The computer hadn’t been turned off yet. Shen Qianzhan slid the mouse to look at the new clause hidden in the most inconspicuous corner of the fourth page of the contract.

Did Ji Qinghe have dog eyes? So sharp.

She bit her finger and thought for about three minutes before replying: “The fulfillment condition for ‘private emotions’ should be that the number of people in an enclosed space must not be less than three, and the distance must not be negative.” After sending, Shen Qianzhan reviewed it several times and added: “If this clause requires detailed annotation from our side, CEO Ji can provide feedback on adjustments to my assistant.”

Shen Qianzhan carefully added punctuation, looked it over carefully, and couldn’t help giving herself a thumbs up.

Subtle yet not vulgar, tactful yet not lacking in firmness—this response could be completely included in the detailed examples of “How to Quickly Guide Rich Second-Generation Kids to Learn Polite Rejection of Unspoken Rules,” specially for Su Zan’s study.

However, as her gaze fell on Ji Qinghe’s WeChat conversation box, she let out a light sneer—Ji Qinghe’s habit of asking questions while knowing the answers really wouldn’t get better anytime soon.

Before, he knew exactly where her sensitive spots were, yet still liked to provoke while listening to her become incoherent and fall apart.

Now he knew she was wary of discussing emotions, yet still liked to help deepen her impression from time to time.

It was really such a pity he wasn’t actually a dog.

——

Shen Qianzhan waited a moment. Seeing that Ji Qinghe didn’t seem to plan on replying again, she simply closed the computer and waited to get off work.

There was a dinner appointment tonight, originally scheduled for the evening of the 22nd. Because the director had something come up last minute, the schedule was postponed, and only this morning did the other party confirm the time through WeChat.

Shen Qianzhan was already used to dinner appointments being adjusted at the last minute. The company had previously had a project that required coordinating the schedules of the original author and screenwriter for nearly two full months before finally bringing the main creative team together.

One meal lasting three hours—for these three hours, she and Qiao Xin had waited two months.

Seeing that the appointed time was getting closer, Shen Qianzhan stood up to touch up her makeup.

She had always paid attention to her appearance. When she got refined, even her hair had to be perfect, with standards comparable to celebrities walking red carpets for magazine photo shoots.

Su Zan had seen her touch up makeup. Growing up surrounded by girls, he wasn’t like ordinary straight men who completely didn’t understand makeup. Sometimes when Shen Qianzhan just picked up blush or eyeshadow, he could immediately distinguish and pass over the appropriate makeup brush.

Not to mention his understanding of currently popular lipstick shades—compared to Shen Qianzhan, they were neck and neck.

Even so, he had once expressed doubt: “If divided by makeup steps and makeup functional areas, wouldn’t this face have to be dismantled into eight pieces?”

Shen Qianzhan initially didn’t understand, looking at him with slight confusion, waiting for Su Zan’s shocking words.

And indeed he didn’t disappoint her. Su Zan gestured in the air around her features, giving examples: “Take highlighting for example—forehead center, brow bone, cheekbones, nose bridge, lip bead, chin all need brightening. And blush isn’t just for both cheeks—there’s also the nose tip. Eyeshadow is divided into inner corner, upper eyelid, lower eyelid, and outer corner, from base, to blending, to layering—the technical operations are progressive. If each area’s different steps were broken down for teaching…” He made an “eww” sound and shuddered.

Shen Qianzhan followed his words to imagine the scene of features being dismantled, continuing to draw her eyeliner with an unchanged expression: “You’re wrong.”

Su Zan was confused: “Hmm?”

Shen Qianzhan’s hand was steady as a rock, sweeping her eyeliner into a signature fishtail. She looked left and right, quite satisfied: “You still don’t understand women’s pursuit of beauty enough. Like me—I’m naturally gifted and don’t need any dismantled teaching at all. No matter how complex the makeup steps, I learn them at a glance.”

Su Zan admitted this. He had always felt that even if Shen Qianzhan became unemployed, she could make a living as a makeup artist with this skill alone.

After finishing her makeup touch-up, Shen Qianzhan raised her wrist to check the time—just right to set off.

