My Queen, My Rules - 54
Thank You
Since the Zero Degree event was meant to be relaxed and casual, the stylist kept Ji Mingshu's look understated. Her hair was styled into soft, effortless-looking waves, and her makeup was light and fresh.
As for her outfit, Ji Mingshu chose a dusty rose strapless sleeveless romper dress herself. The fabric draped beautifully, highlighting the graceful line of her shoulders and back while making her already enviable proportions look even more striking.
When it came time to choose a lip color, Ji Mingshu brought out the large box of cosmetics she'd recently bought and started discussing options with the stylist.
The two of them couldn't quite agree, so Ji Mingshu carried the box over to Cen Sen. "Which color do you think looks better on me?"
His first instinct was to say, "They're all fine." But when he met the hopeful look in her eyes, he calmly lowered his gaze and seriously studied the contents of the box.
In the end, he picked up a rose-colored tube and proceeded to deliver an analysis worthy of a corporate monthly review, covering everything from color tone and texture to how well it suited the occasion.
Ji Mingshu and the stylist listened in stunned silence.
When he finally finished, Ji Mingshu hesitated before taking the tube from his hand. She twisted it open, looked inside, and suddenly fell silent.
"..."
"Well...that was a very thorough analysis. The only problem is... this is liquid blush."
The atmosphere instantly turned awkward. Thankfully, the stylist was quick to smooth things over, laughing that straight men could never tell makeup products apart. Even if he'd mistaken blush for lipstick, being able to pick such a beautiful shade was impressive enough.
So Ji Mingshu decided not to waste all the careful analysis Cen Sen had put into it and chose a matte lipstick in the same color.
The result looked genuinely beautiful. It brightened her complexion and matched her makeup and outfit perfectly.
Unfortunately, all that hesitation and back-and-forth meant that by the time the two of them arrived at the venue, they had successfully missed Editor-in-Chief May's now-expired inspirational speech.
Hooking her arm through Cen Sen's, Ji Mingshu strolled inside and casually asked, "So, what do you think of the venue?"
"It's very creative."
Cen Sen nodded, sounding genuinely impressed.
Unable to resist, she lowered her voice and said with quiet pride, "I was the design consultant for this event. I did all the color coordination and layout."
"Really?" He glanced at her and gave another sincere nod. "Your recent work has all shown a real spark."
The corners of Ji Mingshu's lips lifted a little higher.
This Dog Man really was impossible to figure out. Sometimes he was so hopelessly straight-laced it was like someone had hammered steel rods into his bones. Other times, he knew exactly what to say.
Take that compliment just now. Telling a designer their work had "a real spark" was undoubtedly the highest praise imaginable.
In high spirits, she wandered through the exhibits beside him, unconsciously drifting closer as they walked.
Without drawing attention to it, Cen Sen shifted from letting her hold his arm to quietly taking her hand instead. As they walked, he told her about similar events he’d attended while studying overseas.
He had majored in business management, but that didn't mean he couldn't appreciate art.
In fact, the moment he stepped into the venue, he had recognized Ji Mingshu's design style.
His praise wasn't empty flattery, either. Compared to the rather perfunctory work she'd done for the charity gala, her recent designs felt far more complete and mature. They also contained thoughtful little touches that were unmistakably her own.
More importantly, her aesthetic matched her personality almost perfectly. Whether she was designing interiors, fashion shows, or exhibition-style salon spaces like this, everything carried the same uncompromising refinement that she'd always insisted upon. It made her work instantly recognizable.
From a distance, the two of them looked every bit the affectionate couple, hand in hand, smiling and chatting as they walked.
Someone spotted Ji Mingshu from across the room, and before long a small cluster gathered, whispering among themselves. "Hey, Ji Mingshu's here."
"Where?" One of the girls looked over, clearly surprised. "She really is... How long has it been since she showed up anywhere? At Chris Chou's show I couldn't even figure out where she was sitting, and she skipped the after-party too. I thought she wasn't going to make another appearance before the New Year."
