Unlike Shen Qianzhan’s thunderstruck reaction, Jiang Yecheng and Ai Yi almost simultaneously stopped their conversation and turned toward the door.

Under the massive hanging crystal chandelier, the young man stood in a sharp-cut suit, tall and upright.

He wore narrow-framed gold wire-rimmed glasses that cast half-inch shadows on either side of his nose bridge. His brow peak was sharp, yet the brow bone line was unexpectedly soft.

Beneath the frames, his eyes had deep contours, and when the corners drooped slightly, all sharpness was restrained.

Clearly possessing an extremely oppressive and aggressive handsome appearance, when he arrived, he had first shed three parts of his sharp coldness. The remaining few parts of distant indifference blurred his overly refined and handsome features, unexpectedly creating an aura of elegant roguishness and restrained desire.

Ai Yi was somewhat surprised.

In her mind, the investor representative that Jiang Yecheng valued so highly, while not necessarily an old fox who had seen everything in fame and fortune circles, wouldn’t be this young man who looked like he could be a friend regardless of age.

But thinking was one thing – the truth could never be spoken aloud.

She set down her wine glass and smiled brilliantly, taking the lead to break the almost eerie silence in the private room: “This distinguished guest looks unfamiliar to me – this should be our first meeting. President Jiang, tonight you’ll have to take charge and introduce Qianzhan and me.”

After speaking, she seemingly casually let her gaze linger on Shen Qianzhan’s face for several seconds, then curved her lips into a very subtle smile. Look at Shen Qianzhan’s hopeless appearance upon seeing a handsome man – as if her soul had been bewitched away.

If she remembered correctly, this was exactly the type of man Shen Qianzhan liked.

However, at this moment, whether it was Ai Yi’s meaningful gaze watching the drama unfold or Su Zan’s frantically blinking hints, Shen Qianzhan had no attention to spare for them.

She stared fixedly, using scanning-like vision to compare the man before her with the man she’d encountered in Xi’an months ago, starting from the faint mole at his eye corner with almost harsh scrutiny.

Unfortunately, karmic retribution, once it arrived, was bound to be a precise strike.

Shen Qianzhan confirmed with utter despair that the man before her, whether in facial features or height and build, perfectly matched the one-night stand from her memory.

The overlap between the man she’d slept with for one night and this unreachably high-status investor identity was too shocking for Shen Qianzhan to digest immediately.

So much so that when Jiang Yecheng stood to make introductions, her consciousness remained somewhat dazed, as if all sounds around her had receded. Before her eyes played slowed-down footage through a fisheye lens, scene fragments edited together with overlapping light and shadow.

One moment it was this man’s properly dressed, noble and aloof serious appearance; the next it was this man’s Adam’s apple rolling with uncontainable passion in his improper state.

As the two scenes alternated, Shen Qianzhan shamefully… got aroused.

But in the current unclear enemy-friend situation, Shen Qianzhan thoroughly despised herself for still having her mind full of pornographic garbage at this time.

She gritted her teeth, internally cursing herself for being blinded by lust, but more than that was indignant about her terrible luck and bad timing… Who could have imagined that sleeping with a man thousands of miles away would encounter express delivery service?

But on second thought.

Everyone was an adult – genuine feelings while sleeping together, then patting one’s butt and leaving was also human reality.

They were all people with status and reputation. Now that they’d unexpectedly reunited, she feared her carefully cultivated reputation might crumble if she couldn’t maintain her facade, while he probably feared even more that she might cling to him and cause him trouble.

Thanks to the public relations experience from handling Xiang Qianqian’s romance scandal that year, Shen Qianzhan almost immediately analyzed the pros and cons and optimal handling strategy.

If not for limited time, she could have even written a whitewashing essay, passionately and emotionally defending her one-night affair.

She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the stormy waves in her heart that hadn’t completely calmed, and stood up like nothing had happened, lining up behind Ai Yi to wait for the financial daddy’s handshake.

Jiang Yecheng’s introductory speech was finally nearing its end. Shen Qianzhan barely caught the phrase “Bu Zhong Sui China Region Executive Director.” She raised an eyebrow, recalling how this bastard had initially said he was professionally freeloading off his family and that his family owned a general store that sold everything. She couldn’t help but sneer internally: His family’s general store really was quite “general” – from haute couture luxury goods to jewelry and watches.

