After about thirty minutes, the show cut to a commercial break. Ji Mingshu sat cross-legged on the bed, pressing the remote to rewind.
She remembered that the first time she went to the convention center for the recording, the young lady Yan Yuexing had been quite unlikable—overdramatic, talkative, and with terrible taste.
But in the half-hour segment that just aired, aside from being heartbreakingly outshone in looks and presence whenever they were in the same frame, Yan Yuexing didn't seem to have any other issues. She even came across as gentle, cute, and understanding—even a little adorable.
On the other hand, she herself—and she didn't know if she was just being sensitive—felt that in a few shots that cut to her after Yan Yuexing spoke, her expression seemed less than friendly. While everyone else was playing along and listening intently, she looked distracted and wasn't smiling.
And the key thing was, she remembered putting on a very supportive act during the recording.
After all, as Ji's Shushu, who had navigated social scenes for years, how could she possibly fail at something as simple as managing her expression on camera?
Ji Mingshu felt a little gloomy. But when she picked up her phone, she saw that all the messages she received were showering her with effusive praise—things like how her few scenes were enough to show that our Shu Bao was radiant, elegant, stunningly beautiful, and flawless.
She replied "thank you" to each one, then brought up the parts she found a little strange with Gu Kaiyang and Jiang Chun.
Jiang Chun, without a second thought, launched into a torrent of wild praise.
Jiang Chun: [You're overthinking it. It didn't look like that at all. Only one word for you: beautiful!]
Jiang Chun: [Oh, right, my cousin came over to our house. Wasn't I just watching TV? He was in the living room watching with me, and he pointed at you on the screen and asked in surprise, "Hey, which celebrity is that? How come I've never seen her before?"]
Jiang Chun: [I told him she's not a celebrity, she's my friend, hahahahaha! Before he could ask any more questions, I told him: married :)]
Jiang Chun: [Sigh, but this just proves that our little princess's jealousy-inducing beauty can no longer be hidden :)]
Gu Kaiyang, whose hands were full and couldn't type easily, sent a voice message instead. "The post-production editing is definitely going to be a little different from when you were recording. It's pretty normal. Think about it, if they really aired it exactly as you recorded it, wouldn't that girl from the girl group have blown up the Star City broadcasting building?"
That was true.
Ji Mingshu nodded to herself, then quickly discovered that Cen Yang had also sent her a message.
Cen Yang: [Shu, I'm watching your show. You look beautiful.]
Ji Mingshu: [Thank you~]
Ji Mingshu: [Bowing.jpg]
Cen Yang: [By the way, are you free tomorrow? There's a space-themed art installation exhibition by Kiosk at the Twin Ring Tower. Tomorrow is the last day, and I happen to have two tickets.]
Ji Mingshu paused for a moment.
Ever since they went out for dinner on Christmas Eve, Cen Yang would message her from time to time to say hello. He had also invited her out a few times, like to an art exhibition or a newly opened restaurant.
One time, she genuinely couldn't make it because she had gone on vacation abroad without telling him. The other times, she had made excuses to decline, because she always felt it was a bit inappropriate for a married young woman like herself to go out alone with an unmarried young man like him.
Counting carefully, she had already rejected him three or four times in a row. Rejecting him again seemed a bit hurtful. Ji Mingshu thought for a moment, then held her phone and started typing.
Ji Mingshu: [I left a lot of luggage at my best friend's place before, and I've moved back home these past two days. I might have to go over and move my things tomorrow, so I won't be able to see the exhibition.]
Ji Mingshu: [But in a few days, a friend of mine is hosting a masquerade ball in Jingxi. It should be pretty interesting. If you're interested, you should go have some fun. You can relax a bit outside of work too.]
After sending it, Ji Mingshu read it over to herself. Hmm, declining and then extending an invitation would prevent it from seeming too impolite.
Besides, Cen Yang and Cen Sen were fundamentally the same type of person; since childhood, neither of them liked to join in on that kind of rowdy group fun.
Even if he did want to join in on the fun this time, with dozens or even hundreds of people at the ball, it would be perfectly open and aboveboard, nothing inappropriate about it.
Just then, the familiar sound of footsteps coming upstairs came from outside the room.
Ji Mingshu's back straightened instinctively, and her fingers flew faster across her phone.
Ji Mingshu: [I have something to take care of, so I'll talk to you later. If you go, you can just give them my name. You don't need an invitation.]
Cen Yang's eyes darkened slightly. His typing hand paused, and as if something had occurred to him, he long-pressed the delete key, clearing the text completely.
He really didn't want to start with Ji Mingshu.
Ji Mingshu was a young lady who seemed feisty, spoiled, and willful, but was actually very simple and kind-hearted on the inside. She had been that way since she was little.
But besides Ji Mingshu, he couldn't find any other way to get close.
He turned to look out the window at the glittering lights of the capital's winter night and suddenly felt that this city was very unfamiliar, not at all like the city he had yearned for through many restless nights.
When Cen Sen entered the room, he carried the heavy scent of alcohol. Ji Mingshu covered her nose and mouth as she got out of bed, her voice muffled. "How much did you drink? It stinks."
Cen Sen, either not hearing her clearly or for some other reason, not only didn't open the door to air out the room but actually closed it and slid the lock shut.
Ji Mingshu's back was to him as she got out of bed, so she didn't notice his sneaky, provocative action.
