Chapter Nineteen
Words spoken in the heat of the moment often slip out easily.
To persuade him, Shen Qianzhan’s mind was filled with lofty sentiments and ideals from a moral high ground. The phrase “Compared to my grand ambitions and dreams, you are nothing” lingered on the tip of her tongue but was forcefully swallowed back, knowing full well that Ji Qinghe would likely refute it with sound logic.
She was a habitual overthinker, meticulously calculating three moves ahead with every step she took.
She didn’t control the game; she set the board.
Only when encountering Ji Qinghe did she break her rules for the first time, lose her composure the second, and concede territory the third—each time ending in utter defeat.
Shen Qianzhan asked herself: in her daily life, she ate vegetarian, avoided meat, refrained from killing or neglecting life, and aside from her sharp tongue, she hadn’t committed any heinous acts.
So why did she keep falling into his hands, time and time again, with no end in sight?
Fearing that overly intense or extreme words might backfire and provoke Ji Qinghe’s rebellious side, she thought for a moment and tossed the question back to him: “That depends on whether you want to be the ‘daddy’ or the ‘little brother.’”
She gave examples: “Being the ‘daddy’ is like how things are now—whenever you need me, I can serve tea, sell my soul, and run errands for you. Being the ‘little brother’ is like Su Zan—whenever I need him, he must serve tea, sell his soul, and run errands for me.”
Shen Qianzhan reached out a finger and cautiously poked his chest, still unwilling to give up on creating some distance between their overly intimate proximity. “If you feel you can’t make a choice tonight, you can go back and think it over. As I said before, cooperation must be willing, with aligned goals.”
She was the one charging ahead on the front lines, fighting tooth and nail to bring him overflowing profits, yet he was lingering behind, coveting her body—how could that be right?
Ji Qinghe picked up on certain cues from her emotions and, surprisingly, didn’t press further as Shen Qianzhan had anticipated. Following the light poke, he released her and took a restrained step back.
Though he still resembled a cold, aloof pine tree, Shen Qianzhan felt an unprecedented distance between them in that moment.
He lowered his head, casually brushing his gloved hands together as if it were nothing. “Shen Qianzhan, I’m not as perverted as you.”
The deep pupils of his eyes appeared slightly lighter under the elevator lights. When he looked up at her, a flicker of light seemed to ignite and vanish in an instant, like embers leaping in the grass after a bonfire had died down.
Shen Qianzhan instinctively sensed danger. A chill shot from the soles of her feet to her brow, and she shivered. Just as she was about to say something to salvage the situation, Ji Qinghe pressed the elevator’s open button. Before stepping out, he lifted his eyelids and gave her a careless glance. “Compared to that, I’d rather watch you get tipsy with alcohol.”
The look was so disdainful that Shen Qianzhan froze for a moment before realizing what he meant.
She lifted her elbow and sniffed hard at the lingering scent of alcohol on her clothes.
The gesture inadvertently awakened some nearly forgotten memories—fragmented, hidden pieces that pieced together like a puzzle, forming scenes of risqué adult films before her eyes.
Finally, it settled on a certain shameful play in front of the wine cabinet.
…
That bastard.
He’s at it again with the dirty talk.
—
The elevator doors opened and closed.
Shen Qianzhan’s expression shifted between gloom and clarity several times before she took a deep breath and stepped out of the elevator.
Su Zan was waiting for her by the car.He held a cigarette between his fingers, having just taken a deep drag, yet to exhale. Then he saw Shen Qianzhan walking steadily and calmly out of the elevator lobby. He glanced at her twice, tilted his head, and signaled Qiao Xin to go support her.
Having worked with Shen Qianzhan for a long time, he knew how to tell whether she was drunk or not.
Usually, if her posture was standard and she walked as swiftly as the wind, you had to watch where her gaze fell. If she kept staring at the ground, it meant she was putting on a brave front, barely holding on.
When she was fully conscious, her eyes would only look straight ahead, walking as if carried by the wind, her face clearly saying, "I can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk, come challenge me if you dare."
Su Zan estimated.
Judging by Shen Qianzhan’s current runway-like aura, she probably wasn’t completely drunk—somewhere around a moderate level of five out of ten.
