"accept."
This bribe was a bit too much.
Ji Mingshu felt like she had been tortured to death several times. She had been soaking in the bath for a long time, but then the battlefield somehow spread back to the bathroom. She had done this twice in one day, and she felt like she was going to be soaked to death.
Late at night, Ji Mingshu woke up and found that Cen Sen was not beside her.
She was a little hungry.
She took a shower as soon as she got back, and then served her sugar daddy. She lay on the bed, her chest pressed against her back.
After struggling for about five minutes, she dragged her weak legs downstairs, intending to find something to eat. Unexpectedly, as she reached the top of the stairs, she smelled a delicious aroma wafting from the kitchen counter.
She glanced over instinctively and saw Cen Sen with his shirt sleeves rolled up, deftly plating the food after cooking.
"It smells so good, what are you making?" She leaned closer. "Pork rib rice?"
Cen Sen grunted in agreement, lowered his sleeves, picked up the plate of delicious-looking pork ribs and rice, and walked towards the dining room.
Ji Mingshu followed eagerly.
Cen Sen turned and glanced at her, "I didn't do it for you."
"?"
"Why?"
She felt something was off as soon as she asked the question, as if he would respond with a wicked, arrogant, shameless, and vulgar line, like in an adult novel: "Heh, little vixen, didn't I satisfy you just now?"
However, reality is often harsher than imagination. Just as this thought flashed through her mind, she heard Cen Sen say, "I thought you had been in the men's room for too long and probably didn't have an appetite."
Is this what he meant by accepting bribes?
Chapter 12
There may be trust between people, but Ji Mingshu felt that there was none between her and Cen Sen.
Standing at the dining table, she watched Cen Sen eat slowly and deliberately, her mind filled with the word "accept" that Cen Sen had said before they went to bed.
—Will you accept bribes? If you do, you're not allowed to mention the men's restroom again.
--accept.
Clap clap clap!
After having sex with her genitals, he slapped her face repeatedly. What a hardworking, simple, and exemplary husband who has moved China!
And the way her husband looked at her, taking the fruits of his labor for granted, was absolutely beautiful :)
After watching Cen Sen eat for a while, Ji Mingshu closed her eyes, feeling so angry that she could skip breakfast, lunch, and dinner tomorrow.
She ran back to her room without a word, locked the door, and rolled around on the bed.
The air still held the sweet scent of their lovemaking, and the more she tossed and turned, the less she could sleep. She couldn't stop thinking about it and felt like she had been cruelly cheated on during her marriage.
Several images kept playing in her mind, and she was so angry that she couldn't sleep. Suddenly, she got out of bed and decided to rush out and have a big showdown with that cheating scumbag who was only interested in having sex with her.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she opened the door, she bumped right into the scumbag who had cheated her out of her life, standing at the door with a bowl of fresh, hot pork rib noodles.
The noodles and spare ribs looked incredibly tempting, and they were sprinkled with delicate chopped scallions. But the most important thing was the taste.
Ji Mingshu stared at the pork rib noodles, swallowed hard, and said without blinking, "You're such a good person."
Ding! A "good guy" card has been awarded.
She didn't even look at the "good person's" expression, but reverently accepted the noodles, carried them all the way to the dressing table, and even placed the stool neatly in front of her.
Ji Mingshu's eating was a delightful sight. He ate in very small bites and remained quiet throughout, without making a single slurping sound.
I don't know if this is a sign of her excellent socialite manners, or if she's perfectly demonstrating what it means to "stop nagging once you've got the money."
I slept fairly well that night.
The next morning at eight o'clock sharp, Zhou Jiaheng called to provide Cen Sen with a wake-up call.
After finishing the phone call, Cen Sen lay on the bed and slowly pinched the bridge of his nose.
He remembered that when he was studying in the United States, he would cook for himself in his apartment whenever he had free time. After working for many years, last night was the first time he had cooked for himself late at night.
After regaining his senses, he turned his head and glanced at it.
The sunlight on a summer morning was dazzling, but Ji Mingshu showed no reaction whatsoever, remaining as quiet as a fried dough stick waiting to ferment.
She doesn't sleep very properly, probably because the Ji family hired many teachers for her, but forgot to find one to teach her how to sleep with the elegant posture of a socialite from a young age.
When she first got married, she could try her best to control herself and maintain a normal sleeping posture, but it wasn't long before she frequently revealed her true nature, especially after going to bed, when she was extremely unguarded.
Just like now, she was clinging to Cen Sen's arms like an octopus, her bare, shapely legs straddling his waist and abdomen.
Cen Sen was a normal man. When he woke up in the morning and saw such a beautiful woman with disheveled clothes and a sexy and alluring appearance hanging on him, it was hard for him not to react.
Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time.
He pulled off the octopus covering him, his movements showing little tenderness or pity.
However, she paused slightly before leaving and closed the blackout curtains.
In the past, when Ji Mingshu returned from abroad, she would only sleep for half a day to adjust to the time difference, but this time she was so exhausted that she slept straight until six o'clock in the afternoon.
My phone is full of missed calls and WeChat messages.
She glanced at a few of the WeChat messages, including one from Jiang Chun, all asking if she was going to Zhang Er Gongzi's birthday party that night.
The Zhang family has two sons, the elder named Zhang Qi and the younger named Zhang Lin.
Zhang Qi and Cen Sen are about the same age. Zhang Qi has already taken over a lot of family affairs. His family is in the business of developing tourism resources, and he probably has a lot of business dealings with Cen Sen.
