Half an hour later.
Cen Sen sent a WeChat message to Ji Mingshu.
Cen Sen: [Mingshu, what's wrong?]
He had originally typed "what's wrong again," but earlier today, Shu Yang and Zhao Yang happened to explain in the group chat: Never use phrases like "what's wrong again" with women, as it makes them feel men are very impatient.
Remembering this advice before sending, he deliberately deleted the word "again."
Ji Mingshu had been waiting specifically for him to ask, so naturally, she saw the message right away.
She didn't reply and, in a deliberately dramatic manner, turned her phone to silent mode, placed it screen-down on the table.
Gu Kaiyang leaned against the other side of the sofa, glancing at her sideways, her face clearly expressing speechlessness.
When Ji Mingshu first returned, she had chattered away, accusing Cen Sen of all sorts of things.
After listening, Gu Kaiyang didn't think it was a big deal and even instinctively defended Cen Sen a few times.
But later, she stopped bothering, because no matter what she said, Ji Mingshu could always find some new angle to pin another accusation on Cen Sen, nailing him to the judgment seat.
Since Ji Mingshu was determined to pick a fight, then in her eyes, her husband was guilty of unforgivable sins whether he stepped over the threshold with his left foot first or breathed one more breath of fresh air than her.
Thinking this, Gu Kaiyang grabbed a pillow and covered her face, her entire body radiating a deep sense of despair that seemed to say, "Who knows when these two drama queens will finally stop."
Ji Mingshu was extremely dissatisfied with this half-hearted attitude and poked the pillow on Gu Kaiyang's face with a back scratcher.
"Gu Kaiyang, get up! What kind of attitude is that? Do you, like that dog of a man, think I'm being unreasonable?"
"We've been friends for so many years, tell me the truth, did you take money from that dog of a man? How could you take his side?"
"Fine, even if you don't say anything, I can see through it. You don't love me anymore, and I'm not your little princess anymore. It's true—women worn down by work become so utilitarian!"
As she spoke, she punctuated her accusations with rhythmic pokes.
Gu Kaiyang felt like she was being tortured to the point of a nervous breakdown. Suddenly, she removed the pillow and voiced a question from the depths of her soul: "Tell me, do you like Cen Sen? He didn't cheat, and he withdrew the investment, right? You also put on a perfect and successful show proving you're not useless. Since he took you back, why don't you just continue legitimately spending his money?"
"I've known you for so many years, and it's only recently that you've suddenly grown a backbone. All of a sudden, your standards for your husband have become so high... And it's fine if you have high standards for your husband, but why are your standards for me so high too?!"
Ji Mingshu met her gaze for three seconds, then suddenly looked away and said nonchalantly, "Yeah."
"Huh?" Gu Kaiyang had asked too many questions and didn't know which one she was answering.
"I do like Cen Sen. I just realized it recently and forgot to tell you."
Ji Mingshu said it very frankly, her tone exactly the same as if she'd forgotten to buy Coke and told her to make do with the Sprite at home.
Gu Kaiyang was stunned for a moment. "Wait, are you serious?"
Ji Mingshu: "Why would I lie to you?"
After secretly admitting it to herself and then admitting it to Cen Yang, she seemed to be growing less and less embarrassed about mentioning her feelings for Cen Sen.She even vaguely felt that if she admitted it a few more times, she might dare to confess directly to Cen Sen.
"..."
Gu Kaiyang was speechless for a long while.
She seriously reviewed the series of unusual behaviors Ji Mingshu had exhibited while staying at her place over the past few months. Honestly, if the premise of "Ji Mingshu likes Cen Sen" was added, many unreasonable things suddenly seemed to make sense.
She had long wondered why Ji Mingshu, who had been content living as a freeloader for so many years, suddenly awakened and awkwardly adopted the persona of an independent, strong woman after being provoked by Li Wenyin. It turned out that, at the root of it all, her pride couldn't bear being looked down upon by the person she liked. Running away from home was just her waiting to be kissed, hugged, and lifted high.
Mingshui Mansion.
After sending the message to Ji Mingshu, Cen Sen had been sitting in his living room, handling company affairs.
But he couldn’t quite focus, occasionally rubbing his temples and glancing at his phone on the coffee table.
About half an hour later, his phone finally buzzed—but it was Zhou Jiaheng calling to report on Cen Yang’s recent maneuvers.
After listening, Cen Sen responded with a calm "Mm," showing no emotional fluctuation.
