Marry by Relying on Favor: Chapter 12 - Spending a fortune just to hear the word ‘Shuchen’—every syllable is worth its weight in gold

June 25, 2025 Oyen 0 Comments

Happy Reading~

Chapter 12: Spending a fortune just to hear the word ‘Shuchen’—every syllable is worth its weight in gold

 

Although her line of sight couldn't clearly see the scene in the neighboring private room, He Qingchi still recognized the voice of Director Guo Dao. After entering, she exchanged a few pleasantries, then began discussing the movie with a woman whose voice was unfamiliar.

 

She glanced unexpectedly at the calm and composed Wen Shuchen. From the conversation next door, a crucial piece of information was revealed: the investors were not planning to replace the female lead.

 

So Guo Dao, feeling extremely troubled, began renegotiating with the agent of Movie Queen Shu. The two parties occasionally spoke in low voices, which showed just how careful they were about the background of this investor, clearly not daring to offend them.

 

He Qingchi's gaze shifted again toward the carved redwood screen, her mind hazy and distracted.

 

Meanwhile, Wen Shuchen had finished preparing the tea. After letting it cool for a bit, his long, pale fingers held the teacup and handed it to her.

 

“It's not hot anymore.” His deep voice was kept low, so it couldn’t be heard from next door.

 

He Qingchi turned slightly to take the cup. Sitting with him on the same sofa, the distance between them seemed to have gotten even closer.

 

She opened her mouth slightly, as if about to say something, but Wen Shuchen seemed to know already and spoke in a calm, low voice: “Later, I’ll have Guo Dao come apologize to you.”

 

With that, he had personally confirmed: he was the new investor of the film.

 

At that moment, He Qingchi’s feelings were complicated. She had just received such a huge favor from Wen Shuchen—something far beyond what a shirt could repay.

 

She lowered her head and took a sip of hot tea to calm herself before speaking. “That’s not necessary. Director Guo choosing the Movie Queen wasn’t wrong. Anyone else would’ve done the same.”

 

Wen Shuchen looked at her quietly, his expression gentle and composed—just as he always appeared in her eyes.

Only this time, his smile seemed to carry a different implication: he wasn’t going to choose that Movie Queen.

 

To hide her slight discomfort, He Qingchi continued drinking her tea. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a flash of pearl white fabric behind the carved redwood screen—as if a subtle fragrance had drifted out from a hidden corner.

 

She paused and suddenly realized there had been another woman in the private room next door the entire time—so quiet she was nearly invisible.

 

The film matter was being discussed only between Director Guo and the agent.

 

As for the Movie Queen Shu, who was present, she hadn’t said a single word the whole time.

 

He Qingchi’s gaze lingered for a second on that pearl-white dress hem, then turned to look at the shirt in Wen Shuchen’s hand.

 

For some reason, even the tea in her mouth lost its flavor.

 

The negotiations in the adjacent room concluded, and people began leaving one after another. Director Guo paused purposefully at the door, blocked from sight by the screen. He knew someone important was in the next room, and seeing no sign or instruction, he could only escort Movie Queen Shu out first.

 

Inside their room, things were quiet again, no outsiders.

 

He Qingchi downed the rest of her tea in one gulp, but found herself suddenly uneasy in Wen Shuchen’s presence. Her tone grew more polite: “Mr. Wen, I owe you a huge favor. Repaying it with just a shirt is far from enough. I can make you ten… even a hundred shirts if you’d like.”

 

The longer a debt lingers, the more tangled the relationship becomes.

 

She even thought, if shirts weren’t enough, she could repay him in money.

 

Wen Shuchen took a sip of tea, his voice no longer hoarse. He looked at her with a slight smile and reminded her, “What did you just call me?”

 

He Qingchi owed him a favor. Even if she didn’t want to say it, she had no excuse to refuse.

 

After a pause, her soft voice was laced with restraint. Her red lips formed two words: “Shuchen.”

