The midsummer night was drenched in a torrential downpour, lightning tearing through layers of dark clouds, followed closely by rumbling thunder.
At the Imperial Capital Oil Painting Institute, the medieval church-style stained glass windows glowed with the warm light from within. Zero Degree was hosting a fashion charity gala here tonight to commemorate its tenth anniversary.
Before the gala, there was a cocktail reception where guests either signed and posed for photos in front of the display board or mingled socially.
In such settings, if one didn’t stay with familiar faces and share a few laughs, it would inevitably feel awkward and out of place.
Fortunately, Ji Mingshu never had such worries.
“Is Jiang Chun not coming tonight?”
“Probably not.”
“Well, after spending millions on a pile of junk, even if she wanted to do charity, she’d be powerless for now.”
The women’s voices were gentle and soft, and without careful listening, one might truly mistake their words for genuine concern and regret. The topic was left at that, and the young socialites exchanged glances before smiling in unison.
Ji Mingshu, surrounded at the center, had remained silent. Though she smiled lightly, it was clear she was disinterested, even somewhat distracted.
Noticing this, someone subtly shifted the topic. “Mingshu, is this the dress you tried on in Paris the other day? It’s stunning.”
“No, the one I tried the other day was just a preliminary sample. This one was ordered during last year’s autumn-winter Haute Couture Week,” Ji Mingshu replied.
Everyone had their share of haute couture, and owning a few pieces wasn’t uncommon. But evening gowns often cost millions and couldn’t be worn repeatedly. For Ji Mingshu to wear one as casually as an ordinary evening dress was simply extravagant.
None of them hid their admiration, and as usual, they followed the conversation with compliments.
It was unclear whether Ji Mingshu was even listening, her expression indifferent. In the end, she gave them some face by sipping half a glass of red wine and leaving with a casual “enjoy” before departing with Gu Kaiyang, the soon-to-be-appointed deputy editor-in-chief of Zero Degree.
Once Ji Mingshu left, the young socialites secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Tonight, Ji Mingshu was clearly not in the mood—uninterested in jokes about Jiang Chun and unresponsive to compliments about her dress. They couldn’t understand why she was so difficult to please.
“What are you thinking about? You still have time to listen to those plastic flowers flattering you? Hurry up and help me keep an eye on the banquet hall. Tonight is a big day for your best friend. If that bitch Shi Qing dares to cause trouble in the banquet hall, you tear her apart for me!”
Gu Kaiyang wore a smile on her face, nodding frequently and greeting guests as she walked toward the banquet hall. Her voice drifted from her upturned lips, lowered and slightly strained.
Ji Mingshu raised an eyebrow, but before she could respond, a sudden commotion erupted behind them. Both turned to look.
It seemed a major celebrity had arrived. The rapid clicking of camera flashes at the entrance intensified, and reporters who had been conducting interviews swiftly abandoned their subjects, scrambling to crowd around the display board at the end of the red carpet, jostling for position.
Gu Kaiyang squinted slightly to make out the figure. “It looks like Su Cheng has arrived. Keep an eye on things here for me. I’ll head over first.”
She reacted quickly, already stepping away before finishing her sentence.
Ji Mingshu gazed into the crowded outer area, initially paying little attention. But when she suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar yet unfamiliar figure beside Su Cheng through the gaps in the crowd, her back stiffened instantly.As if sensing something, the figure standing beside Su Cheng also glanced in her direction. His gaze cut through the dense crowd and the bursts of white light, carrying a hint of coolness from a summer rainstorm—cold and distant.
A quarter of an hour later, the red carpet interviews and photoshoots in front of the display board concluded, and the guests were ushered into the banquet hall, taking their pre-arranged seats one by one.
Tonight’s banquet hall was designed by Ji Mingshu.
The hall was bathed in cascading lights, with a live band playing Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G Minor. At the center of each table were warm jade-white roses, freshly air-freighted in this morning, their petals plump and vibrant, tinged with a soft pink at the edges. Waiters in vests and bow ties moved gracefully through the room, balancing trays with one hand as they navigated the sea of elegantly dressed guests.