Zhang Lin was born late in life and was pampered by his family. He was spoiled from a young age. Is he just turning twenty today? Ji Mingshu took a closer look and realized that he really was twenty.
Whole life.
Ji Mingshu scrolled down to find Zhang Er Gongzi's invitation message and sent an "OK" gesture.
Young Master Zhang quickly replied, "Thank you for the honor, Sister Shu!"
Zhang Er Gongzi had been preparing for this birthday party for a long time. He was also clever and decided to hold the party at the pub that he was about to open, which was equivalent to giving himself free advertising.
When Ji Mingshu arrived, the atmosphere in the pub was already lively. Zhang Lin had quite a lot of influence; almost all of his acquaintances from Beijing were there, along with a bunch of internet celebrities and minor stars whose names he couldn't recall.
Ji Mingshu was personally welcomed in by the Second Young Master Zhang.
This young master Zhang may not have learned much else at such a young age, but he has mastered the skill of flattery to perfection. He greeted Ji Mingshu at the door and showered her with compliments, calling her "sister" this and "sister" that in a very affectionate manner. Luckily, he doesn't have a sister, otherwise, seeing his glib tongue would probably make her so angry that she would go back to her mother's womb.
In these social settings, the host's attitude basically reflects the guest's status. Among the people present tonight, there are very few who will be personally greeted by Young Master Zhang.
Those who didn't know Ji Mingshu but saw how attentive Young Master Zhang was naturally able to get a sense of Ji Mingshu's character.
Once she sat down at the front, a group of her professional bootlickers took over the baton from Zhang Er Gongzi and got up to start their business, each one of them speaking eloquently and showering her with compliments.
Ji Mingshu was very considerate of them, saying that she was late and offered them a drink, and then chatted with them about the haute couture week a few days ago.
This was the kind of decadent, extravagant, and sensual world that Ji Mingshu was most familiar with, so he naturally handled it with ease and skill.
Zhang Baoshu is here tonight too. It's been more than a month since she last accompanied Zhang Qi, the eldest son of the Zhang family, to a social event.
In just over a month, Zhang Baoshu felt she had experienced ups and downs she had never experienced in the previous nineteen years.
The youth campus web series she filmed before graduating has been released online and has been broadcast on video websites for more than 20 episodes. Its reputation and data are not considered explosive, but it is not unknown either.
At least she easily gained over 500,000 fans through her fresh and natural female lead persona.
With the data traffic provided by her company, she now boasts millions of followers, and her Weibo posts garner thousands of likes, comments, and shares, making her a rising star among young actresses.
To outsiders, all of this was simply a matter of her good luck, allowing her to easily stand out when she first entered the entertainment industry.
But she knows that every moment of glamour in public comes at a price.
That night, Cen Sen rejected her without mercy, and her self-esteem crumbled. She didn't know what she was thinking, and she turned around and inexplicably went to Mr. Zhang's bed again.
Young Master Zhang may have verbally belittled and looked down on her, but his body language betrayed him when it came to bed.
After spending three consecutive nights with her, the web series she had been suppressing was finally able to air; her senior colleagues under her agent, knowing that she was working with Mr. Zhang, finally began to give her a second look; and a prime-time drama that she couldn't even get a fourth female lead role before also extended an olive branch, inviting her to play the second female lead.
Once people take shortcuts and taste the ease with which fame and fortune are within reach, it becomes difficult for them to climb steadily step by step, and Zhang Baoshu is no exception.
Actually, she was quite happy to hear the rumors about her and Mr. Zhang, but unfortunately, Mr. Zhang wouldn't even leave her his contact information, and the two never met again after those three days.
It's only been a month, so no one will suspect anything yet. But as time goes on, people will naturally notice that her relationship with Young Master Zhang is far from good enough to warrant the word "with".
Whether she could get more without Young Master Zhang is another matter, but even with what she has now, she doesn't know if she'll have to give it all back.
Zhang Baoshu managed to sneak in here today through her agent, hoping to run into Mr. Zhang and rekindle their old flame.
Zhang Baoshu arrived early, her gaze following Zhang Er Gongzi intentionally or unintentionally. She thought that as the older brother, he would surely show up for his younger brother's birthday, but she was met with disappointment after disappointment.
Just as the birthday party was about to begin, the second young master Zhang went out to fetch someone in. The pub was not very well lit, and she was initially dazzled, thinking that he was fetching his brother. But when she looked closer, she found that it was a graceful woman, and she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
Amid the noise, she heard people nearby discussing:
"Who is that woman? Zhang Er is being so attentive."
"I don't know G, but the bag she's carrying looks like... a Himalayan BK?"
Someone added, "It's the diamond-encrusted version."
Zhang Baoshu then took a closer look.
However, because of the distance, she couldn't see the woman's features clearly. She could only sense that the woman had a very special temperament. She looked bright and beautiful from afar, and it was the kind of bright beauty that made people unable to look away. Even when she casually flipped her hair, it looked like she was filming a shampoo commercial.
"Stop looking, we're not on the same wavelength." Someone recognized Ji Mingshu and pointed to the red sofa, "This kind of background."
Everyone understood immediately.
The man continued, "You know Junyi Huazhang, right? Her husband is the boss of the entire Junyi Group, and he has a very powerful background. Otherwise, why do you think Zhang Er would be so attentive?"
Junyi?
Zhang Baoshu was suddenly startled.
She suddenly recalled what Cen Sen had said that night: "You can't compare to my wife in looks, temperament, education, or background. You should wash your face and wake up."
Is this his wife?
Zhang Baoshu herself didn't realize that her cat-eye nails were digging deeply into the sofa crack.