Rose Lock - Chapter 19

Bearing the chilling aura of fine pine snow, perhaps the wind and snow had been somewhat heavy on her return, blowing away much of the smell of smoke on her. Hua Manyi stroked the woman’s slender, firm waist; her forehead rested against the soft bosom. She raised her head from the chest, perhaps too close, her lipstick-coated red lips brushed against the raised dark blue cheongsam, leaving an inconspicuous smudge of lipstick.

“Gong Ma?” Hua Manyi’s thick eyelashes fluttered slightly. She looked up, only able to see the woman’s taut jawline and an unusually sexy neck.

Hua Manyi felt her heart skip a beat.

“Mrs. Gong?” Ian recognized the person, startled. “Didn’t you say you didn’t know Yiyi?”

“Yiyi?” Gong Yan chewed on the two words, lowering her gaze to the head resting on her chest. “I didn’t expect you to be so intimate with a woman you’d only just met less than a day ago.”

Hua Manyi was speechless. How was she supposed to say that she and Ian hadn’t just met for the first day?

“Mrs. Gong, you still haven’t answered my question.” Ian didn’t understand what she said to Hua Manyi, so she had to remind her.

“When did I ever say I didn’t know her?”

“But you clearly—”

“I simply didn’t recognize the person in your painting, that’s all.”

“…”

Ian was stumped. She had confidence in her paintings; everyone who saw them said the person looked exactly the same in real life, but this woman actually claimed she didn’t recognize her…

Her brow furrowed tighter and tighter. What exactly did this woman mean?

Hua ManNa suspiciously withdrew from Gong Ma’s embrace. It was the first time she’d heard this woman speak English, and it had a rather unique flavour, like a natural conversation in a royal court, with extremely pure articulation, pronunciation, and even intonation. (Note: The original Chinese uses (Manyi) here, but the context suggests it should be Hua Manyi or the character who was in Gong Ma’s embrace, likely the same person as earlier in the text. I’ll translate her as Hua Manyi for consistency with the earlier text, though the Chinese character is slightly different than the one used earlier in the paragraph.)

“Hua Manyi, speak. You had better give me an explanation. Why did you bring irrelevant people upstairs?”

Gong Yan glanced over at Ian on the sofa, her gaze lingering on the other person’s chest for a second. There was a glaring lipstick stain in the shadowy cleavage.

Hua Manyi stood properly, her bare feet stepping on the carpet, wiggling her toes. “Miss Ian only came up to draw a portrait of me; she is not some irrelevant person.”

“If a drunkard says they want to draw you, are you going to bring them up too?” Gong Yan looked at the easel beside her, on which the graceful posture of a woman lying on the sofa, half-propped up on her hand, was already sketched out. She took a deep breath. “Hua Manyi, you know clearly what kind of place the second floor is. With so many sisters living here, whose money, person, or innocence can you guarantee complete security for?”

Harsh, sarcastic words struck her squarely. Hua Manyi’s hands, hanging at her sides, unconsciously clutched the corner of her nightgown. She was speechless, wanting to say something, but realizing that she couldn’t guarantee the hidden dangers behind this action, and she had let two people in at once. To take a step back, if these two people had any bad intentions, Hua Manyi would essentially be inviting wolves into the house.

“Who was the person who let them up tonight?”

Hua Manyi suddenly looked up, realizing what was about to happen, and couldn’t help but reach out to plead. “Gong Ma! Gong Ma! This is my fault. Blame me! You can hit me or scold me, or deduct my salary, I really know I was wrong!”

Seeing her anxious expression, Gong Yan was unmoved, her eyes chilling. “Hua Manyi, not all apologies are useful. As for you, I will certainly punish you.”

She turned and coldly ordered, “Uncle Fu, go fire that person. Tell him not to come to Fenghai tomorrow.”

Uncle Fu: “Yes.”

“Yiyi… don’t cry.” Ian roughly understood what was going on through Deng Tao’s translation. Who knew that in the blink of an eye she would see the lady she admired crying? Crystal tears silently streamed down her cheeks. She sobbed in the light and shadows, her long eyelashes trembling as she wept over her mistake, looking frail and utterly pitiful in her thin attire.