——

For occasions that weren’t particularly important or formal, Shen Qianzhan didn’t use company resources. She arranged to meet Su Zan in the parking garage, went downstairs with Qiao Xin, and drove to the appointment.

The director she was meeting tonight was one of the candidates Shen Qianzhan had listed for the tribute drama collaboration, surnamed Shao, called Shao Chouxie.

It was said that back in his youth, when his original name was still Shao Yigang, Shao Chouxie—true to his name—deeply embodied the profound meaning of his parents’ naming choice, confronting teachers today and leaders tomorrow, constantly challenging the Minor Protection Law.

After being disciplined by the school once, he was forced to drop out.

His parents, being superstitious about feng shui, casually changed the name of the now famous Director Shao, hoping that Shao Yigang could continue living up to his name in the future, allowing his parents—who had suffered eight lifetimes of bad luck to end up with such a son—to worry less.

Who knew which of Shao Yigang’s five elements was properly adjusted, but afterward everything went smoothly. He displayed his artistic talent, smoothly got into Shanghai Theatre Academy, and smoothly graduated to become a director.

A bold and meticulous art film that challenged broadcasting standards with a perfectly borderline presentation won that year’s Best Picture award in one fell swoop.

Originally, introducing up to this point, Shao Chouxie’s personal experience was already quite rich and his character quite full, but what Shen Qianzhan valued, besides his work ability, was Shao Chouxie’s natural trending topic constitution that brought its own traffic.

The most colorful and talked-about part of Shao Chouxie’s rise to fame was precisely his name-changing history.

Shen Qianzhan’s style had always been bold, and within the bounds of morality and law, she enjoyed the unusual.

Her interest in Shao Chouxie had been long-standing. She wanted to try breaking away from the rules and templates already established in the industry to see if they could create different sparks.

——

Jichun Erwan Hotel.

Familiar greetings, familiar small talk.

By the time Shen Qianzhan had made her way to the private room with her inquiries, Shao Chouxie, who had been waiting for her for nearly half an hour, wasn’t in the room.

She blinked in confusion, looking toward Su Zan: “Where is he? We didn’t go to the wrong room, did we?”

Su Zan was also puzzled: “I sent him the room number and specifically asked the hotel to personally escort him over.” He pointed to the cup of tea on the table that had completely cooled: “Maybe he went to the restroom?”

Shen Qianzhan said nothing, just raised her eyebrows, indicating he should quickly go find the person.

Three minutes later, Su Zan returned with a strange expression on his face.

Without waiting for Shen Qianzhan to ask, he frowned and reported: “I found him, but couldn’t call him back…”

Su Zan cleared his throat lightly and explained: “Producer Jian Xin has detained him.”

Shen Qianzhan played with her phone, not speaking, only lightly furrowing her brows.

Just as Su Zan was watching her expression and carefully choosing his words, Shen Qianzhan silently chanted “don’t wrinkle, don’t wrinkle, wrinkles will grow,” suppressing her itchy impulse and manually smoothing out her furrowed brow.

Seeing this, Su Zan continued to add: “Besides Jian Xin, CEO Jiang and Director Lei are also there.”

“Jiang Yecheng?” Shen Qianzhan asked.

Su Zan hesitated, taking a long time before nodding: “I heard CEO Ji will arrive shortly.”

This time her eyebrows couldn’t obey anymore. She frowned in thought for a moment, then laughed coldly: “So that’s why Jiang Yecheng’s assistant has been beating around the bush asking Qiao Xin about things these past couple days. Turns out he thought I couldn’t handle Ji Qinghe, so he’s preparing for rain and starting to look for alternatives.”

Shen Qianzhan had always been cautious in her work. Before contracts were filed, everything was variable. Ji Qinghe’s danger level was especially high, so before he signed and sealed the deal, she had specifically instructed Qiao Xin that this matter couldn’t be known by anyone in the company except the two of them.

Even Su Zan had been blacklisted by Shen Qianzhan because his mouth couldn’t keep secrets.

So after Jiang Yecheng’s assistant played countless rounds of tai chi with Qiao Xin, he assumed Shen Qianzhan’s evasiveness meant her negotiations with Ji Qinghe had broken down, and she couldn’t respond directly because of guilt.

