At first glance at the notebook with its neatly categorized one-two-three-four list, Ji Mingshu instinctively thought it was Cen Sen’s work plan. It wasn’t until she caught sight of her own name that she realized what it was and took a closer look.
After reading it, she was stunned for quite a while.
How should I put it? It was so meticulous… so meticulous that she couldn’t help but recall the trembling and helplessness she felt back in her student days when writing papers.
The stylist had already come upstairs and politely knocked on the door from outside.
Ji Mingshu took a moment to compose herself, set the notebook aside, and went to open the door.
The afternoon event was an outdoor tea party. Although the invitation didn’t specify a dress code, it was customary to wear the brand’s latest collections from the past two years to be polite and appropriate.
Ji Mingshu chose a dark green fringed dress, and the stylist agreed it was suitable. However, since the dress was designed to be put on from the top down, the stylist suggested Ji Mingshu change first before doing her hair and makeup.
Those in the styling and makeup industry are masters of flattery, making compliments and praise sound natural and sincere.
Moreover, they often work with celebrities and socialites, so they know plenty of gossip and rumors. During the hours spent on hair and makeup, as long as you’re willing to listen, they’ll never let you get bored.
At the moment, the stylist was recounting how the female lead of a recent blockbuster movie had snapped at her assistant and acted arrogantly toward the organizers while getting styled a few days ago.
Ji Mingshu occasionally responded with “mm-hmm” or “ah,” letting the gossip go in one ear and out the other. All the while, she kept fiddling with Cen Sen’s little notebook.
Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, she opened the notebook, picked up a brow pencil, and wrote something inside.
“Darling, what are you writing?” the stylist glanced over but couldn’t make it out, asking curiously.
“Nothing,” Ji Mingshu replied, closing the notebook on her own after writing. She looked up at the mirror, tilted her head slightly, and pointed to her hair, saying, “I think this side could be a bit looser. It’s tied too tightly.”
The stylist followed her gaze and used the fine end of a comb to adjust it. “Still too tight?”
“Mm, that’s better now.”
Relieved, the stylist tactfully didn’t press further and continued sharing gossip about the female lead.
Ji Mingshu wasn’t foolish. If someone could gossip about others to you today, they could gossip about you to others tomorrow.
But she couldn’t resist the urge to share her “treasure husband.” After much deliberation, she decided to force Jiang Chun and Gu Kaiyang to listen.
Jiang Chun: [?]
Jiang Chun: [I suspect this is just showing off.]
Jiang Chun: [Cold dog food slapping me in the face.jpg]
Gu Kaiyang: [What did I do wrong?]
Jiang Chun: [What did I do wrong?]
Ji Mingshu said pretentiously: [He can remember phone numbers after hearing them just once, so why bother writing all this down, and in such detail? Ugh, I’m feeling a bit… mixed emotions right now.]
Gu Kaiyang: [Alright, no need to say more. We get how much he values you. /smile]
Gu Kaiyang: [Our formidable, brilliant-minded CEO Cen has lowered his IQ for love, meticulously planning out date details in a notebook. Awsl! What a cold yet adorable man!]
Gu Kaiyang: [Woman, are you satisfied now?.jpg]
Satisfied, very satisfied.
Ji Mingshu couldn’t help but chuckle to herself.
Jiang Chun: [Though it’s sweet but—]
Jiang Chun: [Isn’t it “mixed emotions” instead of “mixed grains”? I think it’s tvt]
Jiang Chun: [Top of the class in nitpicking.jpg]Jiang Chun: [Hiding under a pot lid.jpg]
Ji Mingshu: [...]
Ji Mingshu: [Alright, top student, you can shut up now.]
The daily bickering among the Goose, Sparrow, and Swan trio continued all the way until the brand event.
Jiang Chun hadn’t planned to attend because she’d long known her ex-fiancé and the little white lotus would also be there today. It had been a while since she’d seen those shameless two, and she wasn’t sure if she could keep her temper in check.
