Ji Mingshu talked a lot that night.
Cen Sen also gave her some advice.
Finally, Ji Mingshu got sleepy and actually fell asleep leaning on his shoulder.
Cen Sen picked her up horizontally, placed her on the bed, and covered her with a blanket.
After the lights were turned off, he gently kissed her forehead. Remembering how she tearfully complained that Tang Zhizhou would kiss, hug, and lift her up high, his heart softened. He whispered in her ear, "Baby, goodnight."
He tried to get up after saying that, but Ji Mingshu suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck, with a hint of smugness at having caught him red-handed, and a touch of sleepy charm, "I heard you, I heard you! Say it again, hurry up, call me baby!"
Chapter 74
Cen Sen is clearly not the kind of man who can switch to a mushy mode anytime, anywhere; at least for now, it's difficult for him to do so while Ji Mingshu is sober.
He gave her a light kiss on the lips, said goodnight, and then prepared to go to bed.
But Ji Mingshu was not easily fooled. She clung to his neck and refused to let go, her delicate nose wrinkled, insisting on hearing him call out again.
Cen Sen's eyes were deep and dark, his gaze lingering from her loose curly hair all the way down to her slipping halter top.
Soon, he leaned down and planted a warm kiss on her, a kiss that felt particularly aggressive than before.
By the time Ji Mingshu realized what was happening, it was too late. She glared at him and whimpered twice, struggling with her hands and feet, but in the end, she gave in and went limp under him.
In the throes of passion, she thought she heard a soft, intimate "baby," but her mind went blank, and she couldn't be sure if she was hallucinating.
She only remembered that her little bit of backbone had been smashed to pieces long ago, and she was forced by Cen Sen to call out "husband" many times in broken and sobbing voices.
The next morning, sunlight streamed in through the clear French windows, casting a warm golden glow, and a sweet, ambiguous scent lingered in the air.
Ji Mingshu was sore all over, and when she got up, she felt like she had no bones, clinging to Cen Sen.
Even when brushing her teeth, she would lean against him, eyes half-closed, whimpering and acting spoiled.
"Here's the toothbrush." Cen Sen placed the toothbrush with toothpaste already squeezed into it next to her.
She didn't answer, saying, "I'm too weak. It's all your fault. I can't even lift my arm."
Cen Sen: "..."
Ji Mingshu: "Otherwise, you can help me swipe it."
Cen Sen looked down at her and said, "Pay it yourself, I'm going to be late."
"Then I won't swipe it." This is clearly a shameless act.
Cen Sen paused for a few seconds, then said, "Open your mouth."
She couldn't help but let out a triumphant smile, but quickly suppressed it, obediently opening her mouth like a beautiful, lazy little Ragdoll cat nestled in her owner's arms waiting to be stroked, occasionally stretching out her little paws to interact with her owner.
Cen Sen, the owner, also showed great patience, brushing his teeth, washing his face, and combing his hair, serving him meticulously step by step.
At first, his movements were awkward and uncomfortable, but when he saw Ji Mingshu smirking in the mirror, his patience, which had been holding him back, slowly rekindled, and he became more interested in these trivial and ordinary moments of intimacy.
While Ji Mingshu and Cen Sen were making out intimately in the room, the high-ranking officials from the capital who had accompanied them were already waiting in the VIP lounge outside.
In the morning, Cen Sen and these group executives were to inspect the Junyi Shuiyun Hotel in Xingcheng, because a high-level tourism summit forum would be held at the Shuiyun Hotel later.
With one minute left before the appointed time, the door to the suite finally opened, and everyone stood up and straightened their clothes, intending to stand in the corridor and pay their respects to Cen Sen.
A minute passed, but all the attention was wasted on thin air; no one was in sight at the door, though the woman's coquettish voice clearly reached everyone's ears.
"Kiss me, I won't let you go without a kiss!"
...
"Okay, then let's kiss again!"
...
"No, I'm so sleepy. I haven't slept for more than a few hours. I'll draw after I wake up."
...
The older executives have seen it all, and they all have a serene, meditative air about them.
The younger ones were shy and didn't dare to look or listen, so they could only adjust their cuffs and clothes from time to time, making the atmosphere quite awkward.
Ji Mingshu had no idea someone was waiting outside. She hurriedly tied Cen Sen's tie and then went to open the door for him. Seeing that there was still a minute left, she half-hung on him and acted coquettishly, asking for a good morning kiss.
After getting what she wanted, she pushed Cen Sen out. Still clinging to the door, she poked half her head out and waved goodbye to him.
It would have been better if he hadn't looked. But once he did, Ji Mingshu froze, a kind of indescribable embarrassment shooting from the soles of his feet all the way to the top of his head.
Ji Mingshu: "..."
Cen Sen: "..."
The senior executives: "..."
Zhou Jiaheng didn't know if he hadn't slept well last night or what, but his mind felt like it was all mush when he woke up this morning.
From the moment he heard the sound when the door opened, he stood there dumbfounded, unable to think of any way to remedy the situation.
Seeing Ji Mingshu Lu peeking out, he had a sudden lapse in judgment and actually stood at the front to bow to her, saying, "Good morning, Madam."
