I See Roses

I See Roses – Chapter 32

Liang Xian curved the corner of his lips and lowered his arm to hand the small yellow duck to her.

“It’s yours,” he said.

Holding the fluffy little duck in her hand, Ming Si felt the soft fabric and her mood improved. For a moment, she even thought about suggesting to watch a different movie.

But then she wondered, when did she become so easy to please?

It’s just a little yellow duck.

It couldn’t make up for Liang Xian’s teasing that morning.

After checking the tickets and taking a few steps inside, Ming Si noticed that there weren’t many people coming to watch this movie. Most of them were couples. Young men and women were holding popcorn, being intimate, and laughing sweetly.

At this moment, Liang Xian turned his head slightly and asked casually, “What are we watching?”

“‘Hot Sea,’” Ming Si withdrew her gaze, fanned the ticket lightly, and pretended to be calm, “Haven’t you seen it?”

“No.”

In the few months since he returned to the country, he rarely went to the cinema.

The 4D cinema hall had a different sign from the regular one; Ming Si was initially worried that Liang Xian would notice something was amiss. But she didn’t expect him to appear completely unaware of those things as he walked straight in.

The cinema hall was sparsely populated.

In this day and age, those who came to watch a 4D disaster movie were young and daring warriors.

Ming Si chose seats near the back, and as she climbed up the red-carpeted steps, she felt a little guilty. She twisted her high heels and almost tripped.

Suddenly, a pair of strong hands supported her from behind. Ming Si leaned against the side wall and stabilized herself, and the hands quickly let go.

“Be careful,” she heard Liang Xian’s voice.

In the cinema hall, the soft yellow light mixed with the dark red colors of the movie seats, creating a warm and obscure atmosphere. In the air, you could faintly see tiny specks of dust.

Perhaps influenced by this atmosphere, Liang Xian’s voice just now sounded a bit husky and deep, seemingly as if it had been polished by fine particles.

Even though they were separated by some distance, it seemed like his voice was close to her ears, reaching her heart directly.

Ming Si was momentarily stunned but quickly recovered. She stepped up the stairs in her high heels.

After finding their seats and sitting down, she heard Liang Xian ask, “Do you like watching 4D movies?”

She didn’t know when he found out, but Ming Si didn’t think she could hide it until the movie started. From the entrance signs to the seat configuration in the theater, 4D was completely different from the regular halls.

It was unexpected for him to ask just now.

Ming Si smoothed her dress and pretended to be casual, “I heard 4D movies are more immersive, so I wanted to give it a try. Don’t you like it?”

Liang Xian leaned back against the chair and raised an eyebrow without giving a definite answer, “Is that so?”

The two of them, who were delayed by playing the claw machine, had arrived on time when the movie was about to start.

Thanks to Lin Xijia’s information, Ming Si knew that the first few minutes were calm, with the seats at most gently swaying, not too intense.

However, she knew that when the movie reaches about five minutes and thirty seconds, the scene would suddenly change. Massive waves would crash down, and the seats would dance wildly, simulating the effects of the movie.

Thus, she silently watched for a while, looking focused.

When the scene entered a vast sea, Ming Si cleared her throat, suppressing her wildly beating heart, took off her glasses, and stuffed the small yellow duck into Liang Xian’s arms, “I’m going to the restroom.”

As in, she wouldn’t be coming back.

Liang Xian leaned back against the chair. He took the little yellow duck with his right hand and extended his left arm, blocking her seat, “Didn’t you just go before the movie started?”

Ming Si: “…”

You remember that so clearly?

He also took off his glasses.

Taking advantage of his height, he leaned slightly and his arm trapped her in the seat, blocking her way.

With no way to retreat, Ming Si pushed his hand and said unkindly, “Don’t I have permission to go again? I need to touch up my makeup.”

“Your makeup looks fine, no need to touch up,” Liang Xian remained unmoved.

“…If you say I don’t need to touch up, I don’t need to?”

As the time approached five minutes and thirty seconds, Ming Si couldn’t care about anything else. She said she wanted to stand up, but unexpectedly, Liang Xian withdrew his left hand, leaned over, and used his right hand to encircle her in the seat more firmly.

The distance suddenly became very close; Ming Si instinctively leaned back, her back pressed deeply against the backrest.

