I See Roses

I See Roses – Chapter 19

“…!”

Ming Si woke up from the dream all of a sudden, gasping for breath.

In her sight were the white ceiling and a chandelier, with the curtains drawn and the room dimly lit. She calmed down for a while before slowly lifting the blanket and sitting up.

Looking at the furnishings in the bedroom, it was clearly not her own home.

No wonder she had such a nightmare.

Ming Si slipped her uninjured foot into her slippers, feeling her way to stand up, and then hopped out.

She hadn’t taken a few steps when three knocks sounded on the door from outside.

“Miss Ming?”

The voice seemed to belong to Liang Xian’s bodyguard.

She stood on one foot and replied, “Come in.”

As the bedroom door was opened, a thin stream of light shone at her feet, followed by a dim and soft glow.

It turned out it was evening already.

Ming Si squinted her eyes slightly and, after a moment, saw Shi Tai standing straight there, supporting a wheelchair. He reported the time to her, “You’re awake. It’s seven o’clock in the evening.”

Ming Si: “……”

This wheelchair successfully reminded her of the unpleasant experience of being looked at by other people in the hospital. She refused without even looking, “No need, I can walk by myself.”

“Mr. Liang specially ordered this for you,” Shi Tai said as he pushed the wheelchair forward, bending down to open the footrests and patting the leather seat cushion, seemingly intending to show her how perfect the wheelchair was.

So, Liang Xian thought her foot wouldn’t heal, huh?

Ming Si had no desire to sit in a wheelchair and wander around. She said with annoyance, “Where’s Liang Xian?”

She was ready to argue with him—did he see her as a permanently disabled person who couldn’t move properly?

“Mr. Liang is in the study,” Shi Tai answered promptly and tactfully moved the wheelchair aside a bit. He stood to the side and said, “Let me show you the way.”

The study’s door was tightly closed. Shi Tai knocked on the door on behalf of Ming Si, and a lazy voice came from inside, “Come in.”

Ming Si pushed the door open.

What came into view was a spacious wooden desk and a black bookshelf. A metal reading lamp on the desk cast a soft light onto the paper.

Liang Xian was enveloped in the faint light, his well-defined fingers resting on the edge of the paper, casting long shadows.

Even his handsome features softened a bit.

Seeing her enter, he put down the documents in his hand, “Had enough sleep?”

Liang Xian’s voice was actually quite unique. Besides being deep, it also carried a hint of his characteristic nonchalance, making it easy to recognize.

At this moment, when he spoke, it sounded exactly like the voice in her dream.

After having such an embarrassing and silly dream, waking up to see the male protagonist standing in front of her had a far greater impact on her psyche than she had anticipated.

Ming Si felt inexplicably guilty for a moment and quickly averted her gaze, “Your bed is so hard, it made my back ache.”

Liang Xian casually replied, “Is that so?”

He did prefer sleeping on a firm bed. The custom-made mattress in the guest room was just as firm as the one in the master bedroom. However, it shouldn’t have been uncomfortable to the point of causing back pain.

“Yeah, I’ve never slept on such a hard bed before,” Ming Si, the picky princess, wrinkled her brow and then tilted her head to rub her neck.

The series of actions she displayed showed her picky nature and discontent, most likely performed for him to see. Liang Xian chuckled lightly and followed along, “Then I’ll have someone change it to a softer one in the future.”

He said it casually, but after speaking, he felt that something seemed off.

He had grown up with Ming Si and knew well how to please her.

For example, if there was a stone on the road that hurt her foot, he would simply kick the stone away. If someone offended her, he would take care of that person. Applying the same logic, if the bed was uncomfortable to sleep on, it was the root cause of her displeasure, and it must be changed to win the young lady’s favor.

Yet, he forgot that this remark carried an implicit come to sleep again next time.

Ming Si also sensed the implication, but probably due to the lingering emotions from her dream, her mind was in chaos, and she couldn’t respond immediately.

After a moment of silence, Liang Xian suddenly asked, “Are you hungry?”

“Ah,” Ming Si’s hand rested on the doorknob, and only then did she regain her senses and glance at him, returning to her usual imperious tone, “Have the driver take me back.”

“What time is it? You want to go back on an empty stomach?” Liang Xian smiled and added, “Have your meal here.”

Ming Si originally thought that Liang Xian’s house would have some servants or maids, but to her surprise, when she walked into the kitchen, there was not a single soul in sight.

