The Golden Cane and the Wild Rose - Chapter 44.1

Chapter 44.1

Jiang Musheng didn’t give a clear answer. She was just breathing heavily, as if she were out of oxygen. Yun Ran took her silence as consent. She found the end of the binding that was wrapped around her so many times and pulled it directly, freeing Jiang Musheng from the layers of cloth, one by one.

Then she held her tightly and whispered in her ear, “I know that out of a sense of responsibility, you don’t want to touch me, but I want to touch you. Is that okay?”

In the darkness, all she could hear was Jiang Musheng’s heavy breathing. Yun Ran laughed and said, “I’ll take that as a yes again.” She felt that Jiang Musheng was so pitiful, especially at a time like this. It made her seem even more so. A normal person has needs. Yun Ran had understood this early on, but she had only truly awakened to them recently. Jiang Musheng was nine years older than her, and she had liked her for a long time. It was hard to imagine how unbearable it must have been for her.

“Miss Jiang, please tell me when you first met me and when you fell in love with me, okay?”

Yun Ran scattered kisses all over her body, as if she were a seasoned veteran. Jiang Musheng, on the other hand, was like a log soaked with water. Yun Ran tried to light her on fire. She resisted stubbornly, almost but not quite igniting.

“Still not going to talk? Fine, I’ll let you off the hook this time.” She said she would let her off the hook, but her actions did not follow her words.

How did Yun Ran know what to do? As she did it, she remembered the conversations she had heard from her classmates at school. Some of them were very open and would talk about it casually, or maybe they just thought it was a normal thing and there was no need to get embarrassed. Yun Ran never thought she would ever need that knowledge, let alone take the initiative to do something like this. She also never imagined that she, who had never learned to play the piano, would suddenly know how to. She was a natural. Her fingers particularly liked one spot, and as she pressed it more and more, it became as slick with sweat as her own fingers. She also never imagined that her lips and tongue would become so sensitive and agile when tasting an unknown delicacy, and that they could turn the once-serious and dignified Jiang Musheng completely upside down.

But even at her best, she had her limits. Her ambition was great, but her strength was lacking, and she wasn’t very satisfied with herself. She went to kiss Jiang Musheng again, wanting to prolong the moment. Jiang Musheng responded to her kiss with equal force.

They held each other and kissed for a long time, until their lips and tongues were numb. Finally, they were willing to separate. The summer night by the sea was relatively cool, but they were still sweating profusely. They quietly went out to take another bath together. Fearing that too much noise would alarm the old woman, they decided not to boil any hot water. They went into the bathroom together and let the cold water pour over them, shivering and chattering their teeth.

Yun Ran couldn’t help but say, “This feels even more like we’re having a secret affair.”

Jiang Musheng laughed and hugged her. Yun Ran had very little strength and leaned on her. She thought that when it came to strength, she couldn’t compare to Jiang Musheng. But Jiang Musheng had too much morals and conscience and was determined not to cross that line. She didn’t know how long she would have to wait to receive the same treatment.

“What are you thinking about so intently?” Jiang Musheng asked, wrapping a towel around her.

Yun Ran said, “I’m not telling you.”

“Is it something you absolutely cannot tell me?”

“Yes.”

“Then I know.”

“You know what?”

“I’ll do my best not to make you wait too long.”

Yun Ran was instantly speechless. She couldn’t help but poke her heart with her finger. “Are you the roundworm in my stomach? You can guess eight out of ten things I’m thinking. I don’t have any secrets left.”

Jiang Musheng laughed. “It’s so tiring to keep a secret all by yourself. Ah Ran, I don’t want you to live such a tiring life.”

Yun Ran was stunned for a moment. She leaned over and gave her a loud kiss. “Actually, ever since I met you, I haven’t been so tired.”

“That’s good. Let’s go back to sleep.”

The next morning, they got up and had breakfast with the old woman. After breakfast, the old woman left as usual. Jiang Musheng said, “Ma’am, do you remember what I asked you to do yesterday?”

“I remember. If I see that British lady again, I should bring her to you, right?”

“Yes.”

After the old woman left, Yun Ran and Jiang Musheng washed the dishes together. Yun Ran asked, confused, “Why does it have to be Cecilia? Logically, your own people and Mr. Zheng would come looking for you, too.”

“Their characteristics aren’t as distinctive as Cecilia’s. And the only British lady with status who could deploy a search and rescue team to look for me is Cecilia. It makes it easier for the old woman to identify them.”

Yun Ran bit her lip and said sourly, “Isn’t it because you calculated that Cecilia likes you and would be willing to do these things for you?”

Jiang Musheng shook her head. “When Cecilia finds out I’m a woman, she may not still like me.”

“Why not?” Yun Ran asked, puzzled.

Jiang Musheng explained, “Cecilia probably likes the combination of the status I once had and all the masculine charm and charisma I showed. The foundation of that is that I’m a man. She wouldn’t like me as I am now.”

“But I still like you,” Yun Ran said.

“Ah Ran, you’re different. You’re more willing to get close to me after you found out I’m a woman. Before, you were afraid of me.”

Yun Ran said, “I’m different from Cecilia, but you’re wrong. I’m more willing to get close to you now because I liked you in the first place, and I found out that you’re willing to risk your life for me. I’ve always been a complete egoist. If you hadn’t been this good to me, I would have just played along with you because of the things you had that were beneficial to me. That’s more superficial than Cecilia’s love. No matter how much I like you, you’re not more important than myself.”

