My Queen, My Rules - Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"A transformation program?"

After hanging up the phone, Ji Mingshu was still reeling.

Was he implying that she was suitable to be sent off to some godforsaken corner of the world that hadn't even been connected to the internet yet, where she would slaughter pigs, plant vegetables, and herd cattle to undergo a "socialist transformation" for the new era?

Was he even human? How could he say something like that?

"Does he have to be so vicious just because I spent a little of his pocket change?"

"Why doesn't he go get transformed himself!"

Ji Mingshu was so angry she polished off three macarons in one go, her tone filled with the disbelief of someone thinking, To think such a cold-blooded, heartless man exists in this world.

Gu Kaiyang instinctively corrected her, "That was definitely more than just 'a little pocket change.'"

Ji Mingshu backhanded a macaron into her mouth, her eyes clearly saying: Just eat and shut up already.

Jiang Chun, unaware of the true nature of Ji Mingshu and Cen Sen's relationship, assumed this was just the playful bickering of a loving couple. Consequently, her focus remained entirely on the fact that Ji Mingshu had made the first move on the desserts.

She swallowed hard, keeping her composure while perfunctorily chiming in, "Calm down, calm down. Your husband must be joking. There's no way he'd actually let you go participate in some transformation show."

As she spoke, her small silver fork surreptitiously crept toward the tiramisu.

But before she could even touch it, Ji Mingshu slapped her "goose claw" away with a crisp smack and issued a second yellow card with her eyes.

Jiang Chun wilted, seething with resentment.

Perhaps because she had been suppressed too heavily by Ji Mingshu lately, she suddenly sat up straight the next second. It was as if she were possessed by Niohuru Xiaotu’e*, and her little mouth started firing off a barrage of sharp retorts.

"It’s not like the program would even want to invite you! You better not go—what did those poor farmers do to deserve you? You can't carry anything heavy, you can't lift a finger, you can't even tie your own shoelaces, and you expect to be transplanting rice seedlings? Oh my god, I’m scared that if a neighbor's kid ran up and touched your bag, you'd scream: 'Ah! Take your dirty hands off! This bag costs 1.2 million!'"

Ji Mingshu: "...?"

All this drama over a piece of tiramisu.

What had she done in a past life to deserve marrying such a man and having a friend like this?

Back home, Ji Mingshu remained unable to pull herself out of the cloud of Cen Sen's vicious criticism.

When she went to the bathroom, she realized her period had arrived. Feeling a faint sense of melancholy, she sank into the sofa and began to carefully reflect on Gu Kaiyang's earnest advice.

Actually, after the false alarm of the infidelity scandal last time, she had thought about it seriously: if there really came a day when she and Cen Sen reached the point of divorce, how would she continue her life?

Before marriage, the Ji family treated her well, but she didn't possess any actual equity or assets that could be easily liquidated.

After marriage, Cen Sen allowed her to spend freely, but they had signed a prenuptial agreement. If they divorced, she would get nothing—she would have to leave with absolutely nothing.

If this dog of a man were even crueler, she wouldn't even be able to take with her the luxury items she had spent so extravagantly on over the past few years.

Moreover, Ji Mingshu knew the current relationship between the Cen and Ji families better than Cen Sen did. If they truly divorced, the Ji family would be the first to panic.

Adding it all up, apart from the apartment in Bo Cui Tian Hua that was actually in her name, everything else could turn into thin air the second they divorced.

Thinking about all this, Ji Mingshu finally felt a tiny flicker of crisis.

However, she had been raised in the lap of luxury by the Ji family for the purpose of a political marriage; her awareness of how to earn her own keep was practically non-existent.

Add to that the fact that she had skipped the process and gone straight to the results, living the life of dizzying wealth and luxury that most people dreamed of—it was quite a tall order to expect her to suddenly feel dissatisfied with life and try to scrape together some "dream" to struggle for.

So, this little bit of crisis was not enough to awaken the sense of independence hidden away in some corner of her mind.

But—

The rebellious spirit in her bones was far stronger than any sense of independence.

After wallowing in sadness on the sofa for ten minutes, she imagined the faint sneer on Cen Sen's face when he told her to join the transformation program. Without hesitation, she grabbed her phone to reply to Meng Xiaowei and went upstairs to pack her luggage.

This wasn't the first time Ji Mingshu had done the exact opposite of what Cen Sen wanted, so when Cen Sen received confirmation that Ji Mingshu had signed up for the show while on his way to a business dinner, he wasn't surprised.

Zhou Jiaheng asked, "President Cen, should I have the production team swap her out?"

"No need," Cen Sen rubbed his temples. "Adjust the team roster and cancel the key focus filming. If she doesn't mention it herself, don't specifically inform the television station of her identity."

Zhou Jiaheng paused for a moment before saying, "Understood."

Junyi was the biggest financial backer of this interior design variety show.

To build hype for the designer hotel brand "Junyi Yaji" that the group was about to launch, the company had thrown a massive amount of money at Star City TV, intervening in everything from the show's title sponsorship to the flow of the program.

Furthermore, two of the up-and-coming designers on the show had already been scouted by Junyi to design for "Junyi Yaji" and were set to play major roles in the program.

Ji Mingshu, however, remained completely oblivious to all of this.

Half an hour later, the Bentley pulled up in front of "Feng Tang." Zhou Jiaheng got out first to open the door for Cen Sen.

Tonight's dinner was hard to decline; it was hosted by Director Chen, an old acquaintance of Cen Yuanzhao. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Director Chen was playing matchmaker to secure investment for a film and television project.

As soon as he got out of the car, a waitress dressed in a qipao with her hair in a bun guided Cen Sen inside.

