The Golden Cane and the Wild Rose - Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Zheng Hangyi was absolutely fuming and couldn’t help but roll his eyes at Jiang Musheng.

Yun Ran’s ears were already red, but she pretended not to hear anything. “Take me to see where you live,” she said to Chen Hong. She wasn’t actually curious about Chen Hong’s living quarters; she just wanted an excuse to get out of there, to avoid listening to the two men spouting any more nonsense. She was too thin-skinned to stay.

After Yun Ran and Chen Hong went upstairs, Zheng Hangyi grew even more excited. “Jiang Musheng, look,” he said, “even your Miss Yun can’t stand how cheesy you are.”

Yun Ran followed Chen Hong upstairs and was finally out of earshot of Zheng Hangyi’s teasing. Chen Hong’s bedroom was decorated very cozily. The carpet was a warm coffee-colored flannel, a crystal chandelier with a frosted-glass finish hung from the ceiling, and a small round table sat by the floor-to-ceiling window. On it was a small dark green vase with a narrow neck and a seashell pattern, holding three flowers of different colors. It was very tasteful.

“Did you decorate all this yourself?” Yun Ran asked.

“Yes. But Mr. Zheng provided all the things. I just decorated them. I also have a Filipino maid to help.”

The fact that she had the mind to decorate the room showed she was truly living a good life here. Yun Ran felt relieved.

After they had dinner at Zheng Hangyi’s, it was time for them to go home. Jiang Musheng had some wine at the dinner table. As he walked out the door, he didn’t forget to take Yun Ran’s hand, and she instinctively supported him.

As they walked closer, his stray strands of hair, long enough to reach his neck, were blown by the wind, hooking her face again and again like tiny hooks. They were small hooks without any aggression. Yun Ran felt a little ticklish. She raised her hand, wanting to help Jiang Musheng smooth his hair and tuck it behind his ear.

Suddenly, Jiang Musheng seemed very alert and grabbed her hand. Yun Ran was startled. “Mr. Jiang, is it wrong to touch your hair?”

In the night, Jiang Musheng didn’t answer. He just let go of her hand and lowered his arm. Yun Ran also retracted her hand, not daring to touch his hair again.

Once they got in the car, however, Jiang Musheng started messing with her hair. They were sitting together in the back seat, with two bodyguards in the front. One was driving, and the other, through the rearview mirror, noticed their movements but dared not show the slightest reaction, only stealing a few glances.

Yun Ran whispered, “You’re undoing my hair.”

She wasn’t wearing a cheongsam today. Instead, she had on a blue short top with a matching blue skirt, white socks, and black leather shoes a common student outfit in Hong Kong these days. Since it was summer and too hot, she had her hair in a bun. While Jiang Musheng wasn’t afraid of the heat, she was, so her hairstyle gave her a more mature, feminine charm than other female students.

But Jiang Musheng undid her bun.

Yun Ran thought to herself, Is this a soft, tipsy kind of crazy?

Throughout the entire process, he didn’t tug at her scalp or cause her a headache. Thinking about this, a hint of sweetness bloomed in her heart.

After undoing her hair, Jiang Musheng began braiding it into two pigtails.

“Do you like this hairstyle on me, Mr. Jiang?” Yun Ran asked.

Jiang Musheng still didn’t say a word. The tipsy Jiang Musheng was more silent than ever. He was completely absorbed in studying her hair. The two pigtails were braided and then unbraided, then a single pigtail, followed by various other styles that Yun Ran didn’t even know.

All the way home, Jiang Musheng styled her hair with his bare hands, and he did a decent job. Yun Ran was completely taken aback. Is a Hong Kong tycoon’s hobby so… unique? Perhaps it was a skill he learned from taking care of and doting on his sister.

Yun Ran dared to touch Jiang Musheng’s hair again. This time, he didn’t dodge or grab her hand. He just let her. Her courage grew a little more. She took a thin hair tie from her small purse and tried to tie his hair in a ponytail. The faint scent of wine wafted between them. She looked at Jiang Musheng earnestly. “Mr. Jiang, I want to tie your hair. Can I?”

Jiang Musheng nodded and let his arms hang by his side, still able to touch Yun Ran’s waist-length hair. Yun Ran used her fingers as a comb to smooth his hair. Jiang Musheng’s hair was already very soft and had clearly been thinned. He didn’t have much hair long enough to reach his neck. Yun Ran tied it into a simple ponytail. It looked a bit like an artist’s hairstyle, but because of Jiang Musheng’s delicate and noble face, he didn’t look like an artist. She couldn’t say exactly what he looked like.

