I See Roses

I See Roses – Chapter 46

“…”

The drawn-out tone of the phrase Doesn’t this feel like had Liang Xian curious about what she was going to say next, and out of nowhere, the words sneaking around popped out.

He fell silent for a moment. The slightly frivolous charm in his peach blossom eyes curved slightly, revealing a smile that seemed to be hiding something, “Does this count as sneaking around?”

Those words seemed to roll up from the depths of his throat, tinged with his lazy and deep voice, unexpectedly taking on a slightly seductive tone.

Ming Si instinctively felt that he was going to say something outrageous again. So, just before he could speak, she reached out and covered his mouth, a bit exasperated and embarrassed, “Shut up.”

Liang Xian laughed even harder, his warm breath spraying between her fingers.

Ming Si withdrew her hand as if she had been scalded, her face stiff, “I’m going back!”

Liang Xian chuckled softly, hooking a finger around hers and pulling her a bit closer. He leaned down and kissed the corner of her lips, whispering in a low voice, “Just a little more sneaking around.”

“…”

On this day, they first endured a plane ride, battled with jet lag, and then played a rather subpar game of pool. Now, as Ming Si sat in the car on their way back, she felt drowsy.

Her physical stamina wasn’t the best; even her occasional visits to the gym were aimed at specific workout routines rather than significantly improving her fitness level.

The driver was driving steadily throughout the journey and she unknowingly dozed off. When she woke up, the sky had turned completely dark, with only streetlights winding along the road, illuminating the path ahead.

Rubbing her eyes, Ming Si was still a bit sleepy, “I’m so tired.”

Her voice carried a lazy undertone due to her grogginess, and it unintentionally softened, seemingly as if she was being coquettish.

While she was dozing off earlier, she must have leaned against Liang Xian’s shoulder without realizing it. Now, as she adjusted her posture and rubbed her neck to sit up, a hand gently pressed her back down.

Liang Xian adjusted his position, pulling her into his embrace and whispered in a low voice, “We’re not there yet.”

Ming Si responded with a soft Oh, nestling back comfortably without any worries. However, she didn’t close her eyes again; she stole glances at him from this angle.

When Liang Xian eventually noticed her gaze and lowered his eyes, she quickly shut her eyes, pretending to be asleep.

Perhaps her acting was too convincing; Liang Xian didn’t wake her up when they reached their destination. Instead, he walked around the car and directly lifted her out.

In that fleeting moment of being lifted off the ground, Ming Si’s heart seemed to flutter slightly. Regaining her senses, she couldn’t help but suppress a smile at the corner of her lips.

She tilted her head slightly into Liang Xian’s chest, seemingly as if she were half-asleep and seeking a comfortable position. In reality, she didn’t want him to notice the budding feelings of a teenage girl’s heart.

With closed eyes, Ming Si had to rely on her sense of direction.

She heard the sound of the front door opening, assuming that Liang Xian would place her on the sofa. However, to her surprise, the path to the sofa seemed quite long, winding through several turns and even an internal elevator ride. She finally realized something was amiss when her back sank into soft bedding.

Ming Si immediately opened her eyes.

Liang Xian had one hand propped beside her as he leaned over her. He wasn’t surprised by her timely resurrection, instead, he gave a crooked smile, “Awake now?”

“…”

Even though they had already shared kisses, it was the first time they were face to face in this particular position.

Ming Si wasn’t entirely ignorant; back in high school, she had a friend who was obsessed with shipping fictional couples and often shared various fanfics and content.

In this instant, all sorts of random bits of knowledge flooded her mind uncontrollably.

Stretching out her hand, she pushed against his shoulder slightly and nodded, “I’m awake.”

“Why didn’t you sleep a few more minutes?” Liang Xian’s gaze shifted from her hand to her eyes, with a teasing glint.

Ming Si: “…”

It was evident he had some mischievous intentions.

This naughty guy seemed to enjoy teasing her.

After spending a few days in Venice, amidst the sweetness, Ming Si had secretly suffered a few grievances.

For instance, they had just started their relationship, so why did Liang Xian seem so at ease while she felt immobilized?

With a streak of competitive spirit and the momentum from their past verbal battles, Ming Si was determined to turn the tables. She blinked at him and said, “Only a few minutes?”

