The Golden Cane and the Wild Rose - Chapter 31.1

Chapter 31.1

Upon hearing Jiang Musheng’s familiar yet unfamiliar voice, Yun Ran’s feet stopped uncontrollably.

However, she only paused for a moment, not wanting Jiang Musheng to notice, and continued to move forward, her steps becoming faster and more hurried.

She was determined to escape this place, to escape Jiang Musheng.

“Brother!”

A cry of surprise came from behind her. Yun Ran bit her lip and resisted the urge to look back.

Immediately after, there was a crisp sound of metal hitting the ground.

Yun Ran paused but didn’t hear the sound of someone falling.

After confirming, she continued to walk forward. She imagined herself as a rock, a rock that would remain unmoved no matter what happened.

A rock has no feelings. She only had herself and only thought for herself.

Although she stopped a few times, her every step became more resolute. She had to leave, leave this place that didn’t belong to her.

There was no more movement behind her. She didn’t know if her hearing had automatically blocked it out, or if Xueyu and Jiang Musheng were no longer trying to keep her.

She really wanted to turn around and take a look, but she was afraid of meeting Jiang Musheng’s eyes, so she continued with her determination.

After leaving the villa, she saw the bodyguards who had returned to their original positions. Ah Biao was also there. The bodyguards didn’t dare to come over or poke their heads out, but their eyes couldn’t help but fall on her by rolling their eyeballs.

“Miss Yun, are you leaving already?”

As Yun Ran passed a bodyguard at the gate, she heard him ask in a low voice.

“Yes.”

Yun Ran also responded softly.

By this time, the sun was very bright, making people dizzy. When Yun Ran walked into the sunlight, she couldn’t help but raise her hand to block it.

Ah Biao watched her from a distance and said, “Miss Yun, now that you’ve left this time, will you come back in the future?”

Yun Ran was already in a bad mood, and now hearing Ah Biao ask this, she couldn’t help but get angry.

“Do you want me to come back or not?”

“Of course not,” Ah Biao was very honest, his dislike and unwelcoming expression written all over his face.

Yun Ran deliberately said, “Whether I come back or not isn’t up to me. It depends on whether your Mr. Jiang wants me to come back.”

Ah Biao let out a mocking laugh. “Miss Yun, you left so freely, so why won’t you come back freely?”

Yun Ran said, “If you have the guts, you can say that directly to Jiang Musheng.”

“You…”

Ah Biao was completely speechless.

Although he felt it was an injustice to Mr. Jiang, he was, after all, his subordinate and was afraid of him, unlike Yun Ran, who was so audacious as to call Mr. Jiang by his full name.

In Hong Kong, there were very few people who could call Mr. Jiang by his name directly, and even fewer who would call him by his full name. She had never heard it before Yun Ran.

She really didn’t know where Yun Ran got such courage!

In a way, she had won the argument with Ah Biao. Yun Ran felt quite triumphant and used this opportunity to vent her frustration.

It was Ah Biao who had been disrespectful to her first, so it wasn’t her fault for retaliating.

Yun Ran gave Ah Biao one last arrogant look, got into the small truck she had arrived in, and told the driver to drive back.

The small truck started and quickly disappeared with Yun Ran.

Ah Biao, however, was truly angry. He stood in place, panting heavily, looking as if he was about to steam in the sun.

With Yun Ran gone, the bodyguards surrounded him.

“Brother Ah Biao, are you alright?”

“I’m fine. What could possibly be wrong with me?”

“What did Miss Yun just say to you?”

“Nothing,” Ah Biao walked away angrily. The bodyguards looked at each other, and with no answer, they returned to their posts.

Inside the house, Jiang Musheng was already being helped back to his room by Xueyu and Alan.

“Brother’s gold cane seems to have been left behind,” Xueyu suddenly remembered.

Alan said, “Miss Yun, you stay with Mr. Jiang. I’ll go get it.”

As Alan went to retrieve the gold cane, Xueyu sat on a chair by the bed, looking at her brother with a worried expression.

Jiang Musheng’s pale face showed a smile. “Xueyu, I’m not sad at all, so don’t you be sad either.”

“You’re lying, brother. How could you not be sad? You subconsciously went after sister-in-law and almost fell. If Alan hadn’t reacted quickly, your injury would have been even worse.”

“I’m fine,” Jiang Musheng said. “Before you were born, I went through much worse injuries. This small wound isn’t life-threatening, so it’s nothing to me.”

Xueyu started to cry. “You always say that, not caring about your own body, but you control me so strictly.”

Jiang Musheng coaxed her. “You won today’s bet. Ah Ran came to deliver the roast geese personally. As agreed, I’ll allow you to go out twice a week, with Alan. You can go out now. Are you a little happier?”

“No,” Xueyu said sadly, her tears falling one after another.

Jiang Musheng leaned over and raised a hand to wipe her tears. “Why aren’t you happy when you won?”

Xueyu said, “I’d rather have lost. Even though sister-in-law came this time, she was more heartless than not coming at all.”

Jiang Musheng said, “Ah Ran isn’t heartless. She’s still angry at me and thinks I’m responsible for her old dad’s death.”

“But you didn’t harm Scarface! You just put Scarface in jail and let the Governor General handle it according to the law. If you hadn’t done that, Scarface might have died even sooner. Alan told me that those people wanted to kill Scarface at the time.”

“Ah Ran doesn’t know that, so it’s normal for her to hate me.”

“Brother, why don’t you explain it to her? I thought you were going to tell her the truth at the plaza last time.”

“Xueyu, I can’t tell Ah Ran.”

“Why?” Xueyu asked, looking at her brother with confusion.

