My Queen, My Rules - Chapter 12
Chapter 12
Between people, there may be trust; but Ji Mingshu felt that between her and Cen Sen, there was none.
Standing by the dining table, she watched Cen Sen eat with measured, unhurried movements. Her mind was entirely filled with the two words he had uttered before they went to bed: "Accept."
—Accept a bribe? And after accepting it, I’m not allowed to bring up the men's restroom again, right?
—Accept.
Smack, smack, smack!
After that "smack," he went on to slap her face. What a diligent, frugal, and moving model husband who is an inspiration to all of China.
Moreover, the way this husband acted like he was rightfully enjoying the fruits of his labor under her gaze was, quite frankly, stunningly beautiful. :)
Watching Cen Sen eat for a while, Ji Mingshu closed her eyes. She felt so angry that she could skip tomorrow’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Without saying a word, she ran back to the room, locked the door, and tossed and turned on the bed.
The sweet, lingering scent of intimacy still hung in the air. The more she tossed, the less she could sleep. No matter how she thought about it, she felt she had been thoroughly swindled out of a night of passion within their marriage.
Several scenes looped repeatedly in her mind. Finally, unable to sleep out of sheer fury, she suddenly climbed out of bed, intending to storm out and have a spectacular, earth-shattering confrontation with that "scumbag who hit-and-run" (after eating).
Unexpectedly, as soon as she pulled the door open, she bumped right into the "scumbag" standing at the threshold, holding a bowl of fresh, steaming pork rib noodles.
The color of the noodles and the small pork ribs was incredibly enticing, topped with delicate green onion slivers. Crucially, the aroma was divine.
Ji Mingshu stared at the pork rib noodles, swallowed her saliva, and said, never taking her eyes off them: "You really are a good person."
Ding! A "Good Person" card, issued.
She didn't bother to check what expression this "good person" had. She piously took the noodles, carried them all the way to her vanity, and even arranged her chair perfectly straight.
When Ji Mingshu ate, it was a pleasing sight. She took very small bites and remained completely silent throughout, not even making a single slurping sound.
One couldn't tell if this was her socialite cultivation being perfectly in place, or a perfect interpretation of the phrase: "With the 'fees' paid and in hand, cease all the bickering."
She slept quite soundly that night.
The next morning at eight o'clock, Zhou Jiaheng called right on time to provide the wake-up service for Cen Sen.
After hanging up the phone, Cen Sen lay in bed, slowly rubbing the bridge of his nose.
He remembered that when he was studying in the United States, whenever he had spare time, he would cook for himself in his apartment. Years of working had flown by; cooking late at night last night was actually his first time in a long while.
Once he fully regained his senses, he turned his head to look.
The light of the summer morning was dazzling, but Ji Mingshu didn't react at all; she was as quiet as a fried dough stick waiting to rise.
She didn't have very proper sleeping habits. Perhaps it was because the Ji family had found many tutors for her, but they forgot to find one to teach her how to sleep with the elegant posture of a socialite from a young age.
When they were first married, she could try her best to restrain herself and maintain a normal sleeping position, but it didn't take long for her to frequently reveal her true nature, especially after intimacy, when her defenses were at their lowest.
Just like now, she was clinging to Cen Sen’s arms like an octopus, her smooth, bare legs draped over his waist and abdomen.
Cen Sen was a normal man. Waking up in the morning to find such a beautiful woman with disheveled clothes and a provocative air hanging on him, it was difficult not to have a physical reaction.
Regrettably, there was no time.
He pulled the "octopus" off himself, his movements lacking any particular gentleness or pity.
Only, when he finally left, he paused for a moment and closed the blackout curtains.
In the past, when returning from abroad, Ji Mingshu would sleep for at most half a day to adjust to the jet lag. But this time, feeling both physically and mentally exhausted, she slept straight until six in the evening.
Her phone was filled with many missed calls and WeChat messages.
She glanced through them casually. There were multiple messages, including some from Jiang Chun, all asking if she was going to Second Young Master Zhang’s birthday party that night.
The Zhang family had two sons: the older one was Zhang Qi, and the younger one was Zhang Lin.
Zhang Qi was about the same age as Cen Sen and had already taken over many of the family's affairs. Their family was in tourism resource development, and they likely had a fair amount of business dealings with Cen Sen.
