My Queen, My Rules - 58
Stolen Kisses
About half an hour into the broadcast, the program broke for commercials. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Ji Mingshu picked up the remote and rewound to watch it again.
She remembered that during the first recording at the convention center, Yan Yuexing hadn't exactly made a good impression. The girl was dramatic, talkative, and had terrible taste.
Yet after rewatching the first thirty minutes, apart from being painfully overshadowed by Ji Mingshu whenever they shared the same frame, Yan Yuexing hadn't really done anything wrong. On screen, she came across as gentle, sweet, considerate, and even a little adorable.
If anything, it was Ji Mingshu herself. Maybe she was just being overly sensitive, but several reaction shots of her inserted after Yan Yuexing spoke made her look distinctly unfriendly. Everyone else appeared engaged, listening attentively with smiles on their faces. She, meanwhile, looked distracted and expressionless.
The key issue was, she clearly remembered putting on an attentive act during filming.
After all, she, Ji-shi Shushu, had navigated social circles for years. There was no way she'd fail at basic expression management in front of a camera.
Feeling slightly depressed, she picked up her phone. To her surprise, every message she had received was showering her with compliments. People were saying things like, Even with just a few shots, Shu-bao's breathtaking beauty and elegant aura completely stole the show.
She replied to each message with a thank-you before bringing up the odd editing with Gu Kaiyang and Jiang Chun.
Jiang Chun, naturally, launched into blind, exaggerated flattery.
Jiang Chun: [You're overthinking it. It doesn't look like that at all. There's only one word for you: gorgeous!]
Jiang Chun: [Oh, right! My cousin came over today. Since I was watching the show in the living room, he watched it with me. He pointed at you on TV and asked in complete amazement, 'Hey, who's that actress? How come I've never seen her before?']
Jiang Chun: [I told him, 'She's not an actress, she's my friend!' Hahaha. Before he could ask anything else, I immediately added: married. :)]
Jiang Chun: [Sigh, this just proves our little princess's unfairly beautiful face can no longer stay hidden. :)]
Gu Kaiyang had her hands full and couldn't type, so she sent a voice message instead. "The final edit was always going to be different from what you filmed. That's perfectly normal. Think about it. If they aired everything exactly as it happened, wouldn't that girl-group member have marched straight over and blown up Xingcheng Broadcasting Station?"
That actually made sense.
Ji Mingshu nodded to herself, then noticed another unread message.
It was from Cen Yang.
Cen Yang: [Xiao Shu, I'm watching your show. You look beautiful.]
Ji Mingshu: [Thank you~]
Ji Mingshu: [bow.jpg]
Cen Yang: [By the way, are you free tomorrow? There's a space-themed art installation exhibition at the kiosk in Shuanghuan Tower. Tomorrow's the last day, and I happen to have two tickets.]
Ji Mingshu paused.
Since their dinner on Christmas Eve, Cen Yang had been checking in on her every so often. Occasionally he'd invite her somewhere too, whether it was an art exhibition or a newly opened restaurant.
Once, she'd genuinely been unable to make it because she'd flown overseas on a last-minute vacation. The rest of the time, she'd turned him down with various excuses. She always felt it wasn't appropriate for a married woman to spend time alone with an unmarried man.
Thinking about it carefully, she'd already rejected him three or four times. Turning him down again felt unnecessarily hurtful. After a moment's thought, she tapped out a reply.
Ji Mingshu: [I left a lot of my things at my best friend's place while I was staying there. I've already moved back home, so tomorrow I probably need to go pick everything up. I won't be able to make the exhibition.]
Ji Mingshu: [But in a few days one of my friends is hosting a masquerade ball in Jingxi. It sounds like it'll be pretty fun. If you're interested, you should come. It'll be a nice chance to relax outside of work.]
After sending it, Ji Mingshu reread her message. Perfect. Mm. A rejection followed by an invitation. That shouldn't seem impolite.
Besides, at heart, Cen Yang and Cen Sen were the same kind of person. Neither of them had ever enjoyed noisy social gatherings.
Even if he did decide to join this time, there would be dozens, maybe even hundreds of people at the masquerade. It would be perfectly public, with nothing inappropriate about it.
Just then, familiar footsteps came from the staircase outside.
Ji Mingshu instinctively straightened her back, her fingers moving even faster across the keyboard.
Ji Mingshu: [Something's come up on my end, so I'll talk to you later. If you decide to come, just give them my name. You won't need an invitation.]
Cen Yang's eyes darkened slightly. His fingers, which had been typing, stopped midway. Whatever crossed his mind made him press and hold the delete key, wiping the entire message away.
Truthfully, he had never wanted to approach Cen Sen through Ji Mingshu.
Ji Mingshu looked all claws and temper on the outside, spoiled and willful, but underneath she was as simple-hearted and kind as she'd always been.
Unfortunately, aside from her, he couldn't find any other way to get close.
Turning toward the window, he looked out over the glittering lights of the capital's winter night. Suddenly, the city felt strangely unfamiliar, nothing like the place he had spent so many sleepless years longing to return to.
***
When Cen Sen entered the bedroom, a heavy smell of alcohol came in with him. Climbing out of bed, Ji Mingshu pinched her nose, making her voice sound muffled. "How much did you drink? You smell awful."
Whether he hadn't heard her properly or simply ignored her, instead of leaving the door open to air out the room, he quietly shut it behind him and even locked it.
Ji Mingshu had been facing away as she got out of bed and never noticed his sneaky little move.
She switched the ventilation system to fresh-air mode at the master controls and turned back to open the bedroom door. But before her hand could reach the doorknob, Cen Sen suddenly pulled her into his arms.
His alcohol-laced kiss landed at the corner of her lips before claiming her mouth entirely, prying her lips apart and sweeping in without restraint.
