That evening, the production crew's group chat never stopped buzzing—everyone was chatting up a storm. Meanwhile, Feng Yan was forcibly escorted out of the hotel, leaving in a humiliating and silent manner.
The next day, Su Qiu arrived at the set to find the atmosphere perfectly calm. Director Zhang had apparently given everyone a heads-up beforehand, so no one dared to openly gossip. Everyone wore that familiar "just here for the paycheck" expression and buried themselves in work.
Su Qiu glanced around and noticed that security around the filming location had been increased by twenty percent. Jingce Media had injected additional funding, and Unit B had already been taken over by another director.
The actress playing the female lead's rival walked over with light, brisk steps, her brows and eyes barely concealing her relief. "Good morning, Teacher Su!"
Su Qiu curved her lips into a smile. "Morning."
Though the temperature was still scorching today, the sky was blue with white clouds—a picture of peace.
"Why did you never tell me?"
If Qiao Zhi had known about the despicable things Feng Yan had done to Su Qiu, she—as one of the investors—would have fought to have Feng Yan removed as assistant director before filming even began. The process might not have been easy, but she would never have stood by and done nothing.
Qiao Zhi was fiercely protective of the screenwriters in her studio, and she was especially attentive to Su Qiu.
Su Qiu held her phone and smiled. "Those were all things that happened before I met you. Just a small matter, not worth mentioning."
Qiao Zhi sighed, then let out a helpless laugh. "You… just like your father. When something happens, you never say a word unless someone asks."
Qiao Zhi only learned after signing Su Qiu that she was actually the daughter of an old classmate.
The Xiang family had been struggling financially back then. For students in difficult circumstances, the school would typically organize a campus-wide fundraiser. Xiang Yiming refused. He stubbornly gritted his teeth and got through those days by working part-time jobs.
This morning, Xiang Yiming had also called his daughter.
Though he didn't follow the entertainment industry, every time his daughter joined a production, he would have his secretary keep an eye on any news from her set.
Xiang Yiming had been focusing on his health lately and went to bed early last night, so he hadn't seen his secretary's message. When he woke up this morning and saw it, he immediately dialed his daughter's number.
Su Qiu simply sent him a photo of her breakfast—a plate of food—and told her dear old dad that this whole thing had zero impact on her. She was eating well, drinking well, and everything was exactly as before.
Only then did Xiang Yiming relax. He then grumbled that a film set couldn't possibly be as comfortable as home, and transferred her a generous allowance, telling her to buy whatever she wanted to eat.
Su Qiu said, "Oh, Dad, I want to arrange for a friend to work at your company. Is that convenient?"
Xiang Yiming didn't even ask why. He agreed without hesitation. "Convenient. Why wouldn't it be? Just have your friend come straight over!"
Su Qiu thought for a moment, then said softly, "Dad, please don't tell Grandmother about the news from my set. I don't want her worrying about me."
Xiang Yiming laughed on the other end of the line. "Your grandmother's been busy lately—she's got her square dance competition to focus on!"
Hearing that, Su Qiu laughed genuinely too.
The father and daughter chatted for a few more minutes about what was most nutritious for breakfast before hanging up.
At noon, Su Qiu went to the neighboring set to find Jian Yin.
Jian Yin was sitting in a chair, dressed in an ethereal, flowing costume. One hand clutched a small fan, while the other held the long hair extensions draped behind her.
Her assistant had gone to buy her an iced drink—and had been gone for nearly half an hour without a trace.
Luckily, Su Qiu had brought her a cup of iced watermelon juice. Jian Yin took it, sucked hard on the straw, and downed several big gulps before letting out a long, relieved sigh, as if she'd just been brought back to life.
Seeing her like this, Su Qiu frowned slightly. "You should get a new assistant."
Jian Yin nodded. "As soon as the money they owe me from the last production comes through, I'm firing her on the spot!"
Su Qiu was about to say something more, but Jian Yin waved her hand and cut in first. "Don't worry, I've got this. Honestly, I don't even need an assistant. Enough about me—let's talk about you!"
Jian Yin leaned in and nudged Su Qiu with her shoulder, her eyes sparkling with gossip.
Su Qiu laughed. "What about me?"
