My Queen, My Rules - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The midsummer night was lashed by a torrential downpour. Lightning tore through layers of dark clouds, followed closely by the low, rumbling growl of thunder.

At the Imperial Art Academy—a venue designed in the style of a medieval cathedral—the stained-glass windows glowed with the warm, brilliant light spilling from within. Tonight, the fashion magazine Zero was hosting a charity gala to commemorate its tenth anniversary.

Before the dinner itself, there was a cocktail hour where guests either signed the exhibition board and posed for photos, or simply mingled and socialized.

In such an environment, if one wasn't laughing and chatting with people they knew well, it was inevitable to feel awkward and out of place.

Fortunately, Ji Mingshu never had to deal with such annoyances.

"Is Jiang Chun not coming tonight?"

"I suppose she isn't."

"That makes sense. After spending millions on a pile of junk, she’s probably not in the mood or has no heart for charity right now."

The voices of the young women were soft and gentle; if one didn't listen closely, they might truly believe these were expressions of concern and regret. The topic was dropped just as quickly as it had been raised. The young socialites exchanged glances and smiled in tacit agreement.

Ji Mingshu, surrounded at the center of the group, remained silent. Although she followed along with a light smile, it was clear she was unenthusiastic, perhaps even a bit distracted.

Seeing this, one woman seamlessly shifted the subject. "Mingshu, is this the dress you tried on in Paris a couple of days ago? It’s gorgeous."

"No, the one I tried in Paris was just a prototype. This one was commissioned during the Haute Couture week last autumn," Ji Mingshu replied.

Everyone there had their fair share of haute couture, and owning a few pieces wasn't a rarity, but evening gowns were expensive—often costing millions—and it was considered tacky to wear them repeatedly. Using a piece like this as a casual gala dress, as Ji Mingshu did, was simply too extravagant.

The women didn't bother hiding their envy, echoing her with compliments as they always did.

Ji Mingshu didn't know if she had even truly heard them; her expression remained indifferent. In the end, to save face for them, she drank half a glass of red wine, dropped a casual "Enjoy," and left with Gu Kaiyang, the soon-to-be editor-in-chief of Zero.

The moment Ji Mingshu left, the young socialites secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Tonight, Ji Mingshu was clearly not in the right state of mind—she hadn't shown interest in the gossip about Jiang Chun, nor had she reacted to the compliments about her dress. They couldn't figure out why she was so difficult to please.

"What are you thinking about? You actually had the patience to listen to those plastic flowers butter you up? Hurry up and help me watch the banquet hall. Tonight is a big day for your best friend. If that bitch Shi Qing dares to cause trouble in the hall, you’d better tear her apart for me!"

Gu Kaiyang wore a smile on her face, nodding frequently at guests as they walked toward the banquet hall. Her voice, released through lifted lips, was both lowered and flattened in tone.

Ji Mingshu raised an eyebrow. Before she could reply, a sudden commotion broke out behind them. Both women turned around in succession.

It was unclear which VIP had arrived, but the clicking of camera shutters at the entrance became frantic. Reporters who had been busy with other interviews abandoned their subjects and swarmed toward the exhibition board at the end of the red carpet, crowding into a tight mass.

Gu Kaiyang narrowed her eyes to identify the person. "Looks like Su Cheng has arrived. You keep an eye on this side; I’m going over."

She was quick to react; before she had even finished her sentence, she had already started walking.

Ji Mingshu watched the surging crowd from afar. She hadn't been paying much attention, but suddenly, through a gap in the crowd, she caught a glimpse of a figure next to Su Cheng—a figure both familiar and strange. Her spine went rigid in an instant.

As if sensing her gaze, the figure standing at Su Cheng’s side looked in her direction. Their gaze pierced through the dense crowd and the flashing white lights, seeming to carry the lingering chill of the rainy summer night—cold and distant.

A quarter of an hour later, the red-carpet photography and interviews in front of the board concluded, and the guests were ushered into the banquet hall to take their assigned seats.

The design and layout of tonight’s hall had been done by Ji Mingshu’s own hand.

