I See Roses

I See Roses – Chapter 12

After that private charity auction, Ming Si didn’t run into Liang Xian for a while.

However, that didn’t mean he disappeared from her life. Just from WeChat Moments alone, Ming Si would come across several posts featuring him every few days.

Most of them were posted by Cheng Yu. He was fond of taking selfies wherever he went and considered it a way to document his life.

Even when they gathered at Liang Xian’s house to play games, Cheng Yu would take a selfie.

The latest one she saw was taken in Liang Xian’s living room. Cheng Yu posed with a V-sign, his big face almost pressing against the camera as he smiled brightly.

Beside him were Ke Lijie and Liang Xian. However, the two of them didn’t cooperate with him and continued playing games on the couch. Cheng Yu probably called out to them, and the moment they looked up, Cheng Yu sneakily pressed the shutter button.

In Cheng Yu’s post, Ke Lijie’s expression looked somewhat distorted. His narrow eyes squinted, looking dazed to the point of being silly, resembling a fool from a wealthy family.

Liang Xian, on the other hand, gave it a casual sidelong glance, seemingly disinterested, as though he had seen through it long ago.

A mutual friend underneath commented:「Cheng Yu, you’re crazily testing the limits of friendship, hahaha.」

Cheng Yu replied promptly:「No way, isn’t Brother Xian still very handsome?」

「Ke Lijie slowly types a question mark.」

「KLJ says he doesn’t agree.」

「Hahaha, Ke Lijie’s expression can be used to create memes.」

Cheng Yu readily responded:「Sure! If you edit it, remember to send me a copy.」

At the bottom, the real Ke Lijie, with restraint, commented:「Go crawl, all of you.」

Ming Si laughed and gave him a thumbs-up.

A few minutes later, Cheng Yu’s voice call came in, “Ming Si, have you eaten? We’re going to Baishou for coconut chicken hot pot later, want to come along?”

Recently, Cheng Yu’s enthusiasm for gathering was soaring.

He probably decided to have some fun before going to his family’s branch company that he almost updated his moments everyday with photos taken in different locations.

He also called Ming Si almost every day.

However, Ming Si wasn’t an idle person like him. Besides necessary social gatherings, she also had to attend various jewelry exhibitions and prepare for a design competition, so she couldn’t respond to his invitations every time.

Ming Si was twirling colored pencils in her hand, “Coconut chicken? I don’t like it. You guys go ahead.”

“Then let’s pick another place. Just so happens, Brother Xian doesn’t like coconut chicken either,” Cheng Yu was straightforward, “Your tastes are quite similar… Hey, wait a second, what? Oh, Ming Si, Brother Xian wants to talk to you.”

When Liang Xian stood up to take the phone, Cheng Yu looked at him perplexed, hesitating to say something.

As Liang Xian walked away with long strides, Cheng Yu finally reacted with a strange expression, “No, Brother Xian, what secret do you have to tell Ming Si secretly? Are you two hiding something from me?”

His question was met with the long back of Liang Xian, along with the sound of the study door closing.

Cheng Yu: “…”

He felt his heart breaking.

Through the phone, Ming Si could hear Cheng Yu’s excitement, and she could almost deduce that something had happened on his end.

She was just as clueless as Cheng Yu about the situation, “Do you need something?”

On the other end of the call, there was the sound of a door closing, and the background noise suddenly became quiet.

“Are you coming today?” she heard him ask.

Ming Si paused her pen and glanced around before fixing her gaze on the cactus on her work desk.

In the past, whenever Cheng Yu gathered people, Liang Xian and she never asked each other the question: Are you coming? Whether they could meet depended entirely on fate.

Liang Xian… what’s wrong with him these days?

It felt as if he had been possessed by someone else after receiving the marriage certificate.

“Not coming. I am attending a cocktail party for an art exhibition in the evening,” Ming Si replied but still found it hard to accept Liang Xian’s strange behavior these days. She hesitated before asking, “Have you experienced any brief blanks in your mind recently or lost memories of a certain period?”

Hearing her serious tone, Liang Xian thought it was something important. After realizing what she meant, he suddenly laughed, “Do you suspect I have split personality?”

“Ah,” Ming Si responded, “Don’t you?”

