HYAT - 5

However, whether he drank or not wasn’t important.

If Ji Qinghe said he needed to sober up, then he was drunk.

The law of the strong applies anywhere, anytime.

________________________________________

Shen Qianzhan’s trip was hasty; besides her eight-wheeled suitcase, she had no other means of transportation at hand.

She figured that an executive director of Ji Qinghe’s caliber wouldn’t be stuck on the airport expressway relying on public bus route 11. So, she simply sent Su Zan to get the car, while she ventured back to the private room alone.

After the dinner party ended, the private room was cold and quiet; the people had left, and the tea had cooled.

Ji Qinghe sat alone on a single sofa, eyes closed, resting. The arc light from the overhead lamp seemed substantial, spilling over him.

Shen Qianzhan made a considerable noise when she entered. Whether he was too lazy to bother with her or intentionally trying to assert his dominance, Ji Qinghe didn’t open his eyes and meet her gaze until she sat down.

Without any extraneous people around, Ji Qinghe’s expression wasn’t as nonchalant and indifferent as it had been during the dinner. He took off his glasses, closed his eyes slightly, and gently pinched the bridge of his nose.

Those hands, which had touched forbidden places, once again inevitably drew all of Shen Qianzhan’s attention.

It’s often said that women are the animals most adept at association.

Just by looking at his hands, Shen Qianzhan couldn’t help but draw an X-rated picture book in her mind.

To cover her embarrassment, she lightly coughed, trying to appear composed and worldly: “Shall I order a pot of tea? We can chat while we drink?”

Ji Qinghe’s hand, rubbing his brow bone, paused. When he opened his eyes again, they were clear and cold.

He raised his wrist to look at his watch, his words slow, his tone cold and formal: “You made me wait for thirty minutes.”

Appeasement policies were clearly useless on Ji Qinghe.

But then again, she never intended to reconcile.

“Since time is precious, let’s get straight to the point.” Shen Qianzhan pulled out a cigarette pack and lit a cigarette.

She wasn’t a heavy smoker; she only smoked a couple to liven things up when playing a role. She held a puff of smoke in her mouth, then slowly exhaled it after it had barely rolled on her tongue: “Mr. Ji’s presence here isn’t a coincidence, is it?”

Ji Qinghe chuckled lightly, his gaze pointing to the ashtray on her left side, commanding without room for refusal: “Put it out.”

Shen Qianzhan narrowed her eyes, not backing down an inch.

Not only did she refuse to put out the cigarette, but she even deliberately flicked the ash in front of him.

Her low-level rebellion, akin to a rebellious teenage girl, didn’t cause Ji Qinghe any discomfort. He leaned forward and swept both the cigarette and lighter into the wastebasket beside him: “So disobedient. That’s your last one, then.”

Shen Qianzhan froze, then incredulously: “Are you crazy?”

Ji Qinghe looked at her, slowly saying: “A reasonable suggestion.” But his eyes clearly held a hint of pressure.

This man was far less gentle and refined than he appeared on the surface; Shen Qianzhan knew this deeply.

She pursed her lips, saying nothing, trying to express her protest with silence.

The cigarette remained clutched between her fingers, a thin wisp of smoke gently floating upwards, but she ultimately didn’t take another puff.

As they stood at an impasse, Shen Qianzhan’s phone rang.

She pulled it out of her pocket and glanced at it, seeing it was Su Zan. She casually hung up and tossed it onto the coffee table in front of her: “If Mr. Ji has no other instructions, I’ll head back now. The company driver is waiting to take me home so they can get off work.”

Ji Qinghe was noncommittal: “I thought you would be the one who couldn’t wait.”

Look at the audacious things he was saying.

Shen Qianzhan was almost amused out of anger. “In June, I took a holiday to Xi’an to see the clock exhibition. Excluding travel, I stayed for three days in total. The night I spent with you in Qinghe Three Lanes was my last night there. At dawn, I returned to my hotel to check out and then went back to Beijing. Xi’an and Beijing are so far apart; I never thought I’d see you again someday.”

The implication of her words was that if he hadn’t appeared in Beijing, in front of her, everything would have had a happy ending long ago.

Ji Qinghe agreed with this point.

Once things got started, the rest became much smoother.