Ai Yi was the first to show appreciation, covering her lips with a light laugh, eyes full of admiration. Even her usually strong and stern voice became gentle as spring breeze: “President Ji is truly young and accomplished.”

Su Zan followed closely with endless flattery: “President Ji is truly an outstanding example for our generation of youth. I always thought I worked hard enough, but now I see my vision was too narrow.” After speaking, fearing that Shen Qianzhan’s rainbow praise might fall behind others, he looked eagerly to silently pass the next speaking opportunity to her.

Shen Qianzhan: “…”

Why did this feel like a mic relay performance without props?

Under everyone’s gaze, she lifted her eyes slightly to look at Ji Qinghe, who hadn’t said a word since entering the private room.

The latter was raising his hand to unfasten his suit jacket buttons. The suit fabric at his elbow folded and stretched, revealing a small section of white shirt with dark patterns at his wrist.

That slender hand with distinct knuckles appeared jade-like under the cool gray-white color scheme, from wrist bone lines to finger joints exuding an artistic sense of pampered luxury everywhere.

Shen Qianzhan clicked her tongue.

Usually during such guest reception warm-up segments, she always stood out brilliantly, leaving others unable to keep up with their flattery.

But today the main guest’s identity was special. She neither wanted to be too enthusiastic and be mistaken for a bootlicker without emotions, nor did she want her subjective emotional awkwardness to appear unprofessional.

After much consideration, the most appropriate approach seemed to be praising his hairline: “President Ji is naturally gifted – both intelligent and not going bald.”

After speaking, the entire table fell silent.

Only Ji Qinghe finally gave her a proper look, cold yet polite.

Seeing the impending awkward silence, Su Zan, out of necessity to help his own people, timely saved the situation: “President Ji has had a long journey. Why don’t we all sit down and talk?”

Standing around like a crowd listening to a leader’s speech – the leader wasn’t tired, but he was mentally exhausted.

Work matters, once removed from office environments, always lacked that sense of full dedication. Moreover, being removed from office environments while having a table full of delicacies and precious foods made it even harder.

Shen Qianzhan admitted she couldn’t invest work enthusiasm tonight, nor could she disappoint the table full of delicious food, so she simply yielded the stage.

Without her participation, the conversation progressed smoothly and the dining atmosphere gradually improved.

However, Shen Qianzhan wasn’t idle either. Due to occupational disease, even while elegantly devouring delicious dishes, she could spare ears to analyze conversation content.

This habit initially formed because industry bigwigs liked to chat and laugh at drinking and dining tables, exchanging harmless gossip while toasting. Just like young people outside the industry liked browsing Weibo anecdotes and gossiping while eating, usually by the time Shen Qianzhan finished serving herself a round of dishes, the bigwigs had already moved from discussing some artist’s thread-lift aftereffects to some starlet’s romance with a fresh young actor.

Later, as Shen Qianzhan climbed higher and gained her place, she gradually upgraded to become a main force in the content-producing camp. She not only had to timely whitewash and clarify for her own artists but also throw out quality bait to gather firsthand information.

Being a real producer wasn’t easy – she must have offended the galaxy in her past life.

After Ai Yi and Jiang Yecheng discussed this year’s State Administration review standards for half an hour, they suddenly felt tonight’s dinner was somewhat tasteless. Thinking carefully, since sitting down, Shen Qianzhan had only cooperated in raising toasts and drinking, remaining quiet as a chicken with no presence whatsoever.

She neither warmed up the atmosphere with her usual social grace nor showed the relaxed casualness of private gatherings.

Even she could see that Jiang Yecheng was extremely eager to please Ji Qinghe. If not constrained by his senior elder status, he probably would have acted like Su Zan, completely abandoning dignity with endless flattery.

Instead, she, the producer who urgently needed investor favor, had been eating steadily and quietly for half an hour?

This meal was too smooth and lacked flavor.

Ai Yi withdrew her gaze and, while pouring wine for Jiang Yecheng, casually brought up Shen Qianzhan: “I suddenly remembered – Qianzhan went to Xi’an several times before going abroad?”

