After hanging up the phone, Cen Sen fell silent for a moment.
Just as Zhou Jiaheng came in to deliver some documents, Cen Sen suddenly paused, looked up, and asked, "If a man likes a woman’s social media post and compliments her photos as beautiful and cute, does that mean he’s pursuing her?"
Zhou Jiaheng’s mind was entirely focused on work, and he was caught off guard by such a question, taking several seconds to process it.
Once he did, he began to wonder: Was Mr. Cen hinting at something or using a metaphor? Or was there some tricky situation in his personal life that required his assistant to read between the lines and proactively help resolve?
In just over ten seconds, Zhou Jiaheng had already formulated an appropriate response.
But Cen Sen seemed to sense his misunderstanding and quickly averted his gaze, speaking before Zhou Jiaheng could open his mouth. "Don’t overthink it. I was just asking casually."
"..."
Too late for that.
Cen Sen said, "You can leave now."
Zhou Jiaheng paused briefly, gave a slight nod, and turned to walk out, though he couldn’t help feeling a rare sense of confusion and unease.
Having worked for Cen Sen for many years, he understood his boss’s temperament well. He could always grasp Cen Sen’s intentions and handle matters appropriately.
However, Cen Sen rarely brought up personal matters, and his attitude today left Zhou Jiaheng somewhat puzzled.
Not only was Zhou Jiaheng puzzled, but even Cen Sen himself wasn’t entirely clear about his own thoughts.
The office fell silent. Cen Sen removed his glasses, leaned back, and subconsciously rubbed his brow.
When it came to relationships, he had always been indifferent. He couldn’t claim to understand women well, nor had he ever felt strong likes or dislikes toward anyone he dated. At most, his feelings only reached the level of appreciation.
As for Ji Mingshu, ever since their school days, she had exhibited many flaws that fell outside his scope of appreciation.
She was flamboyant and impulsive, shallow and vain, arrogant and domineering, and extremely self-centered.
When Ji Mingshu had immaturely provoked him on multiple occasions, he had even felt that, aside from her face, this girl was utterly useless.
Fortunately, their interactions had always been limited, and after graduating from high school, they rarely saw each other.
However, every time he returned to Nanqiao Hutong, he would inevitably hear some news about Ji Mingshu from his family.
For instance, which university she had been admitted to, what gifts she had sent from abroad, how beautiful she had grown up to be, and which young men were pursuing her.
There had been a few informal encounters over the years, but they were nothing more than fleeting glances, with no words exchanged.
It wasn’t until the centennial celebration of their high school, where classmates organized a reunion, that he formally reunited with Ji Mingshu.
They were in different grades, so they shouldn’t have crossed paths at the reunion. However, adult gatherings were never purely about reminiscing over school friendships—they were often just excuses for networking and resource exchange.
To put it more bluntly, those deemed useless had long been excluded from the "classmate" category.
Strangely enough, Cen Sen still remembered that Ji Mingshu wore a silver-green strapless gown that evening.
The dress was simple and elegant in style, but its pleated skirt was exquisitely intricate. As she moved, the fine folds swayed like rippling water.
A slender belt of the same color cinched her waist, accentuating its slenderness to the point where it seemed almost too delicate to hold.
By the time Ji Mingshu arrived, Cen Sen had already had quite a bit to drink.
He felt sober, but the moment he saw her, he briefly wondered if he was drunker than he thought.
Ji Mingshu’s two uncles, one in business and the other in politics, were both in great need of capable in-laws to bolster their influence.At that time, Cen Sen had just learned that they had secretly identified a suitable marriage alliance candidate for Ji Mingshu.
The candidate they had in mind was the Su family, which had started in the textile industry in Jiangnan. After years of expanding northward, the Su family had achieved considerable success in both political and business circles. Though they couldn’t be compared to the Cen family, they were already a rising star among the new elite, with strong momentum and limitless prospects.
