What puzzled Shen Qianzhan even more was—did she look like someone who needed blind dates to solve her marriage problems?

Feeling insulted, Shen Qianzhan stared at the screen for a while in silence.

Just as she was considering whether to lock Meng Wanzhou back in the little dark room for self-reflection, he seemed to sense danger and timely added a sentence that instantly dissolved the crisis.

“Didn’t you attend our association activities last time? Several collector friends were particularly impressed by you. I told them you were taken, but they wouldn’t give up, urging me to invite you… all to gather together and have some fun.”

A question mark slowly appeared above Shen Qianzhan’s head: “I’m taken?”

She wasn’t stupid. Though Meng Wanzhou wasn’t exactly vain, he naturally loved to boast, with the rogue spirit of someone who’d been around and the bad habit of saving face.

These traits were usually harmless, but once they involved her, the customer experience wasn’t very pleasant.

Meng Wanzhou was already guilty, and now he could feel Shen Qianzhan’s cold mockery even through the screen. He tentatively asked: “Though not yet, but soon enough, right?”

Shen Qianzhan had little interaction with Meng Wanzhou—their only connection was Ji Qinghe.

She didn’t play dumb. Before putting away her phone, she replied straightforwardly: “President Ji and I only have a business relationship. For smooth future cooperation, Boss Meng shouldn’t say things that could cause misunderstandings—it’s quite awkward.”

After hitting send, Shen Qianzhan reflected on her recent behavior.

Among the few people around, only that little smarty Su Zan knew about her relationship with Ji Qinghe. She usually considered herself above board, but her words and actions indeed weren’t careful enough in others’ eyes.

Kind people like Meng Wanzhou would at most think they were flirting. If they encountered someone with malicious intent, who knew what ridiculous rumors might spread.

It was truly difficult nowadays to be a promiscuous woman coveting beauty.

——

Su Zan had tried 108 different slouching positions on the sofa in Shen Qianzhan’s office before finally waiting for her return.

He immediately sprang up like a carp, standing properly with hands behind his back, respectfully welcoming the leader’s inspection.

Who would have thought—Shen Qianzhan didn’t even glance at Su Zan, carrying her thermos to make tea.

Amid the trickling water sounds, Su Zan suddenly felt the desolation of being banished to the cold palace.

He shuffled to the desk in small steps, quietly placing the Christmas gift box in the very center of the desk under Shen Qianzhan’s peripheral vision.

This trick was indeed effective.

Shen Qianzhan turned around pleasantly, glancing over: “Christmas limited edition?”

Su Zan nodded vigorously like pecking rice.

Shen Qianzhan examined it carefully twice, finding it barely satisfactory: “Took quite some effort?”

Su Zan dared not claim otherwise, his eyes sparkling as he fawned shamelessly: “How could serving you be called effort? I just called countless drinking buddies, went through multiple malls in Japan to snatch one from the counter.” He deliberately lowered his voice mysteriously: “My sister wanted one too, but I didn’t give it to her—only presented it to you.”

Women were mostly sensory-oriented, and Shen Qianzhan was no exception.

Though she knew Su Zan’s words were at least seventy percent exaggerated, she was still very pleased.

She pointed to the reception chair in front of her desk, mercifully saying: “Alright, that mouth of yours is like it’s smeared with honey every day. You don’t do real work, just know how to sweet-talk little girls everywhere.”

She pulled out her chair and sat down, turning on her computer to wait for legal department files while asking: “Dare to come beg forgiveness from me—did something develop with Xiang Qianqian’s matter?”

Su Zan grinned, eyebrows dancing: “Sister Zhan, you definitely can’t guess who’s backing her.”

Shen Qianzhan finished entering her password to unlock, looking up at him: “You mean Jiang Yecheng?”

Su Zan, slapped in the face: “…”

“You knew all along?” Su Zan sighed deeply, his just-straightened attitude collapsing like sand from a punctured bag, scattering everywhere: “Why didn’t you give me some direction? I could have saved some wasted effort.”

“Have I seen hide or hair of you these past few days?” Shen Qianzhan mocked coldly: “Never mind your shadow—I haven’t even seen a single feather. How could I give you direction?”

Knowing he was in the wrong, Su Zan shut himself down for several seconds before honestly reporting: “I checked Qianqian’s resources from the past three months—actively pursued and delivered to her door. If I hadn’t looked carefully, I really couldn’t tell Jiang Yecheng was behind it all.”

Shen Qianzhan crossed her arms, leaning back in her chair, coldly lifting the corner of her lips: “Just give me the conclusion.”

