On an autumn afternoon, the sun was warm and the breeze was pleasant.
But as the "beep" of the disconnected call sounded, the temperature around Cen Sen plummeted to a freezing point.
Divorce?
Did Ji Mingshu just ask for a divorce?
Shu Yang, less adept at reading the room than the sun hiding behind the clouds, blurted out, "Holy shit," his mouth running away with him. "You and Li Wenyin got back together? When did that happen? Holy shit, Sen, how did you manage that? And you even let Ji Mingshu find out! What are you going to do now?"
Cen Sen didn't answer. He hit a speed dial for Zhou Jiaheng, his voice low. "Make the arrangements. I'm returning to the capital immediately."
Hearing this, Jiang Che set down his golf club and patted him on the shoulder without a word.
Zhao Yang also remained silent, but the question on his mind was identical to Shu Yang's.
It was no wonder. Both were men who swam in circles of women—playboys who had seen countless women and held no particular principles about loyalty to love or marriage.
Assuming Cen Sen had cheated with Li Wenyin and been caught by Ji Mingshu, their thoughts naturally skewed toward how to protect their buddy's interests.
After Cen Sen left, the two discussed it while they played.
Shu Yang: "I didn't expect Li Wenyin to still have so much charm. How long has she been back? And she's already hooked him again."
Zhao Yang thought for a moment and said, "It's probably her personality. Ji Mingshu's main issue is that personality of hers. The average man really can't handle it."
Shu Yang: "That's true. Hey, you think they'll actually get a divorce?"
Zhao Yang: "No way. You think Ji Rusong and Ji Rubo are dead? Without Jingjian's support, would the Ji family still be the Ji family of today? But this whole thing mainly depends on what Sen wants. If he wants a divorce, it'll happen with or without this incident."
"True," Shu Yang nodded. "But Old Master Cen and Cen Old Madam are so fond of Ji Mingshu, they'd never agree. And Cen's uncle... It's not my place to say, but even if they did divorce, there's no way Li Wenyin could marry into the family, right? She'd never get past Cen's uncle."
Hearing this, Zhao Yang scoffed. "Give me a break. Marry into the family? Haven't you noticed that Sen has no intention of divorcing at all? Why else would he rush back so quickly? Ji Mingshu was just talking. What are you worrying about?"
...
The more they chatted, the more animated they became. Less than five minutes after Cen Sen had left, the two were already discussing how assets should be divided post-divorce.
Jiang Che's attitude toward marriage had always differed from theirs, but since it was his friend, he couldn't say much. He gazed toward the far end of the green and said only, in a lukewarm tone, "That's enough. Mind your own business."
One had to admit, Jiang Che's "mind your own business" was quite prescient. It was just a pity his warning lacked force. In the time it took to turn around, the two big mouths, Zhao Yang and Shu Yang, had accidentally let the news slip.
The marriage alliance between the Cen and Ji families was already a hot topic in their small circle. A sudden change naturally spread like wildfire.
By evening, the story, having been twisted and turned through countless retellings, had reached the ears of the Ji family.
The first calls Ji Mingshu received were from her first and second aunts-in-law.
Their words were more or less the same: they'd heard she wanted a divorce and were calling to ask about the situation. They also said that if Cen Sen had bullied her or wronged her, the Ji family would definitely help her get justice.
The wives married into the Ji family were also from prestigious families. They were well-bred, and their words were tactful and comforting.
If it weren't for the classic lines at the end about "mediating for reconciliation, not for separation," Ji Mingshu might have truly believed they were calling just to protect their own.
She gave a few perfunctory replies, her mood, having hit rock bottom, now felt as if it were submerged in a pool of icy water.
Perhaps her ambiguous attitude gave the Ji family a sense of crisis. After her two aunts-in-law finished their persuasion, her first uncle, Ji Rusong, even called her personally.
"Shu, what's going on with you and Ah Sen? Why are there suddenly rumors everywhere that you want to divorce him?"
Ji Rusong got straight to the point, his voice as gentle as ever, yet tinged with the authority of a superior.
Ji Mingshu was squatting on the floor, packing her luggage. After several consecutive calls, she wasn't surprised by Ji Rusong's inquiry.
She put the phone on speaker and set it aside, her tone calm. "I was the one who brought it up, Uncle. I can't go on with him anymore."
"It was really you?" Ji Rusong hadn't believed it at first. Hearing this, he finally grew anxious. "Shu, how can you be so willful!"
Ji Mingshu lowered her eyes and didn't reply.
Ji Rusong was still at the office. Holding the phone in one hand and clasping the other behind his back, he felt a headache coming on because of his niece.
He tried his best to calm himself down. "Shu, Uncle won't beat around the bush with you. You're an adult, you can't act on your whims! Do you have any idea how important the South Bay Project that Jingjian is cooperating on with Uncle is right now?"
