Xiao Sheng’s hand offering the cigarette hung in mid-air as he raised his eyes to look at her: “Quit smoking?”

His words were light, his tone playful, as if he didn’t believe her.

Shen Qianzhan smiled without responding.

Her smile was gentle and appropriate, as if she didn’t mind the frivolity in his words at all.

But if one looked carefully, one could see that her gaze toward Xiao Sheng was cold and distant, as if separated by a transparent barrier, shutting him out.

Xiao Sheng was tactful and didn’t insist further.

He withdrew his hand, put the cigarette in his mouth, and tilted his head slightly.

The assistant following behind him, seeing this, skillfully stepped forward to light his cigarette.

The evening wind was strong, and they were standing at a wind gap. Xiao Sheng’s cigarette took quite a while to light before it finally caught and ignited.

He took a deep drag, his gaze sweeping across Qiao Xin’s and Su Zan’s faces one by one before settling on Ji Qinghe—this man’s elegance and bearing were all superior, unlike ordinary staff members.

Xiao Sheng worked at the same company as Shen Qianzhan, as colleagues, and knew each other’s camps inside and out.

Ji Qinghe’s face was unfamiliar, yet his appearance was outstanding, inevitably reminding him of a rather popular romantic gossip that had been circulating recently. The gossip said that Shen Qianzhan had specially hired a watch restoration master as a consultant. The consultant was young and handsome, with looks like Song Yu and beauty rivaling Pan An, appearing and departing with Shen Qianzhan daily, inseparable. Many crew members of “Time” had seen this consultant entering and leaving Shen Qianzhan’s room late at night, with ambiguous behavior and unclear relationship.

He had originally thought this news was false.

Given Shen Qianzhan’s self-discipline, even if a hundred earthly beauties stripped naked and stood before her, she would never touch them. At most, she would applaud and cheer, going through the motions, sending people back exactly as they came, complete and intact, not even losing a single hair.

This person she would bring even on business trips—clearly the rumors were not unfounded.

He calmly shifted his gaze away and explained his purpose to Shen Qianzhan: “I’d like to invite you to dinner.”

“Last time you came to the crew, the hotel had water and power outages, and I didn’t get a chance to properly host you. This dinner invitation serves two purposes: first, to thank you for your assistance, and second, to apologize for my poor management. I wonder…” He paused briefly for a few seconds and asked: “Would Producer Shen be willing to honor me with your presence?”

“Producer Xiao is too kind.” Shen Qianzhan gave a professional fake smile: “Why would you take such a small matter to heart?”

“We’re both employees of Qiandeng and have been colleagues for many years. Talking about thanks and apologies is too formal.”

Xiao Sheng fell quiet, narrowing his eyes slightly and exhaling a puff of smoke: “I knew you would refuse, so I came to invite you personally.” He smiled, not allowing her to make more excuses, saying: “I’ve already reserved the private room and drove here myself, so I can take you there directly.”

After speaking, he looked toward Su Zan, extending a group invitation: “If General Manager Su is free tonight, please join us too. The three of us can have a proper gathering.”

Seeing that he was determined to invite her to dinner, although Shen Qianzhan couldn’t figure out exactly what he was scheming, she knew that tonight she couldn’t refuse or decline. After pondering for several seconds, she relented: “Since Producer Xiao is being so courteous, Zanzan and I can’t be ungrateful. How about this—let’s all go together.”

She smiled sweetly, looking at Xiao Sheng, pretending not to notice the expression that instantly froze on his face: “Producer Xiao wouldn’t be unwelcoming, would you?”

This time Xiao Sheng truly smiled.

He knew full well that he had been outmaneuvered. This woman’s guard was really not ordinary.

He stared at Shen Qianzhan for a long moment, then dropped the half-smoked cigarette to the ground and crushed it underfoot.

“Of course you’re welcome.” He waved his hand, signaling the driver who had been waiting to bring the car over: “Let’s get in.”

——

The restaurant was set at Ji Chun Er Bay.

As soon as Xiao Sheng appeared, a server led the group to their private room.

