I See Roses

I See Roses – Chapter 2

The red little booklet flashed before her eyes.

Ming Si snatched it away as if she had seen something unspeakable and stuffed it into her bag without even looking at it.

Liang Xian, on the other hand, was composed and leisurely, “Aren’t you going to open it and take a look?”

“Look at what? Your face?” Ming Si lifted her arm slightly, “Forget it, I’m afraid I won’t be able to sleep if I see it.”

“Do I look that handsome?” He leaned his elbow on the window edge, tilting his face.

Ming Si couldn’t help but stomp her foot irritably, “Liang Xian! Don’t you have any shame left?”

After not seeing each other for a few days, his thick-skinned nature seemed to have grown at least five feet!

Successful in annoying her, Liang Xian seemed in a good mood and smiled slightly. He raised an eyebrow, gesturing for her to get into the car, “Alright, stop arguing. Should I give you a ride?”

What tone was that? It was as if he couldn’t be bothered to argue with her.

Ming Si was about to refuse when she suddenly remembered that this place was very remote, and the only option for transportation was private cars. She didn’t know how long she would have to wait alone. After hesitating for a moment, she reluctantly convinced herself and got into the car.

The night scene outside rapidly receded, and the distant neon lights blurred into a mass.

As Ming Si looked outside, she suddenly remembered that someone in their group had once said that she and Liang Xian should never be left alone together. Within three minutes, they would definitely start arguing.

But this time, it seemed like more than three minutes had passed.

Not only did they not argue, but they also each turned their heads to look in different directions, giving off an air of not wanting to have anything to do with each other.

In fact, if she thought about it carefully, they didn’t really have any life-or-death enmity.

It was just that their first impression of each other when they were young was a little off, and as time went on, Liang Xian became more and more carefree, turning into the embodiment of a playboy, which happened to be the type of man that she disliked the most.

Small annoyances accumulated slowly over time, creating this mismatch for over twenty years.

Breaking that pattern suddenly was actually quite difficult.

Fortunately, agreeing to get married was one thing, but getting along was another. They didn’t need to pretend to be harmonious.

Besides, both families’ elders were busy planning to expand their businesses after the marriage alliance, and there weren’t many people concerned about whether they had a real husband-wife relationship or not. After Ming Si and Liang Xian got their marriage certificate a few days ago, they went their separate ways, and neither of them had set foot in their purported marital home.

As they were waiting for the traffic light, the driver said something to the person in the front passenger seat.

Ming Si snapped out of her thoughts and noticed that there was actually someone sitting in the front passenger seat, and he was quite big in stature.

Judging from the height of the person sitting, he should definitely be no shorter than 1.85 meters if he stood up. He was dressed in black formal wear; with his straight posture, the solid outline of his shoulders and arm muscles could be vaguely seen.

He looked like someone who came from the military or was a professional bodyguard.

Liang Xian retracted his gaze from outside the car window and saw Ming Si staring at the front passenger seat without blinking, seemingly quite interested in the person sitting there.

For some reason, perhaps because they knew that the return journey was long, or maybe due to the slight change in their relationship, he spoke up to introduce, “Shi Tai, my bodyguard.”

“Hello, Miss Ming,” Shi Tai placed his hand on his knee, upright and proper. He turned his face and nodded at her.

“En, bodyguard,” Ming Si was not quite used to having a normal conversation with Liang Xian. She blinked her eyes, leaned out a bit, and asked, “Are you going to demonstrate breaking a boulder with your chest?”

Liang Xian didn’t take her childish provocation seriously, “If you insist on interpreting it that way, you can.”

He looked as if he was uninterested in her antics. Ming Si rolled her eyes and sat back, “Is there something going on? Surely no one would want to threaten your personal safety?”

For people like them from prestigious families, having bodyguards was not uncommon, but most of the time, it was just for external deterrence.

It was extremely rare for a bodyguard to ride in the same car and travel so closely with them.

Liang Xian leaned against the backrest and hooked the corner of his lips, smiling somewhat ambiguously. He was rarely serious, “Who knows? It’s better to be prepared.”

For a moment, Ming Si couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.

Just then, Shi Tai turned his head and solemnly said to her, “No.”

She didn’t quite catch on, “No, what?”

“I’m not here to demonstrate breaking a boulder for Mr. Liang,” Having said that, he naturally turned back and continued to sit properly in the front passenger seat.

That was the end of it.

It turned out that he was just seriously answering to her previous joke.

“Your bodyguard,” Ming Si turned her head to look at Liang Xian, lowering her voice and lightly tapping her own head, “Is his processor a bit slow?”

Tonight, she wore a purple spaghetti strap dress, which complemented her fair skin. The chain of the spaghetti strap was a diamond ornament that shimmered in the dimly lit car. When she turned around, her eyes were bright, and her red lips curved; there was a hint of teasing smile.

It was quite rare for her to speak without any hidden motives.

Liang Xian squinted his eyes slightly, shifted his gaze aside, and casually replied, “Yeah, a bit.”

Ming Si continued with a playful tone, “Just like his boss.”

Liang Xian: “…”

He knew she wouldn’t talk to him for no reason.

Throughout the entire weekend, Ming Si stayed with Lin Xijia and accompanied her to visit a newly opened combat club in the city, checking in and sharing the experiences.

As for her marriage, Ming Si didn’t plan to hide it from Lin Xijia.

However, she couldn’t help feeling a strange sense of irony when she thought about how many times she had openly or subtly criticized Liang Xian during their school days, and now, suddenly they were both married to each other.

She hadn’t figured out how to tell her.

So, she carefully chose her words, omitted some key points, and roughly described the reasons for her return to the country.

