That voice was neither loud nor soft, slightly lowered, carrying a familiar calmness.
Ji Mingshu’s mind exploded!
How was this possible?
How could he be here?
As if to confirm the possibility to her, Cen Sen knocked on the door again.
“If you don’t open up, I’m calling someone.”
“No!” Ji Mingshu reflexively called out to stop him.
Jiang Chun also chimed in at this moment, shouting toward the men’s restroom: “Ji Mingshu, you can come out now! Your husband has cleared everyone out, there’s no one outside!”
Ji Mingshu: “…”
Please, compared to having this bastard see her in such a miserable state, she would rather rush out regardless of consequences before he arrived, or simply press the flush button and flush herself down the drain to evaporate from this world!
This young girl had been standing outside for so long without being of any help, and now she had even brought over the last person Ji Mingshu wanted to deal with to witness her embarrassment. What was she doing? Where was her brain? Did getting dumped come with a debuff that lowered intelligence???
Cen Sen was not very patient. Seeing that she hadn’t responded for a long time and showed no movement, he was about to call his assistant, “Zhou Jiaheng…”
“Wait!”
Ji Mingshu raised her voice to cover his and quickly reached up, fumbling to unlock the door bolt.
The next second, the stall door gently opened outward.
Cen Sen looked down to see Ji Mingshu, small, pitiful, and helpless, crouching on the ground.
She hugged her knees with both arms, her entire face buried deeply in the crook of her arm. Yet Cen Sen could still vaguely see her reddened ears through the gaps in her hair.
Before Cen Sen could speak, Ji Mingshu said in a muffled voice: “My legs are numb, I can’t stand up.”
She was quite good at taking the initiative.
Cen Sen’s expression remained indifferent, not responding.
After waiting for a while without seeing any movement, Ji Mingshu wasn’t sure if this bastard was pretending not to understand her meaning just to watch her embarrassment, or if he was truly such a clueless man that he didn’t get her hint. She finally had to steel herself and directly command: “Carry me out.”
Cen Sen stood there still without moving, his thoughts unknown.
Ji Mingshu felt anxious, fearing he was deliberately refusing to give her face.
Fortunately, after a few seconds of silence, Cen Sen finally moved.
He unhurriedly unbuttoned his coat, took off his suit jacket, and covered her head with it.
Then he half-bent down, one arm around her thin shoulders, the other passing under her knees, securing her slender legs, and lifted her in a princess carry.
In that instant when her body was suspended in the air, Ji Mingshu’s legs felt extremely numb and sore, as if thousands of tiny insects were densely stinging her feet. To make matters worse, Cen Sen bounced her slightly after lifting her, immediately intensifying that numbness. She wasn’t sure if he did it on purpose.
The restroom had been temporarily cleared by Cen Sen and was very quiet. Outside, conversations, laughter, and the sound of rolling luggage wheels mingled together, making it noisy.
Ji Mingshu was feeling extremely self-conscious now, thinking everyone was pointing and gossiping about her. Not caring about what kind of mockery she would have to endure from Cen Sen afterward, she instinctively curled up in his arms, her hands encircling his neck, cowering like a quail, not making a sound.
Cen Sen had a very faint scent of cold fir, crisp and clean. Nestled against his chest, Ji Mingshu unconsciously took a couple of extra breaths.
Cen Sen noticed and glanced at her but said nothing.
Outside, Jiang Chun was handling the luggage handover with Zhou Jiaheng. Seeing Cen Sen shielding Ji Mingshu completely and carrying her in a boyfriend-power-max princess style, she felt envious while secretly giving Yan a mental double scissors-cut.
She had always thought that Ji Mingshu and Cen Sen were a standard family arranged marriage, showing affection when they needed to appear together in public, but otherwise doing their own things and ignoring each other.
But after witnessing this scene today, she felt that she had previously been blinded by jealousy, pre-judging their marriage as unhappy without knowing anything. That was truly malicious of her. She had always thought herself kind-hearted—when had she become so malicious?
To the parking lot, Jiang Chun followed behind them, silently reflecting.
Sitting in the back seat, she watched as Cen Sen carried Ji Mingshu to their car and drove away. She suddenly took off the couple’s wristwatch that matched Yan’s, thinking angrily: Today is another day when the lemon tree blooms and bears fruit. Go die, you scumbag!
Outside the window, the sun shone brilliantly. In the capital’s midsummer, the sunlight was scorching, and the air was stuffy and dry.
Sitting in the car, Ji Mingshu still covered her head with Cen Sen’s suit jacket, not saying a word.
Cen Sen didn’t bother her either, continuously on the phone with business partners.
Just as he finished his work calls, a call from home came in. He glanced at the caller ID, then at Ji Mingshu, and put it on speaker.
“Ah Sen, have you picked up Xiao Shu?” came Grandmother Cen’s strong voice.
Ji Mingshu’s ears perked up immediately upon hearing her.
Cen Sen responded with an “Mm,” then, “I’ve picked her up.”
Grandmother Cen urged from the other end, “Then hurry over! Today, Auntie Zhou has prepared a big table of dishes, all your favorites!”
Wait, go to South Bridge Hutong for dinner? In her current stinky, terrible state?
Ji Mingshu immediately emerged from under the suit jacket, shaking her head repeatedly at Cen Sen.
Cen Sen looked at her, his gaze calm, saying nothing.
Ji Mingshu, quick-witted in her desperation, scooted closer to him and tentatively began to massage his shoulders and back.
After enjoying about ten seconds of massage service, Cen Sen switched the phone to his other hand and said, “Grandmother, I have an emergency meeting tonight, and Xiao Shu hasn’t adjusted to the time difference yet and is a bit tired. She’s already fallen asleep in the car.”
“Is that so?” Grandmother Cen was understanding. “Then you take Xiao Shu home to rest first, and come over for dinner another time.”