Rose Lock - Chapter 30

Gong Shulan pushed her wheelchair to the door, knocked, and said in a deep voice, “Jiang Yin, open the door.”

“No. Don’t even think about me opening the door unless you apologize tonight.” Jiang Yin sat sulking on a single chair, her back to the door, feeling more and more wronged the more she thought about it. This woman had changed since that incident, but she didn’t feel any better either. These past few years, she couldn’t walk like a normal person, suffering from the strange looks of others, but Jiang Yin was equally self-reproachful and guilty. Every late night, she would dream of that terrifying kidnapping.

Anything Gong Shulan wanted or wanted to do, she could unconditionally compensate her, so why did she have to involve her parents, insulting their Jiang family and accusing them of using others to kill?

The door was knocked a few times, then suddenly went silent. Jiang Yin was stunned for a moment, looking towards the door. There really was no sound. Hesitating, she got up. Her medicine was still outside, and if she didn’t brew it soon, it would be past the time.

After thinking for a moment, she still went to open the door. The living room was empty. That woman didn’t know where she went. Jiang Yin hurried to the main door, picked up the two packets of Chinese medicine wrapped in brown paper, and took them to the kitchen. She took out two small clay pots and brewed them according to the proportion of water the doctor prescribed.

The heavy smell of medicine wafted out. Jiang Yin took out a handkerchief from her chest, covered her nose, frowned, and coughed twice. The sound of wheelchair wheels rolling across the floor came from behind. She didn’t have to think to know it was Gong Shulan.

“What are you cooking?” Gong Shulan asked, coming next to her.

“Medicine.” Concise and not carrying any emotion, it inexplicably annoyed Gong Shulan.

“Jiang Yin, do you think your wings have hardened?” Gong Shulan sneered, “I can figure out your little schemes with my toes. About what happened back then, if I tell my sister the truth, tell everyone, see if my sister will continue to shield you. You know my sister’s personality. No matter who it is, as long as someone deceives or fools her, they will definitely not have a good end.”

“Guess if she knew you lied to her for so many years, and a while ago, in order to rescue you from Feng Wu, innocent people around her were hurt and almost died, do you think she would shoot you?”

Clang The clay pot lid Jiang Yin was holding slipped, landing precisely on the pot. Her long eyelashes trembled, and her lips turned pale. “No… you can’t say it.”

Jiang Yin turned around, her eyes red, her body almost unstable. She had lived for more than twenty years, and now she only cared about a few things: a confidante, a decent job. She was not afraid of death, but she was afraid of a life worse than death. If Gong Shulan made it public, it would undoubtedly push her into the abyss, scorned by ten thousand people. She couldn’t imagine the day when A Yan would look at her with hatred and disgust.

“Then do you know what to do now?” Gong Shulan curved her lips.

“…I know.” Jiang Yin glanced at the still-boiling Chinese medicine, gripped the handkerchief, and began to unbutton her clothes, one after another, her slender collarbone revealed.

Gong Shulan wrapped her arms around her slender waist, continuing what they hadn’t finished earlier. This woman had an exquisite figure, with delicate, fair skin, not plump, but with flesh where it should be.

Time passed little by little. Jiang Yin shakily propped herself up from the not-too-large dining table. The smell of medicine in the air was stronger. She pleaded, “Shulan… the medicine is almost ready, can you let me turn off the heat?”

Gong Shulan lifted her head from between her white jade-like curves, still wanting more, and let go of her. Although she didn’t speak, she allowed her request. She watched Jiang Yin carefully step down from the stool with bare feet, modestly pulling an apron to tie over her front. She turned off the heat, took out two bowls from the cabinet, and poured a bowl of black Chinese medicine into each. She carried the two hot bowls of medicine to the table.

“Shulan… this bowl of medicine is brewed for you.” Jiang Yin lowered her eyes. Gong Shulan had been staying at her place these past few days and wouldn’t leave. Gong Yan was also at her wit’s end, so she asked her to brew medicine for Gong Shulan and take care of her, saying it would help treat her leg condition.

She put down the bowls and took a small box of rock sugar from the cabinet, just about to open the iron lid.

“Brewed for me?” Gong Shulan chuckled, but there was no smile in her eyes. “You drink a sip first.”

Jiang Yin subconsciously obeyed, but in the next second, she immediately understood the meaning behind those words. She was afraid that she had poisoned the medicine to harm her.

Her chest felt uncomfortably tight. She knew that in her eyes, she was a lying woman, but she never expected that one day, merely out of gratitude to Gong Yan to take care of her, she would be suspected of trying to harm her.

“…Okay, I’ll drink it.” Jiang Yin picked up the bowl and took a sip, frowning and forcing down the bitter medicine.

Gong Shulan stared at her face for a long time, secretly annoyed at her wrong guess. She took the bowl, drank the medicine without blinking, and said coldly, “I’m going to wash up first.”

With that, Gong Shulan pushed her wheelchair out of the kitchen.

It was probably too bitter. Jiang Yin couldn’t help but retch, spitting out black residue into the sink. After she finished throwing up, she took a cup of water to rinse her mouth before turning around, looking worriedly at her bowl of medicine.