The cold dishes and drinks were already prepared in the private room, with restaurant service staff pouring vinegar into the vinegar dishes.

Seeing the guests arrive, two servers bowed slightly and retreated to the corner, waiting for everyone to be seated first.

Xiao Sheng courteously left the main seat for Shen Qianzhan.

Having grown accustomed to being the second party in business dealings, Shen Qianzhan naturally declined. She counted two seats back from the main seat and quietly signaled Ji Qinghe with her eyes as she walked toward her seat.

The latter understood and very naturally sat in the position to the right of the main seat, completely separating her from the main seat.

Xiao Sheng’s eyelids twitched at the sight, but he couldn’t say anything and mentally cursed both of them. After waiting for all of Shen Qianzhan’s people to sit down, he finally chose a position diagonal from Shen Qianzhan.

After the guests were seated, the servers began distributing freshly sterilized hot towels in sequence. Once everyone’s towels were distributed, a server looked at Xiao Sheng and quietly asked: “Mr. Xiao, shall we remove the extra place settings now?”

“Not everyone is here yet, leave the place settings for now.” After Xiao Sheng spoke, he turned to look at Shen Qianzhan, explaining: “The producer of ‘Spring River’ will be coming later. Producer Shen shouldn’t mind, right?”

Shen Qianzhan sneered inwardly.

She wondered why Xiao Sheng had thrown aside his pride today to insist on inviting her to dinner—turns out he was planning to use borrowed flowers to present to Buddha.

Though she felt disgusted internally, her professional facade was impeccable as she asked with a pleasant smile: “The producer of ‘Spring River’—may I know who that would be?”

Xiao Sheng called for the servers to bring dishes while answering: “You should know him too—President Zhao of Wuxi Penglai Chenguang Pictures.” He poured the decanted red wine into a tall glass and used the lazy Susan to send it to Shen Qianzhan: “Speaking of which, I have you to thank for my collaboration with President Zhao.”

Afraid that Shen Qianzhan might not remember, he reminded her in detail: “Does Producer Shen remember the clear path you pointed out before leaving, suggesting that ‘Spring River’ represent Qiandeng Pictures in negotiating long-term cooperation with Wuxi Film and TV Base?”

“Penglai Chenguang Pictures is the controlling shareholder of Wuxi Film and TV Base. I contacted President Zhao’s assistant at the time. When President Zhao heard that ‘Spring River’ was produced by Qiandeng, he agreed to the cooperation without hesitation and even agreed to invest and take shares, co-producing with Qiandeng.”

Shen Qianzhan said nothing.

She lowered her eyes, glanced at the wine glass in front of her, and asked: “Then you should know that President Zhao and I have bad blood between us?”

She didn’t use harsh words, even her tone was steady and balanced, revealing no subjective emotion. Yet the atmosphere in the dining room suddenly condensed, as if plunging into an ice cave.

At this moment she raised her eyes, the light in them seemed tangible, transforming into a sharp sword.

Xiao Sheng was startled, inexplicably feeling guilty under her gaze.

He instinctively looked at Ji Qinghe beside her. From the start, he had noticed that Ji Qinghe held an extraordinary position among these people—even Su Zan treated him with utmost respect, fawning to the extreme.

His heart suddenly felt empty, momentarily bewildered: “Bad blood?” What bad blood?

The film and television industry has always been divided by regions and factions. The distance between Wuxi and Beijing is vast, and most film companies here belong to the Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai regional faction, with little collaboration with Beijing.

Xiao Sheng mixed in Beijing circles and indeed knew little about the Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai system.

“President Zhao said you and he were old friends. Thinking that your ancestral home is in Wuxi, I believed it somewhat.” Although Xiao Sheng was arrogant, he was still relatively cautious in his dealings, especially when it involved Shen Qianzhan. He was doubly careful, specifically finding people to test the waters, and the answers he got were all similar to what President Zhao had said. Only then did he agree to act as matchmaker for President Zhao and arrange this dinner.

He had harbored the intention of using borrowed flowers to present to Buddha.

