The plot of this movie is simple and melodramatic, the kind of movie where you can guess the ending just by watching the beginning, but Ji Mingshu still watched it with great genuine emotion.
After leaving the theater, she even took a picture of her ticket stub and posted it on her WeChat Moments, providing a spoiler-free preview for everyone.
When she took a picture of the ticket stub, Cen Sen happened to be standing to her right. His custom-made watch on his left wrist accidentally appeared in the frame. She noticed it when she edited the photo, but for some reason, she didn't crop or cover it up. She just posted it as if she hadn't noticed anything.
At four in the morning, many party animals were still awake. Ji Mingshu's post on WeChat Moments received hundreds of likes in less than five minutes.
Shu Yang didn't sleep either; he was playing cards wildly with his friends at a bar.
Upon seeing Ji Mingshu's post, he zoomed in on the picture and squinted to examine it. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he laughed.
Shu Yang: [Image]
Shu Yang: [Watching a movie with my wife at 4 AM, Sen Ge is awesome.]
Shu Yang: [From now on, if anyone says that our Brother Sen is an unromantic, clueless, and clueless guy, I'll be the first to argue with them. His professionalism and business acumen are incredible—I'm not exaggerating, he could be number one selling beer!]
Shu Yang: [Jiang Che, President Jiang, you should learn from him.]
Several of his childhood friends have a WeChat chat group, and the group owner is Jiang Che.
Jiang Che, Shu Yang, and Zhao Yang are usually quite active in the group, while Cen Sen is basically always absent. However, very occasionally, he will resurface and forward current events and industry news to the group.
Shu Yang is making jokes in the group chat now because it's late at night and no one is online, so he won't get roasted.
Who would have thought that Jiang Che had a fight with Zhou You tonight, and when he got home he had to act like a grandson, serving her by washing her feet and so on. It took a lot of coaxing to finally get her to sleep. Now the two of them were lying in the same bed and couldn't do anything. He was holding back his anger, and coincidentally, Shu Yang walked right into the line of fire and humiliated himself. So naturally he wouldn't let go of this great opportunity.
Moreover, Jiang Che has always been a staunch supporter of the modern system of "if I'm unhappy, you'll all die as a form of burial," and after scolding Shu Yang without giving him a chance to argue, he kicked him out of the group chat.
Not satisfied with that, he dragged out Zhao Yang, who was asleep and completely unaware of everything, and humiliated him by bringing up old grievances. Finally, it was Cen Sen's turn.
—Perhaps feeling too lonely with no one watching when he was unleashing his full sarcastic power, he pulled Shu Yang back.
Jiang Che: [Cen Sen, what are you doing watching a movie at four in the morning? If you're so capable, take your wife home and have sex with her instead of embarrassing yourself in public.]
Jiang Che: [Rong Yue has a contract signing tomorrow morning at nine. Judging by your attitude, you don't need to go. Working with someone as brainless as you is the worst thing that could happen to me.]
Shu Yang interjected at the opportune moment.
Shu Yang: [Still wandering around outside so late, probably because he can't get his wife home.]
Jiang Che: [Yeah, I reckon I won't be able to bring her home this year.]
The two of them sang in unison, which made it seem as if they had completely forgiven each other.
What are you looking at?
As they got off the elevator, Ji Mingshu noticed Cen Sen staring at his phone and casually asked him a question.
Cen Sen said calmly, "It's nothing. I just saw you posted on your WeChat Moments."
Ji Mingshu felt a little guilty when she thought about the pictures she had posted, and didn't dare to ask any more questions.
Cen Sen lowered his eyelids and forwarded a financial news article to the group chat about the third phase of strategic cooperation between Jingcheng Capital, which he and Jiang Che had partnered with, and Rongyue Technology.
The news clearly states that the signing ceremony was held at 9:00 AM on December 23rd in Canberra, Australia, which was 43 hours ago.