“Married??” Lin Xijia jumped up from the sofa when she heard those words, “Seriously, your family is full of surprises. They even cut off your accommodation, car, utilities, and bank cards just to force you to comply?”

Ming Si rested her chin on a cushion and nodded.

Although she could tell Lin Xijia about her experiences in the past month in just a few sentences, only she could truly understand the bitterness behind it all.

When she was in Berlin, she relied on various friends for support at first. And then one day, she suddenly realized that she had been living under the illusion that she had gained her independence and freedom from her family all those years. In reality, all her family had done was transfer her to a more spacious birdcage.

She left, but she was still trapped.

“So, you really married a stranger? Which family is he from, and is his private life reliable?” Lin Xijia was still worried and bombarded her with questions like a concerned mother.

Liang Xian… doesn’t seem like someone content with family life.

He should be quite wild.

Ming Si thought for a moment and said, “Not very reliable. But we’ll each live our own lives anyway. If there’s a chance, I’ll introduce you to him.”

However, she was afraid that she wouldn’t need to introduce them, as they might run into each other at a gathering one day.

Lin Xijia didn’t know how to respond for a moment, her lips twitched, “You seem quite open-minded…”

What else could she do?

Although she had just completed her cello course in Germany, she actually majored in advanced jewelry design at CSM for both her undergraduate and graduate studies. After returning to the country, she also had plans to establish her own personal brand.

However, the power of the Ming family was enough to sever all her connections and funding, and bury her name permanently.

On Monday, Lin Xijia had to go to work; Ming Si also ended her days of mooching off others and returned to her own villa.

Although she appeared calm during this period, she was actually quite displeased. Sometimes, she would wake up in the middle of the night, realizing that she had impulsively gotten married, causing strong feelings of resentment and regret to surge within her.

To make matters worse, the work freedom she had fought for at the cost of sacrificing her happiness was also filled with the agony of depleted inspiration.

Facing the blank paper and computer screen again, Ming Si finally exploded. She screamed frantically, “Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!” scaring the once friendly and cuddly ragdoll cat – which had become accustomed to her presence – to go back to hide behind the curtains. This, in turn, brought the villa’s housekeeper, Auntie Zhang, to the scene.

“Miss, what’s wrong?” Auntie Zhang carefully picked up the fallen flower vase, straightened it, and then picked up the scattered white papers and colored pencils.

Sitting at the desk, Ming Si supported her forehead with one hand and closed her eyes to calm herself down.

She stood up and said, “It’s nothing, I’m going out to clear my mind.”

At around 8 o’clock in the evening, when the sky had turned completely dark, a black Maybach drove out of the underground garage of the villa, carrying Ming Si towards the city center’s luxury shopping mall, as it sped all the way.

Over an hour later, the driver carried numerous shopping bags and looked at the young lady walking gracefully in high heels ahead. As he recalled her extravagant swiping and signing of credit cards, he silently shed two tears – this was not just relaxing, it was squandering money!

Lin Xijia was more concerned about the issue of who would foot the bill:「Will your plastic husband pay for this?」

Ming Si:「Why should he pay for me? I haven’t even worn the things he bought.」

Lin Xijia:「I feel that you and your husband are definitely not as peace & love as you claim. You hold extremely strong opinions about him.」

Lin Xijia:「Did you two know each other before? Has he offended you?」

Ming Si: …

This deduction ability is truly befitting of a professional suspense writer.

Since she didn’t dare to chat on WeChat anymore, she focused on shopping. Just after buying her sixth pair of shoes for the evening, a call from Cen Xinyan came in.

“Ming Si.”

Unlike many mothers who address their children with affectionate names, Cen Xinyan had always addressed her by her full name, without any sense of intimacy between them.

“Are you shopping outside?”

Ming Si smiled slightly.

She knew why Cen Xinyan was calling. Auntie Zhang must have reported to her as soon as she left.

Feeling a bit tired, she happened to reach the lounge and sat down casually. She didn’t care about her exquisite dress and simply replied with a casual En.

“Spent… 720,000 yuan?” Perhaps it was because it was nighttime, but Cen Xinyan’s voice sounded a bit softer. She was very generous and understanding as she said, “If you’re not happy, you can spend more. If you want to vent, it’s okay, but divorce is out of the question.”

Was she trying to warn her with this phone call?

Ming Si couldn’t help but laugh out of anger, “Rest assured, if I wanted to get a divorce, I wouldn’t have gone to register the marriage with him.”

Even if it’s not Liang Xian, there will be other men. There’s no need to bother.

“As long as you know,” Cen Xinyan seemed satisfied as she laughed, “By the way, I just spoke with Liang Xian on the phone and reminded him that, at the appropriate time, he should surprise his woman a little. Can you guess what he’s planning?”

After hanging up the phone, Ming Si was still in a daze.

In everything she did, Cen Xinyan was very controlling, as though she had to arrange everything for everyone to be satisfied.

Not to mention getting the certificate; she even occasionally arranged for them to meet on a date, seemingly as if she was genuinely determined and concerned to create a perfect match.

When she heard those words from her mother just now, it made Ming Si’s skin crawl. Especially those last few words, it almost gave her the illusion that she would turn around and see Liang Xian standing behind her, just like in a TV drama.

Please, let it not be like that. It wouldn’t be a surprise, it would be a horror movie.

As she was thinking this, a message popped up on her phone.

It was a transfer notification, informing her of an eight-digit sum credited to her account.

Ming Si was stunned for a moment before she slowly grasped what it meant.

This was Liang Xian’s surprise?

It was good that he didn’t come in person, but this money gave her an indescribable feeling ——

As if she had been sold for a bargain price.