I See Roses

I See Roses – Chapter 39

“What are you daydreaming about?” Lin Xijia waved her hand in front of Ming Si’s eyes, “You two don’t communicate at home, so it’s difficult to come up with something to say?”

It’s not surprising that Lin Xijia had a deep misunderstanding of Ming Si and Liang Xian. These two were famous for being each other’s adversaries during their school days.

Back in high school, Liang Xian was a proud and lazy young master. Although he had good grades, he didn’t follow the rules and was not a typical good student.

In a way, he was more troublesome than traditional underachievers.

On the other hand, Ming Si became the student council president in her sophomore year, and the conflicts between the two grew rapidly.

There was a time when Ming Si seemed to be always find fault with Liang Xian.

So, every day, Lin Xijia would see Liang Xian practicing his signature at the school gate.

After greeting Ming Si, she would curiously look at the disciplinary book. The row that read High School (18) Class, Liang Xian, looked like it was collected by someone with OCD.

Liang Xian didn’t care much, and he skillfully signed his name and threw the pen down, lazily raising his eyes. “Are we done?”

Ming Si took the disciplinary book, looked at it without really looking, and crossed her arms, “Remember, from now on, you must wear your school badge when entering and leaving the school gate, no exceptions.”

Liang Xian nonchalantly put his hand in his uniform pocket, and responded indifferently, “Got it.”

…Then the next day, Lin Xijia once again saw Ming Si catching Liang Xian at the school gate.

In terms of appearance, these two were a perfect match, dressed in the blue and white school uniform of the Affiliated Middle School, which was ranked first in the city’s selection. At first glance, they looked like stars shooting a campus movie.

This made Lin Xijia’s imagination run wild; she was quite certain that these two were bound to spark some romantic flames and that their friendship boat would inevitably turn into a love river.

But reality was cruel and paid no attention to the fanciful script of this scriptwriter who believed in love.

Now, many years had passed, and the boat was as stable as an old dog.

“You’re talking nonsense. I’m not that childish,” Ming Si refused to admit as she recalled the past from Lin Xijia, “It’s just that he is too rebellious. The other students at Affiliated Middle School were well-behaved and wore their school badges every day. But I can’t catch him doing anything wrong.”

In fact, when Lin Xijia said this, Ming Si had already recalled her state of mind when she was finding fault with Liang Xian.

But she had too much pride to admit that she was seeking personal revenge.

“Yes, yes, yes,” Lin Xijia touched her cat, perfunctorily agreeing, “You are upright. The problem lies with Liang Xian! He should be caught.”

Ming Si was not satisfied with her tone. She glanced sideways and silently questioned her.

Lin Xijia lifted the ragdoll cat to cover her face, avoiding the deadly gaze, and somewhat hesitantly said, “He’s my boss.”

“So what?”

Is that a reason to collaborate with the enemy and betray your own country?

Without much thought, Ming Si retorted unkindly, “I’m your boss too.”

Lin Xijia didn’t react for a moment, and after a while, she looked at Ming Si thoughtfully.

“Did I say something wrong?” Ming Si realized what she had said, but faced with Lin Xijia’s inquisitive look, she still maintained her composure, stood up, and dropped a few words, “This is an objective fact.”

Ming Si returned to her computer by the window, sat down, straightened her body, opened a folder, and prepared to get back to work.

Lin Xijia put down the cat and let it gracefully wander out of the door. Meanwhile, she circled around to Ming Si’s back, hands behind her back.

“Ming Si, didn’t you feel like your behavior just now,” she hesitated for a moment, “It seemed like an unconscious acknowledgment of something?”

Ming Si dragged the mouse, organizing her design work without lifting her eyelids, “What are you trying to say?”

“Liang Xian has always been quite popular with girls, have you noticed?” Lin Xijia didn’t directly get to the point; instead, she brought up other things, “Just look at how every time you catch him signing at the school gate, the girls entering the school slow down a bit, as if they wish to stay on the spot forever. And those few girls who used to pursue him, weren’t they all at the level of school beauties? Their pursuers would line up from the east gate to the teaching building, but they wouldn’t be interested in any of them and only like Liang Xian.”

Was Lin Xijia here to praise Liang Xian in various ways?

Ming Si placed the mouse heavily on the table and was about to speak when she heard Lin Xijia speak rapidly, “So, I think it might be a bit dangerous for you to live together with Liang Xian. Have you noticed your heart beating faster recently when you are with him?”

