The Golden Cane and the Wild Rose - Chapter 30.2

Chapter 30.2

Yun Ran asked herself, and her heart rate inexplicably quickened. Maybe it was the nervousness of being about to see Jiang Musheng in person.

Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. Yun Ran patted her chest to comfort herself. If Jiang Musheng really had his eyes on her for a long time and had resisted using his power to force her to stay by his side, but instead waited for her to voluntarily call out his name and depend on him, then she could basically confirm one thing:

Jiang Musheng would never intentionally harm her.

Thinking of this, her heart completely lost control and began to beat even faster.

The Jiang family villa was built on a hillside, where the terrain was relatively flat. With the shade and cover of the lush trees, it was quite cool in the summer.

Yun Ran sat in the truck, and the cool breeze from the front blew her hair, carrying the aroma of the roast geese.

However, the most prominent scent her nose caught was still the pure oxygen of the forest and the green fragrance of the plants.

Her sense of smell missed this place.

She couldn’t smell it anymore.

Yun Ran held her breath. She couldn’t be so spineless.

She had already chosen another path, so she shouldn’t waver.

However, her heart still swayed with the free-spirited wind in the forest, coming without a trace and leaving without a trace.

Had Gu Hongfei’s conditions already failed to satisfy her?

Yun Ran thought, feeling terrible.

“Miss Yun, which way should I go now?”

Two roads appeared ahead, and the driver turned to ask her.

Yun Ran blurted out, “Left.”

She remembered the way back to Jiang Musheng’s side so clearly.

At this moment, she wished she couldn’t remember anything, that she could let the driver choose a path on his own, even if it meant getting lost in the forest.

After that, a few more forks appeared, and the driver asked her the same way each time. She answered every time, and every road was so clear in her mind.

Perhaps it was because she used to scurry through the winding alleys of Kowloon Walled City every day as a child, so her sense of direction was exceptionally good. Yes, that must be it.

She simply had a good memory; it was definitely not because she wanted to remember the way to Jiang Musheng.

“Miss Yun, after driving on this mountain road today, I finally understand why that Mr. Jiang chose to build his villa here.”

“Why?” Yun Ran cooperated and asked.

“For safety,” the driver said quietly. “People really shouldn’t just envy others. Look at me, even though I’m just a small driver at a roast goose shop, my job is safe, and my salary is stable. This is the solid happiness of us small-time people. After work, I go home to my family. Life is peaceful and happy. I don’t need all that money.”

“But that Mr. Jiang, what’s the use of having immense wealth? At most, he can afford a high delivery fee to have small people like you and me run an errand to deliver roast geese. But behind it is endless danger. A while ago, his sister was kidnapped, and he barely saved her. Now, less than a month later, he himself was shot.”

“Jiang Musheng was shot?” Yun Ran clenched the packaging bag of a box of roast goose and asked.

“Ah… I can’t be sure either. I also heard it from people outside. Whether this Mr. Jiang was shot or not has nothing to do with you or me. Just treat it as gossip for when we’re bored.”

Yun Ran stopped talking to the driver. All she could think about was that Jiang Musheng was really shot.

“Maybe it’s false?”

A pendulum seemed to have appeared in her head. On the left side, Jiang Musheng was shot, and on the right side, Jiang Musheng wasn’t.

The pendulum swung back and forth endlessly.

Just as Yun Ran was in a state of distress, the driver looked back at her, and in his somewhat aged eyes, there was a belated sense of apology.

“Watch the road!” The accumulated emotions caused Yun Ran to shout at him.

The driver quickly turned his head back, controlled the steering wheel, and said with his back to Yun Ran, “I’m sorry, Miss Yun, I forgot that you used to be with that Mr. Jiang.”

Yun Ran took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

Could she blame the driver?

“It’s okay. It’s all in the past.”

“That’s true. Miss Yun, it was a wise move to leave him. In my opinion, it’s better for you to live a stable life with Young Master Gu.”

“Oh? Do you think I’m worthy of your Young Master Gu?” She asked sharply, still with some lingering anger.

“This…” The driver hesitated, then quickly sped up his words. “Of course. Just the fact that Young Master Gu likes you makes you worthy.”

