Chapter Twelve
Fortunately, Shen Qianzhan’s intention wasn’t to please Ji Qinghe in the first place. Seeing that he was impervious to both soft and hard approaches, she didn’t press further and instead turned her attention to Meng Wangzhou.
After the meal, Shen Qianzhan excused herself to the restroom and went to the cashier to settle the bill.
Before leaving, she didn’t forget to give Su Zan a meaningful look, urging him to seize the opportunity.
Having collaborated closely with Shen Qianzhan for two years, Su Zan had developed a strong rapport with her. With just one glance from her, he immediately understood her intention. Using the pretext of toasting, he picked up a teapot and took a seat to Ji Qinghe’s right.
As soon as he sat down, Ji Qinghe looked up, his gaze cold and detached. If Su Zan hadn’t been certain he hadn’t offended him, he would have thought Ji Qinghe’s eyes held no warmth, as if looking at a dead person.
He cleared his throat slightly, raising his voice a little in an attempt to ease the awkwardness. “Mr. Ji, you probably still remember me, right? We met just the other day at Jichun Erwan.”
This time, Ji Qinghe didn’t even bother to look up, completely ignoring him.
Su Zan was utterly baffled. Seeing that the situation remained awkward, he could only brace himself and continue. “Should I reintroduce myself, then?”
“During the day, I’m Xiang Qianqian’s agent at Thousand Lights Entertainment. At night, I’m Producer Shen’s part-time assistant. My name is Su Zan.”
As he finished speaking, Su Zan couldn’t tell if it was his imagination, but it seemed the overly aloof and distinguished Mr. Ji finally gave him a proper glance.
“Part-time assistant,” Ji Qinghe loosened his collar slightly, showing a hint of interest. “And it’s divided into day and night shifts?”
“Sister Qianzhan’s team already has a planning assistant. My role is more like a personal assistant, specializing in accompanying her for drinks.” Su Zan chuckled awkwardly and asked, “Mr. Ji, have you known my Sister Qianzhan for a long time? You two seem like close friends.”
Ji Qinghe toyed with the cup in his hand, offering no response.
His expression was naturally cool, and it grew even more so when he remained silent. Sensing his indifference, Su Zan felt at a loss.
He really was difficult to deal with—no wonder Shen Qianzhan still hadn’t managed to get the big shot’s phone number.
As Su Zan sipped his wine, he caught sight of Xiang Qianqian, who had been ignored all evening. His professional instincts as an agent immediately kicked in. He rolled his eyes and decided to cut straight to the point. “Mr. Ji, would it be possible for you to share your contact information with me?”
He took out his phone and waved it slightly. “WeChat or phone number, either is fine.”
Ji Qinghe glanced sideways and said, “I don’t have WeChat.”
Su Zan was about to open the scan function when he heard this. His hand paused, and the screen remained on the Moments feed he had been browsing.
About three minutes earlier, Shen Qianzhan had posted a new update on her Moments.
Whether she was a dog or not was unclear, but she certainly acted like one.
The accompanying photo featured a blurred wine glass, with the focus instead on Ji Qinghe’s right hand as he toyed with the cup.
Ji Qinghe let out a light scoff and instantly changed his mind. “But wait a moment, I’ll have one soon.”
—
After settling the bill and lingering for a short while.
Shen Qianzhan thoughtfully concluded the gathering by suggesting that Ji Qinghe seemed a bit tired and should head back early to rest.
She instructed the driver to drop Ji Qinghe and Meng Wangzhou off at the entrance of Time Hall. As the two got out of the car, she followed and walked them a few steps.
Meng Wangzhou, touched by her courtesy, recalled how Shen Qianzhan had left in a hurry the day before without a proper farewell. He sighed regretfully and said, “Producer Shen, since you’re so interested in watch collecting, I’ll let you know once the association organizes an event soon. Feel free to join us if you have time.”Shen Qianzhan had spent the entire evening working on Meng Wangzhou, gaining a thorough understanding of the Beijing Clock and Watch Collectors Association. She smiled and agreed readily.
She had been worrying about finding a reasonable excuse to make her presence known in front of Ji Qinghe.
After chatting with Meng Wangzhou, Shen Qianzhan turned her gaze to Ji Qinghe, executing the most crucial part of her entire "play hard to get" plan: "Mr. Ji."
