My Queen, My Rules - 11
Bribe
The voice came from outside the door, neither loud nor soft. Calm, steady, and unmistakably familiar.
Ji Mingshu's mind exploded.
No way.
How could he be here?
As if to prove he really was, Cen Sen knocked again.
"If you don't open the door now, I'll call someone."
"No!" Ji Mingshu blurted out on instinct.
Jiang Chun immediately chimed in from outside, calling into the men's restroom, "Ji Mingshu, you can come out now! Your husband's cleared the place. There's nobody outside anymore!"
Ji Mingshu: "..."
For heaven's sake! Compared to letting this dog man see me in this miserable state, I'd rather just bolt out of here before he showed up, consequences be damned. Or better yet, just flush herself straight into the sewer, and disappear from the face of the earth forever.
This girl had stood outside for God knows how long, accomplished absolutely nothing, and now she'd summoned the one person she wanted to see her like this the least. What on earth had she been thinking? Had heartbreak come bundled with a permanent IQ debuff?
Cen Sen clearly wasn't a patient man. After several moments of silence from inside the stall, he started to give an order, "Zhou Jiaheng..."
"Wait!"
Ji Mingshu practically shouted over him. Stretching one hand upward, she fumbled awkwardly until her fingers found the latch and slowly slid it open.
The stall door eased outward.
Lowering his gaze, Cen Sen found Ji Mingshu crouched miserably on the floor.
Her arms were wrapped tightly around her knees, her face buried completely in the crook of her elbows. Even so, through the gaps in her hair, he could still make out ears that had turned an unmistakable crimson.
Before he could speak, her muffled voice drifted out. "My legs are numb. I can't stand."
She certainly knew how to seize the initiative.
Cen Sen's expression remained unreadable and said nothing.
After waiting in vain for any reaction, Ji Mingshu couldn't tell whether this Dog Man was pretending not to understand just to enjoy her embarrassment or if he really was such a hopelessly dense straight man that the implication had sailed right over his head. Left with no choice, she steeled herself and gave the order directly.
"Carry me out."
Cen Sen remained exactly where he was, unmoving, as though weighing something in silence.
A knot tightened in Ji Mingshu's stomach, terrified he'd decided to deny her this face-saving measure.
Thankfully, after several quiet seconds, he finally moved.
Unhurriedly, he undid the buttons of his suit jacket, slipped it off, and draped it over her head, covering her completely.
Then he bent slightly, one arm circling her slender shoulders while the other slid beneath her knees. With a single smooth motion, he lifted her into a bridal carry.
The instant her feet left the ground, the numbness in both legs surged violently. It felt as though countless tiny insects were prickling every inch of her calves and feet. And of course, Cen Sen just had to adjust his hold with a small bounce, making the tingling ten times worse. Was he doing it on purpose?
Cen Sen had temporarily cleared out the restroom, so it was almost eerily quiet. Once they stepped outside, conversations, laughter, and the rumble of rolling suitcases blended into a noisy bustle.
Already mortified beyond words, Ji Mingshu became convinced everyone was staring at her, whispering behind her back. She didn't even have the energy to worry about whatever ridicule Cen Sen would throw at her later. Acting purely on instinct, she curled deeper into his arms, wrapped both arms around his neck, and hid there like a frightened little quail without making a sound.
A faint scent of fir clung to Cen Sen. Cool, clean, and crisp. Nestled against his chest, Ji Mingshu unconsciously breathed in another couple of times.
He noticed.
His eyes flicked toward her, but he said nothing.
Outside, Jiang Chun was handing the luggage over to Zhou Jiaheng. Watching Cen Sen shield Ji Mingshu completely from view while carrying her in a picture-perfect bridal carry, she nearly died of envy. In her heart, she also mentally stabbed Yan Yu twice with an imaginary pair of scissors.
She'd always believed Ji Mingshu and Cen Sen were the textbook definition of an arranged marriage. Put on a loving act whenever appearances demanded it, then go back to living separate lives afterward.
