My Queen, My Rules - 74

Cen Sen clearly wasn't a man who could slip into cheesy mode at the drop of a hat. At the very least, it was still quite difficult for him to do so when Ji Mingshu was fully conscious.

He brushed a light kiss against her lips, repeated his "goodnight," and prepared to get into bed.

But Ji Mingshu wasn't so easily appeased. She refused to let go of his neck, her delicate nose scrunched up in a frown, insisting on hearing him say it again.

A dark, intense look flickered in Cen Sen's eyes, his gaze wandering from her cascading curls down to the slipped spaghetti strap of her nightgown.

Soon, he leaned in again, his warm kiss landing with far more possessiveness this time.

By the time Ji Mingshu realized what was happening, it was too late. She glared at him, letting out muffled protests, her limbs flailing in a futile struggle. But in the end, her resolve proved pathetically weak, melting into a boneless puddle beneath him.

As waves of passion crashed over her, she thought she heard an intimate, husky "baby" whispered in her ear. But her mind was blank, and she couldn't be sure if it was just her imagination.

She only remembered that what little pride she had left was shattered early on, scattered into pieces by his relentless rhythm. In the end, broken and sobbing, she was forced by Cen Sen to call out "husband" again and again.

The next morning, sunlight streamed through the spotless floor-to-ceiling windows, painting everything in warm gold. The air still held a sweet, suggestive scent.

Every muscle in Ji Mingshu's body ached. Getting out of bed, she felt boneless, clinging to Cen Sen like a vine.

Even brushing her teeth, she leaned against his chest, eyes half-closed, whining and cooing playfully.

"Toothbrush. Hold it." Cen Sen placed the toothpaste-smeared brush into her hand.

She made no move to take it. "No strength. It's your fault. I can't even lift my arms."

Cen Sen: "…"

Ji Mingshu: "You brush them for me."

He glanced down at her. "Brush them yourself. I'm going to be late."

"Then I won't brush them." She was blatantly being unreasonable.

Cen Sen was silent for a few seconds. "Open your mouth."

She couldn't hold back a triumphant smile, but quickly suppressed it, obediently opening her mouth. She was like a beautiful, lazy Ragdoll cat curled in its owner's arms, waiting to be petted, occasionally reaching out a little paw to interact.

Cen Sen, the owner, summoned immense patience. Brushing her teeth, washing her face, combing her hair—he served her step by step with meticulous care.

Truthfully, his movements were clumsy and awkward at first. But seeing Ji Mingshu's suppressed giggles in the mirror, his dwindling patience slowly reignited, and he began to take more interest in these mundane, intimate chores.

While Ji Mingshu and Cen Sen were being clingy and all over each other in their room, the senior executives who had accompanied them from the capital were already waiting in the VIP lounge outside the suite.

That morning, Cen Sen was scheduled to inspect the Junyi Shuiyunjian Resort in Xingcheng with these executives, as a high-profile tourism summit forum was slated to be held there later.

With one minute left before the agreed-upon time, the door to the suite finally opened. Everyone rose in unison, straightening their attire, preparing to stand at attention for Cen Sen halfway down the corridor.

But a minute passed, and their respectful attention was bestowed upon empty air. No one appeared in the doorway. Instead, a woman's petulant, coquettish voice clearly reached their ears.

"A kiss! No kiss, no leaving!"

…

"Mmm, okay, one more kiss!"

…

"No way, I'm so sleepy… I barely got any sleep. I'll do it after I wake up more."

…

The older executives, having seen it all before, maintained the serene composure of abstinent monks.

The younger ones, with thinner skin, didn't dare look or listen too closely, busying themselves with adjusting their cuffs and straightening their lapels. The atmosphere became intensely awkward.

Unaware of the audience waiting outside, Ji Mingshu hastily finished tying Cen Sen's tie and went to open the door for him. Seeing there was still a minute left, she draped herself over him again, demanding a proper goodbye kiss.

After getting her way, she finally pushed him out the door. Still holding onto the doorframe, she poked half of her head out and waved goodbye.

That peek was a mistake. Ji Mingshu froze solid. An indescribable wave of embarrassment shot from the soles of her feet straight to the crown of her head.

Ji Mingshu: "…"

Cen Sen: "…"

The assembled executives: "…"

Zhou Jiaheng, perhaps from lack of sleep or something else, seemed to have his brain fogged up that morning. From the moment the door opened and the voices were heard, he'd been rooted to the spot like a stump, failing to come up with any damage control.

Now, seeing Ji Mingshu's half-emerged head, his brain short-circuited. Standing at the very front, he actually bowed to her. "Good morning, Madam."

The other executives, not understanding the situation, immediately followed suit, bowing and greeting in a discordant chorus, "Good morning, Madam!"

The greetings, from voices young and old, were completely uncoordinated, resembling a badly rehearsed troupe that had been forcibly stripped of their collective IQ.

The only response they received was the heavy sound of the door slamming shut. Bang—!

Jiang Chun: [Ji-shi Shushu you're too funny hahahahaha I'm dying hahahahaha hic!]

Ji Mingshu: […]

Ji Mingshu: [Are you dead yet? Should I send you a bottle of pesticide to help things along?]

Gu Kaiyang: [Hahahaha why didn't you just say "At ease, comrades!" hahahahaha!]

