Chapter Seventy-Nine
Xiao Sheng instantly felt as if needles were pricking his back, sweat pouring down like rain.
The oppressive aura emanating from Ji Qinghe made his heart tremble, as if a boulder were pressing down on him, making it difficult to breathe.
He finally realized he had gravely underestimated the man before him. The authority and presence he exuded were not something a mere special consultant could possess—only a leader who had long held a high position could command such a demeanor.
He even had a premonition that offending this man would be a thousand times more terrifying than crossing Shen Qianzhan.
It was a fear and sense of submission that sprouted from the depths of his heart.
It left his back soaked, his eyelids heavy as if weighed down, and he dared not lift his head to meet his gaze.
At this moment, Xiao Sheng suddenly regretted his own recklessness.
His lips parted slightly, wanting to speak a few words in his own defense. But when the words reached the tip of his tongue, it felt frozen, utterly unable to produce a sound.
After a moment, Ji Qinghe shifted his gaze away and let out a low, almost imperceptible chuckle, asking, “Producer Xiao and President Su must be quite close, right?”
“A romantic relationship?” His eyes were deep and unfathomable. Though phrased as a question, his tone was utterly certain.
Xiao Sheng’s heart sank, and he pursed his lips, staring at him.
Ji Qinghe gave him a faint glance, utterly indifferent.
In fact, he was even stingy with letting his gaze linger on him, lowering his head to adjust his cufflinks instead.
Above him, a small arc of light refracted from a crystal chandelier shone brilliantly, illuminating the intricate patterns on the wall’s shadow with stark clarity.
—
The dining room door opened and closed softly several times, and deliberately hushed footsteps gradually entered the serving area.
Shortly after, a server from the catering department lowered their voice and asked, “Why aren’t any of the dishes being served?”
A “shh” sound followed, and then came a rustling of pulling and tugging inside, like a contest of wills—whoever gained the upper hand would dominate the scene.
Shen Qianzhan was surprised that she still had the mind to speculate about what was happening in the serving area, but a part of her remained detached, lost in her own thoughts.
She suddenly felt that life was life precisely because, every minute and every second, all sorts of people were acting out this stage play called “Life” according to their own scripts.
She wasn’t viewing things from a god’s perspective, so she couldn’t see how many obstacles and troubles still lay ahead on her path, nor could she fully understand the thought processes or bewildering actions of others. But once life moved past this stage and she looked back—in this scene, aside from the extras and supporting characters, all that remained was a stage full of drama and absurdity.
Perhaps with age, one really does become more detached when considering things.
If the Shen Qianzhan of a few years ago had encountered tonight’s situation, she wouldn’t have gone so far as to call for a fight or resort to violence, but throwing her weight around would have been inevitable. Did Xiao Sheng think he could walk out of this door unscathed?
Not a chance.
Shen Qianzhan lowered her gaze, looking at Ji Qinghe.
From her vantage point, she could clearly see the interplay of light and shadow falling on his eyelashes and the bridge of his nose. His eye sockets were deep, the shadows at the corners of his eyes dark and somber, like blades and axes buried in the sand, carving his features with sharp, three-dimensional clarity.
He seemed entirely unaware of the prying eyes around him, leisurely folding back his cuffs to reveal a section of his wrist with distinct, well-defined joints.
On that wrist, he wore a dark gray metallic mechanical watch. The links of the strap interlocked seamlessly, the dial slightly convex. Beneath the curved surface lay unadorned, intricate gears, rotating clockwise around the movement’s axis, tooth by tooth, in flawless synchronization.
Though Ji Qinghe had a habit of wearing watches, he often changed them several times a day.Shen Qianzhan was initially captivated, admiring each piece with genuine awe, but over time, she gradually grew numb. Even knowing that a single watch could be worth a Beijing apartment failed to spark any interest in handling them.
However, she had never seen this watch with its intensely industrial, hardcore style. The entire piece resembled a completely transparent, three-dimensional mechanical hub, with all its gears and screws operating within this tiny space—both exquisite and like a miniature version of the wheel of time, utterly unique.
——
Xiao Sheng’s focus, however, was entirely different from Shen Qianzhan’s. He didn’t appreciate the watch’s masterful craftsmanship; what he saw was only the clearly visible Endless Year logo on the curved surface of the watch.
