Chapter Eighty-Six
After discussing serious matters, it was time to settle old scores.
Taking advantage of Shen Qianzhan’s lowered guard, Ji Qinghe picked her up and carried her toward the bedroom.
Shen Qianzhan’s palms were still tingling, and she couldn’t react in time. Only when Ji Qinghe tossed her onto the bed did she truly understand the meaning of the saying—a gentleman’s revenge is never too late.
Her heart fluttered, and she couldn’t help but swallow. Seeing that he had already removed his suit jacket, she quickly pointed to the faint morning light seeping through the curtains and reminded him, “It’s almost dawn.”
Ji Qinghe’s gaze deepened as he looked at her, unconcerned. “Afraid I won’t have enough time to enjoy myself?”
Shen Qianzhan: “…” For a moment, she couldn’t find the words to refute him.
Ji Qinghe hung his suit jacket on the back of a chair and, feeling more relaxed, knelt on one knee at the edge of the bed, pressing her beneath him. “Where’s your phone?”
Shen Qianzhan was puzzled but still handed him the phone from the bedside table.
Propping himself up on one elbow, he unlocked the phone, opened the “Recent Calls” list, and showed her the missed calls—in the bright red list of missed calls, Ji Qinghe’s name appeared five times in neat rows, each call separated by mere seconds.
Shen Qianzhan felt guilty. “I didn’t have my phone with me.”
Su Lanyi had appeared suddenly and suggested going to the barbecue stall downstairs to talk. While changing clothes, Shen Qianzhan had been too preoccupied with figuring out Su Lanyi’s intentions to notice she’d left her phone in the room.
Ji Qinghe looked down at her for a few seconds. “This isn’t the first time.”
Shen Qianzhan: “…”
She wasn’t addicted to her phone. On set, everyone preferred to communicate face-to-face, so there was no need to use phones. Besides, the place wasn’t that big—if you called out for someone, the whole building would hear you.
But arguing now would be a very unwise move.
As adults, it was better to solve problems directly.
With that in mind, Shen Qianzhan efficiently proposed a solution: “Then tie me to your belt and carry me around all the time.”
Ji Qinghe chuckled. “Who taught you to be so shameless?”
He handed the phone back to Shen Qianzhan. “Hold it yourself.”
Shen Qianzhan dawdled, refusing to take it.
“Fine, don’t take it.” Ji Qinghe pressed his full weight down on her, fitting himself tightly against her.
The fabric of his trousers was thin, and through his shirt, she could feel his lean, firm muscles and the taut, full presence of a certain part of him, like a bowstring pulled taut, silently threatening.
Shen Qianzhan felt like a pitiful, weak, and innocent little peony beneath him, suffering humiliation and devastation.
Trembling, she took the phone, silently condemning him with her eyes.
Ji Qinghe remained unmoved, his voice low and magnetic. “Read it out loud.”
He was too close, and his voice seemed to carry a three-dimensional, floating effect, as if amplified by surround sound.
Shen Qianzhan instinctively glanced at the phone. At some point, he had switched the screen to WeChat, displaying all the messages she had sent an hour earlier.
She felt slightly embarrassed.
Finally, she understood where the explosive tension simmering within Ji Qinghe tonight had come from.
Seeing her hesitate, Ji Qinghe tilted his head slightly, studying her leisurely. “You had the guts to send them, but not to read them out loud?”
His tone carried an undercurrent of stormy intensity, as if thunder and lightning were brewing.
Shen Qianzhan shivered and looked up at him.
At some point, the buttons on Ji Qinghe’s shirt had come undone, the collar slightly open. From her angle, she could see right through the open collar, leaving nothing hidden.
She paused briefly, first explaining, “I didn’t want to break up.”Ji Qinghe’s eyes narrowed slightly at the word “breakup.” He pinched Shen Qianzhan’s chin and examined her carefully. “I doubt you’d dare.”
Most of the time, Ji Qinghe was gentle.
Much like his highly deceptive appearance, his nature was aloof and distant, rarely exposing his emotions fully at any given moment. Only in private moments with her would his eyes betray hints of joy or anger—sometimes passion, sometimes desire—always laying his cards on the table so she wouldn’t have to guess.
This moment was no exception.
