I See Roses

I See Roses – Chapter 10

Around 7 o’clock in the evening, as dusk fell, the sky transitioned from light blue to deep red, seemingly as if covered with a layer of hazy dim mist. In the distance, the lights of mountain villas shone brightly. The elongated Bentley moved slowly along the inclined road, heading up the slope.

It was on the way that Ming Si learned the purpose of this trip.

Tonight was a private auction hosted by the renowned philanthropist, Yu Yaode. Mr. Yu made his fortune in shipping and established a massive commercial empire. After stepping back from the frontlines of business, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to charity work.

However, while engaged in philanthropy, he also had a down-to-earth hobby——matchmaking.

For some reason, he had taken a liking to matchmake Liang Xian, and he had subtly brought up the idea countless times recently. Unfortunately, Liang Xian couldn’t reveal the truth about the engagement yet, rendering him unable to respond honestly.

Liang Xian took her along to attend the event, partly to show support and also to gently decline.

After hearing the situation, Ming Si leaned back in the spacious seat, her left hand supporting her right arm as she rested her chin on her hand, pretending to think, “If you want me to act, there should be a performance fee, right?”

Liang Xian glanced at her sideways and raised an eyebrow, “How much?”

“At least a seven-figure, or more,” she made a considerable offer.

After all, it was just a boring journey, and she was casually messing around.

Liang Xian scrutinized her from head to toe, seemingly weighing whether she was worth that price.

Ming Si felt a bit uncomfortable under his gaze and lowered her arms slightly, giving him a warning look, “What’s with you sizing me up?”

If she were a cat, her fur would probably be slightly puffed up by now.

It had been like this since they were young, constantly teasing each other.

Liang Xian had a teasing remark at the tip of his tongue but held it back.

He lightly tapped the armrest and suddenly smiled, “You can have the bidding paddle, bid on whatever you like.”

He said it casually, with a relaxed expression, as if it wasn’t a big deal at all. The lamplight from outside the car window cast a faint edge on his profile.

Ming Si shifted her gaze away, suddenly feeling a bit disinterested, “Forget it.”

She could tell that Liang Xian had wanted to retort, but for some reason, he held back.

In that instant, Ming Si had a strange thought.

It was still better to have a confrontational relationship with Liang Xian, just like when they were kids.

The conversation just now made her feel like punching cotton, leaving her without a response. It made her uncomfortable.

In the courtyard of the mountain villa, luxury cars were already parked.

This stretch of road in the courtyard was undoubtedly a prime opportunity for socializing. Celebrities from various fields stepped out of their cars and didn’t rush to move forward, engaging in lively conversations along the way.

As they approached the steps, someone whispered, “That’s Jinghong’s car.”

Everyone stopped in their tracks and looked towards the courtyard.

A black extended Bentley Mulsanne came to a halt in front of the red carpet, with its headlights shining bright yellow, showing off its extravagance. The valets stationed in the front yard of the villa immediately came forward and opened one of the car doors.

The valet’s black uniform flashed by, and the first thing that appeared in the crowd’s line of sight was a foot in red high heels.

The moment instant the heel touched the ground, the fair instep flexed for a moment, and then, everyone was mesmerized by what they saw——

A black strap evening gown, cascading dark hair, a graceful figure, and rosy lips.

Under the deep night, she stood quietly, like a bright painting.

“That’s… Ming Si!” someone exclaimed in a low voice.

Before they could fully process the sight, they saw a slender man descending from the other side of the car.

Their eyes seemed to accidentally meet in the air, then the man slightly lowered his arm while Ming Si lightly looped her arm through his as they walked together.

Someone recognized the man and was even more surprised, “Isn’t he the Liang family’s young heir? Why are they here together?”

Before this person could further analyze his doubts, someone already stepped forward to engage in conversation with him.

Although Yu Yaode was already in his sixties, he still had a robust physique, and his voice was as powerful as a bell.

He looked at Liang Xian with half-regret, half-gratification, “No wonder you always declined. It turns out you already have someone you admire. It seems I can’t play the role of a matchmaker.”

Liang Xian stood in the courtyard, and upon hearing this, he glanced at Ming Si, then raised his head and smiled, “We’re just childhood playmates.”