Jian Yin: "You and your husband, of course!"
Jian Yin had been filming in the mountains and her signal had been spotty at best. Now that she'd finally made it out of the mountains, and Feng Yan had been cleared out, she could finally ask about her best friend's whirlwind marriage.
Su Qiu did feel like venting, but when she thought about it, she didn't know where to start. She mulled it over for a long moment, then said, "Zhou Jingqian is a good person."
Jian Yin tilted her head in surprise. "Wait—isn't giving someone a 'good person' card basically rejecting them? Are you two getting divorced?"
Su Qiu froze. "Is that what it means?"
Jian Yin: "Of course! Like, if someone confesses their feelings to you, wouldn't you say, 'You're a good person, but we're not right for each other'?"
Su Qiu was taken aback again. "I've never said that."
She didn't even know those suitors well enough to judge whether they were good or bad.
Jian Yin: "Then how do you reject people?"
Su Qiu: "I don't like you."
Jian Yin gave her a thumbs up. "Nice. Straight to the point."
"Wait, hold on!" Jian Yin suddenly latched onto the key point. "So what you're saying is—you like your husband?"
Su Qiu thought about it seriously, then said with honest candor, "I don't dislike him."
As for anything more—she felt she needed time. Time to get to know each other, time to nurture what was between them.
However, she was satisfied with his face and his physique.
Jian Yin raised an eyebrow and gave a knowing look. "Got it, got it. I'm into good-looking men too."
Su Qiu: "…"
After a moment, she found she couldn't really argue with that.
Setting aside one day each week to visit Su Qiu was an extra addition to Zhou Jingqian's tightly packed schedule.
Before their marriage, he had known Su Qiu was a screenwriter and that being stationed on set was a regular occurrence. But back then, he hadn't planned to incorporate set visits into his schedule.
His pre-marriage remark about not having time to cultivate feelings hadn't been an excuse.
But when Su Qiu mentioned she'd be stationed on set for two months that day, Zhou Jingqian had decided almost instantly that he would go see her.
In the CEO's office, the secretary presented Zhou Jingqian with the fully adjusted schedule for the next two months.
Zhou Jingqian glanced over it twice. No issues.
Looking at the high-intensity arrangement, the secretary hesitated before speaking. "President Zhou, would you like me to carve out some more rest time for you?"
Zhou Jingqian: "No need. Going to accompany my wife is my rest time."
The secretary froze, as if she hadn't expected the usually composed and collected boss to say something like that.
You Xun passed the secretary at the office door, raising a hand to hold it open as she exited.
"Thank you, President You."
"Don't mention it."
You Xun closed the door and came in to find Zhou Jingqian. "Same as usual—gather the guys at Lanting tomorrow night?"
"Just so happens He Yan is back in the country too. It's been a while since we've all been together."
Every year, their birthdays followed roughly the same routine, including Zhou Jingqian's. At noon he'd go back to the old residence to have lunch with his grandparents, and in the evening his friends would celebrate with him.
Zhou Jingqian didn't even look up, the tip of his pen signing off at the end of a document. "Mm."
Seeing that Zhou Jingqian was busy, You Xun didn't linger, nor did he ask whether Zhou Jingqian's wife would be coming. He knew Zhou Jingqian had visited the set a few days ago, and naturally assumed he'd already mentioned the birthday gathering to his wife.
So when You Xun organized things in the group chat, he also reminded the guys to bring their partners along, so Su Qiu wouldn't be stuck with a bunch of men with nothing to talk about.
The office fell quiet. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the sky shifted from blazing daylight to a tangerine sunset, and finally to the city lights flickering on one by one.
Zhou Jingqian rolled his neck and looked up at the window, only then realizing how late it had gotten.
When Su Qiu was home, even if he was busy, he'd glance at the time when the hour came.
As the elevator doors opened, Zhou Jingqian spotted a stack of packages on the cabinet by the door that property management had delivered. The recipient field bore Su Qiu's name.
Zhou Jingqian carried the packages inside, set them out one by one on the table, and took a photo to send to Su Qiu.
Su Qiu: [Arrived that fast? Go ahead and open them for me.]
