Rose Lock - Chapter 31

Gong Yan stood up and walked over to Hua Manyi, glancing at the roses she held in her arms. “You like this kind of flower?”

Hua Manyi had hung up the phone and, not knowing why she asked that, replied with a hint of pique, “Yes.”

After her answer, she waited a long time for a response. Unable to resist, she looked up, only to see a graceful silhouette at the doorway and the words “I see” echoing in her ears.

Hua Manyi immediately curved her eyes, stroking the fresh, tender rose petals.

The next day, when Hua Manyi arrived at the party with Ian, the hall was almost full. People were toasting, dancing, and a faint mist rose from the dance floor.

Gong Yan was listening to Jiang Yin talk about a funny incident that recently happened at the Paramount. Just as her lips began to curl into a smile, she saw a familiar figure walk in not far away, and the smile on her face froze.

“Yiyi, be careful, hold my hand.” Ian wore a Western dress today, elegant and generous, leading Hua Manyi in like an older sister guiding a younger one. The red carpet was long, and foreigners speaking English occasionally approached Ian to greet her. Hua Manyi couldn’t understand, especially when their eyes held a smile as they looked at her, which made her cling tightly to Ian’s hand out of awkwardness.

She was afraid of embarrassing Ian.

But Ian thankfully whispered in her ear, “This is Ophelia. She says you are very beautiful.”

Hua Manyi immediately replied with a “thank you.” Who knew Ian and Ophelia would suddenly burst into laughter, making Hua Manyi’s face flush. She leaned close to Ian’s ear, “Why are you all laughing… Did I say something wrong?”

Ian sent Ophelia away, then slowly led Hua Manyi to a seat. “You didn’t say anything wrong, but your pronunciation was a little off.”

Hua Manyi: “…”

“Are you angry?” Ian poured her wine and leaned forward, smiling, wanting a closer look. Hua Manyi turned her face away, refusing to let Ian see her embarrassed and mortified side.

“Your ears are all red, Yiyi,” Ian teased.

Hua Manyi felt like digging a hole to hide in. “Did I sound awful?”

If only she hadn’t been so slack with her studies in middle school, now she was thoroughly embarrassed.

“Not at all,” Ian suddenly reached out and loosely cupped Hua Manyi’s ears. The slightly rough lace glove brushed her earlobes. Hua Manyi stiffened for a moment; she could feel her ears burning red. Looking at the sensual Ian before her, she was suddenly speechless.

“Ian?”

Ian winked her right eye at her. “I’ll cover them for you, so no one can see your ears are red with shame.”

“But… won’t that draw more attention?” Hua Manyi looked at her suspiciously. “Are you messing with me?”

“What does ‘messing with you’ mean?” Ian feigned innocence. “Yiyi, what kind of vocabulary is that? I don’t think I’ve learned it.”

“You really don’t understand?” Hua Manyi saw the genuine look in her eyes, an eager thirst for knowledge regarding an unfamiliar topic, and half-believed her.

“‘Messing with you’ means to toy with.”

“Yiyi, what is ‘to toy with’?”

“‘To toy with’ is…” Hua Manyi glanced out of the corner of her eye at the slight upturn of the other person’s lips and suddenly realized. She pretended to be angry, “Ian!”

“Alright, alright, Yiyi is too cute, I can’t resist teasing…” Ian quickly grabbed her hand and tried to explain.

Hua Manyi didn’t fall for it and continued to drink her red wine.

“Yiyi, it’s my fault, I shouldn’t have teased you like that.” Ian stood behind her, resting her chin on Hua Manyi’s shoulder. “Yiyi, will you forgive me?”

Hua Manyi stayed silent, drinking her wine glumly. Ian, having no other option, asked her to dance.

“Yiyi, look, Mrs. Gong is dancing too. Would you like to join me?” Ian extended her hand towards her in an inviting gesture.

Hearing that name, Hua Manyi paused, her gaze settling on the dance floor. Soon, she spotted that figure and Jiang Yin beside her.

Influenced by Western culture, the custom and open attitude towards social interaction were prevalent in Haicheng. Haicheng had long embraced women-only social dances, and the dance floor even featured many foreign women and wives dancing intimately, cheek-to-cheek. They not only didn’t feel ashamed but considered it very modern.

“Look how well they dance,” Ian continued to breathe into her ear.

Hua Manyi’s hands, resting on her lap, clenched slightly. Not only did they dance well, but they were also perfectly in sync, chatting and laughing.

Seeing her lost in thought, Ian gently held Hua Manyi’s palm and brought her up from the chair. “Yiyi, you rarely attend one of these. Just come and dance with me, okay?”

By the time Hua Manyi reacted, one hand was already resting in Ian’s palm, the other on Ian’s waist. She stumbled as she followed Ian’s steps. “I-Ian, I’m not ready yet…”

“Just follow me.” Ian tried to guide her, but even so, Hua Manyi hadn’t recovered from the sight of Mrs. Gong and Jiang Yin dancing. She accidentally stepped on Ian’s foot and leaned towards her. She expected she would be thoroughly embarrassed again.

Fortunately, Ian held her waist at the critical moment, steadying them both. Their posture was intimately ambiguous, like a couple playfully bickering.

Hua Manyi quickly retreated from Ian’s arms, determined not to be disgraced. Slowly, she caught up with Ian’s rhythm. The melody flowed through the hall, and as they danced, her eyes gradually saw only the person in front of her. She saw the seriousness and smile on Ian’s face. She even saw Ian’s intentions to befriend her and slowly get closer.

