I See Roses

I See Roses – Chapter 33

Liang Xian’s fingers moved slightly. Seeing this, Ming Si grabbed his hand even tighter, even twisting his fingers backward to prevent him from locking the screen.

Amused, he glanced at her from the corner of his eye, “Vigilant, are you?”

Ming Si’s lips curved, “Then explain it clearly first.”

“Explain what?”

Ming Si snorted and glanced at him, “Pretending to be innocent, wasn’t it you who wrote this nickname?”

Today, she tied up her long hair, revealing a smooth forehead with a few black strands of hair falling in curls on her eyebrows, adding a touch of charm.

In this look, her features appeared particularly bright and three-dimensional. The finely arched eyebrows showed a pleased expression that was shining brightly.

Liang Xian raised an eyebrow slightly, “Didn’t you see it for yourself?”

“What do you mean?” Ming Si drawled in a leisurely tone, “Are you secretly in love with me and too embarrassed to say it?”

“Do you think I’ve been quarreling with you since we were kids as a way to get your attention?” Liang Xian was impressed by her imagination, “If I liked you, I would pursue you. Is it necessary to argue with you just to get noticed?”

“Who knows?” Ming Si flicked the long hair hanging by her ear, looking very self-satisfied, “After all, someone secretly changed my nickname to Ming Fairy.”

After saying this, she tilted her head, waiting with interest for his response.

It wasn’t that she really thought Liang Xian secretly had feelings for her, but she was curious about what kind of circumstances would make someone give others special nicknames.

She, for instance, was quite lazy. She would only write their own full names in their nickname fields. Some people didn’t even get nicknames from her.

Liang Xian chuckled lightly, his voice slightly low, “If that were the case, what would you do?”

He didn’t deny it and even played along with her words, leaving Ming Si momentarily at a loss for how to respond.

At this moment, someone passed by them and glanced at them.

After the person left, the surrounding air, which seemed to be frozen in silence, began to flow again.

It was only at this moment that Ming Si finally realized that she had been holding onto Liang Xian’s hand all along, and she had been holding it so tightly that her fingers were almost embedded between his.

The man’s hands were long and slender, with a distinct and unfamiliar touch, quite different from her own. When she held his hand just now, it felt natural, but now it seemed to have a burning temperature.

Ming Si quickly let go, feeling her face heating up for some unknown reason. Hastily, she randomly picked a question to ask, “Tell me honestly, why did you save such a nickname for me?”

Liang Xian nonchalantly locked the screen and let his hand that holding his phone naturally hang down.

His gaze fell on her pursed lips for a moment, and then he smiled casually, “I saved it because I wanted to.”

Although it was him who saved such a nickname, why did she end up being the embarrassed one in the end?

Ming Si sat in the cinema, holding the little yellow duck, but her attention was not on the movie screen at all.

A bucket of popcorn was placed on the armrest between the two, and the rich aroma of butter spread in the air, making even the air between them seem sweet.

She absentmindedly picked one and put it in her mouth, but the popcorn tasted less delicious than it smelled. After eating a few pieces, Ming Si lost interest and wiped her hands with a wet tissue before turning her attention to the screen.

She had been distracted for too long and now she couldn’t keep up with the plot. She didn’t know how the male and female protagonists went from arguing fiercely one second to cuddling and cooing the next.

After watching for a few minutes, Ming Si realized that it wasn’t that she couldn’t keep up with the plot, but that it was simply a poorly written romance movie with illogical twists and turns.

No wonder there were only a few people watching.

It was all because they were too casual in choosing the movie.

Ming Si yawned out of boredom; her eyes became a bit teary from drowsiness.

However, she quickly remembered something and sat up straight, reaching out to Liang Xian, “Let me see your phone.”

Was she eager to see the nickname again?

Liang Xian curved his lips and suggested, “How about I take a screenshot and send it to you?”

Ming Si took the phone and glared at him, “What are you thinking? I’m not that narcissistic—unlock it.”

Liang Xian didn’t know what she was up to, but he complied.

Ming Si opened WeChat and openly announced her purpose, “I’m checking to see if you have any Zhao Fairy, Qian Fairy, Sun Fairy, Li Fairy, and so on.”

Was she suspecting that he had all the common surnames in his contacts with the Fairy word attached to them?

Her words almost made Liang Xian burst into laughter.

Supporting his forehead with one hand, he looked at her for a moment before teasing, “Did you find them?”

Ming Si had no intention of prying into his privacy; she just casually glanced at the screen.

