I See Roses

I See Roses – Chapter 35

Ming Si didn’t associate his having second thoughts comment with her behavior just now and asked in confusion, “What do you mean?”

As she spoke, she looked up at Liang Xian.

At this moment, the two of them were close together. Liang Xian slightly bent his waist, and from her angle, Ming Si could see his Adam’s apple lightly moving.

For some reason, Ming Si quickly looked away and pretended to fan herself with her palm, remaining silent for a moment.

Liang Xian straightened up and asked her, “Feeling hot?”

Ming Si’s hand hung in midair, just realizing what she was doing.

After a half-second pause, she put her hand down and casually placed it on her leg, “I’m fine.”

Today, she was wearing a delicate crown adorned with pink pearls and diamonds. Her long black hair was gathered on the right side, and each strand of hair seemed meticulously curled, creating a casually lazy and just-right look.

At this moment, she slightly turned her face, her champagne-pink chiffon gown complementing her fair and translucent skin. The hem of the skirt meandered on the floor, while the exquisite lace petals and hand-stitched beads sparkled under the light.

She sat there like this, bathed in the soft light, sweet with a hint of playfulness, her skin having a hazy whiteness, so beautiful it seemed unreal.

Liang Xian lightly flicked his fingers, seemingly unable to find a place to rest them, and finally inserted them back into his trouser pocket.

“Second thoughts about what?” Ming Si changed her posture and leaned against the back of the sofa, tilting her head to look at him, vaguely guessing something, “About marrying you?”

Liang Xian took a seat on the adjacent chair and responded with a simple En.

He already understood that there was a misunderstanding just now, but for some reason, he still wanted to know the answer.

“No, I’m not having second thoughts, nor do I regret it,” unexpectedly, Ming Si gave a straightforward answer. Her tone was relaxed, “As you said, if it wasn’t you, they would find someone else, so I might as well marry someone familiar. It’s the same for me. And…”

She paused, her gaze scrutinizing him from head to toe.

Liang Xian raised an eyebrow slightly, “And what?”

Ming Si supported her chin and looked at him, her eyes carrying a hint of playfulness, “Guess for yourself.”

As the protagonists of the engagement banquet, it was not appropriate for them to be absent from the main venue for too long. After a while, the makeup artist and stylist politely knocked on the door and entered.

Ming Si went into the VIP lounge’s compartment and came out again, wearing a silver-gray trailing long dress. Her black hair was tied up, with a few strands loosely left to form gentle curls, exuding an aura of elegance and charm.

She rarely dressed like this, but it looked exceptionally beautiful.

As one of the top five-star hotels in Pingcheng, the Jiali Hotel’s design had a classical touch. In the center of the hotel was a hexagonal glass conservatory with a pointed roof, where roses of expensive varieties from all over the world were planted. Many of these roses had made high-profile appearances at the Chelsea Flower Show and even sold for over twenty million.

When these rare roses were first introduced, Ming Si was among the first to be invited to appreciate them. However, that was during the day, and now, under the night sky, the rose garden was bathed in a soft moonlight, exuding a different kind of romantic charm.

From a distance, the fragrance of roses could be faintly smelled.

Ming Si liked roses. She walked with Liang Xian towards the conservatory, and suddenly squinted, “Isn’t that Liang Jinyu?”

Someone was standing on the edge of the glass conservatory, talking on the phone. Although the night was hazy, from the figure and attire, his identity was unmistakable.

“How disappointing,” Ming Si had no good feelings towards Liang Jinyu. She turned her high heels in another direction, ready to leave, “Let’s come back another time.”

“Why should you leave? He should be the one to leave,” Liang Xian remained in place, not bothered by it, “Why should you give in to him?”

Ming Si paused for a moment and suddenly felt that this statement was enlightening.

Liang Jinyu quickly noticed someone approaching. He slowly hung up the call and raised his gaze to see Liang Xian and Ming Si standing not far away.

