My Queen, My Rules - 35
Leg Massage
After hanging up, Cen Sen sat in silence for a while.
Just then, Zhou Jiaheng came in with a stack of documents. After a brief pause, Cen Sen looked up and asked, "If a man keeps liking a woman's Moments posts and tells her her photos are pretty and cute, does that mean he's pursuing her?"
Zhou Jiaheng had been completely focused on work. The question caught him so off guard that it took several seconds before he even processed what he'd heard.
And once he did, another thought immediately followed.
Is President Cen trying to hint at something? Or speak in metaphors? Has some tricky situation happened in his personal life? Is he expecting me, as his executive assistant, to read between the lines and solve the problem before he even asks?
In the span of barely ten seconds, Zhou Jiaheng had already crafted what he believed to be the perfect response.
But Cen Sen seemed to realize he'd gotten the wrong idea. Before Zhou Jiaheng could speak, he withdrew his gaze and said flatly, "Don't overthink it. I was just asking."
"..."
Too late.
He already had.
Cen Sen: "You can go."
Zhou Jiaheng paused briefly, gave a slight nod, and turned to leave, though for once his heart carried an unfamiliar sense of uncertainty.
He had worked beside Cen Sen for many years and understood him better than almost anyone. Whatever Cen Sen intended, Zhou Jiaheng could usually grasp it immediately and handle things appropriately.
But Cen Sen almost never brought up personal matters. Today's question had completely thrown him off.
The truth was, even Cen Sen hadn't quite figured it out himself.
Silence settled over the office. Removing his glasses, he leaned back in his chair and absentmindedly rubbed the bridge of his nose.
He had always been detached when it came to emotions.
He never understood women particularly well. Nor had he ever felt especially strong likes or dislikes toward anyone he'd dated. At most, he'd admired them.
As for Ji Mingshu, ever since their school days, she'd possessed far too many traits that fell well outside his definition of admirable.
She was flamboyant, impulsive, shallow, vain, arrogant, and profoundly self-centered.
Back when she had repeatedly provoked him over the most childish things, he'd once concluded that, aside from her face, she had almost nothing worth admiring.
Fortunately, their paths seldom crossed to begin with, and after graduating high school, they saw even less of each other.
Still, whenever he returned to Nanqiao Hutong, he'd inevitably hear bits and pieces about Ji Mingshu from the Cen family.
Which university she'd gotten into.
What gifts she'd mailed home from overseas.
How beautiful she'd grown.
Which family's son was pursuing her.
They had crossed paths a handful of times over the years, but only in passing. Not once had they actually exchanged words.
It wasn't until the centennial celebration of Affiliated High School, when their former classmates organized a reunion, that they properly met again.
They were in different graduating years, so logically they shouldn't even be at the same reunion. But adult reunions were no longer about reminiscing over school memories. They were networking events in disguise, opportunities to expand circles and exchange resources.
To put it more bluntly, anyone without value had long since been excluded from the category of "classmate."
Strangely enough, Cen Sen still remembered exactly what Ji Mingshu had worn that night.
A silver-green spaghetti-strap gown.
The design was elegant in its simplicity, yet the finely pleated skirt became exquisitely intricate with every movement, rippling like water.
A slender matching belt cinched her waist, making it look delicate enough to fit within one hand.
By the time Ji Mingshu arrived, Cen Sen had already had quite a bit to drink.
He'd considered himself perfectly sober. Yet the instant he saw her, he briefly wondered whether he was far drunker than he'd realized.
Ji Mingshu's two uncles, one in business and one in politics, both needed powerful marital alliances to strengthen their respective positions.
Around that time, Cen Sen had learned they were secretly searching for a suitable husband for her.
The family they'd chosen was the Su family, whose fortune had begun in the Jiangnan textile industry.
After expanding north over several years, the Su family had established itself in both business and political circles. While they couldn't compare with the Cen family, they stood at the very top among the rising elite. Their momentum was remarkable, and their future looked exceptionally bright.
Cen Sen happened to know the Su family's youngest son.
He was intelligent, capable, and handsome, one of the heirs the family invested in most heavily. His private life, however, was less than pristine; he was known to pursue both men and women without discrimination.
