Shen Mingzheng thought for a moment and decided it was okay.

Having gone to bed late the night before and just finished dealing with work, he didn’t plan to fuss over much. He returned, kissed Su Ning’s forehead, and prepared to hold him and catch some more sleep.

He had cleaned Su Ning up, but inevitably some mottled marks remained. Su Ning, still deep in sleep, murmured something like “no more,” in a fuzzy dream-talk, and Shen Mingzheng pulled him in closer.

Soon after, the room returned to silence.

…

After Zhou Chunqing arrived, she could guess a bit of what had happened, but she felt that it was only a matter of time for those two. Now, what mattered most to her was her own career.

If those two were happy and it led to a promotion and a raise for her, all the better—shared joy.

Li Chu asking her to help find some clothes was a small thing, but models like Ji Xue were rare. This time, they had invited a very well-known stylist for the ad shoot. She could have gone or stayed, but once she saw Ji Xue, she decided not to go.

Having styled boy groups often, she was eager to try styling a girl, especially one with Ji Xue’s perfect figure and face.

The group had a car dedicated to carrying clothes, all sent from various brands, many of which the members hadn’t even had the chance to wear yet. Many had a unisex style. Ji Xue was tall enough; though they were a bit big, it wasn’t a problem for her—she’d look good even in a sack.

The weather in Rongcheng wasn’t cold, so Zhou Chunqing picked out an oversized sweater for her that almost reached her knees, then lent her a pair of long boots, added a suitable belt, and casually tied up her hair. This style, popular a few years ago, looked exceptionally good on Ji Xue.

“You look beautiful.”

Zhou Chunqing spun her around in praise.

Ji Xue spun around too, sweetly replying, “Thanks, babe. You look great too.”

She liked Zhou Chunqing’s eyes, round like grapes, adorable.

When Su Ning woke up, the two women were already warm and cozy, having lunch together in the hotel’s second-floor restaurant.

Their experiences were somewhat similar, so they found a lot in common, especially upon discovering that both their foes were now behind bars, which led them to share a gleeful laugh, enhancing their good mood.

Then they saw Su Ning coming and called him over to join them for lunch.

“Where’s President Shen?”

Zhou Chunqing asked.

Su Ning: “Upstairs.”

Ji Xue asked, “Isn’t he coming down?”

Su Ning: “I didn’t let him.”

He thought Shen Mingzheng needed some time to cool down.

Ji Xue gave a knowing look, then didn’t ask any more, as Su Ning still seemed upset.

Shen Mingzheng had been indulgent last night, but this morning, rather, noon, he was much more attentive, deliberately timing his room service order, but the woken Su Ning didn’t feel so fragile.

He wasn’t a patient!

Though he said this, his legs were soft, almost no different from a patient, especially after Su Ning got up to shower and carefully observed the marks on his body, then came out and saw the bed, he didn’t want to stay there any longer.

Shen Mingzheng really had been a bit too much.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, deciding to go down for a meal alone, not allowing Shen Mingzheng to follow. Business required giving and taking, some things shouldn’t be overdone.

Although Su Ning still felt his thighs were a bit sore, he maintained his composure well, and sitting down, no one could tell there was anything off.

But to Ji Xue, Su Ning’s condition still gave him away.

The tips of his eyes were still a bit red, and he seemed softer than usual, as if he’d been soaked in warm water.

President Su was always charismatic, standing out even among a group of attractive idols; now, he seemed even more so.

Even dressed modestly, an ambiguous aura subtly emanated from his turtleneck sweater.

Su Ning ordered a light meal and casually paid for their meals too.

The two women were quite familiar with him and weren’t intimidated by their boss. They leisurely ate their desserts and chatted. Zhou Chunqing discussed her future career plans, and Ji Xue gave her advice.

“Makeup artists and stylists make a lot, but beauty bloggers earn more nowadays,” Ji Xue said. “If you’re interested, why not start an account and see?”