Hearing this sound, Gong Yan turned her head, and sure enough, saw this spoiled girl crying again. Her temples throbbed faintly, and sarcastic words spilled out without thought. “Hua Manyi, is crying all you ever do when you make a mistake? Do you still think this is your Hua family home, where someone will always comfort you the moment you feel wronged?”

Just as she finished speaking, a figure suddenly flashed across her sight, and Gong Yan abruptly stopped talking.

The woman, who had been wronged and pitiful just a second ago, was now being held in someone’s embrace, who lightly patted her trembling, fragile shoulders, and rubbed her dark head. The words of comfort were gratingly harsh.

“Sweetheart, don’t cry. This is Ian sister’s fault; it has nothing to do with you. If she wants to pursue your fault, I will take the blame for you. Don’t cry, okay? You won’t be beautiful if you cry…”

The other person’s answering sobs were even more jarring.

“B-but, this is really my fault. I shouldn’t have broken the rules for my own selfish reasons.”

Perhaps because she truly had no shoulder to lean on for comfort, Hua Manyi was so distressed that she could only bury her head in the woman’s chest, hugging her tightly, as if doing so could ward off the invasion of grievance.

She was indeed childish, and she knew this wasn’t her Hua family home.

Many times, she needed to suffer more setbacks to know which way to go.

“There, there, Yiyi. It’s good that you know you were wrong. I believe Mrs. Gong won’t blame a young girl like you, right, Mrs. Gong?” Ian hugged her, raising her head to look at the woman standing aside with a frozen expression.

Gong Yan was uncharacteristically choked. Looking at the two of them hugging and embracing, if she were to blame this spoiled girl in the end, would she, Gong Yan, not appear heartless?

The air was silent for a long time. Hua Manyi listened to the translation, her eyes teary, as she looked up expectantly at Gong Yan, letting out a sob. “Gong Ma, I really know I was wrong…”

Gong Yan’s jaw tightened. She took a puff of her cigarette. “Uncle Fu, no need to fire that person.”

Uncle Fu quietly watched this big drama conclude with his madam backing down, his heart filled with mixed emotions. He finally replied, “Very well.”

…

A doctor was called to examine Ian’s foot. Dr. Ma shook his head, saying she had injured the bone and needed two months of rest at home. Especially since she had stood up just now with an injured foot, it had further aggravated the injury.

Gong Yan’s eyebrows raised slightly upon hearing the words “two months of rest.”

Hua Manyi heard this and realized that the other party had strained herself by forcing herself to walk over to comfort her when she was crying from the scolding. “Miss Ian, it’s all my fault for making your injury worse.”

Ian’s heart warmed, seeing the delicate girl so worried about her. “It’s alright. Compared to you, my injury is nothing.”

Teased, Hua Manyi blushed slightly. “Miss Ian, it’s getting late, and you are injured. Why don’t you stay here for the night and rest?”

Ian chuckled, her beautiful eyes sparkling like gemstones. “May I? But I think you only have one bed here.”

Hua Manyi pondered, then suddenly thought of something, and her eyes instantly lit up. “I can sleep on the sofa!”

“No, no. How can I let a beautiful young lady sleep on the sofa?” Ian’s gaze traced the lovely, charming face before her. “Perhaps, Yiyi, you could sleep with me.”

Hua Manyi hesitated for a moment, appearing to have some reservations.

Ian pressed, “Do you have any concerns?”

“I don’t sleep well and I’m worried about accidentally hitting your foot in the middle of the night.” Aggravating the injury would be a sin.

Ian let out a small laugh. “Yiyi, you are too cute. I trust you definitely won’t touch the injury on my foot. If you really do, that would be my honor.”

Hua Manyi only took this as her trying to reassure her. “Then… alright.”

“Wait, I don’t think I’ve asked Gong Ma yet…” Hua Manyi suddenly remembered this crucial point. Even if she was worried about Ian’s injury, she couldn’t let her stay overnight without Gong Ma’s permission.

Hua Manyi thought for a moment, then looked at the woman who had been standing beside her for a long time, unsure if she would agree. After all, Ian’s injury was because of her, Hua Manyi. She gathered her words and spoke nervously, “Gong Ma… can I—”

“Uncle Fu, drive them.”

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