I See Roses

I See Roses – Chapter 45

During the autumn and winter seasons, Venice wasn’t actually a great place for travel.

Rainfall seemed unceasing, raining almost non-stop throughout the day.

The climate was damp and cold, casting even the colorful and warm buildings in a somber shade.

However, perhaps it’s typical for people in the early stages of love to engage in such trivial activities. After her meeting with Merald in the afternoon, Ming Si still accompanied Liang Xian to explore the streets and alleys of Venice’s little shops in the evening, showing a relentless momentum.

The main island of Venice didn’t have as many glassmaking workshops as Murano did, but the hidden stores along the streets held many exquisite and beautiful handicrafts.

As they walked along a winding little street, Ming Si’s shopping instinct kicked in. She bought over twenty Venetian masks, six ceramic bowls and plates, as well as various bits and pieces of colored glass figurines, flowers, and cups. Her shopping spree was far from over.

Back during her university days, she had a phase of collecting luxury dining ware. During her free time, she would also go shopping with friends in the Chelsea district of London.

The handicrafts in these unnamed shops were far from the rare treasures gathered from all over the world in Chelsea, and the prices were incomparable. Nevertheless, for some reason, Ming Si couldn’t seem to part with them. Holding Liang Xian’s hand, she swayed back and forth, and the corners of her lips couldn’t help but curl up.

“Why aren’t you going back to the country? Can vice presidents at the headquarters be this leisurely?” She was choosing items when she suddenly felt inspired to ask.

Liang Xian carried her bags as he watched her fiddling with the small trinkets in her hand, “I have a video conference in the evening.”

In truth, he hadn’t been idle during the day either.

He chuckled lightly, “I’ll be flying back with you tomorrow.”

Ming Si playfully pouted, “Oh.”

Setting down the glass bunny in her hand, she urged him, “Then hurry back. You still have a meeting.”

They returned to the villa full of youthful energy; the two of them took hot showers, changed clothes, and then comfortably cuddled together for a while before going about their respective tasks.

Ming Si selected a few glittering items and placed them on the windowsill, their reflections creating brilliant flashes against the backdrop of the rain.

After taking photos and editing them for nearly ten minutes, she finally uploaded them on her Moments.

These glass products stood out starkly amidst her Moments posts that were usually filled with travel photos and various party scenes. However, she repeatedly flipped through the images several times.

Now, looking back at yesterday, it felt like an unreal dream.

Yet, it was truly wonderful.

Ming Si refocused, set down her phone, and prepared to make some revisions to the emerald design. After that, she would send it to Merald’s design director.

Before starting, she approached the study and glanced at Liang Xian.

Liang Xian sat behind a spacious desk, facing a laptop.

He wore a black sweater. While working, the casual air about him had diminished considerably. It could almost give people the illusion that he was a serious person.

This thought flashed in her mind for a second before Ming Si extinguished it.

She stared at him with a bit of annoyance.

Where was he serious?

Liang Xian sensed her gaze and lifted his eyes. Before he could say anything, Ming Si had already darted away.

He chuckled, shaking his head, and temporarily focused his attention back on the documents in front of him.

Ming Si’s design draft was finished before Liang Xian’s video conference ended. She didn’t want to go over to find him. After being caught just now, it would seem like she was overly eager to see him if she went running over.

So, she stretched lazily and leaned back in her chair, unlocking her phone.

In a small group chat, someone tagged her. Ming Si clicked into it and immediately saw a row of exclamation marks and an emoticon of I’m very angry.

Without needing to think, she knew it was Cheng Yu.

She swiped up to read the messages.

Cheng Yu:「I have some sad news to share with everyone: The Vice President of the branch had a car accident and might need to amputate. 」

When Ming Si saw this message, she was utterly confused. While it was unfortunate… it seemed unrelated to them?