Zhou Chunqing glanced at Su Ning instinctively.

Su Ning heard her, swallowed his food slowly, and nodded, “Sure, if you want to try, I’ll talk to someone later and get you an operator next week.”

He was always quick to act, his first reaction to these things was to just try them out.

Zhou Chunqing smiled, “Thanks, President Su.”

Ji Xue watched silently, then brushed her hair and asked, “When are you guys heading back to Hai Cheng?”

“The day after tomorrow,” Su Ning thought for a moment, “The group still has a schedule tomorrow, and we’ll head back early the day after.”

“That’s good,” Ji Xue said. “Could you let me take a look at the renewal contract when we get back to Hai Cheng?”

Su Ning was a bit surprised and glanced at her, but immediately nodded and said yes, adding, “No need to wait until we’re back in Hai Cheng, I’ll have my secretary send you the digital version of the contract later.”

Ji Xue’s current contract hadn’t expired yet, and even for a renewal, it wasn’t that urgent; she had time to decide once back in Hai Cheng.

Before their next phase of work, Su Ning gave them a couple of days off, suggesting, “Go out and have fun these next two days, maybe go shopping.”

Consider it a break.

But Shen Mingzheng wasn’t one to rest easily; he could be quite persistent.

He could only hold back until Su Ning had finished lunch before he couldn’t stand it anymore and came looking for him.

He did have a way of doing things, not saying much, just claiming his wound hurt and asking Su Ning to help him change the dressing.

Given Little President Shen’s wealth, getting a few private doctors to dress a wound was more than simple, and his injury wasn’t serious, but he looked pitiful and still knew to approach quietly and apologize to Su Ning, completely ignoring the two third wheels, not minding losing face at all.

What could Su Ning do?

He was always soft-hearted towards those close to him, especially when it was Shen Mingzheng, who knew just what to say.

Besides, on reflection, he had agreed to last night’s events, and now after a full meal, he didn’t feel so sore anymore; it seemed like it wasn’t a big deal.

So, he followed Shen Mingzheng upstairs with a resigned expression, even saying, “Be more careful in the future, you can’t get hurt again.”

Shen Mingzheng, humble and apologetic: “Okay, I’ll listen to you.”

After the two left, Zhou Chunqing sighed heavily, “Li Chu can’t compete with him.”

Such a capable and flexible fox.

Li Chu was merely a loyal fan, often busy with work, how could he stand against a legitimate spouse aiming for a higher position?

Ji Xue agreed, nodding, “I’ll message him that Su Ning is fine, better he accepts reality sooner.”

But as soon as she sent the message, it led to a flurry of calls from Li Chu, unclear and with background noise from the shoot. After some back and forth, the three ended up creating a small group chat.

Li Chu renamed the group to “Shen Mingzheng is a beast in human clothing!”, but Ji Xue thought if reporters saw that on a phone screen, it’d be terrible, so she deleted the group name.

After some struggle, the group name was changed to “Peace and Calm.”

Life is a journey of cultivation.

Holding flowers before Buddha.jpg

Trying to maintain peace and calm wasn’t just them.

After coaxing Su Ning back, Shen Mingzheng took advantage of applying medicine to cuddle and kiss his cheek, but he knew he couldn’t overdo it now, he restrained himself, and finished discussing the serious matters he hadn’t completed last night.

“…The top management at Pinnacle has been restructured, indeed many newcomers weren’t involved in those issues,” Shen Mingzheng said. “After we take over, the company still needs to operate.”

With so many employees waiting to be fed and numerous projects and partnerships ongoing, it was somewhat messier than Shen Film Industry.

Now, the entire Hai Cheng circle was essentially their playing field, but this circle was new, changes were frequent, they had gained control too quickly, and needed to maintain it.

“I know the elder is suspicious, after this incident, he will definitely place someone by my side, Chen Tao isn’t enough, and he knows that Chen Tao mostly listens to me now,” Shen Mingzheng said. “The person he appointed is Zhu Lan.”

