The air was silent, and it remained silent for a long time.

Ji Mingshu was stunned, staring at the group chat on the screen just like Cen Sen, even forgetting to take back her phone.

Fortunately, after thirty seconds, the phone automatically locked.

Cen Sen’s gaze slowly moved from the phone screen to Ji Mingshu’s exquisite but dumbfounded face, subtly examining it inch by inch, as if wanting to study this dazzling face up close to see what possible connection it had with a “pure college girl.”

Ji Mingshu: unable to speak 🙂

After a minute of silent confrontation, just when Ji Mingshu thought her delicate life would end from awkwardness right there in the luxury car, they finally arrived at the hotel.

The moment the car stopped, Ji Mingshu couldn’t even wait for the doorman to come help open the door; she quickly got out by herself.

Head down, she hastily put on her sunglasses and walked quickly into the hotel. Her hands were trembling, but she didn’t forget to open WeChat, clear the group chat messages, and obediently change the group name to “Three Little Fairies.”

God as her witness, she would never again follow internet trends when naming group chats, nor would she ever again talk behind someone’s back right in front of them 🙂

God be her witness once more, Ji Shushu was a little canary who genuinely loved money from the bottom of her heart.

But for just two or three seconds, her dignity had triumphed over material desires, and the thought “as long as I never embarrass myself in front of that dog of a man again, I’m willing to leave with nothing” had flashed through her mind.

To avoid and alleviate the ultimate awkwardness of facing Cen Sen in silence, Ji Mingshu didn’t return to the room but went directly to the revolving restaurant for dinner.

Estimating the time, she quickly flashed over to the spa center before Cen Sen came for dinner, and afterward, she booked a mini-package at the hotel’s KTV, where she held a personal concert lasting two hours.

Ji Mingshu only sneaked back to the suite upstairs when it was around Cen Sen’s usual bedtime.

The room had only floor lamps turned on, making the light slightly dim.

The pillows and bedding on the visible large bed in the bedroom were neat and clean, and still flat.

Where was Cen Sen? Not asleep yet?

She changed into slippers at the door and quietly entered the study.

No one was in the study either.

She then pushed open the door leading to the living room.

There seemed to be a hint of vodka in the air. Ji Mingshu followed the smell of alcohol and saw several empty bottles on the coffee table.

Cen Sen was leaning back on the sofa, his head tilted slightly upward, eyes tightly closed.

He smelled strongly of alcohol, but his quiet resting appearance showed no signs of drunkenness.

Ji Mingshu approached, extended a finger to poke his face, and softly probed: “Are you asleep?”

No response.

She stood up straight, feeling slightly relieved but also somewhat wanting to sigh.

For people like them who had many work-related social occasions, drinking had already become a physiological aversion, and they wouldn’t touch alcohol unnecessarily in daily life.

Like her uncles, they wouldn’t touch a drop of alcohol when eating at home, and even during family gatherings for holidays, they would only have a small drink.

Drinking so much today, he must be feeling very sad.

After standing by the sofa for a while, Ji Mingshu had a surge of kindness and gently covered him with a blanket.

But as she was about to quietly leave, Cen Sen suddenly grabbed her wrist and slowly opened his eyes.

“…”

Ji Mingshu was slightly confused, and after reacting, she hurriedly explained, “I was just covering you with a blanket, just covering you with a blanket, I didn’t do anything else.”

She then asked: “Do you… want to go to bed to sleep?”

Cen Sen didn’t answer but applied a little force with his hand and pulled her into his arms.

He held Ji Mingshu, burying himself in her soft hair, breathing deeply and lightly, closing his eyes again.

Ji Mingshu didn’t know what act he was putting on. Her body was held so tightly that there was no room to struggle, so she could only keep mumbling in his ear.

“Hey, let go of me.”

“Stop pretending to be asleep, say something!”

“Are you okay? If you can’t handle alcohol, don’t drink so much. If you’re going to throw up, give me a heads-up. Just don’t throw up on me.”

“… Have you hugged enough? My arm is going numb!”

“Don’t make noise, let me hold you a bit longer.”

Cen Sen spoke softly, loosening his grip a bit.

Ji Mingshu didn’t know what had come over her, but she did obediently shut up.

All around was quiet, the two of them were very close, breaths caressing ears, heartbeats seemingly within reach.

Late at night, when everything is quiet, people tend to reminisce.

She remembered that during middle school, the junior and senior high sections of their school were combined, so she had spent four years in the same school as Cen Sen.

She wasn’t a model student in the typical sense and had been publicly criticized many times for violating school rules and discipline. But to be fair, her grades were quite good; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been admitted to a prestigious university later.

Back then, after each monthly test or midterm exam, the school would post an honor roll with class rankings. After checking her own class ranking, she always liked to go see Cen Sen’s class rankings.

But Cen Sen’s class ranking, like his fox-friend Jiang Che, was as steady as a mountain, with the two of them always swapping between first and second place.

Once when Cen Sen dropped out of the top ten, she was delighted beyond measure. After school, she rushed to the Cen family home to mooch a meal and, by the way, tattled to Old Mrs. Cen, suggesting that “Cen Sen has regressed so much this time, perhaps he’s addicted to the internet or secretly has a girlfriend. Grandma, you must discipline him properly.”