However, Gu Kaiyang and Ji Mingshu both insisted on backing her up. Plus, most of the socialites at the event were Ji Mingshu’s fake friends, so even if things got messy, she definitely wouldn’t be the one at a disadvantage.
With that thought, she felt at ease coming after all. Besides, Yan Zai would also make an appearance today, and it had been so long since she’d had the chance to admire his exquisitely handsome, cold, and heartless face at an event. She really missed it a little.
The event venue featured twelve small fountains, a young, perfect-looking couple playing a piano duet in front of a large white triangle, a spiral staircase-shaped dessert table with copper-edged glass, celebrities posing for photos and signing autographs in front of display boards, and interviews. The air was filled with the scent of perfume, the rustle of fine fabrics, and clusters of fresh flowers.
"What are you scared of? It wasn’t you who cheated, and that slap back then was from me anyway, so it has nothing to do with you."
Ji Mingshu quietly encouraged Jiang Chun in a low, flat voice while maintaining a charming, smiling facade, occasionally raising her glass to greet acquaintances from afar.
Jiang Chun: "I know, it’s just a bit awkward."
"Why should you feel awkward when he’s the one who shouldn’t? Besides, you’re engaged to Tang Zhizhou now. Isn’t it better for everyone to just live their own lives?"
Ji Mingshu set down her glass, turned her back to the crowd, and launched into a detailed analysis, even giving Jiang Chun a heads-up on how to handle things if a messy situation arose.
But just as she was explaining everything so logically, someone behind her called out with interest, "Hey, Ji Mingshu?"
She paused slightly and turned to look.
Perhaps due to her sparrow-like brain’s limited memory, the person in front of her looked somewhat familiar, but she couldn’t quite place who it was.
No matter, the newcomer soon introduced himself in an attempt to jog her dormant memory. "I’m Zhou Zhen."
"..."
Ji Mingshu finally remembered. As it came back to her, a polite yet slightly awkward smile appeared on her face. "Long time no see."
Jiang Chun gave her a questioning look.
She briefly introduced, "Zhou Zhen, my high school senior."
Zhou Zhen raised an eyebrow slightly, seemingly dissatisfied with her introduction.
But aside from calling him a high school senior, Ji Mingshu really didn’t know what extra information to provide. Should she add a modifier: the high school senior who almost became my first love?
She wasn’t good at catching up and had no desire to do so. Without even introducing Jiang Chun to Zhou Zhen, she politely nodded, picked up her glass again, and continued drinking.
The atmosphere grew a bit awkward.
High school was six or seven years ago, and there really weren’t any lingering grudges that couldn’t be let go. If it were any other old classmate with no complicated history, she might have patiently chatted about the past. But Li Wenyin wasn’t in that category, and neither was Zhou Zhen.
No particular reason—Zhou Zhen was simply the senior she’d once had feelings for, only to see him happily chatting and laughing with Li Wenyin in the cafeteria just a couple of days later.Back then, Li Wenyin had clearly approached Zhou Zhen just to spite her. As the bit of goodwill she’d felt from appreciating his looks gradually faded, Li Wenyin also quickly disappeared from his side. By the time they entered their second year of high school, she had officially started dating Cen Sen, who had already graduated.
At that time, Li Wenyin was riding high, but Ji Mingshu couldn’t muster any enthusiasm for anything.
It was also around then that Zhou Zhen, who previously had little interaction with Ji Mingshu, heard from her roommate that she had once had a bit of a crush on him. He then actively reappeared in her life, frequently sending signals that he was pursuing her.
He was, after all, a handsome guy. Ji Mingshu didn’t immediately agree, but she didn’t outright reject him either.
Later, during winter break, she went out with friends a couple of times and thought this guy wasn’t bad. She had even considered giving dating a try. But who would have thought this seemingly slow-to-warm-up, shy guy turned out to be a player? Not only did he have a small pond of fish, but he was managing all seven oceans.