“There’s a maid who comes in regularly to cook,” Liang Xian opened the refrigerator door and took out a few things, “But it’s too late today, so I didn’t ask her to come.”

Ming Si watched as he opened the vegetable container, uncertainly asking, “Then…”

“Yeah, I’ll do it,” Liang Xian replied.

Both of them had studied abroad before. During Ming Si’s years overseas, she was busy with exploring exhibitions, attending fashion shows, and traveling for sightseeing. She had no idea when Liang Xian had unlocked his cooking skills.

Could it be that he’s into dark cuisine?

Liang Xian calmly rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, washing each vegetable methodically. His fingers were long and attractive, and his movements were clean and efficient, not at all like an amateur. When he handled the fish, his knife skills looked quite professional.

As his knife was about to fall on a tomato, his movements suddenly paused, and he looked up at her.

“I’m just casually looking around,” Ming Si also realized that she had lingered in the kitchen for too long, giving the impression that she was quite interested in his cooking. She cleared her throat lightly and pretended to be calm as she put her hands behind her back.

She wasn’t in a hurry to leave; instead, she adopted the posture of a leader inspecting her subordinates’ work, openly looking around the kitchen before hopping away with one foot.

Liang Xian watched her figure and found it quite amusing. He curved his lips into a smile.

The little peacock cared too much about her image; he really feared that she might stumble.

During the time before dinner, Ming Si sat on the sofa in the living room, casually choosing a movie to watch and replying to messages on WeChat.

Being trapped in the car was just yesterday’s incident, but the experiences of being disoriented and sleeping intermittently made it feel like a lifetime ago.

Ming Si tried to adapt to this sense of time disorientation. As she scrolled through the messages, she unexpectedly saw an invitation from Madam Yu.

She and Madam Yu became friends after the charity auction last time and had chatted a few times since then. This time, Madam Yu was asking if she had time to go to the jewelry exhibition of D Brand in Shanghai together.

Ming Si calculated the time and estimated that her foot would probably be healed by then, so she readily agreed.

Just as she put down her phone, Shi Tai walked over, holding a cup of hot milk and placed it in front of her.

She had been curious about this bodyguard for a long time.

Propping her cheek on her hand, she asked, “I have a question for you.”

Shi Tai respectfully replied, “Please, Miss Ming, go ahead.”

“Liang Xian,” Ming Si lightly tapped her cheeks twice with her fingers, “has he encountered any danger?”

“I’m sorry, I cannot discuss this matter with outsiders,” Shi Tai’s face tightened, and he stood upright.

Was there really something going on?

Ming Si was curious and couldn’t just drop the topic like that. Her eyes flickered as she put on a beautiful smile, “But I’m not an outsider, am I?”

Shi Tai hesitated.

Both are playing the game here. He excelled in fighting with people but wasn’t good at socializing. The woman in front of him was indeed not an outsider, and Mr. Liang had said that he would treat her well. So, she could be considered someone with close ties to Mr. Liang

“Just give me a hint,” Ming Si bent down and picked up the hot milk from the coffee table, giving it a light shake, “This shouldn’t violate any principles, right?”

Maintaining his professionalism, Shi Tai remained silent. “Miss Ming, if you want to know, why not just ask Mr. Liang directly? Mr. Liang will tell you.”

He was like a clam that could not be pried open. Ming Si found it boring, stirred the milk in the cup, and pondered her next probing move.

Meanwhile, Shi Tai still had a stern face, refusing to speak.

“What are you talking about?” Liang Xian walked over from the dining room, sensing that something seemed a bit strange between the two, “Dinner is ready.”

“Oh!” Ming Si put down the cup and stood up. Perhaps due to her absent-mindedness, she almost slipped on her feet but managed to stabilize herself on the edge of the sofa.

“Miss Ming, I believe you still need a wheelchair; otherwise, your injury may worsen,” Shi Tai suggested earnestly.

Despite his serious tone, it sounded somewhat ironic at this moment.

Ming Si’s expression showed she didn’t want to talk.

To be honest, if she were alone at home, she wouldn’t insist on this nonchalant attitude. If she needed to sit in the wheelchair, she would just sit in it; after all, no one would see.

However, now that she was with Liang Xian, she especially didn’t want him to see her in this unlucky state.

Liang Xian chuckled softly, “Shi Tai, help her get into the wheelchair.”

