Chapter 134: All Women Love Red Roses!
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My Beautiful Romantic Troubles
A question kept circling through Wang Zheng’s mind, making it impossible for him to settle down.
Why give a woman roses? If it were merely because roses symbolized love, that would be underestimating their power. After pondering it from every angle, Wang Zheng felt that the issue had less to do with flowers than with women. The legends surrounding roses were almost lies, and those lies could intoxicate women. It was much like a certain country that constantly claimed the world’s outstanding people as its ancestors. Such lies satisfied their vanity.
What women needed were beautiful and luxurious lies. Otherwise, they might as well choose the cheap, highly nutritious “king of vegetables”—Chinese cabbage.
Wang Zheng wondered what Liao Tong’s mood would be if he gave her an entire truckload of cabbages that evening. Surprise was guaranteed, but as for delight…
The facts proved that even a god could not escape worldly conventions. For a man as godlike as Wang Zheng, it was inevitable that, under Bai Bing’s urging, he would end up buying ninety-nine red roses.
Wang Zheng had always suspected Bai Bing’s motives. At the company, she had mercilessly attacked his dream of becoming a tribal chief more than once. Actually, not becoming a chief would not matter much. In Africa, a warrior of the Hundred Tribes had the same right to marry multiple wives. Besides, a chief was restricted to his own tribe, while a warrior of the Hundred Tribes could choose wives from across the entire continent!
Looking at Bai Bing sitting in the passenger seat with ninety-nine red roses in her arms—roses he had not bought for her—Wang Zheng truly could not understand what she was so happy about.
The car slowly came to a stop in the parking lot in front of the television center. Wang Zheng stepped out and reached for the bouquet in Bai Bing’s hands. Unexpectedly, Bai Bing slipped to the side and dodged him. Wang Zheng frowned, feeling as though he had been played.
Bai Bing pulled one rose from the ninety-nine and handed it to him. Then she tossed the remaining ninety-eight onto the back seat, muttering as she did so, “One red rose represents undivided devotion. It’s most appropriate for you to give it to Liao Tong!”
Wang Zheng accepted the brilliant red rose, then glanced at the other ninety-eight lying in the back seat.
“And the rest? Are you planning to keep them all for yourself?”
No wonder Bai Bing had urged him all the way there, then spent ages choosing one flower after another in the shop. Wang Zheng had always suspected she was up to something. He had not expected her true intentions to show themselves so quickly!
“How could I possibly keep them all for myself?” Bai Bing looked at him as though he had misunderstood and explained, “Think about it. If Xiaoxue and Chuchu see you giving Liao Tong a red rose, what will they think? They’ll probably accuse you of favoring a beauty over your sisters, and you’ll have to endure a long round of complaints. I’m leaving you a way out. Understand?”
“...!”
Wang Zheng felt somewhat helpless as he watched Bai Bing speak so confidently, but he did not blame her. On the one hand, what she said made some sense. Xiaoxue was the sort who could seize any advantage and refuse to let go. On the other hand... Bai Bing’s twisted logic and shameless sophistry had probably rubbed off on her after spending so much time with him.
Actually, one rose was not bad. At least, it made for a much smaller target. Otherwise, a man who had never given flowers to anyone before would feel terribly awkward carrying ninety-nine red roses. Besides, a single rose gave Wang Zheng more options for presenting it.
When Bai Bing saw Wang Zheng walking toward the television station with one red rose in hand, she felt immensely pleased. She glanced at the large bouquet in the car, then hurried after him, inexplicably satisfied.
Although none of that satisfaction or triumph appeared on her face, her feet gave her away. She walked as lightly as if she were treading on magic clouds.
All the way there, Bai Bing kept staring at the red rose in Wang Zheng’s hand. The thought that ninety-eight more were waiting in the car filled her with secret delight. Yet the moment they stepped out of the elevator, the rose in Wang Zheng’s hand suddenly vanished.
Bai Bing froze, then hurriedly turned to look inside the elevator. There was nothing on the floor.
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Where was the red rose?
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Bai Bing quickly moved in front of Wang Zheng and spread her arms to block him.
“Where’s the red rose? Did you hide it up your sleeve?”
“Are you stupid? Could you use your brain before you speak? Didn’t you notice I’m wearing short sleeves?” Wang Zheng shot her an exasperated look, then walked around her and continued forward. The corner of his mouth rose in an unwitting smile.
Since even Bai Bing had not noticed, it seemed his magic trick had worked perfectly!
They entered the news department during the preparations before the broadcast, so the atmosphere was nowhere near as tense as it was during the program. In the past, when the staff had merely known Wang Zheng as Su Xue’s brother, he had been nothing more than a familiar face to them. But after learning of his relationship with Liao Tong, they had begun to look at him with new respect.
