My Queen, My Rules - 12
Slap
Perhaps trust existed between some couples. Ji Mingshu was certain none existed between her and Cen Sen.
Standing by the dining table, watching him eat his short rib rice bowl with infuriating composure, her mind stuck on the word ‘accept’ he'd uttered before they went to bed.
—Will you accept the bribe? If yes, you are never to bring up the men’s restroom again.
—I accept.
Slap, slap, slap!!
After pounding her down there, he went on to slap her in the face. Truly a model husband, so hardworking he could move all of China to tears.
And the way he sat there, under her withering gaze, calmly enjoying the fruits of his own labor? Just... magnificent :)
She watched him eat for a while, then closed her eyes. So furious she could skip breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the next three days.
Without another word, she stomped back to the bedroom and locked the door behind her. Then she threw herself onto the bed and rolled back and forth.
The air still held the sweet, lingering scent of their lovemaking. The more she tossed, the more awake she felt. All she could think was that she'd been well and truly duped into a marital one-night stand.
The same few images looped endlessly through her mind. Finally, too furious to sleep, she sat up, intent on marching back out there and having it out with the noodle-hoarding, sex-scamming scumbag.
But the moment she pulled the door open, there he was. Standing on the threshold. Holding a bowl of freshly made short rib noodles.
The broth was rich, the short ribs glistening, the whole thing artfully garnished with chopped scallions. And the smell.
Ji Mingshu stared at the noodles. She swallowed, very quietly. Without taking her eyes off the bowl, she said, "Cen Sen. You're such a good person."
Ding! One "Good Person Card," issued.
She didn't bother to check his reaction to this assessment. She accepted the bowl with reverence, carried it carefully to her vanity table, and sat down, positioning the stool just so.
Ji Mingshu was a pleasure to watch while eating. She took very small bites, chewed silently, and made absolutely no noise, not even the faintest slurp.
Whether this was a testament to her impeccable young lady upbringing, or simply her way of demonstrating the principle of "Payment rendered, complaints suspended", was to anyone’s guess.
---
She slept surprisingly well that night.
At eight the next morning, Zhou Jiaheng called, right on schedule, to provide Cen Sen's wake-up service.
After hanging up, Cen Sen lay in bed for a moment, slowly pinching the bridge of his nose.
He remembered, back when he was studying in the States, occasionally cooking for himself in his apartment when he had free time. It had been years. Last night was the first time in ages he'd found himself in the kitchen after midnight.
Shaking off the thought, he turned his head.
The summer morning light was blindingly bright, streaming through the windows. Ji Mingshu, however, was completely oblivious, sleeping as peacefully as a sleepy loaf, content in its proofing.
She was a restless sleeper. The Ji family had probably hired teachers for everything else, but forgot to hire one to teach her how to sleep with elegant, ladylike poise.
In the first few months of their marriage, she'd made an effort to maintain a respectable sleeping position. But it wasn't long before her true nature asserted itself more and more, especially after they'd had sex. Her guard was completely down.
Right now, for instance, she was wrapped around him like an octopus. One bare, perfectly formed leg was hooked over his waist.
Cen Sen was a normal man. Waking up to find a disheveled, gorgeous woman draped over him like this... it was hard not to react.
Unfortunately, there was no time.
He peeled the octopus off, his movements less than gentle or caring.
But just before he left the room, he paused. He crossed back to the window and pulled the blackout curtains shut.
---
Usually, Ji Mingshu only needed half a day to recover from jet lag after returning from abroad. This time, exhausted in body and soul, she slept straight through until six in the evening.
Her phone was flooded with missed calls and WeChat messages.
She scrolled through them absently. Several messages, including one from Jiang Chun, were all asking the same thing: Was she going to Second Young Master Zhang's birthday party tonight?
The Zhang family had two young masters. The elder was Zhang Qi; the younger, Zhang Lin.
