My Queen, My Rules - Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Approaching lunchtime, Cen Sen had Zhou Jiaheng book a nearby restaurant.

Ji Mingshu didn't really want to go; she always had a terrible appetite whenever she ate out with Cen Sen.

Because Cen Sen didn't like to talk while eating, and although he appeared methodical, his actual pace of eating was very fast.

After he finished, he would just sit across from you, watching you while occasionally glancing at his watch. It felt just like the days in school when the proctor would stand in front of you, saying, "Just write something and turn it in; five minutes left, three minutes left, one last minute." Who could stand that?

However, having just made a fool of herself and having accepted the bribe of the bracelet, she couldn't well afford to snub the face of this "cheap husband." She had no choice but to feign a look of delight and agreement.

Cen Sen still had a bit of work to finish, and Ji Mingshu was uncharacteristically generous in her understanding. "Go ahead, it doesn't matter. I can wander around this floor on my own."

Cen Sen: "Then let Zhou Jiaheng take you. If you need anything, you can go to him."

Ji Mingshu made an "OK" gesture, then looked over Cen Sen toward the desk.

That divorce agreement she had slammed down onto his head was still lying quietly on the desktop.

She slipped over to the desk first, snatched it away as if nothing had happened, hid it behind her back, and then briskly left the office.

Thankfully, when she had slammed it down, Cen Sen hadn't even cast a glance at the paper. Even though she hadn't studied law, she could tell just how informal and pitifully flimsy this divorce agreement, downloaded from the internet, really was. If Cen Sen had seen it, there was no telling how he would have used it to mock her.

Across from Cen Sen's office was the Assistant Office. The Assistant Office was designed with two walls and a circular glass enclosure, creating a transparent design where all workstations faced the President's office.

As soon as Ji Mingshu emerged, the assistants in the office noticed her immediately. In silent unison, they stood up and nodded at her.

Ji Mingshu paused slightly, turned her head, and asked Zhou Jiaheng: "Are these all President Cen's assistants?"

She counted silently; there were nine in total, which meant there were ten including Zhou Jiaheng. Did he need so many assistants? Was he incapable of taking care of himself?

"Yes," Zhou Jiaheng nodded.

He led Ji Mingshu inside and introduced them one by one: "These two are President Cen’s translation assistants; Assistant Luo is fluent in four languages, and Assistant Wang comes from the College of Advanced Translation. Assistant Li is mainly responsible for liaising between President Cen and the Group's overseas departments, and Assistant Huang is currently in charge of the interface between President Cen, the internal group, and Jingjian..."

"..."

"The division of labor is truly meticulous."

Ji Mingshu had no work experience and didn't really understand those specific functions. She was almost dizzy, but after listening, she feigned comprehension and commented, "Meticulous." Then she added, "You all are busy, don't worry about me. Everyone... hard work."

The assistants bowed in unison again.

Ji Mingshu almost thought they were about to shout, "At the President's service," and instinctively took a half-step back.

Come to think of it, as the President's wife, she had visited the group's subsidiary hotels often, but this was truly her first time stepping foot into the headquarters.

By the time lunch arrived, she and Cen Sen left the group building hand-in-hand, appearing like a loving couple under the watchful eyes of the employees.

At the same time, gossip was spreading within the group.

"The President's wife is actually quite beautiful."

"Quite??? I disagree with your quantifier!"

"The observant me has already discovered that when the President's wife came down, she had an extra diamond bracelet on her hand, heh heh."

"? Sis, you are truly a wolf."

"Sis, you are so meticulous, do you want to come to our janitorial department to wipe some dust?"

"Couple's affection: Verified."

While Ji Mingshu and Cen Sen, this plastic couple, had reconciled, Zhang Baoshu was in big trouble because of the exposure.

"Please believe me, this really was just a misunderstanding. I don't know why it suddenly..."

Zhang Qi interrupted impatiently, "Stop putting on an act in front of me. Don't you know how much you weigh? You dare to play me! I'm telling you, if you dare to hover in front of me again, I won't let you off easy!"

"I..."

Before Zhang Baoshu could say anything else, Zhang Qi hung up the phone.

She clutched her phone, her lips pale, and sat on the sofa trembling all over.

In fact, it was just a moment of bad judgment on her part. She had wanted to use her relationship with Zhang Qi to cultivate a persona as a low-key, wealthy woman whose boyfriend had a deep, powerful background.