 

Spending a fortune just to hear that one “Shuchen” — every syllable was worth its weight in gold.

 

Wen Shuchen, always the calculating one, saw that she lacked confidence. So next, he brought something up casually: “It seems you’ve blocked me.”

 

“…,” He Qingchi.

 

She had deleted and blocked his contact, which was already embarrassing enough.

 

And yet, Wen Shuchen brought it up directly, leaving no room for her to play dumb: “Would you add me back?” 

 

He Qingchi lowered her gaze to the teacup, thinking.

 

She couldn’t help but feel she’d been led by Wen Shuchen’s rhythm all night, completely unable to resist. This man had flirted with her so subtly, even handed her back the female lead role—didn’t he worry about how to explain that to the Movie Queen Shu?

 

She couldn’t read his thoughts, so she decided to test him by refusing: “What if I said no?”

 

She wanted to see how he would respond.

 

But Wen Shuchen, calm as ever, simply poured her another cup of tea and said, “Director Guo probably hasn’t gone far. I can ask him to come back and apologize.”

 

“…,” He Qingchi.

 

She had deliberately avoided meeting Director Guo face-to-face. After all, rumors said that Movie Queen Shu’s backer was Wen Shuchen, and now here she was, getting close to him in private and taking the role back.

 

If the director saw them together, the gossip would spiral out of control.

 

She gave in and handed over her phone.

 

Wen Shuchen took it naturally and added his contact info to her address book.

 

He Qingchi watched intently from the side and asked cautiously, “Aren’t you afraid she’ll be mad?”

 

That “she” was vague, not naming names.

 

Wen Shuchen calmly filled in all his contact details—private phone number, email, social media, birthday, even home address—before handing the phone back to her and asked, “Which her?”

 

He Qingchi couldn't exactly name names and accuse Movie Queen Shu of previously slashing her pay just to steal her lead role. Now that you've stepped in to help her get the role back, won't that offend this proud and aloof beauty?

 

Her fair fingertips gripped the phone tightly, her long lashes lowered as her eyes swept across the screen.

On the contact screen, Wen Shuchen had left his personal phone number, and even filled in his email, social media accounts, birthday, and even home address clearly.

 

At the very bottom, in the remarks field, he had typed: [Single, Unmarried]

 

Those four words completely consumed He Qingchi’s thoughts.

 

Wen Shuchen asked again, naturally and gently, “Which ‘her’ are you talking about?”

 

He Qingchi looked up at him and suddenly asked, seemingly out of nowhere, “You don’t have a girlfriend?”

 

Wen Shuchen smiled abruptly. “No.”

 

She didn’t ask why he was smiling. Instead, she focused on another matter. “No lover either?”

 

The smile on Wen Shuchen’s lips deepened. “Do you think I’m the kind of man who keeps women on the side?”

He Qingchi didn’t dare nod—but yes, that’s exactly what she thought.

 

“I’ve never kept a woman,” Wen Shuchen clarified unhurriedly. “I don’t even know how to get along with one.” Then, after a pause, he added, “If I’ve offended you in any way, Qingchi, please kindly teach me.”

 

A thousand emotions swirled through He Qingchi’s chest. She thought this man wasn’t just good-looking—even the way he talked was beautiful.

 

Never kept a woman.

 

If I’ve offended you, please teach me.

 

Every word struck right at the heart of what a woman cares about most.

 

He Qingchi felt he was being far too modest. A man who understood women this well—how could he not know how to get along with them?

 

*

The two of them finished their tea in the private room and left about twenty minutes later.

 

As the cool night breeze hit He Qingchi outside, her head finally cleared a bit, and she managed to stop blushing.

 

Before getting into the car, she noticed Wen Shuchen kept clearing his throat and asked, “Is your throat bothering you?”

 

“Acute pharyngitis. It'll get better in a couple of days.”

 

“No wonder your voice has been hoarse all night,” He Qingchi said. She had thought he was deliberately lowering his voice to speak with her.

