About half a minute passed before Cen Sen realized that something was off about the sounds coming from the bathroom. He put down his phone and walked over.

But before he could raise his hand, Ji Mingshu pushed open the door, her face deathly pale. The water was running loudly in the sink. She was still holding onto the edge of the counter, looking so weak that she seemed on the verge of collapsing right there.

Cen Sen stepped forward and took her into his arms, asking in a deep voice, “Are you feeling unwell? Let me take you to the hospital for a check-up.”

Ji Mingshu leaned into his embrace, her slender white arms loosely wrapped around his waist, her voice hoarse, “No need. It’s that milk. The smell was too strong, and it made me feel sick drinking it this morning.”

Cen Sen gently stroked her thin back, a thought flashing through his mind, but he didn’t know enough to be certain, so he didn’t speak it aloud.

By comparison, women tended to be more sensitive about vomiting. Especially since Ji Mingshu had been quietly anxious for quite some time about why she hadn’t gotten pregnant, so her first thought when experiencing nausea was morning sickness.

But she knew that if she mentioned this suspicion now, Cen Sen would take her to the hospital for a check-up. Today, he had to discuss new investments for the Nanwan project, and what if the deal fell through because he stood them up for this?

Besides, she wasn’t confident in her guess. After all, when she had fainted from dieting before, she’d thought she had some incurable disease. It might just be an upset stomach or something. How embarrassing would it be to make a big fuss over nothing?

Thinking this way, Ji Mingshu deliberately nestled in Cen Sen’s arms, complaining coquettishly, “I don’t want milk for breakfast tomorrow. I’ll just have juice or coffee. The taste of plain milk is too rich. When I was in high school, I drank a cup of plain milk before the flag-raising ceremony once, and I felt so sick. I went to the bathroom to throw up before the ceremony was even over.”

Since she’d gone this far with her explanation, Cen Sen felt even less inclined to voice his suspicion.

After casually moving past the subject and watching Cen Sen leave for work, Ji Mingshu’s little heart pounded wildly. Leaning against the door like a thief, she sent a message to her sister’s group chat—

[Sisters, you might become godmothers soon.]

Before Gu Kaiyang and Jiang Chun could express their surprise, she explained: [Of course, it’s not certain. Just that this morning I found the milk smell very strong, felt a bit nauseous, and threw up once.]

Gu Kaiyang: [Hmm… was it normal milk?]

Ji Mingshu: […?]

Ji Mingshu: [Has this CEO’s wife become so stingy that I’d drink spoiled milk? Do you think I’m like that penny-pinching Zhou boss at your magazine?]

Gu Kaiyang: [That’s not what I meant.]

Gu Kaiyang: [The milk smell and all that… It’s very easy to misinterpret, you know.]

Ji Mingshu had been exceptionally pure-minded lately, and only now did she understand what Gu Kaiyang was implying.

Ji Mingshu: [I don’t know what you mean, please shut up.]

Ji Mingshu: [Reporting you for obscene comments, internet friend.]

Jiang Chun was originally a pure, harmless, innocent little farm goose, but having spent so long in this group chat, she’d been thoroughly corrupted by these two. Nowadays, she faces such conversations with perfect composure. She even put on her professional gynecologist hat and seriously inquired about Ji Mingshu’s recent physical condition and the frequency of her bedroom activities.

Ji Mingshu’s answers were vague, and finally, she added bashfully: [It might just be an upset stomach, you never know.]

The little gynecologist goose gave her definitive judgment: [What upset stomach? You’re almost certainly pregnant. Unless you think you’re a baby yourself, randomly spitting up milk for no reason.]

Gu Kaiyang: [She probably thinks she’s cute enough to spit up milk.]

Ji Mingshu: [Gu Kaiyang]

Ji Mingshu: [Shut up warning x2!]

The three of them bantered off-topic for a while before quickly returning to the subject of morning sickness. Both Jiang Chun and Gu Kaiyang believed she was pregnant and advised her to go to the hospital for a check-up, or at least buy a pregnancy test kit to try.

Ji Mingshu felt that going to the hospital would require Cen Sen’s company, but buying a pregnancy test seemed feasible.

She thought for a moment, went upstairs to change her clothes, put on sunglasses, and sneaked out.