Though his tone was cold, the look he gave her held little indifference. Instead, his palm was warm, stroking the curve of her waist like a flame ready to ignite at any moment.
Seeing this, Shen Qianzhan seized the opportunity. “You were the one who said we’re like kids who just started dating, learning how to love.”
Ji Qinghe’s lips curved slightly, waiting for her explanation.
“I thought you had expectations of me, and since I didn’t meet them, I overthought things.” She tossed her phone aside and wrapped her arms around him first. “All these years, I’ve been focused on my career, looking down on relationships. Before I met you, I thought dating was a waste of time and energy. Being single meant freedom—why waste time trying to please a boyfriend?”
Now, Shen Qianzhan, who was currently spending time “pleasing” her boyfriend, sighed deeply. “Now that I’ve caught the last train of love, I regret knowing so little and lacking practical experience.”
She stole a glance at him from the corner of her eye and muttered, “I confessed early so you wouldn’t expect too much from me. What did you think I meant?”
Dawn was approaching.
Having stayed up all night, her eyelids were slightly swollen. Without makeup, her usually sharp and striking features took on a gentle, delicate beauty. At this moment, she looked up softly, her tone tender yet accusatory, like a pampered, beautiful bird hidden deep in a cage.
As if enchanted, Ji Qinghe leaned down to kiss her eyelids.
Everywhere within reach, he wanted to linger and draw close, to be entwined and intimate.
He wrapped his arms around Shen Qianzhan and turned over, leaning against her half-upright pillow, half-lying and half-sitting, holding her in his embrace. “I heard Suihuan mention the ‘dating adjustment period.’ It’s about how girls who’ve been single for a long time struggle to adapt to sudden romantic relationships. They might feel resistant when their partner suddenly enters their life, leading to a breakup.”
Shen Qianzhan processed this and suddenly felt things were even…
She thought she wasn’t suited for relationships, unable to find the balance in transitioning from one dynamic to another. Meanwhile, this man, who remained unflappable even in the face of catastrophe, had been overthinking whether she’d struggle with the dating adjustment period and consider breaking up.
She suddenly felt like laughing and couldn’t hold back, letting out a chuckle. “I’m so used to being independent that I don’t know how to rely on someone else, and I don’t know what to do in a relationship. I was afraid you’d have expectations of me and be disappointed when I couldn’t meet them.”
But these unnecessary worries had vanished during their earlier conversation about the future.
At their age and with their life experiences, she and Ji Qinghe were no longer suited to the kind of relationship where young couples cling to each other every moment, pouring out their hearts.
Their affection was restrained, gentle, capable of embracing each other’s tenderness and strength.Unlike young couples deeply in love, where "I love you" needs to be proven by "you are my only pinned chat on WeChat," "exchanging tokens of affection," and "I deleted all contacts of the opposite sex for you," their relationship was far simpler.
Between them, things were too straightforward—so straightforward that there were no unnecessary promises, like a blank sheet of paper just unfurled, with nothing written or drawn on it yet.
"Overthinking it." Ji Qinghe pinched her earlobe playfully, his voice hoarse. "Instead of wasting time on these thoughts, you might as well get some sleep."
Shen Qianzhan turned to look at him, unsure whether "sleep" meant literally or what she thought it meant.
His chin rested against the top of her head, right on her hair whorl. His slender fingers continued to toy with her ear, gently scratching her earlobe and the hollow of her ear, as if petting a kitten. "The depth of feelings depends on their length."
"Measure it yourself?" As soon as he said it, he chuckled softly, his laughter muffled yet instantly making her ears burn.
"Rogue."
"Shameless."
Shen Qianzhan opened her mouth to bite him.
Just as she leaned in, he turned his head and caught her lips in a kiss.
Her chin brushed against the stubble on his face, unshaven overnight—a slight prickling sensation, tinged with a faint itch.
The light filtering through the gap in the curtains grew brighter, and voices gradually echoed in the hotel corridor.
He rolled over, pinning her back onto the bed, kissing her deeply and fiercely.
After being forced to "measure the depth of their feelings," Shen Qianzhan’s mind was left in a daze, with only one thought lingering—was this considered a morning workout?