But after witnessing this scene, she suddenly realized how blinded she'd been by jealousy. Making assumptions about someone else's marriage without knowing anything was… so awful. She was supposed to be a kind person. Since when had she become so vicious?
The entire walk to the parking lot, Jiang Chun trailed quietly behind them, reflecting on herself.
After climbing into the back seat of her own car, she watched Cen Sen carry Ji Mingshu into theirs and drove away. Then she ripped off the matching couple's watch she'd been wearing with Yan Yu and fumed silently.
Another beautiful day for the lemon tree to bloom and bear fruit. Scumbag, go to hell!
***
Outside, the summer sun blazed brilliantly over the capital. The heat shimmered beneath its golden light, and the air felt heavy and dry.
Even after getting into the car, Ji Mingshu kept Cen Sen's suit jacket draped over her head without saying a word.
Cen Sen paid her no attention. He spent the ride discussing work over the phone with a business partner.
No sooner had that call ended than another one came in from home. He glanced at the caller ID, then at Ji Mingshu, and put it on speaker.
"A-Sen, did you pick up Xiao Shu?"
Hearing Old Madam Cen's energetic voice, Ji Mingshu's ears practically perked up beneath the jacket.
"Mm," Cen Sen answered. "I did."
"Then hurry over! Auntie Zhou cooked a huge table full of food today. All your favorites!"
Wait.
Dinner at Nanqiao Hutong?
In her current stinking, wretched state? No way!
Ji Mingshu instantly poked her head out from under the suit jacket and shook it frantically at Cen Sen.
He simply looked back at her with the same calm expression, saying nothing.
Thinking quickly, she scooted closer and cautiously began kneading his shoulders before lightly massaging his back.
After enjoying a little over ten seconds of her complimentary massage service, Cen Sen switched the phone to his other hand.
"Grandma, I have a last-minute meeting tonight, and Xiao Shu is jet-lagged and a bit tired. She's already asleep in the car."
"I see." The old lady accepted the explanation without suspicion. "Then take Xiao Shu home so she can get some rest. You can both come another day."
"Mn."
"And don't overwork yourself either. Take care of your health."
Cen Sen agreed with another "Mn."
Only after the call ended did Ji Mingshu finally let out a long sigh of relief. Her hands immediately stopped kneading his shoulders, and she calmly returned to her own seat as though nothing had happened.
Cen Sen, used to how shamelessly fast she could change sides, didn't think much of it. Ji Mingshu, on the other hand, felt slightly guilty. She kept staring out the window, refusing to look at him.
But the longer she watched the scenery fly by, the more she realized something was off.
Wait.
Wasn't this already the road back to Mingshui Manor?
Realization dawned, and she whipped around to glare at Cen Sen.
By then, he had already folded his arms across his chest, leaned back against the seat, and closed his eyes to rest.
Cen Sen had spent the past two days away on a business trip and had landed back in the capital from Xingcheng barely two hours earlier. After leaving the airport expressway, he received a call from Nanqiao Hutong and only then learned that Ji Mingshu was returning home today.
He asked Zhou Jiaheng to check her flight.
The timing happened to be perfect. The flight from Paris had just landed.
So he instructed the driver to turn around and head back to the airport, planning to pick Ji Mingshu up and go to Nanqiao Hutong for dinner together.
He'd originally stayed in the car and sent Zhou Jiaheng in to get her. But instead of bringing her back, Zhou Jiaheng called.
Then, through the phone, Cen Sen heard a young woman's frantic voice shout, "President Cen! Your wife's trapped in the men's restroom and can't get out!"
Remembering that moment, Cen Sen instinctively rubbed the bridge of his nose.
By the time they returned to Mingshui Manor, dusk had already settled in.
Still wrapped tightly in Cen Sen's suit jacket, Ji Mingshu hurried inside. She never removed her sunglasses, her lips pressed into a stubborn line the entire way.
The moment she entered the house, she rushed upstairs and disappeared into the bathroom to run herself a bath.
Hearing the water, Cen Sen merely glanced upstairs before continuing to change his shoes.
