The Golden Cane and the Wild Rose - Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Hearing what he wanted to hear, Jiang Musheng used a little force to pull Yun Ran back to his side, like the constant moving away and drawing near in a ballroom dance. He lowered his head and gently kissed the back of her hand.

“Of course. As long as you want to, you can, anytime.”

Yun Ran buried her shoulders as low as they could go. All she felt now was regret, but regret was useless. In the end, her rationality couldn’t control her heart, which, like any young girl’s, beat with a normal flutter.

“You don’t feel safe in my room. This time, let’s go to yours.” Jiang Musheng led her to her door and waited for her to open it.

“It’s not locked,” Yun Ran said, head lowered and face flushed, her voice as thin as a mosquito’s hum.

Yet, Jiang Musheng still heard her clearly. He smiled. “Ah Ran, although you’re in my house right now, I want you to understand one thing: I won’t intrude on your safe space without reason.”

Yun Ran’s heart skipped a beat. “Mr. Jiang, I don’t quite understand what you mean.”

“It’s okay. It’s my fault for not making it clear before. I know you’ve always been afraid of me. I want you to know that you can trust me more. I won’t do anything inappropriate against your will. Also, this room, since I have given it to you to live in, is your room. You have the freedom to manage it as you wish. I won’t enter it casually, unless…”

“Unless what?” Yun Ran couldn’t control her heart. It was pounding like a wild rock song, as if it didn’t care whether she lived or died, about to drive her crazy. Still, she was grateful that no matter how powerful Jiang Musheng was, he couldn’t hear it.

Jiang Musheng looked at her with a smile, not in a hurry to answer. It was a long moment before he finally spoke. “Ah Ran, your face is red again. Do you… feel a little moved by me now?”

Her racing heart skipped half a beat.

Jiang Musheng gently squeezed her palm, not pressing her for an answer. He changed the subject to a gentler question. “Do you want me to open the door?”

Yun Ran raised her hand and quickly opened the door herself. No matter what, she had to maintain control. Though Jiang Musheng wouldn’t fight her for it, she’d be a fool to not accept the benefits and respect he offered.

The door opened to a pitch-black room. The hallway light shined in, illuminating the corner of the bed. Yun Ran reached inside and turned on the lights. With these two actions, she regained a sense of control over herself.

After entering, Yun Ran didn’t close the door all the way, leaving it slightly ajar. Jiang Musheng watched silently, not interfering.

Yun Ran was in a dilemma. She wanted to see his wound. Should she ask him to sit on her bed, or should he just stand there?

While she was still debating, Jiang Musheng had already sat down on the rug and taken off his jacket. Yun Ran was stunned, because she saw that he had changed his undershirt from a long-sleeved shirt to a gray short-sleeved one. The sleeves were short and wide. This was the first time she had seen Jiang Musheng’s muscles. His arm muscles were not overly large, but they were very well-defined.

And they were surprisingly white.

Yun Ran had seen many pale people, both foreigners and Chinese, but most Chinese people’s paleness was uneven. She herself was a little like that—her neck wasn’t as pale as her face, and her face wasn’t as pale as her body. But every exposed part of Jiang Musheng was uniformly pale, a dazzling white that made her feel envious.

Seeing that she still wasn’t approaching, Jiang Musheng asked, “Ah Ran, you haven’t changed your mind again, have you?”

“No.” Yun Ran walked over and sat down beside him. She raised her hand, hesitated for a long time, and still couldn’t bring herself to touch him.

Jiang Musheng sighed and, once again, took matters into his own hands, pushing his sleeve up to his shoulder. Yun Ran immediately saw the gun wound. It did look a bit gruesome, but it was within her tolerance. Around the wound, a reddish-brown flower of scabs had formed. She couldn’t help but frown.

“Did Mr. Jiang have other injuries on his shoulder?”

“Yes,” Jiang Musheng replied lightly, then put his sleeve back down.

“Does it hurt?” Yun Ran asked.

“The old wounds don’t hurt anymore, just the new one a little.” With that, he picked up his jacket from the side, put it back on, stood up, and held out his hand to Yun Ran. “Xueyu should be back soon.”

Yun Ran hesitated, because it was his right hand. She was afraid of causing him pain, so she didn’t dare to place her hand in his.

Jiang Musheng simply took her hand and pulled her up. “I was able to hold you just now. It’s fine.”

Having her thoughts seen through, Yun Ran was extremely embarrassed. “You should still be careful, after all, you’re injured.” She tried to pull her hand away, but Jiang Musheng held on tighter.

Forget it, just let him hold it.

They went downstairs together, but there was no sign of Xueyu’s return yet. Yun Ran said to Jiang Musheng, “Mr. Jiang, how about we take a stroll in the garden and look at the flowers?”

“Alright, let’s go see the roses.”