Jiang Musheng smiled. “Ah Ran, you’re very clear-headed.”

“Don’t you think I’m selfish?”

“All people are selfish.”

“Where is your selfishness? I haven’t seen it.”

Jiang Musheng said, “If I weren’t selfish, then when you left me before to go into another man’s arms to live the life you wanted, which was good for you, I wouldn’t have tried every possible way to get you back to my side.”

“Every possible way?” Yun Ran was surprised.

“Of course, and the heavens helped, too,” Jiang Musheng said as she put the washed bowls into the bucket. She reminded her, “The thing with Chen Hong.”

Yun Ran was stunned for a moment and then laughed. “You have your moments of being confused, too. I wanted to come back to you then, but I was too proud. The thing with Chen Hong gave me a way out.”

Jiang Musheng said, “So my coming to persuade you personally wasn’t enough of a way out?”

Yun Ran said, “It wasn’t that it wasn’t enough. Maybe it was because I already had feelings for you then, so I especially didn’t want you to look down on me.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Jiang Musheng took Yun Ran’s hand and pulled her up. Yun Ran’s legs were a little numb from squatting. She leaned against her. Jiang Musheng’s legs were also a little numb, but it didn’t matter. She hugged her and said, “Ah Ran, I want you to know that I will never look down on you. If you truly like someone, you will be willing to understand the logic behind all of their actions. Selfishness, egoism, wanting to have it all, and dissatisfaction are all human nature. I have these things too. It’s just that my past experiences have taught me to suppress them better.”

Yun Ran thought for a moment and said, “Then we really are a good match.”

Jiang Musheng agreed. “We are a very good match.”

The old woman went out to sea with the villagers’ fishing boat. As she cast her net, she kept an eye on her surroundings, looking for the large cruise ship she had seen yesterday and the British lady who was directing its course. Unfortunately, people weren’t that easy to run into.

Cecilia completely gave up on the cruise ship search because she felt that searching and salvaging with a cruise ship was like admitting that Musheng had already died at sea. She returned the cruise ship to her father and said, “It’s been a day, and we haven’t found Musheng’s body. That means he’s still alive. He must have already made it to shore and run into some trouble. He’s probably staying in a small fishing village or a fisherman’s house on the coast and can’t come out for some reason. He’s waiting for his own people to find him.”

The governor leaned back on the sofa and flicked his lighter. A flame lit up, and he put a cigar in his mouth to light it. The flame instantly licked the end of the cigar, and the aroma of the cigar filled the air. Cecilia saw her father silently smoking and not saying anything. She anxiously shook his arm. “Dad, believe me. Musheng must be in trouble now. He needs our help.”

The governor took the cigar out of his mouth and used his other hand to pat his daughter’s head. “Cecilia, you’re Daddy’s baby, my sweetheart. Daddy doesn’t want you to be so crazy over a man. Maybe Musheng really isn’t dead, but so what?”

“Dad! What are you saying? What do you mean, ‘so what’?”

“If he can’t break through the obstacles on his own, then that’s the limit of his ability.”

“Obstacles? What obstacles?” Cecilia asked anxiously.

“Sweetheart, not everyone wants Musheng to continue to live as much as you do.”

“Is someone trying to harm him? Then we need to help even more! Who is it? Dad, can you stop them?”

“No, this is Musheng’s own problem. Ever since he told me he absolutely could not accept your love, I have only seen him as a simple business partner. I don’t want to offer any other assistance.”

Seeing that her father was determined, Cecilia stopped pleading. With red eyes, she stood up straight and said, “If Dad won’t help, I’ll go find him myself.”

“Take your bodyguards with you. Don’t get yourself hurt.”

Cecilia didn’t respond to her father’s instructions. With a bit of recklessness, she ran out of the house. The governor wasn’t worried about his daughter getting involved. He had made arrangements with all the different factions. He wasn’t helping the people who wanted to save Jiang Musheng or the people who wanted him dead. He was watching them all fend for themselves and seeing how tough Jiang Musheng’s life was. If Jiang Musheng could really come back alive this time, he might have a new respect for him and consider the possibility of a deeper partnership, putting aside all the grievances his daughter had suffered.

At two in the afternoon, the old woman came back to tell them that she hadn’t seen the British lady on the sea today, nor had she seen the cruise ship or the search and rescue team. The old woman left again after she finished speaking. Fishermen always had their own things to be busy with.

Yun Ran said worriedly, “Does that mean the outside world thinks we’re dead?”

“No,” Jiang Musheng shook her head and smiled. “It’s just that the governor is no longer willing to get involved. He wants to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, to see what I’m capable of.”

“Then what do we do now?”

“We can’t just hope that Cecilia will find us. We have to find a way to leave here safely on our own.”

“Have you thought of a way?”

Jiang Musheng nodded. Then she told her her plan. They immediately took action.

Before they could go out, they had to put on a simple disguise. They couldn’t just go out in their own clothes. If the enemy found them, they would be sitting ducks, one shot for each of them, with no chance of survival.

“Sorry, ma’am.” Yun Ran and Jiang Musheng opened the old woman’s door together and rummaged through her wardrobe, hoping to find some men’s clothes. Unfortunately, they didn’t find any.

Yun Ran said, “The clothes we washed yesterday are dry. How about I go out and scout on my own?”

Jiang Musheng said, “I’m not comfortable with you going alone.”

Yun Ran patted her chest. “Don’t underestimate me. I grew up running for my life when I was a child. I have a pair of fast legs that could compete in sports. Not many people can run faster than me.”

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