Shen Qianzhan pondered for a few seconds, then began to ask in return: “Qianzhan Film has always been conservative and cautious in risk-taking, and most of our investors are from within the media industry. I’ve never liked discussing business with outsiders. Who initiated Buzhong Sui’s cooperation intention?”

This was a difficult question for Ji Qinghe to answer at the moment.

He pinched his brow, signaling: “Next question.”

Shen Qianzhan chuckled, then threw out an even sharper question: “Buzhong Sui and I are completely unrelated, and I’ve never heard of Buzhong Sui investing in the film and television industry before. Mr. Ji, coming all the way from Xi’an, does this mean you’re here to collect a ‘prostitution fee’ after sleeping with me?”

Upon her words, the private room fell silent as if time itself had stopped, even breathing barely audible.

Ji Qinghe looked up.

There were faint marks on the bridge of his nose from his glasses. Under the shifting lights, these marks looked like shadows, making his nose bridge appear even straighter.

Shen Qianzhan saw him smile very faintly, a nonchalant, seemingly uncaring disdain and indifference that surged over her like a tidal wave.

At that moment, she was like a misfiring gun, her barrel choked with cotton, unable to make another sound.

“Shen Qianzhan, where’s your brain?” His gaze was calm, like he was looking at a vase, sizing her up and down: “If we’re really talking about a ‘prostitution fee,’ you’d probably go bankrupt right here tonight.”

Time suddenly seemed to have measure and importance. Every word in that sentence was like a shackle, heavily striking Shen Qianzhan’s gray area.

A woman’s rebellious spirit, unwilling to admit defeat, surged up. She almost blurted out, “I’m not cheap either,” but fortunately, her rationality hadn’t completely vanished, and she was thoroughly sobered by his cold glance.

Only now did Ji Qinghe finally realize that Shen Qianzhan’s way of thinking was different from his; their dimensions of thought were not on the same wavelength.

A prostitution fee?

He scoffed lightly, his smile as sarcastic as could be.

“I did something absurd, and my conscience is bothering me. I want to take responsibility.” He stood up, as if unwilling to say another word to her: “Currently, it seems I’ve only caused you trouble instead.”

Before leaving entirely, Ji Qinghe’s voice dropped incredibly low, as if whispering in her ear: “I have deep feelings for Producer Shen. A ‘prostitution fee’ isn’t necessary. I just hope Producer Shen won’t need to come knocking on my door in the future.”

Shen Qianzhan was dumbfounded.

She turned her head, watching the scoundrel walk away with leisurely steps, then threw a cushion after him.

Damn it, I must have been blind.

________________________________________

Su Zan waited in the hotel’s underground parking lot for nearly twenty minutes before Shen Qianzhan finally appeared.

Seeing her come down alone, he couldn’t help but peek behind her: “Sister Zhan, Mr. Ji didn’t come down with you?”

Shen Qianzhan glanced at him, ignoring him, and secretly pulled out her small notebook to jot down another instance of Su Zan “bringing up what shouldn’t be mentioned.”

She was utterly exhausted at this point, with no desire to engage with Su Zan. After getting into the car, she closed her eyes to rest, her desire for silence very clear.

Seeing her bad mood, Su Zan didn’t dare to annoy her further. He drove her all the way to her residential complex. Just as he was about to help with the luggage and see her all the way home, Shen Qianzhan waved her hand, signaling for him to just leave the bags: “I can take them up the elevator myself. You should go home early.”

Su Zan was used to Shen Qianzhan’s absolute authority and didn’t insist further: “Then get some rest. Tomorrow’s morning meeting will be postponed to the afternoon; you can come to work after you’ve rested enough.”

Shen Qianzhan nodded. As she turned to move her suitcase into the elevator, she remembered something and called out to Su Zan: “How much did you tell Ai Yi?”

Su Zan had already guessed that Shen Qianzhan would settle scores later, having been on edge and unable to enjoy his food all evening.

He was actually quite innocent.

Ai Yi was cunning and good at disguising herself. When discreetly asking for information, she made it sound like genuine concern between old friends.

During the period Shen Qianzhan was abroad on a business trip, Ai Yi had visited the company to discuss exclusive licensing for Xiang Qianqian’s new drama.