He tossed the cigarette to the ground and crushed it under his foot.
As she approached, he cleared his throat and informed her, "Sis Qianzhan, Mr. Ji left first."
Shen Qianzhan had been quietly arguing with Qiao Xin, insisting she wasn’t drunk and didn’t need any support. Hearing this, she turned to look behind the car: "He left?"
Su Zan nodded. "He left."
Qiao Xin chimed in, "Earlier, you told me to escort Mr. Ji down first. When we reached the parking lot, he asked me to go ahead and said he’d wait for you by the elevator. Then, just now, his assistant came and said there was an urgent matter, so he left first."
During dinner, everyone at the table had heard Ji Qinghe say he would leave after signing the contract after the meal.
Qiao Xin was afraid she’d be blamed by Shen Qianzhan for failing to keep him there, so guilty that she didn’t even dare lift her head.
Shen Qianzhan, the person involved, wasn’t too surprised.
She had spoken to that extent. If Ji Qinghe could still remain calm and stay to haggle over the contract with her, that would have been bizarre.
She turned to Su Zan. "Did he leave any other message?"
"He did." Su Zan took a step back and opened the passenger door for her. "Mr. Ji said for you to go directly to the Time Hall studio to find him tomorrow. He won’t wait past that."
Shen Qianzhan breathed a sigh of relief.
It was good that she didn’t have to beg anyone again. Otherwise, with Ji Qinghe being so difficult, half her life would be gone sooner or later.
She waved her hand, feeling a sense of exhaustion and weakness after the tension had eased. "Let’s head back then. I won’t attend tomorrow’s topic selection meeting." After a moment’s thought, Shen Qianzhan added, "Qiao Xin, you come with me."
—
Once in the car, Shen Qianzhan tilted her head and slipped into a deep sleep.
Su Zan had originally wanted to discuss with her what he had discovered after working hard all afternoon. Seeing how exhausted she was, he simply closed his mouth and silently looked out the window.
At first, Shen Qianzhan was only pretending to sleep.
Tonight had been a battle of wits—first dealing with a little troublemaker, then a difficult man—and she was thoroughly worn out. But gradually, her consciousness deepened, and she unknowingly fell asleep.
The car weaved through traffic, not driving smoothly.
It was as if she was floating above this layer of subconsciousness. Even with her eyes closed, she could clearly see Su Zan quietly giving Qiao Xin directions. His voice was low, carrying a feigned maturity tinged with youthfulness, and his tone was lighthearted with laughter—a completely different type of man from Ji Qinghe.
Shen Qianzhan "watched" for a while, feeling somewhat unimpressed.
Memories churned in her mind, returning to the moment just a while ago when Ji Qinghe had trapped her in his arms and asked, "Then what about me? What am I to you?"
She knew she was in a dream.
Without any reservations, she gently hooked her fingertip around his tie and pulled it downward. When they were close enough for their noses to almost touch, within the clearest range of her vision, her gaze fell on the distinct curve of his lips, lingering there.
"What kind of silly question is that?"
"Of course, you’re my little treasure."Shen Qianzhan rubbed her thumb against his cheek, her gaze lingering on Ji Qinghe’s face—the very face that had captivated her soul. With a mix of affection and motherly tenderness, she patted it and said, “This quality is at least high-competition level.”
She snuggled deeper into Ji Qinghe’s embrace, pressing herself tightly against him.
Perhaps because reality and dreams were not far apart, his body warmth and presence felt incredibly real.
Through the overcoat draped over him, her hands rested on the exquisite fabric of his custom-tailored suit. Her fingertips glided smoothly, feeling the slightly coarse texture of the material.
She reached out, slipping her hands beneath the dark overcoat to rest on his waist. “Look at this waist…”
She clicked her tongue twice, as if momentarily unable to find the right words to describe it. Only when she looked up did a smile spread across her face, her eyes and the corners of her lips glowing faintly, as if recalling something. She pinched his waist with her thumb. “Isn’t there a term for this kind of waist? Although I’ve never tried anyone else’s, yours… should be called a bull’s waist.”
She chuckled softly, perhaps feeling that her imagination had gone too far, unbecoming of her status as a top-tier producer.
