Chapter 52 Peppermint Baileys "Jiang Shiyu, this is Guangyi! You..."
There was silence for a few seconds on the other end of the phone.
"yes."
"It's okay if you don't want to answer."
Two voices rang out simultaneously.
Even though she already knew the truth, the moment Shen Cen heard Jiang Shiyu admit it himself, a chill still ran down her spine. Her hands trembled uncontrollably, and she almost dropped her phone.
She had lived with this man for several months. Yet, she knew nothing about him, and this feeling of unfamiliarity terrified her.
"You already know."
"Um."
Jiang Shiyu paused. At that moment, he had a thousand and one things he wanted to say to explain, but all the words that came to his lips ultimately boiled down to one sentence:
"I'm sorry, Xiao Cen."
The person on the other end of the phone remained silent. Jiang Shiyu continued, "Xiao Cen, can you wait for me for half an hour? I'll be home right away and explain everything to you."
"Jiang Shiyu." Shen Cen bit her lower lip, stopping the man from speaking, "Can we calm down for two days before talking about this?"
She already knows too much today. She's not ready to hear Jiang Shiyu admit that he has a "white moonlight" (a term of endearment for a past love) and that all the things he's done over the years have been influenced by her.
She wanted to calm down for a few days, prepare herself mentally, and then accept the truth. In relationships, Shen Cen was like a snail. She liked to crawl slowly, and when faced with danger, she would retreat into her shell to escape.
Jiang Shiyu did not force Shen Cen.
"Okay, two days, right?"
"Xiao Cen, I'll give you two days."
-
Shen Cen moved to Wen Jie's house.
Wen Jie could tell at a glance that the two had a fight. Especially when she saw Shen Cen's red eyes, she slammed her fist heavily on the blanket: "Tell me! What did that brat Jiang Shiyu do to wrong you! I'm going to Siji right now to confront him!"
Shen Cen was amused by Wen Jie's indignant expression and sniffed, "You should go to Guangyi, not Siji."
“What Guangyi…” Wen Jie was confused by this question. She frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly her eyes widened. “Baby, you mean, Jiang Shiyu, he… he…”
Wen Jie was startled by her own thought. Before Shen Cen could reply, she shook her head vigorously: "No, no, that's impossible. I must have been reading too many novels to think like this!"
Shen Cen: "Xiao Jie, you guessed right."
Now it was Wen Jie's turn to fall silent.
"So, you two had a fight about this?"
No, not exactly.
When Shen Cen learned that Jiang Shiyu was the president of Guangyi Technology, she was truly shocked. She couldn't believe that the man who only existed in various rumors was actually her husband, with whom she shared a bed every day. The two seemed like completely different people, with no connection whatsoever.
However, this incident was far less impactful on her than the fact that Jiang Shiyu had a "white moonlight" (a term of endearment for someone special).
She briefly explained to Wen Jie, "My brother called me a couple of days ago and told me that Jiang Shiyu had a 'white moonlight' (a term of endearment for someone special) when he was in school. The games he founded and released are all related to this 'white moonlight'."
That's about it.
Wen Jie rubbed her temples, feeling that something was wrong: "Honey, is what Brother Baichuan found out true? Could there be some misunderstanding?"
"The story about the white moonlight is probably true."
Shen Cen recalled the question Jiang Shiyu's mother had once asked her, "Jiang Shiyu's mother asked me before if it was the girl he liked in high school, she should be referring to that white moonlight."
“This…” Wen Jie sighed. She and Shen Cen had a good relationship in high school, so she naturally knew that Shen Cen and Jiang Shiyu did not know each other at that time, so her white moonlight could not be Shen Cen.
She wanted to offer a few more words of comfort, but then she felt that at this moment, what Shen Cen might need more was someone standing behind him.
“Honey, if all of this is true, then I support your decision to get a divorce. Otherwise, this matter will become a thorn in your side, and you will never be able to get over it.”
“Yes, I should have a serious talk with him and put an end to this relationship.” Shen Cen nodded.
Despite her deep reluctance, she truly couldn't get over this hurdle.
