My Queen, My Rules - 36
Jealousy
No matter how many times she told herself not to get angry, anyone who could stay calm and smiling in the face of something like this would have to be the reincarnation of the Laughing Buddha himself.
For a few fleeting seconds, Ji Mingshu desperately wanted to shove her phone in Cen Sen's face and let him see just how shamelessly his astonishing little white lotus of an ex was putting on a performance.
But the last sliver of reason she had left reminded her that Cen Sen had already said he had no intention of dwelling to the past.
She shouldn't take it out on him for no reason.
Maybe Li Wenyin was counting on her temper. Maybe she'd deliberately staged this whole act, hoping Ji Mingshu would pick a fight with Cen Sen and damage their marriage.
Exactly. That had to be it.
Must not fall for it. Must absolutely resist her evil schemes!
But she was so, so angry!!!
Ji Mingshu grabbed a throw cushion and buried her face in it for a while. Then she abruptly kicked Cen Sen away, dropped both feet to the floor, and sat upright, visibly fuming as she teetered on the edge between exploding and demanding answers.
Normally, Ji Mingshu always said whatever was on her mind.
But whenever Li Wenyin, her lifelong nemesis, was involved, something in her seemed to seize up. Countless grievances lodged themselves inside her chest, impossible to voice.
School hadn't let out yet, but the little shops nearby were already open, and street vendors had begun wheeling their carts into place.
"Pull over!" Ji Mingshu suddenly called out. Looking toward the roadside stalls, she added, "I'm hungry."
The driver reacted immediately. "Madam, what would you like? I'll go buy it."
Ji Mingshu: "No need. I'll go myself."
The moment she stepped out of the car, she headed straight for a fried snack cart and ordered a serving of chicken strips.
Like stationery stores, fried snack stalls were a permanent fixture outside schools of every level. Aside from the soaring prices and the QR codes plastered across the cart, everything looked exactly the way she remembered.
The vendor moved with practiced efficiency. He scooped up a generous portion of chicken strips onto the scale, realized it weighed a little too much, then casually picked off two pieces and tossed them back into the tray with a flick of his wrist.
The entire sequence was so smooth and indifferent that it practically declared:
Give up. Good looks don't earn discounts at my stall.
In truth, Ji Mingshu hadn't started strictly controlling her diet until her second year of high school.
As a child, she loved junk food: Sprite, Coca-Cola, potato chips, spicy snack sticks, fried food, barbecue. They were all among her greatest loves.
Back in middle school, she had the metabolism of youth on her side and often sneaked out with her girlfriends for late-night snacks.
But during the summer after her first year of high school, the class held one last gathering before everyone was assigned to different classes.
That night, she'd washed down countless oily, spicy skewers with beer.
When she got home, her stomach hurt terribly. She kept running to the bathroom and was finally diagnosed by the family doctor with acute gastroenteritis. She ended up on an IV drip for three straight days.
Her aunt scolded her while fussing over her. Her older and younger cousins surrounded her, nagging nonstop until she thought her ears would fall off.
Driven to the brink by the chorus of human sutras, she finally raised four fingers and swore, "I'll never eat junk food again! If I do, I'll marry an ugly man!"
Her youngest cousin, with his sharp eyes and an even sharper sense of fairness, immediately pushed one of her fingers down and insisted she swear properly.
Feeling guilty, Ji Mingshu weakly repeated the oath with three fingers this time, only then was she granted a moment of peace.
But once everyone had left and she was alone again, the room suddenly felt unbearably quiet.
Her stomach hurt even more.
Curled up on the bed, rubbing her aching belly through tear-filled eyes, she couldn't stop thinking about what the girls at the gathering had said.
"Li Wenyin actually managed to win Cen Sen over."
"She's so lucky."
She tossed and turned all night, unable to fall asleep.
Looking back, that was probably the most agonizing night of her life.
She hadn't taken the oath seriously when she'd made it. But after that ordeal, she developed such a deep fear of gastroenteritis that even the sight of junk food made her uneasy.
Somehow, she'd really kept her promise and turned over a new leaf.
…..
The breaded chicken strips sizzled in the hot oil, bubbling into a perfect golden crisp.
Ji Mingshu returned to the present and tapped the glass display case. "Add a sausage too."
At some point, Cen Sen had quietly followed her over.
He glanced at Ji Mingshu but couldn't detect any particularly strong craving for fried food in her expression.
Their order was ready in no time. Ji Mingshu accepted the chicken strips, then handed the sausage to Cen Sen. "Hold this for me."
He didn't take it immediately.
For some inexplicable reason, she suddenly poked the sausage toward his face and said with poorly concealed sarcasm, "Didn't you ever hold snacks for your girlfriend back in school?"
Cen Sen finally took the skewer from her. After thinking for a moment, he answered, "No."
"..."
Yeah, right.
As if she'd believe that.
If he'd never even carried snacks for her, what the hell was Li Wenyin reminiscing about then?
Still annoyed, Ji Mingshu wandered toward a nearby beef noodle shop.
Behind her, Cen Sen spoke up. "The place ahead tastes better."
"How would you know?"
His tone remained calm. "I went to school here."
...?
Ji Mingshu froze for two seconds, turning toward the elementary school across the street.
Xingcheng Normal University No. 2 Affiliated Elementary School.
The red paint on the school sign had begun to fade, much like the weathered guard booth beside it. Neither looked like they'd been renovated in years.
The road inside the campus disappeared beneath rows of flourishing trees. Farther in, only the faint outline of a brick-red classroom building could be seen.
So, when Cen Sen lived in Xingcheng, he'd gone to school here?
