The Golden Cane and the Wild Rose - Chapter 35.1

Chapter 35.1

Yun Ran released her hands from around Jiang Musheng’s neck and pressed them against his lips. If she let him continue talking, she’d be “cooked” by his words.

Warm water is dreadful for a frog. Jiang Musheng’s sweet nothings were dreadful for her, too. The ideas of independence, clarity, and self-reliance she had just built up were now being veiled by a soft, hazy gauze.

Jiang Musheng gently kissed her palms. Her two hands were now crossed over his lips, and his light kiss was so penetrating that it reached through both hands. At the same time, his deep, cold eyes gazed at her intensely, like two small hearths in the arctic cold, concentrating their heat on her.

This kind of restrained yet powerful affection felt alien and frightening to her. She instinctively wanted to hide and run, but she was in his embrace. With her heart pounding, she could only stretch her neck forward and peer over his shoulder, preventing him from seeing her face.

By now, her hands on his lips had loosened, creating a small space in the middle to prevent him from surprising her with another kiss.

“Ah Ran, don’t be afraid,” Jiang Musheng whispered into her palms.

The air vibrated between her palms and his lips, and his warm breath brushed against her, as if gently falling in a shower of tiny kisses that made her palms itch.

She pulled her hands away, holding them stiffly in mid-air. Her mind slowly processed his actions. It was an intimate moment, but she didn’t find it frivolous. What she felt was mostly a fluttering heartbeat, with a small amount of fear.

“Mr. Jiang, please put me down,” Yun Ran pleaded, scrunching her brow and looking pitiful.

Jiang Musheng immediately set her down. She held his shoulders to steady herself, and noticed him wince, as if in pain. Yun Ran immediately remembered the rumor that Jiang Musheng had been shot not long ago. He had briefly mentioned it when he picked her up, but she hadn’t paid attention.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Jiang!” Yun Ran reached out again, but hesitated to touch him.

Jiang Musheng smiled gently. “It’s nothing. I’m just happy you’re back.”

Yun Ran suddenly felt terrible, especially for her own convoluted thoughts that were as twisty as the alleys of Kowloon Walled City. After all her weighing and considering, she was now filled with a sudden sense of regret.

“Can I see your wound, Mr. Jiang?” Yun Ran asked.

“There’s nothing to see,” Jiang Musheng said. “It’s all bloody and gory. I’m afraid it will scare you, so it’s better not to look.”

Yun Ran stared at him, her gaze resolute.

“It has already scabbed over, it’s nothing serious,” Jiang Musheng said. “I was able to hold you for so long just now, aren’t you reassured?”

Yun Ran lowered her head, silent, her eyes misty.

Jiang Musheng sighed. “If you really want to see it, then come back to my room with me first.”

Yun Ran lifted her head.

This was her first time entering Jiang Musheng’s room. It was the master bedroom, yet it was as simple as the guest room she slept in. The walls were pure white, and there were no extra furnishings. The only items were three large framed photos hanging above the bed, the same ones she had seen in Xueyu’s room.

Yun Ran instinctively walked closer to look at them. Jiang Musheng teaching Xueyu to ride a horse. Jiang Musheng teaching Xueyu archery. Jiang Musheng teaching Xueyu to shoot a gun.

“Ah Ran, which one do you want to learn?” Jiang Musheng asked from behind her.

“Shooting,” Yun Ran replied.

“I’ll teach you.”

“But I don’t have a gun.”

Yun Ran looked down at the tips of her shoes. For self-protection, learning to shoot was naturally the most effective skill, but ordinary people couldn’t easily access guns. Although the Hong Kong British government didn’t prohibit them, it did have certain regulations. Owning a gun required passing an exam and having a certain amount of money.

Jiang Musheng pulled her to sit on the edge of the bed with him. “Ah Ran, with me, you don’t have to worry about such small matters.”

Yun Ran looked up at him, careful not to meet his eyes directly, afraid of getting lost in them again.

“Then what should I worry about?”

“Me,” Jiang Musheng said, pointing to himself. “Ah Ran, do you remember why you came to my room?”

“Yes. I wanted to see your wound.”

Jiang Musheng propped himself up on his hands behind him, tilting his head and neck back. His body leaned backward, and Yun Ran couldn’t help but notice his pristine white neck, like a swan’s, the neck of the most noble, cold white swan.

Realizing she had been staring for too long, she composed herself and said, “I don’t quite understand what you mean, Mr. Jiang.”

“The wound is on my right shoulder,” Jiang Musheng said. “See for yourself.”

Yun Ran looked at Jiang Musheng, who was wrapped up tightly, and fell silent. He was asking her to undress him herself. To see his wound, she’d have to take off his clothes first.