Such was the height of opulence and glamour.
Gu Kaiyang’s earlier worries proved unnecessary. Upon learning that Ji Mingshu herself had overseen the evening’s arrangements, anyone who might have considered stirring trouble had long since abandoned the idea. Not a single mishap occurred throughout the event, even as the group’s CEO took the stage to deliver his speech.
After the CEO’s address, it was Sister May, the editor-in-chief of Zero Degree, who took the stage.
Sister May loved to share outdated motivational quotes, perhaps in an attempt to channel the strategic prowess of the “devil” Miranda Priestly. This time, her speech unexpectedly hinted at seismic shifts within the magazine.
The audience, all sharp and perceptive, instinctively turned their eyes to Gu Kaiyang when Sister May mentioned the “new deputy editor-in-chief.”
Gu Kaiyang, like a triumphant little white swan, rose gracefully, unable to suppress the joy radiating from her eyes and smile.
Some, however, only glanced at her before shifting their gaze to Ji Mingshu seated beside her—Su Cheng, for instance.
Su Cheng, now forty-two, held numerous Best Actress awards and had married three influential men in succession. Whether in the entertainment industry, the fashion world, or the current high-society circles, she held a position of significant influence.
Leaning slightly toward the man beside her, she teased in a tone meant to pry into the younger generation’s affairs, “Why aren’t you accompanying Mingshu? Did you two have a falling out?”
The man lifted his gaze, looking toward Ji Mingshu not far away. His fingers lightly tapped the rim of his glass, the rhythm oddly synchronized with the ticking of the platinum watch on his wrist.
After a long moment, he remained silent, as if smiling, though the warmth never reached his eyes.
Su Cheng took his silence as confirmation and quietly shared her tips for appeasing a woman.
He nodded, his gaze still fixed ahead—
It had been two years since they last met, yet Ji Mingshu remained unchanged. Even with a cold, expressionless face, her beauty was breathtaking, undiminished by the dazzling array of stars shining brightly in the room tonight.
The after-party following the banquet was arranged as a charity auction, with the remaining guests moving to a smaller hall on the other side.
“Lot 029, a Tahitian natural black pearl and diamond necklace, donated by Ms. Su Cheng…”
As the auctioneer introduced the items on stage, Ji Mingshu had already skimmed through the catalog.
She scoffed inwardly, guessing that someone tonight would spend extravagantly to win a smile from the acclaimed actress.
No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than the auctioneer announced, “Starting bid, eight hundred thousand!”
“Eight hundred fifty thousand!”
“Nine hundred thousand!”
“One million!”
The moment the words were spoken, the price swiftly climbed.When the bidding reached three million, many people glanced toward the right rear of Ji Mingshu, and some couldn't help but whisper at such an occasion.
Ji Mingshu remained still. Without turning around, she could imagine the calm and composed demeanor of the person repeatedly raising the paddle.
"Five million, it's now five million."
"Five million once, five million twice, five million three times!"
"Thud!"
The auction hammer fell with a dull sound.
"This necklace, five million...? Who is that man?"
Even a newcomer sitting at the far end of the table, a young starlet brought along to gain experience, could tell that the final bid for the necklace was excessively inflated. Unable to contain her curiosity, she quietly asked her agent beside her.
"Cen Sen..." the agent murmured thoughtfully. "Why has he suddenly returned?"
As a newcomer to the world of fame and fortune, everything seemed fresh and intriguing to the young girl. Catching the key name, she pressed further, "That man is called Cen Sen? Is he very powerful?"
Since the newcomer had no chance of connecting with Cen Sen today—she was only brought along to observe—the agent couldn't be bothered to explain further. Instead, she lowered her head and rapidly typed on her phone under the table, relaying firsthand information to her other, more experienced clients.
Many others at the scene were similarly busy spreading the news.
The heir of the Cen family from Jingjian had been away in Australia for two years, expanding overseas markets, and had not made a public appearance in the country during that time. His sudden and unexpectedly high-profile appearance at tonight's event seemed to signal one thing—
The years-long internal strife within Jingjian had come to an end.