The lights in the hall were like a waterfall, and a live band played Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G Minor. In the center of every table stood warm-jade white roses that had been air-freighted that very morning; the petals were fresh and full, with hints of delicate, warm pink at the edges. Waiters in vests and bow ties carried round trays, weaving through the room filled with the rustling of silks and the scent of perfume.

All this extravagance was just that—nothing more.

Gu Kaiyang’s earlier worries proved unnecessary. Once people learned that Ji Mingshu had personally curated the venue, those who had intended to cause a stir had long since abandoned the idea. Not a single hitch occurred until the group president took the stage to speak.

After the president finished, May, the editor-in-chief of Zero, took the stage.

May loved to talk about stale, inspirational platitudes, likely trying to pay homage to Miranda Priestly’s poise, but this time, her lecture was abruptly interrupted by news of an earthquake-like internal restructuring at the magazine.

The people present were all sharp, and when she cued the "new deputy editor-in-chief," everyone subconsciously looked toward Gu Kaiyang.

Gu Kaiyang stood up with the poise of a triumphant little white swan, her eyes and brows overflowing with irrepressible joy.

Some, however, only gave her a cursory glance before turning their attention to Ji Mingshu, who sat beside her—such as Su Cheng.

Su Cheng was forty-two this year, holding countless Best Actress trophies and having married into wealth three times over. Whether in the entertainment industry, the fashion world, or current high-society circles, she held significant weight.

She leaned her head slightly toward the man beside her, teasing him in the tone one might use to pry into a junior’s gossip. "Why aren't you with Mingshu? Having a spat?"

The man raised his eyes, gazing toward Ji Mingshu not far away. His fingertips tapped against the rim of his glass in a frequency that perfectly matched the movement of the platinum watch on his wrist.

After a long moment, he still hadn't responded. He seemed to be smiling, but the mirth didn't reach his eyes.

Su Cheng took his silence as affirmation and began to whisper advice to him on how to coax a woman.

He nodded, his gaze not retreating—

Two years had passed, but Ji Mingshu was still the same. Even when she was cold and expressionless, that face remained incomparably beautiful, losing none of its luster against the brilliance of the room full of stars.

The after-party following the gala was arranged as a charity auction, and the guests who stayed moved to a small hall on the other side.

"Lot number 029, a natural Tahitian black pearl and diamond necklace, donated by Ms. Su Cheng..."

The auctioneer was introducing the lot, but Ji Mingshu had already finished scanning the item list in the booklet.

She gave a soft, mocking scoff internally, guessing that someone was about to spend a fortune tonight just to win a smile from the actress.

The thought had barely crossed her mind when the auctioneer announced, "Starting bid, eight hundred thousand!"

"Eight hundred and fifty thousand!"

"Nine hundred thousand!"

"One million!"

The moment the words fell, the price refreshed rapidly.

When the bidding reached three million, quite a few people glanced toward the area behind and to the right of Ji Mingshu; some even began whispering to each other, despite the formality of the occasion.

Ji Mingshu didn't move. Without even turning her head, she could imagine the calm, collected way that person was repeatedly raising his paddle.

"Five million. We are at five million now."

"Five million going once, five million going twice, five million going three times!"

"Dong!"

The gavel fell with a dull, heavy thud.

"That necklace, five million...? Who is that man?"

A young starlet who had just entered the circle and was sitting at the end of the table noticed the absurdly high price and couldn't help but ask her manager.

"Cen Sen..." the manager muttered, lost in thought. "Why did he suddenly come back?"

The young girl was new to the world of fame and wealth; everything she saw and heard felt fresh. Catching the keyword, she pressed on, "That man is named Cen Sen? Is he very powerful?"

The rookie wasn't yet in a position to network with someone like Cen Sen, and the manager had only brought her along to gain some exposure. Too lazy to explain in depth, the manager just kept her head down, typing rapidly on her phone under the table to send the breaking news to other, more senior actresses under her wing.

There were not a few people at the scene who, like this manager, were busy spreading the news.

