I See Roses

I See Roses – Chapter 31

When she thought of how Liang Xian would get beaten during the movie, Ming Si’s mood was cheerful all day.

Coincidentally, the second Miss Zhao from Zhao Real Estate sent her a message inviting her to an art exhibition, and she readily accepted the invitation.

After visiting the art exhibition, they went to a trendy restaurant in the city to have afternoon tea and took the opportunity to do some flower arranging to pass the time.

“Ming Si, I heard a rumor last week, it’s about you… and a certain Young Master surnamed Liang,” among this group of plastic sisters, Miss Zhao had a relatively good relationship with Ming Si, so she spoke straightforwardly. She leaned closer, holding a small pair of scissors, “Can you confirm it for me?”

Though she said she was seeking confirmation, she must have already obtained the accurate information. Ming Si had no intention to hide it, especially since the invitations for the engagement ceremony would be sent out in two days. There was no need to keep it a secret.

Ming Si picked up a coral-colored tulip and gently turned it in her hand, “So you want to attend my engagement ceremony?”

“So, it’s true!” Miss Zhao covered her mouth in surprise and exchanged envious glances with the other sisters nearby, “Is it the one from Jinghong…?”

Ming Si politely smiled, which could be considered as a confirmation.

“Wow…” Everyone exclaimed softly.

“Speaking of which, that girl from the Fang family used to pursue Liang Xian vigorously, and it caused quite a stir in the city,” someone recalled, “Oh, by the way, she posted something on her moments yesterday, saying something about lost beauty and unattainable happiness, could it be related to this?”

“Impossible, she didn’t seem too heartbroken when her confession failed.”

“Who knows? After all, Liang Xian is so handsome, and Jinghong is wealthy and powerful. It’s truly super fortunate to marry into such a family! I don’t believe she has no regrets.”

“By the way, I heard you two have known each other since childhood? So you both gradually fell in love over time, right?”

“That’s too romantic.”

“…”

Ming Si knew that this group of sisters would say anything to flatter her, and she usually just took their exaggerated compliments with a grain of salt.

But today, for some reason, when she heard the phrase known each other since childhood, her mood couldn’t help but become buoyant.

Coming back to her senses, Ming Si quietly plucked off a small petal.

It must be because the phrase itself was too beautiful, probably had nothing to do with Liang Xian.

Because he had to apologize to a certain young lady in the evening, Liang Xian had his assistant adjust today’s work schedule. He had just finished the quarterly project decision-making meeting and was now heading to the next high-level meeting.

During the fifteen-minute break in between, Liang Xian rested on the large boss chair, and his assistant, Assistant Wang, brought him a cup of coffee.

Out of the corner of his eye, Assistant Wang noticed that President Liang was browsing through his WeChat Moments.

Having worked together for a long time, Assistant Wang knew that Liang Xian was not the type to show off, so he timely asked, “Is it one of President Liang’s friends?”

President Liang’s WeChat Moments had been lingering on a post for quite some time.

The post contained a series of pictures, featuring bouquets of flowers interspersed with two portraits.

A girl was wearing a light blue off-shoulder bubble-sleeve blouse, with her hair loosely tied back. She was bowing her head to trim the leaves. Her side profile had delicate and smooth lines, a prominent nose, and bright red lips, making her exude a radiant and distinct beauty. When not smiling, she appeared somewhat proud.

The other picture was a front-facing selfie of her holding the bouquet with a V sign and a faint dimple under her eye. Compared to the previous picture, this one added a hint of sweetness.

The composition, angles, and lighting of these photos were all very professional, while the accompanying text was simple, just a heart emoji that came with the phone, giving a warm and glowing feeling.

Although he worked in a movie company and had seen various types of beauties, Assistant Wang secretly ranked her as number one in his heart.

Liang Xian seemed to be quite interested in her—usually, in the company, even if there were real beauties around, Liang Xian wouldn’t spare them a glance. It was the first time Assistant Wang had seen him stare at a photo for so long.

“She’s not a friend,” Liang Xian put down his elbow and turned to the side, “She’s my wife.”

“Ah?” This was the first time Assistant Wang heard about it, but he quickly adjusted his surprise and smiled, saying, “You two are a perfect match.”

Liang Xian chuckled lightly, his gaze lingering on the photo for a moment, before raising his hand give it a like.

The like Liang Xian gave, Ming Si did not notice. Her social media circle was large, and whenever she posted a Moments post, she would receive hundreds of likes and comments within minutes. Liang Xian had long been submerged among the masses.

After hanging out with a few girlfriends, Ming Si stopped by to buy the latest issue of [JEWEL] and a few other fashion magazines. When she got home, she curled up on the single-person sofa and started reading.

Around four o’clock, she stretched lazily and absentmindedly checked her phone. Liang Xian had sent a message reminding her not to forget about their date today.

Ming Si did consider standing him up, but she remembered that there was something more important. So she replied to him:「I remember.」

When Liang Xian received the message, he glanced at it and chuckled softly. This made a certain high-level executive, who was in the middle of a presentation, feel flattered, thinking that perhaps he had performed exceptionally well today, which caught the young master’s attention.

It was not a weekend today, yet the cinema was still crowded.

Ming Si ushered Liang Xian to the lounge and asked him to wait while she casually went to pick up the tickets. As she looked at the words “4D” on the ticket, she couldn’t help but feel a little excited, seemingly as if she was about to do something mischievous.

Returning to the lounge, Ming Si saw two young girls playing the claw machine. Their tense expressions were reflected on the transparent glass.

