The Golden Cane and the Wild Rose - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

After successfully using Jiang Musheng’s name to intimidate Boss He, Yun Ran sat on the floor for a long time, unable to get up. The extreme fear had completely drained her of all strength.

“Ah Ran, are you alright?” Miss Peony was the first to reach her side, offering a hand to help her up.

Yun Ran used Miss Peony’s strength to stand. “Thank you, Miss Peony.”

“You’re shaking,” Miss Peony said with concern. “Did you fall and hurt yourself anywhere?”

Yun Ran gently shook her head and, with Miss Peony’s support, went to sit on a sofa. As soon as she sat down, a barrage of questions from her colleagues came at her.

“Ah Ran, you’re even more impressive than we thought.”

“I know, right? You’re actually connected to Boss Jiang.”

“When are you going to bring Boss Jiang here to our dance hall so we can meet the legendary big-shot?”

The endless chatter gave Yun Ran a headache. Although she appeared calm on the surface, she was still terrified. Crying out Jiang Musheng’s name in that moment of crisis was a desperate, last-ditch effort. But if this news reached Jiang Musheng’s ears, there was no telling how she would die. She had simply swapped a bad fate for a worse one.

There was a sliver of hope, though. Jiang Musheng was a figure of legend who rarely appeared in public. Unlike other prominent figures, he didn’t give interviews or appear in newspapers. Maybe she wasn’t the first person to make such a bold claim, and perhaps he wouldn’t bother to spend his time and energy dealing with a nobody who borrowed his name.

Yes, that’s it, Yun Ran comforted herself.

Miss Peony looked at Yun Ran’s pale face as she sat in her chair, while everyone else was excitedly discussing what had just happened. She felt an inexplicable irritation.

“If you want to meet Boss Jiang, go find him yourself. Don’t shout about it here.”

Miss Peony’s words silenced everyone. All that could be heard was a low murmur of conversation. These young women only saw the glamor of others climbing the social ladder, but they had no idea of the hardships involved. The scars on Miss Peony’s back began to throb again.

Her gaze returned to Yun Ran, and a look of relief appeared on her lips. At least among this group, Yun Ran was level-headed. She knew what should never be touched. Miss Peony was already in too deep and hoped Yun Ran could escape successfully.

Yun Ran finally calmed down, remembering she still had work to do. As she looked up, she saw Miss Peony looking at her with an intense concentration. It wasn’t the fiery passion from before, but a soft warmth, like an older sister looking at her younger sister.

“Miss Peony, I’ll continue with your makeup.”

“Okay.”

She had only done half the makeup before the incident, so she needed to hurry.

“Ah Ran, what you said earlier was a lie, wasn’t it?” Miss Peony asked in a voice only they could hear.

Yun Ran’s hand, holding the eyelash brush, paused. She didn’t answer, continuing to brush Miss Peony’s eyelashes.

“Ah Ran, don’t come back to work tomorrow. I’ll talk to the manager for you. If you need money, I can lend it to you.”

The small eyelash brush suddenly felt heavy. Afraid of messing up the makeup, Yun Ran pulled her hand away. She looked at Miss Peony with confusion.

“It’s strange, isn’t it? Why I would help you.”

Yun Ran nodded.

“I’m not sure myself. Maybe it’s because you’re the same age as my sister.”

Yun Ran was stunned for a moment, then genuinely said, “Thank you, Miss Peony.”

But she didn’t plan on accepting Miss Peony’s offer. Miss Peony was thinking too simply. Escaping the dance hall wasn’t the end of her problems. The fact that Boss He could cause a scene backstage without anyone stopping him showed that he was not someone the dance hall could easily offend. In a small place like Hong Kong, it wasn’t hard for a powerful person to find someone, especially an ordinary person like her, with a pretty face but no protective charm or safe haven. Even if she were to be killed, no one would pay attention.

Staying here and working was safer. For one, if she didn’t run, her lie would become more believable. Boss He would think she really was Jiang Musheng’s person, just working a side job for some reason. Secondly, she had a bargaining chip. She just didn’t know if her worth was enough to get her through this.

After her shift, Yun Ran went to get her pay from the manager, as usual. Last night’s manager was in the hospital with severe injuries, so today, the manager was a short man with a kind face. When Yun Ran knocked and entered, he was using a toothpick to pick his teeth while looking into a small handheld mirror.

“Hello, I’m here to get my pay for the day.”

“You’re the makeup artist, Yun Ran?”

“Yes.”

After receiving her money, Yun Ran stood still, thinking about how to negotiate. She didn’t even know what to call him. The man was sitting in a swivel chair that was too high for him. It looked like he was trapped in a gray-black web or had grown out of it, a shadowy, demonic spider. Yun Ran instinctively took a step back.