With his long hair tied back and the stray strands tucked behind his ears, more of Jiang Musheng’s face was revealed. Just looking at that face, Yun Ran was momentarily lost in thought. She actually thought Jiang Musheng looked a lot like a woman. She closed her eyes and looked again, and he didn’t seem so much like one anymore. It was just that he had feminine features on a man’s face, which gave him a kind of soft beauty along with his cold and handsome looks. That was her original assessment of Jiang Musheng’s appearance: “handsome and beautiful.”

The car stopped in front of the villa. It was time to get out. Yun Ran felt she should restore Jiang Musheng’s hair. Just as she was about to do so, he stopped her. “Leave it like this,” he said. “I like the hairstyle you gave me.”

Yun Ran was stunned. “As long as you like it, Mr. Jiang.”

When they got out of the car, Xueyu immediately noticed the change. “Hey, Brother, Sister-in-law, why are you both wearing different hairstyles?”

Yun Ran didn’t know how to answer. Jiang Musheng said, “Ah Ran helped me, and I helped her.”

Xueyu said, “Brother hasn’t braided my hair in a long time. Will you do it for me tomorrow before I go to school?”

“Alright.”

Yun Ran thought, Sure enough, it’s a skill he learned from taking care of his sister. She was a little envious of Xueyu for having such a powerful and gentle brother. In her eyes, blood was thicker than water, and family bonds were the most unbreakable. Love and romance were too fickle.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have Xueyu’s good fortune to be born as Jiang Musheng’s sister.

“What are you thinking about, Sister-in-law?” Xueyu asked, seeing Yun Ran lost in thought.

Yun Ran smiled and spoke half-truths. “I was just thinking how lucky you are to have such a great brother like Mr. Jiang.”

“And Sister-in-law is lucky too, to be in love with my brother.”

Yes, she thought, given her unbelievable start, to be in love with Jiang Musheng is already a stroke of luck. But was she truly in a relationship with Jiang Musheng?

The next morning, both Xueyu and Yun Ran got up early to go to school. Jiang Musheng remembered his promise from last night and went to braid his sister’s hair into two pigtails. Then, he knocked on Yun Ran’s door.

Yun Ran opened the door, surprised to see him. “Mr. Jiang, is there something you need this early?”

“Last night you said you were envious of Xueyu for having a good brother. This morning, when I was braiding Xueyu’s hair, I thought to myself that I shouldn’t just let you be envious. If I can be a good brother, I can also be a good boyfriend.”

Yun Ran’s still-sleepy eyes widened little by little. She stared at him, completely shocked, holding her breath.

Jiang Musheng entered her room naturally, led her to the dressing table, and sat her down, then began to seriously braid her hair. Yun Ran glanced in the mirror. He was doing the bun she liked. In the mirror, Jiang Musheng was completely focused, treating her hair with the same gentleness he had in the car last night.

When he was done, Yun Ran turned around and looked at the back. She could see the whole thing, and Jiang Musheng had done a much better job than she ever could.

“All set. Let’s go down for breakfast.” Jiang Musheng took her hand and led her downstairs. As they left her room, Yun Ran stopped and pulled back on Jiang Musheng’s hand. He turned around and smiled. “Did you forget to bring your backpack?”

She had just gotten her new school bag a few days ago. Because Xueyu liked them, Jiang Musheng would also pay attention to what new items fashion brands had out. The only difference was that before, he would only buy one; now he bought two. Yun Ran wasn’t sure if she was just benefiting from Xueyu’s luck.

“Mr. Jiang, are we… are we officially dating now?” Yun Ran had struggled with the question for a long time but finally asked.

“Of course.” Jiang Musheng didn’t hesitate for a moment.

Yun Ran swallowed. She felt both nervousness and joy. Jiang Musheng picked up her new school bag, and they went downstairs together.

Breakfast today was made by the Filipino maid, who had cooked dishes to suit the different tastes of Jiang Musheng, Xueyu, and Yun Ran. While eating, Yun Ran kept looking up at the clock on the dining room wall. She couldn’t help but worry about being late for school. Jiang Musheng saw her concern and reassured her, “Don’t worry, there’s plenty of time.”

Yun Ran took a class schedule from her backpack. She saw that her first class today was around 9:00, almost 10:00. Of course, there was plenty of time. But then she saw that her first class tomorrow was at 8:00 AM, and she felt certain she would be late. Even with a driver, getting down the mountain would take a lot of time.