Somehow, the ordinary little street suddenly carried the warmth of old memories.
It made her want to know more.
Even after following Cen Sen into the noodle shop, Ji Mingshu couldn't stop looking around. It was difficult to picture a tiny, carrot-headed version of Cen Sen growing up somewhere like this.
Mistaking her curiosity for another attack of princess syndrome, Cen Sen quietly laid two paper napkins over the plastic stool before sitting down.
Ji Mingshu never even noticed. After finishing her inspection, she simply dragged over another plastic stool and sat.
The shop owner gave Cen Sen a once-over, his expression seeming to say, How can a grown man be fussier than such a pretty young lady?
Cen Sen remained completely unfazed. He sat down and ordered, "Two bowls of beef rice noodles. Mildly spicy."
Ji Mingshu immediately corrected him. "I don't want beef. I want the seafood one."
"Coming right up!"
Since the elementary students hadn't been dismissed yet, business was slow. Within just a few minutes, the owner served both bowls.
His favoritism couldn't have been more obvious. Cen Sen's portion looked perfectly ordinary. Ji Mingshu's seafood noodles, meanwhile, were piled so high with toppings they formed a little mountain.
Unfortunately, her tiny appetite was destined to disappoint the owner's generosity.
Years of strict dieting had conditioned both her body and mind. After eating only a few chicken strips, calories had already begun flashing through her head like warning signs.
Now she had no appetite at all.
She absentmindedly stirred the noodles with her chopsticks.
Perhaps finding the silence too awkward, she casually asked while stirring, "Did you come here a lot when you were in elementary school?"
Cen Sen added a spoonful of chili to his bowl. "Not really. I usually went home to eat."
The mention of home immediately made Ji Mingshu think of Chen Biqing and An Ning. After that one meeting, Cen Sen seemed to have cut off all contact. Was he really planning to leave things that way?
Resting her chin on one hand, she tried to sound casual. "I saw on Moments that An Ning seems to have started school."
Cen Sen glanced up. Somehow, his train of thought took a completely unexpected turn. "Are you trying to ask if Cen Yang is back or not?"
"...?"
"I wasn't."
Ji Mingshu denied it instinctively, utterly baffled.
Heaven and earth be my witness, she'd been so exhausted these days she barely had time to think about herself. Why would she be thinking about the vaguely remembered Cen Yang?
Whether Cen Sen believed her or not, he didn't continue the conversation.
Once Ji Mingshu recovered from her confusion, she assumed he'd deliberately changed the subject because he didn't want to discuss family matters. So, she didn't press further.
After all, it wasn't really any of her business. Nor did she believe she possessed the miraculous ability to mend the chaotic family relationships of her plastic husband.
The next second, though, she remembered something that was very much her business.
Li Wenyin's interview had been dripping with heartfelt nostalgia over their relationship.
Three months. It had only lasted three months.
What was so unforgettable about that? Had she never met a man before?
This cold, hard block of stone, only a little white lotus like Li Wenyin would still treasure it!
The more Ji Mingshu thought about it, the more uncomfortable she became. She was suddenly seized by an overwhelming urge to cause trouble.
Without warning, she grabbed the vinegar bottle and poured a good half-bottle's worth into Cen Sen's bowl.
Watching the noodles with utmost sincerity, she declared, "I think it tastes better with vinegar."
Cen Sen paused his chopsticks. Without saying a word, he simply switched their bowls.
By the time they left the noodle shop, the sun was beginning to sink.
Across the street, elementary school had dismissed. Some children stretched their necks searching for their parents, while others lined up neatly to board the school buses.
Standing by the roadside, Ji Mingshu suddenly behaved like one of the children herself. She grabbed Cen Sen's sleeve and refused to move.
"What is it?"
"My feet hurt. I can't walk anymore."
Warning Level One.
Little Canary Ji had officially begun acting up.
Cen Sen glanced down. "Then I'll have the driver bring the car over."
"This is a one-way street. The car will have to make a huge detour."
For someone without a driver's license, she knew traffic rules surprisingly well.
Ignoring her objection, Cen Sen reached for his phone.
But she immediately covered it with her hand. "Why do you enjoy making life difficult for other people so much?"
"..."
Cen Sen gave her a look that clearly said: Anyone else might have the right to say that. You don't.
After a brief silence, he asked, "Then what do you want me to do? Carry you?"
Ji Mingshu folded her arms and casually glanced around, deliberately adopting an air of nonchalance. "When I was little, every time I got too tired to walk, Cen Yang-gege would always carry me."
"..."
Cen Sen continued scrolling through his contacts for the driver's number.
"...?"
What kind of garbage attitude was that?
It wasn't like she actually asking him to carry her in front of a crowd of elementary school students. But couldn't he at least pretend to be a considerate husband?
Hadn't he ever carried Li Wenyin before?
Why was carrying her suddenly impossible?
The more Little Canary Ji thought about it, the angrier she became.
Without thinking, she rattled on. "I wonder when Cen Yang-gege is coming back. Cen Yang-gege was always so smart. After all these years overseas, he must be doing really well. Come to think of it, I've hardly ever met a boy as outstanding as he is. And he was so kind too. When we were little, he used to feed all the stray cats around Nanqiao Hutong."
While Ji Mingshu happily invented one compliment after another, the driver had already brought the car around.
Cen Sen walked over and opened the door.
Then he paused, turning back to look at her, he said in an even tone, "He has plenty of traditional Chinese virtues. Unfortunately, I have none of them."
Ji Mingshu: "...?"
Before she could react, the car door slammed shut with a loud bang.
---
Comments
Post a Comment