Chapter Ninety-Two
After Ji Qinghe left, Su Zan went to retrieve the phone for Shen Qianzhan.
On his way back, passing through the hotel lobby, he happened to overhear the front desk staff discussing the cause of Old Chen’s death.
“I heard it was due to overwork—sudden death. By the time he was found, he’d already been gone for half the night.”
“That can’t be right, can it? I saw the crew wrap up pretty early these past few days. Just two days ago, two actors borrowed rackets from us to play badminton in the open area outside the hotel.”
“Can the treatment for actors really be compared to that of the crew? Haven’t you heard? The antique clock props their producer uses for filming are all real. To prevent anyone from targeting the clocks, not only does their crew have someone on night watch every night, but even our hotel was required to enforce real-name registration for anyone entering or leaving after 10 p.m.”
There was a brief silence before another girl spoke up, her voice trembling slightly: “The police have already come, so there shouldn’t be any hidden details, right? It’s kind of scary to think about.”
“Girl, we live in a society governed by law. How could there be so many conspiracy theories? Besides, our entire hotel has been booked by the crew. During this time, the only people coming and going are either hotel staff or members of their crew. There hasn’t been a single unfamiliar face.”
“Exactly. Even before the antique clocks were delivered, the crew asked our manager to install cameras in every corner of the hotel. The room where the clocks are stored—from the alarm system to the protective casing—is almost as secure as a bank vault. Who would be so foolish as to target those clocks?”
Another girl chimed in: “The clocks are fine, and there were no strangers entering or leaving the hotel last night. If something had happened to the clocks, the crew wouldn’t be keeping things so quiet and suppressing the news like this. They’d rather risk the news leaking and make a big fuss to recover the clocks.”
The others nodded in agreement.
After a moment, another girl asked, “Hey, since someone died in that room, will it affect the hotel’s business?”
“Probably. If I were a guest and didn’t know about it, it’d be fine. But if I knew a guest had died suddenly in that room, I definitely wouldn’t want to stay there. It’s too creepy.”
“Forget about guests staying there—didn’t you hear the cleaning aunties discussing this morning, asking the housekeeping supervisor to hire someone new? They’re too scared to clean that room.”
“The crew will have to compensate the hotel for the losses, right? Maybe the hotel will even need to renovate…”
“Let’s show some respect for the deceased and stop discussing this,” one girl said, her voice trembling with fear. “Didn’t the manager tell us not to talk about it?”
With that, the front desk staff whispered a few more words before finally falling silent.
Su Zan listened with a grim expression, glanced at his watch, and turned to leave.
—
After the police arrived, Old Chen’s body was quickly collected.
Once the case was filed, the scene was photographed, personnel were registered, and the police conducted a brief investigation and routine questioning of several individuals involved, including the crew’s head, Shen Qianzhan.
Shen Qianzhan’s professionalism was unquestionable.
She cooperated fully, took responsibility without evasion, and remained objective and composed. When answering questions, she was clear, logical, and rarely strayed into irrelevant details.
After the police completed their evidence collection, they soon departed.
Shen Qianzhan and the hotel manager escorted the police to the entrance. Only after watching the police car disappear down the road did she finally relax, offering a polite and apologetic nod to the hotel manager.The hotel manager was quite impressed by Shen Qianzhan's composure, steadiness, and graceful demeanor earlier. After comforting her a few words, he walked back side by side with her.
Just as they reached the corridor, the assistant manager rushed over in a flurry, sweat beading on his forehead. Seeing Shen Qianzhan standing beside his superior, he swallowed his words and hesitated before saying, "Manager, Su Zan, the production supervisor from their crew, has detained all the employees scheduled for the shift change at noon and won't let them leave."
The hotel manager's gaze sharpened, and he instinctively glanced at Shen Qianzhan.
Shen Qianzhan raised her eyebrows slightly but did not immediately defend herself. Instead, she confirmed again, "Su Zan kept the hotel employees?"
She replaced "detained" with "kept," using precise and gentle wording to avoid leaving any room for criticism.