On a summer night, they walked hand-in-hand into the garden. There was only a gentle breeze in the air, but the chirping of cicadas and the buzzing of insects made it feel even hotter. Yun Ran could clearly feel that their clasped hands were both damp with sweat. Jiang Musheng’s hand was still cool, perhaps dampened by her own sweat.

“Mr. Jiang, aren’t you hot?” Yun Ran finally asked the question that had been on her mind for a long time.

Jiang Musheng said, “I’m used to it. A calm mind creates its own coolness.”

“I never thought I’d hear that from your mouth, Mr. Jiang.” People with no money had to endure the heat, but the wealthy didn’t need to.

“Ah Ran, you might have some misunderstandings about me.”

“Maybe I don’t know you at all, Mr. Jiang.”

Jiang Musheng was taken aback, then patted her hand. “Then I’ll tell you a story from my childhood.”

Yun Ran blinked. She couldn’t pretend she wasn’t interested. Jiang Musheng received her subtle signal, and his deep voice began to speak warmly.

“Actually, I didn’t grow up in China. As far back as I can remember, I moved with my mother through various countries in North America and Europe. The winters there were very cold, with heavy snow. I remember one year, it was in Norway, I think. I snuck out of the house to play without telling my mother. At that time, I wasn’t so sensitive to the cold, but that day, half of my leg sank into the snow. It took over an hour in the snow and wind to be rescued. My eyebrows and eyelashes had frozen into ice. After that day, I became very sensitive to the cold and very tolerant of heat, because I felt that no matter how hot the weather was, it couldn’t compare to the pain of my legs slowly freezing, going numb, and losing all sensation during that one-hour period stuck in the snow.”

Yun Ran looked down at Jiang Musheng’s legs and asked, “Is that where your leg trouble came from?”

“No, that was after I returned home. My uncle’s son pushed me from a high place, and I fell.”

Just hearing it, Yun Ran felt a faint ache in her own legs. What kind of emotion was Jiang Musheng using to tell her all this?

“Mr. Jiang…”

“Is there anything else you want to know?” The two had just arrived at the rose bushes and stopped in unison, as if by a telepathic connection.

Yun Ran was silent for a long time before she finally couldn’t hold it in. “Mr. Jiang, you must have worked so hard to get to where you are today.”

“Being able to get to where I am today means the journey wasn’t difficult.”

Being able to get to where I am today means the journey wasn’t difficult. Yun Ran silently repeated Jiang Musheng’s words in her heart.

“What about you, Ah Ran? Was your childhood difficult?”

“Yes.” Yun Ran answered without hesitation. She felt her childhood was very difficult. It was hard to survive until her father adopted her. It was hard to study and work part-time. It was hard to be harassed. It was hard to deal with men and their various intentions.

The time she felt the least difficult was probably now, with Jiang Musheng asking her if she had a hard life.

Jiang Musheng didn’t reply, perhaps pondering her fragile personality and her selfish desire to climb the social ladder and enjoy the easy life. Wasn’t that how all people in power were? They didn’t require their partners to have great achievements or good conditions, but they did demand that they be as kind and resilient as little blades of grass. Only such a Cinderella would be liked. Most novels were written that way. Yun Ran had read some that her classmates passed around.

So, she knew very well that she wasn’t that type. What about Jiang Musheng? Was he also not the usual type?

After a long time, Jiang Musheng finally spoke, his tone extremely sincere and serious. “A Ran, I won’t let you have to live a hard life like that again.”

Yun Ran was stunned. In the night, the strings of her heart, which were so difficult to move, were finally plucked.

A car horn sounded. Yun Ran was startled. “Xueyu and Alan are back.”

“Let’s go to the front door.” As they left, Yun Ran reached out and touched the cluster of roses closest to her.

By the time they reached the door, Xueyu and Alan had already gotten out of the car.

“You weren’t only allowed to go out this one time, so why did you stay out so late?” Jiang Musheng said, putting on a stern, senior-family-member face for his sister. Yun Ran watched from the side, smiling.

Xueyu blinked her big, innocent eyes, and Alan helped explain, “The party finished very late.”

“Did you have fun?”

“…I didn’t have much fun at the party, but the time outside of it was very fun.” Xueyu considered that she had one more outing this week and decided it was better to go out alone with Alan instead of with a classmate.

“Was there someone you didn’t like at the party?” Jiang Musheng asked.

Xueyu thought of the two similar faces, especially the person who tried to approach her at her classmate Gu Qiqi’s birthday party. Her mood instantly dropped.

“If you’re not happy, let’s not talk about it.” Jiang Musheng noticed the items in Alan’s hand and changed the subject. “What did you buy today?”

Xueyu didn’t want to talk. Alan also felt awkward speaking up.