Zhang Qi was around Cen Sen's age and already managed a good portion of the family business. They were in tourism development, so he and Cen Sen probably had some professional dealings.
Zhang Lin was a late-in-life child, doted on by the whole family and spoiled since birth. Tonight was his... twentieth? Ji Mingshu checked the invitation. Yep, twenty. A milestone birthday.
She scrolled down, found Zhang Lin's invitation, and sent back an "OK" hand gesture.
Zhang Lin replied instantly: [Thanks for gracing us with your presence, Sister Shu!]
He'd been planning this party for a while, and he was smart about it. He was holding it at his own soon-to-open pub, a clever bit of pre-opening publicity.
By the time Ji Mingshu arrived, the pub was already buzzing. Zhang Lin had serious pull; almost all their mutual acquaintances from Beijing's elite circles were there, plus a gaggle of influencers and minor celebrities she couldn't name.
Zhang Lin personally escorted her in.
The kid was young, but he'd mastered the skill of flattery to perfection. Standing at the entrance, he lavished praise on her, calling her 'sister' this and 'sister' that with affectionate familiarity. If he'd had a real sister, she probably would have willed herself back into the womb just to escape his greasy tongue.
In these social settings, the host's attitude was a direct reflection of a guest's status. Of all the people here tonight, only a handful warranted Zhang Lin’s personal welcome.
Those who didn't know Ji Mingshu, seeing Zhang Lin's eagerness, quickly took note.
When she reached her seat, the usual squad of plastic sisters, ever ready to kiss up, took over where Zhang Lin left off. They rose to the occasion, their flattery reaching new heights.
Ji Mingshu played along gracefully. She apologized for being late, proactively had a drink, and chatted with them about Couture Week.
This was the glamorous, decadent world Ji Mingshu knew best. She navigated it with effortless ease.
---
Zhang Baoshu was there tonight. It had been just over a month since she'd last accompanied the elder Zhang, Zhang Qi, at a business function.
In that short time, she felt she'd experienced more ups and downs than in her entire nineteen years combined.
The youth campus web drama she'd shot before graduating finally released, airing over twenty episodes consecutively on video platforms. It wasn’t a breakout hit by any means, but it hadn't flopped into oblivion either. Her fresh, natural portrayal of the female lead had easily netted her over five hundred thousand new followers.
Add in the data boost her agency had bought, and she was now a budding starlet with a million followers and thousands of likes and comments on every post.
To outsiders, it looked like simple luck, a beginner stumbling into the spotlight.
But she knew the price tag attached to every moment of glamour.
That night, after Cen Sen's merciless rejection shattered her pride, she didn't know what came over her. In a daze, she'd ended up back in Zhang Qi's bed.
He might talk down to her, act like he was above it all, but when it came down to it, his body didn't lie.
Three nights. That was the investment. And the returns? Her web drama got its release date. Senior artists under the same agency, who'd never given her the time of day before, finally deigned to look at her. And a network TV drama, one she couldn't even get an audition for as a fourth lead, had reached out offering her the second female lead.
Once you've taken the shortcut, tasted how easily fame and fortune can be had, it's hard to go back to climbing step by step. Zhang Baoshu was no exception.
She welcomed the rumors linking her to Zhang Qi. Unfortunately, he hadn't even given her his contact info. After those three nights, they never saw each other again.
A month was nothing. No one suspected anything yet. But give it a little more time, and people would figure out that her relationship with him was nowhere near substantial enough to warrant the word "with."
And without him... well, keeping what she'd already gained was one thing. She might have to give it all back.
Tonight, she'd pulled some strings with her agent to get in. She was hoping to run into Zhang Qi, rekindle things, revisit the dream.
She'd arrived early, her gaze drifting constantly toward Zhang Lin. His little brother's birthday, surely the older brother would put in an appearance? But she was met with disappointment after disappointment.
