Jiang Chun: [?]
Jiang Chun: [Is your husband a psychopath? Did he secretly take lessons in being a domineering CEO with forced love? He locked you up???]
Jiang Chun: [Sorry, but I find it a little exciting…]
Ji Mingshu: [?]
—The other party has recalled a message.
Jiang Chun: [But seriously, he only locked the door, doesn’t your building’s elevator go down to the underground parking garage? You can just leave through the garage, right? I remember seeing online that people said your Mingshui Mansion parking garage is a luxury car exhibition!]
Ji Mingshu: [My house is by the lake. Do you think there’s a luxury car exhibition at the bottom of the lake?]
Jiang Chun: [o.o]
Jiang Chun: [Then why don’t you try tying bed sheets together and climbing down from the second-floor balcony?]
Ji Mingshu: […]
Chatting with this little country goose was dumbing her down.
Fortunately, Gu Kaiyang was still a normal person, instinctively suggesting that she find a professional locksmith.
However, this Mingshui Mansion was equipped with an intelligent security system. If someone tried to force the lock or pry open the door, the alarm would immediately sound, and the villa’s security would arrive at the scene in no time.
If she needed to get out, there were still options. Ji Mingshu paced around the living room for a while before finally looking toward the four-panel window on the south side.
Cen Sen had an important social engagement today at Su Garden.
The garden had an inconspicuous traditional signboard hanging in a small alley, but beyond the dark small door was a hidden paradise.
When he left home in the morning, the sky was gray and heavy, with rain pouring down. By noon, it had eased somewhat, leaving only a drizzle.
Cen Sen sat with someone in a pavilion, drinking tea.
The Mr. Chang he was meeting today was one of the investors in the Nanwan project, a collaboration between Jing Construction and Hua Electric.
Mr. Chang was born in Jiangnan and had moved to Hong Kong as a young man, not returning home for many years.
His wife was also from Jiangnan, a typical Jiangnan woman—elegant, gentle, and speaking with a soft Wu dialect.
The couple had been together for over twenty years, their deep affection well-known far and wide. Even during business engagements, he never forgot to mention his wife and children.
Seeing the wedding ring on Cen Sen’s hand, Mr. Chang smiled and added a piece of advice: “You young people shouldn’t be too busy with work. Money is something you can neither earn all of nor take with you. Spend more time with your family, go out together, chat about your thoughts—only then can you relax that tight string in your mind.”
He lightly tapped his temple and smiled again, taking another sip of tea.
Cen Sen didn’t respond, but also picked up his teacup and took a small sip.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Zhou Jiaheng raise his hand to his lips in the distance, silently signaling. Cen Sen put down his cup, glanced toward the restroom, and nodded slightly with a hint of apology. “Excuse me for a moment.”
Mr. Chang made a “please go ahead” gesture.
Cen Sen got up and walked toward the restroom along the corridor where raindrops fell, with Zhou Jiaheng discreetly following.
Stopping in a deserted spot, Cen Sen asked, “What is it?”
Zhou Jiaheng kept his eyes lowered, stepped forward, and whispered something in his ear.
Cen Sen paused slightly, turning to look at Zhou Jiaheng.
Zhou Jiaheng was inwardly miserable, not daring to raise his head at all.
If he had a choice, he wouldn’t want to be the one to inform his boss about this kind of dramatic scene.
—His wife had escaped by climbing out a window, and the bodyguards outside hadn’t noticed until her family members came to console her and discovered she was gone.
What kind of situation was this?
It seemed that the higher the family status, the more marriages tended toward magical realism. Zhou Jiaheng had been by Cen Sen’s side for a long time and had heard and seen plenty, but this was the first time his boss had become the protagonist in some imprisonment play.
During Cen Sen’s silence, Zhou Jiaheng continued reporting in a low voice: “The two ladies from the Ji family have gone back home. Chairman Ji and Bureau Chief Ji also know about this matter. They will visit South Bridge Hutong tonight.”
Cen Sen gave an “Mm” in response.