Back then, WeChat wasn’t popular yet, but according to his roommate’s revelation, he could simultaneously handle five conversations on QQ alone. He could watch the same Harry Potter movie with six different girls.
Ji Mingshu really got an eye-opener.
Naturally, she rejected his subsequent confession.
Having nearly been emotionally deceived by this player, Ji Mingshu felt quite embarrassed. For many years after, she never mentioned this fortunately-not-even-started first crush to anyone.
Now, encountering an old acquaintance and reminiscing about the past, Ji Mingshu clearly had no desire to engage.
But this particular old acquaintance, Zhou Zhen, wasn’t very tactful. Despite Ji Mingshu’s clear disinterest, he stubbornly stood there, insisting on chatting with her. He brought up their past ambiguity, thinking it was just right, then smoothly shifted the conversation to talk about his career development abroad after graduation. His tone carried a sense of superiority, as if he felt he was doing quite well, and there was an inexplicable air of wanting Ji Mingshu to regret her past rejection, a sort of triumphant vindication.
Ji Mingshu listened politely for a while and was just about to interrupt when suddenly a woman walked over. She linked arms with Zhou Zhen in a gesture of staking her claim, affectionately calling out, "A Zhen."" Then, she gave Ji Mingshu a not-so-friendly once-over.
Her pronunciation of "A Zhen" wasn’t quite standard; she was probably an ABC.
Ji Mingshu glanced at the woman’s fringed dress, which was the same style as hers but in a different color, then indifferently lowered her eyes and swirled her red wine.
This ABC quickly noticed Ji Mingshu’s dress too, and her expression soured.
She had wanted to buy the dark green version of this dress back then, but it was out of stock everywhere. She had been unhappy for days before finally settling for the white one.
Little Earth Goose, observing the drama from the sidelines without speaking, pulled out her phone and typed a line for Ji Mingshu to see: [Wearing the same outfit isn’t scary; the awkward one is whoever looks worse.]
Ji Mingshu pursed her lips.
"And who are these two?" the ABC asked, looking at them and then at Zhou Zhen.
Zhou Zhen wasn’t embarrassed at all. He briefly introduced them to her, then introduced the ABC to Ji Mingshu as his fiancée, deliberately or inadvertently mentioning a bit about her background.
Ji Mingshu smiled and said, "Oh."
These two, perhaps because they had just returned to the country and weren’t clear about the social circles here or for some other reason, just stood there in front of Ji Mingshu, not leaving.
One kept implying how well he was doing now and how she had missed out by not dating him back then. The other, probably suffering from boyfriend-stealing syndrome, clung tightly to her player boyfriend, asserting her official girlfriend status.Ji Mingshu was growing impatient and shot Jiang Chun a look.
Jiang Chun caught on immediately, suddenly chiming in with ABC's fiancée's words and exclaiming, "Planning to go to Norway for your honeymoon? That's so romantic! I've never even seen the Northern Lights."
ABC smiled contentedly and exchanged a few polite words.
Jiang Chun then turned to Ji Mingshu. "Hey, how's the paperwork coming along for that island your husband bought you? You promised to take me to see the Northern Lights—can we just take that big yacht your husband bought and go straight there?"
Zhou Zhen and his fiancée both paused slightly.
Jiang Chun acted as if she hadn't noticed, praising Cen Sen as if he were her own husband rather than Ji Mingshu's, with such genuine and extravagant admiration.
"...By the way, when is your husband picking you up today?"
"Ah, Mingshu really is lucky. Whenever her husband has free time, he comes to see her and even cooks for her."
Ji Mingshu discreetly pinched her, signaling her to stop before things went too far. Wouldn't it be awkward if the event ended and they had to leave together with no one coming to pick her up?
But as she looked up, she saw the "perfect man" Jiang Chun had been raving about—someone she almost didn't recognize anymore—standing not far away, gazing deeply at her.
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