She clicked her tongue: “Really heartbreaking.”

Su Zan kept his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, not daring to respond.

His sister Zhan’s knife-sharpening expression really didn’t show even a bit of being heartbroken…

Qiao Xin asked timidly: “Sister Zhan, what should we do?”

How about taking a holiday on the spot?

But obviously, a spontaneous holiday was impossible.

Only overtime was eternal.

Shen Qianzhan thought for a moment and said: “What can we do? Let’s have a meal together. It’ll be lively with more people.”

——

Jian Xin was smugly pleased about successfully snatching Shao Chouxie away and irritating Shen Qianzhan. She was also gentle and deferential toward Jiang Yecheng, extremely flattering.

Her competitive relationship with Shen Qianzhan was known to everyone in the industry.

When she failed to compete for the tribute drama initially, Jian Xin showed nothing on the surface, but internally she had cursed Shen Qianzhan seven or eight hundred times. Unfortunately, her skills weren’t as good as others’, and once Bai Xuan signed with Qiandeng, she could only bow down in defeat.

However, in the film and television industry, project changes were common.

Jian Xin hadn’t given up completely. During this period, she had been secretly working hard, trying to break through via Jiang Yecheng.

Unfortunately, for most of the past half year, Bai Xuan remained unmoved. Only recently had her overtures received responses. Having hope made things more motivating to do.

Jian Xin had many connections in the industry. While pleasing Bai Xuan’s executives, she secretly investigated the situation.

The industry was full of gossipy people and never lacked talking points. Although some news wasn’t accurate and lacked logical coherence, it didn’t prevent her from sniffing out Bai Xuan’s intention to change cooperation partners.

If Shen Qianzhan knew that the resources she had schemed so hard to obtain were about to effortlessly fall into her hands, she wondered if that beautiful face would become distorted with anger.

However, this question was soon personally resolved by the person in question.

Shen Qianzhan stepped in high heels with the aura of a fashion week runway show, making her grand entrance.

She acted as if completely unaware that she was an uninvited guest, shamelessly adopting the attitude of a main guest, first exchanging pleasantries with Jiang Yecheng and the two directors.

After greeting everyone and eyeing the seat she would take later, only then did she hypocritically cover her lips with her hand, showing a very surprised expression as she walked toward Jian Xin and reached out for a hug: “Jian Xin, what are you doing here? Long time no see.”

Jian Xin let out several cold laughs. Her surface performance was even better than Shen Qianzhan’s. After rising to return Shen Qianzhan’s embrace, she smiled sweetly and pulled out a lower seat where the servers were placing and arranging dishes, inviting her to sit: “Come, sit down and eat together.”

Shen Qianzhan was an old fox. She calmly stepped back two steps, saying “Am I disturbing you?” while pointing to the obvious head seat reserved for Ji Qinghe: “Zan Zan said you’re still expecting guests. I’ll sit there so I don’t delay your business discussion.”

Everyone present were all shrewd people who could see Shen Qianzhan was doing this deliberately, but they were all respectable figures who wouldn’t get involved in women’s battles.

Shen Qianzhan’s attitude was also strong, making it clear she didn’t want to let Jian Xin have her way. She wouldn’t consider Jian Xin’s thoughts at all and confidently led Su Zan and Qiao Xin to their seats.

Qiao Xin was nervous, quietly sending Su Zan a WeChat: “Sister Zhan is so scary.”

Su Zan comforted her: “Menopausal women are all scary.”

Qiao Xin: “Did you see? Jian Xin’s gaze is like the needles in Nanny Rong’s hand, practically wanting to pierce through Sister Zhan.”

Su Zan held back his laughter, replying: “Sister Zhan is an inflatable doll—at most she’d just get punctured.”

Qiao Xin: “…You’re so mean to Sister Zhan, I’m going to snitch on you.”

Su Zan didn’t reply.

He poured wine for Shen Qianzhan and accompanied a round of the big shots first.

Director Lei couldn’t be happy without alcohol. Su Zan had spent a lot of time drinking with him recently to fight for Xiang Qianqian’s audition opportunity. So much so that now, seeing that dark, stern face, his hands couldn’t help but tremble.