Because she cares about Jiang Shiyu, she doesn't want this pure, untainted relationship to be tainted.
She preferred to keep it sealed in a glass jar.
"Okay, okay, baby."
Wen Jie put her arm around Shen Cen's shoulder. "No matter what you do, I will always support you. How about we have a drink later to drown our sorrows?"
"Forget it," Shen Cen couldn't help but pout, "Xiao Jie, I probably won't drink anymore. Every time I see alcohol, I think of Jiang Shiyu, waaaaaah..."
As she finished speaking, Shen Cen couldn't help but cry. Wen Jie felt a pang of sadness when she saw Shen Cen crying.
Over the years, Shen Cen has always been indifferent to relationships, and her emotions have not fluctuated much when she is with Chen Zhao. The only time she got angry was when Chen Zhao opposed her continuing to pursue her doctorate and stay at the university to become a teacher.
However, Wen Jie had witnessed firsthand the extent to which Shen Cen had invested in this relationship, and she knew that Shen Cen had completely fallen for Jiang Shiyu. She was initially pleasantly surprised and relieved, feeling that this accidental marriage had led Shen Cen to find true love.
But to my surprise, it was all just a bubble and an illusion.
Wen Jie couldn't hold back and burst into tears, hugging Chen Cen's head.
The two cried all night and didn't fall into a deep sleep until the early hours of the morning.
On the afternoon of the second day at Wen Jie's house, Shen Cen received a message from Li Qi.
Li Qi tagged all members in the "China's Rise and Fall" project group: "[We're having a meeting tomorrow at 1 PM. The boss will be there too.]"
Shen Cen understood who the so-called "boss" was.
She and Jiang Shiyu were going to meet again. This time, however, it would be at Guangyi, where Jiang Shiyu would appear as the president of Guangyi Technology.
-
On the way to Guangyi, Chen Cen's heart felt like a tangled mess of threads that he couldn't untangle.
Even as she stepped into the Guangyi Technology Building, she still felt a sense of disorientation.
Shen Cen has visited Guangyi several times. Every time he comes, he is amazed by the dozens of stories high building. He is amazed that this young president has been able to lead a small game studio to become the number one in China.
When I entered the meeting room, most of the people were already there.
Shen Cen noticed the empty space in the very center of the conference table.
It goes without saying who should take this position.
She flipped through the notebook in her hands somewhat helplessly, but couldn't concentrate on reading a single page; her mind was completely captivated by that empty space.
As time passed, the conference room gradually quieted down, and everyone held their breath, waiting for the man to arrive.
Finally, at 12:59, the conference room door was opened with a click.
Shen Cen kept his head down, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the man's shiny high-end leather shoes.
She knew these leather shoes all too well; Jiang Shiyu always kept them neatly placed next to his most frequently worn high heels.
"Da, da."
The sound of the heels of leather shoes hitting the ground added to the man's air of authority.
Jiang Shiyu gave completely different impressions at Siji and Guangyi. At Siji, he was a carefree and irreverent bar owner, whose mere bartending skills were enough to make countless people swoon. At Guangyi, however, he was like a cold and aloof leader, whose single word could turn the entire industry upside down.
Li Qi reported on his recent work progress, and Jiang Shiyu listened attentively, occasionally asking about a couple of details, but his questions were always to the point, showing his professionalism.
After Li Qi finished reporting, Jiang Shiyu's gaze swept from left to right, "Where is Teacher Shen?"
Shen Cen clenched her fists, forced to meet the man's gaze, and nodded, "President Jiang."
His tone was polite but distant.
She saw Jiang Shiyu's brows furrow almost imperceptibly, his eyes as deep as a pool of water.
"After this is over, I would like to ask Professor Shen to come to my office. I have some things to discuss with you," Jiang Shiyu said politely, his eyes returning to normal.
"Okay, Mr. Jiang."
These four words seem to weigh a ton.
The man in front of her was indeed the same person who had ridden a bicycle with her in the small town south of Beijing to chase the sunset just half a month ago. Nothing had changed, yet everything seemed to have changed as well.
