The launch banquet was scheduled for late April.

At the beginning of the month, Shen Qianzhan rushed to Wuxi and signed agreements with the film studio to rent filming locations.

A few days later, she assembled the art team with Qiao Xin overseeing the set construction and decoration.

In mid-April, the scripts for the first thirty episodes were finalized. Jiang Juanshan and Lin Qiao flew from Beijing to Wuxi, firstly to attend the launch banquet, and secondly to join the crew for script creation.

Shen Qianzhan sent Team A’s driver to pick them up from the airport. After finishing the account details that evening, she and Qiao Xin waited in the hotel lobby to welcome the two screenwriters.

After the script was launched, in order to catch up on progress, Shen Qianzhan left Jiang Juanshan time only for eating, sleeping, and writing scripts.

The exploitation was so severe that even Su Zan, that skinflint, couldn’t bear to watch. More than once he nagged in her ear: “Shen Qianzhan, please be human. Look at Lin Qiao’s dark circles—they’re about to penetrate to the earth’s core. Teacher Jiang, such an elegantly graceful man, now has bloodshot eyes and a pale complexion, looking completely inhuman.”

Hearing this, Shen Qianzhan didn’t even lift an eyelid: “If I don’t do this, could Teacher Jiang deliver thirty episode scripts in such a short time?”

She originally planned to start filming in mid-May, naturally pushing Jiang Juanshan quite hard. Unexpectedly, the combination of Jiang Juanshan and Lin Qiao was too surprising—their coordination was so seamless, their efficiency so high, they managed to advance her schedule by nearly half a month.

So much so that whenever Shen Qianzhan worked until midnight, she couldn’t help but sigh that she had found a treasure.

Never mind this divine duo’s efficient coordination—the script quality alone amazed Shen Qianzhan. Even without time constraints, it would be rare to find such high-quality script stories.

Why could Jiang Juanshan become famous at a young age?

Talent and ability were both indispensable!

When the business car arrived at the hotel, Shen Qianzhan was on a phone call.

Qiao Xin went out to receive them, first leading them to check in: “Sister Shan is taking a work call. Let’s check in first, and after we settle the luggage, we’ll go have late-night snacks together. There’s a night food stall near the hotel with barbecue, rice porridge, everything.”

Lin Qiao looked in the direction Qiao Xin pointed and asked: “Sister Shan has been quite busy lately, hasn’t she?”

“Absolutely.” Qiao Xin sighed: “She’s been so hardworking recently. Every day there are endless tasks, endless people to meet, endless locations to scout. After returning to the hotel at night, it’s either this meeting or that meeting, working until 3 AM every day.”

In Shen Qianzhan’s own words, she’d been so busy lately she was like a dog, so busy her libido had decreased—she didn’t want to do this or that, just wanted to kick her legs up and close her eyes.

Qiao Xin helped Jiang Juanshan and Lin Qiao complete check-in, specifically requesting their rooms be adjacent to Shen Qianzhan’s for convenient meetings.

Lin Qiao, standing a few steps away, visibly deflated when she heard the word “meetings,” looking thoroughly dejected.

After check-in, Qiao Xin led the two to their rooms to drop off luggage.

For this stay, the return date was indefinite. Only when the last ten episodes were written would Shen Qianzhan let them go.

Fearing she’d have to stay a full month, Lin Qiao brought two full suitcases, from daily necessities to bedding and sheets—a complete set.

Qiao Xin watched her organize things in amazement. Finally, when Shen Qianzhan’s call ended, she immediately called Jiang Juanshan to go for late-night snacks.

The night food stall wasn’t far from the hotel—just around a corner.

Shen Qianzhan expertly ordered a pot of boat-style congee, dozens of barbecue skewers, a plate of golden cake, and grabbed several bottles of alcohol before sitting down: “You’ve worked hard coming here. Was the journey smooth?”

“Very smooth.” Lin Qiao looked her up and down enviously several times: “You’ve even lost weight! Xinxin said you sleep at 3 AM every day. How do you manage to stay up late every night while still maintaining such a healthy, beautiful appearance?”