She took a deep breath, as if making a difficult decision, and spoke with solemnity: "Since we are not fated to collaborate, I won’t bother you again anytime soon."
Meng Wangzhou interjected, "Weren’t you two talking just fine yesterday?"
Shen Qianzhan, like a peerless white lotus, looked aggrieved and hesitant: "Mr. Ji doesn’t seem to approve of me, and I believe collaboration should be mutual—it can’t be forced."
Meng Wangzhou had enjoyed his conversation with Shen Qianzhan that evening and greatly admired her carefree and unrestrained personality. Hearing this, he shot Ji Qinghe a reproachful look.
Shen Qianzhan stopped at just the right point, patted Meng Wangzhou’s shoulder, and said, "Don’t worry, it won’t affect our camaraderie." With that, she turned back to Ji Qinghe, waved, and said, "Mr. Ji, rest early and take care of your health."
Ji Qinghe showed no emotion throughout, only reacting when he heard "take care of your health": "Don’t worry, after all, my wish is to die under the peony flower."
His gaze lingered on Shen Qianzhan’s face for a moment before he added, "Nurturing a peony flower takes effort and vitality. I’ll take good care of myself."
Shen Qianzhan’s smile stiffened, nearly faltering.
Pretending not to understand, she maintained a cheerful and friendly demeanor as she bid farewell, while inwardly thinking: "Get the hell out of here, you bastard."
—
Over the next few days, Shen Qianzhan kept her word and never went to Time Hall to make her presence known.
She only instructed Su Zan to update his WeChat Moments irregularly every day, ensuring the posts were visible to one person—Ji Qinghe.
Sometimes, he posted about work—endless morning meetings, work reports, and packed conference rooms.
Other times, he posted about after-work activities—drinking parties, dinners, and karaoke.
And sometimes, even more shamelessly, he posted high-definition, uncensored work photos of Shen Qianzhan.
The comments on Su Zan’s WeChat Moments went from "Is the rich kid facing an economic crisis?" and "Buddy, you’ve changed" to "Su Zan, wake up! You’re supposed to be a rich kid who only knows how to party." Eventually, he set his WeChat Moments to be visible only to Ji Qinghe, feeling utterly defeated.
Shen Qianzhan was also busy. She was occupied with meeting screenwriters, constantly reviewing their works, and selecting suitable candidates.
Her WeChat Moments posts transitioned from coffee and milk to goji berries steeped in a thermos, with Meng Wangzhou diligently liking every post.
After a week of such busyness, Shen Qianzhan went on a business trip.
The first to breathe a sigh of relief was Su Zan. He almost immediately sent his assistant to buy the loudest skyrockets from a fireworks shop to celebrate.
When Shen Qianzhan learned about this at the airport, she gave a forced smile, pulled up Su Zan’s WeChat, and made a "friendly" call.
Su Zan was accompanying Xiang Qianqian to an audition. When he received Shen Qianzhan’s call, his heart skipped a beat, and he quickly covered his phone and hid in the nanny van: "Sister Qianzhan?"
Shen Qianzhan asked, "What are you busy with?"
"Accompanying Qianqian to an audition. Director Lei’s new film is casting, and we ran into him while drinking health tea a couple of days ago, so we asked for a chance to audition. How about you? Is your flight delayed?"
"No," Shen Qianzhan replied, standing in the boarding line. She reminded him, "Don’t forget to post on WeChat Moments."Mentioning this, Su Zan felt utterly drained. He sighed helplessly and asked, "Sis Zhan, will this even work? It's been a week since I posted on Moments, and Mr. Ji hasn't even given a single like." The man probably doesn't even check his Moments at all, and might even go out of his way to avoid anyone from Thousand Lights.
Shen Qianzhan retorted, "What else can we do? Xiang Qianqian just got some free time recently, and you're already worried about her lack of exposure and fans having short memories. If we don't make a strong impression on Ji Qinghe now, what if he completely forgets about the collaboration?"
Su Zan frowned, his face full of disapproval. "I always thought your strategy of retreating to advance was like inflicting ten thousand casualties on the enemy while losing eight thousand of your own. Don't end up playing yourself to death."
