My Queen, My Rules - 39
Exploding
The autumn afternoon was warm with gentle sunshine, a pleasant breeze drifted through the air.
But the moment the disconnected call ended with a dull beep, the temperature around Cen Sen seemed to plummet to freezing.
Divorce?
Ji Mingshu had just asked for a divorce?
Shu Yang looked even more stunned than the sun that had wisely hidden behind the clouds. Before he could stop himself, the words burst out. "Holy shit! You got back together with Li Wenyin? Since when? Damn it, Sen-ge, what were you thinking? And you let Ji Mingshu find out! What are you going to do now?"
Cen Sen didn't answer. Instead, he hit the speed dial for Zhou Jiaheng. "Make arrangements. I'm returning to the capital immediately."
His voice was low and heavy.
Hearing that, Jiang Che quietly set down his golf club and patted him on the shoulder without saying a word.
Zhao Yang also stayed silent, though the thoughts running through his head were almost identical to Shu Yang's.
It wasn't surprising. The two of them had spent years surrounded by women. They were seasoned playboys who had never placed much value on lifelong love or marital fidelity.
Convinced that Cen Sen had cheated with Li Wenyin and been caught by Ji Mingshu, their first instinct wasn't to judge him, but simply to figure out how to protect their buddy’s interests.
After Cen Sen left, the two continued their game of golf while discussing the situation.
Shu Yang: "I didn't expect Li Wenyin to have this much charm. She hasn't even been back that long, and they've already reconnected."
After giving it some thought, Zhao Yang replied, "Maybe it's a personality thing. Ji Mingshu... well, her personality is the problem. Most men can't handle her."
Shu Yang: "That's true. Hey, you think they’ll actually go through with it? The divorce?”
Zhao Yang: “No way. Do you think Ji Rusong and Ji Rubai are dead? Without Jingjian's backing, the Ji family wouldn't be what it is today. Still, it all depends on Sen-ge. If he wants a divorce, he'll get one sooner or later, even without this accident.”
"Good point." Shu Yang nodded again. "But Old Master Cen and Old Madam Cen adore Ji Mingshu. They'd never agree to it. And Uncle Cen... come on, even if they divorced, there's no way Li Wenyin could marry into the family. She'd never get past Uncle Cen."
Hearing this, Zhao Yang gave a dismissive snort. "Please. ‘Marry into the family’? Can’t you tell Sen-ge has no intention of divorcing? Otherwise, why rush back so quickly? Ji Mingshu's just saying it out of anger. You're worrying over nothing."
...
They chatted more and more animatedly. Within five minutes of Cen Sen leaving, they had already progressed to discussing how the assets should be divided if the couple divorced.
Jiang Che's attitude towards marriage had always differed from the two of them, but they were still his friends, so there wasn't much he could say. Gazing across the endless stretch of green, he simply remarked in an indifferent tone, "Enough. Stay out of their business."
In hindsight, Jiang Che's warning proved remarkably farsighted. Unfortunately, he delivered it with far too little conviction. In the time it took him to turn around, Zhao Yang and Shu Yang, the two notorious loudmouths, accidentally let the news slip.
The marriage alliance between the Cen and Ji families had always been one of the hottest topics within their social circle. Now that trouble had suddenly arisen, the rumors spread like wildfire.
By evening, after passing through countless retellings and embellishments, the story had already reached the Ji family.
The first calls Ji Mingshu received came from her eldest aunt and second aunt.
They both said roughly the same thing. They had heard she was getting divorced and wanted to know what had happened. They also assured her that if Cen Sen had bullied her or wronged her in any way, the Ji family would stand up for her and demand justice.
The women who had married into the Ji family all came from prestigious households. They were graceful, tactful, and knew exactly what to say.
Had it not been for the familiar "it's better to mend a marriage than break one apart," speech at the end, Ji Mingshu might have truly believed they were calling purely to protect her.
She brushed them off with a few perfunctory replies. Her mood, already at rock bottom, seemed to sink into an even colder abyss.
Perhaps her less than reassuring attitude made the Ji family feel a genuine sense of crisis. After both aunts had finished persuading her, even Ji Rusong personally called.
