The Golden Cane and the Wild Rose - Chapter 44.2

Chapter 44.2

Jiang Musheng was still not at ease. “A bullet flies faster.”

Yun Ran asked, “What do I have to do to make you feel comfortable letting me go?”

Jiang Musheng said, “I’ll go with you.”

Yun Ran said anxiously, “Don’t. If you go out as you are now, you could be shot and killed, and they would never find the killer. If you wear women’s clothes, it’s also very dangerous for them to find out. It’s all dangerous.”

“Just listen to me. Don’t take a risk. I’m not their target. I’ll be safer going out than you. I promise I’ll come back alive.”

“You promise?” Jiang Musheng asked, frowning.

“You had the confidence to jump into the sea to save me. Why don’t I have the confidence to just scout the surrounding area?” Yun Ran asked, holding back a surge of frustration.

Jiang Musheng didn’t say anything. She lowered her head, as if she was thinking about the danger of letting her go alone again.

Yun Ran said, “You’re looking down on me!”

Jiang Musheng raised her head. “Ah Ran, I’m not. I’m just…”

“Just what? Just wanting to protect me, just wanting me to keep hiding behind you? But the situation now is that we’re facing a crisis together. If you hadn’t jumped into the sea to save me, we wouldn’t be facing this crisis. I may be selfish, but I still have a heart. I want to make an effort so that we can leave here safely. Do you understand, Musheng?”

“I understand.”

“No, you don’t.”

Jiang Musheng sighed helplessly. “Okay, you can go.”

“Really?” Yun Ran was instantly happy. She said excitedly, “I’ll go change first.”

“Okay. Be very careful. Don’t get hurt.” Jiang Musheng followed her, but she waited outside the door while Yun Ran changed. She would only go in when she was done.

“This person,” Yun Ran didn’t know what to say about her.

“Come in.”

Jiang Musheng walked into the room and went straight to Yun Ran. She raised her hand and gently messed up her hair. Yun Ran knew why she was doing that, so she let her and even cooperated by asking, “Should I put some dirt on my body to look like a normal fishing village girl?”

Jiang Musheng said, “You can’t make it look too real. It will be obvious that it’s fake.”

“You’re underestimating me again,” Yun Ran mumbled, unhappy. “I was a famous makeup artist at the Oriental Dance Hall, after all. I’m very good.”

Jiang Musheng’s dark, deep eyes suddenly lit up. “Then can you do it for me?”

“No,” Yun Ran refused directly. She still didn’t want Jiang Musheng to go out and face the risk.

Jiang Musheng didn’t say anything else. She just quietly watched her put on makeup. She didn’t have any cosmetics, so she could only use the soot from the kitchen stove and the dirt from the yard. That was enough. Yun Ran made her skin a little darker, but in a fishing village environment, she was still relatively fair. However, in those days, not all fishing girls had dark skin.

“How do I look?” Yun Ran was wearing a slightly wide green floral dress, and her long hair was casually draped over her shoulders. Her hands were on her hips, and she gave a completely different impression than before.

Jiang Musheng was mesmerized. After a while, she said, “Ah Ran, you’re not only good at makeup, but you also have a talent for acting.”

Yun Ran put her right hand to her lips and blew her a playful kiss. “Once we get back safely, I’ll consider a career as an actress. Musheng, will you support me?”

Jiang Musheng said, “Let’s get out of here safely first.”

“Okay.” Yun Ran dropped her hand in disappointment. As she was about to leave, she felt like something was missing. She turned back and tore a small piece of red paper from the door’s couplet. It was a little faded, so it wasn’t too red. She bit it with her lips and then wiped a little on her face. Jiang Musheng couldn’t help but admire her in her heart. Ah Ran truly had a talent for this. She walked Ah Ran to the door and instructed her, “Be very careful.”

“I know. I’ll be back.”

Yun Ran closed the door as soon as she went out, not letting Jiang Musheng follow her. After she was outside, her heart began to pound uncontrollably. In reality, she wasn’t as brave as she had imagined. She had always been a person who cherished her life and would avoid danger whenever possible. Today, she felt as if she had taken the wrong medicine. But she knew she hadn’t taken the wrong medicine. It was Jiang Musheng’s complete trust and love that had given her a little courage. But that little bit of courage was thin. She didn’t want Jiang Musheng to go out and face the killers who might be lurking in some corner, but she had to face them alone herself.

Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid! Your disguise is excellent! Yun Ran gave herself a pep talk as she walked.

She turned a corner and walked up a small uphill path behind the old woman’s house. She played with her hair and hummed a song as she walked. At the next corner, a hand suddenly came out, covered her mouth, and dragged her away. The person’s movements were so fast that Yun Ran’s vision went black. The whole world seemed to shake with the violent pull, but it only lasted for a moment, and the world returned to a stable state.

