The plot of this film was simple and melodramatic, the kind where you could guess the ending from the start, but Ji Mingshu still watched it with genuine emotion.
After leaving the cinema, she even took a photo of her ticket stub and posted it on her social media feed, offering a spoiler-free technical warning to others.
While taking the photo, Cen Sen happened to be standing on her right side, and his custom-made watch on his left wrist accidentally ended up in the frame. She noticed it while editing the picture, but for some inexplicable reason, she neither cropped it out nor covered it up. Instead, she posted it as if she hadn’t noticed anything at all.
At four in the morning, many party animals were still awake. Within five minutes of Ji Mingshu posting, her update had already received over a hundred likes.
Shu Yang was also awake, playing cards with friends at a bar.
When he saw Ji Mingshu’s post, he zoomed in on the picture, squinting as he examined it. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he grinned.
Shu Yang: [Image]
Shu Yang: [Accompanying your wife to watch a movie at 4 a.m., Brother Sen is awesome.]
Shu Yang: [From now on, if anyone dares to say our Brother Sen is an unromantic straight guy, I’ll be the first to argue. With this level of professionalism and skill, I’m not exaggerating—you could sell beer and still come out on top!]
Shu Yang: [Jiang Che, Boss Jiang, you should take notes.]
The childhood friends had a WeChat group chat, with Jiang Che as the group owner.
Usually, Jiang Che, Shu Yang, and Zhao Yang were quite active in the group, while Cen Sen was mostly dormant, like grass growing over a grave. On rare occasions, however, he would “rise from the dead” to forward news highlights or industry updates into the group.
At this moment, Shu Yang was teasing in the group, taking advantage of the late hour and assuming no one was online to call him out.
Little did he know that Jiang Che had argued with Zhou You earlier that night. After returning home, he had to act subservient, serving her foot wash and putting in a great deal of effort to barely coax her to sleep. Now, lying in the same bed with her but unable to do anything, he was simmering with frustration. Coincidentally, Shu Yang had walked right into the line of fire, asking for humiliation, and Jiang Che naturally wouldn’t miss such a golden opportunity.
Moreover, Jiang Che was a staunch supporter of the modern burial system: “If I’m unhappy, all of you must die.” After tearing into Shu Yang without giving him a chance to defend himself, he directly kicked him out of the group chat.
Still unsatisfied, he then dragged Zhao Yang—who was sound asleep and completely unaware of all this—into the fray, dredging up old grievances to humiliate him. Finally, it was Cen Sen’s turn.
—Perhaps feeling lonely with no one to witness his full-force sarcasm, he even added Shu Yang back to the group.
Jiang Che: [Cen Sen, what’s with the late-night movie antics at 4 a.m.? If you’ve got the guts, take your wife home and roll around in bed instead of embarrassing yourself outside.]
Jiang Che: [We have a signing with Rongyue Technology at 9 a.m. tomorrow. Looking at your sorry state, you might as well not go. Partnering with a wife-obsessed fool like you is the worst luck I’ve had in eight lifetimes.]
Shu Yang chimed in at the right moment.
Shu Yang: [Still wandering outside this late, probably because he can’t bring his wife home.]
Jiang Che: [True. I doubt he’ll manage to bring her home this year.]
The two of them bantered back and forth, almost as if they had let bygones be bygones.
“What are you looking at?”
While waiting for the elevator, Ji Mingshu noticed Cen Sen staring at his phone and casually asked.
Cen Sen replied calmly, “Nothing much. I saw you just posted something on your social media.”
Ji Mingshu remembered the picture she had posted and felt a slight pang of guilt, too embarrassed to press further.
Cen Sen lowered his eyelids and forwarded a financial news article into the group chat—about the third phase of the strategic cooperation between Sincerity Capital, which he co-founded with Jiang Che, and Rongyue Technology.The news clearly stated that the signing ceremony was held at 9 a.m. on December 23rd in Canberra, Australia—already forty-three hours ago.
Cen Sen: [I wonder who had the misfortune of eight lifetimes.]
Cen Sen: [Your last sentence, I bounce it back to you.]
Jiang Che: [...]
