HYAT - 49

Su Lanyi was two years older than Shen Qianzhan. Raised with great affection, she never experienced much hardship. Her only adventure into the real world was probably after college, when she misjudged someone and was cheated on.

Shen Qianzhan met Su Lanyi when the company was undergoing a internal split and restructuring. At the time, Shen Qianzhan was just an insignificant project planner. After a long internship on the bench, her first project was a script meeting with Su Lanyi, who was with the well-known screenwriter Han Xiaoli.

The project took a full year to develop, and Shen Qianzhan worked with Su Lanyi for that entire year. However, due to internal company struggles, the project was killed in its early filming stages and faded into nothing.

Su Lanyi was inherently arrogant, an ambitious woman with both talent and dreams.

From their initial acquaintance to the project’s demise, Shen Qianzhan and Su Lanyi’s relationship went from harmonious to distant and estranged, due to their company loyalties and the project’s termination.

Then, a year later, the project was revived.

When Shen Qianzhan contacted Su Lanyi, she had already founded a copyright agency, the predecessor of Qiandeng.

It was then that Shen Qianzhan learned that Su Lanyi was not a penniless newcomer. She was a distant relative of Su Qiancheng, Han Xiaoli’s husband. The tedious process of constant script revisions had drained her of any passion for screenwriting. After enduring it for a year, she started her own copyright agency with her family’s investment when the project was dissolved.

If it weren’t for the fact that the project was originally created to pave the way for Su Lanyi, she probably wouldn’t have been willing to come back and deal with it.

After rejoining the project, Su Lanyi and Shen Qianzhan’s friendship was rekindled.

Through countless nights of pushing deadlines and sleeping fully clothed, Su Lanyi talked to her about her dreams, her pursuits, and her first love. During the five-month filming period, Shen Qianzhan watched her fall in love, go through a cold war and a breakup, and then get back together.

After the project was wrapped, Su Lanyi went back to being a rich socialite, and Shen Qianzhan moved on to another project, starring Su Lanyi’s “little wolf-dog” boyfriend.

At first, everything was fine. Because of his good relationship with Su Lanyi, he was cordial to Shen Qianzhan. But gradually, Shen Qianzhan saw him being sneaky, secretly fooling around behind her back.

After catching him several times and fearing that the truth would be exposed, he began to threaten and warn her. After much internal struggle, Shen Qianzhan finally followed her gut feeling and invited Su Lanyi to visit the set.

Just like in every dramatic teenage story, she led Su Lanyi to catch him in the act. And in the days that followed, her righteousness was met with unfair teasing and mistreatment.

She and Su Lanyi had a brief, intertwined moment in their lives then, but they grew apart afterward. Perhaps it was because she had seen the most painful and pathetic part of Su Lanyi’s life, creating an indelible barrier between them. Or perhaps, Su Lanyi woke up from that experience and returned to her own world, a world that had nothing to do with Shen Qianzhan.

Later, when Shen Qianzhan hit rock bottom, trapped in despair, Su Lanyi happened to pass by and, out of a sense of their past friendship, extended a hand of pity. But no matter what her intentions were, Shen Qianzhan was always grateful.

For so many years, even Su Zan believed that her friendship with Su Lanyi was unbreakable, but only Shen Qianzhan knew that they were never true friends.

Not before, and not now.

If Su Lanyi hadn’t brought up the phrase, “Didn’t I tell you I love that look on your face when you refuse to admit anything? It’s so attractive,” Shen Qianzhan wouldn’t have recalled these memories in a long time.

She copied the video clips from the USB drive to her computer, returned the drive to Qiao Xin, and then tilted her chin, gesturing for Qiao Xin to leave: “You can go now.”

Qiao Xin couldn’t have been happier.

Seeing that the two powerhouses’ conversation was getting more private, she had been trying to survive in the tense atmosphere. Even if Shen Qianzhan hadn’t told her to leave, she was already thinking of an excuse to get out of there quickly.

She packed her things efficiently and left the meeting room as if her feet were on fire.

As soon as Qiao Xin left, the air pressure in the meeting room dropped, and a tense, confrontational feeling filled the space.

Shen Qianzhan didn’t look up. She moved her mouse, finished sending the videos, and continued to sort through the files: “The last time you said that to me, was it when you asked me if I needed help?”