"Xiao Shu, what's going on between you and A-Sen? Why is everyone suddenly saying you're getting divorced?"
Ji Rusong didn't bother with small talk. As always, his voice was gentle yet carried the quiet authority of someone accustomed to being in power.
Ji Mingshu was crouched on the floor packing her luggage. After answering call after call, she wasn't at all surprised to hear from Ji Rusong.
She switched her phone to speaker and set it beside her. "I was the one who brought it up, Uncle. I can't live like this with him anymore."
"So it really was your idea?" Ji Rusong hadn't believed the rumors, but hearing her admit it made him anxious. "Xiao Shu, how can you be so impulsive?"
Ji Mingshu lowered her eyes and remained silent.
Ji Rusong was still at the office. Holding his phone in one hand and clasping the other behind his back, he found himself developing a headache because of this niece of his.
He forced himself to stay calm. "Xiao Shu, I'll be direct. You're an adult now. You can't make decisions based solely on your every little temper. Do you have any idea how important Jingjian's Nanwan project is to our cooperation right now?"
"Things aren't what they used to be. Jingjian doesn't necessarily need the Ji family, but without Jingjian, who else has the capacity to take on this project with us? Every stage of development would grind to a halt."
He sighed before continuing earnestly. "And your second uncle. He's worked conscientiously for decades, never daring to make even the smallest mistake. Do you think the position he holds now is easy to keep? Without Jingjian supporting him from the sidelines, countless people would be waiting to drag him down."
Ji Rusong's words carried disappointment, but not anger. He wanted to scold her, yet couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead, every sentence only made Ji Mingshu's already chaotic thoughts even more tangled.
Slowly, she set the clothes in her hands aside.
Then, just as slowly, she lifted both hands and covered her face.
If Ji Rusong had begun by berating her mercilessly, she could have defended herself without hesitation. She could have accused the Ji family of raising her solely for a political marriage, no different from how beautiful girls had once been groomed as commodities in ancient times. She could have declared they had no right to lecture her as elders.
But he hadn't.
More clearly than anyone else, she understood that while Ji Rusong and Ji Rubai had certainly raised her with their own motives, their kindness had never been entirely false.
When she was little, a classmate had mocked her for having no parents, for being a stray child picked out of the trash. She had cried her eyes out before running to complain to Ji Rusong.
The moment he found out, he immediately rushed back from another city without a second thought and went straight to the school to speak with the administration.
After school, he took her home. Along the way, he bought her an ice cream. Holding her tiny hand as they walked through the narrow alley toward the family compound, he patiently comforted her.
"Our Xiao Shu is the Ji family's little princess. How could you possibly be some abandoned child picked up from a trash heap? If anyone says things like that again, remember to tell Uncle. I'll go catch the bad people for you, all right?”
The deliberately slowed footsteps of the grown-up beside her, the narrow old alley they had walked through together, all of it had long since faded into the yellowed pages of memory. Yet now, every detail returned with startling clarity, as though it had happened only yesterday.
Her nose stung.
Before she realized it, tears were streaming uncontrollably down her face.
A long time passed before she finally managed to choke out through the phone, "Uncle... I'm sorry. But I really... I really don't want to keep living like this anymore. It hurts. I... I'm really hurt."
She couldn't bear to picture Cen Sen with Li Wenyin, didn't dare dwell on everything Li Wenyin had said. Nor could she keep convincing herself that she was merely angry because Cen Sen had embarrassed her.
It was supposed to be nothing more than a marriage of convenience. Yet somewhere along the way, something else had quietly taken root, tainting what had once been a simple arrangement of mutual benefit.
The evening sun hung low in the sky, rich orange streaked with crimson, like the soft, molten yolk of a salted duck egg.
Standing before the office window, Ji Rusong also fell silent.
He remembered that Ji Mingshu had been brought back to the Ji family estate after her parents' deaths on an evening very much like this one.
Back then, she had been nothing more than a tiny bundle in a fluffy princess dress, clutching a beautiful doll in her arms, far too young to understand what had happened.
The moment she saw him, her eyes curved into bright crescents. A nanny beside her had gently prompted her to call him "Uncle," but the little girl had proudly blurted out a childish mispronunciation instead, prompting laughter from everyone.
