Although she kept telling herself not to get angry, facing this kind of situation while maintaining a calm smile would require being the reincarnation of the eternally smiling Maitreya Buddha himself.

For several seconds, Ji Mingshu strongly considered shoving her phone in Cen Sen’s face, forcing him to see how his amazingly fake, lotus-like ex-girlfriend was being a complete scheming vixen.

But her remaining bit of rationality reminded her that since Cen Sen had said he wouldn’t cling to the past, she shouldn’t direct her anger at him without reason.

Perhaps Li Wenyin had precisely counted on her hot temper causing a fight with Cen Sen, deliberately using this tactic to drive a wedge between them as husband and wife, and was now waiting to enjoy the show.

Yes, that must be it.

She couldn’t fall for the trap, absolutely couldn’t fall for it!

But she was truly so angry!!!

Ji Mingshu grabbed a cushion and buried her face in it for a moment, then abruptly kicked away from Cen Sen, sitting up straight with her feet on the floor, her entire being filled with rage, repeatedly wavering between exploding in anger and demanding answers.

Normally, Ji Mingshu was straightforward, but whenever it involved Li Wenyin, that sworn enemy, she became almost possessed, harboring many grievances she couldn’t express aloud.

Outside, elementary school wasn’t yet dismissed, but nearby shops had opened, and street vendors were gradually setting up their stalls.

“Stop the car!” Ji Mingshu suddenly called out, looking at the food stalls outside and saying, “I’m hungry.”

The driver was quick to respond, “Madam, what would you like to eat? I’ll go buy it.”

Ji Mingshu: “No need, I’ll go myself.”

As soon as she got out of the car, Ji Mingshu walked straight to a fried food stall and ordered some chicken strips.

Fried food stalls, like stationery stores, were standard fixtures outside schools of all levels. Apart from the soaring prices and QR codes pasted on the carts, everything else remained familiar from her memories.

The vendor moved deftly, picking up chicken strips from the metal tray onto the scale. He grabbed a bit too much, then picked two pieces back off the scale with a slight shake, tossing them back onto the tray.

This series of skilled and nonchalant movements seemed to tell Ji Mingshu: give up hope, beauty won’t get you extra food at my stall.

Actually, Ji Mingshu had only started strictly controlling her diet in her second year of high school. When she was younger, she also loved junk food—Sprite, Coca-Cola, potato chips, spicy snacks—all were her favorites.

During middle school, she relied on her youth and good metabolism, going out for late-night snacks with her girlfriends every few days.

But during the summer break after her first year of high school, her class organized a final gathering before being split into different classes. She ate many oily, spicy skewers while drinking beer, and when she got home, her stomach hurt so badly she thought she was dying, running to the bathroom constantly. The family doctor eventually diagnosed her with acute gastroenteritis, and she was on IV drips for three whole days.

Her aunt was both concerned and scolding, while her cousins gathered around, nagging her endlessly. Tired of their endless lecturing like so many Tang Monks, she finally raised four fingers and swore, “I’ll never eat junk food again, or else I’ll marry an ugly troll in the future!”

Her younger cousin, sharp-eyed and meticulous, even pushed one of her fingers down, making her swear again.

Ji Mingshu sheepishly made the promise once more, finally earning some temporary peace. However, when she was the only one in the room, the silence felt excessive, and her stomach pain became increasingly apparent.

She curled up in bed, tearfully rubbing her belly, remembering the girls at the gathering saying things like “Li Wenyin caught Cen Sen” and “she’s so lucky,” making her toss and turn, unable to fall asleep.

In her memory, that was probably the most unbearable night of her life so far.

When she made her oath, she hadn’t taken it seriously, but after that night, she developed a lasting trauma about gastroenteritis. The mere sight of junk food made her apprehensive, and she ended up keeping her promise, turning over a new leaf.

The chicken strips coated in breadcrumbs sizzled with golden oil in the frying pan. Ji Mingshu’s thoughts returned to the present as she pointed at the glass cabinet, “Add a hot dog too.”

At some point, Cen Sen had followed her over.

He glanced at Ji Mingshu but couldn’t detect any particularly strong desire for fried food in her eyes.

The food was quickly fried, and Ji Mingshu took the chicken strips, then handed the hot dog to Cen Sen, “Hold this for me.”

Cen Sen didn’t take it for a while.

Some switch in her brain flipped, and she suddenly pushed the hot dog toward his face, taunting acidly, “Didn’t you ever hold snacks for your girlfriend when you were in school?”

Cen Sen finally took the bamboo skewer from her hand and took a moment to recall, “No.”

“…”

Who would believe that?

If he never even held snacks, what was Li Wenyin reminiscing about?

Ji Mingshu walked irritably toward a beef noodle shop, but Cen Sen spoke up from behind, “The one in front tastes better.”

“How do you know?”

Cen Sen’s voice was flat. “I used to go to school here.”

…?

Ji Mingshu froze for two seconds, turning to look at the elementary school across the street.

—Xingcheng Normal University Second Affiliated Elementary School.

The red paint on the school name was somewhat faded, and like the old guard booth, it seemed it hadn’t been renovated for many years. The road inside the school was obscured by lush trees on both sides, becoming less distinct the further in one looked, with only the brick-red teaching building faintly visible in the distance.

When Cen Sen was previously in Xingcheng, did he attend school here?

Somehow, the previously ordinary-looking street suddenly took on a familiar taste of old times, strangely making one want to learn more.

