Love Finds Its Time - Chapter 27

After Xingye Entertainment’s official Weibo first released the news of Shi Qingqiu’s marriage, she herself confirmed it again that evening on her own account. Overnight, the trending topic on Weibo shifted from endless gossip about Shi Qingqiu and Qin Wang to a sea of wailing.

Regardless of gender, fans posted under the hashtag #ShiQingqiuAnnouncesMarriage#.

At first, the posts revolved around her marriage, with some fans even swearing they would wait for her divorce.

But once photos of Wen Qinghan taken by reporters began circulating, the topic completely changed direction.

Many tech-savvy netizens enhanced the photos, increasing the brightness and zooming in. Even so, Wen Qinghan’s refined features remained flawless. This led some to speculate she might be a little-known celebrity herself.

When Shi Qingqiu saw these posts, she was in the middle of packing her luggage. After scrolling through Weibo, she tossed her phone aside and began pulling clothes from her wardrobe. Inside and Outside the Drama was an outdoor reality show, so she packed a few sets of sportswear, some skincare products, and then looked around for other necessities.

Yesterday, after she returned home, she had maintained her smile while sitting beside Wen Qinghan, listening to their parents chatter tirelessly. The mothers praised each other’s daughters endlessly, while the fathers happily revealed all their own daughters’ shortcomings.

Wen Wanyi had said, “Look at Qingqiu, how capable she is. Isn’t she a film queen now? Every one of her movies has been a top box-office hit.”

Shi Jinghui had countered, “Qinghan is just as amazing. Look how many people line up to hire her for lawsuits. Anyone who gets her help is guaranteed to win.”

Meanwhile, Zhao Chengxuan had sighed. “Old Tang, my Qinghan is too introverted, doesn’t talk much. It’ll be hard on Qingqiu in the future.”

Tang Honglang immediately disagreed. “What are you talking about? My Qingqiu is always busy with work. It’ll be Qinghan taking care of her—she’s the one making sacrifices.”

The most exhausting part was that the Wen parents stayed for dinner at the Shi household. Compliments, worries, and talk of the future surrounded Shi Qingqiu and Wen Qinghan from afternoon until late at night.

Not until the Shi family escorted Zhao Chengxuan, Wen Wanyi, and Wen Qinghan out the door did the two women finally exchange a helpless smile.

Now, Shi Qingqiu wondered if Wen Qinghan had finished packing. To avoid being surrounded by colleagues at the law firm, Wen Qinghan had already taken leave.

Zipping up her own suitcase, Shi Qingqiu sat down on the bed, intending to send her a message. Just then, a call from Pan Jiawen came through.

When she answered, Pan Jiawen said with a helpless sigh, “Qingqiu, should I be happy or sad right now?”

“What’s wrong? Did something happen again?” At this point, Shi Qingqiu had little left to worry about. Her family knew everything, she had no plans to renew her contract with Xingye, and even the big boss had approved her marriage announcement. She truly had no burdens left.

“What else? It’s your wife’s face being too gorgeous.” Pan Jiawen sounded both amused and exasperated. “The internet is full of people praising her looks, speculating about her identity. Oh, and the boss asked me to check if she’d consider debuting.”

Xingye’s owner, Fang Jing, had always admired and protected Shi Qingqiu, even treating her like a younger sister in private. But Xingye was still a company, and it needed to make money. That meant decisions were sometimes made that put Shi Qingqiu in difficult positions.

She had felt guilty when deciding not to renew her contract, but in the end, she stuck to her choice.

“Tell Fang-jie I’m sorry. Qinghan seems satisfied with her current work.” Shi Qingqiu smiled faintly, glancing at her suitcase. “By the way, I’ll talk to her directly about the contract myself.”

“Alright. Then I won’t bother you. If anything comes up during Inside and Outside the Drama, just call me.” Pan Jiawen sighed, already flipping through schedules for two newly signed artists.

After the call, Shi Qingqiu sent Wen Qinghan a reminder to pack. A while later, she received a simple reply: Got it. Relieved, she collapsed onto the bed, exhaustion washing over her.

***

From today on, Yihan Law Firm would only have Jian Yizhi left in a managerial role. Normally, the others would have celebrated Wen Qinghan’s absence, but this time was different. Since yesterday afternoon, the WeChat work group had exploded with messages by the hundreds.

Looking over resumes from recent interviews, Jian Yizhi shook her head, closed the document, and leaned back in her chair, reaching for her phone—only to be met with even more of a headache.

【Chen Yi the Handsomest: Oh my god, my goddess is actually Boss Wen’s wife! Jealousy is tearing me apart! Jealousy is making me lose my conscience! Jealousy is stripping me of my humanity!】

【Meng Siqi: What did I say before? Didn’t I say the two of them were suspicious? How could Boss Wen, who’s so heartless, always act so close to just one person? Even Boss Jian never got that treatment! Now that I think about it, whenever a Qingqiu movie came out, Boss Wen would cancel her social events and even bought us tickets!】

【Liu Yi: To be honest, I used to ship Boss Wen and Boss Jian. Reality just slapped me hard. Not only are they together, they’re married!!! [Goodbye][Goodbye][Goodbye]】

【Shao Qing: Same here, same here. I thought Boss Wen and Boss Jian had something. Who knew she was secretly winning big, marrying a film queen! [CryingLaughing][CryingLaughing][CryingLaughing]】

【Chen Yi the Handsomest: [Betrayed.jpg]】

【Chen Yi the Handsomest: You two actually shipped that cursed CP for so long!】

【Wen Qinghan: …】

The chat instantly fell silent.

