Ji Mingshu believed her and actually swallowed it, nearly dying from the pain on the spot.
Chen Biqing hurriedly got up again, "I'll go get you some vinegar."
With a clatter, a bowl of vinegar was poured down. Ji Mingshu swallowed a couple of mouthfuls, and when the fish bones softened, she looked at the three people who had stood up and surrounded her, and heard their concerned words. She felt a little gratified.
I really went to great lengths to liven things up.
Cen Shisen, you owe me an aircraft carrier :)
Chapter 26
The lunch ended in a flurry of activity.
After dinner, Chen Biqing cleared the dishes, An Ning helped turn on the TV, make tea, and cut fruit, Cen Sen went to the balcony to answer the phone, and Ji Mingshu had no choice but to sit on the sofa and watch a local news program that An Ning had brought up.
The program's protagonists are a young couple from a town near Xingcheng who are about to get married. Before the wedding, the man unexpectedly discovers that the woman has a history of abortion and, unable to accept it, angrily breaks off the engagement.
The woman initially tried to persuade him to stay, but when that failed, she said it was fine if they didn't get married, but the 50,000 yuan dowry couldn't be returned because "you slept with me, so you have to pay a breakup fee."
The two went on the show solely to argue over the 50,000 yuan dowry.
Ji Mingshu had never watched such a program before, and at first she didn't believe that anyone would go on TV to be interviewed and tear each other apart for 50,000 yuan.
But when she saw the preview scrolling at the bottom of the program that read, "A middle-aged man suffered a sudden cerebral hemorrhage after a dispute with his mahjong partner over a ten-yuan bet, and has been rushed to Xingcheng People's Hospital," she felt that the 50,000 yuan was indeed a reasonable and convincing dispute.
She ate fruit while watching TV, and seemed quite engrossed in it.
Seeing that Anning had finished her work and was standing aside not knowing what to do, she asked Anning to sit down and watch with her.
An Ning blushed and nodded, sitting down on the edge of the sofa with her legs together and her hands neatly placed on her knees, as if she were a distant relative visiting Ji Mingshu's home.
Even when Ji Mingshu was eating fruit and watching TV, she exuded the elegance and luxury of a socialite. Although the room was ordinary and even quite old, she managed to sit there with the air of someone sitting in the front row of a fashion show in Milan.
An Ning would occasionally steal a glance at her, pretending to be casual.
There was nothing she could do; she had never seen such a beautiful woman before, even more beautiful than the actresses on TV, like a pearl that could shine even in broad daylight.
Ji Mingshu didn't notice An Ning's adoring gaze at first. Later, when she got a tissue, she happened to meet this curious and scrutinizing gaze. She was slightly taken aback, but then smiled at her, trying to express her friendliness.
An Ning was very shy. When she was caught red-handed, she immediately looked away and refused to meet her gaze. Her face turned as red as a tomato in an instant.
Ji Mingshu: "..."
This innocent girl is from some bygone era; she's so shy...
No wonder she and Cen Sen aren't blood-related siblings; this little girl didn't even share one percent of Cen Sen's shamelessness.
The next second, she naturally thought of Cen Yang.
She was too young when Cen Yang was in the compound, and her memories became blurred as she grew older. She could no longer even remember Cen Yang's exact face. She only remembered that Cen Yang was a sunny and cheerful older brother, whose personality was completely different from that of his younger sister, An Ning.
While Ji Mingshu was distracted for a short while, Cen Sen had already finished his phone call and was walking back to the living room.
He walked straight to the sofa but didn't sit down.
Ji Mingshu looked up and met his gaze, reading in his eyes a sense of "you're done eating, so just pack up and leave."
No, he came here specifically to eat, and he really just wanted to have a meal?
It's one thing that Anning and her son couldn't communicate because they hadn't developed a sibling relationship, but Chen Biqing... since she came in, the mother and son haven't exchanged more than three words.
Ji Mingshu was stunned for a moment, unsure of what to do.
Fortunately, Chen Biqing just came out of the kitchen at that moment. She seemed to realize that Cen Sen was about to leave, and couldn't help but call out, "Xiao Sen."
The air suddenly became quiet.
For a long while, no one spoke.
Ji Mingshu found the silence unbearable. After holding it in for a long time, she finally stammered out, "Um... I've lost my lipstick, Ningning, will you come with me to buy one?"
An Ning was suddenly called out and was a little caught off guard.
Ji Mingshu acted with maximum speed, quickly getting up, grabbing her bag, pulling An Ning up, and dragging her out of the house.
The security door slammed shut with a creak, leaving only Chen Biqing and Cen Sen inside.
The afternoon sun was serene, and the last fragrance of summer flowers and plants was carried in by a gentle breeze, carrying a slightly rusty scent that was so familiar that it gave one the illusion of traveling through time.
Cen Sen remembers that it was also a sunny and pleasant afternoon when he ended his afternoon nap early because he was so eager to buy comic books.
Before heading to school with his backpack, he wanted to go to the master bedroom to see his little sister, but outside the master bedroom door, he heard his parents talking.
Driven by curiosity, he pressed himself against the door to eavesdrop.
Father An Guoping said, "So what if the Cen family has power and influence? Do you think they can just take it from us? This is outrageous! If they dare to use force, I'll report them to the authorities! I refuse to believe it; this is a society governed by law!"
Chen Biqing sighed, "The Cen family is indeed domineering. They want to take Asen away, but they won't let us see the child. We don't even know what the child's name is now."
Upon hearing this, An Guoping fell silent for a moment.
