My Queen, My Rules - 30
Distance
Pei Xiyan was a bona fide second-generation celebrity. His mother was Su Cheng, a household-name Best Actress whose status in the entertainment industry was second to none. His father's identity, however, had always remained a mystery.
Some speculated that it was Su Cheng's second husband, a powerful jewelry tycoon. Others claiming insider knowledge insisted it was actually her first husband, a prominent political figure from the capital's elite circles. There were even rumors that Su Cheng would soon remarry him.
Pei Xiyan first entered the public eye at age six. Su Cheng brought him onto a parent-child outdoor reality show, where his striking looks and cool, independent personality won over countless ‘sister fans’ and devoted "mom fans."
Unfortunately, he rarely appeared in public over the following years. Aside from occasionally being photographed with Su Cheng or making brief cameos in a handful of films, he stayed on the periphery of the entertainment industry.
Everything changed last year.
His performance as the teenage version of the male lead in The Last Time became an unexpected box-office and critical sensation. Overnight, the proud, aloof little boy everyone remembered returned to the public eye.
Not only had he grown up without losing any of his looks, he'd somehow become devastatingly handsome.
Naturally, he captured the hearts of countless young women, and his popularity skyrocketed almost overnight.
Ji Mingshu, though long past her teenage years, was among those captured.
She wasn't familiar with idol fandom culture. She knew next to nothing about airport greetings, fan voting, or organized support events.
But last year, just to meet Pei Xiyan, she'd shamelessly tagged along with her cousin to the Pei family home for dinner.
As luck would have it, Pei Xiyan had been home that day. He'd offered them a cool, detached greeting, grabbed a bag of iced milk, and gone upstairs without another word. He hadn't even come down for lunch.
If that had been Cen Sen, Ji Mingshu would've immediately labeled him rude, emotionally unintelligent, arrogant, and cold.
But because it was Pei Xiyan. All she could think was:
My baby is so cool! So rebellious! So full of personality! He has such incredible teenage charisma! I'm completely in love!
"What do you think? Would this look better?" Ji Mingshu asked after changing into a fitted skirt suit. She spun once in front of the full-length mirror before turning toward Cen Sen. "Does it make me look more professional? More dignified?"
Cen Sen glanced up briefly. "You look like a real estate agent."
"...?"
What real estate agent was ever this stunning?
Now that he'd pointed it out, Ji Mingshu studied herself again and reluctantly admitted the outfit did feel a little too corporate.
She changed another four or five times. Every single outfit earned another critique from Cen Sen.
"Too tight."
"The color's too loud."
"Are you auditioning for an idol survival show?"
After several rounds of criticism, Ji Mingshu finally snapped.
She yanked every remaining outfit out of her suitcase and dumped them on the bed.
"Then you choose! Go on! You choose! You choose! You choose!"
And if you can't pick something good, you might as well commit seppuku!
Cen Sen paused, set down the file in his hand, and pointed toward a black tracksuit. "That one."
Ji Mingshu: "?"
"You're going there to do interior design," he replied matter-of-factly. "Comfortable, casual clothes are more practical."
Ji Mingshu: "..."
No. I'm not going there to do interior design. I'm there to protect my baby. :)
The second filming session took place three days later. After much deliberation, Ji Mingshu ultimately chose the shirt dress Cen Sen had called "a little too tight."
She felt this dress perfectly accentuated her elegant figure while effortlessly overshadowing that little drama queen idol. At the same time, it still projected the professionalism, sophistication, and elite image expected of an interior designer.
But since Cen Sen said it looked tight, she figured she might have been a tad indulgent with food lately. So, she immediately switched herself to a very light diet and even squeezed in an entire day of intermittent fasting.
On the morning of filming, Ji Mingshu slipped into the dress at the hotel and turned slowly before the mirror.
There were only one word to describe it.
Perfect.
She winked at her reflection and struck a playful finger-gun pose.
Unfortunately, Cen Sen chose that exact moment to step out of the bathroom, his damp hair still dripping with water.