“Miss Yun, I know what you’re thinking. I’ve already heard about what happened backstage.”

He knows.

“I heard your makeup skills are excellent. It’s a waste of your talent to only work at a dance hall. How about I introduce you to some wealthy clients?”

“What kind of clients?” Yun Ran asked cautiously.

“Wealthy wives, young heiresses.”

“I won’t go to their homes,” Yun Ran said, seizing the opportunity to lay out her terms. “And you have to guarantee my safety while I’m at work.”

“Miss Yun, why don’t you just ask Mr. Jiang to get you a few bodyguards?” the man said, jokingly poking a hole in her lie. Yun Ran was left speechless.

“Here’s the deal, Miss Yun. You have a day to think about it. Come back and tell me your answer tomorrow night.”

Yun Ran didn’t know what kind of expression she had on her face when she left the manager’s office. She was terrified. Even this new manager, who wasn’t there when it happened, knew she was lying. What about Boss He? Even if he was scared at the time, once he calmed down, he would have figured it out easily. For all she knew, he was waiting outside with his men to grab her.

A shiver went down Yun Ran’s spine. At that moment, she thought of her senior, who had said he would come pick her up. A glimmer of hope. But how could her senior stand up to those people alone? For the first time, Yun Ran had the thought that even though her senior was a good man, he was not reliable for her. Just as the manager had said yesterday, her senior couldn’t protect her. For the first time, she regretted not listening to her dad. She had gotten herself into a huge mess she couldn’t fix.

After getting her pay, she was supposed to walk out of the dance hall, but she somehow found herself back backstage. Maybe this was the brightest and safest place for her right now.

…

In the most luxurious villa in Repulse Bay, a man in a black suit walked with hurried steps into the spacious and bright living room. The wind had blown his hair up, and it hadn’t fully settled yet. He held a pink bow tie wrapped in his hand and, without seeing the person he wanted to see, he shouted, “Big news! Big news! Top-tier big news!”

“Musheng?”

“Xueyu?”

“Where are they?”

He raised his wrist and looked at his watch. The hands were pointing directly at the hour. “It’s only 9 o’clock. They can’t be asleep already, can they?”

Jiang Xueyu opened her door and ran out barefoot, leaning over the second-floor railing to look down. “Hangyi, what’s the big news?” she asked.

Zheng Hangyi looked up and saw Jiang Xueyu wearing a white wool coat over her pajamas. He was about to speak when the door to another room on the second floor opened. It was Jiang Musheng. He must have just taken a shower; his hair was still wet, and a black towel was draped over his shoulder. His clothes were neat and tidy, all black, as if he could dry his hair and put on his shoes and leave at any moment. Does he wear so many clothes at home because he’s afraid the maids will get ideas? Zheng Hangyi wondered.

“Why aren’t you wearing any shoes?” Jiang Musheng said, lightly stepping on his sister’s feet and holding onto the railing.

“Hey, hey—” Zheng Hangyi was a little annoyed at being ignored by the close-knit siblings.

“You woke Xueyu up,” Jiang Musheng said, his voice low and accusatory. His voice was naturally hoarse, as if smoked, a very unique quality. In nearly 30 years, Zheng Hangyi had never heard another person with that voice. He looked at Jiang Musheng’s throat, which was always covered by his black hair. He felt a little guilty and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “Does Xueyu go to sleep this early?”

Jiang Xueyu shook her head slightly. “Hangyi’s big news hasn’t been shared yet,” she said excitedly.

Zheng Hangyi looked at Jiang Musheng.

“Say it,” Jiang Musheng said. “Then leave.”

Zheng Hangyi wasn’t angry at all. Having been friends with the Jiang siblings for so many years, he understood them. Jiang Musheng, the older brother, was cold, rigid, and serious, while his sister was much more lively and cheerful, as well as naive, otherwise she wouldn’t have been tricked and kidnapped. Now that she had been found this morning, her brother was naturally keeping a close eye on her.

“My neck’s getting a little sore from looking up.” With a couple of long strides, Zheng Hangyi went to the second floor and said excitedly, “The big news is about you, Musheng.”

“It’s about brother?” Jiang Xueyu’s eyes lit up.

Jiang Musheng gave Zheng Hangyi a faint glance, his face still impassive, as if he wasn’t curious at all.

“Musheng, when did you get a woman behind my and Xueyu’s backs?”

“A woman?” A hint of confusion appeared on Jiang Musheng’s indifferent face.

“Yeah, your woman. Could you have gotten drunk one day and forgotten about a romantic debt?”

It was a completely baseless rumor, and Jiang Musheng found it a little funny. “Did you come here just to tell me this?”