“Why are you both here?” Almost as soon as he looked up, Liang Jinyu put on his usual gentle smile, “Aren’t you the protagonists tonight? Shouldn’t you be in the banquet hall with father and the others?”

Listening to his tone, someone who didn’t know might think that the relationship between them, stepbrothers, was quite harmonious.

Ming Si couldn’t stand such hypocritical people the most. For a moment, she felt that Liang Jinyu in front of her was like a male version of a white lotus1, making her unable to resist the urge to give him a good scolding.

“Here to see the flowers,” Liang Xian didn’t want to play along with the show of brotherly affection, his tone indifferent.

Liang Jinyu nodded, “What a great interest.”

Liang Xian’s gaze lowered and landed on his phone. He smirked with a hint of meaning, “You seem to have a great interest too, particularly coming here to make a phone call.”

Liang Jinyu’s expression stiffened.

He had made a call to a rival company of Jinghong. Because he needed to avoid attention, he had come to the secluded rose garden to make the call.

He was quite sure that he had spoken very quietly just now, but after Liang Xian’s comment, he began to doubt it.

How long had they been standing there?

What did they hear?

“A friend called; it was too noisy over there, so I couldn’t hear clearly,” Liang Jinyu explained. He glanced at Ming Si and smiled, “Miss Ming looks beautiful tonight.”

In fact, at the beginning, Liang Jinyu had thoughts about getting close to Ming Si.

So what if she and Liang Xian had registered their marriage?

As long as the news wasn’t announced publicly, there was still a chance to turn things around.

Those two were just a nominal couple, and if he could succeed with Ming Si, even if Ming Zhengyuan was unwilling, he would have to give up Liang Xian to suppress the scandal.

With the Ming family as a backing, he would have nothing to fear against Liang Xian, right?

But Liang Jinyu quickly realized that his wishful thinking was too idealistic.

Ming Si was surrounded by bodyguards twenty-four hours a day, not just one or two, and she wasn’t the type to be easily deceived. Trying to create coincidental encounters to make her fall for him was also impossible.

“Is that so?” Ming Si smiled sweetly at the compliment, her right hand wrapped around Liang Xian’s arm, creating a more intimate pose, “He said the same thing.”

As she got closer, a faint fragrance wafted around.

Although it was not appropriate, seeing Ming Si suddenly getting serious and acting in character, Liang Xian couldn’t help but want to laugh.

Liang Jinyu glanced at the two of them, recalling the discussions he had overheard earlier during the banquet. People were saying that Liang Xian and Ming Si were a perfect match, both talented and beautiful.

At that moment, Ming Si happened to pass by him.

Indeed, she was very beautiful. Her face, figure, and temperament were all extraordinary — one in a million. It seemed that there was no second woman like her in Pingcheng.

However, this beautiful woman and the grand family business of Jinghong, both did not belong to him.

Or, perhaps, they could have belonged to him.

Why couldn’t they?

When Liang Xian was thirteen years old, he had a falling out with the Liang family after to his mother’s death. Liang Zhihong was so angry that he pointed at the door and commanded Liang Xian to leave. Liang Xian only gave a cold glance, turned around without a word, and walked away.

Since then, for more than ten years, he had never come back.

At that time, Liang Jinyu had felt that the father and son of the Liang family had very similar personalities in a way, both stubborn and proud, never willing to back down.

And the reality was just as he had thought.

After Liang Xian left, the Liang family became a warm and harmonious family of three, and Liang Jinyu began to truly regard Liang Zhihong as his father.

At that time, he was only thirteen years old. How could he not yearn for fatherly love?

Grandpa Liang was not unkind to him; in fact, he seemed to treat him even better than Liang Xian. When Liang Xian graduated from high school and went abroad, Grandpa Liang didn’t even frown. But when he tentatively expressed his desire to go abroad as well, Grandpa Liang said, “Stay here and start helping me manage the company.”

So, Liang Jinyu advanced rapidly within the company, sitting in the position of vice president under the envious gazes of everyone.

