In Cen Yuanchao's eyes, Ji Mingshu's appearances on variety shows and trending on social media were nothing more than childish antics, and so-called public opinion could be resolved with just a snap of his fingers.
It never crossed his mind that Cen Sen would rush back to the country for such trivial matters, especially before securing a fully stable partnership. In his view, Cen Sen was never the type to act impulsively or lose sight of priorities.
Thus, he found Cen Sen's actions this time utterly perplexing.
To make matters worse, the older Cen Sen grew, the less inclined he was to offer explanations.
Even Ji Mingshu herself didn’t think Cen Sen was that kind of person, but this time, he had indeed rushed back overnight, seemingly just for her minor troubles.
Although public opinion had already shifted by the time he returned, hadn’t he still personally comforted her wounded heart and gifted her an island where she could see the Northern Lights?
While Ji Mingshu was lost in thought for a moment, the conversation in the study had already shifted to topics unrelated to Cen Sen. Holding her breath, she quietly slipped away.
Returning to her room, Ji Mingshu remained somewhat distracted. After sitting at her desk in a daze for a while, she pushed open half of the latticed window to admire the snow.
The heavy winter snow fell thick and dense like goose feathers, while a crisp, cold wind blew in through the narrow corridor half a zhang away. Resting her chin in her hands, she seemed lost in thought, her mind drifting far, far away.
"...The asset restructuring of Borui won’t be completed until after the New Year at the earliest. It’s hard to say whether they can return to the A-share market in the first half of the year. Even after the restructuring and share reform, their relationship with Haichuan may not be any closer than it is now. Aren’t there several synergistic companies interested in injecting capital?"
"That may be true, but if Haichuan isn’t close to them, how could they possibly be close to us? Since they managed to intercept this investment, it’s highly unlikely they’ll cooperate with us. Even if they show interest, they’ll likely demand exorbitant terms," another person retorted.
The headquarters of Nanwan Development Company was located on the eleventh floor of the Huadian Building.
The project investment by Vincent, a French-Chinese investor, had been intercepted by Haichuan Capital, where Cen Yang worked, for the development of new energy business after Borui’s restructuring. This left a significant funding gap for the construction of the second-phase ring island interchange of Nanwan. For several consecutive days, the relevant project managers had gathered here for meetings.
It wasn’t that there were no Plan B or Plan C for the construction of the ring island interchange in Nanwan’s second phase, but compared to Plan A, which could proceed smoothly once the investment was secured, the remaining options were far from optimal.
Moreover, squeezing funds from one area to another inevitably affected the interests of everyone present, with even minor adjustments having widespread implications. The negotiations over the past few days had largely revolved around the distribution of benefits under the remaining plans.
In truth, Nanwan’s development prospects and return potential far exceeded those of Borui’s new energy project, but when it came to investment cycles and short-term returns, the latter held a clear advantage.
Someone suggested negotiating cooperation with Haichuan Capital, but the representatives from both the Cen and Ji families present seemed to disapprove of this idea.
—They were all too familiar with the head of Haichuan Capital’s Greater China region. Today’s situation was entirely orchestrated by Cen Yang himself, so what was the point of discussing "cooperation"?
After the meeting ended, Cen Sen checked the time and planned to return to Junyi to sign a few documents that needed to be issued before the New Year.
But Zhou Jiaheng suddenly called out to him from half a step behind, "Boss, there’s a phone call for you."Cen Sen paused and glanced back slightly.
Zhou Jiaheng stepped forward, handing the phone to Cen Sen before retreating silently to his original position. He cleared his throat softly and said, "It's from Haichuan... Mr. Cen Yang."
Cen Sen lowered his gaze to the caller ID and calmly answered the call.
On the other end, Cen Yang skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point. "The New Year is approaching. I've prepared some gifts for Grandpa, Grandma, Mom, Dad, and Xiao Shu. I'll send them to Nanqiao Hutong in a couple of days. I hope you don't mind, President Cen."
Cen Sen remained silent.
"Though it seems President Cen isn’t in the mood to mind right now. My apologies for what happened with Vincent."
Cen Yang’s voice was clear and gentle, yet when certain words were spoken in his resonant tone, it was often hard to tell whether he was being sarcastic or genuinely apologetic.
"There’s no need for Nanqiao Hutong. Send them directly to the cemetery, all for Mom," Cen Sen replied casually, as if discussing tomorrow’s weather. He then added with a hint of mockery, "Thank you, Mr. An Yang."
Zhou Jiaheng, whose survival instincts had been heightened lately, sat in the passenger seat and silently noted this new piece of information: from now on, he must not call him Cen Yang but An Yang. Yes, even President Cen referred to him as An Yang.
After Cen Sen’s remark, there was a long silence on the other end of the line. It was unclear whether the mention of "sending them to the cemetery" had stirred memories or if the name "An Yang" had struck a nerve.
Cen Sen didn’t seem to care much. He simply added, "I originally thought you wouldn’t stoop to targeting a woman. I overestimated you."
His voice grew colder as he spoke, the tail end of his tone rising slightly, laced with utter disdain and indifference. Without waiting for Cen Yang’s response, he promptly ended the call.
Those who navigate the business world never see anything as a mere coincidence. As soon as the unexpected incident with Vincent occurred, Cen Sen had already uncovered Cen Yang’s involvement behind the scenes.
On the surface, Ji Mingshu’s malicious editing seemed like Yan Yuexing and the production team picking a perfect day to dig their own graves.