Cen Sen: [I wonder who had the worst luck in their life.]
Cen Sen: [Your last sentence will bounce back at you.]
Jiang Che: [...]
Jiang Che: [You're like a three-year-old, still reacting negatively.]
Cen Sen did not return, because the elevator had already reached the first floor.
It was late at night and the wind was cold. The car was still parked at the West Gate. Cen Sen took off his coat and draped it over Ji Mingshu. The two walked side by side back to the West Gate.
At four in the morning, the capital city was pitch black. Under the quiet streetlights, snowflakes occasionally slid down, and a thick layer of fresh snow had accumulated on the ground, making a crunching sound when you stepped on it.
Cen Sen: "Are you sleepy?"
"A little." It would have been better if he hadn't asked, because this question made Ji Mingshu unconsciously yawn.
After getting in the car, Cen Sen glanced at the time and casually suggested, "Let's go back to Mingshui. I have a meeting to attend this morning, so I won't be able to sleep for long."
Ji Mingshu rubbed the seatbelt, not answering immediately.
She stared intently at the snow-covered ground ahead, as if deep in thought.
Once the car started moving, she nodded reservedly and said reluctantly, "Since you have a meeting this morning, why don't you stay in Mingshui for the night?"
"Um."
Cen Sen turned the steering wheel, tilting his head slightly toward the driver's side window.
From an angle that Ji Mingshu couldn't see, the corners of his lips curled up slightly.
After agreeing, Ji Mingshu felt uneasy. She leaned back in her chair and said, "I'm a little sleepy, I'll take a nap first."
Cen Sen hummed in agreement again, and added, "There's a blanket behind the seat."
Ji Mingshu reached out and pulled out a strip, neatly covering her body, and then crossed her hands on her lower abdomen.
She was sleepy, but looking at the car roof, she couldn't fall asleep. On one hand, she felt so content watching the first snow and celebrating Christmas with Cen Sen. On the other hand, she recalled the hurtful things Cen Sen said the night before she ran away from home, and felt that she had been tricked back without even getting an apology. She felt that she was too spineless.
Two thoughts intertwined in her mind. She tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep, so she simply stood the chair up again.
"What's wrong."
Ji Mingshu sat cross-legged on the chair, hugging a uniquely styled "Fu" character pillow from the 4S store. His mind raced through countless thoughts before he suddenly mumbled, "Nothing much, it's just that I feel I need to explain to you that I haven't done anything to wrong you."
Cen Sen glanced at her.
“Cen Yang and I just had a meal together, and I didn’t even realize that he asked me out on Christmas Eve. When he hugged me, it was just a friendly hug, you know?”
"Yes, I know."
Cen Sen responded dismissively.
"..."
Ji Mingshu stared at him expectantly.
That's it? That's it?
He doesn't seem jealous at all... Okay, that's not the point. Fine, if he's not jealous, shouldn't he at least explain his relationship with Li Wenying and apologize to her as a form of exchange? What's wrong with this man?
Just as Ji Mingshu was pondering whether to ask more directly, Cen Sen finally understood the deeper meaning behind her painstakingly roundabout question.
As the car crossed the bridge from Mingshui Mansion to the center of the lake, he slowed down and said, "I haven't done anything to wrong you."
It's here, it's finally here.
Not beyond saving yet!
Ji Mingshu sat up straighter, intending to listen attentively.
Five seconds passed, ten seconds passed, thirty seconds passed, and Cen Sen skillfully swerved the steering wheel into the garage, but she still couldn't hear what happened next.
She was still dazed when she got off the bus, clutching the ugly pillow tightly and refusing to let go, leading it all the way to the bedroom.
She went out for two meals that day and watched a movie late at night. After a quick shower, Ji Mingshu wanted to ask Cen Sen a few questions, but her mental struggle couldn't overcome her physical exhaustion. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she fell into a deep sleep.
