Jiang Che stood two steps away, somewhat surprised by this sudden act of violence.
Cen Sen had been quiet since childhood, with a hint of aloofness uncommon among his peers, never stooping to argue or fight with people unnecessarily.
If someone truly offended him, he would directly target their weak points and strike back precisely without drawing blood.
The last time he had seen him use his hands… Jiang Che thought carefully, and was even more surprised—this was the first time he had ever seen Cen Sen resort to physical violence.
The heavy metal music in the pub remained deafeningly loud and energetic, the colorful lights still hazily changing. In the dim night, the strange and varied lights intertwined, with desire surging darkly within.
The air around the booth was filled with the smell of nicotine and alcohol, but it couldn’t mask the faint scent of blood.
Cen Sen grabbed the man’s collar and pulled him up from his seat, then clutched his neck. His knuckles were ice-cold, with veins faintly visible on the back of his hand.
Blood continued to flow from the man’s temple, running down between his eyebrows. His lips, rapidly changing color due to lack of oxygen and fear, appeared increasingly pale against the sticky blood.
Cen Sen showed no intention of letting go. His gaze was as cold as ice, low and without warmth, seeming to ignore the bloodied face before him.
The women who had been discussing Ji Mingshu with the man were all terrified, their limbs weak. After screaming, they frantically looked for help.
But soon, Cen Sen’s bodyguards swarmed in. They wore black suits, with sturdy, imposing physiques, and expressions as indifferent as their boss.
They stood outside the booth protecting Cen Sen, as if it didn’t matter if someone died inside—their attitude was clear: no one was allowed to intervene.
Cen Sen had rarely appeared in public these past two years. Most of the young socialites frequenting nightclubs would find it difficult to connect him with the Junyi heir. But with Jiang Che present today, even a fool could recognize his identity.
Some people had initially thought of interfering, but now they all wisely backed off. After all, no one wanted to offend the future head of the Cen family for the sake of an irrelevant stranger.
Bystanders could choose not to get involved, but Zhang Er, the club owner, couldn’t ignore it.
Hearing that the Cen and Jiang heirs had arrived and immediately started beating someone half to death, Zhang Er’s scalp tingled, and he inwardly cursed his misfortune.
What a troublesome situation this was.
On the opening day of the birthday party, his wife had come and caused a scene! He had only dared to respond with a smile.
Today, the key figure he rarely saw had visited his small establishment, heading straight toward a potentially fatal confrontation. With so many club owners in the capital who didn’t aspire to anything better, why was he so unlucky?!
“Brother Sen, Brother Sen!” Zhang Er called out anxiously as he saw the man being choked to the point of suffocation. His heart nearly stopped alongside the man. “How did you come here? Oh my, I just heard about it—it’s my fault, my fault!”
Jiang Che raised his hand slightly to stop him, his voice lazy. “Don’t worry, he knows his limits.”
How could he not worry?!
If someone died in his club, wouldn’t his father cut off his hands and feet and lock him up?!
Unable to enter, Zhang Er felt as if all his internal organs were being seared on a hot iron plate, burning intensely. He could only tremble while lighting Jiang Che’s cigarette, hoping to gather some information from this heir.
But Jiang Che didn’t like dealing with people like him. He merely glanced at him idly and mocked, “With your courage, why are you running a nightclub?”
Zhang Er wanted to say something more, but from the corner of his eye, he saw Cen Sen release his grip and throw the man to the ground. His heart suddenly eased, and cold sweat had already darkened the back of his T-shirt by a shade.
Cen Sen stood there motionless. No one knew that for a moment, he had truly lost sight of the “limits” Jiang Che had mentioned.
Shu Yang, hearing the commotion, came out of the private room and leaned on the railing, looking down.
Just then, as the disco ball rotated, light illuminated Cen Sen’s clean-lined, angular profile. The bloodstains on his white collar were shocking to see.
“Damn, what happened to Brother Sen?” he stared in astonishment.
