Chapter Fifty-Two
Only a single beam of flashlight illuminated the room, slanting down behind her, dividing the coldness into prismatic shafts of light that seemed to condense dust and dampness.
The familiar cool fragrance of the man, mingled with a chill, swept over her.
Shen Qianzhan had just awakened from one dream after another, only to plunge into a new web of shock and bewilderment woven before her eyes.
Why was Ji Qinghe here?
And how had he gotten into her room?
Logically speaking, even if he wasn’t in Beijing or Xi’an, he shouldn’t be here.
Her bare toes curled slightly from the cold against the floorboards, and only the small section of the down jacket draped over her shoulders retained a faint warmth.
Shen Qianzhan shivered with cold. She desperately wanted to believe this was an incredibly realistic dream, but the sound of the blizzard raging outside, pressing down on the billboard until it groaned under the weight, felt all too real.
Unable to deceive herself any longer, she tilted her head hesitantly. “Ji Qinghe?”
Ji Qinghe hummed in acknowledgment, his arm around her back sliding down to remove the ashtray she still clutched tightly. “Staying in a hotel without locking the door?”
He casually placed the ashtray back on the table, the flashlight beam sweeping around from behind her to scan Shen Qianzhan from head to toe—a motion so natural and practiced it seemed he’d done it countless times, without the slightest hint of restraint.
Shen Qianzhan followed his gaze to examine herself.
She had never been in the habit of wearing thermal underwear. First, she found it too bulky and restrictive, hindering her from striking alluring and captivating poses in her sleep. Second, maintaining an image of chic, beauty, elegance, and perfection required sacrificing thermal leggings. Third, Beijing’s indoor heating was so warm that thermal wear felt like cling wrap, ready to steam her at any moment.
As a woman who prided herself on being polished twenty-five hours a day, she naturally had her standards when it came to sleepwear.
In Shen Qianzhan’s suitcase, sleepwear and various stockings alone occupied a fifth of the space—from lace and silk to mulberry silk, further categorized into short separates, mid-length seductive leg-baring styles, and long trailing gowns. Today, of all days, she happened to be wearing a form-fitting, tie-front ice silk slip that barely reached her thighs.
The down jacket draped over her shoulders offered only partial coverage, still unable to conceal the curves and boundless allure beneath.
Normally, having already slept together, being looked at a little more wouldn’t be a big deal, especially since she was still clothed—even if the nightgown was excessively sexy and clingy.
But against the backdrop of a late-night intrusion, this scene carried a hint of criminal prelude.
Whether it was the cold weather dulling her wits or the sheer absurdity of the situation, Shen Qianzhan, in her shock, found her mind lagging. In those brief moments, her only thoughts were: “Nipples are showing, so risqué” and “Would crawling back under the covers be misinterpreted as an invitation to bed?”
Before she could organize her thoughts into coherent points, Ji Qinghe’s gaze fell on her bare feet, and he frowned slightly. “Get back into bed first?”
Without waiting for her refusal, he leaned down, pressing against the hem of her nightgown, and lifted her by the waist back onto the bed.
Shen Qianzhan was startled, instinctively wrapping her arms around his neck to steady herself. The soft gasp that rose to her lips felt too affected, so she swallowed it back. Collecting herself, she cleared her throat and asked, “How did you get in?”
Ji Qinghe glanced at her, a teasing glint in his eyes. “Which leg are you asking about?”Shen Qianzhan was about to retort, "With just two legs, which one do you think I'm asking about?" But just as the words reached her lips, she suddenly sensed something off in his tone. Realizing he was making another suggestive remark, she huffed in annoyance and struggled to settle herself onto the bed first.
Initially frightened by the sight of a strange man barging in late at night, Shen Qianzhan’s emotions had failed to calm even after confirming it was a familiar face behind the "intrusion." Yet, any lingering turmoil vanished after the awkwardness of the raised points and being lifted by the waist.
Ji Qinghe seemed completely unaware of her three-minute rollercoaster of shock and terror. He sat on the edge of the bed, taking hold of her feet, which had grown icy cold without a trace of warmth. "Scared?"
Hearing this, Shen Qianzhan almost sneered. "If you were sleeping soundly in the middle of the night and opened your eyes to see a stranger entering your room, wouldn’t you be afraid?"
"If you were scared, why didn’t you lock the door?" Ji Qinghe held onto her foot as she tried to pull it back. His slightly warm fingertips pressed gently against her ankle, not with much force, but just enough to send a tingling numbness from her sole all the way up to her calf.
