Seeing this, Zhou Jiaheng quickly admitted his mistake, "I'm sorry, President Cen, it was my negligence."
Cen Sen's willingness to condescend to attend the wrap party for the show was clearly due to Ji Mingshu.
However, as his personal assistant, he failed to even investigate the fact that Ji Mingshu had returned to the capital that afternoon, which was indeed a dereliction of duty.
Even more derelict in his duty was that he simply allowed those clueless people to gossip about Ji Mingshu in front of Cen Sen, practically walking right into the line of fire...
"I don't need to collect my year-end bonus this year."
Cen Sen looked out the window without even lifting his eyes.
Zhou Jiaheng felt a pang of heartache, but knowing that the anger was being directed at him, he didn't say anything.
The sponsorship for "The Designer" has already been allocated, and the program has finished recording. It is obviously unrealistic to terminate the cooperation now because of a temporary disagreement.
But if anyone present today who has subtly criticized Ji Mingshu is allowed to appear in Junyi's investment projects in the future, then this assistant should pack his bags and leave immediately.
His only prayer at this moment was that the show "The Designer" would air smoothly and that it wouldn't cause any more scandals involving the president's wife.
Cen Sen's sudden departure caused unease among the production team. Ji Mingshu, having just finished soaking in the hot springs, had only just seen a WeChat message from a staff member.
She glanced at the time, replied, "Sorry, I'm not in Xingcheng," and then ignored it.
Her mind was completely focused on how to outshine Li Wenyin tomorrow.
The feud between Ji Mingshu and Li Wenying had been going on for over twenty years, and everyone in the compound knew about it.
The root of their feud can be traced back to the first grade of elementary school.
Back then, Ji Mingshu gave the candy she brought back from abroad to the really handsome boy in her class. The boy accepted it but then gave it to Li Wenying. Li Wenying knew the candy belonged to Ji Mingshu, and she even showed it off in front of Ji Mingshu while biting into it. Ji Mingshu was furious and they got into a fight.
The magnetic field between people seems to be predetermined. From the first grade of elementary school, Ji Mingshu and Li Wenying did not get along. Over the years, their grudges deepened and there was no possibility of reconciliation.
The following afternoon, C's cocktail party was held at the OBE Art Center.
Ji Mingshu only realized after reading the invitation that the key word for this party was leisure, so her original idea of outshining Li Wenyin with a gorgeous haute couture gown was completely unsuitable here.
After much deliberation, she finally chose a burgundy knee-length strapless dress. It wasn't overly formal, yet it accentuated her shapely figure. Paired with a pearl white handbag, it was perfect!
Unfortunately, Li Wenying was wearing a pearl white strapless jumpsuit and carrying a burgundy handbag today.
She smiled and fawned over the investor, her every gesture exuding a quiet, scholarly air.
A group of socialites, led by Ji Mingshu, huddled together, scrutinizing her from afar and criticizing her one after another.
Someone jokingly remarked, "Ming Shu, you and she look a bit like a red rose and a white rose today."
Someone immediately retorted: "White Rose? She doesn't deserve it!"
"Exactly, can't you speak properly? Don't you know her mother used to be Ming Shu's nanny?"
"Huh? Is that so?"
"That's right, it was only because the Ji family was kind enough to take them in that they took the mother and daughter in. But she's been going against Ming Shu since she was little. She doesn't even know who she is." The girl's voice was gentle, but her words were full of sarcasm.
Standing next to Ji Mingshu, Jiang Chun thought to herself, "Holy crap!" She suddenly had the feeling that Li Wenying had gotten the Cinderella story and that all of them were villainous supporting characters.
Not only Jiang Chun had this misconception, but Ji Mingshu had also harbored this thorn of a strong female protagonist named "Li Wenyin" in her heart since childhood.
Years later, she still couldn't get rid of this thorn, which would flare up from time to time, tormenting her to the point that she wanted to cut off her flesh and goug out her bones.
Unlike Ji Mingshu and other wealthy socialites who had nothing to do and only enjoyed gossiping about others at parties.
