Shen Qianzhan forgot how she took the elevator back home. When her paused memory restarted, the scene had shifted from the stairwell to her living room sofa.
She sat alone in the living room, beside her the relentless ringtone that sang through the night until dawn.
Her back still felt somewhat cold—not like the physical sensation of leaning against a wall too long, but rather like a psychological reaction from excessive shock.
Excessive shock?
Shen Qianzhan bit her finger in frustration. How had she let that damn man spout such nonsense without saying a word?
Possessive?
Who did he think he was?
Neither nominally nor legally did she and Ji Qinghe have any relationship!
Originally, Shen Qianzhan had felt quite guilty about attending this event.
Having just slept with Ji Qinghe, although both parties agreed not to continue their previous relationship, turning around to attend an exchange meeting blind date at his cousin’s place was indeed somewhat thoughtless.
Wasn’t this clearly trampling on Ji Qinghe’s masculine dignity?
But no matter how guilty she felt, it all vanished under Ji Qinghe’s loaded, speculative slander.
This was how that damn man thought of her in his heart?
She should have kneed him right then and there to make him say goodbye to his descendants.
Shen Qianzhan was extremely annoyed that she hadn’t been able to refute and crush Ji Qinghe on the spot. Now it was too late to say anything.
She was angry at herself for being tongue-tied while belatedly supplementing ammunition of knowledge that could have left Ji Qinghe fuming and completely defeated. But having missed the opportunity, she could only fume and stamp her feet.
After showering, she finally became clear-headed and rational again.
After her unwavering skincare routine, Shen Qianzhan lay on her bed and finally remembered to show mercy to Su Zan, who had been caught in her crossfire of anger.
Su Zan had followed their car from the cultural center all the way to the elevated highway. After being discovered by Ming Jue, Shen Qianzhan had sent him a WeChat message telling him to go home first.
When Shen Qianzhan got home, the door monitor pushed surveillance video notifications. At that time, Su Zan had called to confirm her safety but was mercilessly hung up on five or six times. Later he simply muted his phone. Only now did she graciously bestow upon him an emoji.
Su Zan didn’t dare openly mention his private deal with Ji Qinghe, so he tried to exonerate himself indirectly.
Shen Qianzhan didn’t care about these details. She pondered Su Zan’s comment that “President Ji pays excessive attention to you” for a long time, not even knowing when she fell asleep.
In the middle of the night, Shen Qianzhan woke up once.
She had fallen asleep without warning and awakened just as inexplicably.
When she opened her eyes, the sky outside was raven-black.
She fumbled under her pillow. Her phone, which hadn’t been held for a long time, felt ice-cold. She raised her wrist to check the time—3:24 AM.
Shen Qianzhan pulled her hands back under the covers.
When she closed her eyes, all she could see was Ji Qinghe cornering her in the stairwell last night, threatening and warning her.
The sensation on her wrist seemed to linger—strong, powerful, irresistible. Even the temperature of his fingertips seemed to retain warmth, like chains firmly locking her heart and soul.
Many emotions she didn’t dare savor when awake finally surged turbulently in the deep silence of night.
Shen Qianzhan wasn’t oblivious to Ji Qinghe’s special treatment of her.
Initially, she thought Ji Qinghe simply found her physically satisfying. Having had it once, a second or third time would naturally follow with just a little seduction from him. Later, when Ji Qinghe asked if she’d be willing to be the peony in his backyard, honestly speaking, in that context, any normal person would interpret it as being kept as a mistress.
She had quite despised that idea.
Her values and upbringing wouldn’t allow her to accept being kept by a man.
She drew up her knees, curling herself up, and let out a muffled breath.
But from the current perspective, Ji Qinghe still had lingering feelings for her. Whether he wanted her as a friends-with-benefits, a lover, or a sugar daddy, for Shen Qianzhan, none of these were good news.