The flashlight stood upright on the bedside table, its beam fanning out in a soft arc, casting light across half the ceiling. Though not particularly bright, it illuminated Ji Qinghe’s gentle, slightly lowered eyelids in exquisite detail.
Women are creatures prone to wandering thoughts and spontaneous imagination.
This scene, framed like a cinematic shot in the dim light, made her immediately recount the difficulties he must have faced to get here. Softening at heart, her voice grew gentler and more tender. "The hotel’s water and power were cut off, and there’s a blizzard outside. I was afraid I’d sleep too deeply and miss an emergency, so I didn’t lock the door." Little did she expect that instead of an emergency, an uninvited guest would arrive first.
Under Ji Qinghe’s touch, her feet gradually warmed. He released them, letting her tuck them back under the covers, and shifted his gaze from her indistinct face to the empty space beside her. "If you don’t mind, may I lean here for a moment?"
As he spoke, he turned slightly, allowing Shen Qianzhan to see the weariness he couldn’t quite conceal.
Shen Qianzhan didn’t verbally agree, but she shifted inward on the bed, making room for him.
The covers had already grown somewhat cold. Her leg brushed against the untouched part of the quilt, and she couldn’t help but let out a soft hiss.
Ji Qinghe seemed amused by this. He moved further onto the bed without touching her, crossing his legs with most of them still dangling off the side. "Originally, I was headed to Xi’an..." His voice lowered slightly, and he coughed lightly twice before continuing. "Before setting off, I saw the relentless blizzard in Wuxi and guessed the weather would worsen, so I changed my plans at the last minute."
Shen Qianzhan asked, "When did you arrive?"
"Yesterday," Ji Qinghe replied, glancing at her. "I got here just now."
"I hesitated halfway, worried that coming might backfire." He loosely clenched his fingers, pressing them against his brow as if mocking himself. "But then your call didn’t go through, and I came without another thought."
His voice was low, like raindrops rolling from eaves into grass—audible at first, cutting through the air, then landing softly, as if sinking into the lake of her heart, more moving than ever before.
Outside, the wind howled and snow raged, yet Shen Qianzhan felt the slightly damp quilt around her suddenly didn’t seem so cold anymore.
She recalled Su Zan mentioning at noon that he had received a call from him, and a corner of her heart unexpectedly sank.
"Did Su Zan tell you the crew was at this hotel?"
A faint smile touched Ji Qinghe’s lips as he turned to her. "Yes. The roads were blocked by snow. Ming Jue and I followed a snowplow delivering supplies to get in.""Quite a few cars want to get into the film and television base. The highway is closed, half are being turned back and half are queuing up."
Shen Qianzhan was somewhat surprised. "Ming Jue came with you?"
The smile at the corner of Ji Qinghe's lips deepened. He gave her a meaningful glance and said, "Knowing you're in a difficult situation here, I couldn't come empty-handed." He shifted slightly, unceremoniously grabbing a pillow to prop behind his neck. "I brought some instant food and bottled water. I had Su Zan accompany Ming Jue to store them."
He spoke lightly, as if using Endless Year's senior assistant as manual labor was nothing significant. He merely lowered his head slightly, his eyes drooping with a hint of fatigue. "The hotel rooms are all full."
Ji Qinghe looked up, his tone steady and measured. "The nearest hotel is ten kilometers away."
Shen Qianzhan understood his implication—he wanted to stay here tonight.
Within the film and television base, besides studios and shooting locations, there were hotels. The more bustling streets and shops were at least three kilometers away.
The hotels in this area varied in quality, ranging from budget lodgings to four-star establishments. However, due to their proximity to studios and shooting locations, most film crews would book out an entire hotel for their use.
At noon today, when Shen Qianzhan and Su Zan went to Xiao Sheng's room to discuss the next steps, she overheard the production assistant arguing with the producer in Xiao Sheng's room. Among the points mentioned was that the crew had changed hotels once due to insufficient funds, and a small group of crew members, unwilling to relocate, were still staying at a hotel three kilometers away, making management inconvenient.
In recent days, as the snowstorm worsened, they had finally persuaded that small group to move in together, but by then, there were no vacant rooms left in the surrounding hotels.
In other words, the current reality was this—if she didn't take Ji Qinghe in, he would have to sleep on the streets.