Perhaps Ji Mingshu’s previous running away from home had left a deep shadow on the driver’s psyche. Seeing her wearing sunglasses and looking slightly nervous, the driver unconsciously became nervous as well, repeatedly asking where she was going and what she was going to do.

Ji Mingshu naturally couldn’t tell the truth and gave vague, perfunctory answers.

The driver became increasingly convinced that the CEO’s wife was up to something again. After dropping her off at the shopping mall, he immediately called Zhou Jiaheng to report.

Zhou Jiaheng frowned slightly upon hearing this news. “What about the bodyguards?”

The driver answered, “They followed the madam into the mall, but I don’t know if they can keep up with her.”

Zhou Jiaheng was somewhat relieved to hear that bodyguards were secretly protecting her. “Alright, report any developments to me immediately.”

He was about to accompany Cen Sen to meet the second young master of the Chi family from the west side of the city, Chi Li, who had cultivated a non-competitive, non-aggressive persona for many years but had suddenly seized power and changed course.

Chi Li was no simple character. Zhou Jiaheng had long known that Cen Sen had some private connection with this person, but he wasn’t clear on how deep their relationship went. So at this moment, he couldn’t decide whether he should mention Ji Mingshu’s situation to Cen Sen.

If Cen Sen misfired a neuron and abandoned this massive investment in the Nanwan project for Ji Mingshu’s sake, then he, Zhou Jiaheng, would become Jingjiang’s number one sinner.

But if Ji Mingshu was really up to something and he didn’t inform Cen Sen in time, then his days of packing up and leaving wouldn’t be far off either.

“What are you thinking about?”

Cen Sen stood in front of the car, glancing at Zhou Jiaheng, who was so lost in thought that he forgot to open the car door.

“Oh, nothing… nothing.”

Zhou Jiaheng snapped back to reality and hurriedly stepped forward to open the door for Cen Sen.

After the car had driven a distance, Zhou Jiaheng struggled internally for a while, but eventually couldn’t resist reporting, “It’s like this, CEO Cen. Your wife just went out to the Huijia Shopping Center. But the driver said that madam seemed a bit off, wearing sunglasses, looking a bit nervous. He’s afraid she might silently move to Xinggang International again like last time, so…”

Zhou Jiaheng was trying hard to find euphemisms for “sneaking around” and “running away from home,” but Cen Sen interrupted without even looking up: “Don’t worry, she won’t run away from home.”

Zhou Jiaheng: “…”

He vaguely remembered that the last time Ji Mingshu ran away from home, their great CEO Cen had been just as confident when he went to the supermarket to buy ribs to cook at home.

Cen Sen paused, then suddenly instructed, “Contact Zhao Yang and have him arrange a reliable pregnancy check-up, within the next couple of days.”

“…?”

What an unexpected bombshell.

Zhou Jiaheng was momentarily silent, then responded with a “Yes.”

Ji Mingshu had no idea that her furtive, roundabout way of buying a pregnancy test had made the driver so nervous.

She wandered around following the navigation, crossing the mall to the street on the other side before finally finding a pharmacy, where she bought several pregnancy tests.

Just when she thought she could successfully return home to test, she suddenly received an unexpected phone call from Cen Yang.

“Xiao Shu, I’m going back to America.”

His voice was the same as when he first returned to China, except that his clear and gentle tone seemed to carry a hint of fatigue.

Ji Mingshu was stunned for a few seconds before responding, “Why?”

Cen Yang fell silent.

Ji Mingshu also belatedly realized that her question seemed somewhat redundant, so she asked again, “When?”

“Today. I’m about to leave for the airport now.”

He was probably about to get into his car. Ji Mingshu heard the brief friction of rolling luggage wheels, followed by a “bang” as the trunk closed.

Cen Yang opened the car door and sat in the driver’s seat. “This time when I leave, I probably won’t come back.”

A brief silence.

He continued, “Xiao Shu, I’m sorry. You may not know this, but during the time I’ve been back, I’ve indeed done some things that weren’t good for you. I’m sorry.”

Ji Mingshu wasn’t a fool. Although Cen Sen had kept it from her, with the timing of the incident and the takeover coinciding so perfectly, she had long harbored suspicions.

