But there were too many things to do, one after another, and many contradictions, and she couldn't sort them out.
A clear voice in her head was telling her not to be foolish, not to think about Cen Sen's sudden kiss last night, and not to think too deeply about why she had gone back to bed.
Many things were just things he did on a whim, at most out of a bit of pity or compassion. Whoever cares or overanalyzes them will inadvertently turn them into a self-inflicted joke.
Being delusional is not a good habit, after all, someone can easily slap you in the face and teach you a lesson.
Wasn't what I taught last night enough?
Those words that slipped out were exactly what he was thinking.
Remembering these things, Ji Mingshu felt the air in the room become cramped and oppressive.
She didn't take anything and suddenly stood up.
Just then, Jiang Chun also woke up from her sleep.
She groggily reached for her phone and saw that Ji Mingshu had replied to her saying that she was fine. She immediately jumped out of bed, sat cross-legged on the bed, and started typing intently.
Jiang Chun: [Transfer of 200,000 yuan]
Jiang Chun: [Are you really going to divorce your husband? Where are you right now?]
Jiang Chun: [Your second uncle spoke to my dad and told me not to take you in! My dad also restricted my credit card to prevent me from helping you, so I'm transferring some money to you to tide you over. Don't be afraid! I'll support you no matter what you do!]
Jiang Chun: [Baby, don't be afraid, I'll steal electric bikes to support you.jpg]
Ji Mingshu walked towards the door while reading the message, feeling a little amused.
But as soon as her hand touched the doorknob, she suddenly paused.
The door was unlocked.
Is the gate locked?
Chapter 41
Jiang Chun: [?]
Jiang Chun: [Is your husband a pervert? Did he secretly take courses on domineering CEO-style forced love? And he even locked you up???]
Jiang Chun: [Sorry, I actually find it a little bit appealing...]
Ji Mingshu: [?]
—The other party has retracted a message.
Jiang Chun: [But seriously, it's just a locked door. Doesn't your elevator go up to the underground parking lot? You can exit from there. I remember someone online complained that the parking lot at your Mingshui Mansion is practically a luxury car expo!]
Ji Mingshu: [My home is in the middle of the lake. Did you think a luxury car expo could be held at the bottom of the lake?]
Jiang Chun: [oo]
Jiang Chun: [Why don't you try tying the bed sheet into a long strip and climbing down from the second-floor balcony?]
Ji Mingshu: [...]
Talking to this little goose is so stupid.
Fortunately, Gu Kaiyang was still a normal person, and he subconsciously suggested that she find a professional to unlock the door.
However, this apartment in Mingshui Mansion is equipped with a smart security system. If someone tries to force open the lock and pry open the door, the alarm will sound immediately, and the villa area's security personnel will arrive at the scene as soon as possible.
If you really want to go out, there are ways. Ji Mingshu lingered in the living room for a while, and finally looked at the four-pane window on the south side.
Cen Sen has an important social engagement today at Su Garden.
The alleyways are lined with inconspicuous, antique-style plaques, and behind the dark-colored doors lies a hidden world.
When I went out in the morning, the sky was overcast and it was pouring rain. By noon, the rain had subsided, leaving only a light drizzle.
Cen Sen and others sat in the pavilion drinking tea.
The Mr. Chang he was meeting today was one of the investors in the Nanwan project, a collaboration between Beijing Construction Engineering Group and China Huadian Corporation.
Mr. Chang was born in Jiangnan. He went to Hong Kong as a teenager and did not return home for many years.
His wife was also born in Jiangnan. She was a typical Jiangnan woman, intelligent and gentle, and spoke fluent Wu dialect.
The two have been together for over twenty years, and their deep and loving relationship is well-known. Even when he is busy with official business, he never forgets to mention his wife and children at home.
Seeing that Cen Sen was wearing a wedding ring, Mr. Chang smiled and added, "You young people don't really need to be so busy with work. Money is something you can never earn enough of, and you can't take it with you when you die. Spend more time with your family, go out for walks, and talk about your feelings. That'll help you relax."