She stood firm, and the man who had covered her mouth let go. He also pinched her face, feeling her up. Yun Ran felt a chill in her heart and a little nauseous, but she didn’t act rashly. She just put on a terrified expression.

“You’re not bad-looking, little sister. You’re just a little gaudy. If you improve your taste, you’ll be even prettier. What’s your name?” the man who pinched her face asked with a grin.

Yun Ran didn’t answer immediately. She was still thinking about how to disguise her voice.

A man next to him spoke impatiently, “Hey, hey, get your priorities straight. This is not the time for you to be hitting on girls. It’s important to find out where Jiang Musheng is! If we don’t have any news today, Mr. Li and Mr. He will blame us…”

“I am asking! Don’t you use a chicken feather as an arrow!”

Yun Ran quietly watched the two men bicker. She realized that the second man was one of the two men who had come to arrest Chen Hong before. Mr. Li and Mr. He, she thought to herself. Mr. Li must be the one who harmed Miss Peony and also tried to take advantage of Chen Hong. Mr. He must be the one who took a liking to her at the dance hall and tried to force her to go with him but failed because Jiang Musheng appeared. These two people had teamed up. Yun Ran made a mental note to tell Jiang Musheng when she got back.

“Little sister, have you seen a man this tall?” The man gestured with his hands and even stood on his tiptoes, looking a little comical.

“There are a lot of men that tall in our village,” Yun Ran said, deliberately making her voice soft and sweet.

The man’s bones went soft. His next question was much more gentle and patient. “He’s not from your village. In the past two days, has a tall, fair-skinned man with long, shaggy hair that’s almost to his shoulders come to your village?”

“No, I haven’t seen one.”

“Well, if you see him and find any clues, come and find us. We’ll give you a reward for any useful information.”

“How much money?”

“1,000.”

“Okay!” Yun Ran pretended to be very excited, but she was secretly thinking, How could Jiang Musheng’s life only be worth this much money?

Yun Ran walked away with a casual pace. She didn’t walk fast and could still hear the dirty words coming from the man’s mouth. How annoying! Yun Ran kicked a small pebble on the road and continued walking, wondering where Jiang Musheng’s people were. Or at least Cecilia’s people would be fine, too.

She was thinking this when she actually saw Cecilia. Cecilia was wearing a sapphire blue puffy dress and crystal high heels. She was standing under a large banyan tree, looking very out of place in the simple environment. Yun Ran couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

Cecilia stood with her arms crossed, watching. Her subordinates were handing out eggs to the villagers, and a white megaphone next to them was shouting that there would be a cash reward for anyone who could provide information about Jiang Musheng.

Yun Ran’s heart sank. She didn’t want to go find Cecilia. She suddenly felt that if Cecilia found out she was alive, she might not make it back with Jiang Musheng. She prepared to continue walking.

Cecilia, however, had sharp eyes and called out to her from her high horse. “Hey, you, village girl! Don’t you want to get an egg?”

Yun Ran suppressed the urge to roll her eyes at her and shook her head.

Cecilia’s face showed a look of disbelief. She walked toward her. Yun Ran saw that she hadn’t recognized her, so she just stood there and waited for her to come over.

“Have you seen this person?” Cecilia took out a black and white photo. In the photo, she and Jiang Musheng were standing very close, their arms almost touching. Cecilia saw that she hadn’t said anything for a long time and was just staring at the photo. She thought she had seen Jiang Musheng and asked eagerly, “You’ve seen him, haven’t you?”

Yun Ran continued to use her soft voice and asked, “Who is she?”

“He’s my… boyfriend.”

Yun Ran said, “He doesn’t look like one.”

“He isn’t yet, but he is the person I like,” Cecilia said, grabbing her hand. “If you know where he is, please tell me. I’ll give you any amount of money you want.”

Yun Ran pulled her hand away. “I haven’t seen him.”

Cecilia’s head drooped in disappointment. Yun Ran turned around. For a moment, she felt a little pity for Cecilia, stubbornly loving someone who would probably never love her back. But mostly, she still felt a deep dislike. If it were just a love rival, she had won, but because of what happened to her father, she couldn’t forgive Cecilia.

She continued to walk. She knew that ignoring Cecilia and not taking her to Jiang Musheng was a little selfish. But she just didn’t want Jiang Musheng to owe Cecilia a favor that would be hard to repay. So she kept walking. Finally, at the fourth intersection, she saw another familiar face: Ah Biao.

Ah Biao had brought a few bodyguards in black suits and was going door to door, asking for information. Of all people, it had to be Ah Biao, who didn’t like her. But at least he was absolutely loyal to Jiang Musheng.

He’s better than Cecilia, Yun Ran thought. So she jogged over, and a few bodyguards quickly blocked her.