Shen Qianzhan’s reputation as a gold medal producer was well-known. At Qiandeng, people only knew Shen Qianzhan, not Xiao Sheng. She held connections and resources in Beijing circles, and even investors trusted her more than himself.

Under her shadow, Xiao Sheng found everything difficult.

Penglai Chenguang Pictures was wealthy and generous with money, and easy to work with. Most importantly, it was the leader among Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai factions. By winning them over, Xiao Sheng would have the support of the Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai faction in the future and wouldn’t lack the confidence to compete with Shen Qianzhan on equal terms.

Moreover, he was just arranging a meeting.

He didn’t need to worry or exert effort, yet could enjoy the benefits of being the fisherman.

But the current situation didn’t seem to be quite like this?

As if to confirm the growing unease in his heart, Shen Qianzhan picked up the wine-filled tall glass in front of her, brought it to her lips, and drank it all in one gulp. Then she raised her hand high and released it, letting the wine glass fall.

Amid the server’s startled cry, the crystal-clear wine glass suddenly crashed to the ground, shattering into pieces.

She then stood up, stared coldly at Xiao Sheng for several seconds, and said: “Whether it’s thanks or apologies, I’ve drunk the wine. That’s the end of it—we’re even.”

Shen Qianzhan had figured out exactly what Xiao Sheng was calculating in his heart.

Even if he didn’t know the inside story, he was definitely not innocent.

The entertainment industry was full of people who acted as pimps and brokers for their own benefit. If both buying and selling parties were willing, this would at most involve moral issues. But if it involved forced buying and selling with deliberate concealment and deception, then it wasn’t just lacking moral boundaries—it was poor character.

He wanted to use her to gain benefits from Chenguang so he could have the capital to compete with her on equal footing.

His ambition wasn’t small, but his methods could hardly be called honorable.

Shen Qianzhan was always accurate in reading people. When Xiao Sheng first arrived at Qiandeng and worked under her, he was arrogant and conceited, relying on Su Lanyi’s regard and promotion to be maverick, always viewing her as a competitor.

His arrogance, frivolity, selfishness, and self-interest weren’t new developments.

Considering Su Lanyi’s position and to spare her from being caught in the middle, Shen Qianzhan’s attitude toward Xiao Sheng had always been to actively avoid confrontation and reduce meetings.

Xiao Sheng was also tactful, knowing his wings weren’t fully grown, so he didn’t directly conflict with her. When they inevitably had to meet, they were polite and courteous, maintaining surface peace.

But all of this was contingent on Xiao Sheng behaving himself and not using dirty tricks against her.

Thinking of this, the coldness in her eyes intensified.

“I mentored you for a while. Even though you were forced to follow orders, I still taught you that at any time, you must respect your opponents, respect artists, and respect yourself. It doesn’t matter if projects can’t be negotiated—there are so many wealthy investors, which one couldn’t you serve?”

“You’re proud and conceited, and to this day you feel inferior because you once worked as my subordinate in my team. I’ve saved face for you by never mentioning this matter. If you don’t accept others’ goodwill, that’s fine, but if you truly have self-respect and self-love, then have the ability not to do such lowly pimping.”

Xiao Sheng’s face instantly darkened.

He stared at Shen Qianzhan intently without saying a word.

On both sides, Su Zan, Qiao Xin and others had long fallen silent as cicadas in winter, not daring to even breathe heavily.

Su Zan didn’t even know how the two producer bigwigs had suddenly started fighting. His memory of tonight began with Shen Qianzhan smashing the wine glass and saying “That’s the end of it—we’re even.”

His legs trembled as he glanced toward Ji Qinghe from the corner of his eye.

Ji Qinghe appeared more composed than anyone else’s reaction.

Even when she smashed the glass, he didn’t blink an eye, as if whatever she did was natural and deserved support.

Even if she needed it, he could immediately nod and have the hotel bring all the cups and glasses she found displeasing to smash one by one for fun.

At this moment, he was looking up at Xiao Sheng.

Those eyes were deep as evening mist, with the intimidation and severity to crush all remaining light.