Has her heart been pounding lately while spending time with Liang Xian? Ming Si had never pondered too deeply on this.

But the moment after Lin Xijia finished speaking, she felt as if she had stepped into the air, her fingertips tingling with astonishment.

“In the end, he’s an impetuous young man,” inside the Jinghong headquarters, Director Zheng, a man over fifty, sat on the side of the office desk, observing the man in front of him and spoke first, “He thinks he has secured the position of heir, too eager to show off, which often leads to trouble.”

Liang Jinyu leaned back in his chair, palms interlocked, without saying a word.

Seeing this, Director Zheng sighed again, “Jinyu, you are someone I have watched grow up. Let’s talk candidly in private. For Jinghong, what the directors are hoping for in a leader is someone who can bring huge profits. What can he, an outsider young master, offer to impress everyone?”

This Director Zheng was also a cunning character. He usually kept a low profile, but he did not hesitate to do things that went against Liang Zhihong.

Under Liang Jinyu’s protection, he managed to avoid the purge. Now, the two of them were tied together firmly.

Therefore, upon hearing the news of Liang Xian’s impending arrival at the Jinghong headquarters, Director Zheng sought Liang Jinyu’s office to discuss countermeasures.

Since he couldn’t join the bandwagon, he could only keep encouraging this seemingly faltering vice president, “You are different, these years, your contributions to Jinghong have been evident to everyone. You might have a chance.”

After speaking these seemingly sincere words, sweat almost appeared on Director Zheng’s forehead. After all, Liang Jinyu was not a naïve child, and he didn’t expect these empty compliments to fool him.

But to some extent, he hoped ignite Liang Jinyu’s fighting spirit for power and dominance.

If he could rise to the occasion, they still had some hope of surviving. If they continued to be so passive, wouldn’t they wait for Liang Xian to eliminate them one by one?

“At the upcoming emergency shareholders’ meeting…”

Before Director Zheng could finish speaking, Liang Jinyu raised his head and called him, “Uncle Zheng.”

Director Zheng was startled, “Ah.”

“Don’t waste your efforts,” Liang Jinyu leaned back in his chair, looking out of the huge floor-to-ceiling window of the office, “Liang Xian is not an ordinary person. Jinghong Films was just his testing ground. Now it’s just Jinghong’s turn to face him.”

In fact, it was no wonder Liang Jinyu was in a slump.

For anyone, upon finding out in a short period that his covertly operated funds were exposed and held as leverage, and that the other party had severed all connections between him and other groups, causing all the high-level executives he once had friendly relations with to collectively lose their memory and start pretending not to know him… surviving without jumping off a building would be considered good.

On the day of the engagement banquet, he still believed that with the help of external forces, he might have a chance to take back Jinghong.

Now looking back at that thought, it felt like a distant dream.

Director Zheng opened his mouth, “This…”

Liang Jinyu closed his eyes, “Uncle Zheng, you said we are family, so I’ll be straightforward with you.”

“Liang Zhihong will not hand Jinghong over to me. In his eyes, making me Vice President is already the extent of his goodwill,” Having spoken the words he once had hope in, Liang Jinyu didn’t know what emotions he was feeling.

He paused for a moment and no longer dwelled on it, “So, I want to leave Jinghong and, in passing, give a big gift to Huasheng. I hope you will stand with me.”

In Pingcheng, Jinghong Group, Ming Family Group, and Huasheng Group were the three major groups, standing on equal footing. When they first obtained the coastal land, hundreds of billions of funds were involved. No single group could handle it alone, so there was an alliance between the first two groups.

Now that the engagement banquet was over, and the coastal project was underway, Liang Jinyu, as vice president, was directly involved in this critical project.

What was the big gift he mentioned? It was self-evident.

“Jinyu!” Director Zheng didn’t expect him to have such plans and stood up suddenly, “Jinghong is not just a corporation, it’s your father’s hard work!”

Director Zheng’s disbelieving and somewhat angry reaction dispelled the guilt lingering in Liang Jinyu’s heart.

“According to his point of view,” he said indifferently, “My father actually has nothing to do with me.”

“Young Master Liang,” inside the Vice President’s office, a well-dressed man walked past the screen with the assistant’s guidance. He called out to the young man behind the office desk and then stood still. After the other assistants noticed the atmosphere and automatically stepped back, he spoke in a low voice, “The loss assessment report you requested is ready.”