Yun Ran used her real voice. “It’s me, Yun Ran.”

The bodyguards and Biao, who was at the door, were all stunned. Biao walked down the steps to her and asked uncertainly, “Miss Yun?”

“Yes,” Yun Ran nodded.

A hint of pleasant surprise appeared in Biao’s eyes. “Miss Yun, you’re still alive! Does that mean Mr. Jiang is also still alive?”

“Yes. Follow me. I’ll take you to her.”

“Thank you, Miss Yun.”

Yun Ran felt a little strange. “Biao, you don’t hate me anymore?”

“No. I’ve already figured it out. You’re the person Mr. Jiang likes. I respect Mr. Jiang, and I should also respect you.”

Yun Ran said, “Thank you.”

As she led them to the old woman’s house, Yun Ran told Biao, “There are people ahead who want to harm Musheng. We might not be enough to go against them.”

“There are a lot of people with the governor’s daughter. We can ask her for help.”

“Are there no other people?”

“There are, but they’re a little far away.”

“Okay.”

Although Yun Ran was very unhappy about it, to ensure their safety, she still went with Biao to find Cecilia first.

Cecilia looked at her strangely. “Didn’t you just say you hadn’t seen Musheng?”

Yun Ran ignored her.

Yun Ran walked proudly in front of them, leading the way. The group of men from Mr. He and Mr. Li saw so many people coming and immediately retreated down a side road. When they arrived at the old woman’s house, Yun Ran knocked on the door.

Jiang Musheng had been waiting in the yard the whole time. When she heard the knock, she immediately went to the door. Through the crack, she saw the person she had been thinking about had returned. She opened the door and pulled her into a tight embrace.

“Mr. Jiang!” Ah Biao shouted happily. “It’s so good that you’re still alive.” The other bodyguards were also very happy and at the same time very envious of the scene of the two lovers embracing.

Cecilia was still completely in the dark and was very shocked. After a while, she asked in disbelief, “Musheng, do you no longer like Yun Ran and have moved on?”

Yun Ran leaned against Jiang Musheng’s chest and turned her head. “Cecilia, I am Yun Ran. You just didn’t recognize me.”

Cecilia’s blood pressure instantly shot up. She felt that Yun Ran had deliberately stopped her from helping Musheng.

Jiang Musheng let go of Yun Ran and protected her behind her. Then she said to Cecilia, “Thank you for taking the time to search for me. Ah Ran disguised herself for safety.”

“But she lied to me and said she hadn’t seen you! What if something had gone wrong…”

Yun Ran poked her head out from behind Jiang Musheng. “Cecilia, you know exactly why I did that. I was afraid you would try to harm me again.”

“You also dragged me into the sea! We’re even! You’re only bringing that up now because you don’t want me to be the first one to find Musheng!”

“Okay, both of you stop arguing,” Jiang Musheng said.

Cecilia pursed her lips in frustration. She was angry but powerless. Even if Yun Ran brought up that incident for the rest of her life, she couldn’t refute it. She had done it, she couldn’t deny it, and she wouldn’t bother to. What was done was done.

Yun Ran said objectively, “Regardless, thank you for lending a hand.”

Cecilia was stunned for a few seconds. She turned her head away proudly. “You’re welcome. I was helping Musheng, not you.”

Before they left, Jiang Musheng asked Ah Biao for some cash. She neatly stacked it and left it in the room for the old woman.

Yun Ran said, “I’m a little sad to leave this place.”

Cecilia said, “What’s there to be sad about in this broken place?”

Yun Ran said, “A rich girl like you wouldn’t understand.”

Jiang Musheng listened to them bicker. It was good to vent your emotions right away. If you held them in, they would build up and cause bigger problems later.

They finally got into the car to go back. Cecilia didn’t get in the same car as them. Yun Ran said happily, “It’s finally quiet.”

She started telling Jiang Musheng about the two bosses. Jiang Musheng said, “I didn’t care about them before, but even flies are a bother when they buzz around for too long. I’ll take care of them when we get back.”

Yun Ran asked nervously, “How will you take care of them?” She felt a little scared for some reason.

Jiang Musheng held her hand and smiled. “I’ll talk to them about the law. They’re used to being ruthless, so it’ll be easy to collect evidence of their crimes. I’ll just send them to prison.”

“I never knew you were so law-abiding.”

“What did you think?” Jiang Musheng asked, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

“I thought it would be like in those gangster movies.”

“People like that never have a good ending. I’m hoping to have a good ending.”

Yun Ran said, “Me too.”

They drove away from the small fishing village, not noticing that someone was still there, looking around the place where they had stayed for two nights. The person pushed open the unlocked gate of the old woman’s yard and immediately noticed the women’s clothes hanging out to dry in the yard. Suspicion filled their heart.

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