The weather forecast updated in real-time, predicting rain in the imperial capital tomorrow, with temperatures plummeting to 8-10°C. Citizens are advised to stay warm and travel safely.
The sudden temperature drop was scheduled for tomorrow, but signs emerged overnight.
Ripples spread across the surface of Mingshui Lake, and fallen leaves outside were swept up by the deep autumn night wind. Under the glow of the warm, bright streetlights that remained on throughout the night, there was a hazy and desolate beauty.
Cen Sen did not return to the bedroom all night, nor did he rest in the guest room.
After making that phone call, he leaned back on the living room sofa, closing his eyes in feigned sleep.
The four-panel window on the south side was half-open, allowing the sparse night breeze to drift in. The rustling of leaves brushed against his ears, and upon closer listening, faint insect chirps could be heard.
From beginning to end, the upstairs remained quiet.
After he locked that door, Ji Mingshu did not cry out in despair, shout in anger, kick or struggle futilely against the door.
She was too exhausted.
After crying, her head felt heavy, as if weighed down by a thick, muddy haze. The slightest movement made it sway, causing a dull ache.
Her lips, neck, and cheeks still carried the lingering sensation of being fiercely kissed, as if Cen Sen’s warmth remained on her skin.
She curled up at the foot of the bed, clutching a pillow against her face.
Originally, she had intended to calm down and ease the discomfort from the emotional highs and lows. Unexpectedly, as she held the pillow, she drifted off to sleep without realizing it.
Perhaps thoughts by day bring dreams by night.
Throughout the night, she dreamt of Li Wenyin.
Li Wenyin’s father was the Ji family’s driver. Along with Ji Mingshu’s parents, he perished in an unexpected car accident while they were out on a trip to flaunt their affection.
After his passing, the Ji family, pitying the widow and orphan he left behind, offered a generous compensation.
But Li Wenyin’s mother refused, stating plainly that her husband’s death was an accident during work. The Ji family had not wronged him, and she and her daughter had no reason to accept such a large sum. If it was out of guilt and human sentiment, she hoped the Ji family could provide her with a job, allowing her to earn a living through her own labor.
With her saying this, the Ji family naturally agreed without hesitation.
Thus, this formidable woman smoothly moved into the Ji household with Li Wenyin, becoming the dedicated caregiver for the elderly Mrs. Ji. She even used the Ji family as a stepping stone to find a new partner far superior to her late husband.
When the mother and daughter first arrived at the Ji household, everyone in the family went out of their way to accommodate them. Mr. Li had worked for the Ji family for many years, and even if he hadn’t achieved great merit, his loyalty remained. When Li Wenyin reached school age, the elderly Mrs. Ji even decreed that she should attend the same school as the other children in the compound.
Whether the Ji family genuinely wanted to help or simply wished to avoid a reputation for ingratitude, Li Wenyin’s life undeniably underwent a qualitative change because of them.
As a child, during an argument with Li Wenyin, Ji Mingshu, provoked and at a loss for words, once angrily pointed at her and shouted, “You’re just a maid’s daughter! What right do you have to boss me around!”
Unfortunately, the elderly Mrs. Ji overheard and scolded her severely, even striking her palm.
At the time, Ji Mingshu didn’t understand that the punishment wasn’t because her words had hurt Li Wenyin, but because the elderly Mrs. Ji would not tolerate a girl from the Ji family speaking so uncouthly.She just felt so angry, so angry. Clearly, she hadn’t provoked anyone—it was Li Wenyin who had come to mock her first, saying she should be ashamed of playing with dolls at her age, yet in the end, she was the one who got scolded and punished!
Such incidents had happened many times when she was young, not just at home but also at school. Having suffered too many silent grievances, Ji Mingshu had learned to be smarter, gradually becoming less easily provoked by Li Wenyin.
Moreover, by middle and high school, people were no longer as pure as they were in childhood and paid more attention to family backgrounds and social connections.
In this regard, Ji Mingshu had a natural advantage. Sometimes, without her having to explain much, a group of people would instinctively take her side.
But this didn’t mean Li Wenyin had no other ways to haunt her during middle and high school:
If Ji Mingshu and her roommate shortened their school uniform skirts, Li Wenyin would be on duty the next day and catch them, deducting points;
Ji Mingshu disliked sports and ran slowly, so Li Wenyin would lap her and sneer disdainfully as she passed;
If Ji Mingshu told her friends that a certain senior was handsome, within a few days, Li Wenyin would be laughing and chatting with that senior, going to the cafeteria together, discussing upperclassmen’s problems…
All these things still replayed repeatedly in Ji Mingshu’s dreams.
The scenes in her dreams shifted bizarrely. In the latter half, Cen Sen appeared beside Li Wenyin.
It was as if she were watching from a non-existent third-person perspective, observing Li Wenyin and Cen Sen the entire time—seeing them holding hands at the night market near the school, watching as Cen Sen gently ruffled Li Wenyin’s hair, a smile playing on his lips.
Even as a transparent, floating observer, she could feel the fine, dense ache in her heart.
Cen Sen didn’t know what Ji Mingshu was dreaming about. He only saw her lying sideways on the bed, curled up like a tiny shrimp, her brows tightly furrowed, her hands clutching the pillow tightly.
He didn’t turn on the lights in the room, nor did he make any noise. By the faint, hazy moonlight from outside the window, he lifted Ji Mingshu and laid her properly at the head of the bed, then gently tucked her outstretched arm under the covers.
