The Golden Cane and the Wild Rose - Chapter 32

Chapter 32

The playboy with a carefree attitude rarely showed such a serious side, and Yun Ran’s heart quietly fluttered.

She truly couldn’t lie to herself.

Many times, she wanted to return to Jiang Musheng’s side, especially when she was dissatisfied with her current life, when she felt tired, and when she couldn’t seem to like Gu Hongfei no matter how hard she tried to brainwash herself.

She would particularly long to go back to Jiang Musheng’s side.

But, should she just go back with Zheng Hangyi?

How could she be sure that this sudden gesture from Zheng Hangyi wasn’t just him toying with her?

“Miss Yun, you’re driving me crazy. At least give me a definitive answer about whether you’ll come back with me,” Zheng Hangyi made an exasperated motion of fanning his face.

Yun Ran remained unmoved and asked, “Did Jiang Musheng ask you to come find me?”

“No,” Zheng Hangyi looked at her with a complicated expression. He said, “Miss Yun, you should know that Musheng wouldn’t do that. He always tends to figure things out by himself. It’s just that he’s so green when it comes to relationships that I couldn’t stand it and decided to intervene. You could say I’m taking responsibility for what I said before.”

That’s true. Jiang Musheng wouldn’t just ask for help, and even if he did, he wouldn’t ask a playboy like Zheng Hangyi.

For some reason, a person who seemed as ascetic and devoted as Jiang Musheng was friends with Zheng Hangyi.

Yun Ran considered it carefully for a moment and said to Zheng Hangyi, “Since I chose to leave, I have no intention of going back.”

Zheng Hangyi’s eyes widened in surprise. He was completely taken aback. He had laid out the groundwork and given Yun Ran an easy way back, but she was still unwilling to go.

“Why?” he asked. “I’m a good judge of character, and you don’t seem like someone who isn’t tempted by wealth and status.”

Yun Ran pursed her lips and said, “Mr. Zheng, you’re not wrong. I am a very conventional person and I was indeed enchanted by Mr. Jiang’s immense wealth. But my sense of danger is stronger. I’ve always felt that living a stable life is the most important thing, and everything else comes after.”

“I see.”

Zheng Hangyi curled his lips into a sarcastic smile. “It seems Miss Yun has carefully weighed the risks of her love investment and ultimately chose Young Master Gu and his chain of roast goose shops.”

Yun Ran forced a smile, thinking to herself that she didn’t care what Zheng Hangyi said.

Love was a dangerous game. If she were to talk about love with Jiang Musheng, the danger would multiply exponentially.

She had no confidence in her frail body. She couldn’t handle it.

Zheng Hangyi slammed the door shut and didn’t maintain his gentlemanly demeanor until the end. Yun Ran didn’t mind.

After leaving Yun Ran’s small apartment, Zheng Hangyi rushed to Jiang Musheng’s villa.

“Musheng, as for that Miss Yun, I advise you to forget about her as soon as possible. She’s not worth it.”

“Why the sudden change of heart, Hangyi? Did you go to see Ah Ran?” Jiang Musheng asked, leaning back against the bed.

Zheng Hangyi said, “Not only did I see her, but we also sat face to face and talked for a while, and we had some fruit and tea.”

“Sounds very pleasant,” Jiang Musheng said in a calm voice, his deep eyes showing a hint of longing.

Zheng Hangyi couldn’t help but wave his hand in front of his eyes. “Musheng, I advise you to wake up. That Miss Yun you’re so into is honest. She admitted herself that she can only enjoy the good times but can’t bear the risks that come with it. I went to see her just now, politely asked her to come back with me, and even apologized to her, but she refused.”

Jiang Musheng seemed not to have heard what he said before and only responded, “Is it not normal for someone to refuse you when you ask them for something?”

“Musheng, I’m sticking up for you. Did she put some kind of curse on you? How can you say something so muddle-headed?”

Jiang Musheng smiled. “I’m not as muddle-headed as you think. I’ve known what kind of person Ah Ran is for a long time.”

“You’ve known for a long time? You’ve known… known, and you still!” Zheng Hangyi’s expression changed three times in a row, finally settling on a look of regret.

