My Queen, My Rules - Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Outside the window, the honey-colored sunset dipped lower and lower. Cen Sen stood before the hospital bed, his silhouette stretching longer and longer across the floor.

Ji Mingshu was stunned for a few seconds. Once the meaning of those two words sank in, her heart—which had been dangling on the edge of a cliff—was suddenly pulled back, and her icy hands and feet began to warm up.

However, looking at Cen Sen's expression again, she couldn't help but feel a lingering sense of condescending mockery.

She silently pulled the blanket higher, wishing to hide her head.

But since one hand was still hooked up to an IV drip, the edge of the blanket caught on the tubing, which in turn tugged at the needle. Her attempt to turtle down failed, and she couldn't help but hiss in pain, drawing a sharp breath.

Cen Sen watched her quietly, his expression distant. Seeing that she couldn't untangle the IV line after a long while, he stepped forward to pull back the blanket and steady the IV stand. Then, without any sense of urgency, he pressed the automatic adjustment button, allowing her upper body to sit up halfway.

Cen Sen: "Eat something first."

Ji Mingshu followed his gaze to the bedside table and noticed a thermal container and a medical record sheet.

She picked up the record and scanned it. She couldn't understand the technical jargon, but the three characters for "hypoglycemia" were clear enough.

"..."

So, she really had fainted from hunger. Why did that feel no more reasonable than having cancer?

Ji Mingshu lowered her eyes, paused for a moment, and then stiffly put down the thin sheet of paper.

This was truly mortifying...

The hospital room was large and featured a spacious floor-to-ceiling window with a wide view. However, because of their silence, the air seemed to become cramped and awkward.

Ji Mingshu looked like a toddler who had made a mistake and was waiting to be scolded. Her two hands rested on her flat stomach, her fingers nervously picking at her nails. She didn't dare to look up and meet Cen Sen's eyes once.

Strangely, today, Cen Sen wasn't as impatient as usual. He raised the over-bed table, poured the porridge, and tested the temperature. He was only one step away from being a model husband, right down to feeding her himself.

This was completely different from what Ji Mingshu had imagined—that he would wake up, talk on the phone, and rush back to the company. For a moment, she didn't even dare to pick at her nails; she didn't dare move a muscle.

"Drink a little. It's not hot."

Ji Mingshu nodded. She swallowed a few mouthfuls with as much difficulty as if the porridge were poisoned, then quickly put down the spoon.

"Can't drink any more?"

"Um..." Ji Mingshu wanted to say, "Can you go out and stop staring at me?" but the words turned into a stiff compliment: "The taste is average; it’s not as good as yours."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she remembered that Cen Sen had never cooked porridge for her, so she quickly changed the subject. "By the way, when can I be discharged?"

"It's just hypoglycemia. You can go whenever you want."

"..."

That vague, mocking tone returned. The little canary’s glass heart shattered.

Ji Mingshu went silent, and Cen Sen possessed the remarkable ability of: "Even if you don't talk, I can remain equally quiet. It would be best if we both stayed silent until the end of time."

Ji Mingshu stirred the white porridge listlessly, suddenly suspecting that this dog of a man was using a dull knife to slice her flesh, subjecting her to chronic torture.

But when she snuck a peek at his expression, it didn't look like that at all.

Having tested the boundaries of awkwardness for a hundred and eighty rounds, Ji Mingshu had to admit that regardless of his original intentions, she was already tortured by this sudden, inexplicable patience.

She suddenly set down the spoon and raised her voice: "Can you... can you stop staring at me? I want to sleep some more!"

Without waiting for Cen Sen’s response, and not daring to look at him, she kicked the blanket with her hands and feet and hurriedly laid back down.

The worst part was that her face began to heat up uncontrollably. No amount of psychological suggestion worked; the thought "This is so embarrassing" continued to dominate, like a double-speed scrolling comment track that wouldn't stop whether her eyes were open or closed.

Cen Sen saw her ears flush red, and a slight stirring touched his heart.

But it was only for a fleeting moment, too brief to dwell on.

He tidied up the porridge, stepped out of the room, and closed the door behind him.