Yun Ran let out a laugh. It was a laugh without emotion, and she couldn’t even tell what emotion it conveyed.

The driver found her laugh eerily chilling for no reason and changed the subject. “Miss Yun, how much longer until we arrive?”

Yun Ran said, “Soon.”

Ten minutes later, they arrived.

Yun Ran jumped out of the truck with a stack of roast geese. Before the driver could get out and come around, some bodyguards came over to help her.

The driver saw several bodyguards in black surrounding him and was a little scared, so he retracted his hand from the steering wheel and didn’t get out. Miss Yun didn’t need his help anyway.

“Miss Yun, let us take those.”

“No need.” Yun Ran didn’t hand over the roast geese in her arms, so the bodyguards just took them from the truck. Yun Ran couldn’t stop them, so she could only say, “Thank you, everyone.”

“Please don’t be so polite, Miss Yun.”

A warmth suddenly welled up in Yun Ran’s heart. It was as if she had never truly left this place, because Jiang Musheng’s men still treated her with the same respect.

More respect than Gu Hongfei’s staff.

Yun Ran waited for the bodyguards to lead the way. She was self-aware and didn’t want to appear as if she still longed for everything she had at the Jiang family’s place.

Most of the bodyguards were happy to see her return, because they knew that if their boss had no feelings for her, he wouldn’t have let her come to deliver the roast geese. They all knew that Jiang Musheng didn’t like greasy or savory foods.

Just as she was about to cross the threshold of the Jiang family villa, Yun Ran heard someone call out, “Brother Ah Biao.”

Yun Ran looked up and saw Ah Biao. One of her feet had already stepped inside.

Ah Biao gave her a glance and then ignored her, telling the bodyguards, “Have all of you forgotten what Mr. Jiang hired you for with a high salary? If you want to carry roast geese, go work at a roast goose shop.”

“No, Brother Ah Biao, we just saw that Miss Yun couldn’t carry so many…”

“It’s none of your business. How dare you leave your posts without Mr. Jiang’s orders? What if that cousin who attacked Mr. Jiang with a gun shows up again?”

“Didn’t the Governor General already take him into custody?” a bodyguard mumbled quietly.

Ah Biao’s face flushed. “What did you say?”

Seeing that Ah Biao was about to explode, Yun Ran said, “Thank you, everyone. Please just help me get this far. I’ll take the rest of the way myself.”

The bodyguards had no choice but to put the roast geese down. They couldn’t just put them on the ground. A quick-witted young bodyguard found a small trolley and lined it with clean old newspapers. Everyone put the roast geese on it.

Yun Ran smiled and said, “Thank you.”

Dressed in the red uniform apron of the roast goose shop and a red baseball cap, she pulled the trolley provided by the kind bodyguard and continued to deliver the roast geese inside.

“Are you all so weak? Have you forgotten how she treated Mr. Jiang?”

Ah Biao kicked the young bodyguard who had given Yun Ran the trolley, but not too hard.

“Brother Biao, calm down. Miss Yun has come back, hasn’t she?”

Yun Ran pulled the trolley and walked very slowly.

She felt like she was pulling a small mountain. Although it was the easiest way, it was still very strenuous because of the number of roast geese.

There was another reason: she didn’t want to go in and face Jiang Musheng and her sister Xueyu so quickly.

Carrying the roast geese, she was now completely covered in the scent of them, with several oily stains on her body.

She had originally planned to use this dirty appearance to break any remaining fantasies the siblings might have about her, but she hadn’t expected to break her own courage first.

In Jiang Musheng’s room.

Jiang Xueyu couldn’t sit still anymore and stood up.

“Brother, I’m going to go down and see if sister-in-law has arrived. According to last night’s delivery speed, she should be here by now.”

Jiang Musheng leaned against the bed, looking completely unconcerned.

“We ordered a lot of roast geese today. It takes time to pack them all.”

“I don’t care. I just can’t wait to see sister-in-law. I didn’t even get to talk to her at the plaza last time.”

Jiang Musheng said, “If you want to, you can go wait downstairs.”

“Okay! When I see her, I’ll come back and tell you. No, no, I’ll just bring her to see you directly.”

