My Queen, My Rules - 40
Locked
The live weather forecast updated in real time: Heavy rain expected in the capital tomorrow. Temperatures will plunge to 8 to 10°C. Residents are advised to dress warmly and travel with caution.
The cold front wasn't due until the next day, but the night had already begun to hint at its arrival.
Ripples spread across Mingshui Lake. Outside, fallen leaves swirled through the deep autumn wind, glowing beneath the warm amber streetlights that burned through the night, creating a beauty that was both hazy and quietly desolate.
Cen Sen never returned to the bedroom that night, nor did he go to the guest room.
After ending that phone call, he leaned back on the living room sofa, closed his eyes, and drifted into a light, restless doze.
The four-pane south-facing window was left half open. A sparse night breeze slipped inside, carrying the rustling of leaves that brushed softly against his ears. If he listened closely enough, he could even hear the faint chirping of insects.
From beginning to end, the upstairs remained completely silent.
After he locked the bedroom door, Ji Mingshu never cried in despair, screamed in anger, cursed at him, or kicked at the door in futile resistance.
She was simply too exhausted.
After crying so hard, her head felt unbearably heavy, as though it had been packed full of thick paste. Even the slightest movement made everything inside slosh painfully, leaving behind a dull, throbbing ache.
Her lips, neck, and cheeks still carried the lingering sensation of being kissed so fiercely. It almost felt as though the warmth of Cen Sen's lips still clung to her skin.
Curled up at the foot of the bed, she hugged a pillow tightly against her face.
She had only meant to rest for a while and calm herself after the emotional storm. Instead, still clutching the pillow, she drifted off to sleep without realizing it.
As the saying went, what filled the mind by day returned in dreams by night.
She dreamed of Li Wenyin the entire night.
Li Wenyin's father had been the Ji family's chauffeur. He died alongside Ji Mingshu's parents in the car accident that happened while they were out on what was supposed to be a romantic outing.
After his death, the Ji family took pity on the widow and her young daughter he left behind and offered them a generous compensation payment.
But Li Wenyin's mother refused it. She said her husband's death had been a workplace accident. The Ji family had done nothing wrong, and she and her daughter had no reason to accept such an enormous sum. If the Ji family truly felt guilty and wanted to help, she would rather be given a job so she could support herself through honest work.
Once she'd put it that way, the Ji family naturally agreed without hesitation.
And so, that formidable woman moved into the Ji residence with Li Wenyin, becoming Old Madam Ji's full-time caretaker. Using the Ji family as a stepping stone, she eventually found herself a far better husband than the one she had lost.
Ji Mingshu still remembered when the mother and daughter had first arrived. Everyone in the household treated them kindly. Li Wenyin's father had served the Ji family faithfully for many years. Though he was gone, the affection they felt for him remained. When Li Wenyin reached school age, Old Madam Ji personally arranged for her to attend the affiliated school with the other children from the compound.
Whether the Ji family had acted out of genuine compassion or simply wished to avoid the reputation of being ungrateful, one fact remained undeniable. Li Wenyin's life had been transformed because of them.
When they were children, Ji Mingshu once got into an argument with Li Wenyin and lost her temper. Pointing a finger at her, she blurted out, "You're nothing but a maid's daughter! What gives you the right to tell me what to do?"
Unfortunately, Old Madam Ji overheard every word. Ji Mingshu received a harsh scolding and a sharp smack across her palm.
Back then, Ji Mingshu hadn't understood that Old Madam Ji punished her not because her words had hurt Li Wenyin, but because a daughter of the Ji family should never speak with such poor manners.
All Ji Mingshu knew was that she was furious. She hadn't provoked anyone. Li Wenyin had been the one who mocked her first, sneering that she should be ashamed of still playing with dolls at her age. Yet in the end, she was the only one who got scolded and punished.
Such things happened many times in her childhood, both at home and at school. After suffering enough silent losses, Ji Mingshu gradually learned her lesson. Little by little, she stopped being so easily provoked by Li Wenyin.
By the time they reached middle and high school, people were no longer as innocent as children. Family background, social status, and influential relatives suddenly mattered far more.
In that regard, Ji Mingshu held an undeniable advantage. Many people naturally took her side without her having to explain herself.
That didn't mean Li Wenyin had run out of ways to haunt her.
When Ji Mingshu and her roommates shortened their school uniform skirts, Li Wenyin just happened to be on disciplinary duty the very next day and happily deducted their points.
Ji Mingshu hated sports and ran at a snail's pace. Li Wenyin would lap her during track practice, throwing her a look of open disdain as she passed.
The moment Ji Mingshu casually mentioned to her friends that an upperclassman was handsome, within days Li Wenyin would somehow be chatting and laughing with that same senior, eating together in the cafeteria while discussing advanced coursework.
Even in her dreams, those memories repeated themselves over and over again.
The dream became increasingly surreal. In the second half, Cen Sen appeared beside Li Wenyin.
It was as if Ji Mingshu had become an invisible observer, watching the two of them from the perspective of someone who didn't exist. She watched them strolling hand in hand through the night market beside the school. She watched Cen Sen gently ruffle Li Wenyin's hair, smiling softly at her.
Even as nothing more than a transparent spectator, she still felt that fine, endless ache spreading through her heart.
Cen Sen had no idea what Ji Mingshu was dreaming about. All he saw was her lying sideways across the bed, curled into a tiny shrimp, brows tightly knitted together as she clutched a pillow with both hands.
He didn't switch on the bedroom light or make the slightest sound. Guided only by the pale moonlight filtering through the window, he carefully lifted Ji Mingshu into his arms, carried her back to the head of the bed, then gently tucked the arm that had fallen outside the blanket beneath the covers.
