HYAT - 9

Meng Wangzhou was only half-listening, half-understanding.

He lifted his innocent, confused eyes from the rising steam of the hotpot: “Are you two fans of ‘Journey to the West’?”

Fans of what? More like haters.

Shen Qianzhan glared fiercely at Ji Qinghe—that scoundrel, always finding veiled ways to annoy her.

And yet, her silver tongue, usually so effective with everyone else, seemed to fail her completely when it came to Ji Qinghe, always struggling to find the right words to retort.

For a moment, Shen Qianzhan truly wanted to splash the Pu’er tea in her hand all over Ji Qinghe’s face.

But it was only for a moment.

Because rationality made her immediately see the three major consequences that would arise from such an act: Buzhong Sui would permanently blacklist her, Master Ji would become her sworn enemy, and Ji Qinghe would avoid her for life.

The thought of these three ripple effects twisted Shen Qianzhan’s insides into a knot.

The Pu’er tea in her hand suddenly felt scalding. She quickly set down the cup, clearing her throat to cover her embarrassment, and changed the subject: “So, after you read the proposal, what were your thoughts?”

Ji Qinghe glanced at her, his tone calm and somewhat unfathomable: “If I hadn’t been sure that the old man didn’t hire a ghostwriter and didn’t want his later years to be under the spotlight, I probably would have mistaken this for a personal biography of Ji Qingzhen he commissioned.”

This remark made Shen Qianzhan somewhat uncomfortable.

Even though Ji Qinghe hadn’t used a single intensely negative word throughout, and his tone remained consistently steady and flat, she still detected the underlying sarcasm in his words.

“Producer Shen is very similar to Ms. Meng in her younger years—an ambitious person with clear goals and her ambitions written on her face, unwilling to give up until she achieves her objectives.” Ji Qinghe put down his chopsticks, his gaze sweeping over Shen Qianzhan with extreme faintness: “When you researched the old man’s life, weren’t you curious why he didn’t mention his spouse at all?”

“He and Ms. Meng divorced and have not remarried since.” Ji Qinghe’s tone was calm, not at all like he was discussing family secrets related to himself, but rather casually outlining someone else’s life, revealing an air of detachment in both his expression and tone: “This proposal of yours, using the old man as a prototype, imposes the artistic effects you desire, which lacks objectivity.”

Meng Wangzhou instinctively pricked up his ears when he caught the words “Ms. Meng.”

After listening to the entire segment and understanding the client-producer relationship between Shen Qianzhan and Ji Qinghe, he was so shocked that he dropped a meatball, and the splashing soup stained his clothes.

He wiped himself with tissues while processing the information, really wanting to advise Shen Qianzhan... Ji Qinghe was an autocratic and cunning man, full of schemes, a specialist in curing trypophobia. Of all the people she could have chosen to cooperate with, she chose Ji Qinghe.

________________________________________

Shen Qianzhan cupped her teacup, thinking for a while.

The main storyline in the proposal, concerning the protagonist, was undoubtedly developed with Master Ji as the prototype. Although the descriptions of the romantic storyline were brief and sketchy, just by looking at the supporting characters added to advance the plot, it wasn’t hard to infer the emotional challenges the protagonist faced.

To put it harshly, if the screenwriter lost control, the personal biography might just turn into a romantic one.

Shen Qianzhan, thinking from the other’s perspective, found it quite difficult to accept.

Especially since she hadn’t anticipated at the time that Master Ji’s emotional history would be intertwined with Buzhong Sui.

That gave all of Ji Qinghe’s concerns and actions a reasonable explanation.

________________________________________

She traced the timeline, linking the entire project from bidding, signing, and preparation into several clear time blocks:

In April this year, at the film and television summit, Baixuan released the first concept trailer for the tribute drama, officially inviting investment.

In May, Shen Qianzhan, on behalf of Qianzhan Film, secured the first cooperation with Baixuan, based on the theme of watch restoration craftsmanship.

In June, Shen Qianzhan traveled to Xi’an to see the Shaanxi History Museum’s watch exhibition. On that day, she met Ji Qinghe.

In October and November, Shen Qianzhan traveled to Xi’an again to invite Master Ji to serve as a special consultant for the project.

In December, she unexpectedly reunited with Ji Qinghe, who represented Buzhong Sui’s interest in investing in the project.

Putting aside their personal messy affair, Ji Qinghe’s appearance was perfectly reasonable.

According to Ji Qinghe’s logic, he saw the proposal, was displeased by the sensational act of using the old man as a prototype, and out of a desire to protect the old man’s reputation and to achieve a win-win goal Shen Qianzhan hadn’t yet realized, he brought capital into the team to control the direction.

No problems there.

After Shen Qianzhan clarified the key points, she said pointedly: “So, Mr. Ji is very interested in the project, and his only concern is that my side might perform artistic embellishments that don’t conform to reality for viewership hotspots, thereby affecting Master Ji’s reputation?”

Ji Qinghe showed no reaction to Shen Qianzhan’s shrewdness and perceptiveness. He caressed the ear of the celadon teacup, and a few faint ripples of light shimmered in his dark pupils under the illumination.

He curved his lips into a slight, mocking smile: “I thought Producer Shen would need to go through a few more detours before understanding my earnest intentions.”

Shen Qianzhan scoffed, almost rolling her eyes: “Mr. Ji could actually just speak plainly. In business, as long as there’s a win-win goal, there are no feuds that can’t be resolved.”

Ji Qinghe raised an eyebrow slightly, dismantling her argument without any mercy just because she was a woman: “Is that so?”

“Judging by Producer Shen’s attitude last night, I thought the next time we’d meet would be at a funeral, either you lying down or me lying down.”

Shen Qianzhan: “...” She felt that she didn’t have to be lying down in all situations.

Meng Wangzhou looked down, tears in his eyes, eating desperately.

What on earth was he thinking, inviting Producer Shen to dinner? Now, he was practically eating his way into a coffin.

________________________________________

After dinner, considering that Meng Wangzhou had been eating with his head down, which was bad for his health, Shen Qianzhan asked Ji Qinghe if they could step aside to talk.

The depth of their conversation earlier had dispelled most of Shen Qianzhan’s resistance to their cooperation, but there was still half of it left. They needed to quickly discuss and resolve it while they could still get along peacefully.

“Since Mr. Ji is willing to cooperate, Qianzhan Film also hopes both sides can reach an agreement soon. I’ll have Su Zan come over tomorrow to bring the contract for your review?” Shen Qianzhan adopted the gentle and considerate tone she reserved for her “甲方爸爸” (literally “Party A Dad,” meaning key client or investor), cautiously probing: “Or you can give me your legal department’s contact information, and both legal departments can connect directly?”

“Contract?” Ji Qinghe asked: “What contract?”

At this point, they were in the main hall of Time Hall’s front section.

The lighting was sparse, and his lips were half-hidden beneath the celadon cup, their curve indistinct.

But faintly, he was smiling.

Shen Qianzhan looked at the calculating expression he only revealed when they were alone, and her head suddenly throbbed: “Mr. Ji, why don’t you just state it clearly?”

“I’ve said it before,” Ji Qinghe leaned slightly closer, his eyes, hidden behind his glasses, lifted just enough to perfectly exert three points of pressure: “I hope Producer Shen won’t have a day in the future when she needs to come knocking on my door for a favor.”

Shen Qianzhan dropped her polite facade, replying impatiently: “Isn’t this that day?”