Zhou Jiaheng added: “Madam took nothing but her phone, ID card, and umbrella. Bureau Chief Ji has contacted Bocui Tianhua and the other places where Madam has good relationships… So only Miss Gu Kaiyang has taken her in. Miss Gu requested leave from the magazine office an hour ago. Now both of them are at Star Harbor International. We’ve already found out the exact floor and room. Would you like…”
Cen Sen: “She only took her phone and ID card?”
Zhou Jiaheng responded with a “Yes,” then suddenly had an inspiration and carefully added, “The surveillance only showed these two items. Her passport and marriage certificate should still be at home.”
Cen Sen raised his hand to signal him to stop, his eyes slightly downcast, his voice hoarse from days without rest. “Don’t worry about it for now.”
Zhou Jiaheng nodded, not saying anything more.
Cen Sen had been awake all night, his mind turning over and over with thoughts of Ji Mingshu.
Images of Ji Mingshu making a fool of herself in front of him, Ji Mingshu twirling in a beautiful dress, Ji Mingshu being shy in bed, and Ji Mingshu crying uncontrollably… Even when he forced himself to think about work matters, his thoughts would suddenly veer off track.
In reality, his rational mind kept telling him that he hadn’t done anything wrong, that Ji Mingshu was being unreasonable about her grudge with Li Wenyin.
But whenever he thought of Ji Mingshu’s accusations, he felt as if he had indeed done something wrong, something wrong.
At daybreak, he went to the kitchen to wash rice and cook porridge. He had also wanted to make a bowl of braised ribs, but there was no fresh pork ribs prepared at home.
While waiting for the porridge to cook, he stood at the kitchen island writing a text message.
He spent a full ten minutes writing, deleting, and rewriting. Then, thinking of something, he deleted everything and tossed the phone aside.
Later, when he locked the door on his way out, it was just a subconscious reaction. He didn’t think a mere door could keep Ji Mingshu in, but he also hadn’t imagined that to leave home, she would resort to the childish behavior of climbing out a window.
If accidentally entering the men’s restroom, being caught privately insulting someone, and turning around to hand a condom to the wrong person were the three insurmountable peaks of embarrassment in Ji Mingshu’s life, then climbing out a window on a rainy day and becoming a refugee through a series of mishaps was probably the unsurpassable summit of her life’s awkwardness.
After climbing out the window of Mingshui Mansion, she stood by the roadside with her small floral umbrella, waiting for a taxi.
But having been pampered all her life with chauffeurs, she had no concept of how to conveniently hail a ride. After waiting for half an hour without seeing a single cab, she belatedly fumbled with a ride-hailing app.
After struggling for ten minutes, she finally got someone to accept her order, but her location was incorrect. She spent five minutes explaining her position to the driver in the pouring rain, but the driver grew impatient, cursed under his breath, and then hung up on her, unilaterally canceling the order.
Having suffered this needless frustration, with the rain intensifying, if Gu Kaiyang hadn’t received her message and come to pick her up promptly, she might have considered climbing back through the window to wait for the weather to clear before leaving again.
After being taken to Star Harbor International by Gu Kaiyang, Ji Mingshu first took a shower. Coming out of the bathroom, she smelled fragrant, still wrapped in fresh wisps of mist. She seemed to come alive, finding even the air without a fresh air filtering system refreshing.
Gu Kaiyang rarely saw her looking so delicate and couldn’t help but feel affection, even plugging in the hair dryer and personally helping her dry her hair.
She accepted this without any psychological burden, sitting at the dressing table playing with various bottles and jars, her small mouth chattering nonstop, complaining about the driver and Cen Sen.
Gu Kaiyang, being a career woman and not born into a wealthy family, thought about things more realistically than Ji Mingshu and Jiang Chun.
She clearly understood that Ji Mingshu’s marriage involved too many interests to easily break free, so she didn’t mention divorce again. She only asked, “What do you plan to do now?”
Ji Mingshu was confused. “What do you mean, what do I plan to do?”
“…”
Gu Kaiyang patiently guided her while running her fingers through her hair. “You can stay here as long as you want, but you said yourself that Cen Sen has never respected you. Even your family and Cen Sen’s friends don’t respect you much. But have you considered that if you can’t establish yourself, how will you earn others’ respect?”