Liang Xian’s contact list was the same as hers, all with regular names.

For some reason, this realization made Ming Si a little happy. She returned the phone to him and said with a You’re sensible tone, “There can only be one fairy.”

Liang Xian responded with an En, and a slight smile appeared on his lips as he added, “Just one, and that’s you.”

Satisfied, Ming Si reclined back in her seat and pinched the little yellow duck’s face. The couple on the screen had not yet finished their kiss, but somehow, they looked more pleasing to her than before.

After a moment’s thought, she said, “Should I change your nickname too? It’s only fair.”

Liang Xian was quite surprised, “Change it to what?”

Ming Si paused for a moment, a mischievous smile appeared on her lips, but she quickly suppressed it.

She took out her phone, went to Liang Xian’s nickname page, made the change, and handed it to him.

Liang Xian looked at it with interest.

The nickname she changed to read——The Pig Raised by the Fairy.

He almost burst out laughing when he read it.

He almost burst out laughing at her audacity. He leaned over, resting his elbow on her side, and with a threatening arc in his eyebrows, he said, “Ming Si, if you want to fight, just say so.”

After locking eyes with him for two seconds, Ming Si hummed disdainfully and turned around to block his view. She made a few more changes to the nickname.

Turning back, she patted her phone on his shoulder, “Is this okay?”

Liang Xian raised his hand and took a look. This time, it read ——The Handsome Guy Raised by the Fairy.

He chuckled, but the smile quickly subsided.

Ming Si saw that Liang Xian was typing something on her phone and couldn’t help but lean over to see, but he slightly tilted back, easily avoiding her gaze.

She was suspicious, “What are you changing now? You’re not allowed to change to shameless nicknames.”

“What’s a shameless nickname?” In just a moment, Liang Xian had finished changing and shook the phone screen toward her, “This is the correct version.”

Ming Si looked at it and couldn’t help but laugh, “Narcissist.”

He had changed it to——

The Handsome Guy Raising the Fairy.

In retrospect, the movie experience that day could be summarized in just two words: terrible and nonsense.

The 4D movie was not meant for humans, while the romance film was a whole lot of nonsense that made no sense. It even successfully put Ming Si to sleep, and when she woke up, she found herself leaning against Liang Xian’s shoulder.

However, surprisingly, when they left the cinema, both of them were in a good mood. At least, there was no bad memory in their movie going experience.

On the way back home in the car, Ming Si pretended to be reserved and reluctantly accepted his apology.

“Miss, you seem to be in a good mood,” Auntie Zhang, the housekeeper, greeted her after she arrived home. “Did you have a date with Young Master Liang?”

The smile on Ming Si’s lips quickly faded.

Auntie Zhang was the housekeeper she personally selected and had been here for about three years. However, they had only met face-to-face during the few days when Ming Si returned to China for the holidays.

So, in Auntie Zhang’s eyes, Cen Xinyan was probably the real mistress of the house.

Ming Si was almost certain that if she even hinted a little bit about her situation with Liang Xian, Cen Xinyan would immediately call and inquire about their emotional status.

She had considered changing the housekeeper, but it seemed like it wouldn’t make any difference.

Cen Xinyan had her ways of exerting pressure and bribing people, just as she always had.

“It was him,” Ming Si kicked off her high heels and handed her bag to Auntie Zhang, her eyes slightly cold, “But I hope you won’t report it to her.”

It was clear whom she was referring to.

Auntie Zhang took the bag and looked slightly embarrassed for a moment, “Miss Ming is joking…”

She had been working for Cen Xinyan in this villa. Originally, it was an unspoken secret between them. She didn’t know why the young lady suddenly brought it up today.

Ming Si walked a few steps and then turned around.

She was wearing a black short skirt; her legs beneath the skirt were long and well-proportioned. She changed into slippers now, and although the heels were shorter, she still exuded a commanding presence.

“Auntie Zhang,” she folded her arms and smiled lightly, hinting at something as she reminded her, “Don’t forget that your salary is paid by me, not the Ming family.”

This was a reminder for her to mind her own business. Auntie Zhang looked embarrassed and didn’t know how to respond for a moment.

Ming Si went straight to her workspace. It was a small attic on the top floor of the villa. Although not large, it was designed by the best designers and had its unique style.

She raised her hand and turned on the lights.

In the corner, several pots of flourishing green plants were placed. Every leaf was regularly wiped clean, and under the lights, they shone with a bright and clean luster.