She tried to recall Su Lanyi’s expression at the time. Too much time had passed, and the memory was a bit hazy. She only vaguely remembered that Su Lanyi didn’t even come into the room; she just stood at the doorway, and the first thing she said was, “I heard about what happened. Do you need my help?”

The second thing was: “How much money do you need? I’ll see how quickly I can get it for you.”

Su Lanyi’s “admiration” stemmed from the fact that Shen Qianzhan, despite being at her wits’ end, had the rationality and clarity to politely decline her help. Su Lanyi leaned against the door frame, watched her for a long time, and said, “I just love that look on your face when you refuse to admit anything. I asked you back then if that scumbag had been giving you a hard time behind the scenes, and you said no. I asked if anyone at the company was bullying you because of it, and you said no, too. What’s the deal, are you that afraid of owing me a favor?”

With that, she walked into the room, looked around, and nonchalantly took off her shoes to sit on the floor. She said, “Qiandeng isn’t doing so well; it can’t be built up. You don’t have a better option anyway, so come to Qiandeng.”

She didn’t seem to care that Shen Qianzhan had lost her reputation as a producer. After helping Shen Qianzhan out of her immediate crisis, she let go, whether it was because she trusted her business abilities or believed she had a death-defying determination to succeed.

So, when Shen Qianzhan made a beautiful comeback within a few years and paid off her massive debt, Su Lanyi wasn’t surprised. She just gave her a big red envelope and said with a smile, “Congratulations on your rebirth.”

“Probably,” Su Lanyi looked at her, seemingly sensing Shen Qianzhan’s displeasure. She held back a little: “Did you send Qiao Xin away just to reminisce about old times with me?”

“What’s there to reminisce about?” Shen Qianzhan took a sip of her coffee and asked, “When Qiandeng and Xiang Qianqian parted ways amicably, what conditions did he promise you?”

This question came out of nowhere, and Su Lanyi was momentarily caught off guard. Her expression was unguarded for a moment.

She raised an eyebrow, puzzled: “What made you ask that?”

Shen Qianzhan replied, “I was too embarrassed to ask before.” She had also feared that she wouldn’t be able to repay Ji Qinghe’s conditions, which was just an ostrich-like attitude of denial.

Su Lanyi was a little surprised: “You know that CEO Ji intervened to let Xiang Qianqian go because of you?”

“I do.”

Ji Qinghe’s feelings for her were no longer a secret in the industry.

She didn’t know how many people were aware of it, but Ji Qinghe had never hidden it from the beginning. It was as if he was determined to win her over, acting so publicly that he was just shy of announcing it in the newspapers.

Over the years, she had become a savvy operator. Even if Ji Qinghe’s actions were subtle and he only secretly supported her, she would still “unintentionally” make his quiet deeds public.

He was a calculating man; how could he be content with silently giving without anyone knowing?

Shen Qianzhan’s rejections were her own, but she knew what she needed to know.

“Xinghai Agency released a lot of press releases, planning to make their breakthrough through you,” Su Lanyi said, turning slightly to meet her gaze: “It was pretty much what I expected. Although you made some arrangements beforehand, CEO Ji, to ensure you were completely safe, still worked to bring about a three-way collaboration.”

That was why everything had been calm and peaceful on Shen Qianzhan’s end.

Su Lanyi brushed her hair behind her ear and said, “I didn’t make things too difficult for CEO Ji. For the sake of our future collaboration, and also to protect you, I only asked for a little something sweet.”

She didn’t want to say more and didn’t give Shen Qianzhan a chance to speak, changing the subject instead: “By the way, there’s something else. Last November, Xiao Sheng’s Spring River started filming in Hengdian. After the New Year, they moved to Wuxi, and a few days later, they were trapped by the snowstorm. The company has already injected some money to keep the crew going. If the weather doesn’t get better in the next couple of days, you might have to go there yourself.”

Xiao Sheng had joined Qiandeng at the end of the year before last. Su Lanyi had intended to groom him, so she placed him under Shen Qianzhan’s team for a year to get familiar with the process and gain experience. Last November, when Xiao Sheng’s wings were fully grown, he became a producer and started filming the historical drama Spring River in Hengdian. Su Lanyi even flew to Hengdian to celebrate with him, and the marketing releases praised Xiao Sheng to the high heavens, giving him a moment in the spotlight.

Shen Qianzhan’s eyes dropped.