In those days, Old Master Ji was still alive. Ji Rusong himself had only recently taken over part of Huadian's business. Young and ambitious, he had genuinely adored the little daughter his younger brother had left behind.
Unlike now.
After weathering so many storms, even the deepest feelings had gradually grown pale. Strange, really. The older a person became, the less freedom they seemed to have over their own life.
Resting one hand on the window rail, he spoke again, his voice noticeably gentler. "Xiao Shu, I'm not trying to force you. I only hope you'll think about the Ji family as well. You're upset right now, so I won't say any more. Calm down first, then sit down with A-Sen and talk things through."
Ji Mingshu wrapped her arms around her knees and buried her face against them.
She didn't answer for a very long time.
Ji Rusong sighed softly and ended the call himself.
By the time Cen Sen returned to Mingshui Manor, it was already nine o'clock at night.
Tomorrow would probably be overcast. The sky above was empty, not a single star in sight.
The door to the master bedroom on the second floor stood open. The walk-in closet was still lit, and two monogrammed suitcases sat outside the entrance.
Cen Sen's expression remained unreadable.
He walked into the closet and looked at Ji Mingshu, who was crouched inside packing her luggage, and asked calmly, "Where do you think you're going.”
Ji Mingshu's back stiffened.
She neither turned around nor answered.
"Bocui Tianhua?"
"Your second uncle just called me. He thinks you should stay home and calm down."
The apartment at Bocui Tianhua had been a gift from Ji Rubai. Compared to Ji Rusong, Ji Rubai had always been far more hardhearted.
Understanding the implication, Ji Mingshu shot to her feet.
She turned and stared at him for several long seconds. Then, abandoning the rest of her packing, she grabbed one of the suitcases by the door and headed straight for the exit.
Before she could pass him, Cen Sen suddenly reached out and blocked her path.
"What are you trying to do?" Ji Mingshu lowered her gaze, her voice turned icy.
Cen Sen looked at her for a long moment. "Ji Mingshu," he said quietly, "that's the question I should be asking you."
The two stood frozen only a step apart, halted in the middle of brushing past one another.
Fatigued from the long journey, Cen Sen’s voice was low, hoarse, and carried an unmistakable edge of irritation.
"Li Wenyin's movie wasn't approved by me. I never intended to embarrass you. Before losing your temper, you could have asked me first. I can't drop everything I'm doing and rush home every single time you decide to throw a fit over something."
Ji Mingshu suddenly laughed. "So that's what you think. You think I'm just throwing a tantrum because I'm upset. Is that it?"
She let go of the suitcase handle and looked straight into the eyes of the tall man before her. "You say you didn't approve the investment yourself. Fine. Then tell me this. Is it a fact that Junyi invested in her movie?”
Cen Sen's expression was cold, he remained silent.
"So it is."
Every organ in her body seemed to ache with anger. Her voice grew louder, her words faster and sharper.
"Your company is investing in a movie made by your first love to commemorate your oh so beautiful romance. And now you're going to tell me you knew nothing about it? Or that even if you do know now, you have no power to stop it? Cen Sen, you're twenty-seven years old. Are you seriously telling me you're so obsessed with work that you don't even understand something as basic as avoiding a conflict of interest?"
"It's not what you're imagining. She was introduced to Junyi through Director Chen. Director Chen is an old friend of my father's, so refusing outright wasn't appropriate. I told her to submit the proposal through one of our investment subsidiaries and follow the standard evaluation process."
Cen Sen paused, believing he had already exercised every ounce of patience he possessed. He explained objectively,
"She received the investment because the evaluation team concluded the movie would generate returns beyond the investment itself. Whether the company invested or not had nothing to do with me."
"Nothing to do with you?" Ji Mingshu let out a bitter laugh.
As she continued, her voice shook harder and harder until every word was choked with emotion. "So you're telling me the people under you is completely incapable of reading the room? If you had shown even the slightest intention of avoiding impropriety, they wouldn't have known to steer clear?"
She nodded to herself. "Fine. Forget all of that. You know she got Junyi's investment now. You know exactly what kind of film she's making. So call the company and cancel the investment. Call them right now. Shut the film down."