In fact, he had received news of Cen Yang’s return the very day he arrived. This news had even been personally relayed to him by Cen Yuanchao.
Out of consideration for past ties, the Cen family had smoothed Cen Yang’s path during his years abroad. Cen Yang had also lived up to their nurturing, steadily advancing toward becoming an industry elite.
It could be said that as long as he was willing to let go of the past, a golden, broad road lay ahead of him.
But unfortunately, he couldn’t let go of the past.
Truthfully, Cen Sen had no interest whatsoever in Cen Yang’s schemes. Having been away from the Cen family for too long, Cen Yang seemed unaware of how far this seemingly warm but actually cold-blooded surname had grown.
Even the once equally powerful Huadian Ji family could only bow to Jingjian. Everything Cen Yang was doing couldn’t even be called "throwing an egg against a stone."
Compared to appreciating his futile struggles, Cen Sen was clearly more interested in cooking pork ribs at the moment.
After hanging up the phone, he walked to the central island counter, leisurely rolled up his sleeves, and began preparing the ribs.
After idly chattering away all afternoon, Ji Mingshu finally fell silent by evening.
Both she and Gu Kaiyang were starving, their stomachs growling. They were holding their phones, debating whether to order "Braised Chicken Rice" or "Boneless Pickled Fish" for dinner when the doorbell suddenly rang.
Ji Mingshu stretched out her little foot and nudged Gu Kaiyang. Used to being bossed around, Gu Kaiyang got up without complaint.
"Who is it?" Gu Kaiyang asked while peering through the peephole.
A polite male voice came from outside, "Hello, is this Ms. Gu’s residence? I’m from the catering department of Junyi Splendor Hotel, here to deliver meals for you and Ms. Ji."
Hearing "Junyi Splendor," Gu Kaiyang opened the door without hesitation.
The delivery staff outside bowed slightly and smiled as he handed over the food containers. "Hello, there are two bento boxes prepared by our hotel inside, along with a small box of braised pork ribs for Ms. Ji."
Gu Kaiyang smiled back. "Alright, thank you."
After seeing him off, Gu Kaiyang hurried back to the living room with the food containers.She was just about to ask why the braised pork ribs were specifically ordered for Miss Ji when Ji Mingshu opened the food container, took out the small ribs, stared at them for a few seconds, and suddenly muttered softly, "Shameless!"
—While cursing, Ji Mingshu’s face involuntably flushed.
Gu Kaiyang was completely out of the loop, her mind filled with question marks: She’s not cursing at me, is she? Wait, why is she blushing while cursing?
"Um, if you don’t want to eat it, maybe give it to me..."
"How can you be so wishful?!"
Gu Kaiyang’s words were cut off by Ji Mingshu.
Ji Mingshu even protectively hugged the small ribs, placed a magazine horizontally on the coffee table to forcibly create a dividing line, using practical actions to show that between plastic sisters, they could only share hardships, not small ribs.
Unconsciously, the capital had entered the depths of winter.
After briefly returning to her cage and flying out again, the little golden canary had been out and about for over half a month.
During her last return to the cage, she cleverly took her passport with her. As the year-end approached, Gu Kaiyang was busy with many things and had no time to accompany her. Bored out of her mind, she invited Jiang Chun to vacation on an island for a week.
Her social media feed was updated daily with nine-square grids and short videos, featuring stunning bikini photos that were a feast for the eyes. Each update garnered hundreds or even thousands of likes and comments, turning her feed into something resembling a celebrity’s microblog.
In contrast, Jiang Chun’s posts were relatively restrained because she often saw online complaints: Some people go on a trip and post selfies and videos every day, flooding their feed—it’s so annoying.
But after seeing Ji Mingshu’s wildly popular social media feed, Jiang Chun finally realized: The issue isn’t flooding the feed; it’s that the person flooding it isn’t a natural-born beauty :)
On the other hand, Cen Sen had been pondering why Ji Mingshu suddenly got angry and left the nest again after returning home, but he couldn’t pinpoint the root cause. He wanted to find an opportunity to talk things out with Ji Mingshu and resolve the issue completely, but Ji Mingshu was uncooperative—she didn’t answer his calls or reply to his messages. He was busy with work and somewhat stretched thin.
Junyi had over a hundred subsidiaries, plus companies he personally invested in, and the gradual transfer of power from Jingjian, managed by Cen Yuanchao. His twenty-four hours were utilized down to the minute, with project data, activities, and social engagements swirling in his mind. Even Zhou Jiaheng, the know-it-all, couldn’t recall that he had seriously offended Ji Mingshu over the program sponsorship matter.