Liang Xian responded with an acknowledgment, “How much?”

The man handed over a paper document, “Thirteen billion.”

This was the number calculated with the maximum possible avoidance of losses, considering the moves Liang Jinyu was planning to make in advance. If they were unprepared, it might directly lead to a temporary suspension of the coastal project, and the losses could be immeasurable.

“Correct,” Liang Xian seemed to be in a good mood as he half-jokingly remarked, “Thirteen billion worth of business secrets, enough to send him to jail.”

“This…” The struggles within powerful families were indeed ruthless. With just a few words, they could trap someone and have them end up in jail. The man suddenly didn’t know how to continue, but after a moment’s consideration, he pragmatically said, “Young Master Liang, you’ve just been transferred to the headquarters and let the coastal project face such a big issue. As for Vice President Liang and the other directors…”

He didn’t finish his words, but the meaning was clear enough. Liang Xian raised his chin slightly, indicating for him to continue.

So, the man dutifully reminded, “There is also a thirteen-billion-fund gap. If it is not filled in a timely manner after the incident, in the end, this account will still be held against you.”

“I have considered all that you’ve said. The funding gap is nothing,” Liang Xian leaned against the chair back and continued, “As for taking action now, I think it would be hasty.”

He appeared calm, and there, indeed, was no sign of any hastiness.

“Then why did you tip off Liang Jinyu this morning and force him into a corner?”

Liang Xian shifted his position and seemed to recall something for a moment, then gave an answer that didn’t quite match his usual style, “I just wanted to vent off my frustration.”

For the sake of the little peacock at home.

After he had dealt with Lin Xijia during the day, Ming Si’s elusive roommate, who was like a mythical dragon, came back home in the evening.

She had just finished organizing her portfolio for the upcoming competition and stretched lazily before heading downstairs with her cat. It was then that she heard the automatic locking sound of the front door.

She leaned out from the stairs to take a look.

A man in a light gray suit stood in the hallway, and soft light fell from above, accentuating his handsome and relaxed features.

In that moment, when Ming Si saw him, the light seemed to flicker as if she had traversed some time tunnel, overlapping the present with memories of him during their youth.

Though he was dressed in a suit, exuding an air of cold and elite demeanor, he still had that wild and charming air of a youth between his brows.

Momentarily dazed, Ming Si finally found her voice, “Why are you back?”

Liang Xian raised an eyebrow and smiled, “Not happy to see me?”

“…”

Ming Si suddenly didn’t know how to answer. She loosened her grip and the cat slipped out of her hands. She followed it downstairs, and as she approached, she caught a whiff of alcohol from Liang Xian, “Did you drink?”

Liang Xian walked over to the sofa as he responded, “En, I had a social engagement. You’re not asleep yet?”

“I was just about to sleep, and then you came back,” Ming Si also walked over and sat down on the sofa. It was only then she realized that she should probably go back to her room.

Why was she acting like she was going to chat with him?

Although she thought so, she inexplicably couldn’t get up.

In the spacious living room, the decorative antique clock ticked slowly.

At some point, Shi Tai had entered the villa. Now, he quietly made his way to the kitchen to boil hangover soup.

Liang Xian had drunk quite a bit tonight, and coupled with the fact that he slept on the plane last night, drowsiness started to set in. He leaned against the back of the sofa and closed his eyes for a moment, gradually sinking into a daze, and for a while, he didn’t say anything. The faint, thin light from afar fell on him, outlining the contours of his profile.

As Ming Si watched, she inexplicably felt a little angry, “Feeling uncomfortable from drinking? Don’t drink so much next time. Do you think you’re invincible?”

In a delirious state, Liang Xian heard that her tone seemed not so good. He suddenly opened his eyes, trying to distinguish between dream and reality, only to see Ming Si sitting on the sofa nearby with a slightly displeased expression.

It was like a wife scolding her husband who came home late.

This thought amused Liang Xian, and he sat up a little, his voice slightly hoarse due to lingering sleepiness. He couldn’t resist teasing her, “Are you worried about me?”

Seeing that Ming Si was about to leave in a huff, Liang Xian chuckled and got up, pulling her back, “It was just a joke, why so serious? Come here—”

Worried that she might actually leave, he got up a bit hastily, losing control of his strength. As a result, when Ming Si was pulled, she accidentally stepped on her own slippers and lost her balance—

Both of them unexpectedly fell together.