Marry by Relying on Favor: Chapter 10 - Wen Shuchen, watch out—I’ll call the police and report you for harassing a woman late at night. I’ll expose you!
Chapter 10: Wen Shuchen, watch out—I’ll call the police and report you for harassing a woman late at night. I’ll expose you!
Around 6 PM, Jiangcheng International Airport.
A black Rolls-Royce finally passed through the congested overpass and steadily drove toward the city center.
Inside the car:
The secretary sitting in the second row quickly finished reporting work, closed the file, then turned his expressionless face toward the back seat and asked, “Mr. Wen, we’ve exited the highway. Are we going back to the office or the hotel?”
Wen Shuchen sat silently in the back seat, his suit immaculate and meticulous, paired with an ink-blue striped tie. Clearly, he had just returned from an intense business trip abroad, but his handsome face showed no trace of fatigue.
After listening to the secretary's report, he slightly tugged at his collar with long fingers, his voice hoarse and low, as if he were feeling unwell: “Go pick someone up…”
Faced with three sharp gazes, Wen Shuchen remained calm. His thin lips curled into a faint smile as he spoke again: “I have a date tonight. You don't need to follow me.”
The three elite team members in the car fell completely silent.
Even the expressionless secretary dared not ask further questions—after all, they still remembered vividly how Song Chao had been suspended for three months.
Having worked beside Wen Shuchen for years, everyone knew that despite his seemingly composed and gentlemanly exterior, his business tactics were unfathomably shrewd. He could effortlessly outmaneuver competitors.
He was also a perfectionist in every way—his discipline bordering on obsession. Even though his family had been wealthy for generations, he still struggled in a foreign country in his youth, surrounded by men in his own circle to complete his studies.
Outsiders only saw the surface of Wen Shuchen.
Some financial media outlets described him as mysterious and low-key. Though a leader in Jiangcheng’s business world, he carried a composure and restraint far beyond his age. Courteous and gentlemanly in all dealings, he garnered much praise.
But those close to him knew better—
Wen Shuchen was absolute in his decisions. Not even his family at the Wen household could sway him.
With Song Chao as a cautionary tale, none of the secretaries dared gossip in front of their boss.
They could only sneak glances from the corners of their eyes and saw that Wen Shuchen was holding his phone, head lowered, seemingly deep in thought.
His gaze darkened as he realized that he couldn't reach He Qingchi—her phone was off, and WeChat showed they were no longer friends. If not for their chat history, it would seem like she had vanished into thin air.
This made Wen Shuchen realize a problem more troublesome than any business deal: with just an hour and a half to go before their date, He Qingchi had blocked him.
“Mr. Wen, are you… unable to reach Miss He?” the expressionless secretary cautiously asked.
It was obvious to anyone. Wen Shuchen didn’t hide it and asked for a phone.
He tried calling her using a different number, but still couldn’t get through.
Wen Shuchen went through his texts. After his flight landed and airplane mode was turned off, a flood of unread messages came in—from executives and business partners—so he hadn’t checked them right away.
Now that he thought about it, even if He Qingchi had broken the date, her upbringing in the He family meant she wouldn’t just vanish without a word.
Sure enough, in his unread messages, Wen Shuchen saw one from He Qingchi.
The car fell silent for two seconds—
Then Wen Shuchen’s deep, cold voice broke the stillness: “To the hotel.”
The driver immediately changed lanes.
Then they heard Wen Shuchen give another order from the back seat: “Find out everything that’s happened with He Qingchi recently.”
This kind of task was usually handled by Song Chao. With the "eunuch chief steward" finally out of the picture, the expressionless secretary, thrilled to be trusted, responded with a calm, “Yes, sir.”
……
7:00 PM, Tangshe Hotel.
Wen Shuchen arrived at the luxury suite and went to the dressing room to change into a light gray shirt and black trousers. His throat was uncomfortable, so he took some medicine. His brow remained furrowed.
He sat on the largest leather sofa in the living room. The expressionless secretary came in with updates: “Mr. Wen, there’s been an issue with the movie you acquired from Mr. Fu.”
Wen Shuchen lifted his tea cup with long fingers and sipped, soothing his throat. His voice was clearer now: “What issue?”
The secretary reported truthfully: “Miss He’s role was snatched.”
“The director must be out of his mind. Mr. Wen invested a fortune just to chase a woman, and he dares replace the female lead?” another secretary with black-rimmed glasses blurted out, revealing the truth: “All of Mr. Wen’s efforts were for nothing…”
And not just wasted—he probably offended the lady in the process.
The expressionless secretary hesitated: “It was Miss Shu. She undercut the price and stole the role.”
Wen Shuchen’s gaze turned dark, not a trace of a smile on his face.
After a moment, he calmly said: “Contact her team.”
“Yes, sir—”
This movie had been specifically invested in for Miss He, so how could Miss Shu take her role?
Between the two women, the secretaries clearly knew who mattered more.
Wen Shuchen quietly finished his tea and asked for the car keys.
“Mr. Wen, you’re…”
Normally, even just going downstairs, Wen Shuchen would be accompanied by a secretary or protected by bodyguards in secret.
It was rare for him to go out alone.