The light from the screen projected from the front, casting Liang Xian’s features in varying depths of light and shadow. The area around his eyebrows and eye sockets appeared particularly three-dimensional, adding a touch of grace to his charming peach blossom eyes.

It was only at this moment that Ming Si noticed that he had a faint mole at the corner of his eye, light brown in color. Softly illuminated by the light, it was oddly captivating.

She could even faintly smell a woody masculine fragrance.

This time, it seemed like a different scent, slightly softer than the usual cool tones he used, with a hidden aggressiveness yet delicate.

She was momentarily captivated, then called back by his carefree voice.

“Ming Si,” Liang Xian rested his finger on the armrest, raised his eyebrow, and the peach blossom eyes held a hint of amusement, “Were you deliberately causing trouble for me?”

Looking into his eyes, Ming Si felt guilty for two seconds.

But admitting to it was impossible, so she avoided the topic and tried to push his arm away, “Let go. If you don’t let go, I’ll scream pervert.”

“You can scram if you want,” Liang Xian remained indifferent and even laughed softly.

With his charming appearance, his slightly narrowed eyes and his carefree demeanor, he exuded a sense of romance.

Annoyed, Ming Si glared at him, struggling to stand up. However, she was held more tightly instead. In the end, she had no choice but to compromise, “Let go first…”

Before she finished speaking, she suddenly felt a heavy impact on her back.

Her exclamation was suppressed in her throat, and she uncontrollably lunged forward, falling into a firm embrace the next moment.

Amidst the chaos, her lips brushed against his cheek, and finally, her nose bumped into his shoulder.

A tingling pain came half a second later, and Ming Si whimpered, her forehead pressing against his shoulder, the pain causing her to frown deeply.

Liang Xian, who had just left the backrest, didn’t suffer the brunt of the sudden attack.

When Ming Si leaned towards him, he instinctively reached out to support her. After a while, he saw her lift her head from his embrace, covering her nose, looking particularly aggrieved as she glared at him, tears almost welling up in her eyes.

Liang Xian’s heart skipped a beat.

This time, he might not be able to coax her so easily.

They didn’t finish watching the movie at all, with Ming Si setting a new record—she got up from her seat after only five minutes into the movie, leaving even the little yellow duck behind.

As she left, Ming Si’s footsteps were swift, and her back, from the strands of hair to the high heels, was filled with dissatisfaction with this movie experience.

Liang Xian carried the small yellow duck and followed behind her, words almost at his lips but suppressed.

In his over twenty years of life, Liang Xian had never properly coaxed anyone.

If he had to say, Ming Si was probably the only one.

But in their usual interactions, her anger, from time to time, was more like a childish tantrum—he would give her a way out and she would take it. Then they would make up and get along smoothly.

However, this time, it seemed a bit beyond his scope.

Liang Xian looked at her back in front of him as he opened his phone with his unoccupied hand. He hesitated for a moment as if pondering how to phrase it. In the end, he typed: How to coax…

Before he could enter the word girl, the associated search suggestions popped up:

How to coax a girlfriend…

How to coax a wife…

His gaze scanned them for a moment before he clicked on the second suggestion.

The restroom mirror had probably just been cleaned, crystal clear and spotless. Ming Si stood in front of the mirror, tilting her head left and right, carefully inspecting her nose.

Once she confirmed it still looked beautiful, she let out a sigh of relief.

Placing her bag on the sink, she unscrewed a lipstick tube and applied lipstick while looking into the mirror.

As the lipstick touched her lips, the scene in the cinema suddenly flashed vividly before her eyes.

The whole incident happened in an instant, but upon recollection, some details were still vividly present in her mind.

For example, the dim and ambiguous lighting in the cinema, the surging blue sea on the screen, the screams of the surrounding couples, the golden popcorn falling in front of her… and that moment of weightlessness and palpitations.

Ming Si even remembered the feeling when her lips brushed against his cheek.

It was light, a bit tingling, like a small electric current passing by.

She subconsciously touched her lip corner with her little finger, her gaze inadvertently meeting the mirror’s reflection. She quickly withdrew her hand, feeling a bit frustrated.

So now, she… not only lost the wife but also lost the soldiers1?

