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.