My Queen, My Rules - 24

An Family

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Having lost the battle of wits to Cen Sen, Ji Mingshu was thoroughly annoyed from head to toe.

The entire journey back, she stewed, reflecting: What evil spirit possessed me to add him back on WeChat after deleting him? Isn't this just asking for trouble? It's not like adding him affects my ability to shop and spend his money!

Fortunately, Ji Mingshu was the type of young lady who absolutely refused to suffer in silence. Since she couldn't handle Cen-shi Sensen, dealing with a simple Little Earth Goose was well within her capabilities. So she tapped into the 'Pure College Girl Uncensored Chat Group’ and started picking on Jiang Chun.

Ji Mingshu: [Jiang Chun, come out.]

Jiang Chun: [Quack!]

The simple goose-girl, still blissfully unaware of her fate, responded with great enthusiasm and speed to the princess's summons.

Ji Mingshu: [What did you eat today? How many kilos are you at now? Send me a video of you on the scale.]

Jiang Chun was still quite a distance from her target weight. Ji Mingshu had recently been keeping her under remote surveillance, conducting random spot checks on her breakfast and lunch.

As for dinner, in Ji Mingshu's own words—

"Do girls' worlds even have room for something called 'dinner'? Is plain cold water too spicy? Is fruit salad not delicious enough? If you can't even give up a measly dinner, how do you expect to be the hottest socialite on Chang'an Street? You might as well become a competitive eater and start a mukbang channel. You could eat eight meals a day and no one would bat an eye. Just support your family, buy a seaside villa, and reach the pinnacle of life!"

This deadly triple-question combo plunged the group into immediate, tomblike silence.

Ji Mingshu: [Come out. Don't play dead.]

Jiang Chun: …

Ji Mingshu swiftly launched a wave of sticker attacks.

A moment later, Jiang Chun sent a voice message directly. "Reporting, Teacher Ji! Here's the situation. I had an apple and a black coffee this morning, no sugar, no milk. A little after ten, Tang Zhizhou asked me out to a gallery exhibition. I took an apple with me, headed to the gallery, and on the way I ate a chicken cutlet—wow, that exhibition was something else, I couldn't understand a thing! Then I didn't eat anything in the afternoon. Tonight, I only plan to eat an orange for some vitamin C. Am I doing exceptionally well?”

Jiang Chun spoke very quickly. The words ‘ate a chicken cutlet’ were mumbled low and tucked within her long, breathless sentence. Ji Mingshu had to listen carefully three times to make it out.

Ji Mingshu: [Chicken cutlet? What was that? Say that again.]

Jiang Chun: [Afraid to make a sound.jpg]

Ji Mingshu: [Chicken cutlet has nearly 230 calories per 100 grams. One cutlet is at least 200 grams. That means a single piece is 460 calories. Do you have any idea how long you have to slog on the elliptical to burn off that many calories? And this mumbling, trying-to-sneak-it-past-me attitude of yours is extremely unbecoming! If this were back in school, someone like you would be put on probation, I'm telling you.]

Jiang Chun: [Actually, I ate two pieces. (muttering quietly)]

Ji Mingshu: …?

Ji Mingshu: [Is the fat growing on my body? Was I the one who got my fiancé stolen? Is the little white lotus strutting around showing off to me?]

Ji Mingshu: [This student is a lost cause.jpg]

Ji Mingshu: [The last person who made me this angry has a grave so overgrown you could graze cattle on it.jpg]

Jiang Chun: [It seems the only way to salvage my standing with you is to make myself throw up now :)]

Ji Mingshu: [Shut up, pretty girl.jpg]

Ji Mingshu: [You are no longer my sister.]

Jiang Chun still wanted to mutter in protest, but the next second, the page displayed: [You have been removed from the group "Pure College Girl Uncensored Chat Group" by the group owner.]

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While Ji Mingshu was over there plucking the goose's feathers with gusto, Cen Sen, having watched her get tongue-tied and thoroughly schooled, let out a low, soft snort of amusement.

This trip to Xingcheng had been arranged somewhat suddenly. Several assistants, including Zhou Jiaheng, had pressing matters to handle and couldn't accompany him immediately. The senior management of the Xingcheng branch arranged for two staff members to act as temporary assistants.

The first two temporary assistants assigned were both women. One was slightly older and relatively calm and steady in her work. The other was probably a decorative vase sent by the branch management to curry favor with him, the kind you'd buy at a flea market, two for a cent, and so fake they'd make a forger blush.

That very morning, when they first met, the fake decorative vase had shown up dressed to the nines, treating a workday like it was a beauty pageant.