——
The news of Shen Qianzhan’s impending departure from Thousand Lights was limited to her conversation with Su Lanyi that night and had not spread.
Whether Su Lanyi was worried that news of her departure would shake morale or was holding back in hopes of reconciliation, nothing from that night had leaked.
Life continued as usual.
Only a few perceptive individuals sensed the impending storm, a subtle shift in the atmosphere.
That day.
The film crew was working through the night.
Shen Qianzhan was waiting for Shao Chouxi to finish work so they could hold a meeting.
Su Zan, after arranging the schedule, quietly pulled over a small stool and sat down beside her.
"Sister Qianzhan."
Shen Qianzhan glanced sideways, responding with a soft hum.
"Did you and my sister have a fight?"
Shen Qianzhan had just drawn a winning hand in her leisurely game of mahjong. Without looking up, she asked, "Who told you that?"
Su Zan rubbed his hands together nervously. "So, what’s going on between you two?"
He glanced at her newly drawn hand, noticing her luck was good tonight, and mustered the courage to bring up Xiao Sheng. "Is it because Xiao Sheng is still at the company and you’re unhappy about it?"
Shen Qianzhan paused and turned to look at him.
Her sharp gaze made Su Zan uneasy, and before she could ask, he spilled everything he knew. "I just thought Xiao Sheng was too much of a scoundrel, so I reported him. My sister had promised to fire him to make you feel better. But the next day, she acted like nothing happened and refused to acknowledge it."
This news had surprised Su Zan at the time, and he had secretly resented Su Lanyi for days. They still hadn’t made up.
That Xiao Sheng hadn’t left Thousand Lights as Su Lanyi had said that night didn’t surprise Shen Qianzhan.
Since she had already broken ties with Su Lanyi, whether Xiao Sheng stayed or left no longer mattered. Su Lanyi, always mindful of the bigger picture, naturally wouldn’t want to lose Xiao Sheng on top of Shen Qianzhan’s determined departure.After that night, Su Lanyi never sent her any private messages again.
The years-long friendship between the two had completely frozen over, entering a prolonged cold war.
Su Zan had no idea what had happened between them, but he keenly sensed that things were gradually going off track. This unusual change kept him awake night after night, always feeling as if something was about to happen.
According to Shen Qianzhan's habits, once a film crew's progress passed the halfway point, she would start preparing for the next project. Whether it was an original project or an adaptation for film or television, she would have already begun scouting by now. But so far, Shen Qianzhan hadn't brought a single project to the table. All of Thousand Lights' current projects seemed to have received some kind of tacit approval, as they were all handed over to Xiao Sheng's team in one go.
"Besides, you're teaching me everything step by step now... just like an employee training a successor before leaving the company." Su Zan frowned slightly, somewhat puzzled. "You're not so disappointed with my sister that you're really planning to leave, are you?"
Su Zan wasn't entirely clueless when it came to being perceptive. Although he hadn't guessed the full story, his summary was spot on.
Shen Qianzhan stared at her phone, completely unaffected. "Isn't it good to promote you? A supervisor doesn't have as much authority as a producer."
For a moment, Su Zan couldn't tell whether she was joking or being serious. His face drooped like a bitter gourd. "I really enjoy running errands for you. I don't want a promotion." After a pause, he took another wild guess. "If it's not because of a falling out with my sister, then are you planning to marry Mr. Ji?"
"Mr. Ji's family background is quite substantial. Wedding preparations must be quite complicated." The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became. "After getting married, you'll need a honeymoon. Both of you aren't getting any younger, so it's time to start planning for a baby. Once you're pregnant, it won't be suitable to overwork yourself. Being a producer is too demanding—Mr. Ji definitely wouldn't agree to you continuing to work on film crews."
Shen Qianzhan played a card and flicked his forehead. "If you have time for this, hurry up and go check the bills for me."
Su Zan covered his forehead and said nothing. He felt uneasy, and without any answers, he remained restless for several days. As June drew to a close, his anxiety grew stronger by the day.
After sending Su Zan away, Shen Qianzhan lost interest in playing her leisurely old-age games.
She locked her screen, propped her chin on her hand, and gazed at the brightly lit studio in the distance.
In another month and a half, "Time" would wrap up filming.
And she, too, needed to think carefully about what path to take next.
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