Fortunately, she reacted quickly and added, "Paris isn't your backyard, Miss Ji. Aren't you being a bit too nosy? Yan is currently on a business trip in Paris. Can't I surprise him?"
She straightened her back a little when her fiancé, Yan, was mentioned.
"……surprise?"
Ji Mingshu was momentarily at a loss for what expression to adopt.
“That’s right. Even when our Yan is on a business trip, at least he has an address. Unlike your CEO Cen, who is so busy that you can’t find him all year round.”
Seeing Jiang Chun's childish smugness, Ji Mingshu was speechless, but also felt a pang of pity.
Actually, Jiang Chun wasn't originally in this circle, but her father was very capable. He transformed himself from a nouveau riche from a small fishing village in Shenzhen into a catering tycoon, earning buckets of real money.
Moreover, her father was very ambitious. A few years ago, he moved his entire family from Shenzhen to Beijing and managed to get into a prestigious family in the capital by virtue of his immense wealth. He even got engaged to the Yan family.
The Yan family was once a prominent and wealthy family, but each generation has become less successful and less fortunate, and their luck and vision have also been poor, so they have long been showing signs of decline.
The engagement between the two families is a typical example of new money and old money leveraging each other's strengths to achieve their respective goals.
There's not much to criticize about whether there's infidelity in this kind of arranged marriage. It's normal for each person to do their own thing. Ji Mingshu just pretended not to see it and didn't say a word to the parties involved. At most, he would gossip about it with his friends over tea.
But the key point is that Jiang Chun is too genuine in her feelings; she fell in love with Yan at first sight and couldn't help herself.
The Jiang family had too many choices. If it weren't for Jiang Chun's preference, there would be no need to choose the Yan family, a declining family with no intention of rising to power.
Ji Mingshu's unusual quietness and the hint of affection in his eyes made Jiang Chun feel a little uneasy. She slowly walked towards the front desk, glancing back at Ji Mingshu as she went.
Ji Mingshu was hesitating whether to meddle and offer a reminder when she heard Jiang Chun shout incredulously from ahead, "Yan!"
OK.
She didn't need to remind me.
Not far away, Yan Zheng and that obscure celebrity walked out of the elevator like conjoined twins, their clothes different from what they had seen that morning.
Ji Mingshu wasn't exactly a naive virgin either; judging from their posture, she knew they'd probably had sex before leaving.
Actually, Jiang Chun isn't bad-looking, but her taste is really terrible. No matter what luxury goods are piled up on her, they all look like cheap knock-offs from Taobao. Plus, she's currently acting crazy in love and trying to throw a tantrum, which creates a natural contrast with the pitiful little white flower next to Yan who has just been pampered.
As expected, after only a few words, Yan shielded Xiaobaihua behind him and impatiently pushed Jiang Chun away.
"Are you ever going to stop? Is there any point in making a scene like this? Look at yourself now, aren't you ashamed?"
"I'm ashamed?"
Jiang Chun's eyes reddened, and large tears rolled down her cheeks.
After the shoving, her hat was askew, her curly hair and clothes were a bit messy, and she looked quite disheveled.
As if she had rehearsed, the little white-clad girl put on her mask and sunglasses without anyone noticing, then timidly hid behind Yan and whispered, "Ah... I can't be photographed."
Yan patted her hand, then turned back and frowned, not wanting to look at Jiang Chun even once more. His tone was extremely annoyed. "We'll talk about our business when we get back to China. If you want to embarrass yourself here, then go ahead and make a scene. Don't drag me into it."
Jiang Chun was stunned, seemingly unable to believe that her once gentle and considerate fiancé could change his attitude so drastically and treat her like this.
Yan escorted Xiaobaihua out, and Xiaobaihua, whether intentionally or not, bumped into Jiang Chun's shoulder.
Ji Mingshu couldn't stand it any longer. Standing not far away, she suddenly chuckled, "How interesting. The scumbag and his mistress were caught in the act, yet they don't feel ashamed and blame the legitimate fiancée for being shameful." Her voice wasn't loud, but everyone present could hear her.
Yan then noticed Ji Mingshu. He looked unwell and wanted to tell Ji Mingshu not to meddle, but remembering the Cen and Ji families, he swallowed his words.
"Aren't you ashamed? Foreign friends don't understand Chinese. Do you need me to translate for you so you can embarrass yourself completely?"
Glancing at the Lover's Bridge in Yan's hand, Ji Mingshu mocked again, "Your entire outfit was a gift from your real fiancée, and you're quite self-righteous about it."
Yan: "You!"
Yan Zheng was caught off guard, but the innocent-looking girl, being quite sensible, immediately put on a brave face, pretending to want to take full responsibility. She stepped forward and bowed timidly, "Miss Jiang, I'm sorry, it's all my fault. Can we find a place to talk privately? Not here..."
She tried to pull Jiang Chun forward, but Ji Mingshu blocked her way and coldly interrupted, "Who do you think you are? Get out of the way." Her gaze then shifted back to Yan.
Her meaning was clear: apologize.
Yan was seething with anger but couldn't vent it. He rubbed his forehead, licked his back teeth, and finally nodded helplessly, saying, "Fine, it was my fault, I embarrassed myself. I'll personally explain this to Uncle Jiang when I get back to China. I have some things to take care of right now, so I'll take my leave."
Ji Mingshu did not stop him.
Even in this situation, he still wouldn't try to appease Jiang Chun first; there's no point in stopping him anyway.
She turned around and walked to Jiang Chun's side.