But for some reason, she found it hard to harbor hatred toward Cen Yang. When she heard Cen Yang say he wouldn’t return, she felt a bit sad.

It was as if those childhood days of playing with Brother Cen Yang when there was nothing to do, and seeking his help when there was trouble, were truly gone forever.

Ji Mingshu stood at the pharmacy entrance, silent for a long while before finally saying, “Let me come to the airport to see you off.”

When Zhou Jiaheng heard that Ji Mingshu had gone to the airport, his heart began to pound violently. Unfortunately, Cen Sen was discussing specific investment details with Chi Li. He couldn’t interrupt, but not interrupting felt equally wrong. His struggle had intensified a hundredfold.

After about twenty minutes of agonizing, Chi Li noticed Zhou Jiaheng’s nervous anxiety. He lowered his eyes, adjusting his cuffs, and said, “Your assistant seems to have something to say.”

Cen Sen turned slightly.

Zhou Jiaheng couldn’t care less about protocol now. He bent down and reported in a low voice: “Madam has gone to the airport.”

Cen Sen was quiet for a moment, then suddenly picked up his phone and called Ji Mingshu. But phones seemed to have been invented precisely to lose contact at crucial moments.

Seeing this, Chi Li quietly removed his pen cap, signed at the end of the contract, and gestured for the legal counsel to stamp the contract across the pages.

“It’s signed. I won’t delay you.”

Cen Sen didn’t stand on ceremony either. He responded with a “Mm,” then had Zhou Jiaheng collect the contract before getting up to leave.

Zhou Jiaheng paused for a few seconds, realizing that he might have underestimated the private relationship between these two men.

Before they could leave the room, Cen Sen suddenly received a call from Cen Yang. Before Cen Yang could speak, Cen Sen asked, “Is Mingshu with you?”

Cen Yang paused for a few seconds. “Yes.”

Cen Sen: “What are you trying to do?”

Cen Yang: “What do you think?”

“Where is she?” Cen Sen’s voice lowered, revealing obvious tension.

Cen Yang was silent. He had originally wanted to be mysterious and say a few more cryptic things, but he didn’t know what to say next, so he could only counter-question: “Do you think I would kidnap her?”

This time, it was Cen Sen’s turn to be silent.

“Love makes one anxious.” Cen Yang dropped these four words and then hung up.

Ji Mingshu was completely confused by what she’d heard.

What kind of riddle were they playing?

After deciding to see Cen Yang off at the airport, she had reminisced about childhood memories in the car for quite a while, feeling sad. It wasn’t until they entered the airport that she remembered to notify Cen Sen, but her phone had died.

After meeting Cen Yang, they chatted for a bit, but she kept thinking about notifying Cen Sen, so she asked to borrow Cen Yang’s phone.

Cen Yang asked if she wanted to call Cen Sen, and she honestly said yes. Then Cen Yang said he would make the call. Since she just wanted to tell Cen Sen that she had come to the airport to see Cen Yang off, it didn’t seem to matter who made the call, so she agreed.

But what was that all about?

Why did they have such wild imaginations, even bringing up kidnapping?

And what was wrong with Cen Sen? How could he not realize that nothing would happen to her at the airport? Had he lost his mind?

These two seemed to be on a completely different wavelength from her. After hanging up, Cen Yang put his hands in his pockets and commented appreciatively, “Xiao Shu, he cares about you.”

Ji Mingshu nodded, but in her heart, she thought, “Would my husband care about you if he didn’t care about me?”

Cen Yang’s flight was still early, and from the tone of the phone conversation, it seemed that Cen Sen might be rushing to the airport, so Ji Mingshu chatted with Cen Yang a bit longer.

Just as Cen Yang was talking about planning to help Chen Biqing and An’ning with immigration after he returned to the United States, Ji Mingshu suddenly felt her hand being gently pulled backward. She was momentarily confused, and before she could react, she was enveloped in a familiar, warm embrace.

Cen Yang paused, swallowing the words he hadn’t finished, silently watching the couple before him. Suddenly, he felt that yesterday’s events were like a dream. Many things had already been settled long ago. Only he had been fixated on what had never belonged to him, wasting so much time.

Fortunately, although a bit late, he could still return to the starting point.