When he walked over to the refrigerator for a bottle of water, a piercing scream suddenly erupted from upstairs.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
It wasn't the scream of fear or surprise.
Though it was only a single drawn-out cry, Cen Sen could clearly hear profound despair and regret woven into it: "How could I have done something so stupid??", "My glorious reputation, ruined in a single day!!", "Mom, let me die one more time!!!"
He let out a quiet chuckle and took another sip of water.
Cen Sen spent nearly two hours downstairs in a video conference.
Noticing the upstairs remained silent the entire time, he finally went to check and found Ji Mingshu still holed up in the bathroom.
He knocked on the door. “Ji Mingshu?”
"What?"
"Planning to move into the bathroom?"
The moment the words left his mouth, the glass door was shoved open with a loud bang.
Ji Mingshu stepped out barefoot, wearing a towel wrapped around her body and a drying cap over her hair. Her makeup had been washed away, leaving her face fresh and luminous, her cheeks softly flushed from the steam. Her collarbones, slender arms, and long legs were pale and smooth, making her look innocent and irresistibly alluring all at once.
She walked straight toward him, deliberately closing the distance before asking, "Smell me. Do I still stink?"
She wasn't even sure if the men's restroom had traumatized her or if she'd imagined it, but she couldn't shake the feeling that every inch of her body still smelled awful.
Cen Sen's voice dropped slightly "You do."
"?"
She immediately lowered her head, trying to sniff herself.
It had been several days since Cen Sen had any release, and temptation wasn't something he was particularly resistant to. His Adam's apple bobbed once. Suddenly, he pulled her into his arms, pressing her against himself. His hand slid slowly down her back from her shoulder blades to the base of her spine as he murmured against her ear. "Trying to bribe me?"
"???"
How had his brain even gotten there?
Ji Mingshu's mind blanked for a second.
Then the room spun.
One moment she was in his arms.
The next she found herself tossed gently onto the bed.
Only after she lay beneath him, cool air brushing against the exposed skin at the front of her body, did understanding finally hit.
He actually thought she'd deliberately seduced him to buy his silence about the men's restroom?
Incredible.
A Harvard graduate really did think on another level.
How had she not come up with such a brilliant idea herself?
Without warning, Ji Mingshu looped her arms around his neck and asked boldly,
"So if I'm bribing you... are you accepting it?"
Desire burned openly in Cen Sen's eyes. His voice came out low and rough. "I accept."
The bribe turned out to be rather substantial.
By the end, Ji Mingshu felt like she'd been thoroughly wined and dined, ravaged to the brink and back several times. She'd already soaked in the bath for ages beforehand, and somehow, after everything started in the bedroom, the battlefield had migrated back into the bathroom. After two back-to-back long soaking sessions, she now felt like a prune.
Deep into the night, Ji Mingshu woke to find Cen Sen no longer beside her.
She was hungry.
She had come home, taken a bath, then immediately spent the evening "serving" her benefactor husband. Lying in bed now, her stomach felt completely empty.
After lying there struggling with herself for nearly five minutes, she finally dragged her weak, wobbly legs downstairs in search of something to eat.
Halfway down the staircase, a mouthwatering aroma drifted over from the kitchen island.
She looked over instinctively.
Cen Sen stood there with his shirt sleeves rolled up, expertly plating a freshly finished dish.
"That smells amazing. What are you making?" She wandered over. "Pork rib rice?"
He answered with a simple "Mm," lowered his sleeves down, picked up the beautifully plated pork rib rice, and carried it toward the dining room.
Ji Mingshu followed close behind, eyes fixed longingly on the plate.
Cen Sen glanced back at her. "I didn't make any for you."
"...?"
"Why not?"
The instant she asked, she regretted it.
For one horrifying moment, she was convinced he was about to say something straight out of an adults-only romance novel: Heh. Little temptress. Wasn't I enough to fill you up just now?
Reality, however, proved even crueler than her imagination.
Instead, she heard him say,
"I figured after spending that long in a men's restroom, you probably wouldn't have much appetite."
Is this what he called ‘accepting’ her bribe?
---
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