Cheng Yu:「My dad wants me to start working early. I haven’t even celebrated New Year’s yet.」

Cheng Yu:「You won’t see me the day after tomorrow.」

Cheng Yu:「This afternoon, I was forced to get a hairstyle that’s incredibly ugly but supposedly very successful.」

Cheng Yu:「Selfie.jpg」

Cheng Yu:「?」

Cheng Yu:「Where are you guys!!」

Cheng Yu:「@Ming Si, you have time to post on your Moments but not to reply to me. I guess I’m no longer your beloved Yu Yu!」

The following messages were a barrage of emojis.

Just as Ming Si finished reading, a message from Yu Chuan came in:「Just left the library.」

He was nearing graduation, and with his thesis and experiments piled up, he was busy day and night, leaving him with little time to read group messages.

Cheng Yu:「Beware of going bald!!」

Yu Chuan:「…」

He had initially intended to console Cheng Yu by saying the hairstyle was okay, but now he put his phone away without expression and didn’t look at it again.

A while later, Ke Lijie chimed in too:「What big thing happened that woke me up?」

He had probably just come across Cheng Yu’s new hairstyle and typed a comment:「Wow, with this suit, you look like an insurance salesman.」

Cheng Yu:「…」

Cheng Yu:「I’m ending our friendship!」

Ming Si added fuel to the fire:「He does look like an insurance salesman.」

Cheng Yu began to provoke everyone:「Ming Si, you went to Venice for vacation, right? What’s with the stuff you posted on your Moments?」

Ming Si:「What stuff? Watch your wording.」

Cheng Yu:「Bring me a few things back; I’ll reluctantly forgive you.」

Ming Si:「Dream on.」

Cheng Yu:「I’m getting transferred to the branch, and you’re not even a bit sympathetic? I’m obviously no longer your beloved Yu Yu!」

The two of them bickered back and forth, with Ke Lijie occasionally adding chaos to the mix. Suddenly, Liang Xian sent a message:「You weren’t her beloved to begin with.」

The group fell silent for a moment. Ming Si raised her head and looked towards the direction of the study.

So, he was slacking off during work hours, or had he finished work and decided to play with his phone instead of immediately looking for her?

The next second, her speculation was confirmed. Liang Xian walked out of the study, rubbing his neck with one hand while the other naturally hung down, holding his phone.

Ming Si loudly set her phone on the soft chair, sat up straight against the backrest, and crossed her arms.

Her series of actions conveyed the message: I’m in a bad mood right now.

Liang Xian walked over with his long legs, sat down in a chair beside her, and chuckled softly, “You didn’t win against Cheng Yu in an argument, so you’re mad?”

Ming Si: “…”

What does Cheng Yu have to do with this? It’s your fault!

Ignoring him, she hmphed, showing off her bad mood quite conspicuously.

Fortunately, Liang Xian wasn’t too dense; he figured it out. He smiled and asked in a calm tone, “Are you mad at me?”

“Didn’t you have a meeting in the study? How do you have time to check your phone?” Ming Si grew angrier as she spoke, turning to pick up her phone and pushing it onto his shoulder. Her tone rose, “And you even replied to Cheng Yu’s message before mine!”

“You’re jealous of Cheng Yu too?” Liang Xian raised an eyebrow.

“And you’re jealous of Shi Tai,” Ming Si stared back at him, refusing to back down.

Liang Xian admitted defeat, chuckling as he ruffled her hair, “So, how should I make it up to you?”

“Give me a shoulder rub, massage my legs, and serve me attentively. That should be enough,” she struck a pose, looking quite pleased with herself.

Liang Xian chuckled softly and actually reached out to give her a shoulder rub.

However, Ming Si, after enjoying it for a while with a sense of satisfaction, quickly let go of her anger. She then snuggled into his embrace, “I’m letting you off the hook.”

Liang Xian placed one hand on the back of the chair behind her, helping her lie more comfortably.

Perhaps because they knew each other for many years, these affectionate gestures felt especially natural and instinctively synchronized between them.