As her words trailed off, both of them took a moment to react, locking eyes for half a second.

In the next second, Ming Si reached out and grabbed the corner of the nearby blanket, intending to cover her face. But almost simultaneously, Liang Xian effortlessly lifted it back.

Ming Si was slender and not particularly strong, so she was no match for him. The blanket was pressed down by his hand, and no matter how hard she tugged, she couldn’t budge it. Her face, on the other hand, was growing increasingly flushed.

“Ming Si,” Liang Xian’s hand pressed down on the blanket, while the other hand held her wrist, his voice tinged with suppressed amusement, “What are you thinking?”

Right now, Ming Si wished she could just disappear.

She didn’t even know how she managed to find such a unique way to provoke him, accomplishing nothing but entangling herself in the process.

Darn those explicit fanfics.

Liang Xian chuckled softly, “Say something.”

Ming Si glared at him, then attempted to pull the blanket again. Realizing she couldn’t move it, she had no choice but to raise her hand to cover her face; her voice sounded muffled from beneath her hand, “You’re so annoying.”

She didn’t want to face him, but it seemed like Liang Xian was determined to tease her to the fullest. He reached out and pulled her waist closer, lifting her off the bed.

Ming Si struggled but couldn’t break free. She waved her hand, trying to stop their proximity from increasing. However, their distance continued to shrink until he held her face-to-face in his embrace.

She dared not move.

While struggling earlier, her hand had somehow slipped from his shoulder and traveled down his chest, ending up…

…with a very noticeable touch.

Whether it was a psychological effect or not, Ming Si actually felt her fingertips warming up.

In this position, she could feel Liang Xian’s breath brushing against her neck, burning and scorching, as though it had become more intense since a while ago.

“You, this, I…” Ming Si’s cheeks flushed, she tried to organize her words for a moment but failed. She finally summoned her courage and stammered, “I didn’t mean to! You should quickly…”

Before she could finish her sentence, she felt the familiar warmth on her lips.

She slightly leaned back, but he held the back of her head and pulled her back.

Ming Si could clearly sense that this kiss was different from the previous ones.

In their previous kisses, Liang Xian had at least shown some restraint, but this time, he was teetering on the edge of unrestraint.

Her waist was tightly held as he explored every corner of her lips and teeth. The fingers clenched in his collar grew tighter and the palpitations of her heartbeat were like being engulfed by the tide.

In the end, her hand that was previously tugging at the blanket was now firmly clutched onto his belt.

After a quick shower, Liang Xian came out of the bathroom to find Ming Si curled up in the covers, the blanket pulled all the way up to her head.

He stretched his long legs and sat at the edge of the bed, tentatively lifting a corner of the blanket.

As if she had been prepared for this, Ming Si swiftly rolled away, taking the blanket with her. She moved to the other side of the bed, her voice emerging from beneath the covers, slightly annoyed, “Don’t touch it.”

Looking at the bundle in the covers, Liang Xian chuckled lightly, “Alright then, I’ll head out. I’ll be back at 12. You should go to bed early.”

Ming Si was determined not to engage with him directly. In response, she lazily extended a hand from under the covers and waved it at him in an absent-minded manner.

She perked up her ears and only after Liang Xian’s footsteps faded did she push the covers aside and sit up.

For some reason, her face was flushed. As she got off the bed, she used her tiptoes to search for her shoes and fanned herself constantly.

Once her shoes were on, she sat on the edge of the bed, allowing her heartbeat to calm down. She nervously sniffed her own fingers and caught the faint scent of chamomile, a reminder of her clean hands.

Scenes from earlier kept flashing in her mind. She lay back on the bed, her hand covering her eyes. After a moment, she curled up, kicking around in a mix of sweetness, shyness, and frustration.

After tossing and turning for a while, she finally put her slippers back on and headed downstairs.

After being away from Guanlan Manor for several days, if there was something she missed, it would undoubtedly be the hot spring.

The first-floor bathroom was directly connected to the mountain’s hot spring, with special glass that allowed a one-sided view to the outside. During the day, you could enjoy the backyard pond and the distant mountain scenery. At night, when the projection equipment was turned on, it felt like being surrounded by a starry sky from all sides.