The assistant manager knew he had spoken carelessly, but at this moment, he couldn't afford to dwell on a single word. He complained, "Just before the shift change, Su Zan called a few burly men to block the entrance to the staff lounge, not letting anyone leave. I took security to check the situation, and we nearly got into a conflict."
To be honest, Shen Qianzhan didn't believe a single word the assistant manager said.
Although Su Zan was impulsive, he would still consider the consequences when faced with a situation.
Old Chen's unexpected death had already put the crew in a precarious position. Compared to the hotel, the crew was currently in a passive situation, urgently needing to win over the hotel to form a united front and jointly block the news from leaking.
He wouldn't be foolish enough to provoke a conflict with the hotel employees without reason and escalate the tension.
This much, Shen Qianzhan still trusted.
However, given the current situation, Shen Qianzhan couldn't make subjective judgments. Nor could she defend him on the grounds that "I've known Su Zan for years, and I understand his character."
What exactly happened? She would find out by going to see for herself.
—
When Shen Qianzhan arrived at the staff lounge with the hotel manager and assistant manager, she saw the two sides locked in a tense standoff.
Inside the lounge, voices were clamoring, all protesting Su Zan's act of blocking the door.
As soon as the hotel manager arrived, the people inside seemed to suddenly have a pillar of support, and they began to voice their complaints all at once.
One duck was noisy enough, let alone more than a dozen ducks. As soon as they started speaking, Shen Qianzhan felt her ears buzzing, as if swarms of summer mosquitoes were flapping their wings, stirring up a storm.
She frowned and glanced at the hotel manager.
The latter was also overwhelmed by the noise, his brows furrowed and eyes drooping. He pointed to a young girl, signaling her to speak.
The girl had a gentle and quiet appearance and worked at the front desk. When called upon by the manager, she looked surprised, her ears turning red as she stepped slightly away from the crowd and said, "My supervisor and I were supposed to get off work at 11:30. We came to the lounge to clock out. When we tried to leave, Su Zan was standing at the door, with people blocking it, not letting us go. Colleagues coming for the shift change were also kept outside, not knowing what was happening."
Hearing this, Shen Qianzhan's expression turned slightly cold as she asked Su Zan, "What's the matter that you have to block the door here?"
Su Zan looked righteously at the assistant manager, who had already retreated behind the hotel manager, and said, "I discussed with the assistant manager early on that both the hotel and the crew need to maintain confidentiality. The assistant manager agreed readily, and I thought he understood the seriousness of the news leaking. But within just one morning, everyone from the front desk to the catering department, even the gardening staff, knew about it.""I understand as well that paper can't wrap fire, and wherever there are people, there will always be discussions. So I discussed with the deputy manager to see if we could have all the informed hotel staff sign a confidentiality agreement to impose some restraint."
"The deputy manager rejected my proposal, telling me that what employees talk about or share is their freedom. He had no right to restrict it and was unwilling to take on that responsibility. He told me to talk to the employees myself—whether they were willing to sign would depend entirely on my ability."
Shen Qianzhan could already guess what had happened by this point.
Her gaze shifted, first glancing at the deputy manager, then extending her hand to ask Su Zan for the confidentiality agreement documents.
Su Zan had come well-prepared, having printed a stack in advance. Seeing this, he handed a copy to the manager as well: "I was also considering the reputations of both parties, hoping we could reach a consensus. I don’t want to make things difficult for the hotel staff, but I can’t make the decision or bear the consequences alone, so I had to temporarily keep everyone here until the leadership arrives to make a ruling."
The confidentiality agreement was only a few paragraphs long. Shen Qianzhan read it twice and found no issues with the content.
Although Su Zan’s approach was forceful, it was understandable and not particularly rude. If it were her, she wouldn’t risk letting the hotel staff leave before the confidentiality agreements were signed either.
After a brief moment of thought, Shen Qianzhan quickly made a decision: "Manager, could we speak privately?"
She and the hotel manager walked a short distance toward the corridor, stopping at the stairwell.
"Supervisor Su is impatient and didn’t consider things thoroughly. I’d like to apologize on his behalf to you and your staff."