 

Wen Shuchen was planning to drive her home. The three hours he had borrowed from her were up.

 

But He Qingchi didn’t get in the car. She told him to wait a moment.

 

She pulled out some change from her bag and ran toward a nearby pharmacy, her crimson figure disappearing into the night.

 

A few minutes later, she came running back, slightly out of breath, and shoved the items from the bag into his arms. “If your throat hurts, just suck on some lozenges. Stop using tea for that.”

 

Wen Shuchen lowered his head, quietly watching her slightly flushed face as she caught her breath.

 

They were just a step apart. The breeze blew between them, but they could clearly sense each other’s presence.

 

He Qingchi avoided his gaze first, the wind making her cheeks grow even warmer.

 

She couldn’t keep looking into Wen Shuchen’s eyes—because she realized they had already crossed a line tonight.

 

Had she looked back, she would’ve seen a clear flicker of emotion in Wen Shuchen’s deep eyes.

 

But she didn’t—not until Wen Shuchen unwrapped the lozenges, took one between his slender fingers, and placed it in his mouth.

 

Then, he held out another, offering it to her. “Want one?”

 

Her throat wasn’t sore at all, but she took it anyway.

 

The candy was sweet and cooling, and the flavor spread between her lips and teeth. She hadn’t expected that one day, she’d be standing on a bustling street with a man she’d known for less than twenty days, sharing a box of candy.

 

It was a feeling she had never experienced in all of her twenty-three years.

 

Wen Shuchen’s voice broke the silence, low and calm: “It’s not safe for a girl to be out this late. I’ll take you home.”

 

Even if it was with him, being out past ten wasn’t safe.

 

He Qingchi, who had only just managed to calm her heart, found it spiraling out of control again.

 

……

The next day, after Director Guo decided not to replace the female lead, he got in touch with Li Ling’s team to bring He Qingchi back into the production.

 

This time, Li Ling didn’t rush to get her back on set. Instead, she redrafted a new contract, added a few more clauses, and only after everything was signed did she bring He Qingchi in.

 

He Qingchi agreed without argument. If they didn’t revise the terms, and another Movie Queen dropped her fee to steal the role again, everything she had done would’ve been for nothing.

 

Director Guo said he needed two days to consider, which gave He Qingchi a short break.

 

As Li Ling put it: “That old fox is just putting on a show. He’ll sign it eventually.”

 

So there was nothing to worry about—just treat it as a short break from the set.

 

In those two days, He Qingchi didn’t meet with Wen Shuchen again.

 

They had re-added each other on WeChat. Occasionally, she would see his Moments updates—either at the office or at a hotel.

 

His family home was in Jiangcheng, but he wasn’t staying there.

 

He Qingchi wondered if staying in hotels made it easier to switch locations and harder to track his schedule?

 

Even though she was curious, she didn’t ask.

 

Just like that, two days passed.

 

As Li Ling predicted, Director Guo ended up signing the new contract.

 

That night, He Qingchi stayed home packing her bags, getting ready to return to filming the next day.

 

It took her two whole hours. By the end of it, she was so exhausted she sat cross-legged on the floor…

 

Looking at the two giant suitcases packed full of food and supplies, He Qingchi took out her phone, found the right angle, snapped a picture, and posted it to her Moments:

 

A photo, with one line of text: [Back on set tomorrow. Time to get to work.]

 

This was her first time acting. She was excited.

 

Below the post, He Qingchi noticed a comment from her deadbeat father, complete with a scornful emoji: “This crappy production still hasn’t run out of money?”

 

“…”

 

He Qingchi replied without a trace of filial piety: “Dad, even if you go bankrupt, this production won’t run out of money.”

 

Her father was so angry his mustache practically curled: “Nonsense!”

 

Who said he was going bankrupt?!

 

He Qingchi’s red lips curved up in amusement, then suddenly her fingers paused. She saw a certain someone had given her post a like.

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