Jiang Che stood two steps away, slightly surprised by this sudden act of violence.
Cen Sen had always been quiet and reserved since childhood, with a touch of aloofness that didn't quite match his peers. He had never stooped to arguing or fighting with unnecessary people.
If someone truly offended him, he would strike back more directly, targeting their weak points with precision, leaving no bloodshed but delivering a clear message.
The last time Jiang Che had seen him resort to physical force… He thought carefully, growing even more surprised—because this was actually the first time he had ever seen Cen Sen take action.
The heavy metal music in the pub was still deafeningly loud and energetic, the colorful lights still shifting and blurring. In the dimly lit night, bizarre and chaotic patterns intertwined, with desire lurking beneath, surging in a decadent undercurrent.
The air around the booth was thick with the smell of nicotine and alcohol, but it couldn't completely mask the faint scent of blood.
Cen Sen grabbed the man by his collar, lifting him from his seat, then clamped his hand around his neck. His knuckles were icy cold, and the veins on the back of his hand were faintly visible.
Blood continued to flow from the man's temple, streaming down his face. His lips, rapidly paling from lack of oxygen and fear, looked even more ghastly against the sticky blood.
Cen Sen showed no intention of letting go. His gaze was as cold as ice, low and devoid of warmth, as if the blood-covered face before him meant nothing.
The few girls who had been discussing Ji Mingshu with the man earlier were now trembling with fear. After screaming, they frantically looked for someone to help.
But soon, Cen Sen's personal bodyguards swarmed in. Dressed in black suits, they were tall and burly, their expressions as indifferent as their boss's.
They stood outside the booth, shielding Cen Sen as if they didn't care if someone died inside. Their stance was clear: no one was allowed to intervene.
In truth, Cen Sen had rarely appeared in public over the past two years. Most of the playboys frequenting nightclubs found it hard to connect him with the heir of Junyi. But with Jiang Che present today, even a fool could guess his identity.
Some had initially considered stepping in, but now they wisely backed off. After all, no one wanted to offend the future head of the Cen family over some insignificant stranger.
Others might stay out of it, but Zhang Er, the owner of the nightclub, couldn't afford to.
Hearing that the heir of the Cen family and the heir of the Jiang family had graced his establishment only to beat someone to death, Zhang Er felt his scalp tingle and inwardly groaned.
What a mess this was.
On the opening day of his birthday party, his wife had caused a scene, and he had only dared to smile and appease her.
Now, the rarely seen heir himself had come to this humble establishment and seemed determined to take things to the point of no return. How many nightclub owners in the capital were just coasting along—why was he the unlucky one?!
"Brother Sen! Brother Sen!" Zhang Er, seeing the man being choked nearly lifeless, called out to Cen Sen repeatedly, his heart almost stopping along with the man's. "How did you end up here? Oh, I just heard about it—my fault, my fault!"
Jiang Che raised a hand slightly to stop him, his voice lazy. "Don't worry, he knows his limits."
How could he not worry?!
If a death occurred in his club, wouldn't his old man chop off his hands and feet and lock him up?!
Zhang Er couldn't get inside, feeling as if his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys were being fried on a hot iron plate, burning with anxiety. He could only tremble as he lit a cigarette for Jiang Che, hoping to glean some details from this heir.But Jiang Che didn't care to deal with these people. He merely glanced at him idly and mocked, "With that kind of courage, what are you doing running a nightclub?"
Zhang Er still wanted to say something, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cen Sen release his grip and throw the man to the ground. He breathed a silent sigh of relief, his cold sweat having already darkened the back of his t-shirt by a shade.
Cen Sen stood there motionless. No one knew that, for a moment, he had truly disregarded the "restraint" Jiang Che had mentioned.
Hearing the commotion, Shu Yang came out of the private room, leaning on the railing with both hands as he looked down.
Just then, the disco ball rotated, casting light onto Cen Sen's sharply defined, angular profile. The bloodstains on the collar of his white shirt were startling.
"Holy shit, what happened to Brother Sen?" he exclaimed, stunned.