And there was something else he didn't say.
He always felt that Sis Zhan using his Moments to build an image of working hard and living actively was a lot like someone who got dumped by a scumbag, deliberately creating the illusion that she was living just fine without him, trying to strike back at the clueless jerk and make him regret his mistake.
He tapped the armrest and suddenly had a flash of inspiration. "Sis Zhan, I have a particularly bold idea."
Shen Qianzhan had just finished checking her ticket and boarded the plane. Hearing this, she casually asked while searching for her seat number, "What idea?"
Su Zan said, "That fling you had in Xi'an... it wasn't Mr. Ji, was it?"
Shen Qianzhan: "..." Damn, did your mouth get blessed by some divine power? Stop with your dangerous thoughts right now.
Su Zan had only asked offhandedly. In his mind, he imagined his Sis Zhan would either cackle with laughter, scold him for having unrealistic ideas, or laugh flirtatiously and shamelessly say she wished it were true but didn't have that kind of luck.
But now, there was only silence in his ears, no response at all, except for the faint sound of the flight attendant's gentle announcements at the cabin door.
Oh no, oh no.
It seemed he had accidentally triggered his "jinx" talent skill again.
Su Zan's mind buzzed for a moment, unable to believe it. "Damn, really?"
Shen Qianzhan seemed to snap back to reality. "No."
Su Zan knew Shen Qianzhan too well. He didn't believe those two words at all, stammering incoherently, "The man you slept with seven or eight times in one night was Mr. Ji?"
Shen Qianzhan helplessly rubbed her temples. "Seven or eight times is a bit of an exaggeration..."
Su Zan suddenly didn't know whether to express his admiration for Ji Qinghe's impressive stamina first or cheer for his Sis Zhan. No wonder Shen Qianzhan hadn't mentioned Xiao Yi, Xiao Er, Xiao San, or Xiao Si lately—the charm of rekindling an old flame was clearly greater.
He rubbed his hands together, nervous yet excited. "So, between the two of you now, who's the bigger scumbag?"
Shen Qianzhan hung up the phone with a snap.
—
For this business trip, Shen Qianzhan only brought Qiao Xin with her, heading to Hangzhou.
A month ago, an original script outline submitted by Qiao Xin had passed the internal review. After a week of phone calls, Shen Qianzhan felt the efficiency was too low and decided to fly to Hangzhou herself to meet the main creators in person.
She was always swift and decisive in her work. Arriving in Hangzhou at noon that day, she had roughly finalized the collaboration intent by the afternoon. In the evening, she even had the leisure to stroll around West Lake with Qiao Xin.
Unfortunately, Shen Qianzhan was never one to truly relax. While sitting on the second-floor balcony of Starbucks, striking poses for selfies, her phone automatically pushed a piece of entertainment news—popular starlet Xiang Qianqian spotted on a late-night street stroll with her sugar daddy.
Shen Qianzhan immediately lost interest in taking selfies. She casually clicked on the notification and browsed the insider information.According to a tip, a kind-hearted netizen encountered Xiang Qianqian and her boyfriend strolling the streets at night while walking their dog, holding hands intimately.
Below this tip were three blurry night photos of Xiang Qianqian and Ji Qinghe walking side by side. The first showed Xiang Qianqian glancing sideways with a faint smile, keeping a fist's distance between her and Ji Qinghe as they walked together. The second captured Xiang Qianqian looking down at the road, accompanied by the caption "shyly lowering her head." The third...
Shen Qianzhan tapped to enlarge the image, zooming in on their hands that appeared to be clasped together—though the details were too pixelated to make out clearly.
Logically, she was certain that Ji Qinghe and Xiang Qianqian couldn't have met more than three times, so they couldn't be that familiar. But emotionally, taking herself as an example—she had slept with Ji Qinghe after knowing him for just one day. If those two wanted something to happen, given that they'd known each other for a week, anything was possible.
Shen Qianzhan genuinely felt sour.
Fuming, she pulled up Meng Wangzhou's WeChat account and, in one breath, blocked and deleted him.
—
An hour later.
Su Zan's WeChat unusually received two messages from Ji Qinghe.
One read: "Prepare to receive a lawyer's letter."
The other: "Give me Shen Qianzhan's contact."
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