Taking over a project mid-way was usually a thankless task. The credit wouldn’t be hers, but if anything went wrong, she would be half to blame.

Qiandeng had many producers, but few were as well-known as Shen Qianzhan. Xiao Sheng was self-confident and talented. During the year he was under her, he was outwardly humble and eager to learn, but inwardly, he was highly competitive and had accumulated a lot of resentment toward her.

Whenever they met, since they were colleagues at the same company, they had to maintain a facade of peace and friendliness. Other people might not have known, but Su Lanyi was probably well aware of it.

Many employees speculated that Su Lanyi was wary of Shen Qianzhan’s sole dominance in the production department and was intentionally nurturing someone with equal strength to create a balance of power, which had led to Shen Qianzhan’s displeasure.

And Xiao Sheng, because Shen Qianzhan was always one step ahead of him, also disliked her. At the company, these two were usually like rival kings who never met and rarely appeared together.

Perhaps guessing Shen Qianzhan’s concerns, Su Lanyi smiled, stood up, and patted her on the shoulder: “You’re the only one at Qiandeng who can manage this. The company has invested so much money into Spring River. If this continues, we’ll lose money whether it’s filmed or not.”

With that said, there was no reason for Shen Qianzhan to disobey. She frowned, and although she didn’t agree directly, she said tactfully, “That depends on the situation. I hope everything goes smoothly, and I won’t have to get involved.”

As for the “little something sweet” Su Lanyi had gotten from Ji Qinghe, she never told Shen Qianzhan about it.

________________________________________

A few days later, Bu Zhong Sui announced its new spokesperson for the Asia region—Song Yan.

Song Yan was discovered by Fu Xi and became a star at a young age. Later, she abruptly retired to return to school and only made a strong comeback last year.

When casting for Spring River last year, Shen Qianzhan had dinner with Song Yan and was quite impressed. So, when Xiao Sheng personally chose Song Yan as the female lead, Shen Qianzhan wasn’t too surprised. However, even with her strong comeback, it was still a shock that she landed the Bu Zhong Sui endorsement.

What was even more dramatic was that Bu Zhong Sui also announced a brand ambassador on the same day: Zhou Yan.

Shen Qianzhan was packing her bags when the announcement was made on Weibo. The days of bad weather and her incense prayers had been useless. Su Lanyi had issued an order, sending her to Wuxi to lend a hand to Xiao Sheng.

At the same time, her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Shen, were worried about being trapped in Beijing because their flight was canceled due to the snow. They were anxious about being stuck until the snow melted, just as Shen Qianzhan was about to leave for her business trip to Wuxi.

While her mother was fussing and putting clothes into the suitcase, Shen Qianzhan was lying on the edge of the bed, wondering if Zhou Yan was the “little something sweet” that Su Lanyi had gotten from Ji Qinghe.

Before she could figure it out, Ming Jue sent her a schedule, asking if she was free in the coming days so he could arrange the trip to Xi’an.

Shen Qianzhan’s mind suddenly went blank, and she replied: “I’m on a business trip soon. The trip to Xi’an will have to be postponed.”

Ming Jue quickly called her. After learning that Shen Qianzhan was going to Wuxi on a business trip with an uncertain return date, the usually composed assistant was speechless for a few seconds.

Shen Qianzhan remained silent for a few moments, then took the initiative to ask about Ji Qinghe’s situation: “Is CEO Ji busy these days?”

Ming Jue held the phone and glanced at Ji Qinghe, who was working at his desk, and answered objectively and with a bit of reservation: “CEO Ji is as busy as ever.”

Hearing this, Shen Qianzhan didn’t know what to say, so she just stayed quiet.

She and Ji Qinghe hadn’t seen each other since they parted ways in the residential parking lot. Even when Qiao Xin sent the meeting details to Ming Jue, she only received feedback from Ming Jue two days later.

Shen Qianzhan couldn’t understand the reason behind Ji Qinghe’s sudden distance. But with his prior compromises and his persistence, all she could conclude from her thoughts these past few days was that she was a real scumbag and had no other clues.

She thought about it and decided to hang up.

Just as she was about to make her goodbyes, the person on the other end of the line changed. His voice was lazy and soft: “I hear someone was thinking about me?”

Shen Qianzhan thought to herself: I wasn’t, I didn’t, don’t talk nonsense.