But earlier, when Ji Mingshu had met with Cen Yang, she had inadvertently mentioned some incidents during her participation in the show, including occasional disrespect from the production team and unpleasant interactions with Yan Yuexing.
Cen Yang, being attentive, delved deeper into the matters she had casually mentioned. Before the show aired, he used some means to stir the pot. In the end, the production team and Yan Yuexing were left to shoulder the blame, while he remained untraceable, his hands clean.
His original intention was simply to stir up another conflict between Ji Mingshu and Cen Sen, much like Cen Yuanchao had done. He hadn’t expected Cen Sen to return to the country early because of it.
But when Cen Sen handed him the mistake, he saw no reason not to take advantage of it.
—He had never wanted to return to the Cen family, nor did he seek anything from them. But a family as cold-blooded as the Cens did not deserve a moment of peace, not now, not ever.
From the year Cen Sen declared it was "you or me"; from the year Cen Yuanchao sent him away without a word of explanation; from the moment Cen Yuanchao refused to lift a finger to help once he learned the blood in his veins wasn’t truly Cen blood.
The love he once held for this family had long since turned to hatred.
Whether Cen Yang’s gifts ended up at the cemetery or at Nanqiao Hutong, Cen Sen didn’t care. As long as Ji Mingshu didn’t receive them, that was all that mattered.Before New Year's Eve, Cen Sen and Ji Mingshu returned to Mingshui Mansion from their suburban villa in the outskirts of Beijing.
However, Cen Sen remained busy day after day. Ji Mingshu had tried several times to ask him about the project investment that Cen Yang had snatched away, but either he would suddenly receive a phone call and be interrupted, or she would inexplicably lose her nerve and change the subject.
No matter how she approached the question, it always seemed to circle back to one thing—why did you do this?
He could have handled everything before coming back... If Cen Sen had acted impulsively for her sake, she would feel somewhat guilty. But if Cen Sen had other plans and hadn’t acted impulsively for her, she wouldn’t be happy with that answer either. So she was tangled up in her thoughts, going around in circles, and never managed to ask.
During the New Year period, many socialites and young masters who had been developing their careers abroad would make time to return to the capital. The city was livelier than usual, with one gathering after another.
On the 29th, it happened to be Vivian’s birthday, so Ji Mingshu and Jiang Chun brought gifts to attend her birthday party.
Vivian was a girl who loved chasing celebrities. A decade ago, she had even lied to her driver to take her to the airport to greet a Korean oppa. Over the years, she had chased stars both domestic and international, and her interests were quite eclectic—painters, pianists, athletes, she followed them all. If not for objective limitations, she might have extended her fandom beyond borders and eras.
This resulted in a particularly eclectic birthday party. One moment, a rock singer would come on stage to hype up the crowd, the next, a pianist would perform a world-famous piece. There were also boy bands dancing and athletes showcasing freestyle football. The atmosphere was lively yet fragmented.
Noticing Ji Mingshu’s absent-mindedness, Jiang Chun asked while eating a small cake, "What’s wrong with you?"
Ji Mingshu rested her chin on her hand, sighed, and replied listlessly, "Nothing."
Jiang Chun casually guessed, "You’re not pregnant, are you?"
"What nonsense are you talking about..." Ji Mingshu gave her a look as if she were an idiot.
Jiang Chun still thought her guess was quite reasonable and cited the example of her recently pregnant sister-in-law, who had been suffering from loss of appetite and low spirits.
Ji Mingshu quickly stopped her and changed the subject. "Wait, let’s not talk about that. I want to ask you something. Have you ever prepared any gifts for Tang Zhizhou? Like, if you did something wrong to Tang Zhizhou, or if he was particularly tired or overworked, would you give him something or comfort him in some way..."
"What could I possibly do wrong to Tang Zhizhou? Wait, you didn’t do something wrong to Cen Sen, did you? Did you cheat on him? With that childhood friend of yours?"
Jiang Chun exclaimed loudly, her eyes wide, with cake smeared around her mouth without her even realizing it.
Ji Mingshu closed her eyes briefly, then grabbed a tissue and covered Jiang Chun’s face. She waved her hand, signaling this Little Earth Goose, who was clearly not on the same wavelength as her, to immediately switch to silent mode—to let her have some peace and quiet.
Jiang Chun fell silent, but the eclectic performances at the party didn’t. Seeing many people recording videos of the stage, Ji Mingshu, for some reason, also took out her phone and recorded a few short clips to send to Cen Sen.
After sending them, she carefully composed a message.Ji Mingshu: "I'm at a friend's birthday party. Are you having a tough time at the company? Want to watch a performance to relax a bit?"
Shortly after, Cen Sen replied: "The performance's level of appropriateness needs tightening."
She rewatched the video she had recorded—oh, it happened to capture the male idol lifting his shirt.
Ji Mingshu: "I can leave after we cut the cake here. Are you at the company? Do you want me to bring you a piece of cake? Or is there something else you'd like to eat? There's a soup restaurant nearby that I saw still open from the car when I came."
The chat interface showed "typing..." at the top several times, but no message ever came through. Ji Mingshu was a bit puzzled.
Cen Sen was even more puzzled than she was. For a grown man, perhaps the most dreaded thing is a wife's sudden concern.
After thinking for a while, he finally replied: "Did you exceed the limit on something you wanted to buy?"
OpenNovel