Jiang Chun was a peculiar person. Sometimes she was even quicker than a child prodigy, catching on with just a glance. Other times, she seemed as oblivious as someone with severe myopia, completely unaware even when someone walked right up to her face.
Ji Mingshu watched helplessly as Cen Sen stopped behind Zhou Zhen and his ABC fiancée, exchanging a meaningful glance with her before looking at Jiang Chun, seemingly listening attentively to this self-proclaimed fan’s flowery, non-stop praise.
Zhou Zhen and his ABC fiancée were already beginning to lose face.
They weren’t fools. Jiang Chun’s extravagant praise of Cen Sen was meant to tell them: her friend’s husband was leagues above them, so please don’t think so highly of yourselves, thank you.
However, compared to his ABC fiancée’s sour expression, Zhou Zhen’s emotional control was considerably better. Of course, this was also because he didn’t quite believe the exaggerated words Jiang Chun was saying.
He had been abroad for years and didn’t know that Ji Mingshu was already married, let alone that her husband was Cen Sen, the crown prince of the Cen family who could turn the world upside down. That’s why he had the mindset of showing off in front of Ji Mingshu.
After hearing this news from Jiang Chun, he was indeed a bit embarrassed.
But what Jiang Chun said was too exaggerated. The marriage between Cen and Ji was a family alliance. How good could Cen Sen possibly be to Ji Mingshu?
He also knew Cen Sen one-sidedly; after all, Cen Sen was a legendary figure during their high school days. Moreover, his cousin was Cen Sen’s classmate, and they had even been roommates.
The Cen Sen, in his impression, was not some perfect husband who would do laundry and cook for his wife.
After finishing a round of praise, Jiang Chun paused briefly.
Zhou Zhen smiled and timely interjected, “I never expected that you married Senior Cen, Mingshu.”
Ji Mingshu had no interest in responding to him. Her mind was preoccupied with thoughts: Was it because they were outdoors that no one could feel Cen Sen’s natural cold aura? It was understandable that Jiang Chun was too engrossed to notice, but why weren’t these two turning around?
Zhou Zhen truly had no intention of looking back. His mind was focused on saving face in front of his fiancée, and he enthusiastically began to show off, following the conversation thread by suddenly discussing his cousin’s friendship with Cen Sen. In his words, he placed the Zhou and Cen families on almost equal footing, even briefly mentioning Li Wenyin. Finally, he concluded with a smile: “When you think about it, Senior Cen and I also have a kind of connection.”
What kind of connection?
The connection of eating the same pile of shit?
Ji Mingshu mentally rolled her eyes, truly unable to tolerate this person’s talent for bringing up exactly what shouldn’t be mentioned. Her lips, which had been politely curved, suddenly widened into a smile, her eyes brightening as she sweetly called out in Zhou Zhen’s direction, “Husband!”
Zhou Zhen and his fiancée were both startled, and when they realized what was happening, they followed her gaze and turned around simultaneously.
Cen Sen didn’t look at them, only raising his eyes to meet Ji Mingshu’s gaze in mid-air.
From Ji Mingshu’s bright eyes, he somehow read a threat that said, “If you don’t cooperate with my performance, I’ll make sure you never have descendants for thousands of generations.”
After a moment, he nodded slightly and naturally walked up to Ji Mingshu, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
Ji Mingshu also naturally took his arm, her voice sweet with a hint of coquettish blame, “Why did you come so early? Are you done with work?”
Cen Sen replied without changing his expression, “I didn’t have much to do this afternoon, so I thought I’d come pick you up early.”
He turned to greet Jiang Chun, then looked at Zhou Zhen and asked in a gentle voice, “And this is?”
Before Ji Mingshu could introduce him, Zhou Zhen immediately introduced himself, “I’m Zhou Zhen. Nice to meet you, senior. I also attended the affiliated high school, one grade below you and one grade above Mingshu.”
He added, “I don’t know if you remember Zhou Xian? He was your roommate and is my cousin.”
Cen Sen corrected him, “Only for those three days during military training.”
Zhou Zhen’s expression stiffened slightly.
Cen Sen continued, “But I just met your cousin this morning to discuss a potential collaboration.”
Zhou Zhen relaxed a bit and was about to speak.
Cen Sen added, “But it didn’t work out.”
Zhou Zhen was at a loss for words, and after a while, he managed to squeeze out, “That’s… really unfortunate…”
“Not at all,” Cen Sen said dismissively.
Zhou Zhen: “…”
He didn’t know what expression to put on anymore.
Cen Sen’s mockery was so obvious that only a fool wouldn’t understand. Zhou Zhen’s fiancée looked embarrassed, pulling him away hastily.
Jiang Chun had been struggling to hold back her laughter on the side. After they left, she nearly collapsed with laughter. It was only when Ji Mingshu pinched her and warned her to mind the occasion that she barely managed to control herself.
Perhaps because he had heard Jiang Chun’s extravagant flattery that could carry an entire praise group, Cen Sen was unusually patient today and even chatted with her for a few more sentences. But Jiang Chun felt she didn’t deserve this honor and quickly used finding Gu Kaiyang as an excuse to retreat from Ji Mingshu’s side.
At this point, the event had just begun, and they hadn’t even brought out the customizable new products for VIPs to view, so Ji Mingshu couldn’t just leave with Cen Sen.. The two of them walked arm in arm, casually strolling around the venue. Though they appeared intimate, there was a strange silence between them.
“…What makes this model classic is the representative quilted diamond pattern on the bag’s surface. It requires ninety-five intricate procedures to create, with both visible and invisible stitching…”
The brand presenter was introducing the new iterations of the classic bag, with guests and reporters gathered in a circle.
Ji Mingshu finally couldn’t help herself. She bumped Cen Sen and looked up, asking quietly, “This morning when you discussed collaboration with Zhou Zhen’s cousin, what did his cousin… say?”
“What do you think?” Cen Sen deflected skillfully.
Ji Mingshu fell silent, understanding that his rushing over here with an air of demanding an explanation meant that nothing good had been said.
Deep down, she felt a little pleased that Cen Sen was jealous for her sake, but was more reluctant to explain, feeling awkward since almost being “fish pond managed” wasn’t exactly something to be proud of.
“Don’t listen to nonsense. There’s nothing between Zhou Zhen and me.”
She only explained this much, without going into details.
Mainly because Cen Sen hadn’t shown excessive concern, so there seemed no need for her to rush to clarify their relationship.
Throughout the event, Cen Sen acted quite normally and even accompanied her to order some seasonal new products.
There was a small vintage bag auction afterward. Ji Mingshu wasn’t particularly interested, but Zhou Zhen’s fiancée had her eye on one. Zhou Zhen, wanting to show off, kept bidding against another lady, appearing determined to win.