Their eyes met in the mirror.
Silence stretched between them for thirty full seconds.
Suddenly remembering the spectacular embarrassment at Bocui Tianhua, and perhaps because several days of dieting had reduced her intelligence along with her weight, Ji Mingshu blurted out without thinking, "...Would you... like to hear me rap?"
"..."
"No."
The second filming session of Designer's Abode took place directly inside the client's home.
The property assigned to Ji Mingshu's team was an eighty-nine-square-meter apartment in Xingcheng's old district, located within a desirable school zone. The owners were newlywed couple.
The apartment had been left to the wife by her parents. Its interior hadn't been renovated in many years and looked severely outdated.
Their request was simple. Transform the aging apartment into a romantic home for two, filled with artistic charm and vintage character, while also reserving one room that could eventually converted into a nursery for their future baby.
Ji Mingshu had already looked through the challenges assigned to the other teams.
Most of them involved obstacles like elderly or sick family members requiring accessible layouts, or impossibly tiny apartments where every square meter had to serve the purpose of three.
Those projects offered plenty of opportunities to showcase the creativity and artistry of spatial design.
Compared with those, their assignment was almost disappointingly ordinary. No impossible renovation challenge, no heartbreaking family story, nothing particularly memorable.
The camera crew followed them from the moment they stepped out of their vehicles.
It happened to be elementary school drop-off time. A large group of children lined up to cross the street together.
Yan Yuexing immediately cupped her cheeks and widened her eyes dramatically as another performance began.
She launched into a sentimental speech about how much she missed elementary school, how wonderful those days had been, and casually slipped in several comments implying she'd already been wildly popular with boys even back then.
Ji Mingshu figured the editors would probably cut the entire conversation anyway, so she couldn't be bothered paying attention.
All she wanted was to see Pei Xiyan as soon as possible.
Half an hour later, after Ji Mingshu, Feng Yan, and Yan Yuexing had finished surveying the apartment, Pei Xiyan's nanny van finally pulled into the residential complex.
Hearing the crew murmuring "Pei Xiyan's here" from afar, both Ji Mingshu and Yan Yuexing quietly pulled out compact mirrors to touch up their makeup.
"Pei Xiyan! Pei Xiyan!"
"He's seriously handsome!"
"Did you bring your photo? I'm getting his autograph later."
"I brought it!"
Even the stylists and makeup artists huddled together, whispering excitedly among themselves.
Without blinking, Ji Mingshu stared at the cool-faced teenager as he removed his mask and walked inside.
Her heart pounded wildly.
Though only sixteen or seventeen, Pei Xiyan already stood close to one meter eighty. At this rate, he'd probably reach one eighty-five by the time he graduated from high school.
Everything about him radiated that unmistakable freshness unique to youth.
Under the director's introductions, he shook hands with each of his teammates one by one.
When he reached Ji Mingshu, she unveiled the flawless smile she'd practiced for three whole days. Looking at him warmly, she spoke in a gentle, composed voice. "Hello. I really love your work."
Pei Xiyan lifted his eyes and gave her a brief glance. "Hello, Sister."
His reply was polite.
Distant.
Their handshake barely counted as contact before he let go.
Afterward, Ji Mingshu quietly returned to stand beside Feng Yan, casually brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear as though nothing had happened.
Ahhhhh! My baby! Big Sister loves you! Mommy loves you! I'm never washing this hand again! So this is what being electrocuted feels like! I feel ten years younger already!
While her inner world erupted into fireworks behind her perfectly composed expression, the director was already explaining the rest of the filming schedule, including a few simple sponsor advertisements they needed to shoot.
Ji Mingshu barely heard a word. Her mind was floating somewhere in another dimension.
When Feng Yan handed her the cue card, she instinctively glanced at Pei Xiyan before finally lowering her eyes to read it.
"Bring design into every home. Junyi Yaji, your..."
Wait. What?
Ji Mingshu stopped, looking closer. "...Junyi?"
