As the saying goes, three women make a drama. When Ji Mingshu, Gu Kaiyang, and Jiang Chun got together, they might be performing a Republican-era spy drama about deep friendship.

Li Wenyin hadn’t even left from across the ocean, but Gu Kaiyang and Jiang Chun had already arranged challenging interview questions to give her a hard time.

Since Gu Kaiyang only knew Li Wenyin one-sidedly through Ji Mingshu’s occasional complaints, and theoretically, Li Wenyin shouldn’t know that she was Ji Mingshu’s close friend, Jiang Chun had even arranged a spy subplot for her to infiltrate the enemy’s ranks and discover the true purpose of Li Wenyin’s return to China and her backup plans.

However, this role was too difficult to perform and had the risk of failing on the spot, so Ji Mingshu and Gu Kaiyang both voted against it.

While the three were frantically dissing white lotus protagonist Li Wenyin with their vicious supporting character script, the cover shoot had imperceptibly entered its final stage.

When the shooting ended, the female celebrity sipped some water through a straw, went over to the camera to check the photos, and chatted with the photographer for a few sentences.

Looking back and seeing Gu Kaiyang and Ji Mingshu, she smiled and came forward to greet them and Jiang Chun, whom she didn’t know.

This female celebrity was called Meng Xiaowei, a socially adept person with high emotional intelligence.

She had good fashion resources and was somewhat familiar with Gu Kaiyang. She would also often run into Ji Mingshu at various fashion shows, exhibitions, and banquets.

Ji Mingshu had a good impression of her. Although they weren’t from the same circle, they could chat for a bit.

As they were chatting, Meng Xiaowei remembered something, “Oh, right, Mingshu, you studied interior design in college, right? I heard that Chris Chou’s Milan show two years ago was designed by you. That show was amazing, I still remember it.”

Having someone praise the only presentable work since her graduation, Ji Mingshu naturally felt quite pleased.

However, to maintain the nonchalant attitude of “Miss Ji is used to being praised every day,” she just chuckled lightly, casually speaking modest words.

Meng Xiaowei continued, “It’s like this. I have a friend who is a variety show producer at Xingcheng TV. They’re currently planning a reality show focused on space design called ‘Designer’. It’s a format where amateur designers partner with celebrities to collaborate on designs.”

“One of the people they originally invited was a beautiful female designer from Taiwan, but she had some political stance issues, so the production team decided to replace her. I think you would be very suitable, Mingshu, but I don’t know if you’re interested?”

Ji Mingshu: “A spatial design variety show? Me?”

“Yes, Mingshu, you’re so capable, and you look so good. The production team would have no problems with you.”

Meng Xiaowei smiled sweetly, her eyes very sincere.

Gu Kaiyang & Jiang Chun: “…”

They usually only praised the little golden canary’s beauty, forgetting to also compliment her substance. In this wave of flattery, they had truly been defeated.

The two exchanged glances, reading from each other’s eyes the self-reflection mood of “must seriously reconsider.”

Meng Xiaowei continued to persuade with compliments and praise, each sentence hitting Ji Mingshu’s comfort points just right, without seeming excessively flattering.

Moreover, her eyes were really beautiful, making her seem particularly sincere when looking at people while talking. With this ability, she could probably make people believe the dead were alive, and if she sold health products, she would be the annual sales champion.

Ji Mingshu hadn’t heard such spot-on compliments for a long time and was slightly floating, but she was also a person who had seen the world and wouldn’t just agree with “mm, ah” when someone praised her.

Their circle was very, very close to the entertainment circle, and it was relatively easy to debut as a celebrity.

Previously, traditional families had more conservative views, looking down on actors and not allowing their children to be in the public eye.

But times had changed. In recent years, a large amount of capital has flowed into the entertainment industry, and many “actors” from the older generation’s perspective have begun to play the capital operation game, and they play it quite well. Some of them had already shown signs of becoming new elites.

In a money-oriented society, those with money and resources were the masters. Merely maintaining the appearance of a noble family with just an empty shell inside would receive no actual regard.

Moreover, since the power shifts of the 1990s, Beijing and Shanghai didn’t have true old money in the traditional sense.

Seeing Ji Mingshu not responding, Meng Xiaowei thought she was concerned about appearing on camera and softly said, “Currently, the higher-ups have requirements for the amateur participant quota in variety shows, but the actual screen time given to amateurs won’t be much, so you can rest assured about that.”

“I just think this show is very suitable for you, and there will also be other designers participating, which you might find interesting.”

“Anyway, think about it first, and if you’re interested, you can tell me anytime.” She turned her head and waved to her CP partner, “Li Che, come over here for a moment.”

Li Che was one of the more prominent young actors in the past two years, and also the only male traffic star who didn’t lack fans despite being in a bundled CP situation. His official age was twenty-four, but he was twenty-six. However, he had clean looks and a sunny, boy-next-door type of aura, not appearing mature at all.

Li Che walked towards them while drinking water.

When he got close, Meng Xiaowei introduced him to Ji Mingshu, “This is my friend, Li Che. He will also participate in the ‘Designer’ show. You two should get acquainted; who knows, you might have a chance to collaborate in the future.”

She then introduced Ji Mingshu to Li Che, “This is Miss Ji Mingshu, a very excellent interior designer.”

Li Che smiled and extended his hand to Ji Mingshu, “Hello, I’m Li Che.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Ji Mingshu.”