“Jiang Yecheng promised Qianqian that if she could borrow the Key of Time watch from Ji Qinghe, he’d guarantee her the female lead role in the tribute drama.” Su Zan was in a poor mood, his tone somewhat dejected: “The tribute drama belongs to Qiandeng, and she’s the company’s top actress. How could our own drama not include her? What’s she plotting?”

“Su Zan.” Shen Qianzhan was rarely serious: “You’re really not suited to be an artist’s manager.”

Su Zan was speechless, saying nothing.

“When an artist usually sees farther than their manager, you no longer qualify to represent her.” Shen Qianzhan unscrewed her thermos, blew some cool air, and carefully touched it with her upper lip.

A bit hot.

She put down the teacup and said quietly: “Xiang Qianqian has high aspirations, clear goals, and considerable ambition. When I first secured Bai Xuan’s project, she actively joined me for dinner with Bai Xuan’s executives. I estimate she and Jiang Yecheng got together around that time.”

Shen Qianzhan had originally thought Xiang Qianqian’s diva behavior causing negative publicity was Su Zan’s indulgence. Now, combining the timeline, it was likely that Xiang Qianqian felt that clinging to industry bigshot Jiang Yecheng meant imminent ascension, lost her self-positioning, and was ruthlessly set up by rivals.

Su Zan had talked with Xiang Qianqian before coming, speechless at Shen Qianzhan’s ability to deduce the truth from mere speculation: “Have you guessed who set the trap this time?”

“Mrs. Jiang, probably.” Shen Qianzhan glanced at Su Zan’s defeated expression, basically confirming: “I usually tell you to listen to more gossip and secrets. Did you listen to me?”

Jiang Yecheng was the industry’s standard kept man, rising to heaven early on thanks to Mrs. Jiang’s support, soaring all the way to second-in-command at Bai Xuan. After reaching middle age, his family status underwent qualitative change—not only secretly philandering outside, but bold enough to keep mistresses under his wife’s nose.

Shen Qianzhan couldn’t fathom Mrs. Jiang’s mindset. But later, Mrs. Jiang replaced Jiang Yecheng’s secretary, constantly tracking his whereabouts with such strict surveillance she barely didn’t accompany him personally to events.

With Xiang Qianqian getting involved with Jiang Yecheng, retaliation was inevitable.

She sipped the warm clear tea, perfunctorily comforting Su Zan: “Xiang Qianqian’s current situation is mostly self-inflicted. You don’t need to blame yourself too much for your incompetence. The negative publicity from her diva behavior probably has Mrs. Jiang’s handiwork too. She figured out Xiang Qianqian’s pride and arrogance, that she couldn’t handle the blow of falling from grace. Look—as soon as she fell from the altar, she sought desperate remedies, pinning all hopes on her so-called backer. Go advise her—if she can handle this matter cleanly and satisfy Mrs. Jiang, Qiandeng might still have some rescue power. If she continues being so stubborn…”

Shen Qianzhan counted on her fingers, stating coldly: “By the end of next year at most, she’s definitely done for.”

Su Zan felt somewhat tired: “We’ll see.”

After saying this, he rolled his eyes and asked: “Aren’t you curious why Qianqian doesn’t seek help from her own company but trusts President Jiang to give her a lead role?”

“Is that difficult?” Shen Qianzhan glanced at him disdainfully: “That old fox Jiang Yecheng is plotting to replace me, throwing olive branches to Jian Xin while deceiving naive girls to approach Ji Qinghe. Given his relationship with Xiang Qianqian, revealing some news about cooperation breakdown with Qiandeng—would that silly girl not believe it? She thinks Qiandeng can’t satisfy her ambitions anymore and wants to climb higher branches. Borrowing watches is such nonsense—Jiang Yecheng just packaged his sleazy method of offering Xiang Qianqian to Ji Qinghe, seeing if President Ji would accept. Anyway, if Ji Qinghe doesn’t accept, he loses nothing.”

Shen Qianzhan saw people and situations too clearly, sometimes feeling the lonely transcendence of seeing through the mortal world.

She could understand Xiang Qianqian’s behavior, just regretting the effort invested in this girl over the years.

Su Zan could still communicate peacefully with Xiang Qianqian now because she didn’t yet have the confidence to tear her face off with Qiandeng. If she couldn’t turn back, what followed would either be Xiang Qianqian’s breach of contract backlash or Qiandeng freezing and blacklisting her—either result meant mutual destruction.

However, Shen Qianzhan wasn’t curious about which turning point Xiang Qianqian’s future would take. Choices she could see through completely were boring. What she was curious about was why Jiang Yecheng was so obsessed with cooperating with Ji Qinghe.

What trump card was her mysterious President Ji holding that could make Jiang Yecheng so… like flies to filth?

