The Golden Cane and the Wild Rose - Chapter 27.3

Chapter 27.3

Gu Hongfei honestly bowed three times, each a deep, perfect 90-degree bow that lasted for a while, reminding Yun Ran of a classmate closing their eyes and making a wish over a cake and burning candles at a birthday party.

“All done.”

After getting up, Gu Hongfei dusted his shoulders and picked up Yun Ran’s suitcase again. The two of them walked out together.

Yun Ran took one last look at the roses in the courtyard, her heart heavy with reluctance, and locked the door.

Gu Hongfei didn’t notice. He was completely immersed in his own immense happiness.

The two of them walked side-by-side through the winding alleys. The scent of food wafted from the deep lanes.

Yun Ran said, “I’ll take you to try the fish balls and cart noodles that I’ve been eating since I was a child.”

Gu Hongfei said, “Okay. Let me try the delicious food that you grew up with.”

It was the same shop that Yun Ran had taken Jiang Musheng and his subordinates to last time.

“Auntie, we’ll have two orders of fish balls and two orders of cart noodles, one large and one small.”

After saying that, Yun Ran led Gu Hongfei into the shop. Once inside, she saw someone and was slightly stunned.

It was A Biao, one of Jiang Musheng’s men.

A Biao also saw Yun Ran. He was sitting on a long bench, resting one leg and eating a bowl of wonton noodles with chili. He seemed to have added a little too much chili and was frantically chugging water to soothe his burning throat.

A Biao saw her and was stunned, seemingly forgetting about his spicy throat. He quickly got up and respectfully called out, “Miss Yun.” He then coughed heavily.

Then his eyes darted to Gu Hongfei, who was standing beside her holding the wooden suitcase. His eyes narrowed, and a little bit of coughed-up noodle was still hanging from the corner of his mouth.

“Drinking soy milk or herbal tea can relieve the spiciness,” Yun Ran reminded him blandly, pulling Gu Hongfei’s arm to sit down at a table, making sure Gu Hongfei’s back was to A Biao.

Gu Hongfei felt the gaze from behind him and asked, “Ah Ran, is that someone you know?”

Yun Ran nodded without saying much.

The auntie from the shop brought over the two orders of fish balls and two orders of cart noodles. Yun Ran then ran to the stove herself and used a spoon to scoop two spoonfuls of pickled mustard greens. She loved the pickled mustard greens here; she and Old Bean could never make them taste this good.

When she went back, she saw Gu Hongfei smiling and greeting Ah Biao, saying “hello.”

From A Biao’s perspective, this probably looked like a provocation, so Ah Biao stood up again. Only when Yun Ran walked over did he sit back down, but it was clear from his expression that he was unhappy and unwilling.

He didn’t drink the new bottle of soy milk he had just grabbed. Instead, he picked up a brick-sized cellphone from the table and went out with a menacing look.

Gu Hongfei said, “That person has a pager. He must be a rich man. A pager costs tens of thousands of dollars now.”

Yun Ran didn’t respond. She was watching Ah Biao’s whereabouts.

She wondered if he had gone out to call Jiang Musheng to report the situation.

Then she thought again, maybe Ah Biao had other business here, and it had nothing to do with her.

Gu Hongfei continued to ramble, “Pagers are great, but they’re a bit expensive and too big. They’re not very convenient to carry. Otherwise, I would buy one, but I’m thinking of waiting for an upgraded version that’s smaller. A pager is enough for now.”

Yes, a pager was enough. Yun Ran decided to settle her heart.

She smiled and gave a spoonful of pickled mustard greens to Gu Hongfei. “Better late than never.”

“Senior, eat up. It’s on me.”

Gu Hongfei was very happy to hear her say that and started eating with gusto.

Yun Ran watched him eat so enthusiastically and suddenly doubted if he could really return to his lean and handsome self from before. She didn’t like men who gained weight.

She ate the cart noodles one by one, feeling frustrated as she speared a fish ball with her chopsticks and took small bites.

She probably really didn’t have much of an appetite today.

She couldn’t help but glance outside the shop again. Ah Biao was nowhere to be seen.

It seemed he really did have another mission. Jiang Musheng didn’t specifically send him to watch her.

After breakfast, she and her senior left Kowloon Walled City without a hitch. She carefully observed their surroundings, but no one was following them.

Her worries—that Jiang Musheng might suddenly appear and cause a conflict with her senior—were all for naught.

Perhaps Jiang Musheng would soon forget that she existed.

Gu Hongfei had already gotten his driver’s license, but he wasn’t very skilled at driving yet, so he had called his driver again. He accompanied her in the back seat.

The car drove all the way to the house Gu Hongfei had told her about, which was in his name.

The two-story detached house wasn’t as big as Jiang Musheng’s villa, but it was still quite nice.