“Mr. Jiang, they must be tired. Let them go rest,” Yun Ran said.

Jiang Musheng nodded, letting Xueyu and Alan go to rest first. He and Yun Ran then slowly walked back into the garden, hand-in-hand.

Yun Ran asked, “Mr. Jiang, being a brother isn’t easy either, is it?”

Jiang Musheng smiled. “Anything that involves responsibility is difficult to bear.”

“Is that why Mr. Jiang never had a girlfriend before?”

“No.”

“Then why?”

“I didn’t like anyone else.”

Back in her room, Yun Ran lay in the bathtub, filled with deep regret. If she had just asked one more question, she could have solved the mystery of when Jiang Musheng had fallen for her. But she didn’t dare.

Perhaps it was because her understanding of Jiang Musheng had suddenly increased so much today that she was afraid. In the garden, when she listened to him talk about his childhood experiences, she actually felt sorry for him!

She felt sorry for Jiang Musheng!

This was what terrified her. What position was she in to feel sorry for Jiang Musheng? Was his “I didn’t like anyone else” an indirect confession to her? Or was he simply saying that her appearance made him feel like he might want to be in a relationship?

It was true that Jiang Musheng was very good to her better than Gu Hongfei had been and he could give her much more, but she felt unsettled. With every step forward with Jiang Musheng, that unease deepened.

However, despite this, she couldn’t help but move closer to him, constantly conflicted and hesitant. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she had developed feelings for him.

This was completely new to her. In the past, when she was evaluating men worth entrusting her life to, she had dealt with many, but she always knew when to advance and retreat. She never worried so much. If she had any concerns, they were only about a potential partner not perfectly matching her standards. She wasn’t like this now, worrying about her uncontrollable heart and actions.

After returning to the Jiang family, Yun Ran’s life became much more comfortable. The start of the school year was approaching, and she no longer had to worry about raising tuition money. Jiang Musheng even took half a day to sit with her in his study and discuss what she wanted to major in.

Yun Ran’s goal was clear. “Mr. Jiang, I want to major in something that can make a lot of money.”

Jiang Musheng was a little confused. “Now that you’re with me, why are you still worried about money?”

“What you give me is different from what I earn with my own abilities.”

“How is it different?”

“I’m not sure I can stay with you forever, Mr. Jiang.”

“Ah Ran, sometimes your honesty hurts me.”

Yun Ran was blunt. “Mr. Jiang, you already know I’m a realist. Why should I pretend to be a good girl and have you hate me for it?”

“Do you have no confidence in yourself, or no confidence in me?” Jiang Musheng asked seriously.

“Neither.”

Jiang Musheng thought for a moment. “To make a lot of money, you still have to go into business. You can study commerce.”

Yun Ran asked, “Does that require high English skills? My English isn’t very good.”

“To study abroad, you’ll need good English.”

“Okay, I’ll work hard to improve it.” Yun Ran thought for a moment and asked, “Mr. Jiang, when will you have time to teach me how to shoot?”

“No rush. We have to sort things out with the governor first.”

“Is Cecilia making things difficult on purpose?” Yun Ran asked.

Jiang Musheng said, “It doesn’t matter if Cecilia objects. The governor will convince her.”

“Only…”

“Only what?”

“Ah Ran, are all these preparations you’re making for the day you can finally leave me completely?”

Yun Ran lowered her head. She couldn’t give a positive answer, nor could she give a negative one. She was simply not sure in her heart.

“Ah Ran?” Jiang Musheng pressed her, which was a rare thing for him to do.

Yun Ran looked up, her thoughts in a jumble. She looked into Jiang Musheng’s eyes, and a plan suddenly came to mind. She swallowed nervously, closed her eyes, and kissed him.

She closed her eyes so quickly that she didn’t see the shifting expression on Jiang Musheng’s face. In less than two seconds, her heart pounding, she backed away and fled the scene, leaving Jiang Musheng alone in the study.

After Yun Ran had gone, Jiang Musheng placed his fingers on his lips and savored the kiss in his study for a long time. He knew why A Ran had suddenly kissed him twice: the first time was to ask him for help finding her father, and this time was to avoid an unfavorable question.

Despite this, he couldn’t help but smile.

Soon it was the first day of school. Jiang Musheng was in a difficult position because both ladies in his family had to register on the same day.

Yun Ran said, “I’m used to being on my own. My dad was with me, but I still went to school alone. Mr. Jiang, you go with Xueyu. I can manage on my own.”

Xueyu said, “Brother, I want to try being on my own this time. Sister-in-law has always been on her own. You should go with her.”

Finally, Yun Ran came up with a compromise. In the morning, she and Jiang Musheng would go with Xueyu to register for high school, and in the afternoon, they would all go to the university together.

