with moisture, the wine stains at the corners of her lips sparkling; she already looked somewhat drunk.
The room fell into silence; no one dared make a sound.
Su Zan was even more dumbfounded—what was this act? Before setting out, hadn't she been calling him a dog man, even spouting bold and outrageous words about not wanting to be contradicted by Ji Qinghe, but wanting to contradict him instead?
Damn, reality was surreal.
When Shen Qianzhan poured her third cup of wine, Ji Qinghe's expression finally shifted slightly.
His gaze remained calm; only when the light caught his eyes could one glimpse the occasional flicker of clarity and restraint.
He pursed his lips slightly, as if waiting to see what else she might say, a mix of nonchalance and capriciousness in his demeanor.
Shen Qianzhan dug through her Chinese literary repertoire and said, "Mr. Ji prefers quiet, and I've disturbed you repeatedly, behaving improperly. My apologies." As her wine glass touched her lips, noticing Ji Qinghe seemed to sit up a bit straighter, she added, "After three penalty cups, shall we let bygones be bygones?"
Without waiting for Ji Qinghe's response.
She raised her hand and lifted the cup; her lips had just parted, not yet catching the scent of the wine, when a slender hand clasped her wrist, firmly restraining her without much force.
Ji Qinghe's voice was low, his tone resigned: "Shen Qianzhan, in my presence, we don't force people to drink or debate right and wrong."
Shen Qianzhan had drunk two cups on an empty stomach and was slightly flushed: "So I drank for nothing?"
She asked directly, with a hint of astonishment in her words. This instinctive reaction was unexpectedly more appealing than the worldly, sober Shen Qianzhan.
Ji Qinghe curved his lips slightly and said, "Yes, for nothing."
Shen Qianzhan: "..."
Damn, pleasing Ji Qinghe was even harder than sleeping with him.
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