HYAT - 50

Despite her stubbornness, politeness was still a must.

Shen Qianzhan switched the phone to her left hand and used her other hand to pick out her toner, moisturizer, face cream, and eye cream to put into her makeup bag. “It’s been a while since we last saw each other. I truly do miss CEO Ji’s magnificent demeanor.”

Ji Qinghe’s lips curled into a smile, accepting her flattery. “Are you going on a business trip? For how long?”

“To Wuxi,” Shen Qianzhan said with a hint of helplessness. “The return date is uncertain. It all depends on when the Spring River crew can get back on its feet.”

Shen Qianzhan felt guilty about the matter. She had promised Ji Qinghe that they would go to Xi’an together first, and even though she was reassigned for work, failing to follow through felt like a breach of trust. Furthermore, she hadn’t been properly notified. If Ming Jue hadn’t called to ask if she was free, she probably wouldn’t have remembered the Xi’an trip until she had already arrived in Wuxi.

When people feel guilty, they tend to look for validation. Since they weren’t face-to-face, Shen Qianzhan felt a lot more at ease: “There’s a snowstorm in Wuxi, and the crew is out of work, which is costing a lot of money. Producer Xiao doesn’t have experience handling this kind of situation, and CEO Su was worried that if the delay continued, the company and investors would suffer heavy losses, so she had no choice but to send me to help out.”

Her tone was one of “I don’t want to do this, but I am just a small and insignificant cog in the machine working for capital, and I have to obey orders.” It was a tone of helplessness and grievance.

Ji Qinghe wasn’t very familiar with the inner workings of a film crew, but hearing this, he was very lenient and told her not to worry about breaking their plan. “There will be other opportunities,” he said.

After hanging up, Shen Qianzhan stared at her phone for a long time, speechless.

If before she had only suspected that Ji Qinghe was acting strangely, now, based on his behavior and attitude, she was absolutely sure that the scumbag had changed.

Based on Ji Qinghe’s usual reactions, the trip to Xi’an might have been postponed, but he would not have missed an opportunity to mock her. The strange thing was that he had a perfect reason to call her out for breaking her word, yet he comforted her and told her to focus on her work. He neither pursued the matter nor got angry.

Was this really the meticulous Ji Qinghe she knew?

He seemed more like a philanthropist running a charity, dedicated to doing good.

________________________________________

A sense of unease settled in Shen Qianzhan. After a whole night of contemplating, when she was in the car with Su Zan on the way to Wuxi the next day, she might as well have had “I’m full of worries” written on her face.

Su Zan couldn’t stand it and tried to cheer her up: “It’s just Xiao Sheng. Do you really need to be so on guard? I’m here, you know!” Being the heir of Qiandeng, he was used to getting his way with everyone except Shen Qianzhan. He carried an air of power without even speaking.

Shen Qianzhan, who felt misunderstood, didn’t even look up and mumbled, “I have a handle on the Xiao Sheng situation.”

Su Zan followed her gaze to the layers of snow outside the highway, and he asked, “If it’s not Xiao Sheng, then who could be troubling you?” He tried several questions in a row, from the Time script to the project’s progress, from her mortgage to her handbags, and finally landed on the topic of love: “You don’t have a best friend you can talk to. I’ll sacrifice myself and give you some advice.”

Shen Qianzhan had always been open with Su Zan. After a few seconds of consideration, she couldn’t help but voice her suspicion: “Did something big and secretive happen at Bu Zhong Sui?”

Su Zan tore open a bag of chips and crunched on them as he asked, “Yeah, but a lot of things have happened recently. What do you mean by ‘big’?” Before Shen Qianzhan could give a precise definition, he continued on his own: “The Bu Zhong Sui Asia endorsement is a pretty big deal, right? I heard that they actually had a top star in mind, and the plan was already finalized. But then Ming Jue came with a message from CEO Ji and had them replace the person.”

Shen Qianzhan had been busy with work lately and was not up to date on industry gossip. Hearing this, she leaned in with interest: “Who was it?”

Su Zan, being a drama queen, looked left and right like a thief. Seeing that her parents were sound asleep, he lowered his voice and whispered in Shen Qianzhan’s ear: “The one you pinched on the butt.”

Shen Qianzhan: “...”

