My Queen, My Rules - Chapter 56

Chapter 56

Ji Mingshu’s clothes were stained with red wine. When Cen Sen went to buy pork ribs, she didn’t get out of the car to follow him.

Once Cen Sen returned, the Bentley sped all the way to Mingshui Mansion.

By evening, the snow had stopped. The sky was a fading, grayish-blue, and the light was dim. On the heart of the lake island, the trees and plants were wrapped in silver, and the street lamps wound along the path with gentle halos of light. Ji Mingshu suddenly realized that this was actually her first time seeing Mingshui Mansion in the snow.

Back home, Cen Sen carried the supermarket shopping bag toward the kitchen island.

Ji Mingshu glanced at the red wine stain on her body, greeted him, and then hurried upstairs to take a shower.

Before showering, Ji Mingshu stood in front of the wardrobe where her pajamas were kept, struggling for a full five minutes.

From time to time, she would pick out a piece and hold it up against her body, but she wasn’t satisfied with any of them. The butter yellow was too childish, the wine red was too sexy, the full set of pajamas that covered her hands and feet was too conservative, and the lace dress felt like she was delivering herself right to his doorstep—too eager, not restrained at all.

After thinking about it, she picked out a few to take photos of and sent them to the group chat, asking Jiang Chun and Gu Kaiyang to help her deliberate.

Gu Kaiyang remained in a state of "playing dead," but Jiang Chun gave her reply immediately.

Jiang Chun: [The green one is nice, but why are you asking this? Are you having a pajama party? I want to go when it happens!]

Ji Mingshu directly ignored the second half of her sentence. [What green one?]

Jiang Chun: [Isn't the second one green?]

Ji Mingshu: […It’s clearly haze blue, are you colorblind?]

Ji Mingshu: [Forget it, I must be crazy to ask for your opinion.]

Jiang Chun: [Weak, pitiful, and helpless.jpg]

Somehow, the two of them started their daily round of sticker war. During this war, Jiang Chun finally sensed that something was wrong—the background in Ji Mingshu’s photos was so high-end; it was clearly no longer Gu Kaiyang’s little pigeon nest!

She followed up with several questions, but Ji Mingshu skirted the issue and wouldn't give a direct answer.

Gu Kaiyang had been silently lurking in the chat and finally couldn't help but bubble up.

Gu Kaiyang: [Doesn't it make no difference what you wear? You're going to take it off anyway.]

The chat group fell into a sudden silence.

Thirty seconds later, Jiang Chun began to spam the screen.

Jiang Chun: [Wuwuwu, I’m just an innocent little goose.]

Jiang Chun: [What did I do wrong to have my pure soul polluted by you two!]

Jiang Chun: [I suspect you guys are being smutty, and I already have the evidence!]

...

No one paid her any mind.

After dropping her bombshell, Gu Kaiyang set her phone to silent mode and muted the group notifications.

As for Ji Mingshu, she threw her phone aside quickly and cradled her burning, flushed face, trying to cool down.

It was so strange; after Gu Kaiyang said that, the little deer in her heart seemed to have gone blind, bumping around wildly in three hundred and sixty degrees. She was truly too embarrassed to pick out any pajamas, so she snatched one at random and darted into the bathroom.

Actually, what Gu Kaiyang said didn't seem wrong...

No, what was she thinking!

She slapped her own cheeks hard.

It was all Gu Kaiyang’s fault! Sinful! Lewd!

Ji Mingshu: [Gu Kaiyang, you’re dead!]



An hour later, the bathroom was filled with mist. After showering, Ji Mingshu sat on a soft chair near the bathtub, carefully applying body lotion. The lotion had a very light camellia scent. She also applied the same scented essential oil to her hair. After blow-drying, it fell loosely, making her long, slightly wavy black hair look fluffy, soft, lazy, and natural.

Once she was ready, she stood in front of the full-length mirror, spun around, and gave herself an affirming nod. Finally, she didn't forget to apply a layer of fruit-flavored lip balm.

When she went downstairs, Cen Sen’s cooking was reaching the final stages.

The braised pork ribs were a bright, vibrant red, the pearl meatballs were glistening and cute, and the blanched lettuce was emerald green and dripping with freshness. The aroma was seductive and hit her in waves.

With her hands behind her back, she paced around the dining table before walking to the kitchen island with her head tilted, asking, "Is there anything else?"

Cen Sen wiped the blade of his knife and said, "There is still a tomato and egg soup; it's already done and ready to be served."

"Then I’ll help you carry it."

Ji Mingshu volunteered.

Having stayed at Gu Kaiyang’s place for so long, she had learned to do a little bit of work. At the very least, she felt a bit embarrassed to just knock her bowl and wait to be fed now.

Cen Sen placed the knife back in its holder, his voice mild and indifferent. "No need, I’ll do it."

"Oh." Ji Mingshu nodded obediently, then trailed behind Cen Sen like a little tail all the way to the dining table.

In reality, Ji Mingshu was a person who couldn't sit still and liked liveliness during meals, but Cen Sen had strict table manners and didn't like to talk. The two of them could only sit at right angles to each other and eat in silence, their chewing sounds barely audible.

But you never know what kind of lewd thoughts are running through a girl's head when she appears quiet on the surface—take Ji Mingshu, for example. At this moment, she was elegantly nibbling on a small rib, but in her heart, she couldn't stop fantasizing about the post-meal "exercise."