The hotel manager had dealt with Shen Qianzhan a few times before and had some understanding of her working style. He neither showed weakness nor dared to slight her, offering a polite smile instead: "My subordinate acted thoughtlessly and lacked consideration. I hope you’ll bear with it, Producer Shen."
After exchanging a few polite formalities, Shen Qianzhan got straight to the point: "You were present when the police arrived earlier. We also reviewed the hotel’s surveillance footage together—Old Chen’s death was accidental. Of course, since he passed away during work hours and at his workplace, the production team will definitely take responsibility."
She lowered her voice slightly: "Our production team doesn’t mistreat employees. The work schedule is reasonable, and shifts are rotated among four people. There’s no basis for claiming that exploitation led to this accident. You were right there when I explained this to the police, so I assume you heard it."
The hotel manager nodded solemnly, his chin slightly tucked in.
Seeing this, Shen Qianzhan softened her tone and said gently: "But gossip is fearsome. I can’t gather all the informed parties together and give a PowerPoint presentation to explain everything one by one. Even if I clarified things this way, private discussions would still continue, and the story would change as it spreads. Some would believe it, others wouldn’t."
"You’ve been hosting production crews for years, so you should understand the influence of celebrities and artists. If this gets out, the attention will only grow. As long as the production team publicly states the facts, the show will still air without much impact. But if the hotel gets labeled with something like this, it will inevitably affect guest traffic. You understand this, right?"
She took out a cigarette case and offered one to the hotel manager.
The hotel manager waved his hand politely: "I can’t smoke during work hours."
Shen Qianzhan didn’t press further. She placed a cigarette between her lips but didn’t light it: "What a shame. Supervisor Su’s cigarettes are all premium ones."She tasted a faint hint of tobacco on her lips, narrowed her eyes, and said, "I know you're in a difficult position too. How about this: I'll cover the renovation costs for that room, and I'll renew the room fee for another year."
She avoided words like "compensation," treating it purely as a business transaction.
In fact, Shen Qianzhan had no obligation to offer the hotel any compensation.
This was something the hotel manager surely understood as well.
Moreover, every word she said struck right at the manager's weak spot.
Once a hotel gets caught up in news of a customer's sudden death, it almost always faces renovations, resale, or even worse—the entire area's "feng shui" could suffer a blow from the scandal, leaving it in a slump.
This risk was something neither the film crew nor the hotel could afford.
Soon, the hotel manager relented and agreed to have the employees sign confidentiality agreements.
Once their goals aligned, progress moved swiftly.
All remaining employees received a lunch from Su Zan as compensation after signing the confidentiality agreements.
With the matter settled, the tense and chaotic morning finally came to a hurried end.
Shen Qianzhan handed all the confidentiality agreements to Qiao Xin for sorting and filing. Sitting at the table, she ate her lunch while lecturing Su Zan: "Acting rashly and impulsively—how many apologies have I had to make for you over the years? Even your parents haven't had to apologize on your behalf this much, have they?"
Su Zan felt guilty, but he didn't think he was entirely in the wrong.
At first, he avoided confronting her while she was furious, waiting for her anger to subside. Once it did, he lifted his head from the metaphorical sand and argued righteously, "What else could I do? I started by reasoning with them politely, but that deputy manager—his position isn't high, but his temper sure is. He refused to let the hotel employees sign the agreements. With their shift almost over, once they left the hotel, whatever they said to anyone would be out of our control. How could I let them go?"
Since the worst-case scenario had already played out, he decided to throw caution to the wind and see who had the tougher head.
Shen Qianzhan's barely suppressed anger flared up again at his words: "Haven't I taught you to always leave room for negotiation? If you push people too hard, someone will inevitably push back. What could you really do to them then?"
The food had long gone cold, and she ate without tasting it. She finally set down her chopsticks: "The deputy manager refused because you didn't handle it properly. He's just an employee—with so many hotels in Wuxi, he could work anywhere. Don't you understand the saying, 'Even a mighty dragon can't crush a local snake'? What good did arguing with him do?"
Su Zan fell silent.
How could he have known that even a hotel deputy manager could be so greedy?