Li Wenyin also stepped forward slowly, gently resting her hands on the railing as she watched the man downstairs calmly wiping his hands.
Shu Yang remembered something and was about to warn Li Wenyin, but after watching for a while, Li Wenyin suddenly turned and left without a word. He called after her a couple of times, but she had already stepped into the elevator.
With the incident downstairs, Zhang Er was busy arranging for the place to be cleared out, while also having his half-dead buddy dragged aside to wait for the ambulance.
The music had stopped, but the lights continued to cast the hazy glow of the night scene.
Li Wenyin went downstairs and stood outside the circle of bodyguards, suddenly calling out, "Cen Sen!"
Cen Sen didn't respond, nor did he turn around.
She continued, "Can I talk to you alone?"
Jiang Che didn't want to get involved and was about to leave, but Cen Sen glanced at him, signaling him to stay. He then sat directly beside the still-uncleaned pool of blood and said coldly, "If you have something to say, say it here."
The bodyguards shifted slightly, allowing Li Wenyin to enter the booth.
Li Wenyin didn't sit. Standing before Cen Sen, her voice was gentle and soft. "I heard Ming Shu is threatening divorce over the movie? That night when you called me, I didn't realize things had gotten this serious. I'm sorry."
She lowered her eyes slightly.
Cen Sen didn't speak, nor did he look at her.
Jiang Che, meanwhile, was texting his girlfriend, completely uninterested in listening to these petty games women played.
Maintaining her lowered gaze, Li Wenyin continued, "Back then, I thought I could recommend talent without avoiding old acquaintances, but I never expected to drag you into this. Junyi withdrawing its investment is only right. I truly am sorry."
"But as for the movie, I believe I have the right to continue filming it." She suddenly raised her head again, looking directly at Cen Sen with clear, unwavering eyes. "This has nothing to do with you. Essentially, whether I film or not, and what I film, are my own matters. I hope that even if we can't be lovers or friends, at least we don't become enemies."
"I know, given your personality, you would never have any intention of ensuring my movie doesn't get released smoothly. Ming Shu and I have our conflicts, but that's between her and me. We'll resolve it ourselves. Ah Sen, you shouldn't interfere between us..."
"Ji Mingshu is my wife."
Before Li Wenyin could finish, Cen Sen cut her off bluntly.
He unbuttoned the bloodstained collar of his shirt to let in some air, looking up at Li Wenyin with little emotion.
"Miss Li, I thought I made myself very clear during our last phone call. No one is stopping you from filming your movie or doing your own thing. But what I choose to do is also my own business.""Also, you and I, that's just you and me. Ji Mingshu and I, that's us. Do you understand?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Che didn't even lift his eyes, sending a message to his girlfriend Zhou You, who was pretending to be casual while actually probing about some company gossip: "She and I are just her and me, but you and I are us. Got it?"
After a moment of silence, the other side sent back a sticker of a little girl nodding.
Jiang Che breathed a sigh of relief, knowing this meant she was satisfied.
But Li Wenyin couldn't relax.
Her mind even seemed to thunder for a moment. Everything up to this point, including Ji Mingshu's impatience in bringing up divorce, had been within her expectations. How could...?
She didn't understand which part had gone wrong, nor did she want to consider the possibility that Cen Sen liked Ji Mingshu...
But before she could sort out her thoughts, Cen Sen had already stood up and walked out, unwilling to waste any more words on her.
Shu Yang happened to rush downstairs just then and saw Cen Sen leaving the booth, about to speak to him.
But Cen Sen suddenly looked at him and said coldly, "This is the last time."
Shu Yang wore a look of utter confusion. What now? He grabbed Jiang Che, who came out afterward, and asked, "What's he talking about? 'Last time'? What does that mean?"
Jiang Che replied, "It means if there's a next time, you won't be friends anymore."
Shu Yang was momentarily stunned before suddenly realizing, "Wait, he doesn't think I invited Li Wenyin, does he? Damn, I'm so wronged!"