“Yeah. Isn’t it explosive enough?” Zheng Hangyi was a little doubtful of his own perception.

“I think it’s explosive, too. Am I getting a sister-in-law?” Jiang Xueyu was even more excited. Her brother was 27, almost 30, and had never been in a relationship. She had already been in one. She was super excited about the prospect of having a sister-in-law.

“That depends on whether your brother takes responsibility,” Zheng Hangyi said, enjoying the drama.

“Brother, you’ll take responsibility, right?” Jiang Xueyu looked at Jiang Musheng with a pitiful expression.

Jiang Musheng reached out and patted his sister’s head to comfort her. How difficult it would be to find a sister-in-law for my sister, he thought.

“Xueyu, do you want to go meet your ‘sister-in-law’?” Zheng Hangyi asked with a mischievous grin.

“I do!”

“Brother, I want to meet my sister-in-law.”

“No,” Jiang Musheng said, a flat refusal. “There is no sister-in-law.”

“But Hangyi said there is. I want to meet her.”

Jiang Musheng gave Zheng Hangyi a cold, icy stare.

Zheng Hangyi immediately said, “I’ll protect Xueyu. Otherwise, you can have my life.”

“No one cares about your life,” Jiang Musheng said heartlessly.

In the end, it was Jiang Xueyu’s tears, drama, and hunger strike threat that convinced her brother. Everyone in Hong Kong knew Jiang Musheng’s name. They all respected and feared him. Rumor had it that he had the power to control everything in the city, but he was completely helpless when it came to his sister.

“Yay! Long live Brother!” As soon as she got permission, Jiang Xueyu stopped crying.

Jiang Musheng took out a handkerchief and gently wiped his sister’s tears. “You can cry so well; you could be an actress.”

“Really? Brother, can I be an actress?”

“No.”

“Go back to your room and change if you want to go see your ‘sister-in-law’ at the dance hall.” He was suddenly a little curious about who was so bold as to claim to be his woman.

“Understood.”

Jiang Xueyu went back to her room. Only Jiang Musheng and Zheng Hangyi were left in the hallway. Jiang Musheng used the towel on his shoulder to dry his hair.

After a few seconds of thought, Zheng Hangyi said, “Musheng, I think there are some problems with how you’re raising Xueyu.”

“Hmm.” Jiang Musheng didn’t argue but also didn’t let Zheng Hangyi continue. “I’ll protect her. That kind of thing will never happen again.”

Zheng Hangyi sighed. Who knew what the future would hold?

Jiang Xueyu changed into a beautiful white princess dress and black leather shoes. She opened her door and saw that both her brothers looked a little grim. She walked between them and, with a smile, linked her arms with each of theirs.

“This way, I’ll be completely safe!”

The three of them drove away in a Crown sedan, with one car of bodyguards in front and two cars of bodyguards with guns behind them. About a hundred meters from the dance hall, Jiang Xueyu noticed a fight in the street. Are they fighting next to a parking lot? Why aren’t the police here?

After the car stopped, Jiang Xueyu jumped out and looked back. A young man was being beaten by a group of people. His face was covered in blood, and his features were unrecognizable. There was also a woman, whose arms were pinned, crying. Her back was to Jiang Xueyu, so she couldn’t see her face.

“Xueyu, what are you looking at? Aren’t you going to go see your sister-in-law?”

Jiang Xueyu asked, “I wonder when the police will get here. Can we stop them from fighting?” She felt bad for the man being beaten so badly and the woman crying so pitifully.

Zheng Hangyi raised a hand to cover her eyes. “Let’s go, Xueyu. The outside world is not the greenhouse your brother built for you. We can’t manage all this.”

“Brother?” Jiang Xueyu turned to look at Jiang Musheng.

“Let’s go,” Jiang Musheng said.

Jiang Xueyu didn’t want to move.

Just then, one of the men in the group behind them said with a sinister laugh, “I’ll give you one last chance. You claim to be Jiang Musheng’s woman. Do you have his contact information?”

Jiang Xueyu pushed Zheng Hangyi’s hand away. “They’re talking about Brother.” The three of them looked back at the same time.

Zheng Hangyi said, “What a coincidence. We’ve run into them.”

A bald man held up a clunky old cell phone and said to the woman whose arms were pinned, “You’re Jiang Musheng’s woman, you must remember his number. Try dialing it.” As he spoke, he raised his hand to touch the woman’s face.

The man who was being beaten shouted, “Don’t touch her!”

Jiang Xueyu couldn’t stand it any longer. She tried to take a step but was held back by both of her brothers. She could only open her mouth and shout, “Sister-in-law! You let my sister-in-law go!”

Support The Golden Cane and the Wild Rose