Before she could even speak, Jiang Chun cried and said angrily, "I don't need your fake kindness! Are you happy to see me make a fool of myself?! Do you think your husband is any better? They're all scoundrels!"
"..."
"Whether my husband is a good person or not is none of your business."
Ji Mingshu was most annoyed by patients with paranoia. He had originally intended to offer a few words of comfort, but now he could skip that altogether.
She nonchalantly put on her sunglasses and strode away in her high heels.
Jiang Chun's words did not affect Ji Mingshu's mood as she tried on the dress.
Ji Mingshu had already tried on a sample of this nude pink lace dress once before, and the tailor made further adjustments to fit her figure after she put it on.
She was quite satisfied with the finished custom-made garment and the way it looked on her.
She had someone film a short video and sent a copy to Gu Kaiyang.
Gu Kaiyang was probably busy and didn't see it, so he didn't reply for a while.
She had another sudden inspiration and added a light and refreshing filter, then sent a copy to Cen Sen as well.
Ji Mingshu: [How is it? My new dress.]
When Ji Mingshu sent the message, it was already night in the capital, with layers of gray-blue curtains obscuring the view and neon lights gradually lighting up along the roadside.
Cen Sen had just finished a meeting. He took the phone from Zhou Jiaheng and glanced at it briefly.
There were many unread messages, first several spending reminders from the debit card, and then a WeChat message from Ji Mingshu.
He rarely contacted Ji Mingshu normally; if they did, they would just call each other. It was also rare for Ji Mingshu to take the initiative to send him a WeChat message.
He loosened his tie and opened the video.
The video is very short, only about ten seconds long. It shows Ji Mingshu lifting her skirt and spinning around twice, then turning back and winking.
He watched it once, then replayed it once, and then replayed it a third time.
Zhou Jiaheng followed Cen Sen and noticed that Cen Sen kept watching the same video repeatedly. He was a little curious, but he didn't dare to peek too much.
Cen Sen didn't stop playing the music until he returned to his office.
The chat interface still showed a message from Ji Mingshu. He didn't know if it was a genuine compliment or just a casual reply, so he simply said, "It looks good."
Seeing that Cen Sen was unusually not using his "give him a fulcrum and he can lift the earth" argumentative skills, Ji Mingshu was in a pretty good mood and graciously discussed with him: "Isn't it a bit like that kind of flirtatious yet refreshing, bitchy yet sophisticated feeling that people talk about online?"
Cen Sen chuckled silently, glanced at the bill, and corrected, "I don't think this is 'small luxury'."
She calls a dress that costs 180,000 euros "high-end"? How could she say that?
Cen Sen looked up and asked Zhou Jiaheng, "When did Madam arrive in Paris?"
Zhou Jiaheng paused for a moment, then said, "Five o'clock this morning."
He then spontaneously reported Ji Mingshu's schedule for the next few days, which mainly included show attendance arrangements and invitations to lunch, dinner, and afternoon tea from higher-ups.
Cen Sen wasn't sure if he had listened carefully. After the report was finished, he commented in a flat tone, "She's quite busy."
Zhou Jiaheng kept his eyes down and remained silent, knowing better than to respond.
Meanwhile, Ji Mingshu was in a very pleasant mood.
She narcissistically interpreted Cen Sen's comment, "I don't think this is a little high-end," as a compliment and planned to buy him a tie clip as encouragement.
Just then, WeChat notifications started ringing.
Sure enough, Editor Gu's compliments were never late.
Gu Kaiyang: [Waaaaah, what an unparalleled fairy who has fallen to earth!]
Gu Kaiyang: [The dress isn't haute couture! You are!]
Gu Kaiyang: [Our little canary baby's beauty and the way she spends money are truly captivating!!!]
Gu Kaiyang: [How much money does Mom need to earn to snatch you away from that scumbag?!]
Without comparison, there is no difference.
Ji Mingshu took a screenshot and sent it to Cen Sen, wanting him to experience the correct way of giving evaluations.
Cen Sen received the picture, his gaze falling on the last sentence, "dog man."
So that's how she and her best friend privately address him.
Chapter 10
Ji Mingshu quickly noticed the bug in the picture. She thought Cen Sen wouldn't see it so quickly, so she quickly pressed the "undo" button along with the "learn more" text at the end of the picture, trying to pretend that nothing had happened.
But less than thirty seconds after she withdrew her message, a series of messages began to appear in the chat box:
Cen Sen: [What kind of peerless fairy has fallen to earth?]
Cen Sen: [The dress isn't haute couture, you are.]
Cen Sen: [Our little canary baby's beauty and the way she spends money are truly captivating.]
Ji Mingshu: "..."
The rainbow-colored flattery, devoid of exclamation marks, came from Cen Sen's pitch-black profile picture, sounding like a cold, mocking mechanical copy. For a moment, Ji Mingshu couldn't tell whether he was trying to show off his memory or learning ability.
Cen Sen: [Is it convincing?]
Ji Mingshu: [...]
She understood; this jerk was just trying to show off. :)
He probably didn't repeat the last sentence because he felt he had mastered the writing technique well and deliberately left it blank, giving people endless room for imagination.
She put down her phone and said to the shop assistant with a forced smile, "Excuse me, I don't need the tie clip."
Thanks to Cen Sen's offense, Ji Mingshu showed no mercy during the three-day haute couture week, leaving behind her dashing credit card swipes wherever she went.
Designers who are usually aloof in front of celebrities take the initiative to invite her for photos to express their longing for her; executives also make time out of their busy schedules to invite this distinguished guest from China to lunch and dinner; needless to say, for fashion shows, if you don't get a seat in the first row, the invitation will never reach her.