Jiang Musheng said, “Because I feel that if Ah Ran knows the truth, it’ll be even more impossible for us.”

“Are you afraid that sister-in-law will feel guilty if she knows the truth?”

“Guilt is just one emotion. It can’t completely erase the hatred in Ah Ran’s heart. Once her emotions get complicated, a person can become terrifyingly rational. Ah Ran is not like you. She’s not a simple girl. She won’t easily choose to come back to my side.”

“Are you saying I’m simple-minded?” Xueyu stopped crying and asked with red eyes and a pained expression.

“Being simple-minded isn’t a bad thing. Even if it were, it would be my fault, so I will protect you well. You don’t have to worry.”

“Then what about sister-in-law?”

“I’ll figure out a way to win her back myself.”

Yun Ran sat in the small truck going down the mountain. Halfway down, a car came up and stopped directly in front of the small truck, almost causing a crash. The driver was so anxious he started cursing.

“How do you drive? If you can’t drive, don’t.”

When he saw the person in the car, the driver quickly changed his attitude.

“Young master, why are you here?”

Yun Ran couldn’t see, but she could hear the voice. However, she remained unfazed.

She was not in the mood to think about why Gu Hongfei had come.

Gu Hongfei answered the driver, “I was worried about Ah Ran and was afraid that Jiang Musheng wouldn’t let her go.”

“How could that be? You were overthinking, young master. Miss Yun came out of the Jiang family villa very quickly after delivering the goods. That Jiang family villa is really something. There’s only one villa on this mountain. I’m afraid the whole mountain belongs to the Jiang family.”

Gu Hongfei asked with some displeasure, “Where’s Ah Ran?”

“Miss Yun is in the back.”

“Don’t move. Wait for me to turn around and get Ah Ran into my car.”

The driver broke into a sweat. “Young master, are you sure?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Gu Hongfei asked with dissatisfaction.

“No, you have a driver’s license, of course you can drive.” The driver said with a forced laugh.

Everyone says women in love are terrible and jealous, but it seems men are even more so.

Gu Hongfei turned his car around, parked it steadily in front, got out, and walked to the back of the small truck to meet Yun Ran.

“Ah Ran, come down. Get in my car, and let’s go for a drive. I’ll drive.”

Yun Ran carefully stepped down, using the edges of the truck as footholds. Gu Hongfei’s hand was behind her, guarding her, and she inexplicably felt a bit disgusted.

“Senior, you didn’t have to come.”

“I was worried about you. Anyway, the shop is fine today. It makes me feel better to come and pick you up.”

Yun Ran said, “Thank you, senior.”

“Saying thank you is too formal, Ah Ran. We still have time. I’ll take you for a drive. Is there anywhere you want to go?”

Yun Ran said, “No, let’s just go back and rest.”

“It’s rare to have free time,” Gu Hongfei said. “I remember you can swim. How about we go to the beach?”

Thinking of the beach, a scene from the last time Jiang Musheng took her there flashed in her mind. On that lounge chair, she had pressed down on Jiang Musheng and actively kissed him.

Memory is a truly terrifying thing.

At this moment, she wished her memory wasn’t so good.

“I don’t want to go.”

“Why?” Gu Hongfei asked, not giving up.

“It’s not very convenient for me,” Yun Ran said in a low voice, deliberately making Gu Hongfei think of a girl’s inconvenient moments.

Gu Hongfei’s face immediately turned red. “Sorry, Ah Ran.”

For a while after, Gu Hongfei didn’t talk to her, and Yun Ran was happy to have the peace and quiet.

Later, Gu Hongfei had another idea. “Ah Ran, how about I take you to see a movie? Watching a movie isn’t tiring. There’s a new romance film out that’s supposed to be very good. I can buy you popcorn.”

Yun Ran said, “Senior, I’m tired. Why don’t you ask someone else?”

The smile on Gu Hongfei’s face disappeared. He was anxious. “Ah Ran, you know that I only have you in my heart!”

Yun Ran smiled and said, “I know, but I don’t want to go.”

“Then when you feel like going next time, I’ll ask you to come with me.”

Yun Ran didn’t know what was wrong with her, but she uncontrollably rejected Gu Hongfei. “Senior, I don’t want to go to the movies with you.”

Gu Hongfei’s eyes darkened. He said with a hurt look, “Is Jiang Musheng restricting your movements?”

“No,” Yun Ran shook her head. “My heart is telling me not to go. Senior, I’m sorry. I’ve realized that I can’t seem to fall for you as I intended. My heart doesn’t listen to me.”

“Then do you like Jiang Musheng?” Gu Hongfei asked sadly.

Yun Ran said, “No.”

A glimmer of hope returned to Gu Hongfei’s eyes. “Ah Ran, don’t be so quick to reject me. Just like before, let’s continue to get along well. I don’t believe you won’t fall for me over time.”

Yun Ran had thought she was too impulsive and had given up the path she had planned, that things with Gu Hongfei were over. She hadn’t expected Gu Hongfei to still be unwilling to give up on her.

This unwillingness to give up made her feel a sense of security.

She said, “Senior, if you’re willing, then do that. But I can’t promise that I will definitely fall for you.”

“I’ll work hard,” Gu Hongfei said. “Thank you for being willing to give me a chance.”

Yun Ran saw the happy smile return to his face, as if this chance she had given him was so precious.

But in reality, Yun Ran herself despised it.

She was an insecure person, hated unfaithfulness, and hoped to have someone who would love her faithfully. Gu Hongfei seemed to be that person.

But she didn’t cherish him. Her heart was thinking about another person who was now impossible.

Perhaps when it comes to love, people just act foolishly.

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