Warm mist rose from the surface of the water, creating an ethereal mist that gradually enveloped the entire bathing area.

After taking a shower, Ming Si stepped into the hot spring pool.

The warm water gradually rose, covering her feet, then her shoulders.

She reclined at the edge of the pool, holding her phone in one hand, absentmindedly scrolling through a few updates in her friends’ Moments posts.

Her mood was still a bit dreamy.

Scrolling down her contact list, letter by letter, she found Liang Xian’s name at the bottom.

His nickname was still Tinfoil Hat, a name she had impulsively changed it to last time. They had spent the last few days together, so they hadn’t communicated much via WeChat, and Ming Si hadn’t thought of changing his nickname back.

Seeing it now, she had the chance, but she just didn’t want to change it.

Ming Si opened the chat with Tinfoil Hat. After some contemplation, she sent him a few words along with a picture.

Meanwhile, in the western part of the city, there was the [Sheng Yu Club].

It was an exclusive members-only high-end business club, located in the prime riverside area of the city. A wealthy entrepreneur from out of town had spent a fortune to secure the location from the government. The renovation alone cost nearly a million. It only opened to specific members and their guests on ordinary days. Since its inception, it had firmly ingrained the concept of high status in the impression of the businesspeople in the city.

President Xu from Huishi Development had been busy for over a month preparing for today’s meeting. He had navigated various relationships to finally connect with this Crown Prince of Jinghong. After spending so much to grease the wheels of connections, he couldn’t afford for tonight’s event to go awry. So, President Xu intentionally selected this high-end business club in Pingcheng for the event—although he didn’t qualify for membership himself, he was attending as a guest of Director Wei from Chen Ding International.

However, the current situation was quite puzzling.

The young master had initially declined the female companion President Xu had arranged to please him. Strangely, despite his playboy appearance, he seemed indifferent to women.

Had he picked the wrong type or the wrong gender?

Of course, President Xu couldn’t ask these questions directly. He could only nervously smile and shift the conversation to business, “Mr. Liang, I invited you here today mainly because our company is preparing to develop in the southern part of the city…”

He had already informed Mr. Liang’s assistant about the purpose of tonight’s meeting. Feasibility reports and detailed plans had been sent well in advance. Reiterating the same points was just a formality at this point—President Xu aimed to secure the contract.

However, this young master appeared to be an arrogant playboy. His eyes carried a casual smile even when speaking, seemingly as if his attitude toward business wasn’t particularly serious. Yet, his questions were sharper one after another.

Development qualifications, subsequent loans, environmental qualifications… He brought up the points that several companies had focused on and asked about each one.

President Xu was stumbling through his responses, sweating profusely. His gaze swept to the two women standing in the corner, regretting his decision – if he had known that the Crown Prince of Jinghong would be so hard to fool, he wouldn’t have brought any women with him. He should have brought the whole team of company experts.

“This… Mr. Liang,” President Xu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and thought quickly about how to phrase his words. Before he could speak, he noticed that the Young Master Liang on the opposite side was already leisurely looking at his phone.

Leaning against the back of the chair, he propped his face with one hand, his expression indifferent. His other hand unlocked the screen. He didn’t know what he saw, but a smile curled his lips, followed by a soft chuckle.

Based on his understanding of this young master from what he saw tonight, President Xu was ninety percent sure that his mood was quite good at the moment.

So, he continued to cautiously speak, “Mr. Liang…”

Unexpectedly, the young master across from him stood up. He wiped away his smile, slid one hand into the pocket of his trousers, and said, “Director Wei, President Xu, I have something else to attend to. I’m looking forward to cooperating with both of you, but I hope next time I can see a more mature plan.”

President Xu’s mouth hung open as he exchanged a glance with Director Wei, taking a while to react.

He was in a good mood, so why was he leaving? What was this young master so urgently going to do?

He had received a message from Ming Si:「Wuwuwu, it’s dirty.」

Liang Xian initially thought she had dirtied something she liked, but then he saw the accompanying picture she sent – it was of her hand.

Her fingers were fair and slender, her nails rounded and polished, bathed in soft light, appearing hazy yet beautiful.

Reading the two messages together –

Her hand is dirty?