Seeing the defiance on his face, Shen Qianzhan knew exactly what he was thinking. She rubbed her throbbing temples and said, "Some people just have limited vision and short-sightedness. That's why I taught you to recognize and understand people, to learn how to deal with different types."
Su Zan unscrewed a bottle of mineral water and took a big gulp, grumbling, "But you're here. You can teach me slowly, and I'll learn slowly."
Shen Qianzhan paused, her lips parting slightly, unsure of what to say.
After a long moment, her tone grew faint, her voice sounding utterly exhausted as she murmured, "Many things can't be resolved just by reasoning."
"Su Zan, from now on, you'll have to figure things out on your own."
Su Zan, who had been slouching in the sofa, unconsciously straightened his back and stared intently at her: "What do you mean by that?"During this period, he had constantly felt that Shen Qianzhan was preparing to leave him, to leave Thousand Lights.
He had tried to probe her intentions multiple times but to no avail, and could only console himself that this was nothing more than a baseless worry.
He had even found excuses for Shen Qianzhan on her behalf. Perhaps she wanted to get married. If she was leaving Thousand Lights to marry Ji Qinghe, that would be something to celebrate. Not only would he not try to stop her, but he would also offer his blessings.
Yet Su Zan knew deep down that the crumbling corner of his heart was still filled with unease.
He wasn’t foolish. Su Lanyi’s reactions and Shen Qianzhan’s unusual behavior had made him sense an impending parting of ways.
Shen Qianzhan’s words undoubtedly intensified his fear, and his hidden worries sprouted like tendrils emerging from fertile soil.
A bitter taste rose in his throat, as if he had been doused with cold water. He sat there, unable to conceal his despondency.
“It means exactly what it sounds like.” Shen Qianzhan had originally planned to find an opportunity to talk to him before leaving Wuxi. Unexpectedly, things kept happening one after another, and the next few days were unlikely to be peaceful, let alone provide a suitable moment.
She carefully weighed her words, speaking cautiously, “I’m not young anymore. Over the past few years, I’ve been working nonstop to pay off debts, and now, looking back, it all feels rather meaningless. Coincidentally, I’ve had some disagreements with your sister, so I thought I’d take this chance to chase my dreams and become an independent producer.”
Shen Qianzhan glanced at Su Zan and, seeing that his expression seemed somewhat accepting, breathed a sigh of relief and joked, “Mr. Ji has spoiled my heart, making me want to go out and do something big.”
“Besides, as an independent producer, I can take on projects based entirely on my own mood and preferences. No one will restrict me, and there won’t be any targets or quotas. I can arrange my time freely, taking breaks whenever I want…”
She had a whole basket of wonderful ideas prepared to share, such as: Mr. Ji is busy with work, and if I’m also that busy, there’s no way we can date. Someone has to make sacrifices to accommodate the other’s schedule, and I happen to be the one who can let him support me.
Or: The first half of my life has been too tightly packed, with only a few days each year truly belonging to me. I’m too tired and want to rest, preferably to spend time with Mr. and Mrs. Shen.
But after listing just one reason, she couldn’t continue.
She wasn’t someone who sought pleasure and comfort. If she had wanted to rely on a wealthy man, she could have abandoned Thousand Lights years ago and lived an easy life. That reason was clearly too fake.
Nor was she someone who would stop just because she was tired. Her ambition, her capabilities—no one understood them better than Su Zan.
So, she simply fell silent and quietly watched Su Zan.
Su Zan met her gaze.
His dark eyes, for the first time, seemed clouded with dust, dull and lifeless. “You’ve already made up your mind?”
Shen Qianzhan replied, “Yes, I have.”
Su Zan said, “So you really were trying to use the last bit of time to teach me how to be a producer. It’s a pity I didn’t understand your intentions and didn’t cherish it. Even now, I’m still a hopeless case.”
Shen Qianzhan didn’t respond.
Su Zan was different from her. He had been pampered since childhood, indulged and praised by everyone, never experiencing the taste of having nothing. The things he wanted—resources, connections—would come to him with just a wave of his hand.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t learn; he just didn’t want to put in the effort.