Zhou Jingqian didn't shop online much. When he needed something, his assistant handled it—items from brand flagship stores arrived ready to use.
Su Qiu probably thought of that too, as another message quickly followed: [The little knife for opening packages is in the first drawer on the left side of the shoe cabinet.]
Zhou Jingqian walked over, pulled open the drawer, and found the knife printed with cartoon patterns. He sliced through the tape on each box one by one.
The first box held rabbit food, the second was hay powder, the third was small grass balls, and the remaining two were more rabbit toys.
All five packages opened, and none of them were for him.
Zhou Jingqian arranged the unpacked items on the table. Just as he was about to take a photo, he paused, then initiated a video call.
Su Qiu had just applied her face mask. Before answering, she smoothed out the wrinkled edges, then tapped accept.
Zhou Jingqian aimed the camera at the pile of rabbit food and toys. "Are these the ones?"
Su Qiu leaned in to look. "Yes, there should be two more packages arriving tomorrow."
"Also for Little White and Little Grey?"
"Mm, their favorite treats."
Zhou Jingqian was silent for a moment, then raised a hand to tap the screen, flipping the camera to face himself.
The screen suddenly became his face, crashing into her vision without warning—those deep, dark eyes hitting her with considerable impact.
Su Qiu blinked instinctively.
Good thing she had the mask on. She steadied herself for two seconds and naturally found a topic. "Where are Little Grey and Little White? Let me see."
Zhou Jingqian glanced sideways at the two little creatures buried in their faces washing themselves on the sofa. "They're asleep."
Su Qiu: "They went to sleep this early tonight?"
"Mm." Zhou Jingqian's voice was low, his deep gaze seeming to pierce through the screen. "So, should we hang up?"
Su Qiu looked at him. "Five more minutes?"
Zhou Jingqian: "Ten minutes."
Ten minutes later, it would pass midnight—his birthday.
Su Qiu: "Fine."
After she spoke, the two fell silent again, though there was still no awkwardness between them.
Su Qiu watched Zhou Jingqian and nearly asked right then—whether he wanted to try cultivating feelings—but felt it wasn't formal enough over the phone.
Her gaze inadvertently drifted to his collar, where two buttons were undone.
When he came home before, he'd only undo one. Probably because she wasn't there, he was much more relaxed.
The shallow hollow of his collarbone shifted between light and shadow under the lamp. When he spoke, his Adam's apple moved, and the surrounding muscles subtly shifted along with it.
The memory of Jian Yin's teasing remark about "appreciating handsome men" suddenly echoed in her mind, and Su Qiu once again felt grateful for the face mask she was wearing.
Even if her face had turned as red as an apple, Zhou Jingqian wouldn't be able to tell.
Zhou Jingqian raised his phone and began to walk around, aiming the camera at the snack rack that Su Qiu had nearly cleaned out before heading to the set.
The rack was now completely restocked.
Zhou Jingqian said, "I replenished some supplies based on the snacks you'd eaten before."
As for her favorite imported orange candy, it was currently out of stock, so he'd asked his assistant to keep an eye out and buy it as soon as it arrived.
Su Qiu was stunned.
Zhou Jingqian continued, "I also had the corner of the pool on the terrace repaired, so you won't bump your leg again."
Su Qiu: "Okay…"
She really had no idea that while she was away, Zhou Jingqian had done so many things related to her.
Su Qiu unconsciously curved her lips into a smile, then quickly pressed them down with her hand, remembering she still had the mask on.
"Zhou Jingqian," she called his name, "I noticed you have cactus plants in both your study and your office."
Zhou Jingqian: "Mm."
It was Grandmother who had said cacti purify the air and urged him to keep one around. Over time, Zhou Jingqian had gotten used to having a pot on his desk.
Su Qiu unconsciously tightened her grip on her phone: "I want one in my study too…"
She said this even more quietly than before.
Zhou Jingqian heard her. He walked straight into his study, picked up the cactus from his desk, and placed it in hers.
"Take this one for now. I'll buy another for myself."
Just then, midnight passed.
Not only had Zhou Jingqian failed to receive a birthday blessing from his new wife, he'd ended up giving away a potted cactus instead.
He curved his thin lips slightly, in a very good mood.