The slight unfamiliarity that usually exists between new couples gradually disappeared unnoticed.

Of course, that doesn’t include more intimate actions.

In the group chat, Cheng Yu was already dissatisfied:「Brother Xian, how come you’re taking Ming Si’s side!」

Ke Lijie:「Obviously, she’s his wife.」

Cheng Yu:「Right.」

When this group of friends first found out they got married, every single one of them were shocked, and their worldviews were shattered.

But as time went on, they gradually accepted reality, and they even used Liang Xian and Ming Si’s fake marriage as a joke to tease them occasionally.

Ke Lijie:「@Liang Xian @Ming Si, by the way, have you two been fighting recently, haha」

Adding a hehe in her own reply, she snorted and typed:「We’ve been getting along extremely well recently. 」

This hehe carried a strong hint of sarcasm, originally directed at Ke Lijie and Cheng Yu. However, to her surprise, both of them had an oddly synchronized thought process, completely missing the irony, and actually believed she was being straightforward.

Ke Lijie:「Sigh, what did Brother Xian do to provoke her again?」

Cheng Yu:「Sigh, you’re right. They don’t have any big grudges, yet why do they always clash?」

Ke Lijie:「Sigh, it’s probably just destiny that they’re destined to be enemies.」

Cheng Yu:「Sigh.」

Ke Lijie:「Sigh.」

Cheng Yu:「Sigh.」

Ke Lijie:「Sigh.」

「…」

Ming Si: “…”

She had originally wanted to explain, but seeing the repeated sighs that followed, she immediately lost the motivation to type any further.

—Hah, ignorant humans, you’ll have plenty of regrets in the future!

In Cheng Yu’s words, as he was about to be sent to a branch office and might not even be able to return for the New Year, everyone had to attend today’s gathering.

—Actually, whenever he organized a get-together, he could come up with several compelling reasons for everyone to attend. His limited language skills were truly put to good use in this aspect.

Thus, right after Ming Si and Liang Xian disembarked from their private plane, they had the driver head straight to the snooker club.

In contrast to the rainy weather in Venice, Pingcheng was enjoying a sunny autumn afternoon. The car drove past a pergola covered in wisteria flowers by the club, creating delicate and dappled patterns of light and shadow, truly beautiful.

As they arrived at the entrance of the club, before even pushing the door, Ming Si suddenly stepped back a step, “You go ahead, I’ll come in later.”

Liang Xian raised an eyebrow slightly, “Having second thoughts?”

For once, Ming Si didn’t deny it.

She had initially planned to hold his hand and enter the place together, intending to surprise everyone. However, envisioning the possible reactions of Cheng Yu and the others, she found herself getting nervous and shy in advance.

Moreover, given her previous interactions with Liang Xian – their disagreements and even them declaring each other as non-ideal types, or how she preferred dogs but not him – it felt like an ironic reversal of roles to now appear sweet and affectionate.

It could be easily predicted that this would become a new joke for their friends to tease them about for a long time to come.

The proud self-esteem of the little peacock couldn’t tolerate this.

Liang Xian wanted to say something, but Ming Si’s attitude was unusually resolute, “No way! I need to touch up my makeup in the restroom. My lipstick is all faded from you kissing it off.”

After saying that, whether she was feeling shy or worried that he might disagree, she quickly walked away.

After Ming Si took her sweet time touching up her makeup, she walked upstairs.

Inside the booth, Cheng Yu and Ke Lijie were pouring drinks while Liang Xian sat facing the direction of the stairs, his gaze fixed on her.

He still leaned lazily against the back of the chair, bathed in dim but soft light, his handsome, three-dimensional features highlighted, even the color of his clothes resembling that from the day he returned to the country.

Suddenly, she had a sense of déjà vu.

Upon seeing her, Liang Xian lightly raised an eyebrow, his eyes filled with a smile.

