My Queen, My Rules - 37
Wrap-Up
The car door slammed shut with a deafening bang that seemed to keep echoing in her ears long after the sound itself had faded.
In all her twenty-odd years, Ji Mingshu had never once had a car door slammed in her face. Caught completely off guard, her mind went blank for a moment, followed with a barrage of question marks. Had Cen Sen lost his mind? How could he treat his formally and legitimately married wife like this? Was he even human???
She strode around the car and slammed the opposite door just as hard, the crash ringing out even louder.
Ji Mingshu’s ability to organize a verbal assault was formidable. In the mere tens of seconds it took to get into the car, she had already composed an entire speech of soul-shaking accusations that was sure to leave him speechless.
But the instant their eyes met, a bizarre thought flashed through her mind: Wait... could he actually be... jealous?
The idea made her eyes flicker, and for some inexplicable reason, she suddenly felt a little guilty.
Gu Kaiyang: [If that's not jealousy, what else would it be, indigestion?]
Jiang Chun: [Diagnosis complete. He's a walking vinegar bottle.]
Jiang Chun: [Wait, is this the legendary "asking for a friend" situations? Your Highness, you don't have to be so subtle when you're showing off your marriage in front of us. Just say it outright, please!
Gu Kaiyang: [+1. Also, besides the two of us, what other 'friends' do you even have?]
Ji Mingshu: [?]
Gu Kaiyang: Bad wording. I meant, besides the two of us, which random peasant's relationship is worth this much of your concern?
Ji Mingshu: ...
It's me, I'm the random peasant.
How humbling. :)
After returning to the hotel that day, Ji Mingshu and Cen Sen settled into a strangely delicate stalemate.
They weren't arguing, and it wasn't exactly a cold war either. They still ate together at the hotel, still slept in the same bed at night, and even stood shoulder to shoulder brushing their teeth at the bathroom sink every morning.
They just... didn't speak.
Cen Sen's silence came naturally. Ji Mingshu, on the other hand, was too tangled up in her own thoughts to worry about breaking the ice.
After a day and a half of agonizing over it, she finally disguised her suspicion about Cen Sen's jealousy into a clumsy "asking for a friend story" and shared it in the girls' group chat.
Even though the Rainbow Compliments Squad unanimously declared it was jealousy, Ji Mingshu still couldn't quite believe it.
The Cen family's affairs weren't something she could casually reveal, so when retelling the story she'd deliberately omitted the deeper connection between Cen Sen and Cen Yang. Yet it was precisely that hidden relationship that made her lean toward another explanation. Maybe it wasn't jealousy at all. Maybe he simply didn't want to hear anyone mention Cen Yang.
Amid Ji Mingshu's endless back-and-forth dilemma, the filming of Designer's Abode finally drew to a close.
Over the course of a month and a half, Ji Mingshu had trashed six pairs of high heels and, despite not having much weight to lose in the first place, somehow dropped a full two kilograms.
On the final day of filming, Pei Xiyan prepared farewell gifts for his teammates and the production staff.
They were all perfectly appropriate presents that couldn't possibly spark rumors. Feng Yan received an electric razor, Yan Yuexing got a skincare set, and both happened to be products Pei Xiyan personally endorsed.
Ji Mingshu's gift was a little different. She received a whole box of vitamins, every letter from A to D included, along with a handwritten note reminding her to keep up her nutrition so she wouldn't faint at any moment.
Pei Xiyan was still underage and had always maintained a cool-boy image completely in line with his personality. There was no way someone like him would think of something this thoughtful.
Yet Ji Mingshu stubbornly saw the entire box of vitamins as proof of "Yan-baby's" concern and affection for her. So touched, she immediately made three WeChat Moments posts singing his praises, even declaring that when his next movie premiered, she would pay for everyone on her friends list to a private screening! Anyone who saw the post should screenshot and save this, everyone gets a spot!
Before long, all three posts were flooded with friends enthusiastically joining her praise while teasing her for being so extravagantly generous.
Spending his money to fangirl after a kid. Very generous indeed.
After reading the posts, Cen Sen expressionlessly locked his phone.
***
With filming over, Ji Mingshu naturally headed back to the capital. Cen Sen, however, still had business to finish in Xingcheng and couldn't leave with her. She didn't mind in the slightest. Secretly, she was already looking forward to getting back first so she could properly deal with that little white lotus, Li Wenyin.
Ji Mingshu’s original plan had been to stay in Xingcheng for two more days so she could visit a trendy art museum and take some photos. But Gu Kaiyang secretly passed on a tip that Li Wenyin would be attending a luxury brand gala the following evening alongside one of the event's investors.
Upon receiving this news, Ji Mingshu left without notifying anyone. She immediately changed her flight and returned to the capital ahead of schedule.
The moment the plane touched down at Capital Airport's T2 terminal, Ji Mingshu gazed at the setting sun outside the window and was suddenly overwhelmed by the emotional relief of someone returning home after years of working away.
Woohoo!
Glittering, decadent Capital. Your Golden Canary has finally returned! This is where she shines brightest!
Before even stepping out of the airport, she'd dragged Gu Kaiyang and Jiang Chun for a three-person hot spring trip to Shuiyunjian.
Soaking in the private ginseng bath she'd once desperately wanted to experience, Jiang Chun lazily stirred the water. "This famous ginseng bath isn't all that special."