His pupils contracted slightly as he stared intently at the watch for several seconds.
As a world-class luxury brand, Endless Year was still relatively young compared to established top-tier brands. From gaining a foothold to breaking into the domestic market, its market share remained far from that of the leading luxury houses.
In fact, what first entered the domestic market for Endless Year wasn’t its haute couture, cosmetics, or jewelry lines—it was its watch collection.
A few years ago, Endless Year’s watch brand released a conceptual promotional video globally. In addition to showcasing its popular timepieces, it also displayed highly collectible antique clocks. But what drew the most attention was this purely handcrafted mechanical watch.
With its unique design and exorbitant cost, this watch instantly became a sensation, turning into every man’s dream watch.
Unfortunately, Endless Year ultimately never put this watch up for sale.
After competing in several design competitions, it concluded with the Endless Year logo embossed on its curved surface and withdrew from the world stage. Any subsequent reports about it only served to verify the identity of its wearer.
Now, its existence symbolized only one identity—the founder of the Endless Year watch brand.
In an instant, all speculations about Ji Qinghe’s identity were confirmed.
Xiao Sheng’s lips instantly turned pale, and cold sweat broke out across his back.
Last year, when "Spring River" began filming, he stationed himself with the crew, shuttling between various film and television city locations, rarely returning to Beijing. He didn’t even attend the year-end film festivals, award ceremonies, or the Thousand Lights annual meeting, only recording a behind-the-scenes clip and a congratulatory video to send back to Beijing.
"Spring River" was a key project for Thousand Lights Pictures, and Xiao Sheng was determined to use it to establish his own standing and compete with Shen Qianzhan, pouring all his energy into overseeing its progress.
During this time, partly because he had shut himself off from Beijing’s gossip circles to focus on his work, and partly because he was far in the south with limited access to news, he remained largely unaware of developments.
The updates related to Shen Qianzhan were either about her securing exclusive investment from Endless Year and co-producing a tribute series with the Endless Year watch brand, or about her inexplicably striking gold by inviting the long-retired screenwriter Jiang Juanshan back into the industry and signing the rising star director Shao Chouxi to collaborate on the project.
Moreover, the luxurious lineup of her crew fueled rumors that "Time" might compete with "Spring River" for Best Television Series at next year’s television awards.
Each of these developments filled Xiao Sheng with displeasure, fueling the dark thoughts growing within him.At this time, the filming of "Spring River" first encountered bottlenecks, then was hit by a snowstorm. The pressure of being chased and even surpassed by Shen Qianzhan left him with no mind to care about anything else, to the extent that he completely overlooked her romantic affair with the CEO of Endless Year. He wholeheartedly hoped that "Spring River" could overcome its difficulties, wrap up as soon as possible, and enter post-production, so that he could secure Thousand Lights' promotional resources and funding ahead of others and take a bold gamble.
However, the consequences of being impatient for success and underestimating his opponent—just this once—plunged him into an abyss from which there was no return.
The man by Shen Qianzhan's side was far from just an ordinary consultant. Behind him stood an entire kingdom built with gold and jade—a level of wealth and status that ordinary people could hardly reach in a lifetime. No matter who it was, they had to avoid his sharp edge and yield three points.
Yet here he was, using Shen Qianzhan to seek credit and rewards, directly offending both of these formidable figures to the core.
In the midst of the deadlock, Xiao Sheng's phone on the table buzzed with an incoming call.
The dining room instantly fell so silent it was as if time had stopped, the clock frozen, leaving only the sound of the phone vibrating against the glass tabletop—repetitive, relentless, ringing again and again.
Everyone’s gaze involuntarily turned toward the clamoring phone.
—There was no need to guess who would call at such a sensitive time.
Shen Qianzhan slightly curled the corner of her lips, revealing an extremely sarcastic smile.
She wasn’t too angry. Having witnessed the underhandedness and darkness of this industry, Xiao Sheng’s tactics were nothing in her eyes. Since he hadn’t succeeded, what awaited him was far more than her mild ridicule and mockery. After tonight, without the help of a powerful patron, Xiao Sheng would likely become a non-entity in this circle.