The senior executives, unaware of what was going on, immediately bowed and greeted her, "Good morning, Madam!"
The greetings came from all ages and backgrounds, sounding like a makeshift troupe that had been forcibly demoted.
The only response they received was the loud slamming of the door shut, "Bang—!"
Jiang Chun: [Ji Shi Shushu, you're so funny, hahaha, I'm dying of laughter!]
Ji Mingshu: [...]
Ji Mingshu: [Is he completely dead? Do you want me to give you some pesticide?]
Gu Kaiyang: [Hahahaha, why don't you say "Comrades, you've worked hard!" Hahahaha!]
Ji Mingshu: [...]
Ji Mingshu: [I hope your words are as few as your money.jpg]
Ji Mingshu: [Contact me via message in a bottle if you need anything after I've blocked you.jpg]
Ji Mingshu never expected that after she complained in the group for a while about "how did Zhou Jiaheng, that pig brain, become the general manager's assistant", "the entire group's senior management are all a bit abnormal", and "that dog of a man Cen Sen didn't tell me he had someone outside, he must have deliberately wanted to see me embarrass myself", she not only didn't get the comfort and united criticism she expected, but was instead ridiculed by these two fake besties.
She felt her fragile heart had been wounded again, so, with a very sensitive expression, she posted on her WeChat Moments: "Life is not worth living."
Cen Sen: [But the spare ribs are worth it.]
"..."
Does he need to work or not?
Why are you so free?
I've blocked you.
What happened so early in the morning was so incredibly embarrassing that Ji Mingshu felt her heart stop beating and her breath catch in her throat whenever she thought about that scene, and naturally, she had no desire to continue sleeping.
She sketched for a while in front of the computer, but lacking inspiration, she slumped back and continued scrolling through her phone.
She only realized when she checked her phone that Anning had also left a comment on her post. Compared to the other posts with their bizarre and quirky style, Anning's comment, "What's wrong, sister?" seemed particularly innocent and naive.
She found Anning in the list and explained to her that she was just joking and nothing serious had happened.
When they arrived in Xingcheng, Ji Mingshu thought Cen Sen would take her to see Chen Biqing and An Ning, but Cen Sen never made any move.
It seems that his trip to Anjia for dinner was just a simple meal; he didn't intend to reunite with his former family many years later.
Ji Mingshu and An Ning chatted casually for a few minutes.
Anning casually mentioned that her school was going to hold a sports meet soon, so she followed up by asking, "Have you participated in any events?"
Anning: [No, I have congenital heart disease and cannot participate.]
Ji Mingshu: [Congenital heart disease?]
Anning: [Mm.]
Anning: [Actually, my parents only agreed to return Cen Sen to the Cen family because they needed to raise money for my medical treatment. It seems that Cen Sen has never forgiven my parents because of this.]
Ji Mingshu didn't know much about what happened back then. He thought that the Cen family was particularly powerful and the An family couldn't stay, so they were forced to agree to the exchange.
Now it seems that this exchange was not forced, but rather they gave up their non-biological son to save their biological daughter.
She suddenly seemed to understand why Cen Sen had been so bothered by this.
After sending that message, Anning seemed to realize it wasn't quite appropriate, so she carefully changed the subject.
Ji Mingshu also felt that it was not appropriate for her to talk about this topic with An Ning, so she only asked a few questions about her condition.
Remembering the floor they lived on, she asked again, "Didn't Cen Yang come back? It's inconvenient for you to live in the old neighborhood, why didn't you move to the capital with him?"
An Ning took a long time to reply: "I'm not very familiar with Brother Cen Yang."
Ji Mingshu recalled what Cen Yang had said and was momentarily unsure: "Didn't he ask you if you wanted to move to the capital?"
An Ning hesitated for a moment before answering cautiously: "I did ask, but it was probably just polite talk... We rarely talk."
Ji Mingshu understood and didn't ask any further questions.
She and Cen Yang hadn't been in contact for a long time, especially after he snatched Cen Sen's project investment during the Chinese New Year.
In fact, she vaguely understood that Cen Yang was probably not as carefree as he appeared in front of her, but she was unwilling to make any malicious assumptions about him.
In any case, it's better to leave business competition to the men themselves for a real duel.
Ji Mingshu rallied his spirits and sat up to draw for a while longer.
Despite his often serious and aloof demeanor, Cen Sen actually possesses a natural talent for being a life mentor.
She found his design suggestions last night to be very reasonable, the kind that she could seriously consider while sitting on the toilet.
Cen Sen said that she studied high-end design at school, and the cases she had worked on in the past were all artistic creations that focused on pursuing aesthetic design.
Everyone has their own area of expertise, so she doesn't need to dwell on failures caused by her lack of skill. As long as she can draw some creative inspiration related to the warmth of life from this failure, that's enough.
For some reason, she picked up a stack of white paper from the side and manually wrote down the fleeting inspiration that had just crossed her mind.
While Ji Mingshu was busy drawing at the hotel, Cen Sen had already left Shuiyunjian and was rushing to a neighboring city to attend an industry conference.