He gently tapped his temple, smiled, and took a sip of tea.
Cen Sen didn't reply, but he also picked up his teacup and took a small sip.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zhou Jiaheng raise his hand to cover his mouth, silently reminding him. Cen Sen put down his cup, glanced in the direction of the restroom, and nodded slightly apologetically, "Excuse me."
Mr. Chang made a "please go ahead" gesture.
Cen Sen got up and walked along the dripping corridor toward the restroom, and Zhou Jiaheng followed without making a sound.
Stopping in a secluded spot, Cen Sen asked, "What is it?"
Zhou Jiaheng lowered his eyes, stepped forward, and whispered something in his ear.
He paused slightly, then turned and glanced at Zhou Jiaheng.
Zhou Jiaheng was inwardly groaning and didn't dare to look up.
If he had a choice, he wouldn't want to inform his boss about this chaotic situation.
The wife escaped through the window, and the bodyguards outside didn't even notice until her family came to persuade her to leave.
What kind of nonsense is this?
It seems that the more prestigious and wealthy the family, the closer their married life becomes to magical realism. Zhou Jiaheng had been by Cen Sen's side for a long time and had heard and seen a lot, but this was the first time he had ever seen his own boss become the one involved in a prisoner's game.
While Cen Sen was quiet, Zhou Jiaheng reported in a low voice, "The two ladies of the Ji family have already returned. Chairman Ji and Director Ji also know about this matter. They will visit Nanqiao Hutong tonight."
Cen Sen hummed in agreement.
Zhou Jiaheng continued, "Madam didn't bring anything except her phone, ID card, and umbrella. Director Ji has already spoken to Bai Cuitianhua and the other families Madam is on good terms with... so only Miss Gu Kaiyang took her in. Miss Gu asked for leave from the magazine an hour ago, and they're both at Xinggang International now. We've already found out the specific floor and door information, so please take a look..."
Cen Sen: "You only took your phone and ID card?"
Zhou Jiaheng responded with a "yes," then suddenly had a flash of inspiration and added carefully, "The surveillance only showed these two items; the passport and marriage certificate should still be there."
Cen Sen raised his hand to signal a halt, his eyes darkening slightly, his voice low and hoarse from days of inactivity, "Let's not worry about it for now."
Zhou Jiaheng nodded and didn't say anything more.
Cen Sen didn't sleep a wink last night; Ji Mingshu kept replaying in his mind.
The way Ji Mingshu embarrassed herself in front of him, the way Ji Mingshu twirled in a pretty dress, the way Ji Mingshu was shy in bed, and the way Ji Mingshu cried uncontrollably... Even when he forced himself to think about work, his thoughts would suddenly veer off course.
In fact, reason always told him that he hadn't done anything wrong; it was Ji Mingshu who was making a fuss over his personal grievances with Li Wenying.
But whenever he recalls Ji Mingshu's accusations, he feels as if he has really done something wrong, and a really bad one at that.
As dawn broke, he went to the kitchen to wash rice and cook porridge. He also wanted to make a braised pork rib dish, but there were no fresh ribs at home.
While waiting for the porridge to cook, he stood in front of the central island counter and wrote a text message.
He wrote for a full ten minutes, deleting and revising, and then, for some unknown reason, deleted it all with one click and tossed his phone aside.
Locking the door when he left was just a subconscious reaction. He didn't think a door could keep Ji Mingshu out, but he also didn't expect that she would actually do something as childish as climbing out of a window in order to run away from home.
If accidentally entering the men's restroom and being unable to leave, being caught verbally abusing someone in private, and turning around and accidentally giving the wrong condom to the wrong person are the three insurmountable embarrassing peaks in Ji Mingshu's life, then running away through a window on a rainy day and making a series of blunders that turned her into a refugee is probably the insurmountable peak of her embarrassing life.
After she climbed out of the window and left Mingshui Mansion, she waited for a taxi by the roadside, holding a small floral umbrella.