From the bottom, she could see a small garden on the second-floor balcony with pink and purple roses that weren’t blooming very well.

When Gu Hongfei saw her looking at the roses, he scratched his head and said, “I’m really not good at taking care of plants and flowers. A’ran, I’ll leave it to you in the future.”

“Leave it to me?” Yun Ran was surprised.

“Yes, leave it to you. In my heart, I’ve already decided that you’re the lady of this house. You can continue to plant roses or switch to something else—it’s all up to you.”

“Senior, I…”

“Don’t rush to give me an answer, A’ran. I know a lot of troubling things have happened recently, but they’re all in the past. My feelings for you haven’t changed, you know that, right?”

“…Yes.”

“As long as you know that.” Gu Hongfei turned around. The driver had already gotten out of the car with Yun Ran’s suitcase. He held out his hand. “Give it to me.”

The suitcase was passed into Gu Hongfei’s hands.

Gu Hongfei held the suitcase in one hand and took out a key from his pocket with the other. He didn’t open the door himself but handed the key to her.

“A’ran, you open it.”

Yun Ran held the small key, pushed it into the lock, and turned it halfway. The door opened.

There were lights on in the house, and someone was inside.

Yun Ran was hesitant to step inside. Gu Hongfei smiled and explained, “This is the maid I hired to take care of you.”

“Senior, I can handle it on my own.”

“I’m not at ease. If anything happens, at least there will be someone who can report to me.”

Yun Ran was slightly stunned.

Gu Hongfei thought she was thinking the wrong way and quickly explained, “Ah Ran, I’m not trying to monitor you. I’m just concerned for your safety.”

“I understand. Thank you for your concern, senior.”

Gu Hongfei let out a sigh of relief. “I’m glad you understand. And I wouldn’t want to dismiss her and make her lose her job.”

Yun Ran playfully punched his arm to lighten the mood, and Gu Hongfei laughed with her.

After entering the house, Gu Hongfei stayed in the living room on the first floor, still maintaining a respectful distance from her. He had the maid lead her upstairs to see the room. Yun Ran couldn’t say whether she was satisfied or not. She felt nothing.

In short, it was better than her old place, but a little worse than Jiang Musheng’s.

It was a good place to live.

After coming downstairs, Gu Hongfei asked, “Ah Ran, how is your tuition fundraising going?”

Yun Ran said, “I’m still a little short.”

Gu Hongfei’s whole body became excited, and his eyes lit up as he looked at her. “In that case, Ah Ran, are you still willing to help out at my family’s shop as we originally planned?”

Yun Ran nodded.

The summer vacation was so long. She had to find a way to pass the time, and if she could do so while making money, it would be even better.

The next day, Yun Ran got ready and went to work. Gu Hongfei had yesterday’s driver pick her up and take her to the shop. He didn’t come himself.

When Yun Ran arrived at the shop, she found that Gu Hongfei was already there, busy attracting business.

The shop was doing well, with a steady stream of customers. Many of them were also getting takeout to eat at home. One of the customers was complaining, “Hurry up with the takeout. I have to catch the ferry.”

Gu Hongfei personally packed a large order of roast goose for the anxious customer. As he handed it to the customer, he looked up and saw Yun Ran standing in front of him.

They smiled at each other. Yun Ran felt that in just one night, Gu Hongfei seemed to have lost a little weight.

“That customer came all the way here. He’s going to the mainland for business. He comes once or twice a week. He’s a regular customer.”

Yun Ran smiled and said, “That’s because your family’s roast goose is delicious, senior.”

“This one was just roasted. Do you want to eat a little before you start work?” Gu Hongfei asked her.

Yun Ran shook her head. “I think I’ll pass. I’m here to work. I’ll eat after I get off.”

So she went to the back to change her clothes and then got busy with Gu Hongfei.

Outside the roast goose shop, A Biao stood in the scorching sun, shaking his head and sighing irritably.

What should he do now?

Didn’t Mr. Jiang say that Miss Yun was just throwing a tantrum at him?

This didn’t seem like a tantrum.

She had moved into another man’s house and was working at his shop. They were giving each other longing looks. He, a subordinate, was already annoyed just watching from the outside.

He couldn’t imagine what Mr. Jiang would do if he were here.

A Biao was so conflicted that he pulled out two strands of his thinning hair. In the end, he still made the call to report the situation.

Jiang Musheng received the call when he was discussing with Zheng Hangyi about expanding their business empire into the rapidly developing mainland.

“Mr. Jiang, it’s a call from A Biao. He says he has something to report regarding Miss Yun.”

“Give me the phone.” Jiang Musheng took the bulky phone and went outside the study.

Zheng Hangyi didn’t move, remaining in his seat, deep in thought.