She switched on the ventilation mode at the master control panel, then turned back to open the door. But before she could even touch the doorknob, she was suddenly swept into Cen Sen's arms.
A kiss reeking of alcohol landed beside her lips, then wound its way inside, prying open her teeth and plunging deep.
At first, Ji Mingshu tried to push him away forcefully, but her two slender wrists were quickly pinned behind her back and held tight by Cen Sen. The kiss also became punishingly more domineering, even a little lewd.
Ji Mingshu's body went limp, and her head spun. But just as Cen Sen was about to make his next move, her body's memory suddenly awakened, and she began to resist subconsciously.
"Don't!"
"Are you the reincarnation of a horny teddy bear?"
"I'm still sore!"
She struggled with her hands and feet, but her soft, delicate voice had no deterring effect on Cen Sen.
Watching this damn man nuzzling below her collarbone while still trying to unfasten the clasp of her bra, her mind short-circuited, and she actually knocked her chin against his head.
The move was a bit foolish. She ended up hurting her own teeth, and Cen Sen barely felt a thing.
However, when he heard Ji Mingshu's sharp intake of breath after she hurt her teeth, he did slow his movements.
He looked up at Ji Mingshu, his eyes full of desire, but his voice was cool and calm. "I bought you diamonds today. A whole set."
"...?"
Ji Mingshu wrinkled her nose and said disdainfully, "Even an aircraft carrier wouldn't work. I said I'm sore!"
"I'm sore too."
His voice suddenly became low and hoarse. As he spoke, he pressed her back against him, letting her feel for herself.
"..."
Ji Mingshu jolted at the poke, and the terror of being dominated by aerobic exercise last night suddenly came flooding back! Ahhh! Why isn't this damn pervert in jail?!
—The stalemate between the two ended with Ji Mingshu contributing her slender fingers.
Cen Sen still seemed unsatisfied. When Ji Mingshu returned from washing her hands, he hadn't entered his so-called post-nut clarity. He just stared straight at her crimson lips.
Ji Mingshu didn't quite understand at first, but then she remembered what Cen Sen had done before and suddenly got it.
She leaned over and covered his eyes, saying forcefully, "Don't even think about it! Not in this lifetime! A man with dirty thoughts like you should be in jail!"
Cen Sen's drunkenness hadn't completely dissipated. He let out a low "mm," which seemed to carry a hint of a laugh.
He took Ji Mingshu's hand, offered a disingenuous apology in a low voice, and then pulled her soft body into his arms.
Ji Mingshu wasn't sleepy yet. Thinking about how this man had been like he was in heat ever since she came home two days ago, wanting to do it at the drop of a hat without even having a proper conversation with her, she felt quite unhappy.
So she righteously held out her hand. "My hand hurts. Rub it for me."
They say men are very compliant in bed, and Cen Sen was no exception. At her command, he really did take her hand and began to gently rub it.
Ji Mingshu snuggled in his arms for a while and unconsciously turned into a doting wife concerned about her husband. "Why did you drink so much today? Did you take any sobriety pills or anything?"
Cen Sen rubbed her hand with his eyes half-closed, and for once, he talked to her about work, his voice quiet.
The boss he had entertained today was not a refined man. He had started out in gray-area industries and had a bit of a live-by-the-sword air about him from his journey up. As a result, he was rather crude and boisterous, rattling off one reason after another to drink: a deep bond means downing it in one go, a strong bond means you can't drink enough, a rock-solid bond means drinking till you bleed.
Cen Sen had never been good at dealing with this type of person. They would get overly familiar and enthusiastic for no reason, as if the concept of "boundaries" didn't exist in their minds, treating everyone like a little brother. But since they had business dealings, he couldn't just give them the cold shoulder over a small matter.
After explaining, he paused. It was hard to tell if he was being serious or teasing when he suddenly added, "You think it's easy to earn money to support you?"
"...?"
"I'm so wronged!"
"If you don't want to support me, there are plenty of others who do! How can you be so ungrateful when you're given such a great opportunity!"
Cen Sen closed his eyes and chuckled softly, not refuting her.
The two of them chatted quietly in bed for a while. Cen Sen was a bit tired and fell asleep not long after.
"Cen Sen? Cen Sen?"
Ji Mingshu gently poked his Adam's apple, then blew on his eyelashes. He was really asleep.
She propped her chin on her elbows as she lay on the bed, carefully studying the man on the pillow beside her and falling into deep thought.
One moment to the next, she really didn't know whether to say his stamina was good or bad. Yesterday, he had been at it all night with barely any sleep, but today, after drinking and a little fooling around, he was out cold.
Sigh, maybe it's because he's almost thirty and his stamina is declining?
That's right, he'll be thirty in just over two years.
And she was still an eighteen-year-old little fairy who would never grow up.
Pah! An old man preying on a young girl. An old man!
But this old man was so handsome. Every part of him was exactly to her liking. Even... when he did lewd things, she liked it.
Ji Mingshu couldn't help but reach out and pinch the old man's cheek. Seeing no reaction, she was tempted again and couldn't resist leaning in to steal a small kiss.
After the kiss, she turned her head and started giggling, so smitten with herself that she wanted to roll around on the bed.
After she was able to frankly face the fact that she liked him, it seemed that every minute with him had become sweet. Even the exhaustion from their intimate contact was tinged with sweetness.
After stealing several more kisses like this, she suddenly felt a little wistful. Poking the tip of his nose, she asked in a tiny voice, "When will you like me?"
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