Shen Qianzhan knocked the beer bottle against the table edge and opened it neatly: “Little flatterer, sucking up to me won’t get you time off—the scripts still need to be written.”

She pushed the beer over: “Drink some to sleep well tonight.”

Lin Qiao had trouble sleeping in unfamiliar beds. Every time she joined a crew, she would drink a little with Shen Qianzhan. When conditions allowed, they’d have late-night snacks with beer; when conditions didn’t allow, they’d open red wine and chat about the industry’s rising young wolf-dogs. Over the years, this had almost become a ritual rather than just a habit.

Lin Qiao clinked glasses with her and asked: “Where’s President Ji? Hasn’t he arrived yet?”

“He’ll only come for the launch banquet.” After the sharp alcohol hit, Shen Qianzhan caught her breath before asking: “Do you need him for something?”

Lin Qiao shook her head: “Nothing urgent.”

During pre-production, Lin Qiao and Jiang Juanshan had visited Time Hall’s workshop together. Most of the time, when encountering difficult writing passages, she consulted with Meng Wanzhou more often. She thought joining the crew would save these troubles, but unexpectedly, President Ji was still nowhere to be seen.

As they talked, the barbecue skewers arrived.

Shen Qianzhan bit into a meat skewer and said: “You should say it’s urgent—then I’d have a reason to urge him to come earlier.”

Her voice was too muffled, so Lin Qiao didn’t hear clearly: “Sister Shan, what did you say?”

“I said,” Shen Qianzhan swallowed the barbecued meat and said nonchalantly, “the consultant can go eat shit.”

Near the end of the month, the crew’s sets were almost ready, and personnel had gradually assembled.

The production supervisor mapped out a specific daily filming schedule. Except for Song Yan, everyone from Fu Yang to various supporting actors participated in scheduling and began work.

Song Yan was still rushing to film Spring River. According to her schedule, she should wrap up in the next day or two.

Shen Qianzhan didn’t wait for Song Yan and had the production supervisor first schedule Fu Yang’s costume fitting.

Ever since Shao Chouxie’s failed recommendation of Ji Qinghe last time, he held prejudices about the male lead choice. He deliberately made disdainful clicking sounds when Shen Qianzhan observed various actors taking costume fitting photos: “Close, but still not quite right.”

Shen Qianzhan remained unmoved, not even sparing him a glance.

When this man became petty, he was usually quite unreasonable. Ignoring him would naturally make him settle down.

Fu Yang was handsome with excellent bone structure, the same type of stunning beauty as Ji Qinghe. He was born to eat in the entertainment industry, and in terms of acting professionalism, he could at least handle three Ji Qinghes.

If even Fu Yang wasn’t satisfactory, what the hell was he directing?

April 30th, launch banquet.

Shen Qianzhan worked with finance on account verification until dawn the night before, not waking until 1 PM.

Qiao Xin must have come by in the morning. Afraid she wouldn’t wake up, the curtains were half-opened, with afternoon sunlight leaking through the gaps like scattered gold, blindingly bright.

She fumbled under her pillow for her phone. Seeing the time, she grabbed her hair and got up to wash.

The launch banquet was set at Wuxi’s Ji Chun’er Bay, ten kilometers from the film studio.

Su Zan went to set up the venue in the morning, leaving her several WeChat messages, all photos from the scene.

She looked at the photos while brushing her teeth. When returning to the WeChat list, her gaze fell on Ji Qinghe’s WeChat conversation. It was completely quiet there, without even a word updated.

Qiao Xin had been confirming the itinerary with Ming Jue for the past two days, even making a phone call last night to confirm the flight and arrange transportation.

Logically, Ji Qinghe should have landed by now. If all went smoothly, he should be in the business car the crew sent to pick him up, on his way to the film studio.

She finished rinsing and glanced at her phone again.

WeChat buzzed and vibrated, the slippery device sliding from the sink edge into the water.

Shen Qianzhan was dumbfounded.