Shen Qianzhan glanced at her without denial: “Yes, went a few times.”

“The Shaanxi Museum’s timepiece exhibition is rare. Since we’re doing timepiece restoration themes, whether ancient or modern, we should understand them.” She avoided the main point, even taking the opportunity to establish a dedicated professional persona.

Ai Yi rested her chin on one hand, glancing at Ji Qinghe who seemed carelessly swirling his glass with one hand, then continued: “I heard from Su Zan that you intended to invite Old Master Ji as special consultant. How’s the progress?”

Fuck, truly profit-above-all plastic sisterhood – tearing apart the golden duo CP so quickly and ruthlessly, without mercy.

Shen Qianzhan inwardly regretted her loose tongue earlier about the school district housing resources, while harshly glaring at the loose-mouthed Su Zan. She quickly put on her professional fake smile and responded cheerfully: “Old Master Ji is a master among timepiece restoration specialists. Though I have intentions to invite him as special consultant, it depends on Old Master Ji’s own willingness.”

Ai Yi knowingly “oh”ed and turned to direct the topic toward Ji Qinghe, who seemed perpetually detached: “Is President Ji from Xi’an?”

Ji Qinghe’s action of playing with his glass paused slightly as he nodded faintly: “Ancestral home is Xi’an.”

Dining table culture was actually full of artistry, behavioral nuance, and ritual sense. Smart people knew how to seize timing and when to grasp opportunities to promote cooperation and achieve goals.

So first, one had to be good at observation.

For example: If she needed to cooperate with Shen Qianzhan, she’d have to figure out what she wanted – young flesh, supreme dignity and power, or enough money to buy vanity.

The prerequisite for learning what others needed was picking topics they were interested in. At minimum, one couldn’t discuss child-rearing, marriage views, and mother-in-law relations with a woman radiating feminine charm and romantic allure.

Moreover, this process wasn’t achieved overnight but required constant exploration.

Ai Yi had been observing Ji Qinghe since his appearance. In her eyes, his identity as Bu Zhong Sui China Region Executive Director basically equated to top-tier business resources and RMB.

Not only did Jiang Yecheng want to get closer to him, she was even more urgently wanting to latch onto this golden thigh.

However, when she and Jiang Yecheng discussed industry investment trends, film and TV drama review standards, and even entertainment gossip, Ji Qinghe remained unmoved. Only when it involved Shen Qianzhan did he spare attention from his indifferent state.

Following the principle of reasonable utilization when there was profit to be made, Ai Yi unhesitatingly pushed Shen Qianzhan forward to Ji Qinghe: “Qianzhan values this meeting very much. When we discussed project preparation earlier, she also intended to set the filming location in Xi’an. Why don’t you tell President Ji about it, Qianzhan?”

Shen Qianzhan had been on guard since Ai Yi suddenly cued her. After patiently listening to her roundabout intentions, she nearly pinched Su Zan under the table to the point of myocardial infarction and muscle necrosis.

She smiled and picked up a warm towel to dab her lips: “My understanding of Xi’an is quite limited. President Ji grew up in Xi’an since childhood. The difference between President Ji and me is probably one of fleeting passion versus nostalgic affection – hardly comparable.” After speaking, Shen Qianzhan feigned annoyed reproach and added: “I clearly asked Sister Ai to suggest between Xi’an and Beijing, but you went ahead and decided on Xi’an for me.”

Ji Qinghe had originally been looking at Su Zan.

The private room had temperature control with appropriate settings. The air purifier and humidifier’s work efficiency also perfectly ensured the indoor air remained moist and circulated.

Yet only Su Zan was sweating profusely with a flushed red face.

Really too much of an eyesore.

Until Ji Qinghe heard Shen Qianzhan say “fleeting passion,” his gaze finally moved away from Shen Qianzhan’s hand extended under the table, and he repeated with a half-smile: “Fleeting passion?”

His eyes were deep and profound, pupils gradually darkening. Looking at that expressionless face, it was impossible to discern joy or anger.

Only Shen Qianzhan seemed to receive some dangerous signal, her gaze falling on his lips that held a mocking smile, making her entire neck tingle.

Finished.

About to crash and burn.