Even though it was summer, Jiang Musheng always wore two or three layers. Although the fabrics were light, more layers would still be hot, and Yun Ran had never understood why. The bodyguards wore all black for their job, but no one could require Jiang Musheng to do the same, unless he chose to.

Yun Ran realized she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Perhaps sensing her shyness, Jiang Musheng sat up, took off his outermost gray-blue suit jacket, and then went back to his original position, propped up on his hands. He even thoughtfully closed his eyes.

Yun Ran raised her hand and wiggled her fingers. She felt a sense of helping him undress and free himself, which led to a series of more vivid imaginings.

In the end, she couldn’t bring herself to do it and ran away, leaving Jiang Musheng alone.

He heard the movement and slowly opened his eyes. Looking at the door that she had opened and then frantically left ajar, he let out a long sigh.

She was scared away now. What would happen if she knew the bigger secrets he carried? Would she just turn and flee then, too?

Yun Ran ran all the way back to her room. It was a guest room, only separated from Jiang Musheng’s by one other room. She locked the door as soon as she entered and leaned her back against it, trembling, for a few minutes.

Running was her instinctual reaction, but after she calmed down, she felt she had been too much. She was the one who had asked to see his wound, yet she was the one who had run away. What would Jiang Musheng think?

Yun Ran wanted to explain, but she didn’t have the courage to walk out of her room and go back to him. Finally, she thought of a way to do it without seeing him in person. She could call him.

Her guest room had a phone. Although she and her father had never owned one, Jiang Musheng had many. She also remembered one of his numbers and, with a determined mind, dialed it directly.

Ah Biao answered. “Miss Yun, were you looking for Mr. Jiang?” Ah Biao was outside the villa, guarding with the other bodyguards.

“No, I wasn’t,” Yun Ran quickly said. “Wrong number. You get back to work.”

She quickly hung up, realizing in that moment that the number was for the mobile phone Ah Biao carried. The phone in Jiang Musheng’s room must be a different number.

Yun Ran buried her head in her hands in frustration. She suddenly remembered that Jiang Musheng had kissed her palms not long ago. By burying her face in her hands, it was as if his kiss had belatedly landed on her face. Her cheeks flushed. The fire that had been extinguished was now baking her with its lingering heat.

However, she didn’t immediately pull her face away from her hands until the phone suddenly rang.

“Hello…?” Yun Ran stood up and answered the phone nervously, her fingers unconsciously coiling around the curled phone cord.

On the other end, there was a helpless chuckle.

Then, he said, “Just now, Ah Biao told me you called him by mistake. Ah Ran, is there anything you can’t say to me in person?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.”

“I…”

“It’s okay. I know the fear you have of me hasn’t completely gone away. I’ll be more mindful of that in the future.”

“Mr. Jiang!” Yun Ran suddenly raised her voice. “I didn’t mean that. Please… just give me some time.”

He paused, then agreed without much hesitation.

Yun Ran dizzily put down the receiver. She felt that Jiang Musheng was being a little too good to her, so good that it felt unreal.

“Wake up, Yun Ran, wake up!” She raised her hand and slapped her face hard. “You absolutely can’t fall for it.”

Xueyu took Alan to a birthday party hosted by a female classmate. At first, she thought she wouldn’t be able to go. She hadn’t put much thought into the birthday gift and had just ordered something expensive. Now, she felt it might put pressure on her classmate, so she exchanged it on the way there.

This year, various hair clips and headbands were in fashion. She chose a bunch of beautiful hair accessories that matched her classmate’s style. They weren’t cheap, but they weren’t too expensive either.

When she was about to pay, she suddenly told the clerk to wait. She turned to Alan, who was taking out his wallet. She tugged on Alan’s sleeve. “I just remembered that you’re a girl too. Is there anything you want?”

Alan’s hand froze, his fingers caught between the coins.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Xueyu blinked at her in confusion. She looked at the clerk. “Could you please wait a moment?”

With that, she pulled Alan back to the accessory section to browse. Alan didn’t choose anything herself, standing beside her like a wooden statue. Xueyu had to choose for her, and Alan let her.

The “model” was very obedient, but none of these things really suited Alan. Xueyu bit her lower lip, troubled, and frowned in thought.

“Miss, you don’t have to buy anything for me. There’s nothing in here that I want.”

“But I want to buy you something,” Xueyu said seriously. “You’ve protected me for so long, and I’ve never given you anything. Please think a little more. There must be something you want.”

Xueyu herself was a very girly person. She wanted most pretty things, and if she liked something, she’d buy it. After all, her family wasn’t short on money, and her brother always completely spoiled her in this regard.

Alan slowly moved her gaze and looked directly into Xueyu’s eyes. “Can I have whatever I want?”