But Wen Shuchen, having taken the keys, didn’t even bother putting on his suit jacket—he left the hotel directly.
*
At the same time, in the apartment.
He Qingchi emerged from the bathroom after a forty-minute soak, wearing only a spaghetti strap nightdress, and lazily collapsed on the sofa. The windows were tightly shut, and the room was filled with the scent of roses.
She propped a pillow behind her head and found a comfortable position to browse her phone.
Even though Li Ling was helping her fight for resources at the company, He Qingchi knew she couldn’t just lie around like a salted fish, clueless about who her competitor even was. She spent some time Googling this “Movie Queen Shu.”
After reading through the actress’s career history, He Qingchi found a gossip post on a forum.
The original poster confidently claimed that Movie Queen Shu had a background so powerful it was practically untouchable. Since her debut, her acting opportunities rivaled those of top-tier stars. A top agency backed her, and, allegedly, even an A-list actor—known in the media as a “female star killer”—had once admitted he was warned not to even touch her during filming.
In the comments, netizens speculated wildly. They claimed some big shot, in order to please this beauty, had thrown money into multiple blockbuster productions to make her a star. Possessive to the extreme, this man allegedly forbade her from having any rumors and kept her hidden away like a treasure in a gilded cage...
Even when reporters confronted Movie Queen Shu directly with these rumors.
She would simply smile them off—making the public even more certain they were true.
He Qingchi read every word of that post. But no one ever revealed who the man behind Shu was—just that he was "unimaginably powerful."
Reading this kind of expose made even Wen Shuchen feel unfamiliar to her.
She slowly pursed her lips, curling her fair legs under her nightdress.
He Qingchi had a bad feeling—Li Ling might not be able to win against Movie Queen Shu’s team.
Not to mention that the woman voluntarily lowered her fee to get the role… If the man behind her merely revealed his identity, this entire battle for screen time would be over in an instant.
Knowing she’d lose didn’t mean He Qingchi was going to admit defeat.
For a moment, she even considered throwing money into the project herself to go head-to-head with Movie Queen Shu.
The idea came and went just as quickly.
She wasn’t crazy—who in their right mind would try to outspend Wen Shuchen?
Her family's entire fortune probably wasn’t even half of his net worth.
The more He Qingchi thought about it, the more frustrated she became. She scratched the sofa with her cool fingertips, her expression blank as she thought: If only some woman would trick Wen Shuchen into marrying her, then divorce him and take half his assets, leaving him broke and starving.
Then I’ll feed him, keep him, and be his sugar mommy—just like that Movie Queen Shu’s mysterious backer!
Just as she was laughing at this utterly unrealistic and impossible fantasy, the doorbell rang.
She had been holed up in her apartment for days, and no one had come by. The sudden sound caught her off guard.
He Qingchi climbed off the sofa and walked barefoot to open the door.
She didn’t even ask who it was. Clad in a deep black spaghetti strap nightdress that clung to her curves, under soft lighting, her jade-white arms and legs were fully exposed to the air without a hint of modesty.
Wen Shuchen’s gaze landed on her for just a second before he pulled her back into the apartment, his tone uncharacteristically stern, almost lecturing: “If it were another man at the door, do you know what might’ve happened opening it like that?”
He Qingchi was completely stunned, letting the man stride right in like he owned the place.
When the door slammed shut and the light from the hallway disappeared, she finally snapped out of it: “You… you…”
Her slender finger pointed at him, stammering “you” over and over, but she couldn’t get another word out.
Wen Shuchen knew he had startled her, but he had no choice—He Qingchi had even turned off her phone.
He lowered his head slightly, his handsome features half-shadowed in the dim light, holding her gaze for a long time.
That deep, undistracted look made He Qingchi’s heart beat erratically, and she even had a ridiculous illusion...
That beneath his calm and gentle mask, there was a primal, masculine aggressiveness toward her.
Instinctively, He Qingchi stepped back until her bare back nearly touched the cold wall—only to feel a sudden warmth.
Wen Shuchen had moved in closer, his hand slapping the wall beside her just in time. As he leaned in, warm breath brushed against her ear, almost taking her breath away: “The wall is cold…”
The next second, he glanced down and noticed she wasn’t wearing any shoes, his expression thoughtful.
The tips of He Qingchi’s ears, hidden beneath her hair, instantly turned red. The suffocating atmosphere was too much. She placed both hands on his chest and shoved hard.
“You—you’re not allowed to touch me! Otherwise, I’ll call the police and report you for harassing women in the middle of the night, you Jiangcheng elite pervert!”
That was the best threat she could come up with. Her voice lacked conviction: “I’ll even call the media and expose you!”
Wen Shuchen quietly listened, his gaze calm.
Seeing He Qingchi so lively and full of spirit seemed to break the stagnant deadlock between them.
He slowly slipped his left hand into his pocket, trying to ignore the earlier fleeting touch of her skin—soft and white like fresh tofu. His lips parted slightly: “I’m not here to harass you. I came to get my shirt.”
“......”
Just here to get your shirt? Then what’s with the hoarse voice and the intense stare?
He Qingchi wanted to retort instinctively—then suddenly realized—
Wait a minute. He’s here to get his shirt???
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