Shi Tai had actually brought the wheelchair with him when he went downstairs earlier, and now he quickly walked over and pushed it in front of her.

Liang Xian gestured with his eyes.

Ming Si glared at him disapprovingly. He raised an eyebrow in response, his tone carrying a teasing laugh, “Do you still want to wait for me to carry you?”

Ming Si: “…”

Did this man become addicted to taking advantage of her? She didn’t even settle the score with him after the hospital incident, and now he wanted to do it again? He must be dreaming.

With a disapproving look, she reluctantly sat in the wheelchair and refused to engage in any conversation with Liang Xian. As they passed by a long decorative mirror in the living room, she glanced at her reflection inside but quickly looked away.

Leaning back in the wheelchair, her entire appearance seemed to exclaim: Why should this princess suffer such injustice?

Liang Xian saw it but pretended not to. He leisurely pushed her towards the dining room.

He already knew that dealing with Ming Si was far more effective by being unreasonable than by reasoning with her.

Dinner consisted of pumpkin soup, grilled beef ribs, lemon seared cod fish, and broccoli, all beautifully presented in porcelain white tableware, making for a stunning visual display.

Ming Si picked up her fork and poked at the cod fish on her plate, asking uncertainly, “Did you make this?”

Liang Xian sat down opposite her and nodded, “En. Give it a try.”

Ming Si first scooped a small spoonful of pumpkin soup, which was rich and sweet with a subtle hint of cheese. It was surprisingly delicious.

They sat across from each other at an oval-shaped white marble dining table, with just two ceramic vases holding dried purple daisies in between them. The golden chandelier cast a warm glow, creating a perfectly peaceful atmosphere.

Suddenly, she seemed to have the illusion that they had already begun living together.

In fact, if they set aside all the prejudices, Liang Xian was not a bad candidate for a marriage alliance. They knew each other inside out, and there was no need to worry about unnecessary complications. Despite his seemingly wild side, Ming Si had actually never witnessed him engaging in any casual relationships over the years.

Overall, he wasn’t a type of person she despised.

So, let’s just make amends.

Once Ming Si made that decision, she felt a sense of relief. Almost unconsciously, the words Shi Tai had said earlier resurfaced in her mind, “Mr. Liang will tell you.”

If she were to ask, would he really tell her?

Feeling a bit conflicted, Ming Si cleared her throat and spoke up, “Liang Xian.”

“En?” He looked up at her.

“Have you encountered any danger?”

This was the second time she asked this question, but unlike the teasing tone in the car earlier, this time there was a hint of seriousness.

Her beautiful eyes stared at him without blinking.

Liang Xian put down the knife in his hand and fell silent for a moment, “En.”

“Tell me?”

In March or April, just before Liang Xian returned to China, he had received a death threat. He eliminated all foreign business competitors one by one and finally settled on Liang Jinyu.

Liang Jinyu was always sensitive and suspicious, ambitious, but not necessarily very cunning in his methods. Liang Xian fully believed that he would use death threats to intimidate others.

Ming Si didn’t expect the situation to be so serious, and moreover, it was a case of fratricidal drama. For a moment, she forgot to continue eating.

She also ignored the fact that Liang Xian had business competitors, “What happened next?”

“For now, he’s probably only trying to scare people and wouldn’t dare to do anything for real,” Liang Xian appeared relaxed, as though it didn’t bother him much, “Even if he gets desperate, I have people around who can handle it.”

“Seems easy for you to say,” Ming Si pursed her lips, not quite believing it, “You should still be cautious and bring a few more bodyguards when you go out.”

Shi Tai alone wouldn’t be enough.

What if Liang Jinyu went crazy and threw a bomb or something?

Liang Xian paused for a moment and then raised an eyebrow with a smile, “Are you concerned about me?”

There were many ways to answer this question. For example, they had grown up together as childhood friends, so it was normal to show some concern. Even if they were strangers, if someone’s life was in danger, it was natural to be concerned.

But for some inexplicable reason, Ming Si subconsciously tried to find the most noble and righteous reason, so the words that came out of her mouth were, “Don’t flatter yourself, I’m just worried. If something were to happen to you… then wouldn’t I be left widowed?”

As soon as she finished speaking, the dining room fell into silence. Ming Si regretted what she had said and wished she could bite her tongue off.

Looking at her regretful expression, Liang Xian chuckled lightly. After laughing, his voice softened a bit, “Don’t worry, I won’t leave you alone.”