The weather forecast was updated in real-time: the capital would have rain tomorrow, with temperatures dropping sharply to 8-10°C. Citizens were advised to stay warm and travel safely.
While the temperature would drop sharply tomorrow, signs appeared first during the night.
Ripples spread across Mingshui Lake, and outside, fallen leaves were swept up by the late autumn night wind. Under the warm yellow glow of the streetlights that remained bright throughout the night, there was a kind of hazy, desolate beauty.
Cen Sen hadn’t returned to the bedroom all night, nor had he gone to rest in the guest room.
After finishing that phone call, he sat back on the living room sofa, closing his eyes in a light doze.
The four-paned south-facing window was half-open, half-closed. The sparse night breeze gently made its way inside, with the rustling sound of leaves brushing past his ears. Listening carefully, one could even hear the low chirping of insects.
From beginning to end, upstairs remained quiet.
After he had locked that door, Ji Mingshu hadn’t desperately cried out, angrily cursed, or kicked and pounded on the door in a futile struggle.
She was too exhausted.
After crying, her head had become very heavy, as if weighed down by a lump of paste that would sway painfully at the slightest movement.
Her lips, neck, and cheeks still bore the lingering sensation of being fiercely kissed, as if Cen Sen’s lip warmth remained.
She curled up at the foot of the bed, hugging a pillow against her face.
She had originally intended to calm down a bit, to ease the discomfort from her emotional fluctuations, but unexpectedly, she had fallen asleep while hugging the pillow.
Perhaps what one contemplates during the day manifests in dreams at night.
Throughout the entire night, she dreamt of Li Wenyin.
Li Wenyin’s father had been the Ji family’s driver and had perished alongside Ji Mingshu’s parents in a car accident while they were out flaunting their happiness.
After his death, the Ji family pitied his widow and orphaned daughter and offered generous compensation.
But Li Wenyin’s mother hadn’t accepted it, stating directly that her husband’s death was a work-related accident, that the Ji family hadn’t wronged him, and that she and her daughter had no reason to accept this huge sum. If it were out of human kindness and guilt, she would prefer the Ji family to provide her with a job, allowing her to earn a living through her labor.
Since she had put it that way, the Ji family had naturally agreed.
So later, this formidable woman had logically moved into the Ji family’s home with Li Wenyin, becoming Grandmother Ji’s full-time nanny, and using the Ji family as a stepping stone to find employment far better than her husband’s.
She remembered when the mother and daughter had first arrived at the Ji family’s home. Everyone in the household had looked after them in everything. Li’s father had worked for the Ji family for many years; if not for his meritorious service, at least he had put in hard work. Though the person was gone, the friendship remained. When Li Wenyin reached school age, Grandmother Ji had even instructed that she should attend the same school for employees’ children as the other children in the compound.
Whether the Ji family was sincerely helping or just didn’t want a reputation for ingratitude, Li Wenyin’s life had indeed undergone a qualitative change because of the Ji family.
When Ji Mingshu argued with her as a child, provoked to the point of speaking without thinking, she had once angrily pointed at her and scolded, “You’re just a nanny’s daughter, who are you to lecture me?”
Unfortunately, Grandmother Ji had overheard and given her a good scolding, even hitting her on the palm.
Ji Mingshu hadn’t understood at the time that Grandmother Ji was punishing her not because she had insulted Li Wenyin and caused her harm, but because she wouldn’t allow a Ji family girl to speak with such a lack of cultivation.
She had only felt very, very angry. She hadn’t provoked anyone; it was Li Wenyin who had come to mock her first, saying she was too old to be playing with dolls and should be ashamed, yet in the end, she was the one who got scolded and punished!
Such incidents had occurred many times during childhood, not just at home but also at school. Having suffered so many silent injustices, Ji Mingshu had also learned a lot and gradually stopped being easily provoked by Li Wenyin.
Moreover, by middle and high school, people weren’t as pure as they were as children and paid more attention to family background, origin, and connections.
In this regard, Ji Mingshu had a natural advantage. Sometimes, without her having to explain much, a group of people would consciously stand on her side.
But this didn’t mean that Li Wenyin in middle and high school didn’t have other ways to haunt her:
If Ji Mingshu and her roommates shortened their school uniform skirts, the next day they would be caught and penalized by Li Wenyin, who had just happened to change shifts for hall monitoring duty;
Ji Mingshu didn’t like sports and ran at a turtle’s pace, so Li Wenyin would lap her and scornfully mock her as she passed;
If Ji Mingshu told her friends she thought a certain senior boy was handsome, within a few days, Li Wenyin would be laughing and chatting with that senior, eating together in the cafeteria, discussing advanced grade topics…
All of these scenarios continued to repeat in Ji Mingshu’s dream.
The scenes in the dream began to shift strangely. In the latter half, Cen Sen appeared beside Li Wenyin.
She seemed to be watching from a non-existent third-person perspective the entire time, watching Li Wenyin and Cen Sen, watching them holding hands at the night market next to the school, watching Cen Sen gently ruffling Li Wenyin’s hair, his lips curved in a smile.
Even just floating transparently as an observer, she could feel the fine, dense sourness in her heart.
Cen Sen didn’t know what Ji Mingshu was dreaming about, only seeing her lying sideways on the bed, her body curled up like a tiny shrimp, her brows tightly furrowed, still clutching the pillow tightly.