The couple spoke a few more words in hushed tones, which Cen Sen didn't hear clearly. In the end, he only heard Chen Biqing say, her voice slightly choked with tears, "How could this happen?"
At that time, Cen Sen was still young, and he could not fully understand the few words Chen Biqing and An Guoping said, but he had a vague premonition that something related to him was happening quietly behind his back.
It was from that time on that he began to consciously eavesdrop on Chen Biqing and An Guoping's conversations, and the truth was slowly revealed by him through snippets of conversation.
Later, when the Cen family's car and bodyguards parked downstairs at the teachers' apartment building, and Chen Biqing and An Guoping told him the truth at the last minute, he was surprisingly calm.
He had overheard many discussions between the two of them, who were firmly opposed to sending him back to the Cen family.
In the end, his parents still abandoned him.
Perhaps it's because so much time has passed, but looking back now feels like a lifetime ago.
Cen Sen sat on the sofa, looking at Chen Biqing, who was no longer young, and suddenly asked, "Have you not gone abroad all these years?"
Having studied abroad for many years, he could easily tell whether someone had just returned from overseas.
Chen Biqing looked at the fruit plate on the table and said softly, "No, we've always lived in Nancheng. Yangyang... he went abroad, he... isn't close to us." As she said this, she lowered her head again, "He went abroad many years ago and hasn't come back much."
Cen Sen remained silent.
Chen Biqing asked nervously, "How are you doing? You and Xiao Shu got married three years ago, right?"
"Um."
Chen Biqing nodded. "Xiao Shu is doing well, she's beautiful and cute. I'm relieved that you're all doing well."
After saying this, she quickly wiped her eyes and smiled.
Cen Sen did not respond.
After a long while, he suddenly asked, "Where's Dad?"
At that moment, Chen Biqing fell silent.
After a long pause, she slowly said, "He... has passed away."
"Passed away?" Ji Mingshu was slightly taken aback.
After leaving the An family home, Ji Mingshu pulled An Ning into the car, intending to go to a nearby shopping mall to buy some things.
The nearest shopping mall was a 15-minute drive away, and Ji Mingshu felt that she couldn't just sit there for 15 minutes, that would be too awkward, so she started chatting with An Ning in the car.
It was more like a question-and-answer session than a chat.
An Ning was a simple and honest girl. She answered whatever Ji Mingshu asked, so Ji Mingshu couldn't resist the temptation and asked her about the An family.
“Just recently, my father fell ill. My mother wanted to find my brother Cen Sen to come back and visit him, but before she could find him, he couldn’t make it through the treatment and passed away.”
Anning lowered her head and said, "We came back to Xingcheng because our father passed away. Before he passed away, he said he wanted to go home and visit."
An's father has passed away.
Although Ji Mingshu was surprised, she was not particularly shocked. Ever since she did not see An's father at the An family home, she had already made many guesses.
"Then... what about Cen Yang? Oh, he should be called An Yang now, right?"
An Ning shook her head. "My brother didn't change his name. I haven't seen him much. He went to live abroad many years ago, I think it was arranged by the Cen family. He usually only comes back once every few years."
“My father said he would come back after he passed away, but he hasn’t come back yet. I haven’t seen him for a very long time.”
"I see..."
Ji Mingshu nodded slightly, feeling a strange mix of emotions, unsure of what to say next.
Fortunately, they had arrived at the mall. She wasn't good at much else, but shopping was definitely her forte.
She composed herself, took Anning's hand, and walked inside, then began to ramble on with her theory that women should live a refined, canary-like life.
"You're in college now, you can't always be so plain. Look at your beautiful face, it's so lovely. Take care of yourself and start dating while you're young." She turned and glanced at him. "You don't have a boyfriend yet, do you?"
An Ning shook her head shyly.
"University is the best time to fall in love. Once you leave school, you won't find any pure love anymore. You'll have to consider the other person's material conditions just by standing in front of them and making eye contact."
An Ning asked curiously, "Were you and Brother Cen Sen classmates in college?"
Ji Mingshu: "..."
Sorry, we're the kind of "plastic" couple who have to consider each other's material conditions just by looking at each other.
She changed the subject, saying, "Actually, it's not just about dating. Even if a girl isn't dating, she should still treat herself well. Don't you feel happy when you dress up beautifully every day?"
An Ning agrees with this point. In university dormitories, besides studying and dating, the girls talk most about clothes, bags, skincare products, and cosmetics.
She had learned a little bit about it through her surroundings, but she was too embarrassed to take that step and just buried herself in her studies every day.
Ji Mingshu couldn't bear to see such a pretty young girl so plain. She originally wanted to take Anning to buy a set of skincare products first, but suddenly received a call from the "Designer" program team. The signal in the mall was bad and the sound was intermittent, so she randomly pointed to a nearby brand and told Anning to wait there. She would go out and finish the call and come back right away.
An Ning readily agreed.
The first floor of the mall is filled with jewelry and skincare/cosmetic counters. Anning rarely goes to places like this, and she was a little dazzled by the countless spotlights.
She wandered around the brand that Ji Mingshu had specified, and inadvertently saw a makeup brand that her roommate had been talking about every day recently. She heard that this brand had a very popular lipstick.
She walked over, her gaze lingering on the lipstick display case, silently recalling the lipstick shades her roommate had mentioned.
Finally, she found the lipstick sample in the second-to-last row of the display case, picked it up and tried the color on her hand, and it was indeed quite pretty.
She's a junior in college this year and has never bought a lipstick before, so she's suddenly eager to try it out.
"Hello, how much does this lipstick cost?"