My Queen, My Rules - 4

Spa

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Cen Sen's comment had been offhand, a throwaway remark he'd soon forgotten. Work was demanding. The moment he left Mingshui Manor, personal matters and family affairs were pushed from his mind. Reflecting on his own behavior or worrying about his wife's mood? Not a priority.

By two in the afternoon, traffic around the central business district was a river of metal. Under the high glaring sun, waves of heat shimmered off the asphalt .

It was that post-lull hour, the start of the afternoon work shift. Office workers, paper coffee cups in hands, drifted back to their companies in small clusters.

Friday. People were laughing, relaxed, in weekend mode. Only two girls who worked at Junyi, upon receiving a group notification, instantly dropped their gossipy chatter, hurrying toward the office.

"That fast? I thought he might not come today."

"Who knows? If I could read the minds of these people, I'd be day-trading stocks. Come on, move."

The Junyi headquarters occupied two adjoining towers near the financial center. A striking geometric split-level design, looming over the surrounding streets.

The eastern tower housed Junyi Huazhang, the group's flagship luxury hotel. The other was the corporate headquarters.

At 2:15, the usually empty lobby of the office tower was crowded with company management. They stood in two neat rows, ranked by seniority, from the outer edges inward. The lowest-ranked, team leaders from various departments, were on the periphery.

At 2:20, three black sedans pulled into the building's portico in succession.

The lead car, a Cadillac, stopped to the right of a Roman column. The middle car, a Bentley, was more brazen. It braked directly in the center.

A young man in glasses stepped out of the Bentley's passenger side. Buttoning his jacket as he moved, he walked to the rear door, bent slightly, and opened it with careful deference.

The assembled executives held their breath, eyes fixed on the door. An inexplicable tension crept up from the soles of their feet.

The afternoon sun was fierce, the asphalt hot enough to scorch, the leaves a translucent green. Amidst the noisy, sweltering summer day, there was also a strange, distant stillness, like a slow zoom out from a telephoto lens.

Cen Sen emerged from the car and slowly straightened to his full height.

He had the kind of looks that were clean, sharp, and cool. Combined with his tall, straight posture, he radiated a natural aloofness. From a distance, he looked young. Privileged.

Before anyone could react, the doors of the other two cars opened in unison. Six assistants, three men and three women, stepped out. All were in professional attire, carrying briefcases. They fell into place behind Cen Sen with practiced discipline, maintaining a precise half-meter distance.

Many senior executives had come to greet Cen Sen. But a few old guard members had deliberately stayed away, a silent warning to the young man about the true way of the world.

The group walked inside, expressionless. As they entered the elevator, someone rushed over and pressed the button for them.

"President Cen. I'm Secretary Yu, Mr. Huang's secretary. Please, just call me Xiao Yu. Mr. Huang hasn’t been feeling well recently and is recuperating at home, he couldn't make it today to welcome you."

Secretary Yu's face was arranged in a smile. He seemed attentive, eager to please. But he stood very straight. Though histone was soft, it carried an unmistakable air of condescension.

"Mr. Huang specifically instructed me to make sure you're well taken care of. If there's anything you'd like to see, or anything you need, just let me know."

The air went silent.

Zhou Jiaheng stood to the side of the elevator, body slightly inclined, his right hand extended, clearing the way for Cen Sen.

Only after Cen Sen had entered did Zhou Jiaheng turn to Secretary Yu. "Mr. Huang is getting on in years. It's only natural he might not feel well. Secretary Yu, please pass along a message to Mr. Huang. He should rest easy, focus on his recovery. From now on, he can spend his time at home, tending his garden, enjoying his retirement. He needn't trouble himself with company matters anymore."

"Now that President Cen has returned and will be taking full control of Junyi, he intends to do everything in his power to ensure that all those who have made significant contributions to the group, veterans like Mr. Huang, enjoy the highest quality of life in their retirement."

Retirement?

Secretary Yu froze.

But Zhou Jiaheng, having said his piece, didn't wait for a response. He stepped into the elevator, took his position slightly behind and to the side of Cen Sen, and changed the selected floor to sixty-eight.