She picked up her bag, her gaze sweeping over Xiao Sheng from head to toe. "From now on, Producer Xiao and I will go our separate ways, each walking our own path."
"Tonight, I’m afraid I must excuse myself."
—
After Shen Qianzhan left, people gradually began to leave the table one after another.
Qiao Xin, with her amoeba-sized courage, was nearly scared out of her wits. She glanced at Su Zan, who showed no intention of leaving, and quietly tugged at his sleeve.
Seeing no reaction, she mustered her courage and tugged again, whispering a reminder, "Let’s go!"
Sister Qianzhan has already left—are you staying for dinner?
Su Zan remained unmoved.
He kept his eyes fixed on Xiao Sheng, not saying a word.
Qiao Xin simply gave up.
Since joining Thousand Lights, she had always followed Shen Qianzhan, so her stance went without saying.
Su Zan was different. He was the crown prince of Thousand Lights. To put it bluntly, both Shen Qianzhan and Xiao Sheng worked for Thousand Lights and the Su family. Although he wasn’t in senior management or a leader, his background decided everything. There was no need for him to take sides and engage in factionalism with a low-level worker like her.
Qiao Xin understood all this logically, but her emotions were hard to control.
She had long suspected that Xiao Sheng was up to no good, but she never expected things to escalate to this point tonight, tearing apart the facade of reality in one go.
She stomped her foot, somewhat flustered and angry. "Then I’ll leave first."
With that, she stood up to leave.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Qiao Xin rose, Su Zan grabbed her wrist and forcefully pulled her back into her seat.
Without even glancing at the bewildered Qiao Xin, he spoke. "In my sister’s eyes, I’m nothing but a hopeless case. At the company, all my colleagues politely call me ‘Young Master Su,’ but I know that deep down, none of them think much of me. They see me as nothing more than a spoiled heir who only knows how to eat, drink, and have fun.""I used to be truly aimless, spending my days idly chasing after trivial things, and Producer Shen genuinely looked down on me. But over all these years, only she generously offered guidance and taught me, allowing me to gradually hold my head high. I’ve never understood how a grown man like you could be so narrow-minded, constantly targeting a woman. I don’t know why you harbor such deep animosity toward her. She never encroached on your territory, nor did she engage in unfair competition, yet you were so petty as to push her toward men of unknown backgrounds. Are you even human?"
Qiao Xin was stunned.
She glanced at Xiao Sheng, whose face had turned ashen, then looked at Su Zan, who seemed as if he had been soaking in highlighter powder for forty-nine days. Her little heart thumped wildly in her chest.
"As for what happened today, you should confess it to my sister yourself. Thousand Lights doesn’t welcome employees with ill intentions, and my family won’t welcome a man like you who lacks moral principles. No matter what relationship you have with my sister, as long as I’m alive, I won’t let my parents marry her off to you."
Now that all pretense had been stripped away, Su Zan couldn’t be bothered to maintain even a superficial politeness. Moving with the speed of wind and lightning, his steps were swift and urgent as he quickly led Qiao Xin out of the dining room.
Without looking back, he turned the corner, then loosened his grip on Qiao Xin’s wrist and asked her, "Well, how did I do? Pretty impressive, right? Did I come off as manly?"
Qiao Xin choked up.
For a moment, she couldn’t find the words to respond.
She lowered her gaze, staring at the tips of her shoes, and remained silent for a long while.
Su Zan watched her for a moment, then reached out and patted her head. "It’s fine. Sister Qianzhan’s resilience could handle ten Xiao Shengs without a problem. Have you forgotten how she once beat up that investor’s wandering hands?"
"Don’t worry, I’ll give him three days. If he doesn’t confess to my sister on his own, I’ll take it straight to the top."
Qiao Xin shook her head.
She wanted to say, "It’s useless. Even if nothing happened, even if something did, President Su might not seriously punish Xiao Sheng." These things were all too common. From President Su’s perspective, he’d only try to downplay the matter, ensuring it didn’t affect the company’s reputation or public image.
In the end, the one who would compromise and suffer would only be Shen Qianzhan—no exceptions.
So she said nothing, simply lifting her face with a smile. "I’m not worried."
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