Seeing Ji Mingshu’s uncomprehending expression, she continued: “Forget it, I won’t talk about these long-term issues. I just want to ask, you don’t want to use Cen Sen’s money now, and your second uncle has made it clear he’s cutting off your economic resources to force you to go home. So, where will you get money to support yourself? How long will the 200,000 yuan Jiang Chun transferred to you last?”
Ji Mingshu paused briefly, then turned to look innocently at Gu Kaiyang.
“…?”
Gu Kaiyang suddenly had an ominous premonition. “You’re not expecting me to support you, are you?”
Ji Mingshu was particularly righteous, nodding cutely.
Gu Kaiyang immediately felt her vision darken, becoming somewhat incoherent. “No, I… don’t you know how much my salary is?”
Over these years of struggling in the capital, she had exhausted all her savings to buy this loft apartment and a Beetle car for commuting.
After being promoted to deputy editor-in-chief, she sent part of her monthly salary to her parents, used part for daily living, and had to spend another portion on jewelry and clothes to maintain the glamorous image of a fashion magazine’s deputy editor-in-chief. Calculating carefully, there wasn’t much left.
If it were just supporting Ji Mingshu’s food and drink, it wouldn’t be a problem. The key issue was that this young lady could casually spend six figures on a single shopping mall trip. How could she support that? By selling blood? Even selling blood wouldn’t be enough!
Ji Mingshu remained optimistic, resting her face on her palms. “I think I still have appearance fees from the show recordings? I don’t know if they’ve been paid yet. Don’t worry, I won’t spend money recklessly.”
Years of workplace experience had trained Gu Kaiyang’s intuition. She looked at Ji Mingshu suspiciously, not truly reassured.
Gu Kaiyang’s apartment had a construction area of forty square meters, but with a ceiling height of 4.5 meters. Made into a small duplex, the usable area was close to sixty square meters. In theory, it should be more than enough for two girls to live in.
But Ji Mingshu was accustomed to luxury villas. Staying in such a small nest, she found it novel at first, but after sitting for a while longer, she found it cramped and confined.
Moreover, after recovering from her awkward situation, her latent princess syndrome gradually flared up again. “Do you only have La Mer here?”
“…?”
“Can’t you use La Mer?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just that I’ve been using that Leiberni platinum recently.”
After reluctantly completing her daily skincare routine, she began browsing through the perfume rack, picking and choosing.
Gu Kaiyang had nearly a hundred perfumes, which was honestly enough to last until the end of time. But after looking through them all, Ji Mingshu couldn’t find a single one she liked. After all, since she was eighteen, her fragrances had always been custom-made by perfumers.
Experience proved Gu Kaiyang’s premonition to be very accurate. For the next half day, she inexplicably found herself trapped in the mire of being endlessly criticized by the princess.
“Why isn’t your carpet made of wool? Never mind, I’ll buy one now.”
“I think your home should at least have an air purification system, one of those three-constant ones. The air in the capital, oh, you’ll get cancer.”
“How can you normally drink coffee with this capsule coffee machine taste? God, I really can’t stand you. Wait, I’ll buy you one.”
“I can’t take it anymore. This projector screen is making me so uncomfortable. Don’t you have a sound system? Your movie membership is being wasted with this effect.”
…
By the time they finally made it to bed at night, Gu Kaiyang was mentally and physically exhausted, while Ji Mingshu tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
At two in the morning, she suddenly sat up in bed and nudged Gu Kaiyang.
Gu Kaiyang was in a foggy state of sleep, her voice unclear. “What is it now?”
Ji Mingshu said seriously, “I’ve been thinking for a long time. I think you should seriously focus on making money, get promoted to editor-in-chief soon, and then move to a bigger house. At least one where the neighbors aren’t like this.”
She pointed at the ceiling.
Gu Kaiyang was dead tired. After concentrating to listen for a while, she finally heard the extremely faint sounds of intimate activity from the bed above.
She could barely keep her eyes open and buried her face in the pillow, saying weakly, “I’ve also been thinking for a long time. I believe there must be some misunderstanding between you and Cen Sen.”