Cen Sen took one glance and sent the little decorative vase packing on the grounds of "inappropriate attire."

The branch management, upon hearing this, perhaps having misinterpreted the situation, immediately sent him a male assistant in his twenties.

That afternoon, the male assistant showed up for work in a standard, regulation suit, feeling particularly uneasy due to the female assistant's dismissal that morning.

Seeing that Cen Sen had finished signing contracts and even had time to look at his phone, seeming to be in a decent mood, the assistant hurriedly brewed a cup of black coffee and carefully brought it into the office.

"President Cen, your coffee."

But just as he spoke, an internal call came in. Cen Sen, without even looking up, put down his phone to answer it.

The male assistant set the cup down while observing Cen Sen's expression, seizing the chance to sneak a peek at his phone screen.

A white-and-green dialogue box. WeChat.

Wait. That contact name… Dearest Wifey?

The assistant thought his eyes were failing him. Three seconds of shock later, he leaned in a bit closer, trying to get a clearer look.

Who would have thought that the very second after he confirmed he hadn't seen wrong, a sudden, crisp CRACK! rang out beside his ear!

Cup and saucer hit the floor. Coffee splattered everywhere. A complete mess.

The assistant froze. Coming to his senses, he immediately scrambled to clean up the mess, mouthing apologies nonstop.

Cen Sen was still on the phone. He just glanced at him, saying nothing.

Trembling, the assistant tidied the disaster area, clinging to a sliver of hope and comforting himself: The big boss looks so ascetic, but he actually enjoys flirting with his wife? He must be one of those cold-on-the-outside, warm-on-the-inside types with a really interesting soul. Probably even likes telling dad jokes. Yeah, that's definitely it. Don't be scared. Don't be scared.

When Cen Sen finished his call, the young man wanted to apologize again, but somehow, the words that came out were, "Breaking brings peace, breaking brings peace." Then, his brain short-circuited, and he added with a dry laugh, "President Cen, your name shares the same pronunciation as that Tang dynasty frontier poet. What a coincidence. What a coincidence."

Cen Sen looked up, his voice cool and detached. "Do I look like someone who enjoys jokes?"

"Get out."

"Don't come back."

The male assistant: "…"

It seems the big boss only likes being cold-on-the-outside-warm-on-the-inside and showing his interesting soul to his wife. How humbling. :)

---

By the time Cen Sen finished work and returned to the hotel that evening, Ji Mingshu was already back in their room.

Seeing Cen Sen, Ji Mingshu only glanced up briefly, looking listless and ignoring him.

First, because her mood was gloomy from losing their battle;

Second, her period had arrived, limiting her physical capacity to go out and have fun.

Stuck in the hotel every day, forced to play the role of the ‘waiting wife’, felt like an imprisonment role-play scenario, except it was all captivity and no play.

Ji Mingshu wasn't someone who could stand being idle. After wearing a face mask for a while, she suddenly had a brainwave: Since the show wasn't starting for another week, she could go back to the capital first and have her fun! She could just return to this dump when it's time to record.

So, with her face still covered in a diatomaceous earth mask, she burst out of the bathroom to discuss this with Cen Sen. Cen Sen naturally had no objection, but then again, his opinion was mostly useless anyway.

---

Early the next morning, Cen Sen took Ji Mingshu to the airport.

On the way, while Ji Mingshu was touching up her makeup, Cen Sen received a call.

The call wasn't long. His responses were all very brief, nothing more than a few interjections: "Mhm," "Ah," "Oh," "Okay."

But after hanging up, he suddenly instructed the driver to turn around, giving an address. "Go to the Xingcheng University Faculty Apartments."

Ji Mingshu paused, a vague premonition already forming in her heart. "... Do you have something urgent?"

Cen Sen pressed his fingers against his brow bone, silent for a moment before saying, "I need to go to the An family. You come with me. We'll have lunch there."

Ji Mingshu: "…"

She had thought that by cutting her stay in Xingcheng short, she could escape the fate of being a spy. Who knew that at the last possible moment, she still couldn't avoid this dilemma of being caught in the middle, forced to bite the hand that feeds her.

She ventured tentatively, "Then… how about you drop me at the airport first before you go? It wouldn't take too much extra time, right?"

Five seconds later: "... You can just drop me off here. I can call a car to the airport myself. It's not that far anyway."

Ten seconds later: "Fine. Whatever you want."

Ji Mingshu truly only wanted to be a precious, high-maintenance vase, with no desire to delve into the cold, aloof boss's backstory. But, as they say: If you eat someone's food, your mouth softens; if you take someone's things, your hands soften. She suddenly felt like fate had her by the skull.

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