Another girl followed up, "Who's the guy with her? He's pretty handsome. They're awfully close. New boyfriend?"
Jiang Chun happened to be passing by with a slice of cake. Hearing the whispers, she finally got the chance to hold her head high. Smiling sweetly with all the smugness of someone correcting an ignorant crowd, she said, "Weren’t you all just love gossiping about whether Ji Mingshu and her husband would really divorce, and how she'd be nothing without him? So how come none of you even recognize her husband?"
...?
That was Ji Mingshu's husband?
The future heir of the Cen family, the one everyone said was ruthless and impossible to approach?
He was that young?
And that handsome?
Ji Mingshu was the kind of person who posted everything, from ribs her husband cooked to movies they watched together. With a face like that, how had she never shown him off? This couldn't possibly be real!
The group collectively fell into a long silence, caught somewhere between shock and disbelief.
To be fair, it wasn't really their fault. They were only fringe members of the elite circles of the capital, still far removed from the true inner circle.
Besides, Cen Sen belonged to the very top of his generation. He was an elite who actually worked, fundamentally different from the idle rich heirs who spent their days partying. He rarely appeared in public, so few people ever had the chance to recognize him.
Ordinarily, a prince-like heir as serious and disciplined as him would barely register with the party crowd. Most people only knew that the Cen family of Jingjian had an untouchable successor.
But as luck would have it, he happened to be married to Ji Mingshu, a socialite who attracted attention wherever she went, the result was oddly ironic. Everyone followed Jingjian's every move, everyone had heard Cen Sen's name countless times, yet almost no one could match the famous name with the man himself.
Of course, there were people who did know him, and there had long been rumors about both his appearance and personality. Still, without any photos, who knew whether Ji Mingshu had simply been exaggerating all this time?
While the group remained trapped in collective shock, Jiang Chun had already wandered off with her cake, happily searching for the perfect place to take pictures.
After all, Ji Mingshu had finally come to an event with her husband. Jiang Chun wasn’t about to be so tactless as to become an unwanted third wheel.
Jiang Chun knew when to stay away. Ji Mingshu's usual circle of plastic friends, however, did not.
The women who qualified as Ji Mingshu's plastic sisters naturally occupied a much higher rung than those fringe onlookers. Many of them already recognized Cen Sen.
Seeing the couple attending such a low-key magazine salon together immediately dispelled all the speculation about why Ji Mingshu hadn't returned home. Before long, they surrounded her once again, chatting enthusiastically and showering her with flattery.
A moment earlier, Cen Sen had been playing a fortune-stick game with Ji Mingshu. Then, without warning, he found himself surrounded by clouds of expensive perfume as graceful voices filled his ears with elegant compliments.
Standing quietly beside Ji Mingshu, his temples began to throb. Whenever someone deliberately included him in the conversation, he answered with nothing more than a polite nod, carefully maintaining a respectful distance from all the young ladies Ji Mingshu was ‘close friends’ with.
Meanwhile, Ji Mingshu handled the social whirlwind with effortless ease. Standing beside her, Cen Sen was rendered a silent mascot by comparison.
About five minutes later, Ji Mingshu finally realized just how out of place he looked. She sent him off to fetch her a piece of cake, figuring she'd chat for another couple of minutes before making her escape.
The moment Cen Sen left, however, someone hidden among the cloud of perfume timidly murmured, "Xiao Shu... I think Li Wenyin came today too."
The lively atmosphere froze instantly.
Li Wenyin?
She really was impossible to get rid of.
Someone quickly recovered and immediately spoke up on Ji Mingshu's behalf. "So what if she's here? Didn't she recently latch onto that sickly young master from the Yuan family and convince him to invest in one of her movie? Who even knows who she's trying to disgust with that movie?"
"She's just jealous of Mingshu. Anyone can see that. She was like this back in school too. Now she won't stop talking about artistic cinema, but that petty nature in her bones never changes." One of the girls had gone to school with Ji Mingshu and knew a little about the old rivalry between her and Li Wenyin.