Xueyu said this and ran off. By the latter half of the sentence, Jiang Musheng couldn’t even hear her shadow.

He leaned immovably against the headboard, his gaze fixed forward, as if he could penetrate the walls, cross the trees and the forest, and see Yun Ran directly.

She really did come.

But would she be willing to see him?

Xueyu skipped and hopped to the first floor, almost tripping and falling several times. Fortunately, Alan quickly grabbed her waist.

“Miss Yun, be careful.”

“Thank you.”

Before the words were even out, she was desperately running outside again.

“Miss truly likes Miss Yun. So, is it possible for Miss to like women in the future?”

Alan’s thoughts were distracted for a second, just one second, before she caught up tightly.

No matter what, as long as Mr. Jiang didn’t fire her, she could be the Miss’s shadow bodyguard for a lifetime.

Yun Ran stopped in the garden and didn’t go any further, not just because she was afraid of a reunion.

It was also because she saw rose bushes in Jiang Musheng’s villa garden. She remembered they hadn’t been there before.

Why would Jiang Musheng plant roses in the garden? Was it for her?

She remembered that last time, at her old home, Jiang Musheng had asked her if she wanted to transplant the roses.

Yun Ran let go of the trolley and couldn’t help but touch a rose petal.

“Sister-in-law, you’re already here. Why don’t you come in?”

Jiang Xueyu finally found her and ran over eagerly.

Before Yun Ran could react, she hugged her excitedly.

Feeling Xueyu’s tight embrace, Yun Ran pinched off a rose.

Then, she remembered she was dirty and said anxiously, “I’m dirty, Xueyu… Miss Jiang, let go of me.”

Xueyu said, “It’s okay, sister-in-law. I missed you.”

Yun Ran was stunned for a moment, then used her strength to push Xueyu away.

The beautiful white princess dress should not be dirtied by the oil from a roast goose shop.

Sensing her persistence, Xueyu didn’t insist on hugging her again. She wiped the oil on her white skirt, raised her hand to her nose to smell it curiously, and then quickly took it away, but she didn’t show any sign of disgust.

Yun Ran watched her quietly for a while before saying, “Miss Jiang, should the roast geese be taken to the living room?”

Xueyu was not used to being called Miss Jiang and was stunned.

Alan stepped forward. “Miss Yun, please hand the roast geese to me.”

Yun Ran obediently let go and said, “The roast geese have been delivered. I’ll be going now.”

Xueyu watched her turn around with a look of disbelief. “Sister-in-law, are you leaving as soon as you get here? You haven’t even seen my brother yet.”

Yun Ran said without looking back, “I’m just here to deliver the roast geese.”

“Alan, what should I do?” Xueyu was at her wit’s end and asked helplessly.

Alan temporarily let go of the trolley and ran in front of Yun Ran, blocking her path.

Yun Ran said expressionlessly, “I’m very sorry about what happened to Mr. Jiang, but I don’t want to see him.”

Alan still blocked her.

Yun Ran suddenly remembered that she hadn’t asked them for the delivery fee, so she held out her hand. “Please settle the delivery fee. Thank you.”

Alan looked at her in disbelief but took out money readily and handed it to her.

She counted it; it was more than enough.

“I don’t have change to give you. I’ll keep it on account. Can I give you a discount next time?”

“Sister-in-law!” Xueyu was so upset by her cold, distant, and businesslike demeanor that she started to cry.

Yun Ran remained unmoved. “I’m leaving now.”

Yun Ran walked around Alan and continued down the path. With Alan no longer blocking her, Ah Biao appeared in her way.

Ah Biao wasn’t interested in stopping her; he just said indignantly, “Miss Yun, don’t you have a heart? Mr. Jiang was so good to you, and yet you…”

“And yet I’m ungrateful and don’t care about whether he lives or dies?”

Ah Biao was stunned, his face showing surprise as if to say, “How did you know what I was going to say?”

Yun Ran’s expression didn’t change as she continued to walk forward.

“Ah Ran.”

Jiang Musheng came out of the house, leaning on a gold cane. “You’ve come all this way, and you won’t even see me?”

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