A while later, Jiang Musheng returned to the study.

Zheng Hangyi asked, “What’s wrong with Miss Yun?”

Jiang Musheng said, “Nothing.”

“What do you mean, ‘nothing’?”

“She went back to that man from before.”

“The one who looks like the male university student who tried to seduce Miss Xueyu?”

Jiang Musheng nodded, his brows furrowing slightly.

“I’m going out for a bit.”

Zheng Hangyi suddenly stood up and grabbed him. “Musheng, are you planning to go bring Miss Yun back yourself? She’s already gone back to that man. It’s not a sure thing that she’ll be willing to come back with you.”

Jiang Musheng brushed Zheng Hangyi’s hand away. “I won’t go find her. She’ll come back.”

“How do you know she’ll come back? It seemed like she wasn’t very willing to follow you in the first place.”

Zheng Hangyi crossed his arms and said, “She was just as resolute when she left last time. Musheng, why bother keeping such a high-strung person by your side? Although Hong Kong isn’t big, it’s full of beautiful women. The Miss Hong Kong pageant winners are also very beautiful. Pick any one of them, and she’ll be very obedient.”

“Maybe others would be obedient, but Zheng Hangyi, that’s your style and preference. You and I are different after all. I don’t need an obedient puppet or a pretty face by my side.”

Zheng Hangyi was stumped.

For a moment, he thought Jiang Musheng was mocking him for only finding puppets without genuine emotions. Then he thought Jiang Musheng was just stating his personal preference.

For a moment, he didn’t know if he should be angry.

He didn’t get angry in the end, but he still didn’t understand.

“Even if you want a relationship with genuine emotions, you don’t have to choose only Miss Yun.”

“Think about it, Jiang Musheng. I’m starting to suspect that you’ve been influenced by Xueyu.”

“For people of our status, it’s not that we shouldn’t have relationships. It’s just that we shouldn’t give our hearts away.”

Zheng Hangyi said this, glancing at Jiang Musheng.

“Great happiness corresponds to great pain. Extreme love leads to the opposite. Jiang Musheng, you can’t be unaware of this, right?”

Jiang Musheng said, “How would anyone know without experiencing it? It must be some foolish person who says such things without any basis.”

Zheng Hangyi got anxious. “Musheng, I’m telling you, don’t. Miss Yun is really not worthy of you.”

Jiang Musheng said, “Do you think I’ve given my heart away? Actually, everything is within my control.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Zheng Hangyi conceded. “I’m just worried about you.”

Jiang Musheng said, “I know you haven’t liked A’ran much since you found out she’s Scarface’s adopted daughter.”

“It’s not that I dislike her,” Zheng Hangyi said. “I even admire Miss Yun’s personality. It’s just that people with too much personality are always hard to understand and control.”

“Look at how thoroughly she got away from you this time. It might be nothing once, but after a few times, when your feelings for her deepen, you’ll be the one in pain.”

Jiang Musheng said, “How do you know she’ll leave me again and again?”

“I don’t. But it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“Musheng, you only have one heart. Are you prepared to be heartbroken over a woman? I, for one, am prepared never to be heartbroken over any woman.”

Jiang Musheng smiled. “You only get hurt by money.”

“Money can buy me the happiness I want. How can that be considered a loss?”

Jiang Musheng said, “Hangyi, the things we want are just different in the end.”

Zheng Hangyi stopped trying to persuade him. If he could persuade him, Jiang Musheng wouldn’t be Jiang Musheng. It had always been Jiang Musheng who talked sense into him, not the other way around.

Zheng Hangyi gave in.

“Do you have a plan? Do you want me to help you strategize to get Miss Yun back?”

Jiang Musheng said, “No hurry. I want to see how Ah Ran’s relationship with that man develops without me.”

“You really have the patience,” Zheng Hangyi couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “If it were me, I wouldn’t be able to stay calm.”

“I need to see how much genuine affection she has for that roast goose shop owner.”

“If you just watch like that, aren’t you afraid they might actually have genuine feelings for each other? The longer you wait, the deeper their feelings will get—from a little to a lot.”

“They won’t. Ah Ran’s feelings for him are nothing special.”

“How can you be sure? Have things progressed quickly between you and Miss Yun? Did you two…”

Jiang Musheng said, “Not as fast as you think, but it’s definitely faster than things between A’ran and that man.”

“Then I was worried for nothing,” Zheng Hangyi said with a laugh. “I didn’t know you had a talent for dating, Musheng.”

Jiang Musheng said, “Stop making fun of me. I’ve never made fun of you.”

“When did I make fun of you? I said I wanted to help.”

Jiang Musheng said, “No need for help. Come back and help me when you have a proper relationship of your own.”

Zheng Hangyi: “…”

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