My Queen, My Rules - 32

Supertmarket

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The honey-colored sunset outside the window sank lower and lower, stretching Cen Sen's figure standing by the hospital bed longer and longer.

Ji Mingshu was dazed for a few seconds. But as the meaning of Cen Sen's two words sank in, her heart, which had been teetering on the edge of a cliff, was abruptly yanked back to safety. The chill in her hands and feet gradually receded.

Yet, when she looked at Cen Sen's expression, for some reason, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was a hint of condescending mockery in it.

She silently pulled the quilt higher, trying to hide her head.

Unfortunately, one of her hands was still hooked up to an IV. The edge of the blanket caught on the tube, jostling the needle. Her turtle-like retreat not only failed but also made her suck in a sharp, pained breath.

Cen Sen watched her quietly, his expression detached. Seeing her struggle for a long time to free the IV tube, he finally stepped forward, pulled the quilt down, steadied the IV stand, and then unhurriedly pressed the automatic bed adjustment button, raising her upper body into a semi-seated position.

Cen Sen: "Eat something first."

Ji Mingshu followed his gaze to the bedside cabinet and noticed the thermal lunchbox and medical chart placed there.

She picked up the chart and skimmed it. The medical terminology was beyond her, but the three characters for ‘low blood sugar’ were glaringly obvious.

"…"

So, she really had fainted from hunger. Somehow, that didn't feel any more reasonable than cancer.

Ji Mingshu lowered her eyes, paused for a moment, then stiffly put the thin piece of paper down.

So embarrassing…

The private room was spacious, with a floor-to-ceiling window offering a wide view, but the silence between them seemed to make the air feel cramped and awkward.

Ji Mingshu sat like a well-behaved child admitting a mistake, both hands resting on her flat stomach, picking absently at her nails. She didn't look up to meet Cen Sen's eyes again.

Oddly, today Cen Sen wasn't his usual impatient self. He raised the bed table, poured the congee, and tested its temperature, falling just short of being the perfect model husband only because he didn't personally feed her.

This was completely different from what Ji Mingshu had imagined—where he'd be on a business call the moment she woke up before heading straight back to the office. For a moment, she didn't even dare pick at her nails. She didn't dare move at all.

"Have some. It's not hot."

Ji Mingshu nodded. She swallowed a few mouthfuls as if the congee were poisoned, then quickly put the spoon down.

"Can't drink anymore?"

"Mm…" Ji Mingshu initially wanted to say, ‘Can you stop staring at me and leave?’ but the words that came out were a stiff attempt at flattery: "This taste is just okay. Not as good as when you make it."

As soon as she said it, she remembered that Cen Sen had never actually cooked congee for her. She quickly changed the subject, "Right, when can I be discharged?"

"Just low blood sugar. Anytime."

"…"

There it was again, that faint, imperceptible mockery. This little canary's fragile heart was shattered.

Ji Mingshu fell silent. Cen Sen, for his part, possessed the singular talent of "you don't talk, I won't make a sound; let's all stay silent till the end of time."

Ji Mingshu stirred the plain congee absently, suddenly suspecting that this dog man was subjecting her to slow, agonizing torture, like a dull knife cutting flesh.

But a furtive glance at his expression suggested otherwise.

After teetering on the brink of a terminal awkwardness flare-up for what felt like a hundred and eighty rounds, Ji Mingshu had to admit: regardless of the Dog Man's original intent, she was already being tormented by this sudden, inexplicable patience of his.

She suddenly dropped the spoon, raising her voice. "You… can you stop staring at me? I want to sleep some more!"

Without waiting for Cen Sen's reply, not daring to look at him, she kicked at the quilt with both hands and feet, hurriedly lying back down.

The most mortifying thing was the heat flooding uncontrollably to her face. No amount of mental persuasion helped. The thought "So embarrassing!" dominated her mind like bullet comments on a double-speed loop, playing nonstop whether her eyes were open or shut.

Seeing her bright red ears, Cen Sen’s heart stirred faintly.

But it was only for a moment, with no room for deeper contemplation.

He cleaned up the congee, left the room, and closed the door behind him.