“Musheng, I thought you were a clear-headed person, but when it comes to love, you’re more muddled than I am.” He paused for a moment and added, “A clear-headed kind of muddled.”

Jiang Musheng smiled. “Maybe one day, when you fall for a girl and it’s not a superficial game, you’ll understand.”

“Why go to such lengths?” Zheng Hangyi looked confused. “Love is just that. The dual pleasure of the mind and body. I haven’t gotten caught up in the emotional whirlwind, but I think I’ve experienced it all.”

Jiang Musheng asked with a smile, “You say you’ve experienced it all, but do you have someone you want to enjoy this dual pleasure with forever?”

“Forever? Am I crazy? Isn’t it best to just switch to a new person when you get tired of the old one?”

Jiang Musheng shook his head. “You still don’t understand.”

“Yes, I don’t understand.” Zheng Hangyi didn’t feel that he was behind him in understanding the true meaning of love. Instead, he felt that he had already arrived in Rome. He sighed and said, “Musheng, I’m not against you having a sincere relationship, but you should choose someone more reliable. You and Xue Yu, you two siblings, sigh…”

Even Yun Ran, after leaving you, knows to choose someone who has a similar level of wealth, status, and safety. How can you be so foolish?

In the following days, Jiang Musheng healed from his injuries while racking his brain to figure out how to win Ah Ran back.

The not-so-clever kite-flying trick he had used that day was already the best idea he could come up with. Xueyu and Alan also helped him brainstorm.

Xueyu said, “From what I’ve observed, the fastest way for couples at my school to make up after an argument is through physical contact.”

Jiang Musheng cleared his throat. “I didn’t know that you young people are so bold and uninhibited when you’re in a relationship.”

Xueyu leaned closer to him, her eyes squinting in a smile. “Brother, where did your mind go? Holding hands, hugging, and kissing are all physical contact. I don’t believe you and sister-in-law haven’t done these things before.”

She had seen it from a distance at the beach once, and even though Alan had covered her eyes, she had still caught a glimpse.

“Brother, what does kissing feel like?” Xueyu asked curiously, thinking of that vague, hazy scene.

Jiang Musheng assumed his stern older brother expression and said, “You’ll know when you fall for someone and start a relationship.”

“I’ve fallen for someone, but how long will that take?”

Xueyu blinked in confusion. She had fallen for the wrong person last time and almost caused a huge disaster. Now she didn’t dare to fall for anyone so easily and felt that the outside world was truly as her brother had said, filled with too many bad people.

“When fate arrives, love will naturally come.”

“Just like you and sister-in-law?”

Jiang Musheng sighed. “If I could, it would be best if it weren’t like me and Ah Ran.”

He felt that their relationship had been unequal, unbalanced, and not quite normal from the very beginning.

Perhaps in Ah Ran’s eyes, their relationship didn’t even count as a relationship.

“Brother,” Xueyu shook Jiang Musheng’s arm. “How about trying a romantic approach? Send her flowers and chocolates?”

Jiang Musheng remembered the wall of roses that Yun Ran had left behind in the Kowloon Walled City courtyard.

That very afternoon, he sent for a gardener and personally watched them transplant the roses in the garden in front of the courtyard. He hadn’t moved the roses from Kowloon Walled City last time because he hadn’t gotten Ah Ran’s permission. The ones being transplanted now were all bought from somewhere else.

A few days ago, when Ah Ran came to deliver the roast geese, some had already been transplanted. He wondered if she had noticed.

The roses were all transplanted. He wasn’t sure what color Ah Ran liked, so he transplanted some of every color: dark ones, light ones, white, yellow, and purple.

At sunset, Jiang Musheng would lean on his golden cane and personally go to water the roses, as if he were pouring all his longing for Ah Ran into them.

Xueyu and Alan stood by his side.

Xueyu whispered, “Alan, don’t you think my brother isn’t as powerful as he used to be?”

Alan was puzzled. “Why do you say that, Miss?”

Xueyu said, “Don’t you feel it? I used to think my brother was cold and tough. Although he was gentle with me, he wasn’t like this, longing for someone else.”

Alan felt that what the young lady said made sense and nodded in agreement. “Mr. Jiang is becoming more and more like a person with flesh and blood, and not just a man of steel.”