After that, he sat quietly beside the bed, lowering his gaze as he watched her sleeping face.
Somewhere deep inside, he wanted to reach out and touch her.
Yet for reasons even he couldn't explain, his hand remained resting by the bedside, never once lifting.
After sitting there for a long while, he finally stood, tucked the blanket more securely around her, then left the room without making a sound.
Three o'clock in the morning. The night wind finally fell still.
On the windowsill, the begonias remained awake.
When Ji Mingshu woke the next morning, her eyes still ached with a dull, swollen soreness. She reached up and touched her eyelids. They were slightly puffy and stung faintly beneath her fingertips.
Emotions, after all, came quickly and faded just as fast.
She had cried herself out the night before. Now, after waking, her heart felt strangely hollow. Even when she remembered the dream, every lingering desire had become faint and distant.
She sat blankly on the bed for quite some time before finally getting up and heading to the bathroom for a quick wash.
Her phone lay on the bedside table with the sound muted, but ever since yesterday afternoon, the screen had continued lighting up every few minutes with new messages.
After washing up, she picked it up and glanced through them.
Her WeChat was overflowing. Friends, acquaintances, and even people she barely knew had all sent messages. Some offered comfort. Others fished for information. Not a single one had missed the chance to reach out.
She kept scrolling downward without ever reaching the end. Then she scrolled back up and found the messages Gu Kaiyang and Jiang Chun had sent late the previous night, tirelessly cursing Li Wenyin and brainstorming ways to help her. Warmth quietly spread through her chest.
Gu Kaiyang still had no idea her feelings toward Cen Sen had changed. She assumed Ji Mingshu was only furious because Cen Sen and Li Wenyin had humiliated her. She had even made a custom meme: [Shu-bao, Don't Back Down. Beat Them Up.jpg]
Gu Kaiyang: [People are saying you're getting divorced?! Absolutely not! Why should those two get away with this so easily? Doesn't his grandfather and grandmother adore you? March right over there today and cry your heart out! They'll definitely deal with that Dog Man until he's completely put in his place! Our precious baby mustn't make herself sick over this!]
...
After reading every message, Ji Mingshu couldn't help smiling faintly.
She sent the same reply to both Gu Kaiyang and Jiang Chun.
[I'm okay.]
The moment she hit send, her fingers suddenly paused. Almost instinctively, she glanced toward the bed.
Something wasn't right.
Last night she'd fallen asleep without a blanket. She'd also curled up sideways at the foot of the bed. There was no way she could have woken up lying so neatly at the head of it.
A thought suddenly occurred to her, Ji Mingshu put down her phone, walked to the bedroom door, and turned the handle.
Unlike the night before, when no amount of force had made it budge, this time it opened with the lightest twist.
The instant the door swung open, she unconsciously let out a quiet breath of relief.
Thank goodness. Cen Sen hadn't completely lost his mind and actually locked her inside the house.
She cautiously poked her head out.
No one was there.
She made her way downstairs along the spiral staircase. Outside, rain pattered steadily against the windows.
A faint aroma of porridge drifted from the kitchen island. Walking over, she found a small clay pot still keeping a pot of preserved egg and lean pork congee warm.
She hadn't eaten in nearly twenty hours. Unable to resist, she picked up a spoon and took two quick mouthfuls.
She moved quickly. After those few bites, she immediately put the spoon down and looked around. Only after confirming no one was around did she lift the lid again and continue eating.
Although she wasn't full, she restrained herself and only ate a shallow layer from the surface. She washed the spoon carefully and returned it to its place. Unless someone looked very closely, they would never notice anything had been moved.
Her phone was still buzzing with incoming messages.
She checked them one by one. Nothing from Cen Sen. Not in WeChat, not in her SMS inbox.
What did he mean by this?
Had he decided to let her go wherever she wanted?
Was this... a farewell meal?
Ji Mingshu sat in the living room for a while, her thoughts circling everything that had happened the day before.
There was simply too much to untangle. Every memory contradicted the next, she was unable to make sense of any of it.
A rational part of her mind reminded her:
Don't humiliate yourself. Don't keep thinking about Cen Sen’s sudden kiss last night. And definitely don't dwell on why you woke up back at the head of the bed.
He'd probably done it without thinking. At most, he'd felt a moment of pity. If she read any deeper meaning into it, she'd only end up making a fool of herself.
Being delusional about someone else's feelings was never a good habit. After all, the other person could turn around and slap you across the face with reality before you even realized what had happened.
Hadn't last night already taught her that lesson?
Those words he'd spoken without hesitation, weren't they exactly what he'd truly believed?
The moment those memories resurfaced, the air in the house suddenly felt suffocating. Without taking anything with her, Ji Mingshu abruptly stood.
Just then, Jiang Chun also woke up.
Still half asleep, she fumbled for her phone. The moment she saw Ji Mingshu's message confirming she was okay, she shot upright in bed, crossed her legs, and immediately started typing at lightning speed.
Jiang Chun: [Transfer: 200,000 yuan]
Jiang Chun: [Are you really divorcing your husband? Where are you right now?]
Jiang Chun: [Your second uncle warned my dad not to let you stay with us! My dad even froze my bank card so I couldn't secretly support you. I'm sending you what I can for now. Don't be scared! Whatever you decide to do, I'll support you!]
Jiang Chun: [Baby, don't be scared. I'll steal an electric scooter to support you.jpg]
Reading the messages as she walked toward the front door, Ji Mingshu couldn't help smiling.
But just as her hand touched the door handle, she suddenly paused.
The bedroom door hadn't been locked.
Had he locked the front door instead?
---
Comments
Post a Comment