Ji Mingshu waited for only four or five seconds after hearing the door close before turning back, unable to help herself. Seeing that Cen Sen was still standing by the window, she lost her backbone entirely and curled back into a ball.

Cen Sen suddenly chuckled.

Zhou Jiaheng, who had been waiting outside the whole time, felt a sense of surprise. When he looked up, the trace of a smile on Cen Sen's face had already vanished.

Cen Sen looked at the time as he walked out, followed by a series of work directives. "Find a firm to cooperate with on the publicity for the Star City project. The branch's own team isn't capable enough; they'll need to be replaced sooner or later."

Zhou Jiaheng: "Jiabai?"

"You make the arrangements," Cen Sen said calmly. "The accounts for Rongjia Land Development are about due for collection. Find a time to go talk to their boss, Mr. Chen. Also, leave the private contact between Wei Chengfeng and Huang Peng alone for now. Don't let the others interfere either; the time isn't right yet."

"Understood."

Zhou Jiaheng walked by his side. Seeing that he had finished with business, he wanted to ask something, but in the end, out of sheer habit of professional conduct, he forcibly held his tongue.

Inside the ward, Ji Mingshu remained curled up on the bed, motionless. Her mind replayed all the mischief she had recently caused in front of Cen Sen in high definition. The more she thought about it, the more ashamed she felt. She gripped her pillow and vented silently several times. In the end, perhaps from exhaustion, she actually fell asleep again.

She slept until eight in the evening. The IV had already finished.

A gentle nurse came over to collect the empty bottle, carefully advising her: Now that the drip was finished, it was best to eat something light to settle her stomach; overeating or consuming heavy, oily, and spicy foods could easily cause gastrointestinal discomfort.

Ji Mingshu nodded distractedly, still glancing toward the door.

Had this dog of a man really gone and never returned? Surely there wasn't no one outside to take her home?

As she watched the nurse leave the room, Ji Mingshu withdrew her gaze in disappointment.

But the next second, the door was pushed open once more, bringing in a few wisps of the chilly autumn night wind.

Cen Sen stood half-leaning in the doorway, locking eyes with her briefly, and spoke suddenly, "Pack up. Let's go home."

Ji Mingshu sat on the bed, hugging her legs, watching him walk closer step by step. Her heart gave an uncontrollable, heavy thump.

Unbeknownst to her, it was already late autumn. The night temperature was very low, and the wind was icy. Ji Mingshu wrapped a trench coat around herself.

When she got into the car, she noticed a shopping bag from a certain brand on the back seat. She couldn't help but steal a few glances. "Is this a gift from a client, or are you giving it to one?"

"Saw it at the airport. Thought it suited you." Cen Sen sat in from the other side, casting her a look.

"..."

For her?

Ji Mingshu looked at him suspiciously and reached for the bag.

As she unwrapped the box, she would steal glances at him from time to time.

When she saw the true face of the bag, a sense of joy bubbled up in Ji Mingshu’s heart, and the straight line of her lips couldn't help but curve upward.

It was actually quite nice. The brand, the color scheme, the style, and the size were all to her liking.

"Do you like it?"

Ji Mingshu couldn't take her eyes off the bag. She was extremely satisfied, but on the surface, she kept a proud, cool expression and remarked, "It's... barely acceptable."

She stroked the bag, unable to put it down. Suddenly remembering something, she turned her head, still maintaining her haughty demeanor as she asked, "Why are you... being so good to me today?"

"Am I?"

Was he not? Between pouring her porridge, coming to pick her up in person, and buying her a bag, it looked like he had ulterior motives!

Last time he acted out of character to pick her up from the magazine office and cooked her braised pork ribs, wasn't it all just to feed her and harbor evil intentions?

Thinking of this, Ji Mingshu gripped the handle of the bag tightly, her heart anxious.

This dog of a man wouldn't go that far, would he? She had just come out of the hospital today! Could he be so impatient and heartless?

But not a few minutes later, the car pulled into the underground garage of a large shopping mall. Cen Sen said he wanted to go to the supermarket to buy groceries and cook her porridge, which seemed to further confirm her suspicions.