After doing this, he quietly sat by the bedside, looking down at Ji Mingshu’s sleeping face.
Deep down, he felt the urge to reach out and touch her, but for some reason, his hand remained at his side, never lifting.
After sitting for a while, he stood up again, tucked the blanket around Ji Mingshu, and then silently left the room.
At three in the morning, the night breeze had quieted.
By the windowsill, the begonias remained awake.
When she woke up the next morning, Ji Mingshu’s eyes still felt sore and swollen. When she touched them, she could feel the slight puffiness of her eyelids and a faint, stinging sensation.
Emotions, in truth, come and go quickly.
After crying and making a scene the night before, she woke up feeling empty inside. When she recalled the scenes from her dream, all her desires felt shallow.
After sitting blankly on the bed for a while, she got up and went to the bathroom to freshen up.
Her phone on the bedside table was on silent mode, but since the previous afternoon, the screen would occasionally light up with new messages.
After washing up, she picked up her phone and glanced at it.
There were far too many messages on WeChat—from those she knew well and those she didn’t, offering comfort or probing questions, none had been missed.
She scrolled down but didn’t reach the end, then scrolled back up. Seeing that Gu Kaiyang and Jiang Chun had been unconditionally cursing Li Wenyin and offering her advice late into the night, a warmth spread through her heart.Gu Kaiyang was unaware of the changes in her feelings toward Cen Sen, thinking she was just upset and angry after being humiliated by Cen Sen and Li Wenyin. She even made a meme herself: [Shu Bao, don’t back down, just go for it.jpg]
Gu Kaiyang: [I heard rumors in your circle that you’re getting a divorce?! Absolutely not! How can you let that scumbag and that little bitch off so easily! Don’t his grandparents really like you? Go cry in front of his grandparents today! They’ll definitely step in and sort those two out for you, nice and clean! Our baby mustn’t let this ruin her health!]
…
She read through the messages one by one, a slight curve forming at the corner of her lips, and sent a reply to Gu Kaiyang and Jiang Chun: [I’m fine.]
After sending the message, her fingers suddenly paused, and she instinctively glanced toward the head of the bed.
Wait, last night she had fallen asleep directly on the bed without covering herself with a blanket. And she had been curled up sideways at the foot of the bed, not as neatly positioned as she was now upon waking up.
As if struck by a thought, Ji Mingshu put down her phone, walked to the bedroom door, and turned the handle.
Unlike the night before, when no amount of force had budged the door, it opened with just a gentle twist this time.
The moment the door opened, she couldn’t help but feel a wave of relief. Thankfully, Cen Sen hadn’t actually gone so far as to lock her in the house.
She cautiously peeked her head out.
Was there no one outside?
Following the spiral staircase down, the sound of rain pattered softly outside.
A faint aroma of porridge wafted from the direction of the central island counter. Ji Mingshu walked over and discovered a small clay pot keeping the porridge warm—it was pork and preserved egg congee.
She hadn’t eaten for nearly twenty hours, so she couldn’t resist picking up a small spoon and taking a couple of sips.
She moved quickly, putting the spoon down immediately after drinking and glancing around to confirm no one was there before lifting the lid to scoop more porridge.
Though she hadn’t had her fill, she restrained herself, drinking only a shallow layer. She washed the spoon and returned it to its original place, leaving no obvious trace of disturbance.
Her phone continued to buzz with incoming messages. She carefully checked them—none were from Cen Sen, and there were none in her text inbox either.
What did he mean by this?
Had he come to his senses and decided to let her go wherever she pleased?
Was this porridge a farewell gesture…?
Ji Mingshu sat in the living room for a while, her mind still lingering on the events of the previous day.
But there were too many things weighing on her, layered with contradictions, and she couldn’t sort through the mess.
A clear voice in her head warned her not to be foolish, not to dwell on Cen Sen’s sudden kiss last night, and certainly not to overthink why she had ended up back at the head of the bed.
Many things were likely just casual gestures on his part, at most tinged with pity or sympathy. Anyone who read too much into them risked becoming a laughingstock for reading too much into nothing.
Reading too much into things wasn’t a good habit, especially when the other person could turn around and deliver a sharp slap to bring you back to reality.
Hadn’t last night’s lesson been enough?
The words he had blurted out were exactly what he truly thought.
Remembering this, Ji Mingshu felt the air in the room grow stifling and oppressive.
Without taking anything, she suddenly stood up.
Just then, Jiang Chun also woke from her sleep.
Groggily reaching for her phone, she saw Ji Mingshu’s reply saying she was fine. In an instant, she scrambled out from under the covers, sitting cross-legged on the bed, typing intently.
Jiang Chun: [Transfer 200,000 yuan]Jiang Chun: "Are you really going to divorce your husband? Where are you now?"
Jiang Chun: "Your Second Uncle spoke to my dad and told him not to let me take you in! To stop me from helping you, my dad even limited my card. I'll transfer you some money for now to get by. Don't be afraid! I'll support you no matter what you do!"
Jiang Chun: "Don't worry, baby, I'll steal electric scooters to support you.jpg"
Ji Mingshu walked toward the door while reading the messages, feeling a bit amused.
But just as her hand touched the doorknob, she suddenly paused.
The door wasn't locked.
Was the main door locked?
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