Ji Mingshu held her pose for all of four or five seconds after hearing the door click before she couldn't resist turning her head. Seeing Cen Sen still standing by the window outside, she curled back into herself, her resolve utterly deflated.

A faint smile suddenly touched Cen Sen's lips.

Zhou Jiaheng, who had been waiting outside, was slightly taken aback. By the time he looked up, that trace of a smile had already vanished from Cen Sen's face.

Checking the time as he walked out, Cen Sen issued a series of work instructions: "Find a company to collaborate with on publicity here in Xingcheng. The branch's marketing teams are inadequate; they'll need replacing sooner or later."

Zhou Jiaheng: "Jiabai PR?"

"Your call." Cen Sen's voice was calm. "And it's about time to collect on the Rongjia Real Estate account. Find time to talk with their Chairman Chen. Also, don't intervene in Wei Chengfeng and Huang Peng's private contacts for now, and don't let the others interfere either. It's not time yet."

"Understood."

Zhou Jiaheng walked beside him. Seeing that Cen Sen had finished with work matters, he wanted to ask something, but ultimately, professional habit won out, and he forcefully swallowed the question.

—

Inside the room, Ji Mingshu lay curled on the bed, motionless. Her mind replayed in high-definition all the recent "sins" she'd committed in front of Cen Sen. The more she thought, the more ashamed she felt. She grabbed her pillow and vented her frustration silently for several rounds until, exhausted, she actually fell asleep again.

She slept until 8 p.m. The IV drip was finished.

A gentle nurse was collecting the empty bottles nearby and carefully advising her: She'd just finished the IV, so it's best to eat something light to settle her stomach. Overeating or having greasy, spicy food could easily cause stomach discomfort, etc.

Ji Mingshu nodded absently, her gaze still darting towards the door.

Had that dog man Cen Sen really left for good? Surely there was still someone outside to take her home?

Watching the nurse leave the room, Ji Mingshu withdrew her gaze, disappointed.

But the next second, the door was pushed open again, letting in a few sparse threads of the autumn night's chill.

Cen Sen leaned halfway against the doorframe, his eyes meeting hers with their usual detached clarity. He suddenly spoke, "Get ready. We're going home."

Ji Mingshu sat on the bed, hugging her knees, staring blankly as he walked closer step by step. Her heart, uncontrollably, gave a heavy thump.

Unbeknownst to them, late autumn had arrived. The night temperature was low, the wind chilly. Ji Mingshu wrapped herself in a trench coat.

Getting into the car, she spotted a shopping bag from a certain luxury brand on the back seat. She couldn't help stealing a few extra glances. "Is this from a client? Or for a client?"

"Saw it at the airport. Thought it would suit you." Cen Sen got into the car from the other side and glanced at her.

"…"

For her?

Ji Mingshu eyed him suspiciously and reached for the shopping bag.

While unwrapping the box, she kept stealing looks at him.

When the bag's "true face" was finally revealed, a little flutter of joy rose unbidden in her heart. The corners of her straight mouth couldn't help lifting slightly.

It's actually quite nice. The brand, color, style, and size were all to her taste.

"Do you like it?"

Ji Mingshu examined the bag intently, extremely satisfied inside, but maintained a haughty and aloof expression on the surface. She delivered a lofty critique: "It's… passable, I suppose."

She caressed it lovingly, then suddenly remembered something. She turned her head, still holding onto her haughtiness, and asked, "Why are you being so nice to me today?"

"Am I?"

Wasn't he? Pouring congee, personally picking her up, giving her a bag… from every angle, it looked suspiciously like he had ulterior motives!

Last time he uncharacteristically went to pick her up at the magazine office and uncharacteristically cooked her braised ribs, wasn't it just to fatten her up before making his move?

Thinking of this, Ji Mingshu tightened her grip on the bag handle, her heart uneasy.

This Dog Man couldn't be that bad, could he? She'd just gotten out of the hospital today. Was he really that impatient, that inhumane?

But just a few minutes later, the car parked in the underground garage of a large shopping mall. Cen Sen said he was going to the supermarket to buy groceries to make her congee, seemingly confirming her suspicions further.

