In the end, Ji Mingshu still accepted Cen Sen’s gift—the one who had traveled thousands of miles to deliver himself—with a reluctant expression but a heart full of shy joy.
A little after ten in the evening, Ji Mingshu was carried into the bathroom. Her face was flushed, her jaw damp with sweat, and a few strands of hair stuck to her slender cheeks.
Cen Sen placed her in warm water and helped brush away the loose strands of hair. His clear eyes looked at her, his voice characteristically deep, seemingly with a hint of laughter, “Your stamina is poor, you need more exercise.”
Ji Mingshu, without thinking, pinched his face and then pushed it away, “You’re so annoying!”
Seven parts embarrassment, three parts coquettish, but none of it was literal dislike.
Ji Mingshu knew her stamina was poor, but she had no idea that Cen Sen’s could be good enough to repeatedly break through her imagination.
He had only arrived in Paris last night, yet he was already home by this evening, and in between, he had negotiated a partnership with investors. Even with people picking him up and dropping him off, and catching some sleep on the plane, this non-stop back-and-forth journey was extremely draining. She had thought the gift-giving process would probably just be a perfunctory twenty or thirty minutes, but she had underestimated him.
In the bath, the warm water flowed gently. After Ji Mingshu washed her hair, Cen Sen used a comb to smooth it out, then wrung out the water and put a hair-drying cap on her.
Cen Sen had never done these things before, and now he was doing each step only after Ji Mingshu’s instruction, his movements somewhat awkward.
Fortunately, Ji Mingshu didn’t mind. She reached up to tuck in some wet hair that had escaped the cap, glancing back with the corner of her eye, unable to resist secretly curling up the corners of her lips.
Ji Mingshu hadn’t eaten dinner and had been pulled into exercising for several hours, so her energy was depleted, and she was hungry.
After the bath, Cen Sen used the remaining ingredients in the refrigerator to make two bowls of tomato and egg noodles, and gave all the last few slices of luncheon meat to Ji Mingshu.
After filling her stomach, Ji Mingshu was unusually virtuous for once. She didn’t bother him to do this or that, but just lay in bed telling him about the upsetting events of the past two days.
Cen Sen had already heard a specific and detailed real-time report from Zhou Jiaheng, but Zhou Jiaheng’s report obviously wouldn’t include Ji Mingshu’s subjective feelings.
Listening to her rambling, sometimes angry, sometimes amused, Cen Sen suddenly turned his head and sincerely said, “I’m sorry.”
The curtains in the room were open, and outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the winter night sky was ink-black and thoroughly washed, with a rare scattering of quiet stars.
Cen Sen pulled her into his arms, his long fingers running through her soft, long hair. His voice seemed to be infused with the dampness of her not-yet-dried hair ends, more gentle than usual, “I let you suffer this time. I promise, there won’t be a next time.”
Ji Mingshu suddenly felt a tightness in her nose. Although rather than “I’m sorry,” she would have preferred to hear Cen Sen say “I like you,” this apology instantly stirred up the grievances buried in her heart.
Last night’s fear, like falling into an ice cellar, cold to the bone, couldn’t be completely forgotten just by waking up from a sleep.
She wasn’t a celebrity or an internet influencer; she didn’t need to rely on fans and netizens’ affection to make a living. She hadn’t done anything unforgivably terrible, so why should she be expected to have a strong heart to face others’ groundless abuse and curses?
She didn’t want to say things like “I’m fine,” “I’m good,” or “I don’t blame you”—it was his fault!
Thinking of this, Ji Mingshu bit his neck hard, then followed his words with righteous indignation:
“I was so wronged!”
“Those third-rate little fans even Photoshopped obituary photos of me! Do you know how ugly those obituary photos were? Oh, and that little fan was quite logical, probably thinking I couldn’t die at such a young age, so they even Photoshopped wrinkles and white hair onto my obituary photo! It made me so angry!”
“Come to think of it, it’s all your fault! You’re the typical person with a good attitude when admitting mistakes, but refusing to change. No, you must compensate me today!”
“Alright, compensation.”
Ji Mingshu persisted, “How do you plan to compensate me? I want a proposal now, quick, quick, quick, don’t think you can muddle through this!”
Cen Sen thought for a while, “How about opening an interior design studio for you?”
“…Are you even human?”
“Compensation means making me throw myself wholeheartedly into work to earn money and support the family?”
Ji Mingshu asked incredulously.
Had she previously overplayed her independent persona to the point where Cen Sen now mistakenly thought she wanted to be a career woman???
Cen Sen paused, then thought for another moment, “Then how about buying you an island? One where… You can see the aurora.”
A while ago, he had met with Mr. Chang, another investor in the South Bay project. Mr. Chang habitually talked about his wife and children and mentioned that he had recently bought a private island abroad for them. He planned to build a villa on the island and hire specialists to regularly maintain the beach. Going there for vacations would surely be very peaceful and comfortable.
Mr. Chang had also said that if he was interested, he could introduce reliable sellers. Some islands had very good sea water quality, and you could even see the Milky Way and auroras.
At that time, he had felt a moment of interest, but later, there were too many things happening, and he hadn’t remembered it. Now, bringing up this compensation, he wasn’t sure if Ji Mingshu would be satisfied.
Indeed, not all women would have their eyes blinded by material pursuits such as money, jewelry, yachts, planes, and private islands, but Ji Mingshu would.
Without a moment’s hesitation, she happily agreed, and her attitude underwent a 180-degree turn.
Just now, she had been about to confront Cen Sen, but now she gently nestled into his arms, helping him massage his shoulders, her eyes sparkling. She excitedly asked about the island’s specific location, its size, whether it could be named independently, how long the property rights lasted, whether it was convenient for parties, and wouldn’t it be very cold if you could see the aurora…
Cen Sen was a highly efficient person. Seeing Ji Mingshu’s interest, he contacted Zhou Jiaheng to handle it.
Zhou Jiaheng had made mistakes twice in a row and hadn’t heard how Cen Sen would deal with him after returning to the country. He was anxiously wondering if he could keep his job.
Now that work had come, Zhou Jiaheng was suddenly energized. He jumped out of bed with a start, not even putting on his shoes, his eyes shining as he sat in front of the computer, constantly making phone calls and contacting people.
After all, the workplace is like a battlefield. Though he usually seemed like the president’s closest confidant, never leaving Cen Sen’s side, the competition for his position was very intense. There were many assistants in the executive assistant’s office eyeing his position, all hoping he would fall soon so they could take his place!
Thinking about soon owning her island, Ji Mingshu smiled contentedly and immediately ran to the group chat to inform Jiang Chun and Gu Kaiyang, asking them to respectfully address her as “Aurora Island Owner” from now on.
The two rarely showed such tacit understanding, simultaneously sending the word “psycho.”
Jiang Chun added resentfully: [Can you see what time it is? Disturbing people’s dreams will get you drowned in a pig cage.]
Ji Mingshu: [It’s not even midnight yet, what are you sleeping for? Eat and sleep, sleep and eat, calling you a goose is an insult to geese. Prepare the pig cage for yourself.]
Ji Mingshu was fully focused on typing, chatting with the posture of a gamer taking first blood. Cen Sen couldn’t get a word in, so he looked at his phone.
At this hour, their childhood friends’ group was still active. Jiang Che was asking what gift would please his girlfriend now that the New Year was approaching.
Cen Sen: [Jewelry, yacht, island.]