A transformation plan?

After hanging up the phone, Ji Mingshu’s mind was still in a daze.

Was he saying that she was suited to go to some remote backwater without internet to slaughter pigs, grow vegetables, and herd cattle as part of some new socialist transformation program?

Was he even human? How could he say such things?

“He’s being this venomous just because I spent a bit of his money!”

“Why doesn’t he go transform himself?”

Ji Mingshu was so angry that she devoured three macarons in one breath, her tone filled with disbelief that “there could be such a heartless person in this world.”

Gu Kaiyang instinctively corrected her, “That was more than just a bit of money.”

Ji Mingshu promptly stuffed a macaron into her mouth in retaliation, her eyes clearly saying: Just eat and shut up.

Jiang Chun didn’t know the true nature of Ji Mingshu and Cen Sen’s relationship. She thought this was just some playful banter between a loving couple, so her attention was completely focused on the fact that “Ji Mingshu had helped herself to the desserts first.”

She swallowed discreetly and half-heartedly consoled, “Calm down, calm down. Your husband was just joking. He would never actually want you to participate in some transformation program.”

As she spoke, her little silver fork sneakily inched toward the tiramisu.

But before she could touch it, Ji Mingshu slapped her hand away with a sharp “whack” and gave her a second yellow card warning with her eyes.

Jiang Chun deflated, full of resentment.

Perhaps it was because she had been suppressed too harshly by Ji Mingshu lately, but in the next second, she suddenly sat up straight, possessed by the spirit of a small Nurhaci goose, her little mouth rapidly firing back.

“It’s not like the transformation program would even want to invite you! Please don’t go—what have those poor farmers done to deserve a troublemaker like you? You can’t carry anything on your shoulders or in your hands, you can’t even tie your shoelaces, and you expect to plant rice and vegetables? My goodness, I can just imagine a neighbor’s child accidentally touching your bag and you screaming: ‘Get your dirty hands off! This bag costs 1.2 million!

Ji Mingshu: “…?”

One piece of tiramisu and the ship capsizes.

What had she done wrong to be married to such a man and to have such a friend?

Back home, Ji Mingshu was still immersed in Cen Sen’s vicious dissing, unable to pull herself out.

When she went to the bathroom, she discovered her period had started. Feeling a faint sadness, she sank into the sofa and carefully considered Gu Kaiyang’s earnest advice.

Actually, after the false alarm of the previous cheating incident, she had seriously thought about what she would do with the rest of her life if one day she and Cen Sen reached the point of divorce.

Before marriage, the Ji family had treated her well, but she had no actual shares or assets that could be readily liquidated.

After marriage, Cen Sen had been generous with her expenses, but she and Cen Sen had signed a prenuptial agreement. If they divorced, she wouldn’t get a penny and would leave with nothing.

If this dog of a man were even more ruthless, she wouldn’t be able to take any of the extravagant things she’d bought over these years either.

And the current relationship between the Cen and Ji families? Ji Mingshu understood that better than Cen Sen. If they were to divorce, the Ji family would be furious with her first.

Adding it all up, apart from the apartment at Bocui Tianhua that was actually in her name, everything else could become nothing in a second after divorce.

Thinking about all this, Ji Mingshu finally felt a small sense of crisis.

But she had been raised in luxury by the Ji family with the purpose of an arranged marriage, so her awareness of supporting herself financially was extremely weak.

Plus, she had already skipped the process and gone straight to the result, living the lavish life that most people dreamed of. To force her to be dissatisfied with her life and find a dream to pursue would be quite a struggle for her.

So this small sense of crisis was not enough to awaken her independent consciousness, which was buried somewhere even she couldn’t locate.

But—

Her rebellious spirit was much stronger than her sense of independence.

After ten minutes of sadness on the sofa, she imagined Cen Sen’s faint mockery when suggesting she participate in the transformation program. Without hesitation, she grabbed her phone to reply to Meng Xiaowei, then went upstairs to pack her bags.

This wasn’t the first time Ji Mingshu had contradicted Cen Sen, so when Cen Sen received the news that Ji Mingshu had confirmed her participation in the show while on his way to a business engagement, he wasn’t surprised.

Zhou Jiaheng asked, “Chairman Cen, do we need to have the production team replace her?”

“No need,” Cen Sen rubbed his temple, “just adjust the team roster and cancel the highlight filming. If she doesn’t mention it herself, there’s no need to specifically inform the TV station about her identity.”

Zhou Jiaheng paused briefly before responding, “Understood.”

Junyi was the biggest sponsor of this interior design reality show.

To create buzz for their upcoming designer brand hotel “Junyi Yaji,” the group had invested heavily in Xingcheng TV, intervening in everything from the show’s title sponsorship to its program flow.

Moreover, two new cutting-edge designers who were already working on the “Junyi Yaji” designs for Junyi would play a major role in the show.

But Ji Mingshu knew nothing about this yet.

Half an hour later, the Bentley stopped at the entrance of “Fengtang.” Zhou Jiaheng got out first and opened the door for Cen Sen.

Tonight’s business engagement was difficult to reschedule. It was arranged by Director Chen, an old acquaintance of Cen Yuanchao. Without even thinking about it, Cen Sen knew that Director Chen wanted to connect him with film projects seeking investment.

As soon as he got out of the car, a female attendant in a qipao with her hair in a bun guided Cen Sen inside.