She had never considered herself exceptional. After her family fell on hard times, Hua Manyi became a pariah, someone everyone shunned like a bad omen. Her sharp edges were gradually worn away, leaving only a singing voice meant to please others. Her status plummeted from the high-born Miss Hua family to a dancer struggling in a life of ill repute.

Although foreigners were open and tolerant, they were not without class consciousness. Whenever a rickshaw puller took a foreigner as a passenger, the puller could always see the disdain and contempt for the lower class in the foreigner’s eyes.

“Ian, why did you insist on writing to me?” Hua Manyi had never figured it out, and finally asked the question.

Ian turned her head close to Hua Manyi’s face, thinking. “Would you believe me if I said I like you?”

About four months ago, she went to paint a portrait for a somewhat influential family. The concubine and her daughter disparaged her painting as worthless. Not only did they refuse to pay her, but they also tore the painting up in front of her, which was the utmost humiliation for a painter. Due to their power, she couldn’t retaliate. She could only swallow her frustration, pack her painting tools, and be driven out of the door.

That day was a cold, snowy one, with few people on the road. As she passed a dance hall, she heard a voice like a nightingale. She had never heard such a soul-stirring singing voice, so she took out a few pounds, bought a ticket, and sat down. At the time, the environment of the dance hall was actually quite poor, rather noisy and chaotic. Guests were angry, smashing wine bottles and chairs. Fierce men roared like uncontrollable beasts, and from the edges of the stage and backstage came the trembling cries of women.

As the confident and flamboyant figure on the stage continued to sing, miraculously, the men quieted down. Their restless souls were soothed by the song. Even her own mind, which had been frustrated that day, felt cleansed, becoming peaceful and tranquil.

That delicate and beautiful face was only seventeen or eighteen years old, yet beneath that slender body lay such great courage and presence to calm the entire venue—that was something she felt she could not match.

“What… kind of liking is it?” Hua Manyi looked into her eyes, those emerald green pupils full of the vitality of spring.

Their footsteps gradually stopped. Ian’s red lips moved closer little by little. “It’s… a woman’s liking for another woman. Are you willing?”

“I…” The dancing stopped completely. All around them, figures swayed.

Ian cupped her face in her hands, gazing at her affectionately. “I will redeem you from Mrs. Gong. Yiyi should be free. That place is not suitable for you…”

“She is not suitable for you either!”

Suddenly, a voice cut in, shattering the atmosphere between them. Hua Manyi was about to look toward the voice, but her face was held, and a force prevented her from turning her head.

“Ian—”

Her lips were sealed. Hua Manyi’s eyes widened. Her whole body froze, staring blankly at the woman so close, whose pale, greenish-blue pupils reflected her face.

It wasn’t until her arm was grabbed and a force pulled her away from Ian’s grasp that she broke free. The woman above her exuded a chill, restraining her emotions. “Ms. Ian, please have some self-respect!”

Ian, however, acted oblivious to Gong Yan’s warning and licked her lips. “Yiyi, I’m waiting for your answer.”

The standoff here attracted a lot of attention. A Western man, dressed like a businessman, came over and asked Ian what was going on. Ian replied, “Uncle, I am courting that beautiful and charming lady.”

As soon as these words were spoken, murmurs rose around them. Haicheng had not yet reached a point of complete tolerance and openness. This kind of (a Chinese term that can imply a relationship between women, here used by the author to denote a homosexual relationship or ‘rubbing shoulders’ in an intimate way) seemed to be the first time it appeared in front of everyone. The way people looked at Hua Manyi became strange, as if she were some kind of monster who could even lure a foreign woman. Whether this was manipulation or deep scheming was self-evident.

Standing behind Gong Yan, Hua Manyi’s face turned pale. She found these people’s gazes like needles, full of contempt, disdain, and a deep-seated disgust. Some things have never been brought into the open since ancient times, for they are nothing but filth and taboo. Now that Ian had spoken, everyone assumed she was involved with a woman. The gazes stung her, making her feel utterly mortified.

“Gong Ma…” She desperately clutched Gong Yan’s hand.

Gong Yan narrowed her eyes, staring at Ian, and coldly rebuked, “Ms. Ian, I will not interfere with your preference for women, but my Manyi is still young and cannot withstand the seduction of an adult like you. I ask that you be merciful and let our Manyi go.”

This statement caused a shift in the crowd’s perception. The words made sense; Hua Manyi’s age was apparent, she was inexperienced, and had not seen much of the world. It was indeed possible that she was being misled and deceived by this foreign woman. Thinking this way, their looks at Ian changed again.

“Mrs. Gong, what do you mean by that?” Ian was also visibly annoyed. “Are you suggesting I’m trying to lure her?”

“Whether you are luring her or not, you know in your heart,” Gong Yan looked at the man next to Ian. “Mr. Simon, I hope your niece can give me an explanation tomorrow. Please excuse us.”

Simon was puzzled, but agreed to it first, calling out to Ian next to him and telling her to calm down.

Gong Yan pulled Hua Manyi’s hand and walked through the layers of spectators. Once they got into the car, Butler Fu, unsure of the situation, asked, “Madam?”

“Return to Fenghai.”

“Yes.”

The atmosphere in the car was heavy and suffocating. Back at Fenghai, Gong Yan, with a cold face, pulled Hua Manyi into the room. She went to the washroom, turned on the tap, snatched the handkerchief from Hua Manyi’s chest, wet it, and forcefully wiped the marks off her lips.

Support Rose Lock