The Golden Cane and the Wild Rose - Chapter 10

Chapter 10

In the afternoon, Jiang Musheng went out and didn’t return until evening, sending only a phone call.

He said the accomplice in his sister  Jiang Xueyu’s kidnapping had been caught, and he had some questions for them. He told them to eat dinner without him and not to wait up.

Jiang Xueyu said worriedly, “Brother, I’m completely fine. Can’t you let them go?”

Let them go?

Yun Ran was shocked that Xueyu was pleading for the people who had kidnapped her.

“They didn’t hurt me at all. The man even held an umbrella to shield me from the sun, gave me a rose, and bought me fish balls.”

Yun Ran’s expression froze as she listened.

On the other end, Jiang Musheng was panting, seemingly suppressing his anger.

“Xueyu, you just never believe there are truly bad people in this world.”

He was angry with his sister but also helpless, and he finally just hung up the phone.

“Sister-in-law, I’ve made Brother angry again,” Jiang Xueyu said, looking at her dejectedly.

Yun Ran didn’t dare to comment on the matter. She only patted her shoulder in comfort.

Dinner was made by Alan.

With Jiang Musheng absent, Yun Ran felt much more at ease.

After dinner, Yun Ran said, “Little Sister Xueyu, I want to go home for a bit.”

“This is your home now,” Jiang Xueyu said with a smile.

Yun Ran replied, “I have to go back and check. My dad doesn’t know I’m here, and he’ll be worried.”

“You can call him first.”

“My family… doesn’t have a phone.”

“Then I’ll go with you.”

Yun Ran was trying to figure out how to refuse. She didn’t want a hothouse flower like Xueyu to set foot in a place like that.

Fortunately, Ah Ran cut off Xueyu’s idea first.

” Mr. Jiang has a rule that you are not allowed to go out after dark without his escort.”

Ten minutes later, Yun Ran was alone in a car heading home. She politely told the driver the address.

As she gave the address, she felt an inexplicable unease, as if she was afraid the driver would look down on her.

She was good at reading people. Even though the driver’s expression was veiled, she easily caught a hint of a contemptuous smile on his lips.

” Yun Ran, were you raised in the Kowloon Walled City?”

“…Yes.”

“That place is quite a mess, filled with all sorts of people, heh.”

Yun Ran didn’t say a word, but in her mind, she thought: ‘Yes, that place in Kowloon has all kinds of people. The environment is dirty and chaotic, a mixed bag of good and bad, and criminals often hide there. It’s a famous no-man’s-land in Hong Kong.’

“However, now that you’re with Mr. Jiang, everything’s different. Your good fortune is still to come. Let me tell you something else that’s worth celebrating: you’re the first woman Mr. Jiang has ever brought home. You should be overjoyed.”

She was the first woman Jiang Musheng had brought home, but Yun Ran didn’t feel this was a cause for celebration. She didn’t like Jiang Musheng, and before this, she never thought they would have any connection.

She was already beginning to doubt if her initial choice had been the right one—fleeing from Boss He’s den of iniquity only to fall into Jiang Musheng’s.

Admittedly, Jiang Musheng hadn’t done anything to her yet, other than putting on a show for the reporters.

But that didn’t mean things would stay this way.

Yun Ran was terribly annoyed, and the driver was rambling on and on.

“When you become Mrs. Jiang one day, please don’t forget I once drove you,” the driver said fawningly.

Yun Ran leaned back against her seat, one hand pressing against her temple, her eyes closed, offering no reply.

The talkative and obsequious driver looked back, then sullenly shut his mouth.

The car navigated through winding streets and alleys. The familiar smell of smoke and the noisy chatter of people flowed in through the car windows and enveloped Yun Ran.

Yun Ran opened her eyes and directed the driver through several turns. “Just stop at the last intersection in front, by the peeling iron gate.”

The driver felt dizzy and exhausted from navigating this stretch of road.

” Yun Ran, today I understand why criminals like to run to this place. Once they get in, it’s hard for the police to catch them. If they have firearms and weapons, the police won’t even dare to enter.”

Yun Ran said, “That’s about right.”

She gave a perfunctory reply and pushed the car door open to get out.

The driver said with a shaky voice, “Miss Yun, I’m a little scared. Please come out as soon as you can.”

Yun Ran looked back and saw the driver sweating profusely.

Yun Ran couldn’t help but wonder.

A place like the Kowloon Walled City could be frightening for a first-timer. After all, you could walk a few steps and see someone with all kinds of hideous scars and menacing eyes, like her own dad, who had a gruesome scar that ran diagonally across both sides of his face, as if a large and vicious centipede had attached itself there to suck blood and flesh.

But this driver worked for Jiang Musheng. Could he really be this inexperienced?

No matter how strange she found it, Yun Ran didn’t ask further. After simply agreeing to the driver’s request, Yun Ran took out her slightly rusted key and opened the iron gate.

She opened the door, went inside, and closed it again.

“Dad?”

She called out as she entered, but no one answered.

Yun Ran walked through the house. The living room was empty. She then pushed open her dad’s bedroom door, only to be met with the smell of dust from a long-unoccupied room.

Her dad still hadn’t returned. Yun Ran walked back outside, feeling deflated.

Could something have really happened to him during a mission?

But even if an accident had occurred during a mission, it would make sense for someone to have been sent to inform her.

No news is the best news, Yun Ran comforted herself.

She walked towards the door and noticed that by the iron gate, the rose bush, which had been untended for days, was still blooming beautifully.

The fiery purple roses sent out a faint fragrance on the night breeze.