As Jiang Musheng watered the newly transplanted roses in the garden, Yun Ran was on the second-floor balcony of her small apartment, looking at the roses.

Under the care of the Filipina domestic helper, the roses were blooming more and more beautifully, but Yun Ran didn’t like them. She looked at the flowers in the night and thought of the roses she had left behind in Kowloon Walled City.

She had long planned to tell Gu Hongfei that she wanted to transplant those roses, but she had kept putting it off.

Perhaps her subconscious mind felt that she couldn’t obediently follow her own plan. She was unwilling to be with Gu Hongfei forever and would one day leave.

That day might come very soon.

In that case, she couldn’t bear to let the roses wander with her.

She continued to go to work at Gu Hongfei’s roast goose shop, diligently doing her job, but her attitude towards Gu Hongfei was no longer as carefully feigned as before.

She thought that even if she were an actress, she couldn’t act for a lifetime.

Fortunately, Gu Hongfei was still the same towards her. He didn’t ask her to promise him anything immediately; he only asked her to give him a chance.

Gu Hongfei might not have been clear before, but now he was. The opportunity Yun Ran gave him was a slim one, but he held onto it, seeing a faint hope.

For him, having hope was always a good thing.

Yun Ran was even clearer in her heart. She was using this slim chance to string Gu Hongfei along and rely on it to live a stable life that didn’t completely satisfy her.

She had given many men a chance before, but most of them didn’t meet her requirements and were mercilessly kicked out.

She was just that kind of calculating person.

Her new education had, to some extent, broadened her horizons, but due to the limitations of social development, the world was still largely a man’s world. Even if she chose not to rely on any man and finished university on her own, the jobs she could choose were very limited, she wouldn’t make much money, and she would still have to struggle to make a living.

She had already seen the truly good life with Jiang Musheng, and she knew what the life of the upper class was like. It was impossible for her to willingly return to a simple life where she had to struggle and might not even be stable.

Besides, her face was a curse that attracted trouble, and she was powerless to protect herself.

She also didn’t believe in the law. She could only use the law when she was harmed or violated, but the control of the law was often in the hands of those who held power and wealth. If someone like her got into trouble and couldn’t find protection, it would be a dead end.

At that point, she would be an ant that could easily be trampled.

She didn’t want to be an ant. She wanted to live a good life. She had endured the hardships of childhood not to become an ant in the future.

Damn it, she wanted to go back to Jiang Musheng’s side again.

Life with Jiang Musheng was dangerous but also safe. For her, the safety should outweigh the danger. She suddenly seemed to understand.

But she couldn’t go back. She had just rejected the olive branch Zheng Hangyi had offered her. She couldn’t go back on her own.

Unless, unless Jiang Musheng came to get her himself.

In the afternoon, Jiang Musheng really did come. He sat at a table in the center of the roast goose shop, looking completely out of place with his surroundings.

Yun Ran’s face broke out in a nervous sweat, and crystal beads of sweat appeared on her fair, flushed cheeks.

She noticed that Jiang Musheng was watching her.

Xueyu and Alan weren’t there, and she didn’t see Ah Biao. Jiang Musheng had only brought two other bodyguards whom she didn’t recognize.

Although he was being very low-key, the other staff members were still afraid of Jiang Musheng. Not one of them dared to go up and serve him. Gu Hongfei had just gone out to run an errand, and Yun Ran thought this was her chance.

She walked up to him with her head down and asked flatly, “What would you like to eat, sir?”

Jiang Musheng said, “Just get me your favorite.”

Yun Ran’s heart skipped a beat. She turned around and went to the kitchen to prepare the dish.

She stayed in the kitchen for a full five minutes. She had forgotten what her favorite dish in the shop was.

Perhaps it was because she worked there and ate it every day, that no matter how delicious it was, it now tasted ordinary.

In the end, Yun Ran prepared the most expensive and luxurious set meal in the shop. Remembering Jiang Musheng’s preference for light food, she chose pieces of roast goose with little fat and slightly drained the oil from the blanched choy sum.

The staff in the kitchen noticed what she was doing, but it was enough to keep it a secret from Jiang Musheng.