To the south of the study was a four-panel window, and Liang Xian was leaning against the windowsill at the moment, one leg lazily extended. When he heard her, he couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation, “Ming Si, do you think that I can’t do anything to you over the phone?”

Ming Si replied half-heartedly, “Wow, I’m so scared. What will you do to me?”

“I…” The words he wanted to say swirled at the tip of his tongue and were suppressed. Liang Xian suddenly recalled how she couldn’t resist his teasing and decided to change his approach.

He lowered his voice, hinting at a smile, “What do you think… I would do to you?”

Liang Xian had always been carefree, and he was a true dandy without any pretense. Now, with his voice lowered and a playful tone, a sense of charm filled his words, hinting at some not-so-appropriate intentions.

Sure enough, Ming Si cursed him for being shameless and was about to hang up.

But Liang Xian spoke just in time before she could act, “Alright, I won’t tease you anymore. I apologize… What time will you go? I’ll pick you up.”

“Liang Xian, don’t tell me you’re really trying to be a model of…” Ming Si paused for a moment, unable to bring herself to say the word filial piety, but fortunately, they understood each other, so she skipped over it, “Have you… developed feelings?”

“Not at all,” Liang Xian leaned against the wall, changed his posture, and thought for a moment, “I have something to give you.”

“What is it?” Ming Si didn’t quite believe it.

He really couldn’t deceive her.

Liang Xian didn’t bother to come up with excuses, “Anyway, I need to talk to you about something. I’ll wait for you downstairs at your place, in the same car as last time.”

Ming Si picked up the colored pencil again and gently blew away the pencil shavings from the tip.

From Liang Xian’s tone, it seemed he had already made up his mind.

However, in any case, he wasn’t interested in her and wouldn’t harm her, so she didn’t need to be overly cautious.

After hanging up the phone, Liang Xian opened the drawer and took out a cigarette and a lighter, then opened the four-section window.

He held the cigarette between his fingers, resting his hand on the windowsill, and watched the smoke drift away, all the way to the distant high-rise buildings.

This morning, Shi Tai found a mini-camera at the entrance of his apartment. It didn’t take much thought to figure out that his stepbrother was behind it.

Perhaps he heard something and got a little restless.

Although the other party was targeting him and wouldn’t harm Ming Si, Liang Jinyu, hidden beneath his calm exterior, had a bit of an unknown madness.

After so many years, Liang Xian still didn’t know whether that man had healed himself or developed into an even more anti-social personality.

He withdrew his gaze, picked up his phone, and dialed another number, “Shi Tai, find four reliable bodyguards for me.”

When Liang Xian returned to the living room, without any surprises, Cheng Yu was once again putting on a performance of being withdrawn. Yu Chuan helplessly raised his head, “Liang Xian, you handle this.”

Ke Lijie sympathetically patted Yu Chuan’s shoulder.

Sometimes, he felt that Yu Chuan was really pitiful. He was clearly a fine young man, but he had somehow turned himself into Cheng Yu’s mother—every day, he was either advising Ming Si to accommodate him or advising Liang Xian to accommodate him.

It was more exhausting than conducting experiments in the laboratory.

Liang Xian strode over and sat down in his original spot.

Without even looking at Cheng Yu, he bent down and picked up a can of cola from the coffee table, using one hand to pull the tab open, “Get up.”

Cheng Yu remained motionless like a turtle.

Liang Xian took a sip of cola and placed the can back on the coffee table, then smiled, “You don’t want to know the little secret between Ming Si and me?”

These words were more effective than any persuasion or coaxing. Cheng Yu immediately got up, “I knew you two were hiding something from me! Tell me now!”

“At the club in the western suburbs last time, she left something in my car, and I said I would return it to her next time.” Liang Xian maintained his leisurely tone.

Cheng Yu didn’t believe it, “Can’t you talk about this in front of us?”

Liang Xian glanced at him, raised his finger, teasingly beckoned He Sui that jumped over with wings spread, “It’s something that’s not convenient to tell others.”

As for what it was, he could think whatever he liked.

“Oh…” Cheng Yu nodded thoughtfully, and after a while, he blinked in confusion, “But I still don’t know what it is.”

“That’s not important,” Ke Lijie added at the right time, “What’s important is that they didn’t keep any little secrets from you.”