“Mr. Jiang, I want to live at school,” Yun Ran said. The university had dorms, and Yun Ran had lived in dorms in middle and high school, so she wasn’t worried about adapting.

Jiang Musheng asked, “Are you worried you won’t make it to class if you have an early one?”

Yun Ran nodded emphatically.

Jiang Musheng thought for a moment. “If we can’t find another solution, then living at school isn’t out of the question.” Yun Ran was a bit surprised that Jiang Musheng agreed so easily and didn’t pay attention to the first part of his sentence. “If I board at school, I can still come back on Friday nights and stay for the weekend.”

Xueyu didn’t have this problem for now. Her high school was much closer than the university, so she could continue to live at home.

Jiang Musheng had an appointment to meet a real estate developer from the mainland for business at noon. Since there was still a lot of time, he decided to personally drive Yun Ran to school.

Yun Ran initially refused. “Mr. Jiang, you should go with Xueyu. The driver can take me.”

Xueyu said, “I have Alan and the driver. That’s enough for me.”

In the end, Yun Ran couldn’t win against the united front of the siblings. In the car, she asked Jiang Musheng if he wasn’t worried about Xueyu.

Jiang Musheng said, “With Alan there, nothing will happen. The last incident was a complete accident. She misjudged a person and was deceived by her boyfriend. She asked Alan to give them space, which is how the bad guys had a chance to abduct her. Now I’ve told Alan to stay with her every step of the way.”

“Does that mean you’re not giving Xueyu any private space to date?”

“At the very least, they have to be properly vetted by me first.”

For some reason, Yun Ran suddenly remembered seeing Gu Hongfei at the high school yesterday. A possibility came to mind. Could Gu Hongfei have been there because of Xueyu? Was he trying to get revenge on Jiang Musheng for taking her away by targeting his sister?

This possibility was too plausible and terrified Yun Ran.

“Mr. Jiang,” she asked urgently, “what kind of boy does Xueyu like?”

“Why are you suddenly asking that?” Jiang Musheng asked.

“Mr. Jiang, please tell me!”

“Alright.” Jiang Musheng didn’t ask any more questions and described the characteristics of the boy Xueyu had liked before. “What’s wrong, Ah Ran?”

Yun Ran’s heart went cold. “Mr. Jiang, I have a feeling the person you’re describing is… a lot like Gu Hongfei.”

Jiang Musheng dropped Yun Ran off at the school gate. Yun Ran got out of the car by herself, not wanting Jiang Musheng to get out and cause an unnecessary stir. Jiang Musheng didn’t get out either. He watched her walk into the campus, then told his driver to drive to Xueyu’s high school.

It was a bit late, and classes had already started. Jiang Musheng didn’t see anyone at the high school gate, let alone Gu Hongfei. He then prepared to go to his partner’s appointment.

Yun Ran carried her backpack all the way to her classroom. Many students who had arrived earlier were already helping to separate the various textbooks. Yun Ran joined them. The required course textbooks were all separated into individual piles, but they hadn’t chosen the elective textbooks yet.

Suddenly, a girl walked up to her, her eyes bright. “Are you Yun Ran?” she asked.

Yun Ran nodded.

The girl said, “I’ve seen you in the newspaper.”

Yun Ran gave an awkward smile. Luckily, the teacher called on everyone to help hand out books, and Yun Ran was able to move away. If she hadn’t, she didn’t know what the girl would have asked next.

University was relatively free. You could sit wherever you wanted in class; the teacher didn’t force you into a seat. Of course, some teachers were unhappy that most students chose to sit in the back. Yun Ran wanted to study hard, so she braced herself and sat in the front. One benefit of the front row was that it was quieter than the back, but she also had to endure the scrutiny and gossip of the students behind her.

In the first class, Yun Ran took out her textbook and was surprised to find that it was entirely in English! Although most people living in Hong Kong could speak some English, it was usually only basic. Daily communication was fine, but this kind of professional content was something Yun Ran had never encountered before. She panicked immediately.

As luck would have it, the teacher called on her. “Yun Ran, before we start this class, can you tell me what you understand about the content we’ll be studying? Say it in English so I can see your level.”

The teacher was a middle-aged woman who had studied abroad years ago. She was looking at her with a gentle smile, but Yun Ran felt the gaze was a bit too eager, as if she were looking at a currency, an American dollar. What Yun Ran didn’t know was that she hadn’t misjudged it. The school’s teachers and administration had received a private request from Jiang Musheng to take special care of his girlfriend and to help and encourage her with her studies as much as possible.