Her face went from green to black. She unapologetically snatched the chips from Su Zan’s hand: “I’ll give it back to you when you learn to respect your elders and love your children.”

Su Zan burst out laughing, and after he had had his fill, he said, “I’m not lying. It’s a true story. Just have a meal with the executive in charge of that at Bu Zhong Sui, and you’ll find out. They’re still clueless as to how this top star offended CEO Ji. Only I knew that this wasn’t a simple matter.”

Shen Qianzhan rolled her eyes, no longer in the mood for an emotional consultation. She threw the chips back to Su Zan, pulled down her eye mask, and went back to sleep.

________________________________________

The trip from Beijing to Wuxi was fourteen hours long. Due to a regional blizzard, the weather was severe, and the road conditions were terrible. Shen Qianzhan and the others were forced to take a short break at a rest stop.

The rest stop was packed. Her father and the driver went to get hot water. Her mother felt unwell after getting back in the car, and after taking motion sickness medicine, she was still sleeping.

Su Zan went for a walk and came back with two servings of spiced tofu, motioning for her to get out and get some fresh air.

The snow had stopped for a while, and the air was crisp. It was as if the snow and ice had washed away all the dirt, leaving only a pungent and cold freshness that revitalized her weary mind.

Su Zan handed her two bamboo skewers: “The line at the window was long, but the aroma smelled like it was braised in meat broth, so I bought two servings. If it’s good, we can get some for them to eat later.”

Shen Qianzhan’s nose caught the sour and spicy smell of the broth: “Did you add anything for me?”

Su Zan was busy eating. He mumbled an “mm-hmm,” bit off half a piece of tofu, and kept blowing on it because it was so hot: “You like to eat things with vinegar and spice, don’t you?” He chewed on a skewer of meat and then asked, “What were you trying to tell me earlier?”

Confiding in someone was a matter of mood and atmosphere.

Shen Qianzhan no longer had the distressed feelings that she had at the beginning of the trip. She shook her head: “It’s nothing.”

Su Zan didn’t believe her.

He knew Shen Qianzhan. You couldn’t force this woman to talk. When they first met, he had to guess what she was thinking. If he was right, this queen would give him a few glances and chat for a bit. He remembered how difficult those days were.

He thought for a moment, then squatted down on the steps and said, “Okay, then I’ll tell you something.”

He chewed and swallowed the last skewer of meat, and he mumbled, “The day before we left, my father asked me to go fishing and asked me about CEO Ji.”

Su Zan glanced at Shen Qianzhan. Seeing that she only paused her skewer for a second, he continued: “I teased him and asked if your mother had urged him to ask me. He said no, that he just wanted to know more about him, asking about everything from CEO Ji’s age to his family situation. I saw him contemplating as he asked, so I asked him what he was worried about.”

“He didn’t say, but he mentioned that it wasn’t very polite to ask for information in private, but he and your mother would be leaving Beijing soon, and they would feel uneasy if they didn’t know.” Su Zan gave a fake laugh: “I can understand your parents’ feelings. This trip to Wuxi together is an opportunity. I think you should tell your parents about your plans so they don’t worry about you.”

Shen Qianzhan quietly ate her tofu, pretending not to have heard.

Su Zan was used to her attitude. He looked up at the busy rest stop and rubbed his chin: “Sister Zhan, I know you’ve been through a lot of hardships. In these past few years, with me by your side, I’ve been a part of everything you’ve gone through. I understand how difficult it was for you to get to where you are today. I also know that you weren’t always like this, someone who wasn’t willing to accept anyone’s goodwill. CEO Ji is very sincere toward you. I know some of the things I did were annoying, but my initial intention was to create opportunities for you. I’m not afraid of being misunderstood; I’m just afraid you’re so resistant that you’ll miss out on a good opportunity.” His voice grew softer, and by the end, his tone shifted, and he sounded a little envious: “Although I don’t believe in measuring love with money, Ji Qinghe’s family is seriously wealthy. Whether you’re dating or getting married, it’s a good deal. Trust me! It’s really a good deal.”

At first, Shen Qianzhan was listening and thinking, finding some sense in what Su Zan was saying. But the more she listened, the more something felt off. She glared at the money-hungry Su Zan and said expressionlessly: “Do you have to tell me that it’s a good deal?”

Of course, it was a good deal!

Sleeping with him once would be a break-even, and twice would be a profit.

