I See Roses

I See Roses – Chapter 26

In the [PARROT] Club training hall, Manager Zhao was adjusting the players’ training plan with the coaches when he noticed someone entering the door. He was taken aback for a moment before quickly walking over.

“Boss, how come you are here today?”

This club was taken over by Liang Xian when he first returned to the country. After joining Jinghong, he rarely visited the place, and most of the day-to-day affairs were entrusted to Manager Zhao.

While he hid in the background, acting more like an investor than a boss.

“Just passing by, thought I’d take a look,” Liang Xian sat down in the front row and glanced at the paper documents in his hand, “Looking at the match report?”

“Yes, we’ll be going to Nancheng for a competition next month, and we are discussing who to send…”

Manager Zhao was actually a bit troubled. With the club’s generous incentive system, the players achieved results quickly and held onto their achievements tightly.

While this was a good thing, it also created a new problem of selecting players for each competition.

As he spoke, he handed the match report and medical examination report to Liang Xian.

Liang Xian supported his elbow on the armrest and took the reports, flipping through a few pages quickly.

“Number 5 and Number 7,” he quickly made a choice, looking relaxed as if it wasn’t a difficult task.

Manager Zhao secretly admired him for two seconds.

He didn’t actually know Liang Xian’s exact identity—when the club closed down, he saw this new investor and thought he looked like a pampered young master who invested for fun.

Now, in just half a year, the club, that hadn’t even caused a ripple when it closed down, had become a hot gathering place for MMA enthusiasts in Pingcheng.

Manager Zhao increasingly felt that this boss wasn’t as idle as he seemed on the surface.

With admiration in his heart, he sought advice and flattered at the same time, “Boss, how did you make the choice? The coach and I have been pondering for a long time but couldn’t figure it out.”

Liang Xian lightly tapped the armrest with his fingers and said casually, “These few players are indeed evenly matched.”

Manager Zhao nodded, eager to hear the key point. However, he heard Liang Xian say in a faint voice, “So, I just randomly picked two.”

Manager Zhao: “…”

Can one be so casual about it?

“It’s just for reference. The final choice should still be decided by you and the coach,” Liang Xian handed him the file and, as if sensing his hesitation, smiled lightly, “However, my investment decisions have always been correct.”

Manager Zhao was at a loss for words but accepted the files with both hands.

It was the first time he had seen such a novel decision-making method. After several rounds of inner struggles, he found himself somewhat convinced by Liang Xian’s words—luck was a part of strength, after all. In a situation where the strength was comparable, relying on the player’s luck or the boss’s intuition was not unreasonable.

Moreover, the history of MMA competitions also witnessed such unintentional coincidences.

Just then, Liang Xian’s assistant approached, bending down and whispering, “President Liang, Manager Zheng from Zheng Group wants to talk to you.”

Liang Xian leaned back against the backrest, extending his hand, and the assistant placed the phone in his palm.

“Hello, President Liang,” sensing the change of voice on the other end of the call, the person on the phone couldn’t wait to speak. In his usual stable tone, there was an uncontrollable panic, “I just received the news of World Bank Holdings’ withdrawal of investment… I wanted to ask if there was any misunderstanding between us?”

The person calling was Zheng Yizhou’s brother. Born from a mistress, he had no inheritance rights and was currently managing the company on Zheng Yizhou’s behalf, effectively serving as his professional manager.

“Nothing,” Liang Xian spoke very politely, with even a touch of a courteous smile in his voice, “It’s just after careful consideration, we believe that this project carries enormous risks, so we’ve decided to cut losses in time.”

Manager Zheng’s mouth twitched. He knew this was the official polite wording, but he couldn’t understand the reasons behind it.

World Bank Holdings was a company registered overseas, established with a huge capital to sweep the investment field. It had just reached into the domestic market this year, with an unfathomable and deep background.

Under Zheng Group, there was a bay project awaiting development, with World Bank Holdings being the largest investor. If they withdrew their investment, the consequences would be unimaginable.

After hanging up the phone, Manager Zheng broke into a cold sweat. He didn’t dare to think further and, with trembling hands, called the person he had only met once before, Mr. Chi.

In his impression, Mr. Chi was aloof and cold, exuding an aura of ruthlessness that kept people away, as though he was owed ten billion by the whole world.

In front of him, Manager Zheng couldn’t help but feel like kneeling, so he chose to call this Mr. Liang first, whom he hadn’t met before.

But he didn’t expect that Mr. Liang was not an easy person to deal with either. From his relaxed tone and his easy-going talk, he seemed accommodating, but he played a good game of Tai Chi.

……

After about ten minutes, Liang Xian received a call from Chi Yan.

“You’re pretty good at shifting the buck,” Chi Yan’s voice sounded, bringing a cooling effect with it, “You had him call me.”

Liang Xian chuckled, “What did he say?”

“Wants to meet me in person.”

“Did you agree?”

Chi Yan’s answer was always concise, “No time.”

Liang Xian’s lips curved into a smile.

The two main shareholders were passing the buck back and forth; Manager Zheng must be feeling frustrated at the moment.

“Indeed, you’re busy chasing after your wife,” Liang Xian propped his elbow lazily, “Any news on her whereabouts?”

When it came to his wife, the cooling effect in Chi Yan’s voice softened for a moment, revealing some ordinary emotions, “Not yet.”

“Need my help?”

“Not necessary for now,” Chi Yan replied.

“Alright, then when will you be back at the company?” Liang Xian was going to be stationed at Jinghong headquarters after the New Year. World Bank Holdings couldn’t afford to have both the main leaders absent.

“Until I find her.”