If nothing unexpected happened, after tonight, the capital would have one more influential figure to talk about.
In truth, attending this charity gala had not originally been part of Cen Sen's plans.
But he was always meticulous in his actions. Having been asked at the last minute to accompany Su Cheng, he not only displayed the patience he had cultivated from attending various events with his elders in his early years but also bid on the pearl necklace donated by Su Cheng, which was said to be a cherished possession for many years.
These small-scale auctions organized by fashion magazines were always about goodwill in both donation and bidding. By driving up the price in this manner, Cen Sen had undoubtedly given Su Cheng both face and substance.
Su Cheng smiled leisurely and said slowly, "When Old Pei has time, you and Mingshu should come over for a meal."
This was his way of accepting the gesture.
As the auction concluded, many eyes turned toward Cen Sen.
He remained seated in the dimly lit area, loosening the Windsor knot at his collar, crossing his legs, and leaning back.
With so many guests tonight and his late arrival with Su Cheng, many had been unaware of his presence.
Now that they knew, those acquainted naturally stepped forward to greet and chat, while those who weren't tried to find ways to get closer and make themselves known.
Ji Mingshu sat unmoving in her seat, her gaze fixed on the now-empty display stage, her expression as cold as ice.
Gu Kaiyang watched with trepidation. The excitement she had felt earlier from defeating a rival and securing a promotion and raise had long since vanished, fading away the moment Cen Sen repeatedly raised the paddle for Su Cheng's pearl necklace.
She whispered, "When did your husband return? Are the two of you fighting?"
"No."
Ji Mingshu only answered the latter question because she didn't know the answer to the former.
After what felt like an eternity, a pair of black leather shoes slowly stepped into her line of sight.The shoes looked familiar, with a unique lacing style. Almost the moment her gaze touched the shoe surface, Ji Mingshu’s mind conjured the image of their owner.
"Mingshu, let’s go home."
His voice was neither loud nor soft, calm and ordinary, giving Ji Mingshu the illusion that they were a normal couple who saw each other every day.
"I drove here… I really…" Gu Kaiyang, wearing ten-centimeter stilettos, was subtly tugged outward by Ji Mingshu and struggled to keep her balance. "If you two are going home, just go home. Why drag me along? I don’t need a ride…"
"You do."
Ji Mingshu shot her a cold glance, cutting off the rest of her words.
Outside the oil painting academy, the heavy rain had just subsided. The night was thick, devoid of even a sliver of light. The wind blew, half cool, half carrying the damp heat of a summer night.
The driver respectfully opened the front passenger door.
Seeing that Cen Sen showed no intention of sitting there, Ji Mingshu instinctively stepped forward. But Cen Sen suddenly raised his hand to block her, then glanced subtly at Gu Kaiyang.
Gu Kaiyang shuddered, hurried forward with quick steps, and very consciously took the front passenger seat, leaving the spacious back row for the young couple.
"Um, just drop me off at Xinggang International, thank you."
After giving the driver the address, Gu Kaiyang stole a glance at the cold couple in the back seat through the rearview mirror.
—Both were looking straight ahead, ignoring each other, with enough space between them to seat a two-hundred-pound person.
As the Bentley entered the main road, a full three minutes passed without a single sound in the car. Gu Kaiyang felt that if the silence continued any longer, all four people in the car might suffocate.
Just as she was contemplating a topic to break the silence in the car, Boss Cen suddenly spoke, "Congratulations on your promotion, Miss Gu."
Gu Kaiyang instinctively forced a dry laugh, "Thank you, thank you." She added a polite compliment in return, "It’s been a while, President Cen. You were absolutely killing it tonight too."
Ji Mingshu shot her a glare through the rearview mirror.
"Killing it?" Cen Sen was unfamiliar with trendy new terms.
Before Gu Kaiyang could explain, Ji Mingshu casually chimed in, "If you think you were just average, that’s fine too."
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