Liang Xian remained unscathed, while she had bumped her nose, and even ended up having… a kiss that was not a kiss.

Or was it… lifting a stone only to drop it on one’s own foot2?

After all, as he said, she did intend to cause trouble. Perhaps, this was just karma.

No, she couldn’t think like this.

Ming Si snapped back to her senses, twisted the lipstick tube shut, and put it back into her bag.

She had to act aloof, she had to be angry.

After adjusting her expression in front of the mirror, Ming Si stepped on her high heels and walked out calmly and unhurriedly.

Liang Xian was waiting not far away, adopting a poised posture.

He stood in the corridor outside the lounge, with Hollywood movie stars’ black-and-white photos framed on one side, exuding a high-quality and stylish vibe.

At this moment, his temperament seemed to blend perfectly with the black-and-white theme, making him handsome, sharp, and mysterious.

However, the little yellow duck in his hand somewhat disrupted the aura.

Ming Si felt like laughing but suppressed it.

She walked closer in her high heels, taking the initiative, “Is this your way of making amends? You almost got me injured.”

It was a good sign that she took the initiative, indicating that she wasn’t really angry.

Liang Xian chuckled softly and handed her the little yellow duck, “My bad, it was a poorly planned move.”

His attitude was acceptable; he even took responsibility for that things that weren’t his fault, without any complaints.

Ming Si took the little yellow duck, pinched its face, and looked up at Liang Xian with a hint of hesitation, wondering if she should follow along.

Before she could decide, she suddenly noticed a faint red mark on Liang Xian’s cheek.

The cold white light fell on it, making it shimmer slightly.

…It was her lipstick.

This little discovery became the last straw. Ming Si felt guilty for a moment, but quickly mustered up courage, “So, how are you going to compensate?”

“Watch another movie?” Liang Xian suggested with a pause, “Not a 4D one.”

Naturally, 4D was permanently on Ming Si’s blacklist.

“And you buy the tickets,” Ming Si added, “Just make sure it’s not Hot Sea again.”

Those two words were also blacklisted.

Liang Xian smiled and agreed, “Sure.”

It turned out that the little peacock was easier to please than he had imagined. Liang Xian didn’t even need to use any of the tricks or magic he had searched for—fortunately, because those answers didn’t seem reliable at all.

“What do you want to watch? Come over and choose together.” He held his phone, tilting his shoulder to make space for Ming Si.

Ming Si moved closer to his side.

When Liang Xian opened the ticket app, a WeChat message popped up. He opened it without any intention of avoiding it, and Ming Si casually glanced at it.

It was flight information sent by his assistant. Ming Si asked casually, “Are you going on a business trip again?”

Liang Xian responded with a simple En and added, “Tomorrow.”

“When will you be back?”

“Saturday.”

It happened to be the day before the engagement ceremony.

Perhaps both of them had thought of this, as they involuntarily fell into silence.

The fact that they were already married and the impending public announcement of their engagement made their perception of their relationship feel slightly more real.

However, emotionally, they still weren’t willing to think too deeply about this change.

“What are you staring at? Buy the tickets,” Ming Si urged him, changing the subject.

Liang Xian instinctively closed the chat box to open the ticketing app.

Suddenly, Ming Si stopped him, “Wait! What did you write in as my WeChat nickname?”

Liang Xian’s fingers paused.

She directly held his hand to prevent him from destroying the evidence and took a quick peek at the WeChat friend list.

Then, she raised her voice with excitement and a hint of triumph, as though she had discovered a little secret she couldn’t contain, “Ming Fairy?”

 

The phrase “赔了夫人又折兵” (péi le fūrén yòu zhé bīng) is an idiom in Chinese.
“赔了夫人” (péi le fū rén) means “lost the wife” or “lost the woman.” “折兵” (zhé bīng) translates to “lost soldiers” or “suffered casualties.” So, the idiom implies that this person has experienced significant losses or setbacks, both in personal and strategic terms. ↩︎“搬起石头砸了自己的脚” is a Chinese proverb that translates to “Lifting a stone only to drop it on one’s own foot” in English. This proverb is used to describe a situation where someone’s actions or decisions intended to achieve something positive end up backfiring and causing harm to themselves instead.
↩︎