Although Ji Mingshu didn’t reply, Cen Sen still sent her messages from time to time—short, casual greetings and updates.
Cen Sen: Are you asleep?
Cen Sen: Have you eaten?
Cen Sen: On a business trip today.
Cen Sen: Back in the capital.
When he saw the bikini videos and nine-square grids Ji Mingshu posted on her social media feed, he only had four words.
Cen Sen: Too revealing. Post less.
Ji Mingshu was so angry she laughed, finally replying to him with a meme that said, "The Qing Dynasty fell over a hundred years ago."
But for other messages, she still adhered to the three-pronged strategy of "no answering, no replying, I didn’t see it."
It was already mid-January by the time Ji Mingshu returned to the capital after her vacation.
The preview for the Designer program had begun airing in rotation on Star City TV. Probably to stir up buzz and start off strong, the producer said their group’s filming would be scheduled for the first two episodes.
After all, Pei Xiyan’s popularity was exploding, and Yan Yuexing’s group was stirring up drama, which also had some buzz.But the closer the show's airing date approached, the colder Ji Mingshu became toward Cen Sen.
Because she really, truly hadn’t seen a single clear shot of herself in the preview! That damn pig trotter!!!
Gu Kaiyang’s magazine was hosting a year-end media appreciation salon with the theme "De-stress Day," aiming to encourage everyone to relax at the end of a busy year rather than just taking a break.
For the salon’s interior design, Ji Mingshu was invited as a consultant. She didn’t oversee the actual setup but provided suggestions on color schemes and spatial layouts for reference.
As for the Zero Degree salon, Ji Mingshu naturally received an invitation, but she had little interest in attending. To be precise, since running away from home, she hadn’t planned to attend any social events at all.
First, the failed showdown with Li Wenyin at the banquet had left her with lingering trauma. Second, she didn’t want to be asked about her marriage.
Her marriage with Cen Sen had drawn considerable attention in their circle, but no one could really say what their current situation was.
On one hand, it was true that Cen Sen had fought for her some time ago, and she had subtly flaunted late-night movie ticket stubs. On the other hand, it was also undeniably true that Cen Sen had planned to invest in his first love’s film, leading Ji Mingshu to run away from home and not return since.
Moreover, Li Wenyin’s film had recently begun casting. She was quite resourceful—after Junyi announced its withdrawal of investment, she managed to secure substantial funding from a film company under the Yuan family and even hired Huang Baili, who had won the Best Director award at the Berlin Film Festival, as the producer for her small, shabby film.
Just thinking about attending the event, where people would smile to her face while gossiping behind her back, made Ji Mingshu deeply frustrated. It was easier to simply not go and avoid the whole mess.
But Gu Kaiyang, that clever little imp, saw through Ji Mingshu’s series of worries and dilemmas and seized the perfect opportunity to play matchmaker.
When Zhou Jiaheng found time in his busy schedule to visit the magazine office and asked her to pass along a gift, she didn’t even lift her eyelids, replying coldly, “Assistant Zhou, I’m tired even if you aren’t. Do you think passing gifts back and forth like this is meaningful? Go back and ask your boss if he’s even sincere and if he still wants his wife.”
Zhou Jiaheng was sharp too. After a brief pause, he adopted a humble, teachable attitude, showering her with flattery and promising generous rewards if things worked out.
Gu Kaiyang kept her head down, furiously signing documents, forcing herself to maintain her aloof, strong-woman persona while speaking rapidly.
“Don’t flatter me here—I’m not buying it. After all the grievances Xiao Shu has endured for so long, don’t expect me to treat you kindly.”
“Your boss is so wealthy he invests in shows without batting an eye, but Xiao Shu worked hard for over a month, and he just ordered her scenes cut without any explanation. Do you think that’s appropriate?”
“Your boss’s messy romantic entanglements are still flying everywhere, making Xiao Shu too afraid to even attend a salon event for fear of being gossiped about behind her back. Do you think that’s appropriate?”
“Your boss stabbed her in the back with his sharp tongue, enjoying himself in the moment, and hasn’t even apologized. Do you think that’s appropriate?”
Zhou Jiaheng didn’t dare breathe too loudly.
Without looking up, Gu Kaiyang tossed a salon invitation in his direction. “Figure it out yourself!”
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