"Times have changed. Jingjian doesn't have to work with our Ji family, but if we don't work with Jingjian, is there anyone else who can take on this project? All development will have to stop!"
He sighed, then continued in a heartfelt tone, "And your Second Uncle. Your Second Uncle has been conscientious for decades, not daring to take a single wrong step! Do you think his current position is easy to hold? If it weren't for Jingjian's support, how many pairs of eyes would be staring, waiting to pull him down!"
Ji Rusong's words, a mixture of frustration and reluctant reproach, fell on her ears, making Ji Mingshu's already chaotic mind even more confused.
She slowly put down the clothes in her hands, then slowly raised her hands to cover her face.
In truth, if Ji Rusong had started by mercilessly scolding her, she could have righteously retorted that they had raised her for a marriage alliance, no different from raising a "Yangzhou lean horse" in ancient times, and that they had no right to lecture her from a position of seniority.
But Ji Rusong hadn't.
She knew better than anyone that while Ji Rusong and Ji Rubo's devotion to her had a purpose, that devotion was not entirely false.
When she was little, a classmate had mocked her for not having a mother or father, calling her a wild child picked from a trash heap. She had cried in anger and run to complain to Ji Rusong.
When Ji Rusong found out, he had rushed back from out of town without a second thought to speak with the school's administration.
When he took her home after school, Ji Rusong even bought her ice cream. Holding her hand as they walked toward the compound, he patiently coaxed her, "Shu is the Ji family's little princess. How could she be a wild child picked from a trash heap? Next time someone talks nonsense, you have to remember to tell Uncle, and Uncle will help you catch the bad guys, okay?"
The adult's deliberately slowed steps and the narrow alley had long since yellowed with time, but thinking back now, every detail was still as clear as yesterday.
Her nose suddenly tingled, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
After a long while, she choked into the phone, "Uncle, I'm sorry, but I really... I really don't want to live like this anymore. I'm in so much pain. I'm in so much pain right now."
She couldn't bear to picture Cen Sen and Li Wenyin together, nor did she dare to dwell on what Li Wenyin had said. Even less could she convince herself that she was only angry at Cen Sen for slapping her in the face.
It was clearly just a marriage of convenience, but suddenly, other things had crept in, and the interests were no longer pure.
The evening sun was like a liquid salted duck egg yolk, reddish-orange.
Standing by the window, Ji Rusong also fell silent.
He remembered that Ji Mingshu had been sent back to the Ji family's old residence after her parents died, also at dusk, just like this.
Back then, the little girl was like a small, pink puffball, wearing a fluffy princess dress and holding a beautiful doll, still innocent of the world's ways.
When the little girl saw him, her eyes curved into a smile. The nanny taught her to call him "Bóbo," but what came out was a funny "Luóbo bo."
In those days, Old Master Ji was still alive, and he himself had just taken over part of Huadian's business. Young and full of vigor, he had doted on his younger brother's daughter from the bottom of his heart.
Not like now, after all he had been through, when all emotions had faded. It was strange, really; the older one got, the less one seemed to be in control of one's own life.
He leaned on the windowsill, his voice gradually softening. "Shu, Uncle isn't trying to force you. I just hope you can consider the Ji family a little. You're emotional right now, so Uncle won't say more. You can calm down first, then have a good talk with Ah Sen."
Ji Mingshu hugged her knees, her head buried in her arms, and remained silent for a long time.
Ji Rusong sighed and hung up the phone himself.
It was already nine o'clock at night when Cen Sen returned to Mingshui Mansion. It seemed tomorrow would not be a sunny day; there wasn't a single star in the night sky.
The door to the master bedroom on the second floor was open, and the lights in the walk-in closet were on. Two suitcases with monogrammed logos were placed by the entrance.
Cen Sen's expression was normal as he approached the closet and looked at Ji Mingshu, who was squatting inside packing. He asked in a faint voice, "Where are you planning to go?"
Ji Mingshu's back stiffened. She didn't turn around or answer.
"Baicui Tianhua?"
"Your Second Uncle just called me. He thinks you need to calm down at home."
The apartment at Baicui Tianhua was a gift from Ji Rubo. Compared to Ji Rusong, Ji Rubo had always been a bit more hard-hearted.
Ji Mingshu understood the implication. She shot up, turned to stare at Cen Sen for a few seconds, then abandoned her packing, grabbed the suitcases by the door, and tried to walk out.
But Cen Sen suddenly reached out and blocked her.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Ji Mingshu lowered her gaze, her voice cold.
Cen Sen gave her a deep look. "Ji Mingshu, that's a question I should be asking you."
They were positioned slightly apart, frozen in the posture of one being stopped while trying to pass the other.
Weary from the long journey, Cen Sen's voice was low and hoarse, tinged with an indefinable frustration.