Hmm…

If that damn man knew about this description, he’d probably make her properly understand this phrase hundreds or thousands of times.

Thinking this, Shen Qianzhan shivered hard, quickly stopping her terrible thoughts.

——

After Shen Qianzhan clearly expressed she wouldn’t get involved in Xiang Qianqian’s matter, Su Zan understood and left her office in low spirits.

An hour later, the contract from legal affairs arrived in her inbox as promised.

After careful review, Shen Qianzhan sent a new attachment to Ji Qinghe.

At the same time, she opened Ji Qinghe’s WeChat and wrote several hundred words summarizing and reporting the paparazzi trending topic incident.

Several minutes later, President Ji, separated by multiple time zones, replied coldly and nobly with one word: “Mm.”

Shen Qianzhan raised an eyebrow.

That’s it?

Unwilling to give up, she phrased carefully and tactfully asked: “President Ji isn’t sleeping yet?”

Ji Qinghe was sitting in the airport’s first-class lounge, listening to Ming Jue report work schedules.

Multitasking, he replied to her: “At the airport.”

Shen Qianzhan flipped through the calendar—only five days had passed since Ji Qinghe’s business trip. She was surprised: “So fast?”

Ji Qinghe’s eyebrow twitched, replying expressionlessly: “I’m fast?”

Shen Qianzhan, instantly understanding where President Ji’s focus was: “…” That’s not what she meant.

She rubbed her temples, explaining: “I didn’t mean to question your capabilities.”

Ji Qinghe: “I should hope you wouldn’t dare.”

He added: “You’re the least qualified person to say that.”

Shen Qianzhan rolled her eyes, wanting to throw her phone. But considering Ji Qinghe was speaking truthfully, she coughed lightly and threw herself back into enthusiastic online chatting with her financial daddy: “Is President Ji taking tonight’s flight back to Beijing?”

Ji Qinghe didn’t reply.

He lazily lifted his eyelids, glancing at Ming Jue whose voice had lowered: “Continue.”

The special assistant, privately thinking he was accommodating his boss’s divided attention, perked up and continued reporting.

Ji Qinghe looked down at the dialog box that kept showing “typing” and “delivered” status, the light in his eyes flowing with several traces of rippling luster under the overhead lamp’s refraction.

——”Just sent the contract to your email. Please take a look when you have time. If there are no problems, we can sign once you return.”

——”The explanation you asked for has been organized and summarized. If President Ji feels it lacks ceremony, I can format it as an official document for your email.”

——”If you don’t have time to review so much text, I can also recite it with feeling for you.”

——”President Ji?”

——”Please respond?”

Ji Qinghe chuckled softly, the accumulated fatigue from recent days seeming to ease somewhat.

He raised his hand, lightly pinching his temples, replying: “This explanation isn’t that important to me.”

Shen Qianzhan sent a question mark.

Then why did you act so angry you could ascend to heaven at the time, righteously making this explanation one of the cooperation conditions?

Ji Qinghe said: “Just that innocence cannot be slandered.”

“Thank you for your trouble.”

Wait?

What does that mean?

She worked so hard solving this case just for Ji Qinghe’s “innocence cannot be slandered”?

He knew very well that Xiang Qianqian came to borrow the watch, and that watch had briefly been worn on her hand previously, obviously the lending hadn’t succeeded.

So this damn man Ji Qinghe went through such a big circle just to make her investigate the truth and understand he had nothing with Xiang Qianqian?

Is he sick?

She was angry enough to revolt. To prevent losing control, she threw her phone far away, frantically suggesting to herself: The contract isn’t signed yet, the contract isn’t signed yet, stay calm! Stay calm! Continue being a lapdog!

Shen Qianzhan took a deep breath, replied with three smiling emoticons, and ruthlessly ended the online chatting service.

——

Due to some unpleasantness during the conversation on contract delivery day, Shen Qianzhan reclaimed her pride as a subordinate Party B little brother, ignoring her Party A daddy for a full day.

But as a humble Party B, no matter how proud, she couldn’t exceed twenty-four hours.

On the day the final contract version was finalized for signing, Shen Qianzhan went with Su Lanyi to Bu Zhong Sui’s Beijing branch office.

Both parties signed and stamped official seals.

After all procedures ended, both parties held their respective agreements and shook hands amicably.

Watching a major matter settle into dust, Shen Qianzhan touched the contract, nearly moved to tears.

When queuing to shake hands with her financial daddy’s slender fingertips, Ji Qinghe slightly curved his lips, revealing that calculating half-smile: “Producer Shen, please guide me in future days.”

Shen Qianzhan’s smile stiffened slightly, vaguely feeling… her future days might not be very pleasant.