Most of the time, Shen Qianzhan found it difficult to resist Ji Qinghe’s seductive behavior when he used his body as bait.

And the latter seemed to have discovered this weakness of hers, gradually mastering it and using it skillfully.

Shen Qianzhan secretly cursed her own lack of willpower, yet her knees went soft clearly and decisively.

She pretended not to understand, playing dumb: “What kind of answer?”

Then, without giving him a chance to speak, she answered herself: “Of course I’m dating you with marriage as the goal.”

Shen Qianzhan and Ji Qinghe had confirmed their romantic relationship after “Time” began filming, and it hadn’t even been three months yet.

Initially, when she proposed keeping it private, Ji Qinghe’s attitude was one of tacit consent, accommodation, and cooperation. Mixing personal feelings with work did indeed carry certain risks from a macro perspective.

Society was currently in a phase of rapid emotional consumption.

Due to work pressure and life’s demands, people had an irresistible longing and pursuit for sweet romance. But after those intimate relationships they envied as spiritual sustenance and chased after frequently fell apart, the public developed unlimited resistance to “publicly funded romance.”

While it wouldn’t rise to the level of personal moral issues, it would invisibly affect a work’s reputation.

This was why Shen Qianzhan had always insisted on not mixing personal feelings with work.

Unfortunately, humans were creatures who would inevitably encounter a few people in their lifetime who made them break their own rules.

And Ji Qinghe was the temptation Shen Qianzhan encountered in matters of desire.

During their months living with the crew, the two had secret affairs, intimate every night.

If not for the unexpected incidents that caught everyone off guard two days ago, they might have continued maintaining this harmonious underground relationship until “Time” wrapped filming.

But things rarely happened according to one person’s intentions and expectations.

When Shen Qianzhan firmly rejected Ji Qinghe back then, she never imagined that in the near future, she would wake up in this man’s arms every day.

When she decided to date quietly and hide Ji Qinghe’s existence, she also never imagined that one day she would fall out with Su Lanyi and resign from Qiandeng.

When everything was progressing slowly along its predetermined track, she also never imagined that an accident would bring their relationship to the surface.

Ji Qinghe’s gaze fell on her lips, mottled from kissing, and he used his fingertip to wipe away the lipstick that had smeared to the corner of her mouth: “You know that’s not what I’m referring to.”

His hand slid to her ear, pinching her earlobe: “After returning to Beijing, I’ll gradually bring you into my world. You’ll meet my business partners, who might also become yours, and you’ll meet some of my friends, like Zong Liao. Are you planning to avoid them, or…”

He raised an eyebrow slightly, not finishing his sentence completely.

This kind of open-ended statement that left room for imagination was even more pressure-inducing.

“There’s no conflict.” Shen Qianzhan felt ticklish from his pinching and wanted to dodge but didn’t dare. She bit her lower lip and said: “I’ll also bring you into my circle of friends, though I don’t have many close friends, and you’ve met most of them already.”

Speaking of this, she seemed puzzled: “Is it because I don’t have friends that I don’t think about sharing?”

This one statement turned the tables, stumping Ji Qinghe.

He looked down, giving her a look that said “aren’t you about done”: “You’ve been misinterpreting my meaning all along.”

Shen Qianzhan couldn’t help but smile.

Her little cleverness might fool others, but it never worked on Ji Qinghe.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, slightly standing on tiptoe to kiss his chin.

Seeing him looking down, indulgently watching what else she might do to appease him, Shen Qianzhan leaned forward and kissed his lips again.

His lower lip was dry and exceptionally soft.

As their lips touched, she suddenly felt reluctant, biting and sucking, tasting him over and over again.

After a while, she reluctantly licked her lips, like a well-fed spirit, almost ready to lick her paws like a cat in front of him.

“I don’t know what kind of relationship your disciple has with Song Yan. I originally thought they were dating. When I asked around, not only did the parties deny it, but even interrogating their manager yielded nothing.”

She wouldn’t mention Fu Yang and Song Yan without reason. Ji Qinghe couldn’t immediately guess what she wanted to say, so after deliberating for several seconds, he said: “They’re not dating.”

“They’re divorced.”

Shen Qianzhan was shocked.

She was so stunned her mind went blank for a moment, flashing like exploding fireworks: “Divorced?”

Ji Qinghe curved his lips, and to preserve her dignity, he restrained the smile at the corner of his mouth slightly: “Mm, they seem to be planning to remarry, so your efforts weren’t entirely wasted.”

Shen Qianzhan had often covered for Fu Yang and Song Yan, and whenever she spotted paparazzi, she was the first to tip them off.

Ji Qinghe was often forced to act as a tool, caught between these two, and had long been resentful: “I only found out recently. Does their situation relate to ours? I’m neither a public figure nor do I appear frequently in the public eye. If you need me to, I can completely stay behind the scenes and not appear at all.”

Look at that.

This bastard was once again taking the initiative to dig traps for her.

Shen Qianzhan calmed her emotions and said: “I was preventing their relationship from being exposed and adding pressure to ‘Time.’ Sometimes, too much attention on a project isn’t a good thing. Under heavy pressure, it’s easy to collapse and easy to be targeted. If their exposure timing is inappropriate, it would only backfire against ‘Time.'”

“Bu Zhong Sui, as a luxury brand, should have all related content and news be positive, active, and energetic. My reputation isn’t good – once ‘Time’ becomes a target of criticism, you’ll also become a target, which would more or less cause negative impact on Bu Zhong Sui. There’s nothing shameful about dating you, and I won’t deliberately deny it. How others date is how we date too.”

Before doing anything, Shen Qianzhan would consider its consequences and impact. She was in the entertainment industry, inseparable from this business, and she understood better than Ji Qinghe what kind of black-and-white world existed beyond reality.

One side pure as crystal, the other dark as hell.

Those who haven’t experienced it wouldn’t know how much inexplicable surging malice existed in this world.

She wasn’t sure if Ji Qinghe understood her meaning, so after thinking, she gestured: “To be specific… don’t go public before ‘Time’ airs. At public events, keep low-key, don’t show affection. Date privately however we want – it’s different from Fu Yang and Song Yan’s kind of secrecy. I can still go out and meet people.”

After speaking, Shen Qianzhan glanced at him, thinking to herself: He sounds so wronged, as if he’s helpless when she doesn’t make things public. This bastard always acts one way to her face and trips her up behind her back.

That time she swiped her card to go to his room and was spotted by several crew members – if he claimed he had no hand in that, she wouldn’t believe it.

All her considerations were for the project’s reputation. Shen Qianzhan was famous in the industry for relying on talent. She neither forced CP hype nor deliberately created topics for attention. Every drama aired cleanly and was pleasant to watch.

This could be considered a producer’s professional ethics in staying true to one’s principles.

Ji Qinghe seemed to accept her explanation. After looking at her for a while, he said thoughtfully: “Listening to this, I need to quickly make you into Mrs. Ji.”

After speaking, he patted Shen Qianzhan’s bottom and said in a low voice: “Alright, I was deliberately teasing you. How could I bear to make things difficult for you.”

He bent down to hold her in his arms, and when he lowered his head, he kissed the hair whorl on top of her head, saying: “To avoid suspicion, should I go back and rest now? I chatted with your father most of last night and barely slept.”

His eyes did look somewhat tired.

Shen Qianzhan patted his back, feeling distressed: “How could Old Shen be so inconsiderate, not letting you sleep?”

Mentioning this, Ji Qinghe paused slightly and said: “He said he wanted to test how long my standby time could last.” His eyes deepened slightly as he smiled silently: “So this personality of yours, it seems, is mostly hereditary?”