She thought that since there was so much news out there, plus their passing affair, Zhang Qi wouldn't go to the trouble of causing her problems over a dubious press release.

Who would have thought that at the banquet the night she first met him, a reporter had received inside information from the club and gone to stake out a story about another actress. The actress didn't show up, but they coincidentally snapped photos of her and Cen Sen.

She had an idea and simply had the reporter swap the photos in the press release with Cen Sen, keeping the text and video the same.

That way, she could find someone to hype it up later and post an exposé claiming the person in the photo wasn't Zhang Qi, but the "Crown Prince" of Jingjian with an even deeper background.

Her thought was that even if Cen Sen came looking for trouble, she could feign ignorance and distance herself, claiming it was just a reporter's mistake and that she only had that relationship with Zhang Qi.

But she hadn't expected that Cen Sen couldn't even be bothered to look for her; he went straight to Zhang Qi, disrupting the cooperation between the two families, which directly led to Zhang Qi coming for her.

Her mind went blank; she was both lost and panicked.

At noon, there were few customers in the French restaurant near the CBD. Gentle notes danced in the air, and waiters moved back and forth in silence.

Today's main course was French roasted veal chops and sautéed mushrooms. Once the waiter left, Ji Mingshu continued to repeat the question from earlier: "Then why did you smile at her?"

In the office, she had been distracted and forgotten the details, but now, sitting in the restaurant, she suddenly remembered that rare smile Cen Sen had given in the photo.

It was strange, too—he was completely cold in front of his own wife, not even revealing a hint of warmth after they finished in bed, yet he smiled quite happily at that Z-list celebrity.

At the thought of this, Ji Mingshu lost her appetite. She thought about it from every angle, and still, she asked.

Cen Sen swirled his red wine glass and gave her a deep look: "I wasn't smiling at her."

Was he smiling at a sprite, then?

This "dog man" only said half of what he meant and went back to eating on his own, with no intention of explaining further. Ji Mingshu was confused and, unable to help herself, checked the stolen photo again.

In the picture where he was smiling, Cen Sen's gaze seemed to be looking downward.

She calculated it secretly; following his line of sight, it landed on Zhang Baoshu's bag.

That bag...

Even Cen Sen, a man who didn't care much about women's attire, could recognize it at a glance; how could Ji Mingshu, who had been immersed in luxury brands since childhood, be any less sharp?

She immediately remembered her glorious achievements, including the time she used her bag to bash Cen Sen's head in, declaring she would kill him, the "pervert."

After a moment of silence, she put down her phone, picked up her knife and fork, and said as if nothing had happened: "This French food is quite authentic. The steak is good."

Cen Sen gave her a faint glance but didn't respond.

As usual, this meal was another agonizing experience of having a proctor sitting in front of you, urging you to turn in your test paper.

Just when Ji Mingshu couldn't take it anymore and wanted to tell Cen Sen to gouge his own eyes out and stop staring at her while she ate, Cen Sen suddenly asked: "Jiang Che and Zhao Yang are returning to Beijing in two days. They’ll be gathering at Yonghui. Are you going?"

Ji Mingshu looked up: "Why would I go?"

"As you wish."

"..."

"Is that an attitude for inviting someone? If you don't want me to go, then don't ask. Do you not want me to go? Well, now I'm definitely going."

Ji Mingshu had gotten a little temperamental.

Cen Sen rubbed his brow bone, once again feeling the serious communication difficulty he had with this wife whose brain seemed to have short-circuited.

He didn't say anything more and only said: "I'll send someone to pick you up then."

Jiang Che, Zhao Yang, and Shu Yang were boys of the same age in the compound as Cen Sen. After Cen Sen returned to Nanqiao Hutong, they slowly started hanging out, went to school together later on, and could be considered childhood friends with a decade or two of history.

Naturally, Ji Mingshu knew them, but she had been isolating Cen Sen with her little friends since she was small, and she didn't have much affection for the group he hung out with. Every time she met them at school, she would greet them with cold huffs, eye rolls, and the popping of chewing gum bubbles.

Of course, this was only from Ji Mingshu's one-sided disdain. The boys were all older than her, and they viewed her like a spoiled little sister; they would even tease her when they had nothing better to do.