The elevator doors slid slowly shut. Cen Sen stood in the center, his expression mild yet indifferent. From start to finish, he didn't grant the vanguard Secretary Yu so much as a glance.

The entourage arrived at the long-vacant chairman's office on the sixty-eighth floor.

One assistant efficiently affixed a temporary nameplate to the door.

Two others worked in tandem, measuring and recording data within the office to facilitate the furniture and fixtures to Cen Sen's preferences.

Zhou Jiaheng, the chief assistant, opened his laptop and, via the company intranet, distributed the long-prepared notice prepared:

"Effective immediately, following a leadership review, Mr. Cen Sen is hereby appointed from his former position as Director of Overseas Development and President of Junyi Australia to the role of President of Junyi Group. All departments are requested to actively cooperate with the tasks related to Mr. Cen Sen's appointment. It is our hope that under Mr. Cen Sen’s leadership, Junyi Group will ascend to a new level of achievement.”

The signature at the bottom was Cen Yuanchao's.

Simultaneously, computers throughout the office pinged with the arrival of a new email.

The announcement sent a shockwave through the entire company.

“Is Chairman Cen’s health really that bad? How old is the new guy, twenty-seven? Twenty-eight? That's so young."

That evening, a team from the Junyi marketing department organized a get-together.

Normally, come weekend, everyone have tacit consensus to reclaim their private lives. Colleagues passing on the street would pretend not to know each other, not even a nod. But today, Cen Sen's appearance had stirred up a restlessness within Junyi. After work, many people agreed to grab a drink and gossip.

"So what if he's young? The guy graduated from Harvard. He led the Sikaang acquisition at twenty-two. That deal had Vice Chair Liu pulling his hair out, but he wrapped it up neat and clean. Impressively so."

“I know he’s capable. Wasn’t Shuiyunjian his project? It’s just… taking over the entire group directly feels a bit too young, somehow.” 

Another female colleague chimed in. "I don't think it's about being young. It's about being too good-looking. He looks like a celebrity. It made him seems unreliable."

"What's wrong with being good-looking? You'd rather look at Director Yu's face every day?"

Director Yu was their marketing department head, famously abstract in his appearance.

The private room erupted in laughter. The atmosphere lightened considerably.

"So, does he have a girlfriend? A shame to let looks like that go to waste on office romance," one female colleague joked.

A male colleague snorted, popping their pink bubble without mercy. "Girlfriend? He's been married for ages."

"Married?"

"No way, I never heard about that."

"Who's his wife?"

"Married so young!"

The chatter was a free-for-all.

The office gossip queen contributed verified intel. “His wife is from the Ji family.”

"Which Ji family?"

"Which one do you think? The Huadian Ji family, obviously."

---

"Have you any idea? He actually told me to kowtow all the way to the Potala Palace. Can you believe a man would say something like that? Twenty-six years on this earth, and I have never met a man like him. And you're praising him? You have no idea how vile he is! What sin did I commit in my past life to… cough! cough, cough…!”

Inside the private ginseng hot spring at Shuiyunjian, Ji Mingshu, the very subject of the Junyi employees' gossip, was wrapped in a towel, ranting furiously. Speaking so fast she choked, gripping the edge of the pool, coughing.

Gu Kaiyang had listened to her tirade for a solid fifteen minutes. Her stomach hurt from laughing. She handed Ji Mingshu a tissue and grabbed one for herself to wipe away the tears.

The hot spring water was a perfect forty degrees, not too hot. But Ji Mingshu was so worked up, after only a short soak, she felt breathless. "That's it. I'm done."

She stood up, wrapped herself in a fresh towel, and walked toward the edge of the pool, tying up her long hair as she went.

This private ginseng pool, reserved for Ji Mingshu, was at the very back of Shuiyunjian's hot spring garden. A small, elegant pavilion had been built over the water. Carved palace lanterns hung from the eaves, and antique screens enclosed the space on all sides. By day, the view was of greenery and flowers. At night, it was a dreamy interplay of mist and warm amber light. Two different scenes, each with its own charm.