Everyone eagerly chimed in with agreement.
But Ji Mingshu suddenly had no desire to continue the conversation.
She couldn't shake the feeling that she was reliving the Chanel reception all over again. The atmosphere was just as relaxed, everyone was once again taking her side and criticizing Li Wenyin, and yet in the end she had lost so completely and humiliatingly.
She stared in the direction Cen Sen had gone. After standing there blankly for a moment, she quietly turned and followed him without another word.
The group she left behind exchanged glances, then silently trailing after her at a distance.
Each of them had their own motives. Some wanted to see Li Wenyin embarrassed. Some wanted to watch Ji Mingshu make a fool of herself. Others were simply there for the spectacle.
As fate would have it, when Ji Mingshu caught up, Cen Sen and Li Wenyin had just run into each other.
Li Wenyin had just taken a glass of red wine from a passing server's tray. Turning around, she saw Cen Sen heading toward the dessert table and couldn't hide her surprise.
The next second, the corner of her eye caught Ji Mingshu standing several meters away, followed by that familiar pack of idle socialites. The hand holding her wineglass tightened unconsciously.
She couldn't even begin to describe what she was feeling.
She knew perfectly well Cen Sen was here with Ji Mingshu. She also knew he had made himself crystal clear the last time they spoke.
But she simply couldn't accept it.
So many years had passed, he had countless reasons not to rekindle what they once had. She understood that.
But how could he spend the rest of his life tied to someone like Ji Mingshu? A woman with shallow taste who mistook thoughtlessness for sincerity. He couldn’t possibly love her. Ji Mingshu simply wasn't worthy of him.
The feeling was so overpowering it drove her to want to do something, anything. Even if the method was childish, even if it was beneath her, as long as Ji Mingshu could finally understand that she and Cen Sen should never have been forced together, it would be enough.
She stopped another server, took a second glass of wine from the tray, then walked gracefully toward Cen Sen. Holding the glass out slightly, she spoke with the same gentle elegance she always wore.
"It's been a long time. I never expected we'd meet somewhere like this."
Five meters away, Ji Mingshu stood frozen, her fingers gripping her tiny crystal-studded clutch tightly, the gemstones pressed her nails white without her even noticing.
Her mind had gone completely blank.
Only one thought sustained her: Please don’t take it. Even if it's just out of politeness. Just this once... could you not be so polite?
Because for the rest of her life, she never wanted to see the person she loved standing beside the person she hated most ever again.
She was clearly Mrs. Cen. She could face anyone else with complete confidence.
But not Li Wenyin.
Until Cen Sen openly made his position clear in front of Li Wenyin, she felt she would never be able to stand tall before her and say, "Miss Li, please stay away from my husband."
In reality, only about five seconds passed before Cen Sen reacted.
But to Ji Mingshu, those five seconds stretched into the length of an entire film.
She watched him lower his eyes to the glass of red wine, then slowly lift his gaze to Li Wenyin.
There wasn't much warmth in his eyes. Because the very next second, he treated her as though she didn't exist. He simply picked up a slice of cake from the dessert table and turned away without a second glance.
Then their eyes met across the room.
The entire exchange had happened so quickly, when Ji Mingshu looked into his eyes, the indifference lingering there had not yet faded.
For reasons she couldn't explain, courage suddenly welled up inside her.
She walked over, took the slice of cake from his hand, and softly whispered, "Thank you."
Before Cen Sen could ask what she was thanking him for, she stepped past him, accepted the glass of red wine from Li Wenyin's hand, and without the slightest hesitation poured it onto the floor.
The wine served at an event like this was decidedly nothing special. Anyone who knew wine could tell that much from the color and aroma alone.
But as the crimson liquid splashed across the floor with a loud, unmistakable patter, the sound echoed through the room.
Ignoring the droplets that splashed onto her romper, Ji Mingshu finally said the words she had rehearsed in her heart countless times.
"Miss Li, from now on, please stay away from my husband."
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