He looked completely baffled. "Didn't I call you two over this time to apologize for my big mouth causing trouble last time? I was just singing with some girls in the private room when this lady and that sickly guy from the Yuan family suddenly showed up to say hello. It's not like I could just kick them out."
"I was totally confused! And before I could even say anything, you guys downstairs had already gotten into trouble, and then she rushed down in a flash... Hey, what did she come down here to stir up this time? Damn, I've really been screwed over by her!"
Jiang Che didn't even bat an eyelid. "What's the point in telling me?"
Of course, it would only be useful to explain to Cen Sen, but Cen Sen clearly had no time for Shu Yang at the moment.
He left the pub, still wearing his blood-stained shirt, and got into the back seat of the car, immediately giving the destination: "Xinggang International."
Leaning back in the seat with his hand supporting his forehead, whether it was the alcohol or the stimulation of the blood, an indescribable desire stirred restlessly in his heart.
The black car sped through the sparse night breeze all the way to Xinggang International.
Parked on the opposite side of the road, Cen Sen got out, asked the driver for a cigarette, and leaned against the car door with one hand in his pocket, staring at a certain dark window. The restlessness in his heart seemed to slowly calm down, cooled by the autumn night breeze.
He slept dreamlessly through the night.
Early the next morning, Ji Mingshu and Gu Kaiyang got up together.
Whether Ji Mingshu was truly determined or just riding a wave of enthusiasm, she started discussing over breakfast porridge with Gu Kaiyang: what could she do to support herself.
Gu Kaiyang opened her tablet to check the latest fashion news and said casually, "Isn't that simple? The key is you need to spend less. The way you spend, I have to say, aside from the Ji family and Cen Sen indulging you, hardly anyone could afford to keep you.""I just couldn't help it, okay?" Ji Mingshu took a few sips of porridge, then elegantly wiped her lips and clasped her hands properly. "Seriously, what do you think I should do? I'm about to run out of money."
Gu Kaiyang thought for a moment. "Be a personal shopper? Wouldn't it be easy for you, Miss Ji, to help people buy bags and limited editions at luxury stores? You could make a profit just by reselling—super easy."
"Are you out of your mind? Most people who can afford these things are from my social circle. Do you want me to be laughed to death? Gu Kaiyang, you're so cruel!"
Gu Kaiyang raised a hand to stop her. "Then what do you think you can do without interacting with your old circle? Be an influencer? Debut as a celebrity???"
Ji Mingshu shook her head like a rattle-drum.
She was too fragile-hearted to handle negative comments from netizens.
Besides, although her social circle wasn't as dismissive of celebrities and influencers as in the old days, she, Miss Ji, was too stuck in her "socialite persona" to want to make a living off her looks by putting herself out there.
Gu Kaiyang continued, "If you want to do interior design, which you like, you can't avoid your old circle either. You only do creative spatial design, right? Where's the demand for that? If you leave your old circle, where are you going to find high-end clients?"
"Think about it—would a random, unrelated person hand over their big villa to someone with no portfolio? So no matter what you do, you first have to get over the mental hurdle of not interacting with your old circle, got it?"
Ji Mingshu rested her chin on her hand, still pondering, when her phone suddenly dinged.
Little Earth Goose, her informant, had sent her the latest gossip from their circle first thing in the morning.
Jiang Chun: 【OMG! Your husband got into a fight at Zhang Er's place last night!!!】
Jiang Chun: 【So many people were there—Jiang Che, Shu Yang, Zhang Er, and even that white lotus rival of yours!】
Ji Mingshu froze.
Cen Sen got into a fight?
And Li Wenyin was there too?
Was it because of Li Wenyin...
Before she could think further, more firsthand intel came through.
Jiang Chun: 【The one who got beaten up was that little fatty Mo Zhengwei. I doubt you even know him. I heard it was because he was badmouthing you, and your husband overheard him. Then your husband smashed a bottle over his head! Almost killed him! This is blowing up now. I heard that little fatty is still at Third Hospital getting checked out!】
OpenNovel