Seeing him shake like he had Parkinson’s, Shen Qianzhan proactively raised her glass to toast on Su Zan’s behalf: “I heard from Zan Zan that you’ve been taking care of him recently, and Qianqian has gained a lot. This little brother of mine is clumsy with words but has a big heart—he’s grateful inside but not good at expressing it. Since I happened to meet Director Lei today, I must thank you on his behalf.”

She drained the full glass, not leaving a drop.

Director Lei didn’t like people with twisted personalities. Seeing Shen Qianzhan being so straightforward, he immediately became cheerful: “Producer Shen is refreshing! Qianqian has strong plasticity and is hardworking and studious. Her future is bright. Since her manager is also here today, bring Qianqian for a costume fitting another day. If it’s suitable, there’ll be no shortage of opportunities to drink with Producer Shen in the future.”

Shen Qianzhan was slightly surprised, but her expression management was appropriate and she didn’t show any impropriety.

She smiled and had Su Zan pour wine to thank Director Lei for his appreciation, her gaze falling on Jiang Yecheng who was silently tasting wine, lightly settling—she might know who Xiang Qianqian’s backing was.

——

After three rounds of drinks, Jiang Yecheng urged his assistant to call Ji Qinghe, claiming that if he didn’t come soon the food would get cold, but actually fearing that if it got any later Ji Qinghe would find an excuse not to come.

Witnessing this scene, Shen Qianzhan realized Ji Qinghe probably hadn’t agreed to the appointment, and suddenly her heart relaxed, producing some pleasure.

She didn’t miss the assistant’s hesitant expression when he returned from making the call outside. She glanced at Jiang Yecheng’s displeased expression, put down her gently swaying wine glass, and said in a lazy voice: “CEO Ji is hard to invite. Every time requires three or four rounds of begging—very troublesome.”

She supported her chin, pretending to be somewhat drunk, smiling as she said: “But CEO Ji has a good relationship with our Zan Zan.” She turned her head, casually tapping her chin twice with her fingertip, signaling him: “Take my phone and call CEO Ji. If he’s not busy, we can’t let our elders wait here.”

With one sentence, she showed both advance and retreat, appearing close to Ji Qinghe while unconsciously elevating Jiang Yecheng—killing two birds with one stone.

Flattery should be done like this—seamlessly and with mutual satisfaction. Jian Xin’s sticky, cloying fairy voice wasn’t she tired of being so annoying herself?

Shen Qianzhan made a mental note, deciding to use Jian Xin as a negative example to properly guide Su Zan later. To make him understand that when flattering big shots, the artistry of flattery depended on whether he used his brain or not—not to be like Jian Xin all day, only knowing opportunistic tricks.

She had just custom-designed a crash course supplementary plan for Su Zan when from her peripheral vision she saw the private room door being pushed open from outside by Su Zan, who stood sideways with that extremely familiar bootlicking expression on his face.

She had a vague guess in her heart. Before these guesses could materialize, Ji Qinghe, like a cold pine or bamboo, carried a sweeping chill as he stepped inside.

The scene before her was too similar to that unexpected reunion night. Shen Qianzhan’s heartbeat suddenly skipped a beat, like from drinking too much coffee, causing palpitations. For a moment, her breathing became rapid, all the air seeming to be plundered by him, as if she were in a dream.

And she was drunk in the dream, lingering and reluctant to leave.

But soon, her consciousness cleared.

Ji Qinghe’s brows slightly furrowed. He seemed to casually first cast his gaze in her direction. Then, as if nothing had happened, he moved his sight away and scanned the entire room.

Behind him followed a special assistant, slightly shorter than him, with upright features. At first glance he seemed plain, but when he opened his eyes, the sharp light in them had the same stunning destructive power as Ji Qinghe’s cold severity.

Shen Qianzhan supported her cheek, silently thinking: No wonder they’re equally difficult to deal with—Ji Qinghe must have made them wholesale according to his own standards, right?

Jian Xin was annoyed that she had disrupted her business and spent the entire evening doing nothing but urging Shen Qianzhan to drink.

Although Su Zan intercepted quite a bit for her, it was still limited.