The heir of the Cen family from Jingjian had gone to Australia to open up overseas markets and hadn't been seen in the country for two years. His appearance at such an event without any warning, combined with his uncharacteristically high-profile behavior, seemed to be a signal—

The years-long civil war within Jingjian had ended.

If nothing went wrong, after tonight, there would be one more legendary figure for the people of the capital to talk about.

In fact, attending this charity gala hadn't been on Cen Sen’s schedule at all.

But he was a man who never left loose ends. Having agreed to accompany Su Cheng at the last minute, he showed the same patience he once had when attending events with his elders, even going so far as to bid on the pearl necklace that Su Cheng had donated—which was touted as one of her most cherished possessions.

A small auction hosted by a fashion magazine was usually just a venue for making a symbolic contribution, but Cen Sen’s aggressive bidding was an act of giving Su Cheng full face and substance.

Su Cheng smiled brightly. "When Old Pei is free, you and Mingshu should come to the house for dinner."

That was her way of accepting the favor.

When the auction ended, many eyes remained fixed on Cen Sen.

He remained seated in the dim light, loosening his Windsor knot, his legs crossed, leaning back.

There were many guests tonight, and since he and Su Cheng had arrived relatively late, many people didn't know he was there.

Now that they knew, those who recognized him naturally wanted to come forward to greet him, and those who didn't would create opportunities just to get acquainted.

Ji Mingshu sat in her seat, unmoved. Her gaze was fixed directly on the now-empty exhibition stage, her expression as cold as frost.

Gu Kaiyang watched, terrified. The thrill of defeating her class enemy and getting a promotion had long since faded into nothingness when Cen Sen repeatedly raised his paddle for Su Cheng’s pearl necklace.

She whispered, "When did your husband get back? Did you two fight?"

"No."

Ji Mingshu only answered the latter question, because as for the former, she didn't know the answer either.

She didn't know how much time had passed before a pair of black leather shoes walked slowly into her line of sight.

The style was familiar, the lacing unique. Almost the moment her eyes touched the leather, the image of their owner filled Ji Mingshu’s mind.

"Mingshu, let’s go home."

His voice was neither high nor low, plain and ordinary, giving Ji Mingshu the illusion that they were a normal married couple who saw each other every day.

"I drove here... I really..." Gu Kaiyang, wearing ten-centimeter stilettos, was being tugged outward by Ji Mingshu and was having trouble standing steady. "You guys can go home if you want, why drag me along? I don't need a ride..."

"You do."

Ji Mingshu glanced coldly at her, choking off the rest of her words.

Outside the Art Academy, the rain had just stopped. The night was so thick it lacked a single ray of light, and as the wind blew, it felt half-chilly and half-suffocatingly humid with the heat of summer.

The driver respectfully opened the passenger door.

Seeing that Cen Sen showed no signs of getting in there, Ji Mingshu stepped forward instinctively, but Cen Sen suddenly raised a hand to block her, looking toward Gu Kaiyang without a trace of emotion.

Gu Kaiyang shivered. She took quick, small steps forward, very self-consciously sitting in the front passenger seat and leaving the spacious back seat for the young couple.

"Um, just drop me at Xingang International, please. Thanks."

After giving the address to the driver, Gu Kaiyang stole a glance in the rearview mirror at the indifferent pair in the back.

—The two of them were staring straight ahead, ignoring each other, with enough distance between them in the middle of the seat to fit a two-hundred-pound man.

The Bentley entered the main road. For a full three minutes, there wasn't a sound in the car. Gu Kaiyang felt that if it stayed this quiet, all four of them might just suffocate to death.

She was just brewing a topic to break the silence when Boss Cen suddenly spoke up. "Congratulations on your promotion, Ms. Gu."

Gu Kaiyang followed her instincts and gave a dry laugh. "Thanks, thanks." She added a bit of professional flattery: "Long time no see, Mr. Cen. You were looking 'A-bursting' tonight, too."

Ji Mingshu rolled her eyes at her through the rearview mirror.

"A-bursting?" Cen Sen was unfamiliar with the new slang.

Before Gu Kaiyang could explain, Ji Mingshu interjected casually, "You can think you’re 'B-bursting' too, if you like.”