Jian Yizhi chuckled softly and tossed her phone back onto the desk.

They really had no idea just how reserved Wen Qinghan could be. Once, while having dinner with her, Jian Yizhi had gone to the restroom. When she returned, she found Wen Qinghan calmly putting her phone back on the table.

Thinking nothing was happening, she later checked the WeChat group, only to discover the others had been roasting Wen Qinghan nonstop—about her deadpan expression, the creepy “background music” they swore she carried with her, and more.

“Honestly…” Jian Yizhi licked her lips and muttered with a laugh, “these people are toxic.”

Meanwhile, on the law firm’s first floor, men and women alike sat upright at their desks, faces composed, though the corners of their mouths twitched as they set down their phones.

At that moment, the receptionist brought someone in.

“Miss Fu, Lawyer Jian’s office is the last one on the left, second floor.”

“Mm, okay, thank you.” Carrying a brown envelope, Fu Anran nodded in gratitude.

For a moment, every gaze on the first floor fell on her. Some were curious, some doubtful, others speculative, but nearly everyone had the same thought in their minds: Just as one wave settles, another rises.

“Hello, we’ve met before.” Liu Yi stood up and walked over to greet her.

After all, she was Jian Yizhi’s assistant. Just now, she’d heard the receptionist mention that this person seemed to be here for Jian Yizhi, so of course, she needed to take the initiative.

“Hello, my name is Fu Anran. Lawyer Jian asked me to come by and said I should go directly to her office,” Fu Anran answered politely.

She had only stayed home for one more day. Although she felt a little nervous about working with Jian Yizhi, she also thought it was normal. Jian Yizhi was an outstanding person, which naturally gave her pressure, but at the same time, Jian Yizhi was easy to get along with, which gave her a touch of motivation amidst that pressure.

“I know. Lawyer Jian already told me.” Liu Yi smiled knowingly, stepping aside to point upstairs. “Just head up to the second floor. The last office on the left is Lawyer Jian’s. She’s inside now. Oh, and I’ll need your documents.”

Fu Anran quickly handed the brown envelope to Liu Yi, then smiled. “Here it is. I’ll head up, thank you.” After speaking, she gave a polite nod to the others who were still looking at her before heading up the stairs.

The office door was gently knocked, and just as Liu Yi had informed her, Jian Yizhi responded, “Come in.”

Hearing the sound of the door and high heels, Jian Yizhi looked up. Today, Fu Anran still wore her hair in a ponytail, dressed in a well-fitted professional outfit. Her slender figure carried a composed steadiness, while her youthful face held a purity Jian Yizhi had not seen in a long time.

The two exchanged a smile. Jian Yizhi tilted her chin slightly. “Sit.”

After Fu Anran sat down, Jian Yizhi got up to pour her a cup of tea. Returning to her seat, she said, “I thought you’d come next Monday. Looks like I was wrong—you only stayed home for one day. But tomorrow’s Saturday. You didn’t really have to come so early.”

“Senior, do I look that weak? Since I was ready, I came. I didn’t think too much about it.” Fu Anran held the teacup with both hands. Her smile carried no aggression at all, clean and clear like a bowl of water you could see straight to the bottom of.

That smile was so pure, unlike the kinds of smiles Jian Yizhi now saw so often—sarcastic, mocking, or carrying some hidden meaning.

When we were young, we thought a smile was simply an expression of joy. But as we grow up, we learn that sometimes a smile doesn’t only mean happiness—it can carry other emotions too.

This kind of pure Fu Anran did not seem fit to become someone like Jian Yizhi. At least, not yet.

“Of course, you’re not weak. Even if you were, time would only make you stronger.” Jian Yizhi laced her fingers together, resting her chin on them, her gaze fixed on Fu Anran’s face. Just as Fu Anran was about to sip her tea, Jian Yizhi suddenly said, “Hey, let your hair down.”

“Let my hair down?” Fu Anran asked in surprise.

“Mm. Take it down. Let me see.” Jian Yizhi’s eyes remained on her hair, her expression calm, with not the slightest trace of joking.

Her gaze was direct—sometimes lingering on Fu Anran’s face, sometimes shifting to her hair—making Fu Anran feel uncomfortable, her cheeks warming.

She lowered her head slightly and reached back to pull out the hair tie. A cascade of black hair spilled down instantly, with a few strands falling against her cheeks, giving her already delicate features an added touch of airy grace.

The moment Fu Anran loosened her hair, fragments of long-buried memories flickered across Jian Yizhi’s mind. For an instant, Fu Anran’s face blurred and overlapped with that of another person in her memory, leaving Jian Yizhi momentarily dazed.

“Senior?”

“Mm?” Jian Yizhi gave a small shake of her head, her hand tightening slightly around her teacup. With an apologetic smile, she said, “Much better like this. Keep it down—it makes you look more mature.”

“Alright, I understand.” Fu Anran pressed her lips together lightly, trying to chase away the faint, indescribable emotion lingering in her heart.