Although he said it like that, his tone deliberately carried an ambiguous tone. The smile at the corner of his eyes was almost overflowing—it was evident to anyone that there was something going on between them.

Ming Si maintained a sweet smile, but inside, she felt certain that Liang Xian had graduated from the Academy of Dramatic Arts with high honors.

Yu Yaode thought of it as young people being shy to admit it and waved his hand with a smile.

He carefully observed Ming Si, then shook his head with a sigh, “You, with such high standards, I reckon even if I introduce someone to you, you won’t be interested.”

Just then, a lady walked gracefully towards them.

She wore emerald earrings with silver settings on her ears, and her necklace complemented her earrings, matching her evening gown perfectly.

Due to proper maintenance, her exact age couldn’t be discerned, but her figure had become a little plump. Nevertheless, her elegance remained.

“Let me introduce, this is my wife,” Yu Yaode said to Ming Si.

“Hello, Mrs. Yu,” Ming Si greeted her sweetly.

Mrs. Yu smiled and nodded, her eyes showing some fine wrinkles. Her gaze lingered on Ming Si’s face for a moment, and suddenly she asked, “Have we met somewhere before?”

Ming Si was taken aback for a moment and hadn’t had the chance to recall it in detail when Mrs. Yu exclaimed, “I remember now. Last year in London, at the graduation exhibition for the jewelry program.”

As a senior jewelry designer at CSM, Ming Si had completed both her undergraduate and graduate studies in just five years. Last June, she graduated, and her graduation project was selected for the university’s outstanding work exhibition; it was displayed at the exhibition center.

She remembered that on that day, many people came, including fellow students, friends who specially flew in to show their support, representatives from jewelry companies extending olive branches… and perhaps ordinary visitors drawn in by the excitement.

Mrs. Yu might have been one of those ordinary visitors?

“At that time, I happened to be visiting an old friend at the art university and heard about a high-level jewelry graduation exhibition, so I went there excitedly to take a look,” Mrs. Yu smiled from beginning to end, “Later, we met in a café.”

Ming Si recalled it now.

Indeed, there was such a lady. After seeing her works, the lady contacted her that day, asking if she could help modify a necklace and offered an incredibly generous remuneration.

Although no amount of money was significant to Ming Si, the remuneration was different.

After they had agreed, the lady returned to her home country. A month later, the necklace was sent to her, and they had been communicating through emails since then.

So, it was Mrs. Yu?

Ming Si’s eyes brightened as she smiled, “It’s a small world.”

“Yes,” Mrs. Yu also felt the coincidence of fate and praised with a smile, “To be honest, I had asked countless designers to modify that necklace, but none of them achieved the feeling I wanted. After coming back from London, I couldn’t wait to tell Old Yu about it for three days—I was supposed to wear that necklace tonight, but my friend borrowed it a couple of days ago to shoot for a magazine. She took her time with it.”

As Mrs. Yu spoke, her tone became childishly disappointed. She exchanged a smile with Yu Yaode and continued, “Miss Ming, with your youth and such great talent, you have a limitless future ahead.”

Yu Yaode also looked at her with a very satisfied expression.

Ming Si pressed her lips, smiled gently, and humbly said, “Mr. Yu and Mrs. Yu are too kind.”

It seemed like the high praise she had just received didn’t make her conceited.

However, after bidding farewell to Mr. Yu and Mrs. Yu and turning towards the auction hall, Liang Xian could sense her great mood—

Not only did she held his arm, but her steps also became much lighter and more relaxed than before, showing a magnanimous attitude, seemingly as if she didn’t mind these minor details at all.

Their eyes met by chance; he noticed that her hazel eyes were shining a lot brighter than ever, and her lips were gently curved, as though she was suppressing a beaming smile.

She looked like a peacock wanting to spread its feathers and display it for everyone to appreciate.

Ming Si considered herself someone who didn’t like to show off with just a little praise, but hearing it from Mr. and Mrs. Yu carried a different meaning—given their status, they didn’t need to pay lip service to anyone, especially not to a younger generation like her.