Reluctantly, she withdrew her hands. As she poked his chest and pushed him away, her eyes instinctively darted elsewhere. She muttered with a mix of admiration and regret, “What a shame it’s too precious. Who can afford something studded with diamonds?”
Lost in her dream, she was utterly uninhibited.
Little did she know that, outside the dream, she was babbling incessantly in her sleep.
The car was so quiet you could hear a pin drop onto the carpet.
Qiao Xin was so embarrassed that her cheeks flushed crimson, and the area behind her ears and her neck grew hot, almost burning up.
Yet, Shen Qianzhan continued—
“Look at this waist…”
“Isn’t there a term called ‘dog waist’? Although I’ve never tried anyone else’s, yours… should be called a bull’s waist.”
“What a shame it’s too precious. Who can afford something studded with diamonds?”
Su Zan, clinging to the back of the passenger seat with a bottle of water in hand, forced himself to stay calm. “Should we try waking her up?”
Qiao Xin’s ears burned red as she stammered, “I don’t know, don’t ask me, I didn’t hear anything.”
Su Zan also wore an expression of speechless dismay.
As for executives who embarrassed themselves so thoroughly in front of their subordinates, Shen Qianzhan was probably the only one at Thousand Lights, right?
When she first started murmuring in her sleep, Su Zan thought she was thirsty and searched the car for water to give her. He even felt a pang of pity, thinking how hard it must be for Sister Zhan, a woman, to push herself this far for her career.
But before the bottle could even touch her lips, he heard a stream of vulgar words.
Su Zan tried to salvage the situation for Shen Qianzhan. He glanced at Qiao Xin and said, “Probably hasn’t had any eye candy with her first, second, or third options lately. She’s just craving it.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Qianzhan kicked the dashboard in her dream. “Ji Qinghe, you dog of a man.”
Su Zan: “…”
Qiao Xin wisely remained silent.
With a numb expression, Su Zan twisted the bottle cap back on and said, “What happened here stays between us, understood?”
Qiao Xin immediately nodded like a chick pecking at rice. “Understood, understood.” If you want your salary intact, keep the boss’s private matters confidential!
—
Early the next morning.
Before driving to work, Shen Qianzhan sent a photo to the small group chat with only three people. “Who stepped on this?”
The photo was taken from the driver’s seat, showing the passenger-side dashboard. The storage compartment beneath the dashboard had been kicked open, spilling vehicle-related documents everywhere. A clear gray footprint stretched across the still-open compartment.
Qiao Xin kept her eyes downcast and said nothing.She was very busy, busy buying coffee for her boss, preparing breakfast, printing contracts, and organizing schedules.
Su Zan glanced and replied, "This shoe print looks a lot like a high heel. Don’t you think it looks familiar, Sister Zhan?"
Shen Qianzhan took advantage of the red light to compare the sole of her shoe with the footprint.
It really was her own kick...
Too embarrassed to hold anyone accountable, she could only humbly ask, "Was I that strong even when I was that drunk last night?"
Su Zan’s face turned a bit green.
He thought for a moment and kindly chose to remain silent.
Shen Qianzhan waited a while but received no reply. Sensing something was off, she braked before the stop line and directly tagged Su Zan: "Do you want the cheat sheet for handling Xiang Qianqian’s PR crisis?"
The next second.
Su Zan defected to the enemy: "You had a dream last night, the kind of spring dream that people your age commonly have."
"Do you remember what you said in your dream? 'Little treasure, top-tier quality, a dog’s waist.'"
"If your lungs haven’t exploded yet and you still want to hear more, please call: Protect Our Lovely Su Zan."
Shen Qianzhan took a deep breath and replied, "Speak!"
Su Zan imagined Shen Qianzhan’s expression at that moment and was scared out of his wits: "You also said, 'What a pity it’s too precious, who can afford something studded with diamonds?' Then, angrily cursing Ji Qinghe as a dog of a man, you kicked the dashboard."
"I’ve said it all. I think we can forget about the cheat sheet. Just spare my life, Sister Zhan."
Shen Qianzhan nearly fainted.
Her vision went dark for a moment, and her mouth felt parched.
