My Queen, My Rules - Chapter 84

Chapter 84

Whether she missed him or not is hard to say, but her irritation was a fact.

Throughout the return journey, Ji Mingshu looked out the window in a huff, ignoring Cen Sen. Cen Sen tried to strike up a conversation several times, but she held back and didn't respond, only muttering silent rebuttals in her heart.

However, Cen Sen received a call from Jiang Che mid-way, and without avoiding her, he put it on Bluetooth speaker.

She perked up her ears to listen. Although the two didn't mention Cen Yang by name, she still heard the familiar names "Bory" and "Haichuan."

After Cen Sen finished the call, Ji Mingshu couldn't help but speak first, "I read the financial newspapers on the plane. The paper said Jingcheng Capital intends to acquire Bory. Jingcheng Capital is the company you and Jiang Che co-founded, right?"

"Yes."

Ji Mingshu asked again, "Then the acquisition... have you guys been planning this for a long time?"

Ahead was the ETC exit of the airport expressway, and with several cars queuing up, Cen Sen slowed down, seemingly in thought. "Not that long. I only had the plan when I returned to the country last year."

That was considered "not long"?

"Then... then was the time Cen Yang intercepted that one-billion-yuan investment also part of your plan?"

Actually, while on the plane, Ji Mingshu had been thinking about this question. She had always heard people say that Cen Sen’s methods were brilliant and his abilities were outstanding; was his "outstanding ability" just frantically cleaning up a mess after being intercepted by someone who had just returned to the country? Thinking back carefully, this didn't seem logical.

Just as Ji Mingshu was imagining Cen Sen carrying the whole situation and playing everyone in the palm of his hand, Cen Sen poured a bucket of cold water on her. "No."

"..."

Never mind then.

Cen Sen added unhurriedly, "He isn't worth me planning for."

When he said this, he was looking straight ahead, his expression cool and indifferent. The contours of his side profile were clean and sharp. Even though he was just sitting in a normal driving position, he inexplicably gave off a sense of calm and stability, as if he held victory in his hands.

Ji Mingshu turned to look at him, but she was inappropriately mesmerized for a few seconds. She toyed with a rose petal, her heart fluttering.

It took her a long while to snap out of it, and she looked out the window as if nothing had happened. Catching a glimpse of Cen Sen seriously driving through the window, she silently took out her phone, rapidly typed a line of text on the keyboard, her mouth curving upward involuntarily.

Ji Mingshu: [Woooo, when my Cen-shi Sen-sen turns on the alpha mode, there’s no room for any other men!]

Jiang Chun: [?]

Jiang Chun: [Red card warning for releasing unsolicited PDA at an unspecified time and place.]

Gu Kaiyang: [Ji-shi Shu-shu, you’ve changed.]

Gu Kaiyang: [You used to call him a complete "B" (bastard).]

Jiang Chun: [Because she has now mutated into Cen-shi Shu-shu!]

Ji Mingshu: [...]

Ji Mingshu: [I brought the two of you gifts, you two better think clearly.]

[Jiang Chun has retracted a message] x2

[Gu Kaiyang has retracted a message] x2

The reality of the human world :)

Ji Mingshu didn't notice that in the few minutes she was chatting, Cen Sen had turned his head to look at her three times.

Stopping at a red light, Cen Sen suddenly asked in a slow voice, "Are you chatting with Cen Yang?"

"?"

"What are you thinking about?"

Ji Mingshu was full of question marks. Without even thinking, she generously showed Cen Sen the chat conversation.

Cen Sen actually took a glance, and before Ji Mingshu could react, he reached out and scrolled up a bit.

[Woooo, when my Cen-shi Sen-sen turns on the alpha mode, there’s no room for any other men!]

Seeing this sentence, Cen Sen raised his eyebrows very slightly, nodded minimally, and continued driving.

...?

Ji Mingshu was bewildered. She somehow managed to discern an emotion called "pleasure" on his expressionless face.

Small separations make reunions sweeter.

That night, the lights in Ming-shui Mansion stayed on all night.

Ji Mingshu experienced a comprehensive lesson in what it meant to be an "alpha." Waking up the next day lying in bed, she felt especially tranquil and weary of the world.

Cen Sen used to clean up the "trash" after waking up, but ever since they started talking about having a baby, they had stopped stocking those contraceptive supplies in the house that were destined to become trash.

However, it seemed the baby wouldn't arrive with a single strike; Ji Mingshu’s period had been very punctual these past two months.

Ji Mingshu already had some slight suspicions about her own constitution, but Cen Sen didn't seem anxious at all.

This led Ji Mingshu to highly suspect that he didn't want a baby at all; he just wanted his own pleasure.

Her suspicion wasn't without evidence. After they stopped taking precautions, this dog of a man's athletic enthusiasm and stamina improved by an entire level. In the past, she was occasionally tossed around until she was half-dead; now, she was tossed around until she was dead and back to life every single time.