One more step forward, and it seemed that the entire Jinghong Group was within his grasp.

However, in reality, there was a wide, insurmountable bloodline barrier between him and that position.

Perhaps it was due to the blow he suffered, or maybe it was due to the alcohol that made it difficult to maintain a calm façade, or perhaps it was Liang Xian’s mere existence that made him discontented and jealous—

In an instant, countless icy thorns sprouted in Liang Jinyu’s heart, and malicious thoughts spread like a dense web, leading him to utter a sigh, “You are so happy now, Liang Xian. If your mother could see this, she should have no regrets.”

The moment the words fell, Ming Si clearly felt Liang Xian’s body tense up.

A surge of anger surged through her heart, making her want to immediately go up and fight Liang Jinyu, “Liang Jinyu, do you even know how to speak like a human?! If you can’t, then shut your mouth. Nobody treats you as a mute!”

Who didn’t know that Liang Xian’s mother passed away because of Liang Zhihong’s affair?

For him, a son of a third party, to bring up Liang Xian’s mother at a time like this was clearly intentional!

Liang Jinyu snapped back to his senses with a start and immediately regretted his words.

It wasn’t because he felt he had gone too far, but because before he could bring down Jinghong, he did not want to openly confront Liang Xian — it would bring him no benefits, only harm.

However, he couldn’t bring himself to apologize immediately; his pride wouldn’t allow it.

After a while, Liang Jinyu clenched his fist and turned to leave without saying a word.

He couldn’t afford to lose his composure any further.

However, Ming Si had no intention of letting him off the hook. She was about to move forward in her high heels when, in the next moment, Liang Xian grabbed her arm and gently pulled her back.

“Don’t hold me back!” Ming Si was wearing an elegant evening gown, but that didn’t stop her from wanting to scold Liang Jinyu right now, “Look at what he said! He’s deliberately provoking you. Aren’t you angry at all?!”

No one knew that his teeth were already clenched, while his fist was seconds away from smashing into Liang Jinyu’s face.

But after hearing Ming Si’s voice, he inexplicably began to calm down.

And now, seeing her so furious, how could he let her go and confront Liang Jinyu?

He should be the one to deal with Liang Jinyu’s schemeing, not her.

“Arguing with someone like him is just a waste of time. Winning an argument doesn’t mean anything,” Liang Xian bent down, gently holding her arm with both hands, his voice somewhat low, “I will deal with him. Don’t get upset.”

Ming Si turned her head away, refusing to meet his gaze, “But he…”

She didn’t finish her sentence, but tears had already welled up in her eyes.

She couldn’t explain why her emotions surged so suddenly.

Perhaps it was because she felt wronged on behalf of Liang Xian, or maybe she didn’t get to vent her anger, the more she thought about it, the angrier she became. It might also be because of Liang Jinyu’s words just now, which reminded her of that rainy day in her second year of junior high. The layers of black umbrellas, the grave, and Liang Xian’s expressionless face.

Liang Xian was afraid of her tears. Seeing her tears falling uncontrollably, he subconsciously reached out and gently wiped them away with his fingertips, but they kept coming.

His heart suddenly felt sour and soft, at a loss.

“I’m not crying. He’s just infuriating,” Ming Si also felt that she had lost control of her emotions a bit, but she couldn’t help it, “Promise me to deal with him properly.”

“Yes, I promise,” Liang Xian reached out and gently patted her back with one hand, “Don’t cry anymore.”

Ming Si took a deep breath and softly acknowledged, and after a while, she said, “Then you must not be sad either.”

Liang Xian paused for a moment and whispered, “I’m not sad.”

“You’re lying.”

The hidden pain in his eyes, she could see it too.

“In that case,” Liang Xian raised his hand to gently touch her hair, “If you don’t cry, I won’t be sad either.”

 

白莲花 (bái lián huā) – White lotus flower. In Chinese internet slang, it refers to a person who pretends to be innocent and pure, but actually hides malicious intentions or manipulates others. ↩︎