She stared at the phone submerged in water for several seconds before hurriedly fishing it out.

She retrieved it fairly promptly—the phone looked worse for wear but still functioned normally.

On the wet screen was a reminder from production staff that she needed to leave for the hotel at five o’clock.

Shen Qianzhan shook the water off the phone, skipping even the drying process, walked a few steps, and threw the phone back onto the bedroom’s large bed.

Damn man—he’d better not try talking to her tonight either!

At 3 PM, Qiao Xin came to check if she was awake. Seeing Shen Qianzhan sitting at the makeup mirror drawing her eyebrows and painting her lips, she called her while holding the phone: “Sister Shan, is your phone on silent again? I just called twice but couldn’t get through.”

Shen Qianzhan was busy perfecting herself. Only when Qiao Xin asked did she remember throwing the phone on the bed. She lowered her eyes, examining her half-finished eyeliner, and turned back to say: “The phone’s on the bed. It fell in water while I was brushing my teeth. After fishing it out, I didn’t bother with it.”

Qiao Xin acknowledged and found the phone to check it.

The phone screen lit up when lifted. She saw missed call notifications from President Ji and said: “Sister Shan, you missed President Ji’s call. Should I call him back now?”

Shen Qianzhan’s hands remained steady as an old dog while finishing her eyeliner. She admired today’s excessively refined eye makeup, in an excellent mood: “No callback.” She twisted open her lipstick, the matte texture spreading on her lips. She pressed her lips together and whispered: “Just leave him hanging.”

At five o’clock sharp, Shen Qianzhan, who had been restless enough to touch up her makeup twice, immediately stood up.

Her movement was so swift it startled Qiao Xin, who frantically gathered the charging cables and electronic devices scattered across the sofa, muttering: “Sister Shan, why are you as punctual as a timekeeping bird today…”

Shen Qianzhan walked to the door in a few steps: “Hundreds of people in the crew need to take cars to the hotel. If you’re late and I’m late, we’ll delay everyone.” She spoke while opening the door, but instead of looking outside, she turned to examine herself up and down in the full-length mirror by the entrance: “Is Zanzan at the hotel already?”

“Yes.” Qiao Xin swept everything into her bag: “Su Zan never left the hotel—he’s been arranging things there all along.”

Shen Qianzhan twisted her hips, admiring her curvy silhouette with great satisfaction: “What about President Ji? How was he arranged?” Just as her words fell, the half-opened door was pushed inward from outside. Ji Qinghe stood in the doorway, leisurely appreciating her: “I’m right here. Why not ask me directly?”

Shen Qianzhan froze, her hip-swaying pose stuck halfway as she turned to look.

Ji Qinghe wore a low-key casual outfit, standing right at the door. He lowered his eyes, surveying Shen Qianzhan from top to bottom. When his gaze fell on her low neckline revealing a patch of snow-white chest, his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly: “Only today did I learn that Producer Shen is also a magistrate.”

This remark was quite meaningful. Shen Qianzhan raised an eyebrow, and before she even realized it, the corner of her mouth curved up unconsciously in a smile: “Also a magistrate?”

“You won’t let me show shoulders, back, or intimate scenes.” Ji Qinghe paused, his gaze falling on her fair chest: “Yet you’re quite generous with yourself.”

Shen Qianzhan followed his gaze and looked down. Under the low-cut silk fabric, her chest displayed unstoppable beautiful scenery—a shallow valley, teasingly hidden beneath the collar.

She perfunctorily adjusted her neckline and, seeing Qiao Xin had finished packing, stepped forward to walk with him toward the corridor: “How did you know which room was mine?”

Seeing this, Qiao Xin tactfully lagged behind at some distance, walking last.

The corridor to the elevator had some distance. Shen Qianzhan walked like she was on a red carpet at Cannes, her steps elegant and catlike.

Her deliberately affected arrogance appeared completely adorable in his eyes. Ji Qinghe chuckled and said slowly: “To explore a lady’s boudoir at night, don’t I need to scout the location first?”