I See Roses

I See Roses – Chapter 13

The cocktail party before the art exhibition was undoubtedly a social gathering for the ladies of high society.

“I heard you were in Berlin before. Why did you suddenly return to the country?” The person who said this had an affectionate tone, as though she was genuinely concerned about her.

In reality, it was just an excuse to get closer to her.

Ming Si smiled faintly, exchanged a few polite words to brush off this topic, and then listened to them whispering about other gossips.

The venue of the cocktail party was decorated in warm colors, with gauzy curtains gently hanging and the light creating a hazy atmosphere. The huge brand logo emerged from the ground and orange lights illuminated a small blue swimming pool.

As the crowd moved, their shadows elongated and swayed, reflecting on the sparkling lake, creating a dreamlike and beautiful scene.

A black-clad waiter passed by, and Ming Si picked up a glass of wine.

“Ming Si, is this dress from that high couture collection?” Seeing her being silent for a while and seemingly absent-minded, another girl quickly changed the topic.

This young lady from the Ming family, although a stepdaughter, was the only daughter of Ming Zhengyuan. She had been taken into the Ming family with her mother at a very young age and changed her surname. She had always been favored by her family from childhood to adulthood.

She was relatively low-key in the high society circle of Pingcheng, but whenever she appeared, she became the object of everyone’s flattery.

Today, Ming Si was wearing a light pink gauzy dress, with all the golden threads on the skirt completed by hand embroidery. And just with a slight movement, the skirt displayed a brilliant flow of light, looking very beautiful.

Ming Si smiled, “Yes, I had it made in May.”

“It’s so beautiful, and your skin is so fair. It feels especially ethereal when you wear it,” The girl’s eyes were bright, with a bit of envy, “I could never achieve this effect.”

Her tone sounded particularly sincere, showing that her acting skills were impeccable. Several other girls didn’t want to fall behind and joined in to discuss the little dress, flattering Ming Si in their words.

Ming Si didn’t find these gatherings with plastic flower girlfriends tiresome, but she couldn’t say she liked them very much either. She smiled politely and clinked glasses with them.

After a while, there was some commotion not far away. The flashlights kept flashing white light, seemingly as if a celebrity had arrived.

Ming Si looked over, and amidst the swaying figures, she couldn’t see the full appearance clearly. However, there was a moment when the profile of that female celebrity was revealed.

The wine in her hand gently shook. She lowered her head to take a look and saw a small piece of gold foil stuck on the inside of the glass.

“Who was it?” Among the girls, someone also noticed the commotion.

“Ah, isn’t that one of Platinum Culture’s artists? The one who became famous for her artistic photos, seems quite popular recently.”

“What’s her name… Feng Shiru? Yes, that’s the name.”

“…”

Perhaps sensing that Ming Si hadn’t said anything, the discussion became quieter.

A girl asked curiously, “Ming Si, do you know her?”

Ming Si fell silent for a moment, then raised her lips slightly and said, “I know her.”

Feng Shiru—she used to be Ming Si’s good friend, but also the girl who helped Cen Xinyan spy on her and spread rumors about her dating Liang Xian.

Ming Si only said I know her, but all the girls present were astute enough to detect the indifference in her tone.

They exchanged glances, and soon someone found Feng Shiru’s profile.

She didn’t come from a professional background, but in just two years, she quickly rose to fame on the internet with a set of classical-style photos, gaining millions of fans. After graduating, she naturally entered the entertainment industry and later signed with Platinum Culture—one of the most famous talent agencies in the industry.

Over the past few years, Feng Shiru has appeared in several works, mostly historical dramas due to her classical beauty image that became deeply ingrained in people’s minds when she first debuted.

Her recent work Assisting the Wind had garnered a lot of attention and was exclusively aired by the country’s largest online platform. It was widely discussed on various social media accounts, giving people the impression that the whole world was watching.