Now the alcohol was kicking in. She saw people through a three-part haze with built-in filters, making even Jian Xin’s bony frame look much more pleasant. With sluggish thinking, she couldn’t keep up with everyone’s rhythm. Not only did she miss the best opportunity to show closeness when Ji Qinghe entered, she didn’t even get to greet him.

Shen Qianzhan silently closed her mouth, watching helplessly as Jian Xin smiled radiantly while giving up her seat to make it convenient for Ji Qinghe to sit next to Jiang Yecheng.

As if sensing her gaze, Ji Qinghe glanced slightly sideways toward her.

Then he smiled very faintly and walked directly toward her.

If it weren’t for all the eyes watching, Shen Qianzhan almost wanted to cover her racing little heart.

She watched Ji Qinghe walk toward her without missing a beat. When he was one step away from her, he said in a clear, cold voice: “I’m sitting here.”

Su Zan was stunned for a moment. Without needing Ji Qinghe to confirm whether this seat could be given up, he nimbly moved to an empty seat with his wine glass and tableware, even remembering to have the server standing by the door bring over a clean set of utensils.

Ji Qinghe also took it for granted, sitting down beside her without any pressure.

Shen Qianzhan stiffened, rigidly turning to meet his gaze for several seconds.

Ji Qinghe looked like he was in a bad mood. His lips were lightly pressed together, and even his lip color was paler than usual.

Just then a server came to set the tableware. Seeing she hadn’t brought Ji Qinghe a glass teacup, Shen Qianzhan reminded: “He doesn’t drink alcohol. Get him another cup and bring a pot of hot tea.”

Ji Qinghe had originally been displeasedly tapping his knee with his fingertip. Hearing this, that small finger movement paused. He seemed to smile, and his cold expression suddenly had the frost melt away, becoming softer.

Completely unaware that her routine operation had gained favor points with her financial backer daddy, Shen Qianzhan only then noticed that both he and his special assistant were in suits, as if they had just rushed over from some formal occasion. After thinking, she asked: “Are you nearby?”

Su Zan had made a very long phone call and hadn’t returned since going out.

Shen Qianzhan remembered clearly—that little hoof Jian Xin had even mocked once: “Su Zan has been on this call for so long. CEO Ji must be too busy to come, and he’s afraid to report bad news so he doesn’t dare come in, right?”

Look at that.

Now she was getting slapped in the face.

“Mm, just upstairs.” His voice wasn’t lowered. In the private room quiet enough to hear the central air circulation, everyone present heard his words clearly: “Su Zan said you drank too much. I came down to check.”

Shen Qianzhan was silent for a moment.

Her heart felt tingly. She always felt like this scumbag was preparing to make trouble again.

She looked at Ji Qinghe with trepidation and asked: “Didn’t delay your business, did I?”

Ji Qinghe glanced at her, loosened his tie, and asked back: “Aren’t you the business?” If it weren’t for his natural expression and casual posture, Shen Qianzhan would have almost thought he was seriously flirting with her.

Seeing she wasn’t speaking.

Ji Qinghe looked at her, slightly raised his chin, and said: “I heard your team is all here. I brought my assistant. Let’s sign the contract before leaving.”

Shen Qianzhan had an expression of “as expected”: “CEO Ji is so eager—I couldn’t ask for more.”

Ji Qinghe smiled faintly, the amusement in his eyes from teasing her flashing by momentarily.

He looked sideways at Su Zan who was currently playing quail, remembering how unhesitatingly he had betrayed when asked on the phone “My Sister Zhan is especially easy to bully when drunk—want to come see?” He slightly curved his lips, playing with his cup while looking at the two groups of people at the dining table who seemed harmonious on the surface but were clearly divided.

Jiang Yecheng was somewhat shocked at how close Ji Qinghe and Shen Qianzhan’s relationship was, asking tentatively: “Qianzhan, have you and CEO Ji collaborated?”

Although Shen Qianzhan understood Jiang Yecheng’s behavior of privately making backup plans, she was equally disgusted by his lack of contractual spirit. She kept some vigilance, saying half while leaving half: “CEO Ji is the only one to inherit Old Ji’s legacy. Do you think I’d be willing to let him go?”

Jiang Yecheng’s eyes flickered, quite approving.