Seeing Cen Sen come out of the bathroom early in the morning, wearing a crisp white shirt and a suit, his tie knotted meticulously, with the tie clip she had given him pinned to the side—he looked entirely gentle and noble. Lying in bed, she couldn't help but curse weakly, "A beast in gentleman’s clothing!"

Cen Sen looked back upon hearing this, walked to the bedside to tuck her in, tidied her messy long hair, kissed her lips, and admitted frankly: "Mm, for now, I’m just wearing the clothes."

—I’ll be the beast tonight.

Ji Mingshu couldn't help but kick him.

"Don't move around, I just applied medicine for you."

Cen Sen caught her ankle, as naturally as if they were chatting about daily chores.

Ji Mingshu was so angry she couldn't speak for a long time.

Fortunately, Cen Sen knew when to quit while he was ahead. "I’m going to the company. Rest well at home today."

After standing up, he seemed to remember something. He leaned over and whispered two words into Ji Mingshu’s ear.

He really knew how to grab the main point. As soon as Ji Mingshu heard it, the anger she hadn't quite gathered dissipated in seconds. Acting coy, she actually took the initiative to wrap her arms around his neck and give him a kiss.

Although Cen Sen told her to rest well at home, Ji Mingshu couldn't stay idle once she thought of all the unfinished design work on her hands.

Moreover, she and Cen Sen had a good talk about that documentary program during dinner last night. After careful consideration, she gave the producer a definitive "yes."

The program was ultimately titled "Impressions of Old Streets." It would be broadcast in the documentary style of a voice-over narrative, and apart from introducing the renovation projects, the designers wouldn't appear on screen too often.

This was fundamentally different from "The Designers." "The Designers" was more about the recording than the design, whereas this program was more about the design than the recording.

From the end of June to the beginning of July, the main building of Junyi Yaji, the designer boutique hotel under the Junyi Group, was completed, and the renovation work officially began.

At this stage, the designers didn't need to do everything themselves. If time allowed, they could drop by to point things out, and if time didn't allow, remote supervision was perfectly fine.

Ji Mingshu’s time didn't allow for much because she had already devoted her heart and soul to the challenges of the new "Impressions of Old Streets" project.

Actually, at first, when Ji Mingshu heard the producer say they wanted to restore the Shanghai style, she thought she would have to go on a business trip to Shanghai. She didn't expect it to be on Shanghai Street in Beijing.

Shanghai Street was a hidden gem in the city. Its location was excellent, but due to various historical reasons, it was difficult to fully relocate residents, and the buildings hadn't received proper architectural protection.

The old apartment building they were tasked with protecting and renovating was one of the few on Shanghai Street that had already been relocated—a small three-story Western-style building whose dilapidated exterior couldn't hide its Republican-era charm.

This renovation was a two-pronged approach, inside and out. The exterior focused on restoration, and because it involved professional issues like wall structures, the production team invited a well-known architectural designer in the industry.

The interior renovation was completed by Ji Mingshu and several other interior designers, in coordination with the architect.

Initially, the production team estimated the renovation time to be two months, but they had greatly underestimated the difficulty of the renovation.

Moreover—the production team was a bit fickle. They had originally agreed that the uninhabited apartment building would be used for exhibitions, but the producer and screenwriter suddenly said: "It lacks warmth, it lacks humanity."

So, on a whim, they reached an agreement with the relevant departments to take on the adjacent building, which was packed with the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled.

When Ji Mingshu first received this news, ten thousand alpacas were galloping through her heart, and she intended to quit immediately—let whoever wants to do it, do it. But the producer appealed to her reason and moved her with emotion, and in the end, she inexplicably agreed.

Due to the temporary increase in workload, everyone spent the entire summer on this project, and they had barely completed two-thirds of it.

By the time the project was officially completed at the end of autumn, Ji Mingshu felt as though she had been completely renovated herself.

The building no one lived in was easy to renovate; the one where people lived was truly a massive headache. Every day, she felt like she could hear ten thousand chickens, ducks, and geese chattering away; she dreamt of returning to the era of small-scale farming every single night.

Residents didn't want to remove their own illegal additions, they fought to the death over half a square meter of public land, and so on—all of this belonged to a world entirely separate from Ji Mingshu’s life.

She had previously only heard that poverty limits one’s imagination; now she discovered that wealth also limits one’s imagination.

She had to admit that this temporarily added renovation plan hit her weak points precisely. She really wasn't good at putting herself in someone else’s shoes to make design close to real life.

However, no matter how difficult it was, everything ended with a satisfactory conclusion. When filming ended, Ji Mingshu seemed to have gained many insights she didn't have before.

The postponement of the renovation brought about many subsequent problems—for example, the broadcast schedule given by the television station couldn't be changed.

There was no other way; post-production had to be rushed. One week after the renovation was completed, the promotional video went online.

Ji Mingshu forwarded the official Weibo promotional video quietly. She had originally thought it would be a mere formality, but she didn't expect that after being silent for half a year, her sudden "resurrection" would still see such impressive popularity data.