Li Wenyin also slowly approached, gently placing her hands on the railing, watching the man below who was calmly wiping his hands.
Shu Yang remembered something and was about to warn Li Wenyin, but after watching for a moment, she suddenly turned and left without a word. He called out twice as he followed, but she had already entered the elevator.
With the incident downstairs, Zhang Er was having people clear the area while arranging for the half-dead man to be moved aside to wait for an ambulance.
The music had stopped, but the lights continued to create the dreamy atmosphere of the nightclub.
Li Wenyin came downstairs and, standing outside the ring of bodyguards, suddenly called out, “Cen Sen!”
Cen Sen didn’t respond, nor did he turn around.
She continued, “Can I speak with you privately?”
Jiang Che, not wanting to get involved, was ready to leave, but Cen Sen glanced at him, signaling him to stay. Then he sat down right next to the pool of blood that had not yet been cleaned up and said coldly, “Whatever you want to discuss, discuss it here.”
The bodyguards moved slightly to let Li Wenyin enter the booth.
Li Wenyin didn’t sit down. Standing in front of Cen Sen, her voice gentle and light, she said, “I heard Mingshu is threatening divorce over the movie issue? When you called me that night, I didn’t realize things had become so serious. I’m sorry.”
She lowered her eyes slightly.
Cen Sen didn’t speak or look at her.
Jiang Che was texting his girlfriend, completely uninterested in listening to these female ploys.
Maintaining her downcast gaze, Li Wenyin continued, “I thought I could promote talent regardless of past relationships, but I ended up causing trouble for you. Junyi’s withdrawal of investment is appropriate. I’m truly sorry.”
“But the film—I believe I have the right to continue making it.” She suddenly raised her head slightly, looking directly at Cen Sen, her gaze open and clear. “This has nothing to do with you. Essentially, whether I make a film or what film I make is my own business. I hope that if we can’t be lovers or friends, at least we won’t become enemies.”
“I know that given your character, you wouldn’t intentionally prevent my film from being released smoothly. I have conflicts with Mingshu, but that’s between her and me. We’ll resolve it ourselves. Asen, you shouldn’t interfere in our—”
“Ji Mingshu is my wife.”
Before Li Wenyin could finish, Cen Sen interrupted directly.
He unbuttoned his blood-stained shirt collar to breathe and looked up at Li Wenyin without emotion.
“Miss Li, I thought I made myself clear during our last phone call. No one is stopping you from making films or doing your own thing. But what I choose to do is also my own business.”
“Also, you and I are just you and I. Ji Mingshu and I are us. Do you understand?”
Hearing this, Jiang Che didn’t even look up as he texted his girlfriend Zhou You, who was pretending to casually probe about a company rumor: “She and I are just she and I. You and I are us. Do you understand?”
After a moment of silence, she replied with an emoji of a little girl nodding.
Jiang Che sighed in relief, knowing this meant she was satisfied.
But Li Wenyin couldn’t relax.
Her mind even thundered with shock. Everything before, including Ji Mingshu losing her patience and mentioning divorce, had been within her expectations. How could this…?
She didn’t understand where things had gone wrong and was unwilling to consider the possibility that Cen Sen might like Ji Mingshu…
But before she could gather her thoughts, Cen Sen had already stood up and was walking away, unwilling to waste words on her.
Shu Yang had just rushed down from upstairs and was about to speak to Cen Sen as he left the booth.
But Cen Sen suddenly looked at him and said coldly, “This is the last time.”
Shu Yang was completely confused. What was going on? He caught Jiang Che as he came out and asked, “What did he mean? What ‘last time? What’s he talking about?”
Jiang Che: “It means if there’s a next time, this friendship is over.”
Shu Yang paused briefly, then suddenly realized, “No way, he doesn’t think I invited Li Wenyin, does he? Damn, that’s so unfair! I specifically invited you two to apologize for my big mouth last time. I was just singing with a girl in the private room when this woman and that sickly one from the Yuan family suddenly came to say hello. I couldn’t just chase them away.”