Unfortunately, after taking a look around, she felt like there was no one who could serve as an audience to hear about how challenging it was to modify the jewelry for Mrs. Yu—her fingers were burned with several blisters and wounds.

Ming Si sat in a red armchair, absentmindedly flipping through several pages of the auction catalog.

She looked up, propping her chin with one hand, and casually said to the person across from her, “Hey.”

Liang Xian lowered his eyes slightly as he looked at her.

Ming Si closed the auction catalog in her hand and lightly tapped it with her finger, “Do you have anything you like?”

Tonight, she wore a black evening gown that exposed her straight and sexy collarbone, and the slight concave area looked like a narrow and shallow pool, very charming.

As she leaned forward, a strand of her hair fell; she raised her hand to tuck it behind her ear, but a fringe remained, gently hooking onto the diamond drop earring on her left side.

Liang Xian’s gaze followed the earring’s light swaying for a moment before retracting, “I’m here to show support, so it’s fine as long as I spend the money.”

Implicitly, it didn’t matter what he bid on; he would just take it home.

His reasoning was clear and left no room for rebuttal.

Ming Si then made a motion to move the auction catalog back to her side. Since the both of them didn’t have much common ground, forcing a conversation would be awkward.

But halfway through, Liang Xian reached out and pressed it down.

Ming Si looked at him puzzled.

Liang Xian opened the auction catalog in front of her, raising an eyebrow with a smile, “I heard Cheng Yu said you are very knowledgeable about jewelry. How about making a recommendation?”

Since the little peacock wanted to spread its feathers for someone to appreciate, why not lend an helping hand?

He suddenly realized that he was actually quite kind-hearted.

Yaode’s collection mainly consisted of calligraphy, paintings, and jewelry. This time, four paintings were put up for auction, while the rest were jewelry and jade items.

Under Ming Si’s recommendation, Liang Xian successfully bid for a pair of Indian Falcon Blood Jade Bracelets, which sold for 7.6 million; and a 19th-century romantic masterpiece painting, which was hammered down at 26 million.

In such private charity auctions, most bidders were there to show support, so the final sale prices tended to be higher than the market value.

Having fulfilled his charitable duty of spending money, Liang Xian leisurely reclined on the back of his chair and pretended to doze off.

On the other hand, Ming Si was thoroughly enjoying the auction, occasionally sharing her thoughts on the items. Liang Xian had flown back to Pingcheng overnight and hadn’t had enough rest, so he could only manage to open his eyelids occasionally and respond briefly.

As the auction approached its end, people were fiercely bidding for a brooch, and the atmosphere was intense.

“That one is not bad either. The ruby’s color is Deep Red, slightly inferior to Falcon Blood Red,” Ming Si gently lifted her chin, “But the design is too plain and outdated. It needs some modifications before wearing it out.”

All in all, her recommendation was the most reliable. After all, with Liang Xian being a laid-back buyer, she couldn’t expect him to find someone to modify the jewelry to make it more beautiful.

Following her words, Liang Xian opened his eyes and scanned the item on the stage.

The bird-shaped ruby brooch was decorated with turquoise pearls and enamel, with a rather stiff and outdated design.

“Your performance fee,” the man’s voice sounded casually. Ming Si was taken aback for a moment and instinctively turned her head.

She happened to see him raising his bidding paddle with the same nonchalant look. The distant white light reflected on his eyebrows, almost blending into his profile, “Three million two hundred thousand.”

This was Young Master Liang’s third bid tonight, directly raising the previous bid by one million, showing that he was determined to win. No one dared to compete with him, so they left the bid unchallenged.

“Three million two hundred thousand, once!”

“Three million two hundred thousand, twice!”

The auctioneer repeated loudly and passionately, and with the final hammer strike:

“Sold!”

At this moment, Ming Si was feeling a bit dazed.

The performance fee thing was just a random joke she made. She wasn’t crazy enough to ask Liang Xian for money; she also didn’t think that his current Domineering CEO persona was within the normal scope.

She reached out and waved her hand in front of him, “Do you know who I am?”

Liang Xian glanced at her. Seemingly finding her waving hand a bit distracting, he lifted his hand to hold her wrist and pressed it down, “Didn’t you say you wanted a seven-figure? Take it and modify it yourself.”