I See Roses

I See Roses – Chapter 22

In fact, Liang Xian didn’t care much about leaving early or late. He was used to being indifferent, and even if he was pushed onto a formal stage, as long as he didn’t want to cooperate, no one dared to bother him with idle chit-chat.

However, he was quite curious to see how Ming Si planned to escape, so he chuckled softly, “Sure.”

The evening banquet was set in the villa’s backyard, with a long table adorned with flowers from all over the world, and a complete set of Christofle silver-plated cutlery gleaming with a cold luster. The lights flickered, and waiters in tailcoats came and went, while a cellist played a deep and melodious tune.

The outside catering was handled by a team of chefs from five-star hotels around the world, as well as an elusive Michelin three-star chef, all carefully arranged and screened by Zhong Wanzhi as the hostess to please the guests.

However, anyone with discerning eyes could tell that the Crown Prince of Jinghong was not appreciative of all this.

As the family of four walked in, Zhong Wanzhi accompanied them with a smile and said something, but Liang Xian remained cold and arrogant throughout, utterly dismissing everyone around him.

“Her own biological son is unreliable, so she can only try to flatter her stepson,” someone said with a disdainful tone, “And have you heard how she drove Young Master Liang’s biological mother to her death? Shameless, really.”

Some people were quietly surprised, “There was such a thing? Wasn’t Mrs. Liang always in poor health?”

“She was, but if it weren’t for Zhong Wanzhi bringing her son to the door and claiming that he was Old President Liang’s biological son, Mrs. Liang wouldn’t have died of depression back then.”

“Ah…”

The women deliberately lowered their voices, but Ming Si, who was sitting close by, perked up her ears upon hearing the conversation, almost catching every word of their discussion.

She subconsciously looked up at Liang Xian. Liang Zhihong was speaking on the stage, while Liang Xian stood to the side, one hand casually in his pocket, his face expressionless. His suit and the crisp cuffs of his white shirt exuded a hint of elegance.

However, after hearing those words just now, Ming Si felt that at this moment, he looked lonely and distant.

Although the large villa filled with relatives and friends, it seemed as if there was no one who was close to him.

In Ming Si’s memory, Liang Xian’s biological mother was a very gentle person.

Due to her poor health, she lived in a healing resort on a remote island abroad, and Liang Xian could only visit her during holidays. When Ming Si was six years old, she went there with Cheng Yu and the others.

Seeing the beach, Ming Si couldn’t help but recall the unpleasant encounter with Liang Xian when they first met. So during the vacation days, she didn’t hesitate to cause trouble for him. Whenever Liang Xian retorted, she would run to his mother and complain about him.

Liang Xian’s mother always sat in a large and soft chair, with a thin blanket over her knees. The honey-colored evening sun shone through the French windows, making her face appear exceptionally gentle, “Little Xian is in the wrong. Auntie will scold him for you.”

Ming Si felt particularly pleased to hear that, so she turned around to make a teasing face at Liang Xian.

Liang Xian always responded with a hmph and reluctantly gave in. At that age, the little boy was mischievous and unruly, but in front of his mother, he seemed to be somewhat restrained.

Thus, Ming Si always triumphed.

Similar incidents occurred many times, and Ming Si became more and more fond of seeking support from Liang Xian’s mother. Sometimes, even if she had no conflict with Liang Xian, she would find ways to talk to his mother.

She was beautiful and had a sweet mouth, even the doctors at the healing resort liked her. One day, a doctor bent down and asked, “Little girl, why do you always like to find Aunt Bai?”

Ming Si replied almost instantly, “Because Aunt Bai is beautiful and gentle.”

“Then let Aunt Bai be your mommy, okay?”

“Okay!” Ming Si agreed quickly, her eyes curved into crescent moons as she smiled. But then she became worried and said seriously, “But Aunt Bai is Liang Xian’s mommy, I can’t snatch her away from him.”

The doctor smiled at Liang Xian’s mother, “Indeed, you can’t snatch her away. But when you grow up and marry Liang Xian, Aunt Bai will be your mommy.”

What? The cost was so high!

Ming Si’s eyes widened suddenly, as though she had been struck dumb by thunder.

Later, when she was playing beach soccer with Cheng Yu and Liang Xian, those words of the doctor kept floating in Ming Si’s mind. At times, she angrily thought that the doctor was unreasonable to propose such a hegemonic condition, and at times, her face inexplicably turned hot, feeling very embarrassed.

Perhaps because of her absent-mindedness, when they later went swimming, although Ming Si was in the shallow waters where her feet could touch the ground, she ended up cramping and kept choking on water, continuously struggling as she almost drowned. In the end, Liang Xian had to carry her out of the water.

That evening, as the sun descended, there were circles of yellow halos blooming before her eyes. Water droplets slid down from her eye corners, hot and dry. She felt uncomfortable and just wanted to close her eyes.

After getting back to shore, someone patted her back, and finally, she coughed out the water.

Having experienced a near-death experience, Ming Si couldn’t bother to dwell on the difficult life question of whether to marry Liang Xian or not.

Perhaps because she had just reminisced about the near-drowning incident, Ming Si felt a bit suffocated at the moment.

She got up and went to the restroom for a moment, and when she returned, she saw Liang Xian standing at the podium with a standing microphone. After a few words, he casually walked down the stage.

In a corner not far from the stage, Liang Jinyu and Zhong Wanzhi stood side by side.

Seeing their expressions, which seemed as if they had eaten something rotten, Ming Si suddenly understood why Liang Xian, a person who was carefree and never took anything seriously, agreed to this marriage alliance—

Is there anything more satisfying than inheriting the family fortune to infuriate this ambitious mother and son?