Hearing this name, Shen Mingzheng didn’t reject it immediately.

The elder trusted her, this person was indeed very loyal, almost raised by Shen Andang himself, capable and influential enough that even the ordinary heirs in the Shen family had to bow before her.

But aside from considering her capabilities, Shen Mingzheng was also pondering other things.

“…Out of so many in the family, she’s a bit different, technically, she grew up with my mother as sisters, reportedly an orphan of a friend of Shen Andang, whom he brought back to raise as his adopted daughter, treated just like his own.”

With this rarely spoken relationship, Zhu Lan was different from the others. Maybe because of the kinship with his mother, when Shen Mingzheng first returned to the Shen household, she had roughly informed him about the family situation.

Though it was under the elder’s orders, her detailed explanation did hint at many things to him.

If that wasn’t enough, in his previous life when Shen Mingzheng broke free from a contract to start preparing for a film, Zhu Lan genuinely helped him.

Shen Mingzheng later learned that some of the sponsorship he received was from Zhu Lan’s initiative for a new directors’ investment project called “Kunpeng Project”. She probably didn’t know of Shen Mingzheng’s lineage then; otherwise, she would have told the elder. At that time, Shen Mingzheng, barely recognizable and down on his luck, wasn’t visibly from the Shen family.

Maybe it was just her appreciation for talent; besides Shen Mingzheng, many in the circle had received her help.

—Zhu Lan’s characteristic in the circle was her willingness to invest heavily.

But this didn’t mean she was purely a good person; people are complex, and Zhu Lan might have had a compassionate side in her previous life, or maybe she was just throwing money around broadly, but this certainly couldn’t make her betray Shen Andang now.

She was trained by Shen Andang to be a “daughter” who would never run away; spending some money on investments and betraying her foster father were completely different matters.

If they had to progress further in the Shen family and had to deal with people like Zhu Lan close to the elder, she might already be the best choice among the lot in the Shen household.

“I understand,” Su Ning nodded after listening, contemplating, “Let her come then.”

They had already caused a lot of commotion to reach this point; other heirs, scared by the elder’s fury, didn’t dare to act rashly, all behaving themselves.

Sending a Zhu Lan as an “imperial envoy” or rather, a spy, to Hai Cheng under these circumstances meant they had to be careful in their interactions with her, not necessarily confrontational, at least maintaining peace on the surface.

And what it would actually be like, they would only know after meeting her.

Shen Mingzheng shared the same thoughts but hesitated and eventually didn’t speak his full mind.

He would tell Su Ning all the useful information and current considerations without reserve, yet he couldn’t bring up his failed previous life.

That’s how it often is with people in love.

He tried to offer his beloved treasures, yet at the same time, he would hide his own tattered wounds, trying to appear more perfect and decent, to make his partner happy, to make Su Ning like him a bit more.

Thus, Shen Mingzheng finally just asked, “The Shen family is a bottomless pit… I originally didn’t want to drag you into it too much.”

He intended to keep Shen family matters from affecting Su Ning, so unlike Liang Xiaoliang, he didn’t invest in Guang Ying Entertainment, just lent money. Once Su Ning’s inheritance came through and the business settled, Guang Ying Entertainment would remain independent and belong to Su Ning.

He was a bit hypocritical about this, Shen Mingzheng knew it; involving Su Ning in Shen Film Industry was fine, he trusted him completely, but the Shen family touching Su Ning was not acceptable.

But he was unapologetically double-standard.

“You’re worried about me, huh?” Su Ning was nonchalant, “What haven’t I seen? What’s this to me?”

Their current situation was no secret to the elder and many others watching. Su Ning had no intention of hiding it.

If they were really climbing for power, to appear unassailable, pretending not to care about each other, grinding away the hard-earned relationship—wouldn’t that be completely missing the point, wasting this entire ordeal?