She tattled with great enthusiasm, and Old Mrs. Cen played along, smiling and saying she would subject Cen Sen to strict interrogation.

But later, when she went to gloat in front of Cen Sen, she found out that he had dropped out of the top ten because he had represented the school at a Youth Environmental Protection Forum and missed one exam. Her triumphant mood was instantly and thoroughly doused.

Thinking back now, during those school days, she seemed to always hate seeing Cen Sen do well.

Later, when he started dating that white lotus Li Wenyin, she didn’t know why, but she was very unhappy about it.

After a long time, she finally thought it was a good thing—pests like them should be tied together, bundled up, and thrown into the crematorium to decompose into microorganisms, contributing to this beautiful world.

Back then, she never imagined that one day she would marry her former “enemy” and now be embracing him so intimately.

At this thought, Ji Mingshu’s ears unconsciously reddened.

By coincidence, in the next second, Cen Sen kissed her ear.

His alcohol-laden breath was warm and moist, and his voice was low, like an unclear murmur.

“Let me ask you, if I had nothing left, would you abandon me?”

“…?”

This sudden sentimentality quickly snapped Ji Mingshu out of her reminiscence and shocked her to her core.

This was so unlike Cen Sen’s style. Even if drunk to a puddle, Cen Sen should be murmuring things like “Tomorrow’s stock market opening has a high probability of a quick rise” or “Let the person in charge find their solution for the funding gap in XX project”—the typical rants of a capitalist dictator.

Ji Mingshu got goosebumps, but then she thought that perhaps Cen Sen was only cold and rigid in front of her, while in front of certain women, he might be wealthy, affectionate, and tenderly passionate. In his half-drunk state, had he mistaken her for someone else and suddenly adopted this awkward sentimental tyrant persona?

She felt a bit uncomfortable inside, but to avoid hearing more words that would make her want to dismember him while he was drunk, she emphasized, “Are you asking me? I’m Ji Mingshu, Ji Mingshu!”

“Mm, Ji Mingshu, I am asking you.”

“…”

He was asking her.

Ji Mingshu’s heartbeat traitorously skipped half a beat, and she felt inexplicably softened, her cheeks beginning to flush.

She forcibly composed herself and said stubbornly, “What are you dreaming about? Having nothing and wanting me to suffer with you? Look at that mouth of yours—if it weren’t for your money, who would marry you?”

Seeing no reaction from Cen Sen, she continued in a small voice, bolstering herself: “Let me tell you, it’s only because I’m kind-hearted. An ordinary woman wouldn’t put up with this nonsense. You deserve to be single for life, You should be nicer to me.” Buy me an aircraft carrier.

Cen Sen laughed softly, either too drunk to hear or for some other reason. He didn’t contradict her, just held her a bit tighter.

Everyone in this world compromises with reality.

When he was little, his mom and dad said a thousand times in private that they wouldn’t compromise, but in the end, they still sent him away because they needed the Cen family’s money to treat An’ning’s illness.

The Cen family’s initial attitude about keeping Cen Yang was very firm, but in the end, because he carried the Cen family bloodline, the significance of his return was greater than that of keeping Cen Yang, so they ultimately chose to send Cen Yang away.

The Ji family was even more obvious. He had known early on that the Ji family privately had marriage alliance intentions, but because he intervened, the Ji family believed the Cen family was more powerful and beneficial, so they quietly cut off their originally intended marriage candidate and married Ji Mingshu to him.

Whatever family affection or inevitability, in the end, it was all about weighing the options and making choices. Yet they always tried to find high-sounding reasons to exonerate themselves, never admitting it.

Before, he only thought Ji Mingshu was shallow, but after getting to know her better, he felt she lived more clearly-headed than himself.

What could be said, she always said exactly what she thought.

What couldn’t be said, such as whether the Ji family truly cherished her so deeply, she knew clearly than anyone but would never voice it.

Thinking carefully, perhaps never having family affection would make one live more freely. Having had it and then losing it, no matter how many years pass, it’s always hard to accept.

If Ji Mingshu had abandoned him if he had nothing, then he only needed to always be wealthy to bind a familiar little canary to keep him company. Thinking like this, it wasn’t so bad. At least she belonged to him in a lively and authentic way.

At 2 AM, the city was quiet.

Cen Sen’s hands slowly relaxed, and he gradually fell asleep.

Ji Mingshu carefully extricated herself from his embrace and laid him flat on the sofa.

After all this, Ji Mingshu felt a bit tired.

She sat on the edge of the sofa and looked at Cen Sen’s sleeping face, her fingers tracing the contours of his eyebrows and features, stroke by stroke, lightly moving downward.

His skin tone was cool white, his eyebrows sharp, his eyes bright like stars, his nose high, his lips thin—the kind of appearance you wouldn’t forget after just one glance.

During school days, he had the clear purity of youth; after growing up, he had the calm detachment of an adult man. It seemed he would never bore the eye… as long as he didn’t speak.

Ji Mingshu rested her chin on her palm, recalling his earlier question, and realized for the first time that he seemed to be yearning for a warmth he was unwilling to express.

A strange thought suddenly popped into her mind.

If Cen Sen went bankrupt one day, as long as he obediently listened to her, just for that face of his, she might perhaps, probably… still be willing to sell her handbags to support him?