Just before the party officially started, Zhang Lin practically sprinted to the door to greet someone. The pub lights were dim; for a second, her heart leaped: it's him, it's his brother. But when she looked closer, it was a woman. Slender, graceful. Her heart sank.
Through the noise, she caught snippets of conversation nearby:
"Who's that? Zhang Lin's falling all over himself for her."
"No idea, but that bag she's carrying... is that a Himalayan Birkin?"
Someone else added, "Diamond-encrusted, too."
At this, Zhang Baoshu turned to look more carefully.
She was too far away to make out her features clearly, but she could sense her extraordinary aura, a radiant presence even from a distance. The kind of woman you couldn't look away from. Even a casual gesture, like pushing back her hair, looked like a shampoo commercial.
"Don't bother," someone said, "Not our league." They gestured vaguely toward the VIP area. "Background like that."
Everyone understood.
"Know Junyi Huazhang? Her husband owns the whole Junyi Group. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Why do you think Zhang Lin is so attentive?”
Junyi.
Zhang Baoshu went still.
Cen Sen's words from that night echoed in her mind: “Whether it's looks, presence, education, or background, you don't measure up to my wife in any way. Go splash some water on your face and wake up.”
Was this her? His wife?
Without realizing it, her cat-eye manicured nails dug deep into the leather of the sofa.
---
The pub was in full swing. When everyone had arrived, Zhang Lin, wearing a glittery birthday crown, grabbed the mic and gave a speech, followed by a tone-deaf rendition of a pop song. The crowd hollered and clapped along.
Jiang Chun showed up just as they were about to cut the cake. She wasn't sure if she should go over and talk to Ji Mingshu. But then Ji Mingshu saw her and gave a slight lift of her chin. Jiang Chun, of course, pitter-pattered right over.
The plastic sisters had already spent a good while mocking Jiang Chun for being dumped by Yan Yu. They'd been puzzled that Ji Mingshu hadn't joined in, hadn't even cracked a smile. Now, seeing her actively call Jiang Chun over, their expressions grew even more peculiar.
Ji Mingshu, however, was perfectly at ease. She even asked someone to scooch over and make room for Jiang Chun.
Jiang Chun felt a strange surge of pride. She tugged discreetly at Ji Mingshu's dress. "Hey," she whispered. "Yesterday, in the men's room..."
Ji Mingshu gave her a look that clearly said, Shut up and delete that from your memory immediately.
Jiang Chun got the message. She tried again. "So, how do I look tonight?"
Ji Mingshu gave her a slow once-over. Then, perhaps out of revenge, delivered a brutal blow. "You'd be better off not trying to dress up at all, Little Earth Goose."
Jiang Chun: “…”
Why did she subject herself to this humiliation?
---
Just as Ji Mingshu's arrival had drawn attention, so did Jiang Chun's.
Near Zhang Baoshu, a cluster of minor celebrities and influencers had gathered. Among them was the "little white lotus" Yan Yu had been cheating with.
Seeing Jiang Chun walk in, the white lotus sighed dramatically to her friend, lamenting how small Beijing's social circle was. "Ugh, what do I do? That's his ex-fiancée. This is so awkward."
Her friend patted her arm. "Awkward for who? Yan likes you. She wouldn't be such a sore loser, right?”
A few others joined the conversation.
For someone of the little white lotus's status, landing Yan Yu was a major achievement, and she wasn't about to let it go unremarked. Most of the time, she maintained her demure persona, staying quiet and looking shy. But at key moments, she'd chime in with a soft, calculated comment.
"Yan and her..." she murmured, her voice barely audible, "it was always about family connections. She knew he had a girlfriend on the side. Keeping up appearances was a mutual decision, you know? It takes two hands to clap..."
Before she could finish, a pair of glittering high heels stepped into her field of vision.
She hadn't had time to react when, ‘SLAP!‘ A crisp, resounding slap landed on her face. Her ears rang.
"Hear that?" a voice said, cool and clear. "Sounds like it takes just one to me."
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