Li Wenyin came to this party specifically to have someone introduce her to a famous film director, hoping to invite him to be the film's producer and to support her screen debut.
She naturally saw Ji Mingshu, but she had never paid any attention to him over the years, maintaining her haughty attitude and not even deigning to give him a second glance.
Li Wenying's attitude clearly indicated that she wanted to ignore him. Ji Mingshu was unhappy, but it was impossible for her to rush up and cause trouble for no reason.
She drank a glass of red wine to calm herself down, and then watched the performance on stage with Jiang Chun as if nothing had happened.
Jiang Chun lowered her voice and asked, "Aren't you planning to have a direct confrontation?"
Ji Mingshu: "How do you mean frontal?"
Jiang Chun: "Didn't you come here specifically to outshine her and warn her not to make that lousy movie? Then you should at least have a segment where you say some harsh words and throw red wine at her or something."
Ji Mingshu: "You've been reading too many novels, haven't you? And you even threw red wine..."
While eating cake, Jiang Chun whispered to Ji Mingshu, imparting various winning strategies for battling love rivals.
Ji Mingshu was also a hardcore novel reader, and the more she listened, the more something seemed off. She felt that the advice Jiang Chun gave her was the kind of thing only a stupid female supporting character would do, which was really too low-class.
As Jiang Chun was speaking, she suddenly paused, "She went to the restroom, quick, follow her!"
As she spoke, she pushed Ji Mingshu, saying, "You can lock her in the cubicle with a broom, or splash water on her!"
Are you kidding me? What kind of place would there be a broom in the toilet?
Ji Mingshu was pushed to her feet and, lost in thought, unconsciously walked towards the restroom.
The restrooms in the art center also have an artistic feel.
If it weren't for the obvious sign for the women's restroom at the entrance, pushing it inside might make you think you'd accidentally entered some fancy dressing room.
Ji Mingshu absentmindedly touched up her makeup at the sink, her eyes fixed on the mirror, intently watching the movements in the stall behind her.
About three minutes later, Li Wenying came out of the cubicle.
Seeing Ji Mingshu touching up her makeup at the sink, she paused slightly, but wasn't particularly surprised.
Ji Mingshu applied powder to her face for the second time. As Li Wenying walked to her side to wash her hands, she casually remarked, "What a coincidence."
Li Wenying chuckled lightly, without raising her eyes, "I think it's just bad luck."
Ji Mingshu: "..."
After washing her hands, Li Wenying grabbed a tissue and looked at Ji Mingshu in the mirror while wiping them, her voice knowing, "It's been so many years, I didn't expect you to still be so childish."
"Who's naive?"
Ji Mingshu instantly entered combat mode.
"Ji Mingshu, you have money and free time, why don't you do something meaningful? We're all adults, stop playing these childish tricks."
Li Wenying took out her lipstick again and calmly applied a light layer of lip color.
Ji Mingshu paused for three seconds, then suddenly laughed in anger, her voice rising several notches, "We're all foxes from the same mountain, what kind of ghost story are you putting on in front of me? Don't you know who's causing trouble in the shadows? You can't even be a quiet, shut-up ex-girlfriend, what are you pretending to be, acting all intellectual and elegant in front of me?"
"You know I'm going to make a movie?" Li Wenying paused for a few seconds, then suddenly glanced at her. "Did Cen Sen tell you?"
What does this have to do with Cen Sen?
Seeing her expression, Li Wenying suddenly chuckled, "I bet Cen Sen didn't tell you about Junyi investing in my film. But he doesn't mind, so why are you? You've liked him for so many years, and you even used tricks to marry him, yet you still haven't won his heart?"
She had finished packing and was about to leave when she brushed past Ji Mingshu. Then, as if remembering something, she whispered in her ear, "How pitiful."
That single word, "Poor thing," carried the lingering resentment that had been etched into Ji Mingshu's heart since his student days, causing Ji Mingshu's heart to clench suddenly, as if he couldn't breathe.
Li Wenyin's high heels clicked away as she walked further and further away.
Ji Mingshu's mental defenses, built up over many days, were easily shattered by Li Wenying's indifferent words. At this moment, he could only lean against the sink to force himself to stand firm.