Yun Ran raised her hand, pinching a branch with her index and middle fingers, and bent down to smell them.

‘What a shame,’ she thought. ‘If Dad really can’t come back, and I have to live under Jiang Musheng’s protection, there’s no way I can transplant these roses.’ She remembered that Jiang Musheng detested roses because a bouquet had been dropped at the scene where his sister was abducted.

” Yun Ran, are you finished?” the driver’s trembling voice came from outside the gate.

“Yes, I’m done.”

Yun Ran gently broke off the rose branch, carried it outside, and locked the door again.

Back in the car, Yun Ran lightly twisted the rose branch and said to the driver, “Could you please take me to the Oriental Dance Hall?”

The Oriental Dance Hall was where Yun Ran worked her part-time job. When she quit last time, the manager had said something unpleasant, and her senior had gotten into a fight. To resolve the matter, she had agreed to work for another half a month.

She hadn’t told Jiang Musheng about this because she herself didn’t understand what her relationship with him was. She figured she’d just handle it herself.

“What are you doing at a place like that, Miss Yun? Could it be… that’s where you and Mr. Jiang met?”

‘No, that can’t be right,’ the driver thought. ‘Mr. Jiang never frequents places like that, except for that one time when he heard a rumor that the person who kidnapped the young miss was hiding at the Oriental Dance Hall. He went with his men and a team of police officers assigned by the governor.’

‘I heard it was a big commotion. The police officers the governor assigned were desperate for a promotion and were eager to impress Mr. Jiang. They used excessive force and nearly caused a death. If Mr. Jiang hadn’t stopped them in time and determined the person wasn’t there, the police would have caused a huge scandal, and the consequences would have been unthinkable.’

This was something they knew amongst themselves. Outsiders, however, widely rumored that Mr. Jiang, in a fury over saving his sister, had taken matters into his own hands.

But Mr. Jiang never got involved in illegal or disorderly acts and didn’t let his subordinates either.

The driver’s thoughts drifted elsewhere, and he forgot the question he had just asked Yun Ran.

Yun Ran thought for a moment and decided to answer truthfully. “To work.”

But this would be the last time. She planned to resign again.

“Should I report this to Mr. Jiang?”

“I must ask for instructions. After what happened to Miss Jiang last time, Mr. Jiang told us to be careful about everything in the future. Given your current relationship with Mr. Jiang, we naturally need to protect you well.”

“Please wait a moment, I’ll make a call to ask.”

The driver fumbled and pulled out a brick-sized cell phone, a “big brother phone,” and began to dial. Yun Ran watched him intently, memorizing the number.

Jiang Musheng answered the call and asked what was wrong. The driver reported the situation truthfully, then asked, “Mr. Jiang, should I take Miss Yun over there?”

“Listen to her.”

“Mr. Jiang said it’s okay, Miss Yun. We can go now.”

Yun Ran was happy that her actions were still relatively free. Of course, this also meant she wasn’t that important to Jiang Musheng, and her safety wasn’t that big a concern to him.

Half an hour later, the car stopped in front of the Oriental Dance Hall.

There wasn’t much time left, so Yun Ran told the driver to wait in the car and jogged inside herself.

“Ah Ran, you’re finally here! I’m not happy with my makeup at all. Please fix it for me quickly.”

Miss Peony grabbed her the moment she saw her and cried for help.

Yun Ran quickly got to work while telling her, “Miss Peony, today is my last day of work.”

Miss Peony looked at her with a face full of reluctance.

Yun Ran pretended not to notice, focusing on fixing the makeup.

After finishing the makeup, just before they went on stage, Miss Peony grabbed her hand, looking like she had more to say but was holding back.

Someone from the front hall came to hurry Miss Peony onto the stage. Miss Peony looked at her and finally spoke just two words: “Take care.”

Yun Ran nodded slightly.

Miss Peony finally let go of her. Yun Ran rubbed her reddened hand, secretly wishing Miss Peony all the best.

After her shift, Yun Ran went to collect her salary for the night and again submitted her resignation.

The new manager looked her up and down twice, a mocking smirk on his face.

“Miss Yun wants to go back on her word again? Our dance hall doesn’t let people go that easily.”

Yun Ran gave a light cough, put on her tiger skin mask, and said with a steady expression, “I am Jiang Musheng’s person.”

Good. It was only the second time, and she could already say this with perfect composure.

It was a bit shameless, but it worked.

The manager’s face changed, but it quickly returned to normal, like a chameleon with excellent self-regulation.

“Anyone can make grand claims. Does Miss Yun have any way to prove it?”

“Could I borrow the phone?”

Yun Ran eyed the manager’s phone on the desk, her heart already starting to feel nervous.

She silently repeated Jiang Musheng’s number to herself.

“Please, go ahead,” the manager said with a hesitant tone that had become much more respectful.

Yun Ran walked closer, bent down to press the big red rotary phone, her heart trembling.

‘Please, please, pick up.’

‘Please, please, pick up.’

‘Please, please…’

As Yun Ran prayed for the third time in her mind, the call connected.

In that moment, she was incredibly grateful to Jiang Musheng, so excited that she got a little carried away. An uncontrollably dependent “Mr. Jiang” escaped her throat.

Then, she even swaggered a little, raising her eyebrows at the manager.

The manager’s face was filled with terror, but he wasn’t looking at her. He was looking towards the office door.

Yun Ran found this strange and turned to look as well.

She saw someone she never would have expected to suddenly appear there.

Jiang Musheng seemed to have just stepped in. A bodyguard in a black suit respectfully held the phone up for him.

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