Yu Chuan also nodded.

Both of them could tell that Liang Xian was making it up, but in the world of adults, things weren’t as transparent as they were in childhood. It was normal for Liang Xian not to want to share everything, and they didn’t think too much into it.

“Do you and Ming Si really have no little secrets? Can you swear to that?” Cheng Yu grabbed a pillow and stared intently.

“We really have no little secrets,” Liang Xian swayed the cola can, and his eyebrow raised slightly, “I swear on my conscience.”

Well, he had no conscience.

In the evening at four o’clock, the black Bentley parked punctually downstairs at Ming Si’s villa.

For summer, it was still early. The sky was bright with drifting clouds, and not far away, the evening glow was just beginning to rise, casting a golden light that softened the corners of the tall buildings.

Inside the car, Liang Xian closed the documents in his hand and glanced at his wrist to check the time.

On the armrest box beside him, He Sui was pacing inside the cage; occasionally struck with inspiration, it would utter a New Year’s greeting.

Just at that moment, Shi Tai suddenly spoke up, “Sir, there’s something I’ve been a little confused about.”

In private, Liang Xian never put on an authoritative demeanor, so in response to Shi Tai’s question, he raised an eyebrow, “En?”

“Since you don’t like Miss Ming, why did you come to pick her up?” Shi Tai turned his head and asked earnestly.

Shi Tai grew up in an environment where strength was respected, and he hadn’t seen many complex interpersonal relationships. When he asked this question, it wasn’t so much gossip as genuine bewilderment.

“I don’t dislike her,” Liang Xian paused slightly, seeing Shi Tai’s seemingly enlightened expression, he helplessly added, “Of course, I don’t like her either.”

Shi Tai: “…”

He was even more confused.

“Not in a romantic sense of liking, but,” Liang Xian tapped the armrest box and paused, his gaze gradually calming, “I will treat her well.”

This was what Liang Zhihong and his mother’s failed marriage had taught him.

“Sir, Miss Ming seems to have arrived,” Shi Tai looked towards a nearby spot.

Even without Shi Tai saying so, Liang Xian had already spotted her.

Although he knew Ming Si would be dressing up nicely for tonight’s party, and she would undoubtedly look her best, when he actually saw her, Liang Xian still raised his eyebrows slightly.

She was wearing a sleeveless chiffon dress today, and under the sunlight, her skin was as white as jade. A strand of black hair was braided into a side braid, falling behind her ear. A pink diamond butterfly clip was pinned at a slant.

Different from the usual bright and charming impression, she looked gentle and sweet today, even a bit fairy-like.

Shi Tai got out of the car to open the door for Ming Si. As she bent down to get in, a faint fragrance wafted from inside the car, resembling orange blossoms and evening jasmine.

Unfortunately, the gentleness and sweetness were just an illusion.

After Ming Si settled in her seat, she spread her hand towards him, “Where is it?”

Liang Xian smiled and looked towards He Sui’s cage, “I’m going on a business trip. Can you take care of him for a few days?”

Originally, he planned to come empty-handed, and if she asked, he would say he forgot. However, just as he was about to leave, He Sui spread its wings and followed him, so he went along with it.

He Sui cooperatively turned its head, looking like it was waiting to be claimed, with its shiny black eyes fixed on Ming Si.

Originally, Ming Si wanted to mention that it was unreasonable for Liang Xian to assume she would help take care of the bird just like that. But as soon as she saw He Sui’s cute and irresistible appearance, she couldn’t bring herself to say no.

However, there was still one problem.

“I can’t possibly carry a bird to the party, right?” Ming Si couldn’t help but think that the scene wouldn’t be appropriate.

Liang Xian raised an eyebrow lightly, “You don’t need to bring him; I’ll drive you today.”

Half an hour later, the car arrived at the entrance of the hotel.

Ming Si got out of the car. The black car door closed behind her, but it didn’t drive away immediately.

She took a few steps forward, then, feeling something, she turned back. She saw Liang Xian with one hand resting on the car window, and He Sui standing on his shoulder, tilting its head to look her way.

“When you’re done, don’t go anywhere else, come out early,” he looked at her, smiled lightly, “Don’t keep He Sui waiting too long.”