He had actually managed to win over the television station’s goddess in such a short time—and within the limited half hour he spent there each day.
The women grew curious about Wang Zheng. The men were initially jealous, but that jealousy soon transformed into admiration.
After all, they had once believed that they would never live to see the divine Liao Tong descend into the mortal world.
Wang Zheng came up behind Liao Tong and, following the way they had greeted each other the day before, gently kissed her cheek. Bai Bing, standing nearby, felt uncomfortable all over.
But that was not what concerned her now. She was focused on the red rose.
Liao Tong showed no displeasure at Wang Zheng’s intimate gesture. Instead, she took the initiative and kissed him back. Yet just as her lips were about to touch his cheek, Wang Zheng blocked them with a finger.
He gave the puzzled Liao Tong a faint smile. The index finger blocking her lips waved before her eyes. Then, with a sharp snap of his fingers, a red rose appeared in the palm of his hand.
Bai Bing stared blankly at his movements.
A red rose?
The stem had disappeared, leaving only the flower at the top!
She blinked hard, then rubbed her eyes in disbelief. How had he made it appear? She had been annoyed by Wang Zheng and Liao Tong’s intimacy, so she had only looked away for a moment. How had the rose appeared in that brief instant?
Wang Zheng was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, and neither of his hands had touched his clothes. How could he have produced it?
Bai Bing’s curiosity ran wild as she imagined all sorts of possibilities.
Liao Tong, however, was far less complicated. First came surprise, followed by delight. Looking at the vivid red rose in Wang Zheng’s hand, she felt a happiness she had never known before. There was only one flower, but it was more than enough.
When she reached out to take it, Wang Zheng unexpectedly pulled it away. He extended his cheek toward her and pointed at it with one finger.
Liao Tong immediately understood.
He was asking for a reward.
Without the slightest trace of shyness, she wrapped both arms tightly around Wang Zheng’s neck and kissed him fiercely on the lips.
It was hard to imagine that the normally dignified and composed Liao Tong would make such an intimate gesture in front of her colleagues. A chorus of wolf whistles erupted around them.
At last, Liao Tong carefully held the red rose in her hands, gazing at it as though entranced.
Though the gesture was conventional, Wang Zheng had to admit that this conventional method...
Damn, it worked incredibly well!
Deep down, Wang Zheng repented. It seemed he had underestimated the power and allure of flowers.
After the news ended, Su Xue and Chu Jun emerged from the studio and returned to the news department, both looking exhausted. These days had worn them both down.
Wang Zheng had once asked why two women of their status still worked so relentlessly. Their answer had been simple:
They enjoyed living full lives, and they loved their work.
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Su Xue tossed the scripts aside and placed both hands on Wang Zheng’s shoulders. She looked utterly exhausted, sticking out her tongue and panting heavily like a dog cooling itself in summer.
Then she froze.
Her eyes widened as she stared at Liao Tong—or, more precisely, at the rose in Liao Tong’s hands.
“Brother, that rose is beautiful, isn’t it?”
With Su Xue’s quick mind, how could she not guess where the rose had come from? Liao Tong would only accept roses from Wang Zheng. If they had come from anyone else, she would have thrown them straight into the trash.
Su Xue received plenty of flowers from admirers herself, including red roses. But at that moment, all those worthless red roses looked inferior to the single flower in Liao Tong’s hands.
Her strangely mocking tone made her displeasure with Wang Zheng obvious.
“Really? I think so too,” Wang Zheng said with an ingratiating smile. Then, as though he had suddenly remembered something, he leaned toward Su Xue’s ear and whispered a few words.
Su Xue’s eyes suddenly lit up, and her spirits rose as though she had taken a stimulant.
“Comrades, I’m leaving first. See you tomorrow!”
The speed with which she disappeared was almost unbelievable.
Once Su Xue had left, Wang Zheng and the others had no choice but to leave as well. After saying goodbye to Liao Tong, Wang Zheng gave her a meaningful glance. She immediately understood and smiled at him.
Once they entered the elevator and there was no one else around, Bai Bing finally could not hold back any longer.
“That flower... where did you hide it?”
“That is a secret.” Wang Zheng answered with a solemn expression. The joy of magic lay in the unknown. Once the secret was revealed, the fun disappeared.
Bai Bing curled her lips in disdain, then asked, “What did you say to Xiaoxue? Why did she leave so quickly?”
“I told her there were still ninety-eight roses in the car, and that they had been left for her... Wasn’t that what you taught me?”
Bai Bing froze.
Everything she had said in the car had been a lie. She had originally intended to keep those ninety-eight roses for herself, and she had especially wanted to see Wang Zheng suffer under Su Xue’s questioning.
She had never expected that, through one moment of carelessness, she would not only fail to make things difficult for Wang Zheng but actually help him out of trouble.
Damn it.
My roses.
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