After the meeting adjourned, Jiang Shiyu was the first to leave the conference room.
Seeing Shen Cen's nervousness, Li Qi assumed she was afraid of Jiang Shiyu's authority and reassured her, "Although the boss usually seems serious and aloof, he's actually very good to us employees. You can rest assured, the boss would never make things difficult for you."
"Thank you, Sister Li Qi."
Shen Cen, clutching her laptop, walked nervously toward Jiang Shiyu's office.
She wasn't afraid that Jiang Shiyu would make things difficult for her; she just didn't know how to face him.
"bite--"
The elevator numbers quickly jumped to "20".
The entire twentieth floor belonged to Jiang Shiyu alone. Compared to the other floors where there were occasional voices and footsteps, the twentieth floor was exceptionally quiet, and any sound made would be amplified infinitely.
Shen Cen walked to the door of Jiang Shiyu's office, hesitated for a full half minute, and then tapped his knuckles on the door.
"Please come in."
A deep, emotionless voice came from inside, eerily calm.
This also made Shen Cen feel unfamiliar.
That unfamiliar tone felt like a sharp knife cutting into her heart.
Shen Cen pushed open the door. But before she could see what was inside, Jiang Shiyu suddenly grabbed her and pulled her into his arms.
The familiar scent of cedar wafts over.
"Jiang Shiyu, let me go."
She struggled, but the man held her even tighter, as if he wanted to imprison her in his arms forever and never let her leave.
"Jiang Shiyu, this is Guangyi! Are you crazy?!"
But the man seemed to have gone mad, disregarding everything, rubbing his chin against her neck, slowly kissing her.
Shen Cen could feel how hot the man's hands were on her waist, and how fast his heart was pounding.
She seemed to be enveloped in a warm aura.
"Xiao Cen, I miss you so much."
Upon hearing these words, Shen Cen's tears flowed uncontrollably, and her heart clenched sharply.
During the meeting, she secretly glanced at Jiang Shiyu several times and noticed that he looked more haggard than before, clearly having not rested well for the past two days. Although Jiang Shiyu tried to appear energetic, no one else noticed anything amiss.
However, Shen Cen, who had been with Jiang Shiyu day and night for so long, could tell at a glance that the man was different.
"Xiao Cen, I really miss you. You're all I dream about. I can't bear to live without you. Can you come back?"
He'd been taking on extra work these past few days. Especially lately, Fu Cheng had been distracted because of Jiang Wanqi's arranged marriage. So Jiang Shiyu simply took over Fu Cheng's work as well. He wanted to keep himself busy, ideally so busy he couldn't even go home, because he didn't want to go back to that empty, lifeless house.
But he had to go home because he was worried. What if Shen Cen suddenly came back and he couldn't find him? Shen Cen liked to kick off his blankets while sleeping, and now that the weather was getting colder, what if he wasn't home and couldn't keep an eye on Shen Cen and cover him with a blanket all the time?
He spent two days in a daze, caught in this conflicting state of mind. As soon as the two days were up, he couldn't wait to see Shen Cen.
He was afraid that Shen Cen wouldn't want to see him, so he could only think of such a despicable method. But what did it matter? In front of Shen Cen, his self-respect and his pride could vanish.
Shen Cen's tears flowed like a burst dam, no longer able to be held back, soaking a large area of Jiang Shiyu's suit. How could she not have missed Jiang Shiyu these past two days?
She really wanted to ask him to find out the truth.
only--
Shen Cen heard the elevator doors open and saw someone walking towards Jiang Shiyu's office.
She quickly forced herself to calm down.
This is Guangyi. If anyone were to witness this and tell others, it would be a major news story. This is not a suitable place for the two of them to discuss these matters.
She gritted her teeth and resolutely left Jiang Shiyu's embrace, looking up and forcing back her tears. After composing herself, she turned to Jiang Shiyu and said, "Guangyi is not available. Let's find some time to talk."
"I'll do whatever you say."
"How about this weekend?"
This weekend.
November 2nd.
Shen Cen naturally understood why Jiang Shiyu had chosen this day.
This day is special.
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