Zhang Lin was a "child born to old parents," pampered by the family and spoiled since childhood. Was he just turning twenty today? Ji Mingshu looked carefully, and indeed, it was twenty.
A milestone birthday.
Ji Mingshu scrolled down, found the invitation from Second Young Master Zhang, and sent an "OK" gesture.
Second Young Master Zhang replied quickly: "Thank you, Sister Shu, for gracing us with your presence!"
Second Young Master Zhang had been preparing for this birthday party for a long time. He was clever, too; he held the party at the pub he was just about to open, which was essentially a free advertisement for himself.
By the time Ji Mingshu arrived, the atmosphere in the pub was already heated. Zhang Lin had quite a bit of status; a circle of familiar faces from Beijing had mostly arrived, along with a bunch of internet celebrities and minor stars whose names she didn't know.
Ji Mingshu was personally escorted in by Second Young Master Zhang.
This young man hadn't learned much at his age, but he had mastered the skill of flattery to perfection. Standing at the door to welcome Ji Mingshu, he heaped praises upon her, calling her "sister" this and "sister" that so affectionately—it was a good thing he didn't have an actual older sister, or she probably would have been angered back into the womb by his glib tongue.
In these social situations, the host's attitude basically represented the guest's status. Among those present tonight, there were very few who could be greeted personally by Second Young Master Zhang.
Those who didn't know Ji Mingshu, seeing such obsequiousness from Second Young Master Zhang, naturally formed their own conclusions about her.
Once she sat down at the front, a group of "plastic sisters" who professionally buttered her up took over the baton from Second Young Master Zhang, their tongues wagging eloquently and their flattery ringing loud.
Ji Mingshu played along, saying she arrived late, proactively taking a drink, and chatting with them about the high-fashion week from a few days prior.
This was the world of paper-drunk, gold-dazed vanity that Ji Mingshu was most familiar with; naturally, she handled it with ease and dexterity.
Zhang Baoshu was here tonight as well. It had been over a month since she last accompanied First Young Master Zhang Qi to a business function.
In just this short month, Zhang Baoshu felt she had experienced more ups and downs than in her previous nineteen years.
The youth school-life web drama she filmed before graduating had been released. It had aired over twenty episodes on a video streaming site. While the word-of-mouth and data weren't "explosive," it wasn't completely invisible either.
At the very least, through the heroine’s fresh and natural persona, she easily gained over 500,000 followers.
Added to the data traffic the company bought for her, she was now a rising young star with over a million followers, and her Weibo posts received thousands of shares, likes, and comments.
To outsiders, all of this was just her having good luck—being able to easily make a name for herself upon entering the entertainment industry.
But she knew herself: every moment of glamor in front of others always came with a corresponding price behind the scenes.
That night, after being ruthlessly rejected by Cen Sen, her self-esteem crumbling inch by inch, she didn't even know what she was thinking, but she turned around and, in a daze, ended up in Young Master Zhang’s bed.
Young Master Zhang might have belittled her with his words, but his body was very honest when they were in bed.
Having stayed with him for three nights, the web drama she was pressured into could finally air; seniors under the same manager who knew she was with Young Master Zhang finally started looking at her seriously; and a satellite-channel drama for which she hadn't even been able to land a fourth-lead role actively extended an invitation for her to play the second lead.
Once a person has taken a shortcut and tasted the sensation of fame and fortune coming easily, it is very difficult to return to climbing step-by-step with one's feet on the ground. Zhang Baoshu was no exception.
Actually, she was more than happy for rumors about her and Young Master Zhang to spread outside. Unfortunately, Young Master Zhang didn't even leave her a contact number. Since those three days, the two had not met again.
It had only been a month; others wouldn't suspect anything yet. But if more time passed, others would naturally be able to tell that her relationship with Young Master Zhang was nowhere near close enough to use the word "follow."
Without Young Master Zhang, whether she could get more was a question, but regarding what she already had, she didn't know if she would have to spit it all back out.
By getting her manager to sneak her in today, Zhang Baoshu wanted to see if she could run into Young Master Zhang, relive their old acquaintance, and revisit their dreams.
Zhang Baoshu arrived early, her eyes following Second Young Master Zhang intentionally or unintentionally, thinking that for a younger brother’s birthday, the older brother would surely make an appearance. But she was met with disappointment time and again.