She had no plans to enter a romantic relationship, and even thoughts of marriage were so faint they barely existed, let alone with Ji Qinghe as the other party.
Her locked phone screen showed dozens of message notifications and text alerts.
Without looking, she knew they were all New Year’s greetings from when the clock struck midnight.
Time had crossed an entire year in the moment the hands turned.
She was thirty this year.
At thirty, her career was showing promise.
Independent financial ability, independent personal space, independent survival skills.
Independence made her lose interest in any form of attachment or dependence, while growth had stripped away her excess mercy and innocence. When she looked toward the future, it wasn’t the fog-like confusion and ignorance of youth, but an incredibly determined vision of peaceful prosperity.
At her age, she was no longer suited for love affairs that would end in nothing. Emotions were never a charitable enterprise where you get back what you put in. In youth, one could still get up and run after falling bloodied. As an adult, she had learned to avoid dangers unfavorable to herself and avoid playing with fire.
When she looked at Ji Qinghe, it was like gazing into an abyss.
For a woman like her who was already planning for her retirement years, lusting after someone’s body was fine, engaging in some yellow activities was fine, but fighting earnestly with real emotions… that wasn’t conducive to wellness.
However, a body that had been developed was like a magic box awakened from slumber.
Shen Qianzhan reminisced about Ji Qinghe’s dark, profound eyes before he left, cursed under her breath, and went to sleep under the covers.
The next day was a holiday.
Shen Qianzhan slept until noon. When she woke up, her phone had been stuffed with so many messages it had died from low battery.
After washing up and munching on whole wheat bread, she went to power on her phone.
The moment it turned on, messages flooded in like a tsunami. From collaborating artists to company colleagues, New Year’s greetings poured in like they didn’t cost data, cramming thousands of messages into her phone.
Shen Qianzhan calmly reviewed, acknowledged, and deleted them all.
After clearing her entire WeChat list, she finished her brunch and began her brief and happy holiday mode.
Shen Qianzhan’s holiday mode was always boring—either watching movies or sleeping.
Given that her age had reached a round number this year, she suddenly felt some ceremonial sense of having passed life’s midpoint. After watching a movie in the afternoon, she seriously took out a sheet of A4 paper and made a year-end summary and New Year’s plans.
The year-end summary was rather perfunctory. Shen Qianzhan made a routine work summary, hastily outlining all her work for the entire year.
Perhaps because opportunities to openly flatter Shen Qianzhan were too rare, after her “year-end summary” was posted on her social media, her friends came out in full force, quickly occupying the comment section.
—”Sister Zhan is so dedicated.”
—”I always thought I worked hard enough, but after seeing Sister Zhan’s year-end summary, I’m ashamed.”
—”Sister Deng perfectly demonstrates what it means to work tirelessly as long as you live. If I had half of Sister Deng’s work enthusiasm, I should be able to settle in Beijing by now.”
—”This is what it means when excellent people work even harder than you. Look at this.”
—”Sister Zhan is amazing. Bai Xuan is famously a big shot in the industry. If there are collaboration opportunities, please take care of us little guys.”
—”Being a producer is difficult. Someone as solid as Qianzhan who can organize a crew and start production smoothly every year is too rare. I want to learn from you.”
But among all the rainbow flattery, there were always a few bad apples.
Su Zan questioned: “I reasonably suspect the group leader’s report doesn’t match reality. You clearly took several days of annual leave to Xi’an in June last year.”
Qiao Xin retorted: “Sister Zhan was working even during her vacation. Don’t slander my goddess, hater.”
Su Zan: “I don’t accept that ‘working during vacation’ line. You clearly did other bad things too.”
Meng Wanzhou, who had added Su Zan as a friend and could see each other’s comments, asked: “There was a watch exhibition in Xi’an in June. Producer Shen didn’t miss it, did she?”
Su Zan replied: “No, no, not only didn’t miss it, but gained quite a lot.”