Now, clicking on Feng Shiru’s trending topics or tags would reveal an abundance of rainbow farts from her fans, praising her looks and acting skills.

Among the fans praising her looks, that set of classical-style photos from her debut would occasionally be reposted.

“She’s quite popular,” someone commented.

“Don’t you think Platinum Culture has great resources? Their boss has a good relationship with the deputy director of Jinghong Films. With so many resources invested, even a small newcomer could become famous.”

“…”

As the girls chatted on, Ming Si remained silent.

She seemed to see various scenes flash before her like a revolving lantern.

One moment, Feng Shiru was holding her hand as they were happily eating desserts outside the school; the next moment, she was shaking with anger, confronting Feng Shiru face to face; then, Cen Xinyan handed her a photo, asking if she was secretly dating Liang Xian.

The photo was taken on a sunny basketball court.

She and Cheng Yu were chatting together with a few others. Liang Xian casually had his arm draped over her shoulder, and she was looking at him with a look of disdain, lifting her hand as if to push him away.

The color tone of the scene suddenly turned cold, and the scene froze on Feng Shiru’s tearful face.

“Ming Si, I’m sorry… It’s because I liked Liang Xian, so I agreed to help your mother monitor you. I know it was wrong…”

Listening to her tearful confession and repentance, even though Ming Si felt disgusted, she didn’t pursue it any further.

However, afterwards, there was a small rumor circulating on campus, claiming that she had forced Feng Shiru to transfer schools; some even said that Feng Shiru herself confirmed this rumor.

Thanks to her friends’ efforts to debunk the rumor, the situation had largely cleared up. However, Ming Si still felt uncomfortable whenever she thought about it.

Feng Shiru was a snake that appeared harmless but would bite when provoked.

“Ming Si,” someone called her softly, and Ming Si snapped back to reality. The girl gestured toward Feng Shiru.

Feng Shiru was already standing a few steps away from Ming Si.

Their gazes met in midair. Feng Shiru looked as if she had been scalded and she subconsciously averted her eyes.

Ming Si raised the corners of her lips, her gaze unwavering.

Others observed the two girls closely. Ming Si had fair skin and a radiant appearance, with a cold hue in her light brown eyes. Even though she was wearing a fairy-like dress today, her innate aura of dominance was unstoppable.

In comparison, while Feng Shiru’s features were flawless, overall, her innocent appearance seemed lackluster.

Even her behind-the-scenes assistant couldn’t help but admit defeat.

She had previously thought that Feng Shiru’s appearance in the entertainment industry could easily rank among the top three, but after seeing Ming Si, she couldn’t help but feel that Feng Shiru’s immortal beauty, as praised by her fans, wasn’t all that remarkable.

But who exactly was this person standing before them?

Before she could figure it out, she heard Feng Shiru’s gentle and smiling voice, “Ming Si, you’ve returned to the country. It’s been a long time since we last saw each other.”

“It has been a while, or should I say, you didn’t dare to see me?” Ming Si had no intention of exchanging pleasantries with her and casually looped her arm around Feng Shiru’s, “If it’s as you said, my phone number hasn’t changed. If it’s as I said, you’ll have to ask yourself.”

Feng Shiru wanted to put on the appearance of old friends reuniting and pretend to be affectionate like close sisters. With so many people present today, if Ming Si had gone along with her, it would undoubtedly make her nauseous. But if she showed a cold attitude, it would inevitably provoke gossip.

However, she didn’t expect Ming Si to directly throw the blame back at her.

Feng Shiru felt embarrassed for a moment. However, she was someone who had honed her skills in handling situations in the industry, so she quickly pursed her lips, displaying an innocent smile, “Someone over there is looking for me… I’ll go over first…”

“What’s with her bad attitude,” as the two walked away, the assistant’s favorability towards Ming Si vanished, and she couldn’t help but complain in a low voice, “And she looks so good!”

“Do you also think she’s good-looking?” Feng Shiru asked softly.