Ji Mingshu: […]

Ji Mingshu: [I wish your words were as scarce as your money.jpg]

Ji Mingshu: [Blocked. Contact me via message in a bottle for future matters.jpg]

Ji Mingshu could never have imagined that after venting in the group chat for a while—"How did Zhou Jiaheng, that pig-brained man, become Chief Assistant?" "Their entire senior management must be mentally deficient." "Cen Sen, that Dog Man, didn't tell me people were outside; he definitely did it on purpose to see me make a fool of myself."—not only did she fail to receive the expected comfort and unified ridicule against the external "enemy," but she was also mercilessly mocked by these two plastic friends.

She felt her delicate canary heart had taken another 999 points of damage. So, with the fragility of fine crystal, she posted a Moments update: [The world isn't worth it.]

Cen Sen: [But pork ribs are.]

"…"

Didn't he have any work to do?

Why was he so free???

Blocked.

The events of the morning were simply too embarrassing. Just recalling the scene made Ji Mingshu feel her heart stop and her breath cease. Naturally, she was in no mood to go back to sleep.

She sat in front of her computer and sketched for a while, but inspiration wasn't coming. Slumping back onto the couch, she started scrolling through her phone again.

It was only then she noticed that An Ning had also commented on her Moments post. Compared to the other "demons and monsters," An Ning's comment—"Sister, what's wrong?"—seemed particularly innocent and naive.

Ji Mingshu found An Ning in her contacts and explained that she was just joking and that nothing was wrong.

Actually, since coming to Xingcheng, Ji Mingshu had thought Cen Sen might take her to see Chen Biqing and An Ning, but he had given no indication of doing so.

It seemed that dinner at the An family home had been just that—a meal. He had no intention of having a joyous family reunion with his former home after all these years.

Ji Mingshu chatted with An Ning for a bit.

An Ning mentioned that her school was holding a sports meet soon. Ji Mingshu asked casually, "Are you participating in any events?"

An Ning: [No. I have congenital heart disease. I can't participate.]

Ji Mingshu: [Congenital heart disease?]

An Ning: [Mhm.]

An Ning: [Actually, back then, it was also because they needed to raise money for my treatment that Mom and Dad agreed to give Brother Cen Sen back to the Cen family. I think Brother Cen Sen has never been able to forgive Mom and Dad because of this.]

Ji Mingshu didn't know much about what happened back then. She had assumed the Cen family was particularly overbearing, and the An family, unable to keep him, was forced to agree to the exchange.

But now it seemed this exchange wasn't forced. To save their biological daughter, they had given up their non-biological son.

She suddenly felt she understood why Cen Sen had held onto this resentment for so long.

After sending that, An Ning seemed to feel it wasn't entirely appropriate and cautiously changed the subject.

Ji Mingshu also felt this topic wasn't suitable to discuss with An Ning, so she just expressed concern about her illness.

Remembering the floor they lived on, she asked: [Didn't Cen Yang return? Living in that old complex isn't very convenient. Why didn't you move to the capital with him?]

An Ning took a long time to reply: [I'm not very familiar with Brother Cen Yang.]

Recalling what Cen Yang had said, Ji Mingshu felt a little uncertain: [Didn't he ask if you wanted to move to the capital?]

An Ning hesitated for a moment before replying carefully: [He did ask. But that was probably just politeness… We hardly talk.]

Ji Mingshu understood and didn't press further.

She hadn't been in contact with Cen Yang much either lately, especially not since he intercepted that project investment from Cen Sen around New Year's.

To be honest, she vaguely sensed that Cen Yang might not be as detached and carefree as he presented himself to her. But she wasn't willing to entertain malicious assumptions about him either.

Anyway, matters of business competition were best left to the men themselves to duel it out properly.

Ji Mingshu rallied her spirits, sat up, and drew for a while longer.

Although Cen Sen often appeared serious and cold, he actually had a bit of a knack for being a life coach.

The design advice he gave last night was all very insightful—the kind worth pondering seriously even while on the toilet.

He said that what she studied in school was high-end design, and the projects she'd previously worked on were mostly artistic creations prioritizing aesthetic appeal.

Every field has its specialty. There was really no need for her to dwell on failures stemming from areas outside her expertise. As long as she could glean some inspiration related to the warmth of everyday life from this one failure, that was already enough.

As if struck by a thought, she grabbed a stack of blank paper from beside her and manually jotted down the flash of inspiration that had just passed through her mind.

While Ji Mingshu was busy sketching in the hotel, Cen Sen had already left Shuiyunjian and was rushing to a neighboring city for an industry conference.

The conference lasted until 5:30 p.m., followed by a networking dinner.

Cen Sen had to return to Xingcheng, so he left promptly at eight, not participating in any after-party activities.

Just before entering the highway, a strange tremor suddenly vibrated through the road surface.

The driver, sensing something was wrong, requested to slow down and pull over. He stopped on the wide shoulder and turned on the hazard lights.

The driver said, "Feels a bit like an earthquake. But it probably isn't here. It passed pretty quickly; should be fine."

Zhou Jiaheng received a real-time update. "A magnitude 5.8 earthquake has occurred in Xingcheng."

Without a word, Cen Sen took out his phone and dialed Ji Mingshu's number.

---

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