Mainly, her "resurrection" was too well-timed. Recently, a well-known blogger who was a rich, beautiful socialite and posted vlogs showing off bags, watches, and closets every few days had been exposed. The plot twists kept coming one after another, from Weibo to major forums, creating a massive uproar for three days.

It started when the rich, beautiful blogger was unboxing a certain Hermes bag; a little fan questioned that the pattern of a Chanel bag in the background looked wrong, and as a result, the little fan was ganged up on by other die-hard fans.

The little fan was indignant and found all sorts of evidence that the Chanel bag was suspicious, submitting it to the relevant bot.

The scandal of the blogger carrying a fake exploded. The blogger shifted the blame, saying the Chanel was a gift from a friend, and even hinted in her side account that the gift-giver was a certain "plastic sister" who had already retired from the web.

The sister had a fiery temper; even though she had retired, she was provoked out of hiding. After clarifying that she hadn't sent a fake, she used her main account to diss the rich, beautiful blogger for faking her educational background and being kept by a wealthy businessman, directly detonating a three-day, climax-after-climax continuous drama between onlookers exposing her and fans protecting their idol.

Ji Mingshu didn't know and didn't care about such lousy matters that had nothing to do with her, but the gossip-loving masses could easily link them together!

[Among all those online who pretend to be rich and beautiful socialites, I only recognize the President’s wife.]

[The fake socialite shows off bags, watches, and closets every day, but the real socialite is doing public welfare renovation.]

[From now on, please don't let every random 380th-tier wild chicken blow themselves up as a celebrity socialite, okay? The President’s wife hasn't even blown herself up yet, so please keep your microphones closed.]

Other bloggers who were not on good terms with that exposed socialite also revealed information:

[It’s not even in the same league. It’s a moon-landing-level attempt to climb the social ladder.]

[The President’s wife has over seven hundred Hermes bags; how could she possibly do an unboxing for just one Kelly?]

[Does everyone know about Bócui Tianhua? The owner of the top floor is surnamed Ji; check it out.]

Ji Mingshu inexplicably gained a wave of traffic and received nearly a thousand "blood letters" from people wanting to see her seven hundred plus Hermes bags. She was a bit bewildered, and it wasn't until Jiang Chun explained it that she barely managed to understand the ins and outs of the matter.

Gu Kaiyang, who worked in magazine media, was very good at catching hot topics. "You could release a vlog and just film whatever. Isn't that documentary program you recorded about to air? You can promote it while you're at it."

Ji Mingshu didn't know how Gu Kaiyang could come up with such a terrible idea as releasing a vlog to "name-brand" show off wealth—an idea that surpassed all time. Just thinking about it made her feel so ashamed she felt like she was suffocating.

However, Gu Kaiyang’s words were not entirely without merit; for example, promoting the documentary was a very good idea.

She didn't want to be incredibly popular and reach the pinnacle of life; it was just that this filming had taken a full four or five months, and if no one watched or paid attention to the thing she had worked so hard to create, it was inevitable that she would feel a sense of loss in her heart.

Thus, after resting for two days, she asked Zhou Jiaheng to find a whole team—to help her record the video.

...

"Actually, I have always been very unskilled at home design. This time, it wasn't until the filming started that I learned the plan had changed and that the renovation design for the residential building would be added.

"At first, I was quite frustrated because, in many cases, I didn't quite understand the real needs of the residents. I even always believed that if I wasn't good at something, I didn't need to understand that part.

"But in this renovation, I encountered many things that moved me. For example, there was a hostess whose legs were inconvenient, and another family where the elderly suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. In such times, interior design must fully serve the daily lives of the homeowners. It is not just having an artistic sense that is called interior design; a life with warmth—that is also a form of interior design."

...

This video was only three minutes and forty seconds long, but it was layered into three parts.

One part was Ji Mingshu’s design insights on the protective renovation; one part was her realizations about the renovation of the residential building; and one part was a solid promotion for the documentary.

She was quite good at making the best use of everything; at the end, she even mentioned that the Junyi Yaji hotel, which would have a trial opening at the end of the year, also featured her design work.

Afraid no one would watch, Ji Mingshu listened to Gu Kaiyang’s suggestion and set up a lucky draw for shares.

She didn't understand the market for lucky draws and was afraid that if she drew too few, it would look stingy. After thinking about it, she posted: [Forward this, and one person will be drawn to receive a Hermes Birkin, ten will be drawn to have their shopping carts cleared, and one hundred will be drawn to receive a one-thousand-yuan red envelope.]

When Gu Kaiyang saw the Weibo post she had made without a sound, she suddenly sent a row of question marks: [Sister, is this too extravagant?]

Ji Mingshu: [...Is it?]

Even more extravagant was what came after. The official Junyi Weibo forwarded it immediately, adding one more prize—a lifetime free stay at any hotel under the Junyi umbrella.

The comments section exploded instantly.

[In round numbers, this is like giving away an entire house.]

[The Junyi Shuiyunjian private hot spring suite is 8,999 yuan a night. Is your home at this price level?]

[What kind of sycophant reincarnation is the official account? Is the President himself using it?]