Every word Su Zan said felt unfamiliar to her, but when put together... it did sound quite familiar.
She twisted open a bottle of mineral water to calm her nerves.
In the deep winter of Beijing, the mineral water that had been chilling in the car for who knows how many days felt like an icy spring, the cold rushing straight to the top of her head.
She shuddered, completely sober now. The sole of her foot that had kicked the dashboard began to tingle belatedly.
After a brief wave of subjective emotions—"How could I do something so stupid?" "Damn, how am I supposed to face Ji Qinghe today?" and "Would eliminating a rich second-generation heir and redistributing wealth be treated leniently?"—Shen Qianzhan calmly replied with three words: "You’re dead."
Author’s Note: Come on, come on, hurry up and protect our lovely Su Zan~!
The update time has been posted on the synopsis for a long time. The normal update time is between 18:00 and 19:00.
But I generally consider anything after 18:00 as a delayed update, so the synopsis blackboard will post a delay notice and mark the new update time. So far, I haven’t taken any breaks, and even delayed updates have been on time or even earlier.
If the update isn’t on time, you can check the blackboard~
Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solutions between 2020-02-20 18:12:45 and 2020-02-21 19:33:11~
Thank you to the little angels who threw rocket launchers: Yue Banban 2; Chao Ai Bei Za’s Junjun 1;
Thank you to the little angels who threw grenades: Weiyi hhh, The Guy Named Time, 34892477, Zui Ai Bei Qing’s Jingbai 1;Thanks to the little angels who threw landmines: Little Bunny Guaiguai 5; Doris, Ao 4; Change Qian, Chiyu, Weiyi hhh, Yuzi, Yue Banban, Tang Xiaonan's little Amy 2; G-Dragon's little wife, Wanyang chen, 38846009, Miaoyin lovely, 38548355, Yi Xiaoyu y_y, Lion King Xiuxiu 007, Cola fanyilan, Nianbei, Wangwang lifts the quilt!, Lazy Rabbit Xiqibei, -, Want to meet you ya·, Dudu's mom, Bei Qinqin's Nongfu Springquan, Mu Hanhan's little shadow mio, Moon, Xixi jelly pudding, Suzhi., 34892477, Tom and the Mountain, Sky and Flying Birds, Gu Gu Gu Gu Gu Anliang, Utopia, Zhang Zhang Zhang Zhang Ping, Oh, Fusheng, Star-picking little ragpicker, Quack a little yellow duck, Silin, Bei Za's little fairy, Iris Rose, Rain~Mo, Mu City, Onion Head 1;
Thanks to the little angels who irrigated with nutrient solution: kululu 39 bottles; Chenchen 32 bottles; - 30 bottles; Shoushou, Rongxi 19 bottles; Zeyan., Gu Lin's sake 15 bottles; ccccyiru 12 bottles; Juju and Yibo, Yu Yu, Orange jam～, Mu Shiyi, Xixi, Yu En 10 bottles; Jelly super sweet 7 bottles; Salted fish wants to turn over, Nanju hj 6 bottles; alalala, Sugar sister, Jia Ruoyi, Enheng kylin, ll, suasu, Mu City, 21119749, Yu Yunyun, Yanyan, haley, Ah hahahahaha 5 bottles; Wan Lanzhi steps through the fields, Milk tea seven points sweet 4 bottles; little, White peach fairy, Bei Zi, Zeng Yi, villkan 3 bottles; Exclusive witch, Ai Hong, Kekexili? e｀ Qiqiha, Manman, Almond biscuit, Xuan Yu, cetacean bowl An, Shalala 2 bottles; Ruren Yuren, Sunny day slight shine, First meeting, 30731053, farewell, Chu Wuyan, esperanza, Little, I am not Miemie~, wxr, q, Six yuan's wife, Asarum not more than q, gloriaaaaaa, onl, Crispy barley, Charming eyes like silk, Li Zilan, Delusion, calmtolois, Green lemon, whale, Sima Xiaobai, Cool frog, Come back to pick stars for you, Who will pin the flower, Koala lady, Jiuyou, Beautiful city little fox, Never encountered an unused 1 bottle;
Thank you all very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!
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