After she left, Su Lanyi would find someone else to teach him. Sooner or later, he would be able to stand on his own.Su Zan asked again, "Is 'Time' your last project at Thousand Lights? You'll leave once it's finished, right?" After asking, he felt the question was redundant.
All signs indicated that Shen Qianzhan was about to resign. When she would leave was irrelevant—she was leaving Thousand Lights regardless.
But Su Zan still couldn’t accept this reality. He had never imagined Shen Qianzhan leaving, and he had grown accustomed to idling under her protection, living as an unremarkable, wealth-squandering rich second-generation heir.
His lips trembled several times, stumbling over his words before he finally managed to ask, "If it’s not an irreconcilable conflict, tell me, and I’ll talk to my sister for you. You two have such a good relationship; maybe she just had a momentary lapse in judgment. She often gets stuck on one idea—I’ll go and snap her out of it. Or tell me, what would it take for you to stay at Thousand Lights? I’ll do it, I’ll do whatever it takes."
Shen Qianzhan rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on.
She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again.
"Su Zan, my father is missing, whereabouts unknown," Shen Qianzhan said. "Old Chen died unexpectedly. The production manager just notified his family. At the latest, tomorrow, I’ll have to receive his family and liaise with the insurance company for compensation."
She glanced at the time, her voice calm and tone indifferent. "Next, I need to inform General Manager Su, and tonight I’ll have a meeting with all the team leaders to align our statements. There’s still so much to handle, and everything needs to be arranged step by step."
There was one more thing she didn’t say.
First, there was the internal brawl in Xiao Sheng’s 'Spring River' crew, and now the accidental death of a crew member in 'Time.' Although both incidents were coincidental, too many coincidences could easily be exploited by those with ulterior motives to spin stories.
The crew was going through a turbulent period, and Thousand Lights was more likely to become a target at this time.
One misstep, and she feared her reputation would be tarnished in the end.
She chose this moment to tell Su Zan for two reasons: first, to prevent him from being caught off guard and used by others; second, to guard against Su Lanyi’s potential backstabbing, using the news of her resignation to drive a wedge between Su Zan and herself.
It was almost laughable—once comrades-in-arms, now requiring such preemptive caution.
—
The room fell into an eerie silence.
No one spoke.
Shen Qianzhan packed away the meal box and called Ji Qinghe.
About half an hour earlier, Ji Qinghe had sent her a WeChat message, brief and to the point: "Arrived at Haidu and met up with the rescue team. Preparing to set sail."
The phone rang for a while, but no one answered.
Shen Qianzhan suspected the noise of the boat or waves was too loud for him to hear, so she gave up.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
Shen Qianzhan turned around and reminded, "The door isn’t locked. Push it open."
She had arranged for several people to handle tasks, and for convenience, the door had been left slightly ajar, not fully closed.
The life producer entered as called. "Sister Qianzhan, I’ve contacted Old Chen’s family," he said, noticing Su Zan was also there and greeting him before continuing. "Using the contact information the production manager provided, I reached Old Chen’s wife and booked her a flight for tomorrow at seven. She should arrive around ten."
Shen Qianzhan frowned, not considering this good news. "Who else is in Old Chen’s family?"
"Besides Mrs. Chen, Old Chen has two daughters—one just started high school this year, and the other is still in elementary school. According to his fellow townsman, Xiao Chen, Old Chen’s parents are still alive, and he has two older brothers and a younger sister."Shen Qianzhan fell silent for a few seconds before asking, "How did Mrs. Chen react when she heard about Old Chen?"
The life producer thought back and replied, "The production manager was the one who informed Mrs. Chen. When I asked for her identification details to book her flight ticket, she remained quite calm."
"Didn’t she ask anything?"
"She did," the life producer paused, then added, "She only asked how long it would take to get there and what time she could arrive in Wuxi."
Shen Qianzhan pondered for a moment, then nodded. "I understand. Tomorrow, you and the production manager will have to work a bit harder and pick her up from the airport. Be humble and considerate of her feelings."
The life producer acknowledged her instructions and, seeing she had nothing else to add, gave Su Zan a slight nod before leaving.
—
At one in the afternoon, Shen Qianzhan called Su Lanyi to inform her about the accidental death of a crew member on set.