He hadn’t turned on the light in the room, nor had he made any sound. By the faint, hazy moonlight from outside the window, he carried Ji Mingshu to the head of the bed to lie properly, then gently tucked her outstretched arms under the covers.
After doing this, he quietly sat on the edge of the bed, lowering his gaze to examine Ji Mingshu’s sleeping face.
In his heart was a desire to reach out and touch her, but for some reason, his hand remained at the side of the bed, never lifting.
After sitting for a while, he stood up again, tucked in the corners of Ji Mingshu’s blanket, and then silently left the room.
At three in the morning, the night breeze subsided.
By the windowsill, the begonia remained awake.
Early the next morning, when she woke up, Ji Mingshu’s eyes still felt sore and swollen. When she touched them, she could feel her eyelids were slightly puffy, with a subtle stinging sensation.
Emotions are such things—they come quickly and leave just as quickly.
After last night’s crying fit, upon waking, her heart felt empty. Even when recalling the scenes from her dream, all desires were very faint.
After sitting idly on the bed for a while, she got up to briefly freshen up in the bathroom.
The phone by the bedside was on silent mode, but since yesterday afternoon, the screen would occasionally light up with new messages.
After freshening up, she picked up her phone and glanced at it.
There were too many messages in WeChat—from acquaintances and strangers, offering comfort or probing, none missed.
She scrolled down without reaching the end, then scrolled back up. Seeing that Gu Kaiyang and Jiang Chun had still been unconditionally cursing Li Wenyin and giving her advice late last night, she felt a warmth in her heart.
Gu Kaiyang didn’t know about her changing feelings for Cen Sen, thinking she was just angry and upset about being humiliated by Cen Sen and Li Wenyin. She had even made a custom sticker: [Don’t be afraid, Shu Baby, just go for it.jpg]
Gu Kaiyang: [Your circle is saying you want a divorce?! Absolutely not! How could we let that dog of a man and that little bitch off so easily! Don’t his grandparents like you a lot? You should run to them today and cry! His grandparents will step in and sort him out until he’s completely obedient and clean! Our baby must not let her health suffer from anger!]
…
She read them one by one, her lips curving slightly upward, and sent a message to Gu Kaiyang and Jiang Chun: [I’m fine.]
After sending this message, her fingertips suddenly paused, and she instinctively glanced at the head of the bed.
Something wasn’t right. Last night, she had fallen asleep directly on the bed without covering herself with the blanket. And she had been curled up horizontally at the foot of the bed, not lying properly as she was when she woke up.
Thinking of something, Ji Mingshu put down her phone and walked to the bedroom door, turning the doorknob.
Unlike last night when turning the doorknob had no effect, no matter how much force she used, now with just a light twist, the door opened.
The moment the door opened, she unconsciously felt relieved—thankfully, Cen Sen hadn’t become so extreme as to lock her in the house.
She quietly peeked her head out.
There seemed to be no one outside?
Following the spiral staircase down, she could hear the pitter-patter of rain outside.
There was a faint aroma of congee coming from the direction of the kitchen island. Ji Mingshu walked over and discovered a small clay pot keeping congee warm—it was preserved egg and lean meat congee.
She hadn’t eaten for nearly twenty hours, and now couldn’t help but take a small spoon and have a couple of bites.
She moved quickly, finishing and immediately putting the spoon down, looking around. After confirming no one was there, she lifted the lid and continued to ladle congee.
Although she hadn’t eaten her fill, she exercised restraint, consuming only a shallow layer. She washed the spoon clean and put it back in its original position—the change would not be noticeable without careful inspection.
Her phone was still receiving messages continuously. She checked thoroughly but found nothing from Cen Sen, not even in her text message inbox.
What did this mean?
Had he decided to let her go wherever she wanted?
So was this congee a farewell meal…?
Ji Mingshu sat in the living room for a while, her mind still on yesterday’s events.
But there were too many incidents, piling up one after another, and full of contradictions. She couldn’t sort out her thoughts.
There was a very clear voice in her head telling her not to be pathetic, not to think about Cen Sen’s sudden kiss last night, and especially not to delve into why she had been moved back to the head of the bed.
Many things were just casual actions on his part, at most out of pity and sympathy. Whoever cared too much and over-interpreted would inadvertently become a joke of self-delusion.
Self-delusion was not a good habit. After all, he could easily deliver a resounding slap to wake you up to reality.
Wasn’t last night’s lesson enough?
Those words that had slipped out were exactly what he truly thought.
Remembering these things, Ji Mingshu felt the air in the house becoming cramped and oppressive.
She didn’t take anything, but suddenly stood up.
At that moment, Jiang Chun also woke from her sleep.
Groggily reaching for her phone and seeing Ji Mingshu’s reply saying she was fine, she tumbled out of her blankets in one movement, sitting cross-legged on the bed, focused intensely on typing away.
Jiang Chun: [Transferring 200,000 yuan]
Jiang Chun: [Are you going to divorce your husband? Where are you now?]
Jiang Chun: [Your second uncle contacted my father, telling him not to shelter you! To prevent me from helping you, my father has even restricted my cards. I’m sending you some emergency funds first. Don’t be afraid! I’ll support you no matter what you do!]
Jiang Chun: [Baby, don’t be scared, I’ll steal an electric bike to support you.jpg.]
Ji Mingshu was walking toward the door while reading the messages, feeling somewhat amused.
But just as her hand touched the doorknob, she suddenly paused.
The bedroom door wasn’t locked.
Was the front door locked?