“Ji Mingshu, I think you need to calm down.”
Cen Sen’s voice was heavy. He tightened his grip on her wrist as she tried to pull away.
Ji Mingshu looked at him. Without warning, tears spilled silently from her eyes.
She wrenched herself free from his grasp and hastily wiped at her face with the back of her hand.
It was useless.
The tears kept falling in endless streams, no matter how hard she tried to stop them.
An indescribable restlessness rose inside Cen Sen.
Ji Mingshu took two unsteady steps backward. "I'm perfectly calm. You won't do it, will you? Or is it that you can't? President Cen of Junyi. President Cen of Jingjian. Is it really so difficult for you to stop a movie that hasn't even started shooting? So which is it? Can't do it, or simply won't? If you won't, then fine. Let's get a divorce. I've had enough!"
By the end, Ji Mingshu was on the verge of breaking down, every word torn from her in near hysteria.
All the emotions she had buried deep inside, the ones she had stubbornly refused to acknowledge, burst free all at once.
Her face was soaked with tears, her shoulders trembled. Even her fingers shook uncontrollably.
That's right.
She, Ji Mingshu, really was the vicious supporting character.
She had loved Cen Sen for years. She had simply refused to face the truth, refused to admit it.
She was jealous. Jealous that Li Wenyin had been handed the perfect Cinderella story since childhood. Jealous that Li Wenyin, despite being inferior to her in looks, figure, and family background, had still once won Cen Sen's heart. Jealous that the moment Li Wenyin reappeared, she could still awaken his sympathy.
While she...
After three years of marriage, Cen Sen still didn't love her.
And he never would.
If this had been nothing more than a business marriage, she could have gone on deceiving herself. She could have pretended not to see, pretended not to know.
But why did it have to be Li Wenyin? Had he never, not even for a single second, considered how she would feel? He knew exactly what kind of relationship she had with Li Wenyin. So why would he still do this?
"Stop making a scene."
Hearing Ji Mingshu's ultimatum to ban Li Wenyin's movie or get a divorce, Cen Sen could only find her completely unreasonable.
“I’m not making a scene. Cen Sen, I’m serious. Let’s get a divorce.”
One by one, she pried his fingers from her wrist. Her voice came in broken fragments, quiet with the exhaustion that followed her emotional collapse.
She would never allow the last shred of dignity in this absurd marriage to be stripped away by Li Wenyin, that lingering ghost of his past.
Cen Sen didn't have to love her. He didn't even have to like her. But he could not remain married to her while maintaining ties with Li Wenyin. Absolutely not.
A sharp throb pulsed at Cen Sen's temples. The agitation inside him only intensified. Before he realized it, words he had never intended to say escaped without thought.
"Divorce? You keep throwing that word around. Do you really think you'll be happier after leaving me? Ji Mingshu, what could you possibly do without me?"
"Ask yourself honestly. Once you're divorced, will the Ji family still treat you the way they do now? How many people in your social circle will still be willing to play supporting roles around you? You're not a child anymore. You have to take responsibility for the things you say and do."
Ji Mingshu slowly closed her eyes. "You're right, I can't do anything. I don't know how to do anything. I'm nothing but a canary you've kept in a gilded cage. So you've never truly respected me. You've never looked at me as your equal. And it's not just you. Your friends, my family, they all think that without you, I'm nothing but useless baggage who can't even stand on her own."
"I'm not as talented as Li Wenyin. I don't have her gifts. I certainly don't have her shamelessness. She breaks up with someone, then comes back waving the banner of nostalgia so she can cling to her ex all over again. And I definitely don't have her ability to make that very same ex slap his own wife's face just to help fulfill her dreams."
"So now...I want to fly away. Can I? Even if I'm struck by lightning the moment I fly out, that's none of your business. Get out of my way!"
Ji Mingshu shoved Cen Sen aside with all the strength she had left. This time she didn't even bother taking her suitcase.
Since Cen Sen had made it so clear that everything she had belonged to him, then she had no intention of shamelessly taking any of it with her.
But before she could reach the bedroom door, Cen Sen suddenly caught her wrist from behind.
