The Golden Cane and the Wild Rose - Chapter 27.2

Chapter 27.2

Back in Kowloon Walled City, Yun Ran didn’t sleep all night.

Jiang Musheng’s villa was very quiet at night. With the windows closed, you couldn’t hear the chirping of insects outside.

But here, in Kowloon Walled City, all sorts of noisy sounds tormented her ears all night long.

She couldn’t fall asleep at all.

Yun Ran sat up from the bed with a headache. She couldn’t have just left and already started missing him.

It was just a better environment, that’s all. Coming back here was better because she was free to be herself.

She got up and washed, not knowing what to eat for breakfast. There were no groceries at home, only a little bit of rice left in the rice jar. She scooped it out to make porridge.

When she finally ate the plain white porridge, she couldn’t help but think of Jiang Musheng.

White porridge was Jiang Musheng’s favorite breakfast.

With that thought, she couldn’t bring herself to eat it.

Yun Ran looked at the spoonful of white porridge she had scooped up, staring blankly.

“Bang bang bang—”

There was a knock at the door. Yun Ran snapped out of her daze and walked to the door. She didn’t open it right away, but squinted through the crack to see who it was.

“A’ran, it’s me. Are you home?”

It was her senior’s voice?

Yun Ran was surprised and opened the door.

Separated by the threshold, a visibly excited Gu Hongfei held her hand. “I heard you left Jiang Musheng. So it’s true. Thank goodness!”

Yun Ran instinctively pulled her hand back.

The smile on Gu Hongfei’s face froze. “A’ran, you…” He stopped short and swallowed the words that were at the tip of his tongue.

He wanted to ask Yun Ran if she had really left Jiang Musheng for good.

He desperately wanted to confirm it himself, but seeing Yun Ran’s bad complexion, he didn’t press her.

“Have you had breakfast, senior?” Yun Ran asked, looking down.

“Not yet…”

“If you don’t mind, senior, please come in and have some.” Yun Ran forced a smile and looked up. But her eyes were lifeless, as if her soul had been lost somewhere else, and her smile was a flimsy mask on her cheeks.

Gu Hongfei stepped over the threshold, his mind burdened with worry.

“A’ran, are you okay?” he asked with concern.

“I’m fine.” Yun Ran turned her head and smiled at him again.

Gu Hongfei shook his head and didn’t ask anything else.

Yun Ran went into the kitchen and scooped a bowl of white porridge for Gu Hongfei, placing it in front of him. In the past, she would have felt embarrassed and ashamed to serve a senior this simple meal.

But after spending this time with Jiang Musheng, white porridge had become a regular item on the Jiang family’s breakfast table.

She had gotten used to it, so she didn’t feel anything.

Suddenly, Gu Hongfei asked, “A’ran, do you have no appetite today?”

Yun Ran took a mouthful of white porridge and looked up.

“Are there any pickled vegetables?” Gu Hongfei asked.

Yun Ran instantly understood. This was not the Jiang family. The person sitting across from her drinking white porridge was not Jiang Musheng. Plain white porridge was just too simple.

So, the same breakfast, when served in different places and eaten by people of different statuses, could be so vastly different.

“A’ran, what are you thinking about?”

Gu Hongfei was a little flustered, seeing her lost in thought so often.

Yun Ran said, “I was thinking if there were any pickled vegetables left in the pickled vegetable jar in the kitchen.”

“And… have you figured it out?”

“No.” Yun Ran got up, went to look in the kitchen, and came out with empty hands, saying, “There are no pickled vegetables left at home, senior. I’ll take you out to eat.”

“No, no need to go to all that trouble. I can just drink the white porridge. It’s your porridge after all. I don’t usually get to drink it.”

Gu Hongfei said earnestly.

Yun Ran was unimpressed in her heart.

No matter how nice he made it sound, he still wasn’t used to it just now.

Yun Ran knew very well that although her senior’s family wasn’t extremely wealthy, they had a solid business foundation and were well-off. He had grown up eating good food and drinking well. How could he possibly be used to her plain white porridge with no pickled vegetables?

She suspected there were very few people in this world who could eat it.

But Jiang Musheng could. This thought suddenly popped into her head, startling Yun Ran herself.

Jiang Musheng could eat it.

Yes, Jiang Musheng could eat it, and he ate it willingly. It was light and low in oil.

Other people who ate this every day would seem like poor refugees, but only he… only he, she knew he wasn’t.

Yun Ran’s gaze fell, looking at the jade bangle on her wrist.

In fact, she still didn’t know why Jiang Musheng insisted on such a light diet. That day, Miss Xueyu had mentioned it briefly before Jiang Musheng stopped her.

So all she knew was that both siblings had poor stomachs.

At the time, she thought the less she knew, the better. She never asked about such things, just like the ancient nobles and powerful officials who were careful not to let their health and preferences be known to others. It wasn’t good for their safety.

It was the same for Jiang Musheng.