Feng Yan helpfully whispered. "It's the same Junyi behind Junyi Huazhang and Shuiyunjian. I heard their group invested a huge amount to sponsor the show to promote their new hotel brand."
Ji Mingshu: "..."
She remembered now. Back when she'd read the design proposal for the designer hotel project, there had been an entire section covering potential names.
There had been over a dozen candidates. She simply hadn't recognized it at first glance. Now it clicked, Yaji had indeed been one of the finalists.
Which meant Junyi was sponsoring the show.
Cen-shi Sensen...was sponsoring the show.
Wonderful. :)
That Dog Man's mouth was tighter than the ripped knee of a pair of stitched-up jeans.
With how well he kept secrets, why didn't he go work in national intelligence? Or become an international spy?
Ji Mingshu spent thirty seconds calming herself down.
For some reason, she suddenly felt dizzy and slightly nauseated.
Once the feeling subsided, she tried to look on the bright side.
Wasn't this essentially getting paid to fangirl? Not bad. Yes, not bad at all.
She quietly asked Feng Yan to fill her in on everything she'd missed.
Apparently, today's primary objective was to finalize the preliminary renovation plan before dividing responsibilities like sourcing materials and hiring contractors.
According to the show's rules, each team received a renovation budget of two hundred thousand yuan.
One hundred thousand for structural work.
One hundred thousand for furnishings.
Money, the production assured them, wouldn't be an issue.
However, every homeowner had also made one special wish for a housewarming gift.
The director hinted rather pointedly that, to make the show more entertaining, the guests were encouraged to earn additional funds through various labor tasks so they could purchase that gift after the renovation was complete.
Ji Mingshu stared blankly for a moment and confirmed with Feng Yan. "...Only two hundred thousand?"
That barely covered the cost of a budget bathroom renovation! How could they possibly claim money wasn't an issue?
Feng Yan nodded earnestly. "Yep. Two hundred thousand."
That dizzy, nauseous feeling washed over her again.
Once the director finished giving instructions, everything else was left to the teams themselves.
As the designer, Ji Mingshu naturally took charge of assigning tasks.
Most of the assignments, of course, had already been outlined in the script. The production's writers had even prepared suggested interactions to create chemistry or interpersonal conflict. They were only recommendations, though. The cast still had considerable freedom.
According to the suggested plan, Yan Yuexing and Pei Xiyan were supposed to visit the building materials market together.
Without changing her expression, Ji Mingshu calmly rearranged the assignments, smiling sweetly at Pei Xiyan. "Xiao Yan, why don't you come with me to the building materials market?"
Pei Xiyan paused slightly, his voice low. "I think I'd probably be more useful shopping for decorative items..."
Understood, understood, I'll arrange it immediately.
But when she suggested the two of them browse home décor together instead, Pei Xiyan gently refused again. "The designer's the core of the project," he said. "You should be handling the more important work."
Ji Mingshu's mood instantly crashed.
Her thoughts spiraled out of control.
Does my baby dislike me? Has he already forgotten we met at the Pei house? Waaah...what had mommy done wrong? Is it because I'm too pretty and he's worried people will start rumors about an older-woman-younger-man romance once the show airs? Yes! That must be it! T^T
No matter how hard she comforted herself, her mood remained absolutely miserable.
Once the assignments were finalized, everyone headed downstairs and split up for their respective destinations.
Ji Mingshu ended up sharing a car with Yan Yuexing.
She had no desire to exchange even a single word and just slumped dejectedly in the back seat.
Just then, Pei Xiyan walked past his own vehicle and stopped beside theirs. He knocked lightly on Ji Mingshu's window.
Ji Mingshu rolled down the window, her mood instantly lifting, only to see him cover his mouth with one hand and cough awkwardly.
Then, with obvious embarrassment, he said,
"Sorry, Mingshu-jie. Sen-ge asked me... to keep a little distance from you."
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Author's Note:
Little Canary Baby: Cen-shi Sensen, you're dead.
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