Ji Mingshu looked her up and down, then poked her plump shoulder. "What were you expecting? That one soak would magically make you lose three kilos? Seriously, could you show even the tiniest bit of feminine self-awareness? Look at these shoulders. Look at... wait, where are your collarbones? Oh right, you don't have one."
"..."
Jiang Chun had no idea what she'd done to deserve this. "It's been over a month since we last met. Could you at least pretend to be nice?"
Ji Mingshu reached over and gave her shoulder another gentle poke, smiling sweetly. "You're right. My mistake. You do have collarbones. They're just... very well hidden."
Jiang Chun slapped her hand away, her face a constipated expression of 'Would you just shut up already?'
Over the past month, Gu Kaiyang and Jiang Chun had been spending so much time together that they'd quietly formed an alliance behind the princess's back, combining their meager strength into a united front.
Seeing Jiang Chun being bullied, Gu Kaiyang patted her comfortingly on the shoulder. "She only acts tough with her own people. Let's see if she's still this overbearing when she meets Li Wenyin tomorrow."
Ji Mingshu kicked her. "Why wouldn't I be? Wow, you're getting really good at boosting the enemy's morale while crushing your own side's. What kind of turncoat switches teams this fast?"
Too busy sparring with these two so-called weaklings, Ji Mingshu never noticed her phone on the edge of the pool lighting up over and over with a string of incoming messages.
They were from one of the Designer's Abode production staff.
Ji Mingshu's group's filming had officially wrapped yesterday morning. The production team had been extremely professional and followed the contract to the letter, finishing exactly on schedule without dragging things out by even a single day.
The other teams had also largely completed their renovations around the same time. The last to finish was Li Che's group after an unexpected issue forced them to film an extra segment earlier that afternoon.
Just as films celebrated completion with a wrap party, the variety show had organized one as well. It was both a thank-you for everyone's hard work over the past month and a chance to wish the program great success before it aired.
Unfortunately, when the director announced the party after filming yesterday, Ji Mingshu had been in the restroom and missed the entire thing.
The director had asked a staff member familiar with Ji Mingshu to pass along the message. The staffer had agreed, but amidst the hectic post-production wrap-up work, the matter slipped her mind entirely.
Now, with the wrap party already underway, she finally remembered that she'd never notified Ji Mingshu.
Panicking, she immediately called and sent several WeChat messages, but none received a response.
As luck would have it, the producer suddenly cornered her. "Are all the designers here?"
She forced herself to answer, guilt written all over her face. "Y... yes. Everyone's here. Except Designer Ji Mingshu from Group C. She had something come up at the last minute and couldn't make it."
The producer frowned. "What thing?"
"I... I don't know..."
He was just about to reprimand her when someone hurried over to announce that representatives from the sponsor had arrived. Forgetting the matter entirely, he rushed outside to greet them.
The sponsor's guests this time were no ordinary visitors. Rumor had it the young heir of Junyi Group himself was attending, someone most people rarely had the chance to meet.
The heir had only managed to grace them with his presence because he placed particular importance on developing Junyi Yaji and happened to be in Xingcheng on business.
If they could leave a good impression on someone like him, wouldn't Seasons Two and Three have their financial backing practically secured?
The thought instantly brought a broad smile to the producer's face. Looking at Cen Sen, he saw nothing less than a walking God of Wealth.
For days now, Cen Sen and Ji Mingshu had barely exchanged a word. Their relationship, which had only just begun to thaw, seemed to have reverted overnight to how things had been when he first returned to China. More puzzling still, Ji Mingshu had been acting strangely lately. Every so often she'd stare at him thoughtfully, yet she'd never brought up the car door incident again, nor had she glared or rolled her eyes at him as she normally would.
Escorted into the main banquet hall by the producer, Cen Sen handed his overcoat to Zhou Jiaheng.
As Zhou Jiaheng took it, Cen Sen casually straightened his shirt collar and let his gaze drift across the large round banquet table.
After taking his seat at the head table, he lifted his eyes slightly and asked the producer, "Is everyone here?"
The producer hurriedly responded, "Yes, yes. Everyone except Xiao Pei. He had classes and couldn't make it."
"Is that so?"
The producer paused, then added, "Oh, there's also Designer Ji. She had some last minute personal matters to deal with today and couldn't come."
Remembering the sponsor's initial distinct lack of enthusiasm for featuring Ji Mingshu, he chuckled. "Designer Ji is... still rather young. Girls her age, you know. Speaking of steadiness and maturity, Designers Wu and Yang truly performed exceptionally well this season."
The two designers he praised just happened to be the ones Junyi had personally arranged to join the show.
After saying that, he discreetly observed Cen Sen's expression, but there wasn't the slightest change.
The producer wasn't the only one aware about the sponsor's explicit refusal to feature Ji Mingshu prominently in the beginning. Now that she wasn't present, several others joined in, subtly putting her down while taking the opportunity to praise the designers Junyi had favored.
Listening to the shifting wind of the conversation, Yan Yuexing suddenly laughed. "Designer Ji certainly knows how to wear people out. Honestly, after spending more than a month with her, I was exhausted. Maybe it's because she lacks experience. I'm so jealous of Groups D and E..."
She hadn't even finished her pointed remark when a heavy thud abruptly cut through the room.
The person at the head table had set down a wineglass with unmistakable force.
The entire banquet hall fell silent.
Every head turned toward the source of the sound.
---
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