Without giving her any chance to react, he pulled her back and threw her onto the bed.
He loosened his tie.
A thin layer of dangerous aura settled over his usually composed face.
Leaning over her, he pinned both of her slender wrists behind her back with one hand. His other hand gripped her chin, forcing her to accept his kiss.
He had rarely kissed her with such urgency, such ferocity.
He didn't even stop to examine why he was doing it. The impulse came and acted on it.
Ji Mingshu's eyes were still red and swollen from crying. The skin around them, along with her cheeks, carried the faint salty taste of dried tears.
His lips moved from hers to her eyelids, then to her earlobes, neck, and collarbone.
Each lingering kiss felt like another spark setting her body ablaze.
For the first half minute after he had thrown her onto the bed, Ji Mingshu was too stunned to react. By the time she regained her senses, a relentless storm of kisses had already swept over her.
Only when Cen Sen began undoing the buttons of her blouse did she finally struggle in panic.
“Let me go, let me go, let go! You pervert!”
Her wrists were locked so tightly she couldn't move them. Even her kicks landed weakly, robbed of all strength.
At last, when Cen Sen lowered his head to kiss her lips again, she seized the opportunity and bit him hard. The metallic taste of blood instantly spread through both their mouths.
The sharp pain seemed to bring Cen Sen back to himself. The restlessness inside him gradually ebbed away.
Bracing himself beside her waist, he slowly ran his thumb across his bleeding lower lip.
He didn't seem to notice the pain. His gaze never left Ji Mingshu, he studied her inch by inch, almost as though he were admiring a finely crafted work of art.
After a long silence, he finally straightened. Standing beside the bed, he calmly adjusted his collar.
When he looked at her again, the turbulence in his eyes had disappeared.
"I agree with your uncle. I think you need time to calm down. You’ll stay here. You are not to go anywhere."
Ji Mingshu struggled into a sitting position, but before she could even stand, Cen Sen had already walked out of the bedroom, pulling the door shut with a ‘bang’ and locking it from the outside.
She stared blankly for three seconds, then rushed to the door barefoot and twisted the handle.
Locked.
He had actually locked her inside the bedroom.
Standing frozen before the door, Ji Mingshu felt as though her mind were about to explode. She couldn't make sense of any of this.
Why wouldn't Cen Sen let her leave?
Was it because he thought her departure would unfairly brand Li Wenyin as the other woman? Or was he waiting until both families had finished interrogating them before making the Ji family calculate every cent she had spent over the years?
It was absurd.
Who locked their own wife inside a bedroom because they couldn't win an argument? What was this? House arrest?
***
After leaving the bedroom, Cen Sen remained standing at the top of the stairs for a long time without moving.
He closed his eyes, replaying everything he had just done, and couldn't seem to find a single thread of logic in any of it.
Only one certainty remained: He could not let Ji Mingshu leave.
It felt as though everything had spiraled out of control the moment she uttered the word "divorce." From Xingcheng, to boarding the plane, to the silent journey home. Everything.
He rubbed the bridge of his brow and called Zhou Jiaheng. "Withdraw Junyi's investment from Li Wenyin's movie. No reason given. Also, find her contact information and send it to me."
Ten minutes later, he dialed the unfamiliar number Zhou Jiaheng had forwarded.
"Hello?" A gentle, composed female voice answered.
"This is Cen Sen."
Silence hung on the other end for two seconds before the same soft voice spoke again. "Oh... do you need something? Did Mingshu... say something to you?"
Without wasting a word, Cen Sen got straight to the point. "Miss Li, you and I dated for three months. That relationship ended nearly ten years ago. I don't believe there's anything between us worth turning into a commemorative movie."
Li Wenyin froze for a moment, then gave a light laugh. "Movies need publicity these days. Audiences won't pay to watch something that has no story behind it. You can rest assured, I won't reveal your identity, and I never intended to damage the relationship between you and Mingshu… if any exists.”
Cen Sen's voice remained cold. "That doesn't interest me, I'm only calling to inform you. You may continue making your movie. But neither my wife nor I appreciate being used by anyone in any form. Therefore, I can't guarantee that your movie will ever make it to theaters."
With that, he ended the call without another word.
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