Cen Sen also knew the Su family’s youngest son—intelligent, talented, and handsome, he was the key figure being groomed in this generation of the Su family. However, his private life was far from clean; he was indiscriminate, with no boundaries between men and women.
Thinking of this and then looking at the bright-eyed, charming woman before him, Cen Sen felt a faint sense of pity in his heart.
Perhaps it was this pity that planted the seed of an idea in his mind, which was why he stepped in to take Ji Mingshu away when she accidentally drank the spiked wine.
Originally, Cen Sen had intended to take Ji Mingshu to the hospital, but after sitting quietly for just a few minutes, she suddenly climbed onto him, sitting astride him face-to-face, rubbing his face and scolding him.
She accused him of blindly worshipping foreign things, criticized his poor taste for dating a white lotus like Li Wenyin, and then, in a rambling manner, berated him for breaking up with Li Wenyin, saying that such non-recyclable trash should stay locked together and never let go of each other.
He had drunk a lot that night and, to leave early with this ungrateful woman, had been coaxed into drinking a glass of whiskey without ice. He was already far from sober.
For a moment, he didn’t have the time to wonder why this woman held such deep resentment, remembering to give him a scolding out of the blue after years apart.
But just after scolding him, Ji Mingshu leaned in and kissed him, starting from his lips and moving down to his Adam’s apple. Like a lazy kitten, she gently licked him intermittently, her voice sweet, making even her scolding sound like a coquettish complaint.
Cen Sen was no Liu Xiahui, immune to temptation, and naturally couldn’t resist such a vivid and alluring provocation.
For a few seconds, he even wondered if this was some scheme by the Ji family to deliberately lure him in. But with such softness and warmth in his arms, he felt that falling for this trap might not be so bad after all.
Coincidentally, he lacked such an exquisite vase as a decorative piece.
The memory came to an abrupt halt as he entered the hotel suite. Cen Sen opened his eyes, rubbed his brow, and reopened the file on the table.
Lately, he might have been too tired, letting a single remark from that kid Pei Xiyan lead him into such wild thoughts.
Ji Mingshu was his wife. Complimenting her as pretty and adorable was perfectly normal—what did it have to do with pursuing or liking her?
Utter nonsense.
Yet not long after, he set down his pen, picked up his phone, and sent a message to Ji Mingshu.
Cen Sen: 【When does the recording end today? I happen to be passing by and can come pick you up.】
By the time Ji Mingshu saw the message, she was already exhausted, feeling like a dried-up salted fish.
Running around for renovations was physically demanding work. Even ordinary people found it tiring, let alone a pampered young lady like Ji Mingshu.
Leaning listlessly against the window, she called Cen Sen, her voice weak and drained. “I just saw your message. I’m done recording, but I’m so tired. I’ll just head back on my own.”
Cen Sen: “I’m already here.”
Ji Mingshu instinctively glanced out the window.
In a corner of the residential parking area, a familiar car was flashing its hazard lights.
Just then, the staff finished packing up the equipment and called out to her, “Ms. Ji, shall we go? The car is here.”
Covering the phone, she turned back. “Oh, no need. My husband is here to pick me up.”"Ah? Teacher Ji, you're already married?"
"I can't tell at all."
The staff were all quite surprised to learn she was married.
Actually, when ordinary people participate in recordings, the production team usually conducts some background checks beforehand. But Ji Mingshu was recommended by Meng Xiaowei, and the sponsor daddy had vetoed plans to pair her with Li Che for publicity or to feature her as a key filming subject. So the production team didn't bother spending much effort on this decorative vase.
Moreover, Ji Mingshu wasn't in the habit of wearing a wedding ring, and she looked fashionable and young. No one had even considered the possibility of her being married. Thus, her simple marital status became a blind spot hidden in plain sight.
Ji Mingshu didn't have time to explain these trivial matters to them. She casually responded a couple of times, went to the restroom to freshen up her makeup, and then eagerly rushed downstairs.