They were led to a private room on the third floor. Just as the waitress pushed open the sliding door, Zhou Jiaheng received the latest news that Ji Mingshu had departed for Star City.

He followed behind Cen Sen and reported in a low voice.

Cen Sen listened, only realizing once he entered the room that there was an old face sitting at the table.

Li Wenyin was wearing a sleeveless, gray turtleneck sweater dress today, simple stud earrings, and her hair was tied in a low ponytail. Her brows and eyes were faint and delicate, and her lipstick was a subtle, watery pink.

From a distance, she exuded the aura of an artistic, highly educated woman.

Li Wenyin didn't seem surprised by Cen Sen's arrival, nor did her expression waver. She only raised her wine glass to toast him when Director Chen made the introductions.

"Little Li just returned from further studies in France; she is a very talented young director. The project she's currently preparing has a great theme—sunny, positive, and uplifting! It’s a distinct departure from those subjects that focus on the dark side of youth!"

"Ah Sen, doesn't your group invest in and participate in some film and television projects now? If you're interested, you should support a young, talented, and visionary director like Little Li!"

"Come, come, Little Li, go toast President Cen. President Cen is one of the most promising young men in this city!"

Li Wenyin offered a toast, and Cen Sen clinked his glass lightly against hers. However, he didn't drink. After the touch, he set his glass down and skillfully steered the conversation toward a different topic with Director Chen.

By the time the dinner ended, Cen Sen hadn't exchanged a single unnecessary word with Li Wenyin.

There was a period in his life when he had been fond of girls like Li Wenyin, who were the complete opposite of Ji Mingshu. But he had always been indifferent toward romance. They had dated for three months after high school, and today, he couldn't even recall any of the details.

The night was deep and dark. As Cen Sen walked out of the club, he had Zhou Jiaheng confirm the location of the hotel where Ji Mingshu was staying.

There were still matters in the capital that required Zhou Jiaheng to stay behind, so he would only be accompanied by bodyguards on the trip to Star City tonight.

"Cen Sen."

A familiar female voice called out from behind.

Cen Sen paused his footsteps and looked back.

During the dinner, Li Wenyin had been sitting down, so only her upper body was visible. Now that she was standing, her figure looked graceful and her temperament elegant.

She walked slowly toward him, smiled faintly, and reached out a hand. "Long time no see."

Cen Sen said coolly, "Long time no see."

Seeing that Cen Sen had no intention of shaking her hand, Li Wenyin tilted her head and retracted her hand with a casual grace.

Soon, she admitted candidly, "Actually, I knew yesterday that you would be coming to this dinner party. But since we're all out here in the world trying to make a living, in order to get some investment, I had no choice but to 'recommend the worthy without avoiding the ex.' I hope you don't mind."

Her voice was the same as ever—gentle yet with a touch of spontaneous playfulness—and her sense of decorum was pitch-perfect.

Li Wenyin knew that Cen Sen was a cold-hearted man. But they were exes, after all, and their breakup hadn't been an ugly, spiteful affair. She had expected that, at the very least, she could get a "no problem" out of him.

But the moment she finished speaking, she heard Cen Sen reply without a moment's hesitation: "I do mind."

Upon saying those three words, not only Li Wenyin but even Cen Sen himself paused subconsciously.

This scene felt familiar. It seemed as though, not long ago, he had said the exact same words to another girl outside a different club.

There was another sentence that followed—how did it go again? He seemed to have complimented Ji Mingshu back then, and he had done so quite excessively, too.

Cen Sen's momentary lapse into thought was interpreted completely differently in Li Wenyin's eyes.

She had met someone so stunning in her youth that she found it difficult to truly give up on the person she had liked all these years. Even though he was married, that obsession had never faded from her heart.

Was his "mind" because... he shared the same feelings she did?

Just as Li Wenyin was about to say something else, Zhou Jiaheng, who had similarly misunderstood the situation, let out an inappropriate, soft cough.

Cen Sen snapped back to reality. Remembering the late hour, he said coldly, "Film investment is not Junyi's primary business. But since Director Chen personally recommended you, I can let you go through the process with Huazhang Holdings. However, film projects have become increasingly difficult to handle in the last two years, and the risk is high. The company requires precise risk control assessments; whether or not we invest is not a decision I can make alone. Sorry, I have other plans, so I won't be accompanying you any further."

On the way to the airport, Zhou Jiaheng immediately admitted his mistake. "I apologize, President Cen."

Regardless of whether Cen Sen still had feelings for his ex-girlfriend or otherwise, as an assistant, he shouldn't have interrupted.

"It's fine."

Cen Sen didn't take it to heart and moved on to discuss a few work-related matters with him.

It was 2:00 AM when they arrived in Star City. The entire city was silent. Cen Sen went straight to the Junyi Huazhang hotel where Ji Mingshu was staying.

The front desk had prepared a room key for him well in advance. As he ascended to the top-floor suite, the room was bathed in a warm, yellow light, but Ji Mingshu was nowhere to be found.

After a good while, he heard a faint moan coming from the other side of the bed.

He walked over and saw Ji Mingshu lying on the carpet beside the bed, curled up into a little shrimp.

Ji Mingshu had arrived in Star City after ten. After washing up and going to bed, her stomach had started to ache. She had ordered room service, but even after drinking a large cup of ginger brown sugar tea, it hadn't helped.

By now, the worst of the pain had passed, but she had no strength left to get up.

As she drifted in and out of sleep, she saw a blurry, familiar figure. She thought she was dreaming of the "PG-13" gentle version of Cen Sen again. She didn't know why, but she suddenly felt incredibly aggrieved. She reached out her hands upward and, acting like a spoiled child, said, "Hug me."