Did she not know this?

Jokes aside, what Su Zan said had indeed created a stir in Shen Qianzhan’s heart.

On the road again, Shen Qianzhan closed her eyes, her mind filled with Su Zan’s surround-sound voice, which felt like a spell, leaving her restless.

Whether it was because of Su Zan’s rare moment of sentimentality or because she was already wavering, there was a scale hanging precariously, on the verge of collapsing.

________________________________________

It was late at night when they arrived in Wuxi.

According to Shen Qianzhan’s plan, her parents would be dropped off at home first. The driver would then rest in the town for the night and go to the Spring River set the next day.

After arriving in town, she first arranged for the driver and Su Zan to stay at a hotel.

The next morning, everyone headed to the film studio.

She had prepared a contingency plan before she came. Upon arriving at the hotel where the crew was staying, she skipped the pleasantries and immediately called for an emergency meeting with Xiao Sheng and the other executives.

The meeting lasted until that evening. She provided simple and effective solutions for Xiao Sheng to implement.

The blizzard causing the snowstorm was an act of God. No matter how many solutions were presented, it was just a matter of minimizing the crew’s losses.

Fortunately, even though Xiao Sheng had personal issues with her, he wasn’t so tactless as to throw a tantrum at that moment. After the meeting, he even seemed genuinely grateful that she had come to help the crew through the snow.

Shen Qianzhan’s lips twitched, and she put on a flawless front: “We’re colleagues; it’s only right that we help each other.”

She used the excuse that she was tired from the long journey and wanted to rest, avoiding the need for further socializing over dinner. She went back to her room to sleep.

She slept until noon the next day. When she woke up, the sky was a hazy gray, and she couldn’t tell if it was morning or afternoon.

The hotels in the south didn’t have heating; they only had air conditioners. The air in the room was so cold, it felt like ice, and the last bit of warmth had vanished.

Shen Qianzhan woke up groggily. Not only did she not feel rested, but her head felt light and her feet felt heavy, as if filled with lead.

She propped herself up and looked at the air conditioner—the red ribbon tied to the vent was still and quiet, indicating it had been off for a while.

She leaned over and looked at the wall lamp she had left on last night. It was off, and the room was as dark as if covered by a crow’s wing.

The blanket was cold and damp, and stiff from the chilling air.

Shen Qianzhan vaguely realized there was a power outage and first looked at her phone.

The signal bar showed her phone signal was at its last bar, pitifully weak.

The power was out.

After confirming this, Shen Qianzhan flopped back onto the bed, a look of despair on her face.

________________________________________

After spending half an hour finally accepting the reality of the power outage, Shen Qianzhan resigned herself to getting up and getting ready.

Su Zan and the production manager knocked on her door. Shen Qianzhan had just finished getting ready.

The production manager was there to deliver lunch boxes. Seeing that Shen Qianzhan was awake, she finally sighed in relief: “I came by this morning to deliver breakfast, but no one answered the door. I didn’t want to disturb you. I came by with lunch just now, and still no one answered, so I came back with CEO Su.”

Shen Qianzhan smiled and told her to go about her business.

Su Zan had a few drinks with Xiao Sheng last night and woke up late. He didn’t have much of an appetite. He twisted open a bottle of mineral water from the coffee table and walked in while drinking: “Why is it so cold in your room?” As he spoke, he rubbed his hands together and urged her, “You should eat quickly. After the power went out from the blizzard this morning, the entire crew is on edge. They’re waiting for you to be their rock.”

Shen Qianzhan was unhurried: “My presence won’t bring the power back.”

Su Zan was stumped and simply shut up.

The power outage at this moment was undoubtedly a blow to the Spring River crew.

The crew had been out of work for nearly half a month, and hundreds of people were bored out of their minds at the hotel. Now, even this shelter was affected by the blizzard and shut down. Who knew how many staff members would lose it?

Just thinking about it gave Shen Qianzhan a splitting headache.

Perhaps seeing that she was in a bad mood, Su Zan waited until she finished eating to say, “CEO Ji couldn’t get through to you, so he called me instead.”

Shen Qianzhan was a bit surprised: “Did he say what he needed?”

Su Zan grinned mischievously: “He didn’t need anything, but I told him that all the actors in this crew are totally your type, so now he probably has a reason to call.”