“Miss Ming, Young Master is looking for you,” at this moment, the butler walked over to guide her, “Young Master asks you to sit over there.”

After the dinner began, exquisite dishes were served one by one on the table. For some reason, despite having her favorite wasabi salmon and ice cream, Ming Si couldn’t muster any appetite.

She even stared at the carved patterns on the silver spoon for a while, lost in thought.

“What’s wrong?” Liang Xian also noticed that something was amiss and turned his head to ask.

Ming Si propped her cheek with one hand, contemplating how to put it into words.

She couldn’t bring herself to say that it was because today’s occasion brought back memories of the past and somehow sparked a little… indescribable feeling towards Liang Xian.

After the banquet, everyone moved to the nearby music hall to enjoy the orchestra’s performance.

Ming Si linked her arm with Liang Xian’s as they took their seats. She picked up the program booklet from the armrest and glanced at it with great interest, reading a few lines out loud, seemingly looking forward to the performance.

Liang Xian leaned back in his chair and glanced over, asking in a low voice, “Aren’t we running away?”

“Of course, who do you think you’re looking down on?”

Thinking of how he would write Ming Si is a fairy a hundred times, Ming Si planned to find a way to take him away from here. She supported her cheek with one hand, and with her two fingers twirling the program booklet mischievously, there was a sly smile on her face, “But we can’t let people see that, right?”

Watching the performance was distinctly different from the dinner. This time, little cousins deliberately managed to sit next to them. Although they couldn’t hear exactly what their cousin and cousin-in-law were saying, it didn’t stop them from digging deeper into the meaning behind every gesture and even every exchange of glances.

“Did you notice that just now, Cousin’s gaze was a bit teasing and doting?”

“Did you notice that Cousin-in-law’s expression was a little spoiled?”

—A perfect illustration of what faking a perfect couple with the right filters.1

There was a twenty-minute break before the formal performance began.

For the first fifteen minutes, Ming Si behaved calmly. Sometimes she would take a short video, sometimes she would be engrossed in her phone vlog, and sometimes she would chat with the little cousins beside her, seemingly enjoying herself.

But on the fifteenth minute, she suddenly exclaimed, clutching her stomach and curling up.

At first, Liang Xian thought she was really in pain, so he bent down to help her. It was only when she blinked at him inconspicuously that he understood what she was up to and couldn’t help but chuckle, “Is this your so-called good plan?”

“My stomach hurts so much…” Ming Si’s acting skills were not affected at all by Liang Xian’s doubts. She pretended not to hear him and continued to clutch her stomach while crouching on the ground, looking weak and feeble, “It must be the ice cream I ate.”

Liang Xian coughed lightly, playing along, “Then I’ll take you to the hospital.”

“I can’t get up…” She deliberately made things difficult for him.

Liang Xian’s lips slightly curved.

In the next second, Liang Xian simply picked her up in a princess carry from the ground. . Amidst the whirlwind of events, he even heard the surprised and excited screams from the little cousins nearby.

“What are you doing?” Ming Si was startled, but was also annoyed.

However, in the eyes of others, her face was hidden in his suit, giving off a completely gentle and loving appearance.

Liang Xian raised an eyebrow, “Didn’t you say you couldn’t get up? I’m helping you.”

Ming Si: “…”

Thank you for helping me, then.

Liang Zhihong was not very optimistic about Liang Xian, his unruly and careless son, when he was young, so he allowed their father-son relationship to become strained. Initially, when Liang Xian decided to go abroad against his wishes, he didn’t stop him.

But strangely, as he grew older, Liang Zhihong felt the importance of family more and more, and his desire to repair the relationship with Liang Xian became more urgent.

Liang Zhihong had intended to use this opportunity to get closer to his son, but before the performance could end, Ming Si suddenly had a stomachache.

Seeing Liang Xian’s expression, it was clear he was just giving face to him by coming to inform him. Helpless in this situation, Liang Zhihong had no choice but to wave his hand and let them go.

The princess-carry posture actually required the cooperation of two people. In order to be more comfortable, Ming Si had to use her hands to hold onto Liang Xian’s shoulder. Along the way, they were scrutinized by countless spotlight-like gazes.

When they finally made it to the outside of the villa, Ming Si immediately let go of her hand and patted his shoulder, “Aren’t you going to put me down? Are you addicted to carrying me or something?”

His change in demeanor was as fast as flipping a book; the weak appearance from earlier disappeared entirely.

Liang Xian put her down, watched her jump twice in place and stand steadily, then turned his head and smiled.

“What are you smiling for? I’m just helping you,” Ming Si rolled her eyes at him. Then, curious as to why he seemed lost in thought, she asked, “What are you thinking about?”

His mood didn’t seem good tonight. Was he thinking about his mother like she did?

“I was thinking,” Liang Xian, with one hand in his pocket, took two slow steps, turned his head to look at her, and raised an eyebrow, “Do you want to sign with my company, debut, become famous, and win the Best Actress award?”

“…”

Ming Si took half a second to react and felt that her baseless worries were a complete waste of emotion. She caught up with him and gave his shoulder a firm punch, huffing, “Ming Si is a fairy, write it down 300 times!”

After taking a bath in the evening, Ming Si put on a bathrobe and walked out of the bathroom. Just as she reached the dressing table, she noticed a new message on her phone.

Liang Xian:「[Image]」

She didn’t immediately recognize what it was, so she curiously clicked to open it. On the white paper was a line of words, with a slightly sloppy yet free-flowing handwriting. It was not hard to make out the content:

Ming Si is a fairy.