Liang Xian raised an eyebrow teasingly, “Then you better put in more effort. Don’t let World Bank Holdings go bankrupt before you find her.”

The two of them had met during their overseas studies. Chi Yan was two years older and they were not only university friends but also work partners. They never needed to be polite when speaking to each other and would often tease each other.

“…”

Chi Yan’s voice was cold enough to freeze ice cubes, “I hope you don’t have such a day. Otherwise, I’ll celebrate with fireworks.”

Liang Xian’s lips curved up in a smile, seemingly unconcerned, “Of course, I won’t.”

After all, when it came to love, his parents had provided a failure template through their own experiences—nothing worth touching.

With these thoughts in mind, somehow, a bright and beautiful face appeared in his mind.

Liang Xian was lost in thought for a moment, then he shook his head with a smile, using his hand to support his forehead.

When Ming Si returned to Pingcheng, it was already late September. In the evening, the lingering heat of late summer had not yet dissipated, and the air was filled with an unknown, strong floral fragrance.

Before heading out, Ming Si went to the closet to fetch the LV bag that Cheng Yu had been longing for. Her eyes paused for a moment when they glanced over a navy blue small box on the jewelry counter, but in the end, she didn’t take it with her.

She had bought the cufflinks for Liang Xian, but how to naturally give them to him was a significant problem.

If she gave them to him at the birthday banquet tonight, Ming Si could almost imagine Cheng Yu shrieking and wailing with tears flowing down his face. It definitely wouldn’t be appropriate.

Cheng Yu’s birthday banquet was held at a club in Pingcheng. He was usually enthusiastic about eating, drinking, and having fun, so he had many friends in this area. When Ming Si arrived, the atmosphere was already lively.

“Wuwuwu, Daddy Ming Si, I love you!” When Cheng Yu saw her at the entrance, his eyes lit up. Holding the LV limited edition box, he affectionately confessed all the way to the private room, “I can tell, only you love Cheng Yu the most!”

Hearing this, Ke Lijie immediately stood up and took away a few gift boxes from the table, distributing them to the people around while saying, “Since only Ming Si loves you, then you don’t need our gifts. Brother Xian, Yu Chuan, here you go.”

“No!” Cheng Yu was shocked and hurriedly put down the LV limited edition box, rushing to snatch the several Hermès orange gift boxes.

Ke Lijie extended his arm and hid the gift boxes behind Yu Chuan, trying to pull him into the fray.

Liang Xian lightly smiled and leaned against the sofa, letting them have fun. He saw that Ming Si was still standing in place, so he motioned for her to come over.

Ming Si glanced around. She didn’t know many people here and chaos seemed to reign nearby. The only available seat appeared to be next to Liang Xian, so she picked up her bag and walked over.

“What do you want to drink?” Liang Xian turned his head and asked.

Ming Si’s gaze swept over the table, “A cocktail.”

Liang Xian got up to get it for her.

After the night they spent in Shanghai, the atmosphere between the two of them seemed to have briefly reached a true sense of peace.

Ming Si took a sip of her cocktail.

This was the main seat in the private room, and people came over from time to time to offer toasts and chat. After Cheng Yu dealt with three waves of people, he realized that something was off, “Why are you two sitting together?”

He had already drunk quite a bit and rubbed his eyes, asking Yu Chuan, “I didn’t see wrong, right?”

Ming Si put down her cocktail glass, sat up straight, and glanced at him, “You two were fighting just now, so how could I sit over there?”

Her tone was light and slightly disdainful, which made Cheng Yu feel that she was expressing dissatisfaction with the fact that she sat beside Liang Xian.

He hurriedly reassured, “It’s fine, it’s fine. It’s good to sit beside Brother Xian. You have no idea how many girls wanted to sit there, but they were all driven away by him.”

Ming Si didn’t comment and leaned back, supporting her arm.

Tonight, she was wearing an emerald green strapless dress. Her collarbone were smooth and straight, while her shoulders were delicate and slender. When she sat down, the diamond earrings swayed gently, emitting a faint aroma of mint and rosemary.

Liang Xian lightly tapped his finger and suddenly felt that the air conditioning in the private room seemed insufficient tonight.

“Hello, oh, can’t find it? No, no, no, I’ll come down to pick you up,” at this moment, Cheng Yu answered the phone while walking out. He looked back at them, “You guys have fun, I’ll go pick someone up.”

He didn’t explain anything, but everyone else understood.

Liang Xian glanced at Cheng Yu’s departing figure and gestured, “Which friend?”

In his impression, except for Ming Si and the gang, he had never been so attentive to anyone else.

“I don’t know, she seems to be a relative’s daughter. He mentioned her before,” Cheng Yu’s way of speaking was always meandering and didn’t have a clear focus. Ke Lijie had gotten used to listening to him non-sequentially and only listened to the general idea, “I think she’s a beautiful girl.”

In just a few minutes, Cheng Yu returned.

“Come, come, let me introduce her,” he extended both arms and did a grand introduction, pushing the newcomer forward, “This is Yu Niannian, my aunt’s daughter, and this is her boyfriend!”

Hearing that familiar name, Ming Si subconsciously looked over.

Yu Niannian also happened to look over at that moment, and when she saw the two of them sitting together, her eyes lit up, “Wow! You guys still have such a good relationship!”

Who had a good relationship? Why did the direction she was looking seem off?

The people around didn’t react at all, except for Ke Lijie, who silently lowered his head, preparing to endure the storm-like impact.

Sure enough, Yu Niannian smiled sweetly, holding her boyfriend’s hand and dropping another bombshell, “I’m just waiting to attend your engagement ceremony and eat dog food!”