She had been wearing high heels all day, and her legs were on the verge of trembling. As soon as she got into the car, she bent over to rub her calves, moaning "ow ow ow" and "it hurts, it hurts" loudly enough for the whole world to hear.
Cen Sen put down his documents and remarked lightly, "You could wear flats."
"?"
"What do you know? High heels are a woman's last stand! I'd rather die than wear flats to a recording!"
"..."
Cen Sen gave a cool "oh" and went back to reading his documents.
Oh?
Oh??
Oh???
Ji Mingshu stared at him in disbelief for ten seconds. Seeing him so nonchalant and relaxed while she was exhausted to the point of weakness and half-paralyzed, she was absolutely furious!
She suddenly shifted sideways and swiftly, neatly placed both legs on Cen Sen's lap.
"My legs hurt, massage them for me."
She said it with such confidence that Cen Sen turned to look at her, momentarily unable to tell whether she was acting spoiled or giving an order.
After speaking, Ji Mingshu shamelessly ignored him and started playing on her phone.
Cen Sen lowered his gaze, looked at her legs for a while, and remained motionless for a long moment.
"It hurts! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!"
Ji Mingshu nudged him twice to hurry him up, her tone carrying an unconscious coquettishness.
Something stirred in Cen Sen's heart. Lost in thought, he actually rolled up his sleeves leisurely and began gently kneading her calves.
"..."
He's really doing it?
Ji Mingshu instinctively flinched.
Actually, she just wanted to act up a little and torment this dog of a man. Who knew he'd be so agreeable today?
Fortunately, she was very good at accepting kindness from others. She quickly relaxed and settled comfortably into the seat, enjoying the exclusive service worth thousands per second.
It would be such a waste not to brag about Cen Sen massaging her legs—such a rare occurrence.
Ji Mingshu opened WeChat, thinking about how to post on Moments without seeming too pretentious.
Suddenly, her phone vibrated with a message from Gu Kaiyang.
Gu Kaiyang: [Ahhhh! Hang in there, sis!]
Gu Kaiyang: [Li Wenyin's interview is out!]
Gu Kaiyang: [Let me show you the highlights. I've never seen someone so shameless in my life!!!]
Ji Mingshu: [?]
Gu Kaiyang sent a screenshot of the interview with red highlights.
The thumbnail showed the headline "Li Wenyin Interview Transcript." Ji Mingshu's heart skipped a beat. She opened it, scanned it quickly, and immediately grasped the key points—Li Wenyin: "I think turning one's own written work into a film should be the dream of every writer. This story I've written is, for me, very... how should I put it, very special and irreplicable."
...
Li Wenyin: "Yes, actually many people know this story is based on a real-life prototype. The prototype is me and my first love. I once wrote a piece on Weibo titled 'My First Love Got Married.' At the time, I didn't think much of it, nor did I expect it to be widely reposted. Later, fearing it might cause trouble for him, I chose to delete it."
...
Li Wenyin: "I want to make this film not to disturb him, but to say that when people are young, they often don't know how to cherish things, acting immaturely and recklessly. Perhaps because of my immaturity and recklessness, I have lost him forever. But in another sense, we once shared the most beautiful years of each other's lives."
...
Li Wenyin: "Yes, this story is very important and meaningful to me, so I will do my utmost to present it in its most perfect form. I also hope that when it appears on the big screen, everyone can recall their own youth and their own irreplicable years. This is also my most sincere wish for him."
???
Wish?
What kind of bullshit is this? Does this little white lotus dare to say it to her face? If she doesn't slap this little white lotus with a handful of shit, she won't be surnamed Ji!!!
Ji Mingshu could hardly control the murderous aura inside her, and her legs suddenly twitched.
Noticing this, Cen Sen glanced at her and asked, "What's wrong?"
Ji Mingshu's little flame of anger had already burned through her entire being, feeling as if she could spew divine fire from her mouth the moment she opened it. She held back again and again, swallowing the blood in her heart as she said nonchalantly, "It's nothing."
I must remain dignified and virtuous—I absolutely cannot get angry!!!
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