Right now, she just felt like she couldn’t breathe. It was the first day of school, and she had to speak English in front of all her classmates? It would have been fine if it was just speaking English, but she was being asked to talk about something she didn’t understand at all. She couldn’t string anything together.

Thankfully, the teacher wasn’t a wolf in sheep’s clothing. She didn’t get angry when Yun Ran couldn’t answer and changed the question. The teacher asked her in English why she chose this major.

“Why did you choose this major?”

Yun Ran understood. This question was relatively easy to answer. With the teacher’s encouraging gaze, she slowly spoke.

“I want to make a lot of money.” “I want to be rich.”

Everyone was silent. The chattering students in the back went quiet, and even the teacher was stunned for a long time. After about half a minute, the teacher praised her, saying that as a woman, she had a new way of thinking. Perhaps it was a platitude, but Yun Ran still felt a little comforted.

The teacher then called on a few other students and asked the same question. The boys’ answers were similar to Yun Ran’s, but the girls seemed to be there to get a social polish. They said it was to appear more educated, to be on a higher social level, and to be more attractive to upper-class men so they could find a good husband.

Yun Ran rested her elbow on the desk and held her chin in her hand, thinking quietly. The boys seemed to have clear goals from a young age: to hold power in their hands. With money and power, they could pick any woman. But for girls, they were disciplined from a young age that the most important thing in their life was to become a good wife and find a capable husband to have a complete life.

These girls, who had better starting points than she did, were actually put in warm water much earlier. Their ambition and personality were boiled away, and they were trained to be future wives for successful men. However, Yun Ran didn’t think she was any more noble than them.

She had once longed for and envied these things, but her experience of stubbornly struggling to survive had given her more to think about. She wasn’t blindly independent or clear-headed; she was just trying to grasp everything that was beneficial to her when she was clear-headed. And even when in a seemingly beneficial, dreamlike environment, she was trying to build her own foundation, to get stronger by borrowing strength. She knew deeply that she was her only permanent partner. A frog that is content in warm water will eventually be boiled to death.

After class, Yun Ran’s answer was widely discussed by her classmates, and someone even passed her words to the next class. Most of it was ridicule, disdain, and jealousy. But it didn’t matter. Yun Ran didn’t mind. She just found it a little noisy. Even in the bathroom, people were talking about her.

“Look, that’s her. She said all those outrageous things in front of the teacher.”

“How are they outrageous? At least she’s seen a lot of money by being with Mr. Jiang, so she has big ambitions.”

“Hey, don’t say that. People say she’s poor but ambitious, and that to raise tuition money, she even went to the Oriental Dance Hall and performed as a dancer.”

“Really?”

“Of course! She’s got a knack for seducing men. I heard that day Mr. Jiang was in a hurry to find his kidnapped sister. To be able to seduce him in that kind of situation… isn’t that a skill?”

“That’s truly incredible.”

Yun Ran also thought she was pretty incredible, even though she still didn’t know when or how Jiang Musheng had fallen for her.

Yun Ran opened the door to the stall, and the people outside fell silent. She calmly walked to the sink. “Why did you stop talking? I wanted to keep listening to you praise how great I am.”

The girls scattered, and Yun Ran went on to wash her hands.

Cecilia was in front of the mirror, reapplying her lipstick. When she saw her, she sneered, “Musheng said he likes subtle Eastern beauty, but you openly admitted to seducing him. I think Musheng made a mistake about you.”

Yun Ran wasn’t angry about the words, but seeing Cecilia made her think of her dead father and the possibility that Cecilia was involved. This made her furious. “Cecilia, let’s talk.”

“I don’t have time.” Cecilia finished her lipstick and turned to leave. Yun Ran clenched her fists. Now that she was with Jiang Musheng, she wasn’t afraid of not having a chance to get things straight.

Cecilia skipped her last class of the morning because she had heard from her father that Musheng was going to meet a businessman from the mainland at the Lido Hotel today. She wasn’t interested in business, but her interest in Musheng hadn’t faded. She found him at the entrance of the Lido Hotel as she’d hoped. “Musheng!”

Cecilia shouted loudly. Jiang Musheng couldn’t pretend he didn’t hear her. He stopped. “Are you here to eat at the Lido Hotel too?”

“Yes.”

“No classes this morning?”