As she thought about it, her foot under the table involuntarily swayed twice, and it just so happened to brush against the inside of Cen Sen’s calf.

She paused, biting the tip of her chopsticks as she looked at Cen Sen.

Cen Sen met her gaze, his expression calm. After a long while, he suddenly said, "Eat your meal first."

...?

Ji Mingshu had been holding herself together well, but after Cen Sen said that, her cheeks and neck heated up rapidly. No, what did he mean by that? What did "eat first" mean? Did she look that sexually frustrated?

Ji Mingshu opened her mouth, wanting to explain, but she truly didn't know where to start. Besides, it was impossible to be righteous when one was feeling guilty about their own actions. Feeling a bit ashamed and angry, she buried her face in her bowl and quickly finished her rice.



In truth, when it came down to it, Cen Sen was the one in the wrong.

He had hinted so obviously in the car, leaving room for endless imagination, only for his style to change completely upon returning home—becoming a man of ascetic abstinence, unswayed by beauty. And after dinner, he even had the heart to clean the dishes, and after cleaning the dishes, he even had the heart to start a video conference!

Ji Mingshu squatted on the sofa in the home theater room for a long time, feeling as if her heart had aged waiting. Any romantic thoughts she had dissipated with the passing of time and Cen Sen’s complete lack of initiative, and what grew in their place was anger.

The more she thought, the angrier she became. She suddenly stood up from the sofa and ran barefoot straight into the study.

In the study, Cen Sen was wearing Bluetooth headphones, making the final summary of the meeting. Suddenly the door was pushed open. He raised his eyes slightly and heard Ji Mingshu say angrily, "I’m going to sleep!"

—Then she turned and walked away with a heavy thud of footsteps.

Cen Sen tugged at the corner of his lips lightly, lowered his gaze, and continued summarizing toward the computer screen, though his speaking speed accelerated slightly. "The return on investment for this business unit is too low; it's only a matter of time before the space is compressed..."

The meeting participants all simultaneously experienced a... huh? Did I just hallucinate? That can't be right; how could a woman's voice suddenly be heard from the President’s side? That’s really strange—a mystery.

Before this mystery could end, Cen Sen’s speech reached its conclusion. "That’s all for today. Everyone, thank you for your hard work."

Immediately after, the screen went black.

Cen Sen removed his headphones, stood up, and loosened his neck from side to side.

When he walked to the bedroom door, he found that Ji Mingshu had locked the door out of spite. Not knowing what he was thinking, he tugged at the corner of his lips again.

After returning to the bedroom, Ji Mingshu hugged a pillow and sat cross-legged on the bed, waiting for movement at the door. After three minutes, a slight sound finally came from the entrance; it wasn't too late yet.

She kept her ears pricked to listen, but ten seconds passed, twenty seconds passed, thirty seconds passed... She began to suspect that she had hallucinated earlier.

It didn't make sense.

Why was there no more sound?

She held it in for a while, but couldn't help it. She moved the chair blocking the door and quietly opened the door a crack.

The crack opened wider and wider, until finally, she poked her whole head out, only to find the outside space empty and devoid of anyone.

Ahhh, this scumbag Cen Sen is just a heartless pig's trotter! Either I hallucinated just now, or this pig's trotter found out the door wouldn't open and gave up directly! Regardless of which it was, this Cen-surname person must die!!!

Ji Mingshu was so angry. Even though the pork ribs were eaten by two people, why was it only she who kept thinking about it! She slammed the door shut with a "bang," while frantically shouting curses in her heart: Since you care so little about the pork ribs! Then you should never eat them ever again!!!

But the moment she slammed the door and turned around, she suddenly bumped into a cold, firm embrace.

Her mind went blank, and her heart almost stopped from the scare.

After she came to her senses, she was still a bit dazed, unable to speak clearly. "How... how did you get in, you—you scared me to death, you..."

She inadvertently caught a glimpse of the open door of the walk-in closet behind her and suddenly had an epiphany: Did he foresee today's events, which is why he expanded the walk-in closet for her?

Cen Sen never talked much about such matters. He only chuckled lightly, and while Ji Mingshu was still babbling away, he pressed her against the wall, one hand braced beside her ear, the other pulling her into him, before sealing her voice away.

The lights in the room were bright, and Ji Mingshu tried several times to reach out and turn them off, but not only did she fail to turn them off, she ended up turning on the ones that weren't on to begin with. Later on, Cen Sen didn't give her the chance to turn them off again, easily changing their positions.

Ji Mingshu had been away from home for a relatively long time this time, and Cen Sen had correspondingly abstained for just as long. Although it didn't compare to the two years she was in Australia, for some reason, his tolerance seemed to be decreasing as he grew older.

In the middle of the night, it started snowing over Mingshui Lake. The pitter-patter of the falling snow merged with the sound of water in the bathroom, making it difficult to distinguish one from the other for a moment.

Ji Mingshu sat gloomily in the bathtub with her back to Cen Sen, still urging him to go rinse his mouth. After urging him, she fanned herself with her hand and covered her face with both hands, deeply hating herself for not having learned how to hold her breath underwater properly when she was a child.

Cen Sen leaned against the vanity, the white shirt he had casually put on in a mess, the buttons misaligned.

He lowered his eyes toward Ji Mingshu’s direction, chuckling silently. His gaze darkened with ambiguous meaning, and he slowly wiped his thumb across his lower lip. As if still wanting more, he wiped the pad of his index finger back across the other side.