She couldn’t help but wonder if Jiang Musheng would have told her if she had suddenly asked. Unfortunately, she was no longer by Jiang Musheng’s side, so she no longer had the opportunity to ask.

“Ah Ran.”

Gu Hongfei finished a bowl of white porridge, but his stomach still felt empty. He looked at her with a troubled expression.

“Ah Ran, my stomach is still… very hungry.”

Yun Ran came back to her senses.

She looked at Gu Hongfei across from her and suddenly felt that everything was back on track. Gu Hongfei’s persistence for her was stronger than she had imagined.

Could she also ‘turn back from the wrong path’ and correct her mistakes?

She had to, even if she couldn’t. Since she had already decided to leave, she had to hold on to this best possible retreat.

She forced herself to be cheerful. “Senior, I’ll take you out to eat.”

“Okay.” This time, Gu Hongfei didn’t refuse, his face a little red from not being full.

Yun Ran tried her best to focus her eyes and mind on Gu Hongfei, telling herself what a lovely man he was, blushing so easily in front of her.

“I’ll wash the dishes first.”

“I’ll help you.” Gu Hongfei rushed to the task.

Although his family was well-off, Gu Hongfei wasn’t a young master who never did any work. In his free time, he often helped out at his family’s roast goose shop, chopping goose, serving dishes, and greeting customers. He did it all.

This was also one of the reasons Yun Ran thought he was reliable. She felt that being his wife wouldn’t be too tiring, as he wouldn’t let her shoulder all the household chores.

Yun Ran watched Gu Hongfei squeeze into her cramped kitchen, doing small chores like washing the kitchen utensils and dishes for her.

She stood outside, watching his back blankly.

Before, she had only thought Gu Hongfei was tall and strong. “Strong” was a good quality. She felt secure. But after her time at the Jiang family, that strength began to feel a little greasy, like the fragrant fat between the skin and meat of a roast goose that she hated eating the most.

She now found Gu Hongfei “greasy.” She was afraid of “greasy.”

She could now appreciate Jiang Musheng’s physique more. His back was also tall, his shoulders broad, and his build was just right—lean and strong. Perhaps it was because of his controlled diet that he seemed even more clean-cut and handsome.

But the man in front of her, Gu Hongfei, was currently her best choice.

Yun Ran closed her eyes, wishing she could throw Jiang Musheng’s image out of her mind.

“A’ran.” Gu Hongfei finished washing the dishes and turned around. “I asked you before if you were willing to leave Kowloon Walled City with me. Last time you said no. Now the situation has changed. I heard that your Old Bean is no longer with us. It’s not safe for you to live here alone. I’m asking you one more time.”

Yun Ran said, “Okay.”

Gu Hongfei was stunned for a moment, then a huge smile spread across his face. “Then… then pack your things now, and I’ll take you away.”

Yun Ran nodded gently.

She went back to her room and packed the things she wanted to take, all fitting into a single suitcase. It contained nothing but a few old clothes.

Gu Hongfei paced back and forth in the small living room, almost bumping into Yun Ran as she came out of the room.

“You’re done packing so fast?” Gu Hongfei stepped back.

Yun Ran held her hand to her chest. “Yes, I don’t have many things.”

“I’ll carry it for you.”

Gu Hongfei reached out. Yun Ran let go, and the old wooden suitcase fell into his hands.

“Ah Ran, I can’t believe you’re actually willing to come with me.”

Yun Ran said, “It’s true.”

Gu Hongfei said, “I’m so happy.”

Yun Ran lowered her head and smiled. She was grateful that after everything that had happened, she could still so easily stir Gu Hongfei’s emotions.

Those entangled, sweet emotions belonged only to Gu Hongfei.

“Senior, wait a moment.” Yun Ran stopped him just as they were about to leave.

“What is it?” Gu Hongfei’s smile was still bright, a grin from ear to ear. He had gained some weight.

Yun Ran suddenly realized that her senior hadn’t been this solid before.

Gu Hongfei saw her expression and knew what she was thinking. He said a little sheepishly, “Ah Ran, I’ve gained a little weight recently.”

“Why?”

“Because I felt hopeless about our future together. I thought you would be with Jiang Musheng forever and never come back to me. I was so sad and miserable that I ate several roast geese and several large bowls of rice every day. That’s why I gained weight.”

“Ah Ran, I was more handsome before, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll change back. You’ve come back, so I’ll go back too. We’ll be just like we were before.”

“And not just like before. I’ll work even harder to make our relationship take another step forward.”

Yun Ran felt very touched. She turned her head and looked at Old Bean’s room, saying, “Senior, let’s say goodbye to my Old Bean before we go.”

Yun Ran led Gu Hongfei into Old Bean’s room. On the peeling wall hung a portrait of Old Bean. The small mourning hall below had been taken down, and there was no place to light incense.

Gu Hongfei looked around, not knowing what to do.

“Just bow three times to my Old Bean,” Yun Ran said.

Support The Golden Cane and the Wild Rose