Su Lanyi asked about the handling plan and, seeing that Shen Qianzhan had everything under control, didn’t press further. She only added, "If the family causes trouble, try to minimize the negative impact. Represent the company in comforting the family, with the main goal of settling the matter. If they’re unsatisfied with the compensation, I can add another hundred thousand."
She seemed to be smoking, pausing briefly for a few seconds before exhaling and asking, "Is there anything else?"
Shen Qianzhan thought for a moment and replied formally, "No, I’ll have Qiao Xin write a follow-up report and send it to your email."
Su Lanyi didn’t respond. She chuckled, holding the phone without speaking or hanging up.
After a long while, once her cigarette was finished, she slowly said, "How did we become like strangers overnight?"
Shen Qianzhan had no intention of reminiscing about the past with her, nor did she want to bring up old feelings or argue.
Her heart had long since shattered into dust that early morning at three o’clock, submerged in icy water.
She remained silent, and Su Lanyi naturally understood her stance. With a self-mocking laugh, she quickly hung up.
—
At seven in the evening, Shen Qianzhan called Ji Qinghe again.
Tonight seemed to arrive exceptionally slowly. It took a long, long time for the sky to darken, as if someone up above was hesitating to draw the black curtain across the heavens.
Leaning against the window, she listened to the busy tone ringing in her ear, dialing repeatedly without growing weary. Just as her heart began to race and her breath grew short, a soft click sounded on the other end. Ji Qinghe’s voice, clear and cool yet tinged with the dampness of seawater, came through: "I’m here."
Shen Qianzhan was momentarily stunned, not immediately realizing the call had connected.
Ji Qinghe stood on the deck, leaning against the railing as he gazed out.
After nightfall, visibility at sea gradually diminished. On the distant horizon, a faint line of deep blue marked the boundary between sky and sea.
But as the ship’s searchlights flickered on, the last remnants of light in the sky were swallowed whole, leaving only the vessel’s illumination glowing like a luminous orb upon the waves.
Hearing her silence, Ji Qinghe switched the phone to his other hand and asked, "Did you get impatient?"
She was, a little, but she wouldn’t admit it. "I was just worried about you."
"We’ve been out at sea for a while," Ji Qinghe said. "We still can’t reach your father’s phone, so we’re following the route your mother provided and searching slowly. It’ll be even slower at night since visibility is poor."
Before Shen Qianzhan could ask, he anticipated her questions. "We’ll reach the island where your father was last seen by eleven at the latest."
"Besides the search and rescue boat, we’ve also notified nearby fishing boats via radio to keep an eye out." His voice softened slightly, mingling with the sound of the sea breeze as he reassured her, "Before you go to sleep tonight, whether there’s progress or not, I’ll call to update you."
Shen Qianzhan asked, "What if… there’s no signal?"
She had meant to say it wasn’t necessary to go to such trouble, but she was also tormented by worry over Old Shen’s whereabouts, secretly hoping he would dismiss her concerns.
She had been busy all day, though she couldn’t quite pinpoint exactly what she had been doing.Time fragments were packed full with trivial, complicated matters, leaving not a moment of leisure.
Only in very, very brief seconds would she involuntarily and suddenly think of Old Shen, recalling the tremor in Shen's Mother's voice she had heard on the phone that morning.
That suppressed, restrained trembling, carefully controlled, tore at her heart again and again.
She had always believed herself to be sufficiently calm, even to the point where, for a few seconds, she doubted whether she was too cold-hearted.
But deep down, she did not believe that anything would happen to Old Shen. Her intuition told her that Old Shen had merely encountered trouble and was temporarily out of contact. Especially after Ji Qinghe left, her heart felt as steady as if supported by a pillar holding up the heavens and earth. A voice kept repeating to her: "It will be fine. Ji Qinghe will definitely bring Old Shen back."
And he, living up to her expectations, said to her: "If there's no signal, I'll borrow a star to tell you."
In that moment, Shen Qianzhan couldn't quite describe the feeling.
Her heart felt sour one moment, astringent the next, then soft and utterly tender, numbing her to the point where she nearly wanted to cry.
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