Li Che was very polite, only lightly shaking her hand, keeping it very brief. After the handshake, he was also considerate enough to greet Gu Kaiyang and Jiang Chun.

These two celebrities had more appointments later, so they didn’t chat much. Before leaving, Ji Mingshu still gave Meng Xiaowei an answer, “I’ll think about the show and contact you after I decide.”

Meng Xiaowei nodded gladly.

In the early evening, the sunset glow flowed slowly across the horizon, with varying shades, exuding a faint ambiguity, gentle and lingering.

Cen Sen’s car was waiting punctually outside the “Zero Degrees” magazine building.

Ji Mingshu had been walking around in high heels all day and was quite tired. As soon as she got in the car, she asked, “What’s for dinner?”

Cen Sen said, “Going home to cook.”

“You’re cooking?”

Cen Sen glanced at her without responding, but his eyes were clearly asking back, “Or would you rather cook?”

Ji Mingshu was momentarily at a loss for words, then rubbed her calf. “What are you planning to cook?”

“Stir-fried asparagus, blanched lettuce, and braised spare ribs.”

Braised spare ribs?

Ji Mingshu’s stomach seemed to grow hungrier.

Today, Cen Sen didn’t have much work. Before picking up Ji Mingshu, he had detoured to the supermarket and sent Zhou Jiaheng to buy some groceries, specifically instructing him to get tender spare ribs.

Back at Mingshui Mansion, Ji Mingshu lay on the sofa playing with her phone, occasionally poking her head up to check on the progress of the braised spare ribs.

She had to admit, this dog of a man, Cen Sen, was quite smart. From childhood to adulthood, his learning ability was superior to others. After joining the group, he quickly demonstrated outstanding work capabilities, and even cooking at home showed his clean and skillful nature.

Looking from a distance, his figure was tall and elegant, creating a picturesque scene just standing at the island counter.

Up close, the cuffs of his shirt were folded up, creating soft creases. His hands were thin and long, with distinct finger bones, handling ingredients with a method that was both efficient and aesthetically pleasing, making for a pleasing sight.

Ji Mingshu lived a relatively simple life, happy as long as she had food, drink, and money to spend.

When the braised spare ribs were served, she enthusiastically took a photo, applied a food filter, and posted it on WeChat Moments with the caption: “Husband’s spare ribs/heart.”

It could be said that after two years of crazy Photoshopping by million-dollar photo editors, she was finally showing some genuine affection.

She also ate with enthusiasm. Although she picked up small pieces with restraint, her speed wasn’t behind anyone else’s. Before she knew it, she had demolished the entire plate of spare ribs by herself.

From beginning to end, she hadn’t pondered why Cen Sen had acted contrary to his usual manner today, actively offering to pick her up and then cooking her favorite braised spare ribs at home.

It wasn’t until that night when they were watching a movie in the home theater, and Cen Sen suddenly pressed her down and started getting physical, that Ji Mingshu vaguely sensed Cen Sen’s true purpose.

Come to think of it, it had indeed been a while since they had done it.

For some reason, when being kissed by Cen Sen, Ji Mingshu felt he had a… very restrained sensuality. His kisses fell densely, his breath was warm, and the area behind her ears involuntarily reddened.

The feeling was quite strange.

Previously, Ji Mingshu didn’t reject Cen Sen’s intimacy. He was very clean, and his movements weren’t rough, so intimate contact didn’t cause any discomfort.

However, she couldn’t say she especially liked it or couldn’t get enough of it either. It was like completing a marital duty, clocking in once a month.

But this time with him, Ji Mingshu felt a little happiness and shyness in her heart.

Especially seeing desire rolling in his pupils, his eyes reddening at the bottom, that happiness and shyness seemed to involuntarily deepen a bit.

Late at night in the bathroom, amidst the steam, Ji Mingshu was held in Cen Sen’s arms as they bathed together.

Her whole body was sore and tired. Though she wasn’t sleepy, for some reason, curled up in Cen Sen’s arms, she kept yawning, doing so several times in a row until tears formed in her eyes.

“Tired?”

“Not tired.”

Perhaps intimate contact can strengthen one’s dependence and affection for a partner. Something she had held back from saying for several days suddenly came to Ji Mingshu’s mind, and she spoke it out very righteously.

Poking Cen Sen’s Adam’s apple, she asked, “The other day, Shu Yang said your ex-girlfriend is coming back. Today, Gu Kaiyang also told me their magazine wants to interview your ex-girlfriend. What do you think about it?”

“Li Wenyin?”

“You remember her name quite clearly.”

Cen Sen paused slightly, “I don’t have any thoughts.”

Ji Mingshu wasn’t very satisfied with this answer, but forcing someone to make some strange promise would make it seem like she cared about him, which was too lowly!

She thought for a moment, then emphasized, “It better be so. Anyway, if you dare to cheat during our marriage and I find out, I’ll divorce you. Just you wait and see.”

Cen Sen discovered that he didn’t particularly like hearing the word “divorce,” and responded with a perfunctory “mm,” not wanting to dwell on this topic.

After soaking for a while, he drained the water and got up, then took a thick, soft robe to wrap around Ji Mingshu, lifting her out of the bathtub.

On the way back to bed, Cen Sen noticed that Ji Mingshu was lowering her eyelashes, playing with the tie of her robe, not looking very happy.

Somehow, after putting her down, one hand still held her waist without letting go, while the other propped up beside her ear. He suddenly brought up the previously shelved topic, “You also said ‘ex-girlfriend.’ You should know, I’m not someone who likes to reminisce.”