Shihui and Qianzhan Film had cooperated for years, and the relationship between Ai Yi and Shen Qianzhan was well-known. Any TV drama produced by Shen Qianzhan would always prioritize cooperation with Shihui.

Su Zan had heard Shen Qianzhan mention the platform’s exclusive licensing before, and he knew that Ai Yi had only just proposed a concept for cooperation without going into detail, so he hadn’t taken much initiative.

Originally, Ai Yi’s visit was on a whim and not her main intention.

With Shen Qianzhan not in the office, only someone of Su Zan’s position was suitable for entertaining her.

Women, of course, have an innate social advantage. Ai Yi, feeling melancholic, said she wanted to waste some time and take a break, asking him to keep her company. Su Zan, thinking that maintaining VIP clients was part of his job, impulsively put the client first and went with Ai Yi to a coffee shop downstairs from the company for coffee and cake.

Ai Yi’s social skills and conversational artistry were famous in the industry.

How could he, a rich second-generation who only knew how to spend money, possibly resist? He was completely exposed within minutes, utterly defeated.

Moreover, he hadn’t originally intended to reveal Shen Qianzhan’s trip to Xi’an. It was Ai Yi, who had heard something from who knows where, that used the excuse of inquiring about project progress but was actually very cunningly trying to find out if his Sister Zhan had specially gone to Xi’an to scout filming locations for the tribute drama.

The tribute drama was a huge pie, with everyone in the film and television industry, from company decision-makers to artist agents, eyeing it.

It wasn’t easy for Shen Qianzhan to secure the producer role. All project preparations were conducted in secret, fearing that drawing too much attention would lead to complete failure with even one misstep.

Su Zan thought that since they had cooperated for so long, he should be straightforward.

Furthermore, how much was Shen Qianzhan, who worked to better present high-quality TV dramas and restore the professional level of clock restorers, worth learning from by the many opportunistic producers and production companies in the industry who only wanted to make quick money?

But who could have predicted that Shen Qianzhan would hit a wall with Master Ji...?

However, there was still a turn for the better now, so it wasn’t all bad.

Su Zan mulled it over and felt that it was better to report this sooner rather than later: “Sister Zhan, when I was sending Mr. Jiang back, he was gossiping with me about your relationship with Mr. Ji.”

“He asked me if you two had known each other for a long time...”

Shen Qianzhan’s hand, about to push the suitcase, paused. She vaguely felt that Su Zan’s clever expression meant he had some important news and was waiting for her effusive praise.

She lifted her eyelids, asking with little interest: “What did you say?”

“Didn’t know him,” Su Zan glanced at the security camera in the elevator lobby, then mysteriously leaned in and whispered, “He thought you and Mr. Ji met in Xi’an back then.”

Shen Qianzhan’s eyelids twitched, and she felt guilty, not making a sound.

Su Zan, whose mind was as vast as the Pacific Ocean, didn’t notice Shen Qianzhan’s abnormality at all, still feeling smug: “Then he let it slip.”

“His voice was quite low; if I weren’t so sharp-eared and sharp-eyed, an ordinary person wouldn’t have heard it,” he licked his lips, rubbing his thumb and forefinger together, frantically hinting for a reward.

Shen Qianzhan glared at him, then brought her hand down in a chop to the back of his head, giving him a solid smack: “Is Qianzhan Film owned by your family? I’m making money for your family; how dare you ask me for a red packet? Spill it already.”

Su Zan had a typical “asking for a beating” personality. Being smacked made him honest. He rubbed the back of his head, mumbling through gritted teeth, “Mr. Jiang thought you met Mr. Ji at Master Ji’s house, and that’s when you got to know him.”

Shen Qianzhan narrowed her eyes.

Wait?

Why would she have met Ji Qinghe at Master Ji’s house?

Seeing that she still didn’t understand, Su Zan sighed deeply and explained: “I already thought it was too much of a coincidence that Master Ji and Mr. Ji had the same surname. Sister Zhan, has your life become so boring that you can’t even think anymore?”

Shen Qianzhan’s face turned green.

All she could recall was Ji Qinghe’s parting words before he left: “I have deep feelings for Producer Shen. A ‘prostitution fee’ isn’t necessary. I just hope Producer Shen won’t need to come knocking on my door in the future.”

Damn that scoundrel!

He planned this, didn’t he!