When Cen Sen received Ji Mingshu's call, he was playing golf with Jiang Che at the golf course. Besides the two of them, Shu Yang and Zhao Yang were also there.
The four of them stood together, very close to each other.
Seeing that it was Ji Mingshu calling, Shu Yang teased her with ill intent, "Oh, little Shushu is checking up on me now!"
This was the first time Ji Mingshu had called after a long stalemate. Cen Sen ignored him and answered the call directly.
I don't know what's wrong with the phone, but even though I didn't turn it on speaker, the sound was so loud that all three people around me could hear it.
Ji Mingshu's voice trembled slightly on the other end of the phone, and there was a hint of hysteria that she was trying to suppress but couldn't quite get rid of.
"Do you remember what I told you? Do you remember what you promised me? What do you mean by investing in the movie commemorating your love with Li Wenying?! Do you want to slap me in the face and show the whole world how ridiculous I am?!"
After a few seconds, her voice calmed slightly, "I have nothing more to say to you. When are you coming back? Let's get a divorce."
Chapter 39
On an autumn afternoon, the sun shone warmly and a gentle breeze was pleasant.
But as the phone line went dead, the temperature around Cen Sen plummeted to freezing.
divorce?
Ji Mingshu just filed for divorce?
Shu Yang was less perceptive than the sun, which had secretly hidden behind the clouds. He blurted out in surprise, "Holy crap!" "You and Li Wenying rekindled your old flame? When did that happen? Holy crap, Sen-ge, what did you do? Even Ji Mingshu knows about it! What are we going to do now?"
Cen Sen didn't reply. He used a shortcut to call Zhou Jiaheng, his voice low, "Make arrangements. Return to the capital immediately."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Che put down his cue stick, patted him on the shoulder, and remained silent.
Zhao Yang didn't say anything either, but the question he was thinking about was exactly the same as Shu Yang's.
This is understandable; they are both men who have spent their lives surrounded by women, womanizers who have had countless affairs, and they have no concept or moral principles of loyalty to love or marriage.
At this moment, everyone thought that Cen Sen had cheated on Li Wenying and had also failed in front of Ji Mingshu, so their thoughts were all focused on how to protect their buddies' interests.
After Cen Sen left, the two played ball and discussed things.
Shu Yang: "I didn't expect Li Wenying to be so charming. She's only been back for a short time, and she's already hooked up with someone again."
Zhao Yang thought for a moment and said, "It's probably her personality. Ji Mingshu's main trait is that kind of personality; most men really can't handle it."
Shu Yang: "That's right. Hey, do you think they're really going to get divorced?"
Zhao Yang: "How could that be? Do you think Ji Rusong and Ji Rubai are dead? Without Jing Jian standing by, would the Ji family still be the same Ji family? But this matter mainly depends on Brother Sen's will. If he wants a divorce, he will have to get a divorce even without this incident."
“That makes sense,” Shu Yang nodded. “But Grandpa Cen and Grandma Cen both like Ji Mingshu so much, they definitely won’t agree. And Uncle Cen… I’m not saying this to be mean, but even if they divorce, Li Wenying will never be able to come into the family. She just can’t get past Uncle Cen.”
Hearing this, Zhao Yang scoffed, "Come on, 'come in'? Didn't you realize that Brother Sen never intended to leave? Otherwise, why would he go back so quickly? Ji Mingshu was just saying that; why are you worrying about it?"
...
They got more and more into their conversation, and less than five minutes after Cen Sen left, they were already discussing how to divide the property after the divorce.
Jiang Che's attitude towards marriage was different from theirs, but since he was his brother, he couldn't say much. He gazed at the end of the green field and said indifferently, "Stop talking, mind your own business."
Admittedly, Jiang Che's advice to "mind your own business" was very insightful. Unfortunately, his warning was too weak. In the blink of an eye, Zhao Yang and Shu Yang, those two big mouths, accidentally let the matter slip.
The marriage between the Cen and Ji families was already attracting much attention within their small circle, and the sudden change naturally spread like wildfire.