"I didn't approve the investment for Li Wenyin's film, and I never intended to slap you in the face. Before you threw a tantrum, you could have asked me first. I can't always drop everything I'm doing to come back and deal with your momentary 'young miss' temper."
Hearing the last sentence, Ji Mingshu suddenly wanted to laugh. "So you think I'm just throwing a tantrum because I'm momentarily unhappy, is that right?"
She let go of the suitcase and looked up at the tall man before her, her voice rising in a challenge. "You say you didn't approve the investment for Li Wenyin's film, but is it a fact that Junyi invested in her film?"
Cen Sen's expression was cold. He didn't answer.
"So it is a fact?"
Ji Mingshu felt her insides ache with anger. Her voice grew louder and her speech faster. "Your company is investing in a film your first love is making to commemorate your pure love. Are you now going to tell me you knew nothing about it, and that even now that you know, you have no power to stop it? Cen Sen, you're twenty-seven. Are you telling me you only understand work but not social etiquette, that you don't even understand something as basic as avoiding suspicion?!"
"It's not what you think. She approached Junyi for investment through Director Chen. Director Chen is an old acquaintance of my father's, and it wouldn't be right to refuse him. So I let her go through the normal evaluation process with one of our subsidiary investment firms."
Cen Sen believed he had already shown the utmost patience, and his explanation was objective. "She got the investment because the evaluation team believed her film could generate a higher return than the investment amount. Whether it was ultimately funded or not had nothing to do with me."
"Nothing to do with you?" Ji Mingshu laughed in fury. As she continued, her voice grew more tremulous and choked. "Are you telling me the people under you are so bad at reading situations? If you had shown any sign of wanting to avoid suspicion, wouldn't they have known to proactively steer clear?!"
She nodded again. "Fine, I won't pursue that with you. But now that you know she got the investment from Junyi, now that you know what she's filming, call the group right now and cancel the investment. Call them now and blacklist this film!"
"Ji Mingshu, I think you need to calm down."
Cen Sen's voice was heavy as he gripped her hand, which was trying to pull away.
Ji Mingshu looked at him, and without warning, tears suddenly rolled down her cheeks.
She wrenched her hand free from Cen Sen's grasp and wiped her face with the back of her hand, but the tears fell in streams, impossible to wipe away.
An indescribable agitation welled up in Cen Sen's heart.
Ji Mingshu took two steps back. "I am very calm right now. You won't do it, will you? Or can't you? The CEO of Junyi, the CEO of Jingjian, is it really that hard for you to blacklist a film that hasn't even started shooting? Is it that you can't, or that you won't! You won't, fine. Let's get a divorce. I've had enough!"
By the end, Ji Mingshu was hysterical, on the verge of collapse.
All the emotions hidden deep inside her, the ones she was unwilling to touch, were now pouring out uncontrollably.
Her face was streaked with tears, her shoulders and fingers trembling.
That's right.
She, Ji Mingshu, was just a villainous supporting character.
She had liked Cen Sen for many years, but she was just unwilling to face her true feelings, unwilling to admit it.
She was just jealous. Jealous that Li Wenyin had gotten the Cinderella-to-heroine script from the start. Jealous that even though Li Wenyin couldn't compare to her in looks, figure, or family background, she had once won Cen Sen's heart, and that just by reappearing, Cen Sen would feel compassion for her. And she, Ji Mingshu, had been married to Cen Sen for three years, and he just didn't like her and never would!
Actually, if it were just a business marriage, she could have deceived herself, played deaf and dumb. But why did it have to be Li Wenyin? Had he not considered her feelings for a single second? He knew perfectly well what her relationship with Li Wenyin was, so why would he do this!
"Stop making a scene."
Hearing Ji Mingshu say he had to blacklist Li Wenyin or they would divorce, Cen Sen only found her to be utterly unreasonable at that moment.
"I'm not making a scene. Cen Sen, I'm serious. Let's get a divorce."
She pried his fingers off one by one, her voice broken and intermittent, yet calm with exhaustion.
She would absolutely not allow this ridiculous marriage to be stripped of its last shred of dignity by this lingering ex-girlfriend. Cen Sen could dislike her, he could not love her, but he absolutely could not remain married to her while maintaining lingering ties with Li Wenyin. Absolutely not.
Cen Sen felt his temples throb, the agitation in his heart growing more pronounced. Some words he hadn't wanted to spell out somehow slipped out without thinking.
"Divorce? You bring up divorce time and again. Do you really think you'll be better off after a divorce than you are now? Ji Mingshu, what can you even do after you leave me?"
"Ask yourself, will the Ji family still treat you the same way after a divorce? How many people in your circle will still be willing to be your backdrop? You're not a child anymore. You have to be responsible for your words and actions."