“No.” Cecilia lied.

“I’m with someone. I have business to attend to, so I can’t invite you to eat with me.” He politely refused before she could even ask.

Cecilia pinched her palm hard, creating a fragile and pitiful look. “Musheng, I have something to tell you. It’s okay if we don’t eat together, just give me a few minutes.”

“Go on.”

“I… I actually came to give you a heads-up, Musheng.”

“About what?”

“Musheng, you don’t know, do you? Miss Yun’s feelings for you aren’t pure at all. She had every intention of seducing you back at the Oriental Dance Hall.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

“I just found out today. She admitted it herself at school!”

“A lot of our classmates don’t like her. They say she’s vain, greedy, and loves money…”

“Is this why you came to see me?”

“…Yes.”

“Are you done?”

Cecilia nodded.

Jiang Musheng said coldly, “Then, goodbye.”

Jiang Musheng walked into the hotel without looking back and went straight to his private room. By the time Cecilia snapped out of it and tried to follow him, he was already gone. She was angry but helpless.

But it doesn’t matter. She had already passed on the message. She didn’t believe Musheng would still like that Miss Yun after he learned the truth about her.

Cecilia returned to school. During the afternoon break, she found Yun Ran and looked her up and down with a provocative gaze but said nothing. Yun Ran was confused.

The students’ gossip spirits were burning fiercely. Some had already gotten some insider information: the governor’s daughter, Cecilia, also liked the great Mr. Jiang. They all sided with Cecilia, believing that even if Mr. Jiang was with Yun Ran now, he was just playing around and didn’t really care for her. The governor’s daughter and the great Mr. Jiang were a perfect match in terms of social standing.

Yun Ran ignored Cecilia and the students who were watching the show. She was busy organizing her class notes. She had so many new English words to memorize that she didn’t have time to think about anything else. She also planned to have the driver take her to a bookstore to buy an English dictionary after class so she could look up words more easily.

There were only two classes in the afternoon. After they were over, it was time to go home. She had already arranged to meet the driver at the school gate. As she left with her backpack, she noticed a lot of people whispering and pointing at her. She pretended not to hear anything.

“See? She’s feeling guilty now. She doesn’t dare to say a word in her own defense.”

“Did Mr. Jiang really dump her?”

“I don’t think so. That bracelet on her wrist, the dress she’s wearing, and her backpack are all very expensive. She couldn’t afford them herself. She must still be with Mr. Jiang, just without a title or status.”

Hearing the words “without a title or status,” Yun Ran stopped and turned to look at the girls who were talking. The one speaking the loudest looked familiar. Yun Ran had seen her at a few parties before and knew she was friends with Cecilia.

“What are you looking at? I’m not wrong!”

Yun Ran said, “Are you jealous of me, going on and on about the bracelet on my hand, the dress on my body, and the backpack on my back?”

“You… you… Who’s jealous of you? Someone who’s with Mr. Jiang in such a disgraceful way, and who gets things through who knows what schemes, has the nerve to say I’m jealous of her?” The girl’s classmates all jumped in.

“Yeah, who would be jealous of someone who made money at a dance hall?”

“Exactly. It’s not worth being jealous of you. It’s a dirty thing to do.”

Perhaps because she had been cursed at so much by the bad kids in Kowloon Walled City when she was a child, Yun Ran felt that the words of these girls had no power at all. She even laughed. The girls looked shocked.

“Oh my God, she’s actually laughing!”

“She’s not ashamed; she’s proud!”

“She’s going to ruin the reputation of our school!”

Yun Ran stood still, curious to hear what more offensive things they could say. Suddenly, someone called to her from behind. “A Ran, why are you just standing there?” “Don’t you want to go home?”

Yun Ran instantly recognized Jiang Musheng’s voice. She turned around and was surprised to see him walking toward her, leaning on a gold cane. The sun wasn’t as harsh anymore, and a faint golden light fell on him, making him even more dazzling.

The girls who had been taunting her were more shocked than Yun Ran. What were they seeing? The man leaning on a gold cane was the great Mr. Jiang! He was so handsome!

But not only that, they also saw that the legendary, ruthless, and decisive Mr. Jiang had taken Yun Ran’s hand on his own accord, a gentle smile on his face!

“Why are you here? Weren’t you supposed to be at a business meeting?” Yun Ran asked.

“It’s over. I wanted to go home with you.”

“Ah Ran, don’t you want to go home with your boyfriend?”

The girls: !!!

Boyfriend!!!

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