Xueyu nodded heavily, then shook her head slightly. “You can have anything, but it can’t be too over the top. Like, you can’t ask me to act silly or ugly in front of my classmates. But I trust you, you won’t ask for anything unreasonable, right?”

Alan shifted her gaze from Xueyu and, while agreeing, “Right,” walked over to the stationery section next to the accessories. Among a variety of colorful notebooks, she picked a pink one with a password lock.

Xueyu was a little surprised. “You like pink too?”

Alan nodded.

Xueyu extended her hand to shake Alan’s, feeling a sense of finding a kindred spirit. Alan hesitantly offered her hand. Xueyu gave it three firm shakes and let go. Alan pulled her hand back and slipped the one Xueyu had touched into her trousers pocket, trying to keep the warmth that wasn’t hers.

Xueyu had already walked ahead, leaning over to look at all the different pens. She turned her head and said to Alan, “Pick two pens too.”

Alan walked over and seriously chose two pens.

Xueyu picked up the pens Alan had touched. “Why did you only pick two? Take a few more.”

As Xueyu said this, she tried to hold a large handful, but it was a bit difficult. One sly pen slipped through her fingers. Fortunately, Alan caught it with a quick hand.

“Let’s go, let’s pay.” Xueyu said with a smile. She wouldn’t let Alan help. “You just hold the one that tried to escape.”

At the checkout, the clerk asked, “Are you paying together?”

“Together,” Alan said.

“No, separate!” Xueyu insisted.

The clerk looked at them, a little flustered.

Xueyu pointed at the accessories that had already been scanned and tallied. “You use my brother’s money to pay for those.”

“I’m buying this notebook and those pens for you with my own savings.”

Alan’s heart stirred. She lowered her eyes and said to the clerk, “Do as she says.”

So, Alan paid first.

When it was Xueyu’s turn, she was happily ready to buy things for Alan, only to find that she hadn’t brought any money with her. Her small stash of savings was at home because she rarely used it.

“Well…” The clerk looked at Xueyu, who couldn’t produce any money, and felt a bit embarrassed for her.

Alan silently handed her wallet to Xueyu. “Mr. Jiang gave me this money. It was meant for you to spend anyway.”

“That’s not the same!” Xueyu insisted.

“Can you keep these for me?” Xueyu asked the clerk. “I’ll come back later to pay.”

The clerk looked troubled.

“Please?” Xueyu pleaded pitifully.

The clerk’s heart softened. She gritted her teeth and said, “Then please be quick. My boss will be mad if he finds out.”

“Okay, tomorrow at the latest, or today at the earliest.”

With that settled, Xueyu happily walked out of the store. It was not yet five o’clock, and the classmate’s birthday party was still two hours away. She turned around and asked Alan, who was carrying the gift bag behind her, “We still have a lot of time. What should we do to pass the time?”

“Miss, is there anything you’d like to do?” Alan asked.

Xueyu pointed to a nearby amusement park. Before Alan could agree, she dashed off. Alan followed closely, reminding her to watch out for cars.

Two children holding cotton candy ran into them. Alan put her arm around Xueyu’s waist and pulled her to the side, saving her white dress from disaster.

Xueyu seemed to have a sudden inspiration. “I want cotton candy.”

Alan let her go and took her to buy cotton candy. The seller was an old man, and his stall was next to the carousel. Xueyu’s attention was now on the carousel. She couldn’t wait. Alan helped her onto a horse, then went back to stand in line for the cotton candy. While waiting, she watched Xueyu.

When the music started and the carousel began to turn slowly, Alan would get nervous every time Xueyu spun behind the big center pole.

Fortunately, for a few minutes, everything was safe. She took the cotton candy she had finally gotten and went to the side of the constantly turning carousel. She handed the pink cotton candy to Xueyu, and her feet didn’t stop, continuing to follow Xueyu’s side as her personal bodyguard.

Xueyu took a bite of the cotton candy, and her eyes squinted in sweetness. Alan also felt a sweet saliva in her own mouth.

Xueyu noticed Alan jogging beside her and tore off a piece of cotton candy to feed her.

“Alan, open up!”

Perhaps because her legs were already moving with the carousel, her brain had stopped. She didn’t think too much at the time and opened her mouth. The sweet cotton candy melted in her mouth, and she also tasted Xueyu’s sweet hand, which tasted like cotton candy and had a hint of French perfume.

The sweetness of the cotton candy and the scent of Xueyu melted in her mouth together, and her face gradually turned red.

The carousel ride ended and it stopped. She helped Xueyu get off safely. Xueyu looked at her face in surprise.

“Alan, your face is red. Are you too hot? You shouldn’t have been running with me. It’s all because of me. I’ll buy you a cold drink.”

Alan scolded her own face for not cooperating. Her feet followed to pay for the drink.

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