His face showed utter confusion. “I was completely shocked! And before I could say anything, this incident happened downstairs, and then she rushed down… Hey, what mischief did she come down to make? Damn, I’ve been set up by this woman!”
Jiang Che didn’t even bother to look up. “What’s the use of telling me?”
Of course, explaining to Cen Sen would be the only useful approach, but Cen Sen had no time to deal with Shu Yang now.
He left the pub without changing his blood-stained shirt, sat in the back seat of the car, and directly ordered the destination: “Star Harbor International.”
Leaning back with his hand supporting his forehead, whether due to the effects of alcohol or the stimulation of blood, some indescribable desire was stirring in his heart.
The black car sped through the sparse night breeze to Star Harbor International.
Parking across the street, Cen Sen got out of the car, asked the driver for a cigarette, and leaned against the car door with one hand in his pocket, staring at a certain dark window. The restlessness in his heart seemed to gradually calm in the cold autumn night breeze.
A dreamless night passed.
Early the next morning, Ji Mingshu got up with Gu Kaiyang.
It was hard to tell if Ji Mingshu had truly made up her mind or if it was just a passing enthusiasm, but early in the morning, while drinking porridge, she discussed with Gu Kaiyang: what could she do to support herself?
Gu Kaiyang opened her tablet to check the latest fashion news and casually said, “That’s simple. The key is that you need to spend less. With your spending habits—and I don’t mean to be rude—apart from the Ji family and Cen Sen letting you spend freely, very few people could afford to support you.”
“I just can’t control myself, you know?” Ji Mingshu drank half a bowl of porridge, then elegantly wiped her lips clean and properly folded her hands. “Seriously, though, what do you think I should do? My money is about to run out.”
Gu Kaiyang thought for a moment. “Be a personal shopper? Wouldn’t it be easy for Miss Ji to help people buy bags and limited editions from luxury brands? You could make money with each transaction. It’s quite effortless.”
“Are you out of your mind? Most people who can afford these things are from my circle. Are you trying to get me ridiculed to death? Gu Kaiyang, you’re so cruel!”
Gu Kaiyang raised her hand to indicate a halt. “Then what do you think you could do that wouldn’t involve contact with your original circle? Become an internet celebrity? Debut as a star???”
Ji Mingshu shook her head like a rattling drum.
She was thin-skinned and couldn’t bear negative comments from netizens.
Although her circle wasn’t as dismissive of celebrities and internet influencers as in earlier times, Miss Ji herself was stuck in a socialite mindset and didn’t want to be in the public eye, making a living with her face.
Gu Kaiyang continued, “If you want to do interior design, which you like, it’s impossible to avoid contact with your original circle. You’ve always focused on creative space design, so where would your client base come from? If you leave your original circle, where will you find high-end clients?”
“Think about it—would someone with a large villa, who has no connection to you, entrust the design to someone without much of a portfolio? So no matter what you do, you first need to overcome that mental barrier of not wanting to interact with your original circle, you know?”
Ji Mingshu was resting her chin on her hand, still thinking, when her phone suddenly made a “ding-dong” sound.
The little country goose informant had sent her the latest major event in their circle first thing in the morning.
Jiang Chun: [OMG! Your husband beat someone up at Zhang Er’s place last night!!!]
Jiang Chun: [So many people were there—Jiang Che, Shu Yang, Zhang Er, and that white lotus rival of yours!]
Ji Mingshu was startled.
Cen Sen beat someone up?
Li Wenyin was there too?
So he did it for Li Wenyin…
Before she could think further, more firsthand information arrived.
Jiang Chun: [The one who got beaten was that little fatty Mo Zhengwei. I bet you barely know him. He was badmouthing you, and your husband overheard everything. Then your husband smashed a bottle on his head! Almost killed him! This news is exploding now. I heard that little fatty is still in Third Hospital getting examined!]