“Here you go,” Yun Ran said, placing the roast goose set meal in front of Jiang Musheng and turning to leave.

“Ah Ran.”

The soft call made her stop. She quickly weighed her options in her mind. Jiang Musheng was a customer, and as a staff member, she couldn’t just leave when a customer had a request.

So she turned back around and asked with a smile, “Is there anything else you need, Mr. Jiang?”

Jiang Musheng stared at her, as if he could see through her fake smile to the real her.

Yun Ran lowered her head, afraid that if she continued to let Jiang Musheng’s deep eyes look at her, all her calculations would be exposed.

“Ah Ran, you’ve lost weight,” Jiang Musheng said softly.

Yun Ran’s massive worry faded, and her heart was filled with a mix of emotions.

“You’re mistaken, Mr. Jiang. I’ve always been very thin.”

Jiang Musheng said, “Even eating such oily food, you’ve still lost weight. It must be because your work is too hard.”

Yun Ran bit her lower lip and said, “If you don’t need anything else, Mr. Jiang, I’ll go back to work.”

“There is something else.”

“What?”

“Sit down first.”

Yun Ran was stunned for a moment and didn’t sit. It was work time, and it wouldn’t be appropriate for her to sit with a customer.

Jiang Musheng asked, “Ah Ran, have you had lunch yet?”

“…Not yet,” Yun Ran answered hesitantly, not knowing what Jiang Musheng was going to do.

Jiang Musheng said, “Sit down and eat. I’ve bought all the roast geese in the shop today. You don’t need to work for a while. Eat your meal first. It’s lunchtime now.”

Yun Ran suddenly thought of a warm scene. If her old dad were still alive, he would also remind her to eat on time.

Other customers entered the shop, and Jiang Musheng’s bodyguards immediately stopped them, saying domineeringly, “All the roast geese in the shop have been sold out.”

Yun Ran’s heart ached. She finally sat down under Jiang Musheng’s gentle gaze.

Jiang Musheng silently pushed the luxurious roast goose set meal in front of her, gesturing for her to eat.

Why was he so gentle with her?

Why did he follow her all the way here?

In Hong Kong, Jiang Musheng could have any beautiful woman he wanted. Did it have to be her?

Yun Ran didn’t believe it. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in her own beauty and charm, but that she didn’t believe in the nature of men.

She had met many men in Kowloon Walled City, and men were always more cruel than women when it came to relationships.

And she was determined to be more heartless than any man.

To be heartless, she couldn’t willingly fall into the whirlpool of love. She had to always put her own interests first.

As she thought, she took small bites of the roast goose she had long grown tired of. Because it was prepared according to Jiang Musheng’s light diet, it was surprisingly fresh and delicious.

Jiang Musheng just watched Yun Ran eat, silently.

Yun Ran didn’t have a big appetite. She ate half of it and couldn’t eat anymore. She took a less-than-premium paper towel from the table and wiped her mouth.

She looked up and saw that Jiang Musheng’s gaze had not left her. She looked away again.

She couldn’t stand the way he looked at her, as if he was truly deeply in love with her.

Even if she believed that Jiang Musheng had some feelings for her, she wouldn’t easily get lost or carried away.

“I’m done eating. Thank you for your treat today, Mr. Jiang. However, I hope you won’t do this again in the future. It will affect the roast goose shop’s business.”

Jiang Musheng looked at her silently, his face expressionless. Yun Ran suddenly felt a little scared, afraid that he was angry about her cold words.

She was a smart and adaptable person. She immediately lowered her eyes and took on a submissive appearance, while seriously thinking about how to appease the dignified Jiang Musheng who had condescended to come to the roast goose shop.

She didn’t notice that Jiang Musheng, who was sitting across from her, suddenly pulled open one side of his suit and took a pink-purple rose from his inner pocket.

“Ah Ran.”

Yun Ran was so scared that she immediately looked up, expecting to face Jiang Musheng’s wrath, but she met a pair of eyes that were naturally sharp and cold, yet full of tenderness.

He handed a rose that carried the warmth of his body to her.

“Ah Ran, the roses have been planted. I’ve come to pick you up.”

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