She led him all the way to a private room on the third floor. Just as the attendant pushed open the sliding door for him, Zhou Jiaheng received the latest update that Ji Mingshu was heading to Xingcheng.

He reported this in a low voice while following behind Cen Sen.

As Cen Sen listened, he approached the table and discovered a familiar face among the guests.

Today, Li Wenyin wore a sleeveless gray turtleneck knit dress, simple earrings, and her hair tied back in a low ponytail. Her features were subtle, and her lipstick was a light watercolor pink.

From a distance, she exuded the air of a cultured intellectual woman.

Li Wenyin didn’t seem surprised by Cen Sen’s arrival and showed no particular emotional response. She only raised her glass to toast him when Director Chen introduced them.

“Little Li just returned from studying in France. She’s a very talented young director! The project she’s currently preparing has a great theme—positive, uplifting, and sunny! It’s qualitatively different from those themes that portray the dark side of youth!”

“Asen, isn’t your group now investing in some film projects? If you’re interested, you could support talented young directors with vision like Little Li!”

“Come, come, Little Li, toast Chairman Cen. Chairman Cen is one of the most promising young talents in the capital!”

Li Wenyin took the initiative to toast, and Cen Sen also raised his glass and clinked it lightly. But he didn’t drink. After the toast, he set down his glass and skillfully redirected the conversation with Director Chen to other topics.

Until the end of the dinner, Cen Sen had no additional verbal exchanges with Li Wenyin.

During a certain period of his life, he had once favored women like Li Wenyin, who were completely different from Ji Mingshu. But he viewed emotions lightly. He had dated Li Wenyin for three months after high school graduation, but by now, he couldn’t recall any details.

The night grew deeper as Cen Sen walked toward the exit of the club while having Zhou Jiaheng confirm Ji Mingshu’s hotel location.

There were still some matters in the capital that required Zhou Jiaheng to stay behind and handle, so only a bodyguard would accompany him on tonight’s trip to Xingcheng.

“Cen Sen.”

A familiar female voice suddenly came from behind.

Cen Sen paused slightly and looked back.

During dinner, Li Wenyin had been seated, so only her upper body was visible. Now standing, her graceful figure and elegant demeanor were more apparent.

She walked slowly toward him, smiled lightly, and extended her hand, “Long time no see.”

Cen Sen said coolly, “Long time no see.”

Seeing that Cen Sen had no intention of shaking her hand, Li Wenyin simply tilted her head and gracefully withdrew her hand.

She quickly continued frankly, “Actually, I knew yesterday that you would be attending this dinner today. But when one is out in the world, sometimes one must seek the assistance of an expert to secure some investment. I hope you don’t mind.”

Her voice was as gentle as ever, with a touch of natural playfulness, and her grasp of social nuance was impeccable.

Li Wenyin knew that Cen Sen was emotionally detached. But regardless, they were ex-partners, and their breakup hadn’t been so ugly that they couldn’t face each other. At the very least, she expected to hear a “It’s fine” from Cen Sen.

But as soon as she finished speaking, she heard Cen Sen respond without hesitation with three different words: “I do mind.”

After saying these three words, not only Li Wenyin but Cen Sen himself paused momentarily.

This scene felt familiar, as if not long ago, he had said the same words to another woman outside another club.

There was another line after that—what was it again? He seemed to have complimented Ji Mingshu, and quite extravagantly at that.

Cen Sen’s brief distraction appeared completely different in Li Wenyin’s eyes.

Having met someone so stunning in her youth, she had found it difficult to completely give up on the person she had once loved, even after he was married. That obsession had never faded from her heart.

Was his objection because… he shared the same feelings for her?

Li Wenyin wanted to say something more, but Zhou Jiaheng, who had also misunderstood the meaning, somehow very inappropriately cleared his throat.

Cen Sen snapped back to reality, looked at his watch, and coldly added, “Film investment is not Junyi’s main business, but since Director Chen has specifically introduced you, I can have you go through the process with Huazhang Holdings. However, film projects have become increasingly difficult in recent years, with high risk factors. The company needs to conduct precise risk assessments, and the final investment decision isn’t mine alone. I’m sorry, but I have other engagements and can’t stay.”

Once they were in the car heading to the airport, Zhou Jiaheng immediately acknowledged his mistake, “I apologize, Chairman Cen.”

Whether Cen Sen still had feelings for his ex or not, as his assistant, he shouldn’t have interrupted.

“It’s fine.”

Cen Sen didn’t take it to heart and proceeded to discuss several work-related matters with him.

It was already two in the morning when they arrived in Xingcheng. The entire city had fallen silent. Cen Sen went directly to the Junyi Huazhang where Ji Mingshu was staying.

The front desk had prepared a room key for him in advance. He went up to the top-floor suite, where the warm yellow lights were on, but Ji Mingshu was nowhere to be seen.

After a while, he heard a faint moan from the other side of the bed.

Walking over, he saw Ji Mingshu lying on the carpet beside the bed, curled up like a small shrimp.

Ji Mingshu had arrived in Xingcheng around ten o’clock, washed up, and gone to bed, but her stomach had started aching subtly. She had called for room service, but even after drinking a large cup of brown sugar ginger tea, it hadn’t helped.

By now, the pain had subsided, but she lacked the strength to get up.

Half asleep, seeing a blurry familiar figure, she thought she was dreaming again about the X-rated gentle version of Cen Sen. She didn’t know why she felt particularly aggrieved, but she stretched out her arms and said coquettishly: “Hug me.”