Shen Qianzhan, who had suddenly found herself in a position of power over Ji Qinghe's fate: "..." Why didn't she feel happy about it? Instead, she felt somewhat torn.
——
Hotel underground parking garage.
Su Zan borrowed two military coats from the production crew and bundled up tightly to move the supplies.
He had just fallen asleep in the early hours of the morning when he was awakened by knocking. The life producer stood at the door with a girl from the hotel front desk, informing him that someone was looking for him.
At a time when he was desperately sleepy, he scowled, only cracking the door open a sliver. "Looking for me at this hour?"
After receiving a confirming nod from the front desk girl, Su Zan curled one corner of his mouth in mockery. "Special services? Not even taking a break during a blizzard?"
The front desk staff felt awkward. Seeing the other party ready to close the door and leave at any moment, she hurriedly said, "The person's surname is Ming. He's waiting for you downstairs."
A curse word stuck in Su Zan's throat. After a few seconds of stunned silence, he pulled the door open. "Surname Ming? How many people?"
"Two men, both quite tall..."
Before the front desk staff could finish, Su Zan hastily interrupted, "Wait for me, I need to put on some clothes." He slammed the door shut behind him. When he came out again, he was neatly dressed. As he was about to head downstairs, he saw the life producer following him. A sudden thought struck him, and he quickly stopped the person. "No need for you to come. Just have the hotel open two more rooms."
The life producer looked troubled. "There are no rooms left..."
"No rooms left?" Su Zan's head buzzed with pain. Impatiently, he scratched the back of his head a couple of times and waved the person away. "Alright, alright, I get it. It's late, you should go back and rest."
Once the person was gone, Su Zan, feeling quite pleased with his thoughtful handling of the situation, headed to the hotel lobby with a sense of melancholy to welcome the big shot.Everything that followed felt like Su Zan was a puppet on strings, until he led Ji Qinghe to the door of Shen Qianzhan's room. Only then did his conscience finally return to his body. "Mr. Ji, I don't think this is a good idea."
Ji Qinghe glanced sideways at him, silently questioning.
Su Zan shivered under that icy gaze but mustered his courage and said, "Should I wake up Sister Zhan first, and then you can go in?"
Ji Qinghe smiled, unusually gentle. "What are you worried about?"
With Ming Jue present, Su Zan, outnumbered one against two, stammered, too embarrassed to expose the big boss's scheme. But then it occurred to him: whether Ji Qinghe would do anything to Sister Zhan was uncertain, but if Sister Zhan didn't do something to Mr. Ji, they should thank their lucky stars. Either way, it didn't seem like their side would lose out.
With that thought, he straightened up, righteous and unyielding. "Alright, I'll take you in. After Ming Jue and I finish moving the stuff, I'll come back to get you and arrange a room for you to rest."
Ji Qinghe smiled noncommittally.
At first, Su Zan didn't see anything wrong with it. But when he realized how meaningful that smile was, he stumbled, nearly missing a step. As Ming Jue steadied him, he turned and demanded, "Did your boss trick me again?"
Ignoring the "again" in his words, Ming Jue grinned and said, "No."
Just as Su Zan's brow relaxed, Ming Jue added, "The only one he's ever schemed against is that one person." The implication was: You're not even worthy of his schemes.Thank you to the little angels who irrigated nutrient solution: Momeng is not cute 71 bottles; No sugar 40 bottles; Dust 25 bottles; Meatless meat will die star person, wuliwulirui, mint candy summer cool ^◎^, yvonne_s, j, -Nine Balls 20 bottles; xxxlsun 16 bottles; If like first sight 15 bottles; Garden round round round, gaga, mango cola, half moon, north workshop grass, Juanjuan is empty, unfinished song, holding orchid step path 10 bottles; Calmtolois, from simple, bamboo silk, password is your birthday, ocean, Na～, karen, a thin stream of water, Sahara, villkan 5 bottles; Next door Brother Lu?, what to call is a problem, south, Nan Ci, pudding peach, Tirami Su, feather night, water heart 2 bottles; Hai Ruo Ruo, vic-q-lady?, onl, Nana ya!, Yun Sheng, young Fang You, six yuan wife, li off, never encountered not occupied, 33104120, cool frog, farewell, Park Jimin's little fairy, Wen Zhuo, q, 2333, ~~white dew as frost, jade smoke, a sweet date, Zhang Zhang Zhang Zhang Pin, first speechless, Gu Qi, Wei smile, handsome source 1 bottle;
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