Shen Qianzhan couldn’t read Jiang Yecheng’s true thoughts and simply took it as him praising her. She smiled and raised her glass to toast Ji Qinghe: “I still have to thank CEO Ji for trusting me. Shall we drink?”

Ji Qinghe didn’t move. He didn’t even give the others a glance, only focusing on reprimanding Shen Qianzhan: “Forgot again? I don’t do…”

Before he finished speaking, Shen Qianzhan immediately put down her wine glass and poured tea into her cup: “I’m a vulgar person.”

She took a small sip. The slightly bitter tea with sweet aftertaste was a bit hot on the mouth. She just touched it with her lips and naturally put it down, completing the second half of her sentence: “I only know how to drink alcohol and recite poetry. With tea… I can’t compose anything.”

This statement somehow hit Shao Chouxie’s funny bone. He clapped his hands and laughed loudly: “I’ve long heard Producer Shen is an interesting person, but unfortunately never had a chance for deep conversation. If there’s an opportunity to collaborate in the future, I hope to understand Producer Shen’s interesting soul.”

Shen Qianzhan smiled modestly and struck while the iron was hot, discussing the topic she had originally wanted to explore with him tonight.

Ji Qinghe looked up, seemingly casually glancing at Shao Chouxie, and said nothing more.

——

Close to ten o’clock, Shen Qianzhan used the excuse of not being able to handle alcohol well and, not wanting to delay business with Ji Qinghe, decided to leave first.

How could Jian Xin not see that she was ready to withdraw after achieving her goal tonight? She was so frustrated she was about to die from anger, wanting to mock and ridicule her to lose face. Just as the words reached her lips, she suddenly felt a gaze fall on her face.

When she looked up to search for it, that gaze turned away and disappeared silently.

She had a belly full of sarcastic words stuck at her lips, not yet having a chance to speak, when she saw Jiang Yecheng and the two directors successively propose to take their leave.

Jian Xin held back her fire, her dantian almost exploding. Unable to hold back one sentence, it directly slipped out: “Producer Shen always acts so dedicated to work. Teach me someday how to use dedication to work to attract those rich young masters from East City and West City to repeatedly ask their parents for money to invest in your dramas.”

Shen Qianzhan was waiting for a peaceful dissolution when she heard this. Her smile faded, and when responding her voice was cold and harsh, like knocking over a basin of glass shards: “Can’t teach that. We can exchange experiences, but I can’t teach someone with bad intentions. If Producer Jian doesn’t fix this bad-hearted problem, I’m afraid she’ll continue to fail with every project she does.”

Her words fell lightly, completely uncaring about the malicious implications in her words.

For a moment, the private room was silent.

No one expected Producer Jian to suddenly tear off the facade just as they were about to disperse.

Just as everyone was too embarrassed and about to get up and flee, Ji Qinghe seemed to casually mention: “I’ve heard more than once about Producer Shen’s dedication to work evaluation. Besides the positive aspects, there seem to be some other labels that are…” His gaze was distant, his expression ambiguous: “Quite interesting?”

Shen Qianzhan didn’t dare respond.

She had originally thought Ji Qinghe was helping her out of the situation, but it turned out this scumbag was here to set a trap.

He didn’t care about Shen Qianzhan’s refusal to communicate, his lip corners deepening in a smile: “Promiscuous, but never mixing in personal feelings?”

A table full of gossip enthusiasts who had been racking their brains to find excuses to leave immediately sat back down very naturally, discreetly probing: “What does CEO Ji mean?”

Shen Qianzhan’s promiscuous reputation was known to everyone present.

Just like discussing celebrity gossip, no matter who brought it up, they all found it fascinating.

Ji Qinghe remained composed. Only Su Zan knew what was happening and was biting his finger in the corner, secretly laughing.

Shen Qianzhan, you have this day too!

He was overjoyed, watching as Shen Qianzhan was about to fall into the hands of these two today, but Ji Qinghe didn’t plan to elaborate further. He smiled warmly: “I was just confirming.”

Jiang Yecheng knew Ji Qinghe’s requirements for collaborators’ character and work attitude were very strict, so he didn’t suspect anything.

Only the teased Shen Qianzhan silently left a harsh word: “Scumbag, you just wait.”