Jiang Che: [Are you three years old? Still bouncing things back.]
Cen Sen didn’t reply further because the elevator had already reached the first floor.
The night was deep and the wind cold. The car was still parked at the West Gate. Cen Sen took off his coat and draped it over Ji Mingshu’s shoulders. The two walked side by side back toward the West Gate.
At four in the morning, the capital was shrouded in thick, ink-black darkness. Under the quiet streetlights, occasional snowflakes still drifted down. A thick layer of fresh snow had accumulated on the ground, crunching softly under their shoes.
Cen Sen: "Sleepy?"
"A little." She hadn’t felt it until he asked, but now Ji Mingshu couldn’t help yawning.
After getting in the car, Cen Sen glanced at the time and suggested calmly, "Let’s go back to Mingshui. I have a meeting in the morning, so we won’t get much sleep anyway."
Ji Mingshu fiddled with her seatbelt, not answering immediately.
Her gaze fixed on the snowy road ahead, as if she were seriously considering something.
Only after the car started moving did she nod reservedly, reluctantly agreeing, "Since you have a meeting in the morning, I suppose we can stay at Mingshui for the night."
"Mm."
Cen Sen turned the steering wheel, his head tilting slightly toward the driver’s side window.
From an angle Ji Mingshu couldn’t see, the corner of his lips lifted ever so slightly.
After agreeing, Ji Mingshu felt strangely uncomfortable all over. She reclined her seat and lay back. "I’m a bit sleepy, I’ll rest for a while."
Cen Sen gave another "Mm" and reminded her, "There’s a blanket behind the seat."
Ji Mingshu reached back and pulled one out, neatly draping it over herself, her hands folded properly over her stomach.
Though she had felt sleepy earlier, staring at the car ceiling now, she couldn’t fall asleep. On one hand, she felt incredibly content having spent Christmas watching the first snow with Cen Sen. On the other hand, recalling the hurtful things he’d said the night before she ran away, she felt spineless for being lured back without even an apology.
These two thoughts tangled in her mind. She tossed and turned, unable to sleep, and finally sat up straight again.
"What’s wrong?"
Ji Mingshu sat cross-legged on the seat, hugging a tacky "fortune" pillow from the car dealership. After her thoughts had twisted and turned countless times, she finally mumbled, "Nothing, it’s just… I think I need to explain something. I didn’t do anything to betray you."
Cen Sen glanced at her.
"Cen Yang and I just had a simple meal together. And I didn’t even notice he’d chosen Christmas Eve for the dinner. As for him hugging me, that was just… a friendly hug, you know?"
"Mm, I know."
Cen Sen replied indifferently.
"..."
Ji Mingshu stared at him expectantly.
That’s it? Just like that?
He doesn’t seem jealous at all… Well, that’s not the point. Fine, if he’s not jealous, then as an equivalent exchange, shouldn’t he take the initiative to explain things with Li Wenyin and then apologize to her? What kind of man is this?
Just as Ji Mingshu was wondering whether to ask more directly, Cen Sen finally grasped the deeper meaning behind her painstakingly convoluted hints.The car crossed the bridge from Mingshui Mansion toward the center of the lake. He slowed down and said, "I haven’t done anything to wrong you either."
Here it comes, finally.
Not entirely hopeless!
Ji Mingshu straightened up a bit, ready to listen attentively.
But five seconds passed, ten seconds passed, thirty seconds passed—Cen Sen had already smoothly swung the steering wheel into the garage, and she still hadn’t heard the rest.
When she got out of the car, she was still bewildered, clutching that ugly throw pillow and carrying it all the way to the bedroom.
Having eaten two meals out and watched a movie late into the night that day, Ji Mingshu had planned to question Cen Sen properly after a quick rinse. But her mental turmoil couldn’t overcome her physical exhaustion, and as soon as her head hit the pillow, she fell into a deep sleep.
With many year-end tasks, Cen Sen was busy with work and hadn’t rested properly for days. Finally managing to spare half a day, he still had to coax Ji Mingshu.
Fortunately, he had managed to coax her back. Feeling somewhat relieved, he finished washing up, got into bed from the other side, pulled Ji Mingshu into his arms, and fell into a deep sleep.
