Chapter 85: A Dramatic Encounter

Shen Shilang was remarkably intelligent; he could quickly grasp and clearly remember things he had never encountered before.

“I’ve rested too long after finishing my last project. It’s time to start working again,” Su Jinshi said.

As the car pulled up to the company entrance, Su Jinshi got out while telling Shen Shilang, “I need to go into the office now, so we can’t chat. I’ll finish up quickly and come find you.”

“Alright,” he replied.

Lately, Su Jinshi had been sharing more and more about her world with him. Without realizing it, Shen Shilang had long since stopped thinking of Su Jinshi as a ghost.

After entering the company, Su Jinshi sent a WeChat message to her editor: 「Hey, I’ve arrived at the office!」

「Great! Head straight to the eighth floor, you know the way,」her editor promptly replied.

Having visited multiple times before, Su Jinshi signed in at the reception, received a temporary visitor badge, and took the elevator to the eighth floor. She entered a large open space filled with editors specializing in romance short dramas.

“Jinshi!” Her editor, Xiao Qi, jumped up from her desk and rushed over to grab Su Jinshi’s hand. “Come on, let’s go to the meeting room. The chief editor is with a client right now.”

Xiao Qi affectionately linked arms with Su Jinshi and whispered, “That client is the manager from the company we’re collaborating with this time. If your outline gets approved, we’ll be working with them. They’ve just entered the short drama industry, so they’re willing to invest generously. If this deal goes through, your fee could increase by at least thirty percent.”

“Hopefully it all goes smoothly then,” Su Jinshi thought. If successful, she could finish this piece and enjoy some well-deserved rest afterward. The key was to earn more so she could spend more on Shen Shilang. Having a man who could spend money meant she had to hustle even harder!

Xiao Qi led Su Jinshi to a small meeting room and had her sit down. “You wait here; I’ll grab you some snacks and drinks.”

“No need to trouble yourself,” Su Jinshi quickly replied.

“Oh come on, it’s no trouble at all,” Xiao Qi laughed. “Just sit tight; I’ll be right back.”

As she spoke, Xiao Qi dashed out. Before long, she returned with two large bags.

Their editorial department didn’t have high-end assistants; everyone usually handled their own tasks. Now that Su Jinshi and a client from the partnering company were here, there were no assistants available for hosting duties. Xiao Qi had to prepare everything herself.

She placed a bottle of mineral water and a bottle of juice at each seat. Then she opened packages of cookies and arranged them on a plate. Another plate held some chocolates.

“Help yourself while you wait. The chief editor will be here shortly,” Xiao Qi said. “By the way, let me share some thoughts the chief editor and I had about your new script.”

Xiao Qi took out her notebook and pulled up the outline and character descriptions that Su Jinshi had sent earlier to discuss them.

Su Jinshi had provided an outline, detailed character sketches, and content for the first three episodes.

Before long, the chief editor entered with the client.

Chief Editor Qing You opened the meeting room door and smiled, saying, “Manager Mo, please come in.”

Qing You entered first, followed by someone who made Su Jinshi freeze in surprise.

It was Mo Jizong.

“Jinshi?” Mo Jizong looked both surprised and delighted, clearly not expecting to run into Su Jinshi here. “What are you doing here?”

“You two know each other?” Qing You glanced between Mo Jizong and Su Jinshi.

“We’re university classmates,” Mo Jizong explained. “I’d heard that Jinshi was a short drama screenwriter and had wanted to collaborate with her someday. I didn’t expect to meet her today.”

Mo Jizong seemed genuinely pleased as he stepped inside. “I hope we can have a pleasant collaboration this time!”

“What a coincidence,” Qing You smiled. “Jinshi is one of our most popular screenwriters. Her scripts consistently rank in the top ten across all platforms.”

“Jinshi, why don’t you share your concept for this project with Manager Mo?” Xiao Qi suggested.

Although Su Jinshi found Mo Jizong annoying, she wouldn’t let that affect her professionalism. She quickly got into presentation mode.

Mo Jizong nodded approvingly. “This is indeed impressive. The content is fresh and breaks away from the usual clichés of short dramas. No wonder Jinshi’s works always perform so well.”

“I’ll take this back for our project team to discuss further. If approved, we can start negotiating pricing,” Mo Jizong said. “Of course, I personally feel there shouldn’t be any major issues with approval.”

“Yes, we’re confident in Jinshi’s script as well,” Qing You smiled.

Su Jinshi’s scripts were always in demand, with several companies waiting for them.

After their discussion wrapped up, Su Jinshi left the company, inevitably finding herself walking alongside Mo Jizong.

“Jinshi, are you heading home? Let me give you a ride,” Mo Jizong offered in the elevator.

“No need. You should hurry back to your company. If we can finalize this script quickly, I’d really appreciate it,” Su Jinshi smiled back.

She didn’t want Mo Jizong knowing where she lived.

“It won’t take more than an hour,” Mo Jizong insisted. “Leaving you alone might make it seem like I lack schoolmate loyalty.”

Su Jinshi waved her phone. “I already called for a ride while waiting for the elevator just now.”

Mo Jizong glanced over but couldn’t see clearly since she moved too quickly. He laughed and said, “You’re always quick on your feet!”

“I like to be prepared,” Su Jinshi replied.

With no further arguments left, Mo Jizong had no choice but to give up.

As they exited the company together, Mo Jizong pointed beside him. “Then I’ll head off first?”

“Sure.” Su Jinshi nodded without looking up, immediately pulling out her phone to check on Shen Shilang in the game while walking toward the roadside.

According to the app’s map, her ride would arrive in five minutes. There was some traffic due to red lights on some part of the road.

Su Jinshi wasn’t in a hurry. She stood by the road, observing Shen Shilang’s situation. The low-level communication box she’d bought earlier had expired, so she purchased an intermediate one.

“Shen Shilang,” Su Jinshi put on her Bluetooth headset and called out. “How are you feeling now?”

Hearing Su Jinshi’s voice instantly warmed Shen Shilang’s previously aloof expression. His cool eyes brightened with a smile as he looked over. “Did you finish your meeting?”

“Mm-hmm, I just wrapped up and came straight out to check on you.” Seeing Shen Shilang made Su Jinshi’s eyes light up like crescent moons.

In contrast to her forced smiles when facing Mo Jizong earlier, her joy was now genuine. This was probably what distinguished liking from disliking someone.

As Su Jinshi spoke, someone suddenly tapped her shoulder. “Jinshi! Who are you talking to?”

Mo Jizong, towering over Su Jinshi by half a head, could easily see over her shoulder at her phone screen. His gaze caught sight of a handsome man in ancient costume displayed on it.