Just as the birthday party was about to start, Second Young Master Zhang exceptionally enthusiastically escorted someone in from outside. The lighting in the pub wasn't very bright. At first, she glanced over and thought he was being so enthusiastic to welcome his brother. But when she looked closely, she discovered it was a graceful woman, and she couldn't help feeling a surge of disappointment in her heart.
Amid the noise, she heard people nearby discussing:
"Who is that woman? Second Young Master Zhang is so attentive."
"I don't know, but the bag she’s carrying seems to be... a Himalayan Birkin?"
Someone added, "And the diamond-encrusted version at that."
Only then did Zhang Baoshu look carefully.
However, because they were far apart, she couldn't see the facial features clearly. She could only perceive that the woman’s aura was very special—even from afar, she looked vivid and moving, the kind of vividness that made it impossible for people to look away. Even a casual toss of her hair looked like a shampoo commercial.
"Don't look anymore. Not the same path," someone who knew Ji Mingshu said, pointing at the red sofa, "That kind of background."
Everyone understood instantly.
That person continued: "You know Junyi Huazhang, right? Her husband is the owner of the entire Junyi Group, and there’s deep background behind them too. Otherwise, what do you think Second Young Master Zhang is being so attentive for?"
Junyi?
Zhang Baoshu froze.
Cen Sen’s words from that night flashed through her mind: "In terms of looks, temperament, education, or background, there isn't a single thing that compares to my wife. You’d be better off splashing some water on your face and sobering up."
Is this his wife?
Zhang Baoshu didn't even realize her cat-eye manicured nails were digging deeply into the seams of the sofa.
The pub at night was naturally lively. Once everyone had arrived, Second Young Master Zhang, wearing a birthday hat and holding a microphone, made a speech on the stage. Following that, he presented a tone-deaf song to everyone, which was met with enthusiastic applause and laughter below.
Jiang Chun only arrived right before the cake was about to be cut. She didn't know whether she should go up and talk to Ji Mingshu, but unexpectedly, Ji Mingshu saw her, took the initiative to lift her chin toward her, and Jiang Chun naturally trotted over happily.
A group of "plastic sisters" had just finished a round of mocking Jiang Chun for being cheated on by Yan, and they were wondering why Ji Mingshu hadn't made a comment or even smiled. Seeing her call Jiang Chun over now, their expressions became even stranger.
Ji Mingshu, however, was quite open about it, even asking people to move aside and make room for Jiang Chun.
Jiang Chun felt an inexplicable sense of pride. She privately tugged at Ji Mingshu’s dress and whispered: "You, yesterday from the restroom..."
Ji Mingshu delivered a well-timed "please-shut-your-mic-and-get-amnesia-immediately" look.
Jiang Chun stopped mid-sentence and asked: "How is my outfit today?"
Ji Mingshu looked her up and down. Whether it was retaliation or not, she delivered a jab straight into Jiang Chun's heart.
"You’d better not dress up in the future, you little earth goose."
Jiang Chun: "..."
Why did she come here to seek humiliation?
When Ji Mingshu arrived, people paid attention to her; when Jiang Chun arrived, people naturally paid attention to her as well.
There were many minor stars and internet celebrities sitting near Zhang Baoshu. Among them was that "little white flower" who had been the "other woman" in Yan’s cheating scandal.
Seeing Jiang Chun enter, she acted as if nothing had happened, sighing to her friends that the Beijing circle was truly small, and feigned pretentiousness: "What should I do? That’s his ex-girlfriend. So awkward."
Her friend comforted her, "What’s there to be awkward about? Yan likes you. She shouldn't be so unable to handle this."
Soon, a few more people joined the topic.
With the "little white flower’s" status, being able to latch onto Yan naturally meant she had to show off well. These people were all secretly or openly flattering her.
The little white flower usually maintained her persona, acting timid and staying quiet, only adding softly at the critical moment: "Yan and she were only engaged because of family relations. She knows that Yan has a girlfriend outside, and she wanted to maintain the engagement in this form. Actually, it takes two to tango..."
Before she finished speaking, she suddenly felt a pair of glittering high heels step into her line of sight.
Before she could react, SMACK! A crisp, loud slap landed across her face, leaving her ears with a momentary ringing.
"Listen closely, does it take two to tango?”