On registration day, at the school gate, Yun Ran saw Gu Hongfei standing in the shade of a wall. She was startled for a moment, but no matter how confident she was, she couldn’t connect him to herself. After all, Gu Hongfei couldn’t have known that she would be there.

From a distance, she saw a female student with a backpack run up to Gu Hongfei. He bent his head to whisper something to her, and Yun Ran looked away. In any case, Gu Hongfei had nothing to do with her anymore.

But after looking away, she noticed that Alan was also looking at Gu Hongfei. No, she was glaring at him with great vigilance. Yun Ran found it a bit strange.

While standing in the long registration line, Jiang Musheng held a black umbrella over both Yun Ran and Xueyu. Xueyu pulled Alan under the umbrella too. At first, Alan was awkward and refused to enter, but she finally gave in when Xueyu threatened to get angry. She said to Jiang Musheng, “Mr. Jiang, let me hold the umbrella.”

Jiang Musheng handed the umbrella to Alan and joked, “Compared to me, Alan clearly listens to Xueyu more.”

Xueyu lifted her chin proudly. “Of course! Alan is my personal bodyguard. She’s with me every day, so she’s closer to me and listens to me. It’s not like with you, Brother, since you’re just the one who pays Alan’s salary.”

Yun Ran was so amused by Xueyu that she couldn’t stop laughing. She noticed Alan was so flustered that her face turned red. Jiang Musheng looked at Alan thoughtfully.

Yun Ran changed the subject. “Don’t you have a special privilege lane for registration, Mr. Jiang?”

“If I had a special privilege lane,” Jiang Musheng said, “it would lose the meaning of spending time with family.”

Yun Ran was surprised. “Could it be that you occasionally want to experience what it’s like to be an ordinary person?”

Jiang Musheng smiled at her. “Ah Ran, have you ever noticed that you often deify me? I’m just an ordinary person made of flesh and blood.”

Yun Ran couldn’t understand it then, but later, after a major event happened, she truly understood what Jiang Musheng meant by that. He was also just an ordinary person made of flesh and blood.

Gu Qiqi procrastinated for a long time before getting in line. She deeply regretted borrowing her cousin’s place for her birthday party last time. This time, her cousin insisted on driving her to her registration, and she couldn’t get out of it. Her parents even thought the cousins were close and that her cousin was just looking out for her.

But her cousin clearly had ulterior motives!

On this particular day, Xueyu’s brother personally came to register her, and the Miss Yun who once had a vague relationship with her cousin was also there. Gu Qiqi kept saying she had left something in the car and went back to look, and then she said she had a stomachache, dragging her cousin and preventing him from getting closer. She was terrified that her cousin would do something irrational and that the whole family would suffer for it.

Gu Hongfei had confirmed his suspicions today and was furious. But he wasn’t a reckless man. He wasn’t going to rush in and get himself killed.

“Qiqi, tell me the truth. Are you stopping me from getting closer to Miss Jiang because of my past with Ah Ran? Are you afraid that I’m doing this for revenge?”

Gu Qiqi hesitated and then nodded.

“Is there any other reason?”

Gu Qiqi shook her head hesitantly. There was, but she absolutely could not tell her cousin. She was afraid he would use that information to lure Xueyu and harm the whole family.

“They’re coming out. Cousin, let’s get in the car.” Gu Hongfei let his cousin pull him into the car.

Jiang Musheng and Yun Ran walked by, holding hands intimately and laughing. Miss Jiang also looked very happy. Only the short-haired female bodyguard, as she passed by the car, shot him a fierce glare through the window, as if to warn him.

Gu Qiqi was startled. After they had all walked away and gotten into their car, she said to her cousin with a serious face, “Cousin, you just saw it, didn’t you? That bodyguard with Xueyu is not to be trifled with. Even if you wanted to approach her, you couldn’t.”

“Can she guard her 24/7?”

“She really can. She even goes with her to class, and she’s inseparable from her even when she goes to the bathroom,” Gu Qiqi said.

In the afternoon, after everyone had accompanied Yun Ran to register, they went to visit Zheng Hangyi and see Chen Hong.

Zheng Hangyi must have given instructions beforehand, as they didn’t see any of the other women he had taken in, only Chen Hong.

“Are you doing well here with Mr. Zheng?” Yun Ran asked.

Zheng Hangyi said, “It seems Miss Yun truly doesn’t trust me.”

“The feeling is mutual,” Yun Ran said.

Chen Hong replied, “Miss Yun, you don’t have to worry. Mr. Zheng is very good to me and hasn’t done anything inappropriate.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Zheng Hangyi knocked on the coffee table. “Musheng, you should control your people.”

Jiang Musheng reached for the teapot and poured Zheng Hangyi a cup of hot tea. He smiled. “Unfortunately, I have always indulged my people, so I’ll have to ask you to yield to them as well.”

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