The assistant finally snapped out of her daze and realized she had made a foolish mistake just now, “Ah, no, I didn’t…”

Feng Shiru smiled, “It’s okay.”

The assistant breathed a sigh of relief and felt that Feng Shiru was easy to get along with. She huffed and said, “What’s the use of being good-looking? I still think you, Sister Ru Ru, are the best. You are also very gentle.”

They walked past the swimming pool and stepped onto the wooden bridge in the courtyard.

Feng Shiru gently spoke, “She is the heiress of the Ming Family Group, and we had some unpleasantness in the past. I made a mistake, and it seems like she hasn’t forgiven me yet.”

The assistant pondered for a moment, “You were about to apologize just now, but she didn’t want to hear it.”

“You can’t put it that way. I think it’s better to find her and talk to her,” Feng Shiru turned to look at her, her gaze very gentle, “Guo Guo, could you help me keep an eye on when she leaves? I want to talk to her alone.”

Feng Shiru actually never wanted to see Ming Si again.

This name was synonymous with heaven’s proud daughter, something others could only yearn for, yet Ming Si effortlessly possessed it, making people envy and resent her.

Unfortunately for Feng Shiru, she was currently competing with another female celebrity for an endorsement deal, precisely for a skincare product under the Ming Family Group.

Knowing Ming Si’s personality, it was highly unlikely that she would deliberately sabotage her chances, but what Feng Shiru wanted was for Ming Si to show her some favor.

Encountering her at the cocktail party today presented the perfect opportunity.

However, Feng Shiru didn’t expect that as soon as she followed Ming Si out of the hotel, she would witness such a scene——

Under the faint moonlight, a broad-shouldered, long-legged man leaned against a black car. Ming Si walked towards him in high heels as she said something to him. The man seemed to be amused but restrained himself, wearing an expression of not wanting to argue with her, as he opened the car door for her.

The streetlights stretched their shadows long, making it look like they were about to embrace each other.

After so many years, she still recognized him at a glance. That man was Liang Xian.

Feng Shiru watched silently, her delicate nails digging deeply into her palm.

Upon seeing Liang Xian leaning against the car, Ming Si first sized up his appearance from top to bottom, then tilted her head and asked, “Why is it you? Where’s He Sui?”

Her tone was filled with disappointment.

Liang Xian glanced at her and replied calmly, “He Sui hasn’t learned to open doors for you yet, so I had to do it in its place. Sorry about that.”

He slightly bent over to open the car door for her, then went around to the other side to get in.

Ming Si absentmindedly looked at He Sui.

Lately, Liang Xian seemed to genuinely avoid getting into arguments with her. While it was good in some ways, she still found it hard to adapt to.

“I bumped into Feng Shiru at the cocktail party just now,” she suddenly spoke.

“Feng Shiru?” Liang Xian didn’t immediately recognize the name, “Who’s that?”

“We were good friends back in high school. You know, the one I had differences with,” Ming Si said with an indifferent tone, sizing him up again, “She’s still one of Jinghong’s long-term partnered artists. How come you, as the boss, don’t know about her?”

It seemed that their encounter didn’t go well. There was not happy written all over her face.

Liang Xian raised an eyebrow lightly, “I mainly handle investments.”

However, Liang Xian did remember this person, Feng Shiru.

The most vivid memory was not from seeing her recent advertisements, but rather a moment during high school when a few of them were studying at home. As soon as Ming Si entered the room, she threw her schoolbag and started pounding the couch, repeatedly saying, “I’m so angry, I’m so angry,” scaring the private tutor into adjusting her glasses multiple times.

The cause of that incident was a close friend monitoring her, and that person’s name was Feng Shiru.

“Tell me,” Liang Xian propped his elbow on the car door’s storage box, turned his head to look at her, and spoke with his usual carefree tone that seemed slightly husky, “What did she do to you? I’ll back you up.”