The doctor said she was physically weak, plus she caught a cold these past few days, so she needed to supplement more. He prescribed a few herbs for her to come back and brew. After smelling the medicinal smell for several years, she was still very resistant to it being placed in front of her, but she had to drink it. No one would urge her to drink medicine anymore. She had to supervise herself.

Jiang Yin sat on the stool, picked up the bowl, closed her eyes, and took a big gulp. The bitterness rushed straight to her head upon entry, and the bitterness filled her chest when she swallowed. She quickly reached for a small piece of rock sugar nearby and held it in her mouth, barely holding back the tears that were about to fall.

…

Hua Manyi and Ian finished their walk. Ian sent her back and said goodbye, saying he would pick her up at eight o’clock tomorrow evening.

Hua Manyi nodded in thanks, “Be careful on the road, Ian.”

Returning to the Fenghai Cabaret, not long after returning to her room, a man claiming to be a clerk from some clothing store said that the custom-made evening gown was ready and asked her to sign for it.

“I didn’t order an evening gown,” Hua Manyi thought it was strange.

The man said, “A foreign lady named Ian custom-made it and asked me to have it ready and delivered to you before tomorrow.”

Hua Manyi immediately understood, thinking of the evening party. “Thank you for the trouble.”

After the man left, Hua Manyi put the box on the table and opened it. A vermilion cheongsam came into view. Although it was called a cheongsam, it was slightly different from a traditional one. The side did not have a slit, and from the waist to the shoulders, it was made of hollowed-out lace fabric. The lace trim on the abdomen was in the shape of irregular petals, with a fist-width of vermilion in the middle, visually making the waist look more slender.

The red dress reached the ankles. The fitted hips accentuated her figure and graceful lines, and below the knees, it flared out like a trumpet, airy and light. The neckline design was a simple bow tied with a red satin ribbon. What was most captivating was that the cheongsam was also inlaid with sparkling diamonds. When worn, the person looked at first glance like a fiery fox, enchanting and ostentatious.

“Manyi, are you here? I wanted to explain about today’s matter—” Gong Yan came up from downstairs. When she passed Hua Manyi’s room, she hesitated for a while, still wanting to explain, but the door wasn’t closed tightly. As soon as she pushed it open, she saw the woman standing in front of the dressing table looking in the mirror.

Hua Manyi put on the cheongsam and stood in front of the mirror. Because the zipper was at the back, she couldn’t quite reach it. Suddenly, a sound came from behind her. She held the zipper and turned around. Seeing who it was, her originally somewhat pleasant mood instantly dissipated like smoke because of the sight of Jiang Yin in the back seat of Gong Yan’s car during their walk.

“Mother Gong… why are you here?”

Gong Yan saw that she couldn’t pull up the zipper of her dress, so she walked over and stood behind her, raising her hand to pull it up. “I wanted to explain that tonight I didn’t think things through and overlooked your feelings.”

“Mother Gong has already explained. Manyi understands.” Hua Manyi let go of her hand, looking down at the woman standing behind her in the mirror. Her thoughts became increasingly complicated.

“This dress is even inlaid with diamonds, it’s nice.” Gong Yan appraised her with appreciation. After complimenting it, she realized how expensive the dress must be, perhaps more than Hua Manyi could afford. “Did you order it?”

“No, Ian had someone custom-make it and send it over.”

Gong Yan suddenly paused. “How does she know your size?”

Hua Manyi didn’t notice the change in her tone and shook her head. “I don’t know either.”

“Sister Manyi, are you there? A foreign woman named Ian had someone send you a bouquet of white roses.” Li Zhen appeared at the door, peering in and asking.

Hua Manyi walked over. “Ian sent them to me?”

Li Zhen nodded and said candidly, “Yes, this is the first time I’ve seen a woman send a woman roses.”

“I know, thank you for bringing them up.” Hua Manyi accepted them, lowered her head, and sniffed. They were fresh roses.

“Then, Sister Manyi, I’ll go downstairs now.”

Hua Manyi nodded, holding the large bouquet of roses, and turned to enter the room. Gong Yan was sitting on her sofa, naturally lighting a cigarette, her eyes lowered as she lit it. Hua Manyi couldn’t see her expression. Just then, the phone on the table suddenly rang, so she had to answer it first.

Gong Yan pursed her red lips, remained silent, and raised her eyes to watch her graceful figure pass by.

“Hello, this is Hua Manyi.” Hua Manyi held the bronze phone handle with both hands and asked softly.

The caller was Ian. She had returned home and called to reassure her. “Did you receive the flowers? Do you like them? I saw them on the way back and thought they suited you, so I bought them for you.”

Hearing this, Hua Manyi was about to reply softly, but before she spoke, a scene flashed through her mind: the night she sprained her ankle, Jiang Yin also responded to Mother Gong’s gifted flowers like this on the phone.

“Sister Ian, I love the flowers you sent.” Hua Manyi’s mouth held a hint of deeper meaning, and her tone was genuine and happy. “I also love the evening gown you sent. This is probably the most precious gift I’ve ever received in my life.”

The author has something to say: I’m late, I’m late, my apologies.

Red envelopes will be given to those who leave a comment on the latest chapter.

I successfully courted my wife!

Rejoice!

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