Ji Mingshu slept straight through until two in the afternoon. Cen Sen had long since left for work.
Sitting on the bed, she rubbed her head, feeling an unfamiliar yet familiar sense of intimacy toward this bedroom she hadn’t set foot in for days.
Today was the real Christmas, and her phone was naturally filled with greetings from all directions.
Ji Mingshu skimmed through a few messages when she suddenly caught sight of a greeting and notification from the producer of the Designer program. It said that the post-production for Designer was complete, the broadcast schedule had been finalized, and the show would air on Star City TV in mid-January.
They also informed the amateur designers that they could apply in advance for Weibo verification with the program’s keywords, and the program team could expedite the process.
So fast? Money really can make the world go round.
Above that were Christmas greetings from Feng Yan in the same group and Li Che from a different group.
At least they were celebrities, so Ji Mingshu politely replied with a "Merry Christmas."
But it was while replying to Li Che that Ji Mingshu suddenly recalled something he had once said: "It’s actually quite a pity. The producer said they originally planned to pair us together, but the sponsor had their own considerations, so they adjusted the grouping."
The sponsor had their own considerations...
Back then, Ji Mingshu didn’t know that the sponsor of Designer was Junyi, nor was she interested in whether she was grouped with Li Che, so she hadn’t paid it any mind.
Now, thinking about it carefully, could this have been Cen Sen’s doing?
She straightened up again, carefully choosing her words to ask Li Che.
Li Che seemed quite idle as a celebrity, replying almost instantly—and with a voice message at that.
However, Ji Mingshu had no interest in listening to his magnetic voice and directly converted it to text: "That’s right, the sponsor already had their own chosen designers. Many people knew about it. Considering the sponsor, the program team might have their own considerations regarding aspects like editing. But there are some things I can’t say too much about. Miss Ji, don’t be disappointed. Gold shines no matter where it is."
Ji Mingshu stared at the converted text, and a spark of anger flared up inside her.Li Che's words were quite tactful, but even a fool could understand the underlying meaning, right? Wasn't he clearly telling her: the show has behind-the-scenes arrangements, Junyi doesn’t want you to outshine the designer they’re promoting, so you’d better be prepared for your scenes to end up on the cutting room floor?!
That scoundrel Cen Sen!
If he dared to cut all her hard work from the past month, she’d burn down Mingshui Mansion!!!
The more Ji Mingshu thought about it, the angrier she became. Recalling how she had foolishly let him coax her back last night without even hearing an apology made her even more furious.
She rolled out of bed, washed up, and went out, instructing the driver with a blank expression to take her back to Xinggang International.
Upon hearing she was heading to Xinggang International again, the driver felt a chill run down his spine and instinctively wanted to message Zhou Jiaheng to report it.
Ji Mingshu took a deep breath, maintaining her last shred of calm as she said, "I’m just going to pick up a few things. No need to tell Zhou Jiaheng."
In the loft apartment at Xinggang International, Gu Kaiyang had just gotten a replacement key card from the property management and was planning to take advantage of her rare day off to do a thorough cleaning after sending off the "goddess."
Humming a tune as she mopped the floor, she was in a great mood, thinking to herself how clever she was—last night’s move had been absolutely brilliant.
It wasn’t that she was being a fake friend and disliking Ji Mingshu, but someone like Ji Mingshu, a pampered young lady, was really only suited for eating and drinking together, not living together!
It was too much!
Probably only a man like Cen Sen could unconditionally shower her with money and provide her with the "supply of love"!
Gu Kaiyang hadn’t even enjoyed five minutes of peace when the sound of a key card being scanned suddenly came from the door.
"You… why are you back?"
Gu Kaiyang turned around, stared blankly for three seconds, and then her expression gradually stiffened.
Ji Mingshu wore a sour face. "When did I say I was leaving? What’s with that look? Are you disliking me?!"
Survival instinct made Gu Kaiyang shake her head frantically.
Meanwhile, Cen Sen had just finished grocery shopping and was resting with his eyes closed in the back seat of the car.
The pork ribs today were tender and fresh—his little golden canary was sure to love them.
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