With many things to do at the end of the year, Cen Sen was busy with work and hadn't had a proper rest for many days. He finally managed to free up half a day, but he still had to coax Ji Mingshu.
Fortunately, he managed to coax her back, and he felt a little more relaxed. After washing up, he got into bed on the other side, pulled Ji Mingshu into his arms, and fell into a deep sleep.
Ji Mingshu slept until 2 PM, while Cen Sen had already left for work.
She sat on the bed and rubbed her head, feeling a strange yet familiar warmth towards the bedroom she hadn't set foot in for many days.
Today is the real Christmas, and my phone is naturally flooded with Christmas greetings from all directions.
Ji Mingshu glanced at it briefly, then suddenly noticed the blessing and notification sent by the producer of the "Designer" program, saying that the post-production of "Designer" had been completed and the program had been scheduled to air on Xingcheng TV in mid-January.
They also told these amateur designers that they could apply for Weibo verification with keywords from the show in advance, and that they could put in a good word for them to get it approved quickly.
The release date has been set so quickly?
Money really can make the devil turn the millstone.
Above that were Christmas greetings from Feng Yan in the same group and Li Che in a different group.
As a celebrity after all, Ji Mingshu politely replied with "Merry Christmas."
But just as Ji Mingshu was replying to Li Che's message, a sentence that Li Che had once said flashed through her mind: "Actually, it's quite a pity. The producer said that we were originally arranged to be in the same group as you, but the sponsors had their own considerations, so they changed the group arrangement."
The sponsors have their own considerations...
At that time, Ji Mingshu did not know that Junyi was the sponsor of "The Designer" and was not interested in whether she and Li Che were in the same group, so she did not care at all.
Now that I think about it carefully, could this be the work of Cen Sen?
She sat up straighter, carefully choosing her words, and asked Li Che.
Li Che seems to have a lot of free time as a celebrity; he replies to messages almost instantly, and even then, it's always a voice message.
However, Ji Mingshu wasn't interested in his magnetic voice and directly translated it into text: "Yes, that's true. The sponsors have their own designers already chosen, as many people know. Considering the sponsors, the production team might have some considerations regarding the editing and other aspects. But there are some things I can't say more about. Ms. Ji, don't be disappointed; gold shines wherever it is."
Ji Mingshu stared at the converted text, and a small flame of anger slowly rose to the top of his head.
Li Che put it quite tactfully, but only a fool wouldn't understand what he meant, right? He was practically telling her: there's something fishy going on on the show, Junyi doesn't want you to overshadow the designer he's promoting, so be prepared for your scenes to be cut at the end!
Cen Sen, that damned scoundrel!
She'd worked so hard for over a month; if he dared to do something like that to her, she'd burn the entire Mingshui Mansion down!
Ji Mingshu grew angrier the more she thought about it, especially when she realized how foolish she had been tricked into coming back last night without ever hearing an apology from him.
She rolled out of bed, washed up, and went out. With a blank expression, she instructed the driver to take her back to Star Harbor International.
When the driver heard that she was going to Star Harbor International again, he felt a chill run down his spine and instinctively wanted to send a message to Zhou Jiaheng to let him know.
Ji Mingshu took a deep breath and, maintaining her composure, said, "I'm just going to get something. You don't need to tell Zhou Jiaheng."
In the loft apartment of Xinggang International, Gu Kaiyang had just obtained a replacement key card from the property management and wanted to take advantage of this rare day off to do a thorough cleaning after sending off the gods.
She hummed a song as she mopped the floor, feeling great, and thinking to herself how amazing she was, how incredibly clever she had been last night.
It's not that her "plastic best friend" dislikes Ji Mingshu; it's just that a rich girl like Ji Mingshu is only suitable for eating and drinking together, not for living together!
This is terrible!
Perhaps only a man like Cen Sen could unconditionally shower her with money and offer her love!
Gu Kaiyang had only been having fun for five minutes when a sound came from the door card reader.