Attendants stationed outside the screens, hearing movement, sprang into action. Some fetched robes, others brought tea.

Soon after, Gu Kaiyang emerged as well. They rinsed off in the showers, then wandered toward the spa center, still chatting.

As they passed the VIP lounge, Gu Kaiyang suddenly stopped and nudged Ji Mingshu, tilting her chin toward the interior. "Jiang Chun."

Ji Mingshu paused, following Gu Kaiyang's gaze.

A server was placing a fruit platter in front of Jiang Chun, her bent body blocking most of the view.

Despite this, Jiang Chun spotted them through the gap. And, with impressive audacity, called out to them by name. “Ji Mingshu! Gu Kaiyang!”

Ji Mingshu smiled, exchanging a knowing look with Gu Kaiyang. She stretched her long legs and strolled casually into the lounge.

"Miss Jiang. What a rare pleasure."

Ji Mingshu settled comfortably beside Jiang Chun, crossing her legs elegantly to the side. Without ceremony, she picked up a small silver fork and selected a piece of cucumber from the fruit platter.

Jiang Chun looked Ji Mingshu and Gu Kaiyang up and down, taking in their post-spa attire. A thought struck her. No wonder her own VIP spa membership and Junyi black card hadn't granted her full access to the garden earlier. That particular pool belonged to Ji Mingshu.

She forked a piece of fruit herself, her smile not reaching her eyes. "Long time no see. I heard your husband is back. He accompanied Su Cheng to the Zero Degree gala last night and bid on a necklace? That necklace was worth maybe 1.2 million, tops. Your husband bid more than four times that. Generous."

Ji Mingshu was unfazed. "What can I say? A-Sen's always been passionate about charitable causes.”

A-Sen...

Both Gu Kaiyang and Jiang Chun broke out in goosebumps at the casual intimacy.

Ji Mingshu then offered Jiang Chun a regretful, insincere smile. "It's such a shame you couldn't make it last night. Oh, speaking of which, why didn't you?"

Jiang Chun's goosebumps retracted. Her expression froze.

Not long ago, Jiang Chun had dropped over four million without blinking to secure a front-row seat at a major brand's debut show in the capital. She'd been flaunting her excellent relationship with the brand, desperate to salvage her pride in front of the socialites who looked down on her.

But before the show could happen, the brand was hit with serious plagiarism accusations, publicly condemned by several titans of the fashion industry.

The brand's attitude was arrogant, which only dragged more dirty laundry into the light. The issue spread, fermented, and became a publicly known scandal. In the end, their reputation was destroyed. The show was cancelled.

The fashion circle rarely outright slaps the ‘plagiarism’ label on anyone; most explain it away as trends, classics, or similar ideas. For this brand to have cemented itself so firmly to the term ‘plagiarism’ was quite an achievement itself.

Furious, Jiang Chun spent three days on the phone hurling abuse at the brand’s PR. But she couldn't get her deposit back.

The whole affair had made her a laughingstock in their circle. Recently, she'd kept a low profile, rarely appearing in public.

Now, poked directly in her sore spot, Jiang Chun forsake all etiquette lesson she'd ever learned. She crunched down on her fruit with audible force and stared blankly ahead. "Busy."

Just then, her fiancé, Yan Yu, sent a message asking where she was, saying he'd pick her up for dinner.

Her expression cleared, cloud to sunshine. She waved her phone at Ji Mingshu, a childish note of triumph in her voice. "Yan Yu's picking me up for dinner. I won't keep you company. Oh, by the way, why isn't President Cen here with you today?"

Ji Mingshu had seen every trick in the "happily married" playbook.

Unimpressed, she swept her long hair back, artfully revealing a faint reddish mark on the side of her neck. She propped her chin on her hand and said, sweet as honey, "He's busy with work. He mostly keeps me company at night."

Then threw Jiang Chun a suggestive wink for good measure.

Jiang Chun: "…"

It was greasy. But gloriously, unapologetically so.

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