Ji Mingshu closed her eyes. "Yes, I can't do anything, I'm useless, just a golden canary you keep! That's why you've never respected me, never thought much of me. Not just you, but your friends, my family—they all think I'm a cripple who can't walk on my own without you!"
"I'm not as good as Li Wenyin. I'm not as talented as her, nor as shameless, to still be pestering an ex under the guise of reminiscing about the past! And I don't have her skills, to actually make you, her ex, slap your wife in the face to fulfill her dream! So now, can I fly away? Even if I fly out and get struck by lightning, it's none of your business! Get out of my way!"
Ji Mingshu shoved Cen Sen hard, this time trying to leave without even taking her suitcases.
Since Cen Sen had made it so clear that everything she had was given by him, then she shouldn't have the audacity to pack it all up and take it with her.
But before she could leave the room, Cen Sen suddenly grabbed her wrist from behind, dragged her across the room, and threw her onto the bed.
He loosened his tie, a thin layer of hostility on his face.
He leaned over Ji Mingshu, twisting her slender wrists behind her back and clamping them tightly, while his other hand pinched her chin, forcing her to accept his kiss.
He rarely kissed so urgently, so fiercely, and he didn't examine why he was doing it. He just subconsciously wanted to, and so he did.
Ji Mingshu had just been crying. Her eyes were red and slightly swollen, and the skin around them and on her cheeks tasted salty and astringent.
Cen Sen's kisses moved from her lips to her brow and eyes, then to her earlobe, her neck, her collarbone, as if lighting clusters of fire all over her body.
For the first half-minute after being thrown onto the bed, Ji Mingshu hadn't even processed what was happening. When she did, she was met with a storm of kisses. It wasn't until Cen Sen started unbuttoning her clothes that she began to struggle.
"Let go of me! Let go! Let go! Pervert!"
Her hands were pinned tightly, completely immobile, and her kicks were straight and weak.
It was only when Cen Sen kissed her lips again that she found an opportunity to bite him hard. In an instant, the taste of rust spread through both their mouths.
The bite seemed to sober Cen Sen up considerably, and the agitated frustration in his heart slowly dissipated.
He propped himself up by Ji Mingshu's waist, his thumb slowly stroking his bleeding lower lip as if he didn't feel the pain. His eyes remained fixed on Ji Mingshu, studying her inch by inch, as if admiring an exquisite piece of art.
After a long moment, he got up and stood beside the bed, calmly adjusting his collar. His gaze had become tranquil.
"Like your uncle, I also think you need to calm down. You will stay here. You're not to go anywhere."
Ji Mingshu struggled to sit up on the bed, but before she could get up, Cen Sen walked out of the bedroom, closing the door with a "bang" and locking it from the outside.
She froze for three seconds, then rushed to the door without even putting on her shoes and tried the handle.
It was really locked.
Cen Sen had locked her in this bedroom?!
Ji Mingshu stood at the door, feeling as if her brain was about to explode, her thoughts completely unable to keep up with the turn of events.
Why wouldn't Cen Sen let her leave?
Did he think it would be too unfair for Li Wenyin to be branded a homewrecker if she left like this? Or was he waiting for a family tribunal to make the Ji family settle accounts for all the money she had spent over the years?
It was too absurd. In the 21st century, someone would lose an argument and lock his wife in a room. Was this imprisonment?
After leaving the room, Cen Sen stood at the top of the stairs, not moving for a long while. He closed his eyes, replaying the series of actions he had just taken, and found he couldn't find any logic in them either.
The only thing he knew for sure was that he couldn't let Ji Mingshu leave.
It seemed all loss of control had started from the moment Ji Mingshu said the word "divorce"—from Star City, from the plane, from the silent journey home.
He rubbed the bridge of his nose and called Zhou Jiaheng. "Junyi is to withdraw its investment in Li Wenyin's film, no reason given. Also, find Li Wenyin's contact information and send it to me."
Ten minutes later, he dialed the unfamiliar number Zhou Jiaheng had sent.
"Hello, how may I help you?" A gentle, intelligent female voice answered.
"This is Cen Sen."
The other end of the line was silent for two seconds, then the gentle voice spoke again. "Oh, is there something you need? Did Mingshu... say something to you?"
He got straight to the point. "Miss Li, we dated for three months. That was nearly ten years ago. I don't believe there is anything between us worth making a film to commemorate."
Li Wenyin was taken aback, then chuckled lightly. "Movies need promotional tactics these days. Audiences won't pay for a film without a story. You can rest assured, I won't reveal your identity, and I have no intention of destroying the relationship between you and Mingshu... if there is one."
Cen Sen's voice was cold. "I'm not interested in any of that. I'm only calling to inform you that you can continue filming, but neither my wife nor I appreciate being used for publicity in any way, shape, or form. Therefore, I cannot guarantee that Miss Li's film will have a smooth release."
After saying that, he hung up the phone.
OpenNovel