But she was used to a life of luxury, being chauffeured around by cars, and had no concept of convenient taxi hailing. After waiting for more than half an hour without seeing a car, she belatedly started fiddling with a taxi-hailing app.
After fiddling around for ten minutes, she finally got someone to accept the order, but her location was off. She spent five minutes explaining her location to the driver in the pouring rain, but the driver got impatient, spat, and then hung up on her, unilaterally canceling the order.
She had been subjected to unnecessary rudeness, and the rain was pouring down. If Gu Kaiyang hadn't received the message and come to pick her up in time, she would have climbed out the window and gone back to wait for the weather to clear up before leaving.
After being led back to Xinggang International by Gu Kaiyang, Ji Mingshu took a shower first. When she came out of the bathroom, she smelled nice and had fresh steam rising from her body. She seemed to have come back to life, and even the air without a ventilation system felt fresh.
Gu Kaiyang rarely saw her so pitiful, and couldn't help but feel affection for her. He even put on a hairdryer for her and personally dried her hair.
She accepted it without any psychological burden, sitting at the dressing table fiddling with bottles and jars, chattering away, constantly complaining about the driver and Cen Sen.
Gu Kaiyang, being a working professional and not from a wealthy family, is more realistic in her thinking than Ji Mingshu and Jiang Chun.
She knew very well that Ji Mingshu's marriage involved too many interests and that he wouldn't be able to extricate himself easily, so she didn't mention divorce again, but only asked, "What do you plan to do now?"
Ji Mingshu was puzzled. "What do you mean, what should we do?"
"..."
Gu Kaiyang patiently guided her while playing with her hair, "You can stay here as long as you want, but you yourself said that you feel Cen Sen has never respected you, and even your family and Cen Sen's friends haven't respected you much. But have you ever thought about how to earn other people's respect if you can't stand up for yourself?"
Seeing Ji Mingshu's blank expression, she continued, "Never mind, I won't talk to you about these long-term things. I'll just ask you this: you don't want to use Cen Sen's money now, and your second uncle is clearly trying to cut off your financial support to force you to go home. So where will you get the money to support yourself? How many days will the 200,000 yuan that Jiang Chun transferred to you last?"
Ji Mingshu paused for a moment, then turned his head and looked at Gu Kaiyang innocently.
"...?"
Gu Kaiyang suddenly had a bad feeling. "You don't expect me to support you, do you?"
Ji Mingshu spoke with particular self-righteousness and even nodded cutely.
Gu Kaiyang suddenly felt dizzy and stammered, "No, I...you don't know how much my salary is, do you?"
Over the years, she has worked hard in Beijing, and buying this loft apartment and her Volkswagen Beetle has exhausted all her savings.
After being promoted to deputy editor-in-chief, she had to send part of her monthly salary to her parents, use part for daily living expenses, and use part to buy jewelry and clothes to maintain the glamorous status of deputy editor-in-chief of a fashion magazine. After careful calculation, she really didn't have much left over.
Actually, if it were just about feeding and caring for Ji Mingshu, there wouldn't be a problem. The key issue is that this young lady can easily spend six figures on a single trip to the mall. How is she supposed to support her? Sell her blood? Even selling blood wouldn't be enough to keep her alive!
Ji Mingshu, however, remained optimistic, cupping her face in her hands and saying, "I think I get a recording fee for the show? I don't know if I've received it yet. Don't worry, I won't waste money."
Years of professional experience had honed Gu Kaiyang's intuition; she glanced at Ji Mingshu suspiciously, not truly at ease.
Gu Kaiyang's apartment has a floor area of 40 square meters, but a ceiling height of 4.5 meters. After being converted into a small duplex, the usable area is close to 60 square meters, which should be more than enough for two girls to live in.
Ji Mingshu was used to living in luxury mansions and villas. At first, he found it novel to stay in such a small place, but after sitting for a while, he felt it was cramped and confined.
Moreover, after recovering from her embarrassment, her latent princess syndrome slowly resurfaced: "Do you only have La Mer?"
"...?"