At first, Ji Mingshu pushed against him several times, but her slender wrists were soon pinned behind her back in one hand. The kiss grew even more forceful, almost punitive in its intensity.
Her body softened, and her head grew dizzy. But the moment Cen Sen tried to go any further, the memory of the previous night surged back into her body, and she instinctively struggle.
"No!"
“Are you some sort of reincarnated horndog?”
"I'm still sore!"
She kicked and squirmed with all four limbs, her voice soft and sweet despite her protests, which done very little to slow him down.
Watching this Dog Man bury his face beneath her collarbone while somehow still managing to undo the clasp at the back of her clothes, her brain short-circuited. In desperation, she bonked the top of his head with her chin.
It was a rather foolish move. She ended up hurting her own teeth, while Cen Sen barely reacted.
Still, when he heard her sharp hiss of pain after knocking her teeth together, his movements finally slowed.
He lifted his head to look at her. His eyes were dark with desire, yet his voice remained calm and cool.
"I bought you diamonds today. A complete set."
"...?"
Wrinkling her nose, Ji Mingshu shot him a look of utter disdain.
"Not even an aircraft carrier could bribe me. I already told you, I'm sore!"
"I'm sore too."
His voice suddenly dropped into a rough, husky register. As he spoke, he pressed a hand against the small of her back, drawing her firmly against him so she could feel exactly what he meant.
"..."
The contact sent a jolt through her, last night's exhausting "cardio workout" flashed back into her mind.
Ahhh! Why isn't this shameless pervert in prison already?!
In the end, their standoff concluded with Ji Mingshu reluctantly sacrificing the use of her delicate ten fingers.
Cen Sen still didn't seem entirely satisfied. Even after she washed her hands and returned, he hadn't entered the so-called post-orgasm serenity. Instead, he simply stared fixedly at her rosy lips.
At first, Ji Mingshu didn't understand why, but then she remembered something he'd done before.
Realization dawned. She immediately leaned over and covered his eyes with one hand.
"Don't even think about it! Not now, not ever! A man with such impure thoughts deserves to be in jail!"
The alcohol hadn't completely left Cen Sen's system. He let out a quiet hum that almost sounded like a laugh.
Holding her hand, he murmured a perfunctory apology and wrapped his arms around her soft body once more.
Ji Mingshu wasn't sleepy yet. Thinking back over the past two days since she'd moved home, this man had acted like he was permanently in mating season. Every single thing somehow ended with him wanting to do it, and they hadn't even properly talked.
She was decidedly unhappy about that.
So she held out both hands without the slightest hesitation. "My hands hurt. Massage them."
They always said men became surprisingly obedient in bed. Cen Sen proved no exception.
At her command, he quietly took her hands and began gently massaging each finger.
After nestling comfortably in his embrace for a while, Ji Mingshu unconsciously slipped into the role of a caring little wife.
“Why did you drink so much today? Have you had any hangover cure?”
Half-closing his eyes, Cen Sen continued rubbing her hands as he answered. It was rare for him to talk about work with her, his voice calm and unhurried.
The client he'd entertained that evening wasn't exactly refined. The man had made his fortune years ago through grey-area industries, clawing his way up the hard way, so he had a rough, boisterous personality. He kept inventing one drinking toast after another. If we're true friends, drain the glass. If our friendship runs deep, we'll never drink enough. If we're brothers, we'll drink until we bleed.
Cen Sen had never been particularly good at dealing with people like that. They always became inexplicably familiar far too quickly, overflowing with enthusiasm and seemingly incapable of understanding the meaning of personal boundaries. Everyone was "little brother" to them. Unfortunately, there was business between them, so he couldn't exactly turn cold over something so trivial.
After finishing, he paused. Whether he was being serious or just teasing, he suddenly added, "Did you think earning money to support you was easy?"
"...?"
“I am so deeply wronged!”
Ji Mingshu immediately huffed.
"If you don't want to support me, plenty of others would love to! You're the one lucky enough to have the chance, yet you're still not satisfied!"
Cen Sen let out a faint chuckle with his eyes still closed and didn't argue.
The two of them continued chatting quietly in bed, their whispers blending into the soft rustle of the blankets. Cen Sen was exhausted, and before long, he drifted off to sleep.
"Cen Sen? Cen Sen?"
Ji Mingshu gently poked his Adam's apple, then leaned over to blow lightly across his eyelashes.
He really was asleep.
Propping herself up on her elbows with her chin resting in her hands, she studied the handsome man lying beside her, sinking into deep thought.
Honestly, she couldn't decide whether his stamina was incredible or terrible.
Last night he'd kept her awake almost until dawn with hardly any sleep. Yet tonight, after drinking a little and finding a small outlet for his frustration, he'd passed out completely.
Sigh. Maybe it was because he was almost thirty and finally running out of steam?
That's right. He'll be thirty in just over two years.
While I'll forever be a youthful eighteen-year-old little fairy.
Bah! An old ox eating tender grass. Old man!!
...Though this old man really was ridiculously handsome. Every feature was exactly to her taste. Even when he… did those shameless things, she liked it.
Unable to resist, Ji Mingshu reached out and gently pinched his cheek. When he didn't react, temptation got the better of her.
She leaned in and stole a quick kiss.
The moment she pulled away, she turned her head aside and began giggling to herself, so sweetly pleased that she almost wanted to roll around the bed.
Since she'd finally admitted to herself that she liked him, every minute she spent with him had somehow become sweeter. Even the lingering exhaustion after their intimacy carried its own quiet happiness.
After sneaking several more kisses, one after another, a faint melancholy suddenly settled over her. Poking the tip of his nose, she whispered so softly it was almost inaudible,
"When are you finally going to fall in love with me?”
---
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