Ming Si curved her lips slightly. She quickly composed herself and took steps forward.

“We’ve been waiting for you,” Cheng Yu pointed to several pool tables nearby. A beautiful girl was meticulously applying chocolate powder, “Those tables are reserved for us. Let’s have something to eat first.”

After not seeing each other for a while, they talked about recent matters for quite some time. During the conversation, Ming Si glanced at her phone. The magazine’s commemorative merchandise that she had been involved with was just released for pre-order today. The editor informed her that the official account had tagged her and asked her to interact online.

After Ming Si concluded her business, she remembered something and placed her phone on the table, “Have you guys followed me on Weibo?”

“You have a Weibo account?” Ke Lijie was astonished.

“I recently registered. Hurry up and follow me,” Ming Si watched as, one by one, everyone taking out their phones and following her. She slightly curled her lips, then deliberately used a very normal tone to ask, “Liang Xian, what about you?”

Liang Xian chuckled softly, his tone casual, “I don’t have Weibo.”

Was he still acting aloof?

Ming Si simply put on a stern expression too, “Then register now.”

Liang Xian took out his phone, downloaded the app, and started the registration process step by step. When he reached the part for the nickname, he seemed to think of something, and he lightly tugged at the corner of his lips as he typed a few words.

“Done,” he raised an eyebrow.

As expected, Ming Si saw a new follower on her list. However, the string of English characters in the username seemed a bit too random. She strongly suspected it was just typed randomly.

Just as she was about to exit Weibo, she suddenly felt something was off.

「yxndsg」

Spelling it out more carefully.

The Handsome Guy Raised by the Fairy.

She couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Cheng Yu, who was nearby, asked curiously, “Ming Si, what’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” Ming Si lightly coughed and glanced at Liang Xian. She silently mouthed the words, “Narcissistic.”

After saying that, she couldn’t help but lift the corners of her lips.

Ming Si knew how to play pool, but her skills weren’t great. She wasn’t on par with the others who played frequently. Thus, Liang Xian took on the role of guiding her.

Strangely enough, even Cheng Yu and the others didn’t seem to realize that, although they were well aware that Ming Si and Liang Xian often engaged in banter, whenever it came to situations like this, they inadvertently created opportunities for them to be alone.

From another perspective, it was also due to Ming Si’s temperament. Only Liang Xian could keep it in check.

Ming Si had never known before that teaching someone to play pool could be such a seductive and exhilarating affair.

She stood in front of the pool table, and Liang Xian stood by her side, slightly bending over to help adjust her angle. The distance between them was so close that they could almost feel each other’s breath. With just a slight tilt of his head, his lips could brush against her temple.

Ming Si’s attention wasn’t on the pool ball at all. After randomly poking a few balls, her cheeks were starting to feel warm. She fanned herself with her hand and put down the cue stick, “I need to go to the restroom.”

Cheng Yu, Ke Lijie, and Yu Chuan were playing a round of three-player rotation. As they were focused on their intense match, they hadn’t noticed the disappearance of the people at the adjacent table.

—

After Ming Si had calmed her emotions, as soon as she turned the corner, she felt someone’s hand reaching out. Before she could react, she was pulled over by a force and found herself falling into an embrace.

Startled for half a second, her heart returned to its normal rhythm again, “Liang Xian!”

Liang Xian chuckled, his gaze lowered to her rosy cheeks. He didn’t say anything, just leaned down and kissed her.

This corner led to an emergency exit, so generally, nobody came here. The lighting was dim, but there was a constant concern about someone coming to use the restroom and happening to glance this way.

As a result, this kiss was an exhilarating experience.

Ming Si’s heart raced more intensely than before. Unable to restrain herself, she lowered her head and rubbed her cheek against his shoulder, “This…?”

Liang Xian’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, his voice growing hoarse, “En?”

She looked up at him with a hint of uncontainable shyness in her expression, “Doesn’t this feel like… sneaking around?”