“Ah ah ah, is this okay? Help me look.”

“To the left a bit, more left, on the right… don’t panic, steady! Now is the time, go!”

With a snap, one of them pressed the button forcefully.

Then came a sigh of frustration as they failed to catch the prize, “Ah!!”

“These machines have their probabilities adjusted; we definitely won’t be able to catch anything. Let’s go,” the girl with short hair pulled her friend away.

However, the girl with long hair clenched her fists and vowed, “When I have money, I will buy all the claw machines in this cinema!”

The short-haired girl burst into laughter, “Why not just ask if the cinema’s owner is single? That way, you can fulfill your dream of marrying into a wealthy family. What are a few claw machines compared to that?”

The girl with long hair suddenly realized, “Hmm, that’s not a bad idea!”

The two girls walked away playfully, holding hands, while Ming Si’s gaze fell on Liang Xian.

They were unaware that the owner of the cinema was sitting just five meters away on the sofa, probably listening intently to every word of their conversation.

Ming Si had intended to observe his reaction, but Liang Xian remained nonchalant as always. It seemed as though the topic of their discussion had nothing to do with him.

She couldn’t be bothered to bring it up.

When Ming Si approached, Liang Xian stood up, raising an eyebrow, “You’ve been watching for so long, do you want to try the claw machine?”

Ming Si crossed her arms intentionally, “Can’t catch anything anyway. These machines are just tools rigged by unscrupulous owners to deceive people.”

“Who are you calling an unscrupulous owner?” Liang Xian chuckled at her, subconsciously reaching out his hand, then hesitating midway.

He retracted his hand into his pocket and coughed lightly, taking a step back, “Alright, unscrupulous owner will help you catch one today.”

Ming Si paused for a moment, then followed him.

It seemed like Liang Xian was about to… pat her head just now?

In fact, they had grown up together, and they had never really paid attention to gender boundaries when teasing each other.

In fact, they had grown up together and never paid much attention to gender boundaries in their playful interactions.

Liang Xian used to hug her when they were studying together, though he always got smacked by her… But his sudden awareness of boundaries made it a bit awkward for her to adapt.

In the transparent glass cabinet, there were plush toys that were full of girlish charm. Ming Si wasn’t interested in them before, but now that she took a closer look, they seemed quite cute.

“Which one do you want?” Liang Xian had already exchanged coins for the game and casually tossed one in.

No one could resist the temptation of cute little dolls, and for a moment, Ming Si forgot about her little fight with Liang Xian. She pointed to a small yellow duck inside the glass cabinet and said, “This one.”

The small yellow duck had a flat and chubby body, looking a bit silly and cute.

It wasn’t exquisite and didn’t fit the traditional definition of beauty.

It didn’t really seem like something Ming Si would like.

“Alright,” Liang Xian inserted the coin and his slender fingers grasped the control lever.

The silver mechanical claw moved around inside the glass cabinet, reflecting a cold light. Suddenly, Ming Si became nervous and unconsciously moved closer to him, asking, “Are you sure you can do it?”

Liang Xian glanced at her and said, “Why wouldn’t I be able to?”

Ming Si was caught off guard by his response. Somehow, she felt that his tone was a bit… like his dignity was being challenged?

This young master couldn’t stand people questioning his skills at all.

Ming Si didn’t want to make fun of him, since she didn’t know if it would affect his performance. So, she reached out and gently pinched his shoulder, “Then, good luck.”

Liang Xian was caught off guard by her sudden closeness. His arm twitched slightly, inadvertently pressing the button.

Consequently, Ming Si watched helplessly as the claw aimlessly descended and grabbed nothing but thin air.

“…”

Liang Xian failed.

She changed her attitude quickly, “Liang Xian!”

The second attempt.

After the previous failure, Ming Si kept her distance from Liang Xian this time. She stared at the little yellow duck through the glass cabinet, reminding herself to be calm and composed.

But her nerves were still on edge.

Liang Xian, on the other hand, seemed less nervous. He slightly bent down and focused on adjusting the claw’s position.

Looking at him like this, his profile was handsome and sharp. His eyelashes were quite long for a man, but not curled. The light from above his head fell on his straight nose like a soft filter.

Ming Si suddenly felt a slight flutter in her heart.

Before she could figure out why her heart was fluttering, she heard the sound of the machine descending. She hurriedly refocused and saw that the silver mechanical claw had accurately grasped half of the little yellow duck’s body.

Holding her breath, Ming Si tightened her grip subconsciously and even nervously bit her lip.

Liang Xian found it amusing watching her like this. His lips curved into a faint smile, maintaining a slight upward arc.

The silver mechanical claw firmly held the little yellow duck and moved slowly. One second, two seconds, three seconds—the time seemed incredibly long and nerve-wracking. Finally, with a thud, the little yellow duck was dropped into the exit.

“We go it!!” Ming Si didn’t know why, but she was even more excited than she had imagined. She almost jumped up, her eyes shining.

Liang Xian watched with amusement. He bent down and took the little yellow duck out, handing it to her.

She smiled and reached out to take it, but Liang Xian suddenly raised his arm slightly, keeping it just out of her reach.

Ming Si raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“Take it back,” He looked down at her, lightly narrowing his eyes, reminding her of something.

Ming Si was momentarily stunned and then found it amusing—this young master was holding a grudge.

But he did catch the little yellow duck, so he deserved some recognition. She smiled sweetly and cooperatively said, “Alright, I take it back. You’re the best.”