Actually, when news of Ji Mingshu and Cen Sen's marriage suddenly broke, this group of friends had been wide-eyed with shock. They straight-up admired their brother for his daring—not being afraid of death and having enough wealth to marry any little girl—and even felt a hint of sympathy.

In the "Nanke Yimeng" private room at Yonghui, a warm, yellow square lamp shone diagonally from behind a semi-obscured folding screen. Jiang Che lit a cigarette; the scarlet ember was just a fine line, flickering in and out.

After lighting it, he pushed the cigarette case toward Cen Sen, but Cen Sen didn't take one.

Zhao Yang was now dressed up like a gentleman working as a doctor; he didn't smoke that stuff on a daily basis.

Shu Yang, on the other hand, gestured with his chin to his new girlfriend, signaling her to go and get one for him.

Zhao Yang and Shu Yang were always the noisy ones, especially Shu Yang, who would usually call a few "princesses" to liven things up. Today, he had heard that Ji Mingshu was coming, so he didn't dare call any trashy women. Otherwise, the young Miss Ji would probably have splashed him with a drink, cursed him for lowering her status, and scolded him for not being worthy of sharing the "Shu" character with her.

Cen Sen was a person who liked quiet; he couldn't participate in rowdy things, so he usually communicated more with Jiang Che.

Moreover, the two had shared financial investment projects, and when they got together, they mostly talked about work.

At this moment, several people were sitting in front of a square table, playing poker and chatting. Every time Cen Sen and Jiang Che opened their mouths, they used financial terms, which Shu Yang found unbearable.

Shu Yang: "I'm telling you two, it's hard enough for us to get together. Can you not keep talking about your miscellaneous projects?"

"Especially you, Brother Sen. You say you earn so much money, doesn't it all get spent by that woman, Ji Mingshu? I'm telling you, no matter how much you have, she can spend that much; she’ll never think it’s too much. Are you expecting her to manage the household frugally and help you save money for several generations of wealth? I advise you not to push yourself so hard. While you're alive, be good to yourself, alright?"

Zhao Yang glanced at the time and asked Cen Sen: "Brother Sen, why hasn't your wife arrived yet?"

Before Cen Sen could answer, Shu Yang spoke up for him directly: "Does that even need asking? Can the young Miss Ji go out without three or five hours of primping and dressing?"

Zhao Yang and Jiang Che both chuckled softly, showing silent agreement with his answer.

Shu Yang had drunk some alcohol and was getting a bit carried away. He continued with his grandiose theories: "Brother Sen, do you know what you are? This is called earning the most money and keeping the most expensive canary!"

"I'm more economical. I don't need to earn that much money. It's not like you're keeping a bird or a vase, you know? Ordinary is just fine. I can change one every day; I won't have a repeat for years!"

He became more and more proud the more he talked, his mouth flapping away, unable to stop.

Cen Sen was holding his poker hand. Inadvertently, he caught a glimpse of sparkling high heels behind the screen and looked up at Shu Yang.

Jiang Che also flicked his cigarette ash, gave a light cough, and picked up the iced whiskey on the table.

But Shu Yang didn't understand their warning; he still wanted to step on the landmines buried in the ground one by one, very happily. "Oh, that's right, Brother Sen. Li Wenyin has finished her studies. I'm afraid she'll be returning to the country soon. Did you know?"

Jiang Che had been faking a cough just a second ago, but this time he was genuinely choked.

Zhao Yang could already feel the dangerous atmosphere in the air.

"If you ask me, Li Wenyin is quite pretty, and that artsy vibe is really quite unique. Plus, she works in the arts; she's not extravagant!"

As he went on, strangely, he finally felt something was wrong. This wrongness stemmed from the fact that the hairs on the back of his neck were actually standing straight up on their own.

After about two seconds of pause, his pitch suddenly rose: "But! A man earns money to give to women. Just like Brother Sen! I actually really envy Brother Sen for having a woman who knows how to spend money to help him spend it!"

"Xiao Shu has such great taste, such a great figure, and looks so beautiful. You all tell me, can you find a second one in all of Beijing? She’s one of a kind in the Four-Nine City! Bringing her out is truly a huge boost to one's reputation! Isn't this the value of a man's existence? You all tell me, how did Brother Sen get such good fortune to marry a wife who looks like a fairy like this?!"