Remembering all that, then looking at the bright-eyed beauty standing before him, Cen Sen had unexpectedly felt a trace of regret.
Perhaps it was that regret that planted the first vague idea in his mind. Otherwise, he wouldn't have stepped in and taken Ji Mingshu away after she accidentally drank the spiked alcohol.
Originally, he'd intended to take her straight to the hospital.
But after sitting obediently for only a few minutes, Ji Mingshu suddenly climbed onto his lap, straddling him face-to-face. She kneaded his cheeks while loudly scolding him.
She called him a worshipper of everything foreign, mocked his terrible taste for dating a little white lotus like Li Wenyin. Then, contradicting herself entirely, she started cursing him for breaking up with Li Wenyin at all, insisting that irrecyclable trash like the two of them should have stayed locked together forever and spared everyone else.
He'd already drunk far too much that evening. Leaving the banquet early with this ungrateful woman had earned him yet another glass of neat whisky amid everyone's teasing.
He was far from sober himself.
He hadn't even had the energy to wonder why, after years apart, she'd still greeted him with such wholehearted fury.
But the moment she'd finished scolding him, she leaned forward and kissed him.
From his lips all the way down to his Adam's apple.
Like a lazy kitten, she licked him lightly, one teasing touch after another. Her voice remained soft and sweet, making even her insults sound like coquettish complaints.
Cen Sen was no saint immune to temptation. Naturally, he couldn't withstand such a vivid, sensual provocation.
For a few fleeting seconds, he'd even wondered whether the Ji family had orchestrated the whole thing to lure him in.
Yet with such warmth and softness in his arms, he found himself thinking that taking the bait might not be such a bad idea after all.
As it happened, he was in need of an exquisitely beautiful vase to decorate his home.
The memory ended the instant he stepped into the hotel suite.
Opening his eyes, Cen Sen rubbed his brow before reopening the documents on his desk.
He really must have been too tired lately, to let a single comment from Pei Xiyan send his thoughts spiraling like this.
Ji Mingshu was his wife.
Complimenting her for being pretty or cute was perfectly normal.
What did that have to do with pursuing her? Or liking her?
Ridiculous.
Yet only a short while later, he set down his pen again, picked up his phone, and sent Ji Mingshu a message.
Cen Sen: [What time does filming end today? I'll be passing by anyway. I can pick you up.]
By the time Ji Mingshu saw the message, she was already as exhausted as a salted fish.
Renovation work was physically demanding.
Even ordinary people found it exhausting, let alone a pampered young heiress like Ji Mingshu.
Leaning weakly against the window, she called Cen Sen. Her voice sounded drained. "I just saw your message. We're done filming. I'm so tired. I'll just head back on my own."
Cen Sen: "I'm already here."
Ji Mingshu instinctively glanced out the window.
Sure enough, parked in the corner of the apartment complex's parking lot was a familiar car with its hazard lights flashing.
At the same moment, one of the crew members finished packing up the equipment and called out, "Teacher Ji, ready to go? The car's here."
Covering the phone with one hand, she turned around. "Oh, it's okay. My husband came to pick me up."
"Huh? Teacher Ji, you're married?"
"No way! Can't tell at all!"
The staff looked genuinely shocked.
Normally, whenever ordinary guests joined the show, the production team conducted background checks beforehand.
But Ji Mingshu had been recommended by Meng Xiaowei. Their sponsor had also vetoed both the proposed romance storyline between her and Li Che and the plan to make her one of the show's featured participants.
So the crew hadn't bothered spending much energy investigating what they assumed was just a decorative flower vase at the edge of the frame.
Besides, Ji Mingshu never wore a wedding ring. She looked young, fashionable, and effortlessly glamorous. No one had ever thought to ask whether she was married.
As a result, something as simple as her marital status had become the one thing everyone had overlooked.
Ji Mingshu couldn't be bothered explaining further. After replying with a couple of perfunctory sentences, she stopped by the restroom to freshen up her makeup, then hurried downstairs.
She had spent the entire day walking in high heels, both of her legs were trembling on the verge of giving out.
The moment she got into the car, she bent over to massage her calves, whining dramatically. "Oww... it hurts... it hurts so much..."