Oblivious to the comments, Shen Qianzhan diligently worked on her New Year’s plans, which looked more like wish-making than actual planning.
For example: smooth project progress, buying one beloved handbag each month, unexpected windfall…
Deeply reflecting that this plan didn’t match her shrewd and capable image, Shen Qianzhan even set up friend groups when posting on social media.
Su Zan: “Sister Zhan, hand on heart, what’s the difference between your New Year’s plan and my fake rich second-generation dream of lying around spending money?”
Shen Qianzhan replied: “The difference is you’re lying around achieving it, while I’m not.”
Su Zan was so choked he was completely convinced and retreated in defeat.
Early the next morning.
After the holiday ended, it was the first day of work in the new year.
As soon as Shen Qianzhan arrived at her office, she saw a gift box with the Bu Zhong Sui logo placed on her desk.
A greeting card sat squarely on top of the gift box, black with gold foil, exuding a mysterious, profound luxury quality.
Shen Qianzhan opened the greeting card with a puzzled expression. The blank space contained only four words: “Happy New Year.”
She suspiciously opened the gift box. Inside the exquisite box were two treasures, one large and one small—Bu Zhong Sui’s newest chain bag and a ladies’ watch from Bu Zhong Sui’s December series.
She raised an eyebrow.
A gift from Ji Qinghe?
Shen Qianzhan was about to call Qiao Xin through the intercom when the latter seemed to sense it and knocked on the door, entering with her own gift box.
When they looked at each other, both saw the confusion in each other’s eyes.
But this confusion quickly dissipated when Su Zan and Su Lanyi also received gift boxes. Bu Zhong Sui had sent New Year’s gifts to all work personnel related to their collaboration with Qiandeng Pictures.
The only difference might be that what Shen Qianzhan received was… particularly thoughtful.
Behind closed doors, Su Zan took out the greeting card from his gift box to compare with Shen Qianzhan’s: “President Ji is so scheming. My greeting card doesn’t deserve his handwritten blessing? It’s actually printed!”
He continued comparing watches, his mood heavy: “My sister and I just got popular Bu Zhong Sui models, but he sent you the April Huaixu from the December series.”
“Scheming, too scheming!”
Shen Qianzhan reminded: “Qiao Xin also got the December series. Hers is the September Autumn ladies’ watch.”
She played with her phone, wondering whether she should send Ji Qinghe a WeChat message. Out of courtesy and reason, she should probably post a photo and thank the financial backer for his generosity?
Su Zan interrupted her: “Qiao Xin got September Autumn because her birthday is in September. You were born February 29th… why did he send you April Huaixu?”
“The point isn’t the ‘xu’ in ‘Huaixu,’ it’s the April. The traditional name for the fourth lunar month is Qinghe.” Su Zan clicked his tongue twice, his face full of sourness: “Sister Zhan, has President Ji started officially pursuing you?”
Shen Qianzhan was feeling irritated. She pointed to the door, silently but firmly showing him the way: “Get out.”
In the end, Shen Qianzhan didn’t thank Ji Qinghe individually. She followed the crowd by taking a photo of the Bu Zhong Sui gift box, posting it on social media, and officially thanking their collaboration partner for their generous spending.
A few days later, an invitation arrived from a charity gala co-hosted by Bai Xuan and several film companies.
The day after Shen Qianzhan posted the invitation, she received a haute couture gown from Bu Zhong Sui.
Impressed by Ji Qinghe’s confusing behavior, Shen Qianzhan refused to believe it was coincidental. The next day, she posted about Shiyue’s gala event schedule.
That old dog Ji Qinghe didn’t care about exposing himself at all—he promptly sent a set of Bu Zhong Sui jewelry.
This time, Shen Qianzhan finally couldn’t sit still. She pulled up Ji Qinghe’s WeChat and questioned: “Are you stalking my social media?”
Ji Qinghe deflected: “I only admit to doing the third character of what you said.”