She got out of the car clutching her new bag, on high alert against Cen Sen. On the way to the supermarket, she repeatedly reminded him that she was a patient who had just left the hospital, that her body was weak, and that she needed to recuperate—she couldn't be worked hard!

Cen Sen glanced at her. "Got it."

"..."

That indifferent, perfunctory expression—"got it," my foot. I bet you don't know a thing.

Cen Sen didn't know what she was obsessing over, nor did he feel that he had done anything abnormal or special today.

Everything felt completely natural. He did what he wanted to do, and he felt that it was all just as it should be.

Ji Mingshu rarely set foot in a supermarket, and this was her first time shopping with Cen Sen.

Seeing those shopping carts shaped like cute little cars at the entrance, she lingered on them for a moment.

Cen Sen suddenly reached out and flicked her head, saying calmly, "Stop looking. You don't fit."

His hand was still a little cold. Even though he had just flicked her head, she felt her heart skip another uncontrollable, heavy beat.

By the time she regained her senses and wanted to argue, Cen Sen was already pushing the cart four or five meters ahead.

She followed him quickly, grabbing the handle of the cart alongside him. Settling her heartbeat, she made small talk again: "By the way, when did you learn to cook? I never knew."

"In college," he said, picking out seasonings. "I didn't learn it specifically. I just downloaded recipes and followed them."

"I've tried following recipes too, how come I can't do it?"

Cen Sen placed a bottle of cumin powder into the cart, turned his head, and looked at her with an expression that said, "Don't you already know why?"

Ji Mingshu wisely shut her mouth.

The supermarket was brightly lit. Ji Mingshu looked around and noticed many young couples pushing carts together, laughing, chatting, and some even acting very lovey-dovey.

As they walked into the seafood section, the smell in the air turned fishy. Ji Mingshu covered her nose and mouth. Before she had taken two more steps, a fish in a glass tank suddenly splashed, spraying water outward.

She instinctively shielded the new bag Cen Sen had bought her. Once the fish grew quiet, she wiped the bag with great care.

As she wiped it, she felt something was wrong. She hauled her Birkin bags around like commuter totes—why was she being so careful with this ordinary bag that wasn't even precious?

Thinking of who knows what, she immediately stopped wiping.

She glanced at Cen Sen, who was selecting live shrimp, and said very quickly, "The smell is terrible over here. I'm going to look at snacks. I'll come find you later."

Having said that, she turned around immediately, paused for two seconds, and then took small, quick steps to escape Cen Sen's line of sight.

Cen Sen looked up at her retreating back, though he didn't think much of it.

However, thinking about how Ji Mingshu could always get into some bizarre trouble the moment she left his sight, he didn't linger in the seafood section. Once the shrimp were processed, he planned to go find that little flower vase who couldn't walk on her own.

Ji Mingshu drifted aimlessly through the snack aisle with her bag, her stomach finally feeling a belated hunger.

Usually, she had little desire for processed snacks, but at this moment, she had a strong urge to tear open a bag of potato chips and eat them before even paying.

Fortunately, her image triumphed over her appetite in the end. She drifted forward, intending to practice "out of sight, out of mind."

The sight was gone, and her stomach was empty, but she still couldn't calm her mind.

Certain things she didn't want to think through were swirling in her head like a minefield; just a little deep thought would blow a giant hole in her current peaceful life.

She paced back and forth in front of the shelves for a long time, trying to excise the two words "Cen Sen."

But the very second that thought appeared, Cen Sen’s calm voice sounded unexpectedly from behind her: "Got everything."

She was startled, her shoulders shivering involuntarily. Then, she reached out and grabbed a box from the shelf, walking ahead hurriedly without looking back. "I'm done too!"

After walking for a while, she accidentally looked down and realized that what she held in her hand was a large box—the kind of condom box where the title and brand were super large and super obvious—containing a full dozen or twenty boxes.

If there was a landmine, this was a bona fide landmine.

Ji Mingshu’s brain went blank. Seeing quite a few men around, she didn't even think before turning back and shoving the box into Cen Sen's arms.

When she looked up, Ji Mingshu wished she could die on the spot.

Where had Cen Sen gone?!