She sounded determined to make sure the entire world heard her suffering.
Without looking up from his documents, Cen Sen said evenly, "You could wear flats."
"?"
"What do you know? High heels are a woman's final line of defense! I'd rather die than show up to filming in flats!"
"..."
Cen Sen simply replied, "Oh," then calmly returned to reading.
Oh?
Oh?
Oh?!
Ji Mingshu stared at him in disbelief for a full ten seconds.
There he was, perfectly relaxed, leisurely reading paperwork.
Meanwhile she was so exhausted her limbs had practically stopped functioning.
The more she looked at him, the angrier she became.
Without warning, she shifted sideways, swinging one leg, then the other, swiftly and decisively onto Cen Sen's lap.
"My legs hurt. Massage them for me."
She sounded completely justified.
Cen Sen turned to look at her, momentarily unable to tell whether she was acting spoiled or issuing an order.
Having delivered her command, Ji Mingshu shamelessly ignored him and began playing on her phone instead.
Cen Sen lowered his gaze at her legs for quite some time without moving.
"It hurts! It really, really hurts!"
She nudged him impatiently, there was an unmistakable hint of coquettishness in her voice that she herself didn't notice.
Something stirred quietly inside him.
He didn't know what he was thinking. Without another word, he slowly rolled up his sleeves and began gently kneading her calves.
"..."
Wait. He was actually doing it?
Ji Mingshu instinctively shrank back a little.
She'd only meant to be difficult for the sake of making life hard for this Dog Man.
Who would've guessed he'd actually indulge her today?
Fortunately, she had always been exceptionally good at accepting kindness from other people.
Within moments, she relaxed completely, curled comfortably into her seat, and shamelessly enjoyed what had to be the world's most exclusive massage service.
An opportunity as rare as having Cen Sen massage her legs simply couldn't go to waste.
Opening WeChat, Ji Mingshu was already wondering how to post about it on Moments without sounding too obvious.
Just then, her phone vibrated.
A message from Gu Kaiyang popped up.
Gu Kaiyang: [AHHHHH! Girl, brace yourself!]
Gu Kaiyang: [Li Wenyin's interview is out!]
Gu Kaiyang: [I'm sending you the important parts. I've seriously never seen anyone this shameless in my life!!!]
Ji Mingshu: [?]
Gu Kaiyang immediately sent over a screenshot with several passages highlighted in red.
Even from the thumbnail, Ji Mingshu could make out the title: Li Wenyin Interview.
A bad feeling instantly settled in her stomach.
Opening it, she quickly found the key excerpts.
Li Wenyin: "I think seeing something you've written adapted into a film is every writer's dream. This story means something very... how should I put it... very special to me. It's something that can never be replicated."
...
Li Wenyin: "Yes. A lot of people already know the story was inspired by real life. The inspiration was my first love and me. I actually wrote a Weibo post years ago titled My First Love Got Married. At the time I didn't think much of it, and I certainly never expected it to be shared so widely. Later, because I didn't want to cause him any trouble, I deleted it."
...
Li Wenyin: "Making this film isn't about disturbing his life. I just wanted to say that when we're young, we don't always know how to cherish what we have. I was immature and reckless. Maybe because of that, I've lost him forever. But in another sense, we also shared the most beautiful moments of our lives."
...
Li Wenyin: "Yes. This story is very meaningful to me, so I'll do everything I can to bring it to the screen in its most perfect form. I also hope that when audiences watch it, they'll remember their own youth and those irreplaceable years. That's my sincerest wish for him."
...?
Wish?
What kind of self-righteous nonsense is this? That little white lotus actually dared say something like that? If she had the guts to repeat it to my face and I didn't smear her with a bucket of shit, my surname isn't Ji!
Ji Mingshu could barely suppress the murderous rage boiling inside her, even her legs twitched violently.
Noticing the movement, Cen Sen looked up. "What's wrong?"
The flames of fury had already spread through every inch of Ji Mingshu's body. She felt like opening her mouth would unleash her mystical canary flames.
So, swallowing the blood rising in her throat, she forced herself to sound calm, and replied, "Nothing."
A graceful and virtuous lady like me absolutely must not lose her temper!
---
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