She got out of the car clutching her new bag, eyeing Cen Sen with extreme wariness. On the way to the supermarket, she kept reminding him that she was a patient who had just been discharged from the hospital, physically weak and in need of proper rest and recuperation. She couldn't handle any exertion!

Cen Sen glanced at her. "Understood."

"…"

That utterly bland, perfunctory brush-off. Understood, my foot. I bet you understand nothing.

Cen Sen had no idea what wild thoughts were running through her head, nor did he feel he had done anything particularly unusual today, or been special to her in any way.

It all seemed very natural. He did what he felt like doing and considered it all the natural order of things.

Ji Mingshu rarely set foot in supermarkets normally, and this was her first time ever grocery shopping with Cen Sen.

Seeing the shopping carts at the entrance, including those cute little car-shaped ones, she stared for a few times longer.

Cen Sen suddenly reached out and nudged her head. "Don't look. Your weight isn't suitable for those."

His hand was still a bit cool. Even though he was just nudging her head, she felt her heart lurch violently once more, uncontrollably.

By the time she gathered her wits to retort, Cen Sen was already pushing a cart four or five meters ahead.

She quickly caught up, placing her hands on the cart handle alongside his. After steadying her heartbeat, she made small talk, "By the way, when did you learn to cook? I never knew before."

"In university," he said while selecting seasonings. "Didn't specifically learn. Just downloaded recipes and followed them."

"I've followed recipes too. Why can't I do it?"

Cen Sen placed a bottle of cumin powder in the cart, then turned to look at her with an expression that said: Don't you know the answer yourself?

Ji Mingshu wisely shut her mouth.

The supermarket was brightly lit. Ji Mingshu looked around and noticed many young couples pushing carts together, chatting and laughing, some acting very affectionate.

As they reached the seafood section, the air began to smell fishy. Ji Mingshu covered her nose. She hadn't taken more than two steps forward when a fish in one of the glass tanks suddenly flopped, sending a splash of water outward.

She instinctively shielded the new bag Cen Sen had given her. Once the fish settled down, she even lovingly lifted the bag to wipe it.

As she wiped, she felt something was off. She treated even her Birkin like an everyday tote bag, hauling it everywhere without a care. Why was she being so careful with a perfectly ordinary bag that wasn't even that precious?

Thinking of something, she immediately stopped wiping the bag.

She glanced at Cen Sen, who was selecting live shrimp, and said quickly, "The smell here is awful. I'm going to look at the snacks. I'll find you later."

With that, she immediately turned and, after a two-second pause, scurried away at a brisk pace, escaping Cen Sen's line of sight.

Cen Sen looked up at her retreating figure but didn't dwell on it.

However, considering that once Ji Mingshu was out of his sight, she was capable of doing something utterly inexplicable, he didn't linger long in the seafood section either. After having the shrimp processed, he went to find that little vase who couldn't function independently.

Ji Mingshu drifted listlessly through the snack aisle, her bag in hand. Her stomach finally registered its belated hunger.

Normally, her craving for junk food was minimal. But right now, she had an intense desire to rip open a bag of chips and eat them before paying.

Fortunately, her concern for image triumphed over hunger. She drifted further along, deciding out of sight, out of mind.

Out of sight, her stomach was settled, but her mind still wouldn't quiet down.

Certain things she didn't really want to think too deeply about lingered in her thoughts, like a minefield. Probing them even slightly would blow a huge crater in her current, fragile peace.

She paced back and forth in front of the shelves for a long time, wanting to expel the two characters ‘Cen Sen’ from her mind.

But the very second the thought formed, that familiar, calm voice sounded right behind her, completely catching her off guard. "All done here."

She jumped, her shoulders involuntarily shuddering. In a panic, she grabbed the nearest item from the shelf and hurried forward without looking back. "Me too! All done!"

After walking a bit, she glanced down casually and froze.

In her hand was a large box. A box with huge, unmistakable lettering on the cardboard. A box of condoms. Inside were a dozen or two individual packs.

Now this was a real landmine.

Her brain short-circuited. Seeing several guys nearby, she didn't think. She instinctively turned and shoved the box into Cen Sen's arms.

When she looked up, Ji Mingshu wished she could die on the spot.

Where was Cen Sen?!

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