Even after following Cen Sen into the noodle shop, Ji Mingshu was still carefully looking around. It was hard to imagine that a young Cen Sen had once lived here for a long time.

Cen Sen thought she was being a princess who couldn’t accept such a humble environment, so he laid out two pieces of tissue paper on the plastic stool. To his surprise, Ji Mingshu didn’t even notice, finishing her inspection and sitting down on a small plastic stool on her own.

The shop owner looked Cen Sen up and down, his eyes seemingly saying, “What kind of man is more fussy than this beautiful young woman?” Cen Sen remained expressionless, sitting down and ordering directly, “Two bowls of beef noodles, mild spicy.”

Ji Mingshu corrected him: “I don’t want beef, I want the three-delicacy special.”

“Coming right up.”

Since the elementary school students hadn’t been dismissed yet, the owner efficiently prepared their noodles in just a few minutes.

The owner was an honest person, making the differential treatment very obvious—Cen Sen’s bowl had a normal portion, but Ji Mingshu’s three-delicacy noodles were piled with toppings like a small mountain.

Unfortunately, Ji Mingshu’s bird-like appetite was destined to let down the owner’s generous “more food, same price” goodwill. She had controlled her diet for so long that both her body and mind had developed a conditioned response; after eating a few chicken strips, calorie numbers were already spinning rapidly in her mind.

Now she couldn’t eat anymore, only half-heartedly stirring the noodles in her bowl with her chopsticks.

Perhaps feeling the atmosphere was too quiet, she asked while stirring, “Did you often come to this restaurant when you were in elementary school?”

Cen Sen added some chili to his bowl. “Not often, I usually go home to eat.”

At the mention of home, Ji Mingshu couldn’t help but think of Chen Biqing and An’ning. After meeting them just once, Cen Sen didn’t seem to have contacted them again. Was he planning to just ignore them?

Ji Mingshu rested her chin on her hand and casually mentioned, “I saw on Moments that An’ning seems to have started school.”

Cen Sen glanced up, and with an inexplicable thought process, suddenly asked, “Are you trying to ask if Cen Yang has returned?”

“…?”

“I’m not.”

Ji Mingshu instinctively denied it while feeling completely confused.

Heaven knows, she was so exhausted every day that she had no time to think about the fuzzy-faced Cen Yang.

Cen Sen didn’t indicate whether he believed her or not, but he didn’t respond either way.

Ji Mingshu recovered from her confusion, figuring that his sudden change of topic to Cen Yang was because he didn’t want to discuss family issues, so she didn’t press further.

After all, this matter didn’t have much to do with her, and she questioned whether she could act as a mediator to repair the shattered family relationships of her plastic husband.

The next second, she thought of something that did concern her.

Li Wenyin’s interview was so heartfelt, reminiscing about their relationship with such longing—what was so special about just three months? Had she never seen a man before? Only a white lotus like Li Wenyin would treasure such a cold, hard stone as if it were a precious gem!

It was fine when she wasn’t thinking about it, but once she did, her whole body felt uncomfortable, with a mad desire to act out.

Abruptly, she grabbed the vinegar bottle and poured nearly half of it into Cen Sen’s bowl, staring at his bowl with affected sincerity, “I think it tastes better with some vinegar.”

Cen Sen paused with his chopsticks but didn’t say much, only switching their bowls.

By the time they left the noodle shop, the sun was already showing signs of setting. The elementary students across the street were being dismissed, either craning their necks looking for parents or lining up to board the school bus.

Ji Mingshu stood by the roadside and suddenly, like an elementary school student herself, tugged at Cen Sen, refusing to move.

Cen Sen: “What’s wrong?”

“My feet hurt, I can’t walk.”

One warning sign: Little Sparrow Ji was starting to act up.

Cen Sen glanced down, “Then I’ll call the driver to bring the car over.”

Ji Mingshu: “This is a one-way street; the car would have to make a big detour to turn around and come here.”

Despite not even having a driver’s license, she certainly knew traffic rules well.

Cen Sen ignored her and prepared to make a call.

She covered his phone with her hand, asserting righteously, “Why do you like causing trouble for others so much?”

“…”

Cen Sen gave her a look that said, “No one has the right to say that except you.” He was quiet for a moment, then asked, “So what do you want, for me to carry you on my back?”

Ji Mingshu crossed her arms and looked around, deliberately affecting a casual air, even half-squinting her eyes, “When I was little and couldn’t walk anymore, Cen Yang gege would always carry me.”

“…”

Cen Sen continued looking up the driver’s number.

“…?”

What kind of crappy attitude was this?

She wasn’t going to make him carry her in front of a bunch of elementary school students, but he could at least show some husbandly gentleness and consideration. Hadn’t he carried Li Wenyin before? Why was it not okay to carry her?

Little Sparrow Ji grew angrier and more frustrated the more she thought about it, blurting out without thinking: “I wonder when Cen Yang gege will come back. Cen Yang gege was smart from a young age, he must have done well abroad all these years. Come to think of it, I’ve rarely seen any boy as excellent as him. Plus, he was especially kind-hearted, even feeding all the stray cats in the alley when we were little.”

While Ji Mingshu was babbling and making things up, the driver had already received the notification and brought the car over.

Cen Sen stepped forward to open the car door, then suddenly paused, turned to look at Ji Mingshu, and said flatly, “He has many traditional Chinese virtues, unfortunately, I don’t have any of them.”

Ji Mingshu: “…?”

Before she could react, the car door slammed shut with a bang.”