Next to the green plants was a black wheelchair.

After Ming Si’s foot healed, she hadn’t used it and left it quietly in the corner. But now, for some reason, she went over and sat down, wheeling herself to the worktable.

The height was just right.

Perhaps because she had a nap at the cinema, Ming Si was not sleepy now.

She rested her chin on her hand and looked around the studio aimlessly, then she recalled Auntie Zhang’s awkward expression earlier.

Threatening to dismiss her was just a casual remark. If it wasn’t Auntie Zhang, there would be Auntie Li. Ming Si knew that as long as she continued living here, it would be difficult to escape Cen Xinyan’s probing.

Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind.

Upon careful consideration, she found it troublesome.

Moving to a new place and setting up a new workspace would be a hassle. Besides, she had never been there and didn’t know if it would be comfortable to live in.

Ming Si decided not to think about it further. Since she couldn’t sleep anyway, she spent the night designing a set of jewelry.

This was a commission from a university friend she had received a few days ago. That friend had returned to China and now worked at a top-tier humanities and arts magazine. Coincidentally, it was the magazine’s 25th-anniversary celebration, and the leadership decided to launch a custom-made merchandise.

After careful consideration, they settled on designing rings and necklaces that would appeal to art-loving young people. So, they commissioned the work.

Designs like these usually required simplicity and ease of wear, but it was easy to end up with a generic style with no uniqueness.

Ming Si added classic quotes from the top five most popular foreign writers selected during the magazine’s 20th-anniversary celebration onto the rings. Delicate English letters were engraved along the ring bands, making them exquisite and enduring. The earrings and necklaces had different engravings and designs, making it clear that they all belonged to the same collection.

After taking a picture and sending it over, the other party responded almost instantly:「Wow, Ming Si, you’re amazing!」

「I’m in the middle of meeting a deadline, but seeing such a beautiful little ring, I just couldn’t resist!」

「I’m sure this will win the heart of our picky boss; he loves this kind of artistic and literary style.」

「By the way, Ming Si, do you have a Weibo account? We should tag the designer when we post this.」

Ming Si replied:「I’m registering one now.」

Registering for Weibo took only a few minutes. After finishing the process, she sent her Weibo to her friend, and they chatted a bit before tacitly agreeing not to disturb each other while they worked.

When Ming Si exited the chat box, her eyes fell on a certain place, and she saw the bright remark The Handsome Guy Raising the Fairy lying conspicuously in her friends list. She suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.

She clicked on Liang Xian’s profile picture and found that he didn’t seem to post on WeChat Moments much. The most recent post was from last year’s Chinese New Year, featuring a New Year’s greeting.

Ming Si clicked for more details, wanting to see the comments, but her finger accidentally pressed the like button.

She stared at it for two seconds but ultimately decided not to cancel it.

At this hour, Liang Xian should be asleep.

However, Cheng Yu was awake, and not just awake, he even sent a message to Ming Si:「Ming Si, I saw that you liked Brother Xian’s post. Have you two made up?」

Cheng Yu’s memory still lingered on the incident of she got drunk and was thrown into the flower bushes, naturally assuming they still had some deep enmity.

Ming Si didn’t explain and honestly replied:「It was an accident, my hand slipped.」

Cheng Yu:「Oh… sigh…」

The way he sighed sounded full of concern, as though he was worried they were holding a deep grudge against each other.

Ming Si couldn’t help but laugh. After thinking for a moment, she asked:「Yu Yu, what’s the nickname you gave me?」

Cheng Yu:「Just your name.」

Ming Si:「Change it.」

Cheng Yu:「Change it to what?」

Ming Si:「Ming Fairy.」

If it were Ke Lijie, he probably would have sent back a string of ellipses. But Cheng Yu wasn’t like that; he was like a little angel. Whatever Ming Si said, he accepted.

After a few seconds, he cheerfully sent a screenshot:「Done!」

Ming Si’s gaze lingered on his nickname for her, which was exactly the same two words, but somehow, it felt like something was missing, and her lips didn’t curve into a smile.

She didn’t quite understand herself, but in the end, she tapped her finger and typed:「Forget it.」

「Change it back.」

This time, Cheng Yu finally replied:「…」

After chatting with Cheng Yu for a while, Ming Si yawned and prepared to go shower.

Just then, her phone vibrated. She stretched her lazy waist and glanced down. A certain The Handsome Guy Raising the Fairy asked her:「It’s so late, haven’t slept yet?」