The Golden Cane and the Wild Rose - Chapter 45.1

Chapter 45.1

Gu Hongfei had come following Cecilia’s people. Of course, his intention was different from Cecilia’s, yet they coincided. Cecilia was looking for Jiang Musheng, and he was looking for Yun Ran. He refused to believe that Yun Ran was simply dead, just as Cecilia refused to believe that Jiang Musheng was simply dead.

When he saw the disguised Yun Ran appear in front of Cecilia, he didn’t recognize her. But he was convinced that he loved Yun Ran, at least more than Jiang Musheng did. As for why he hadn’t recognized Yun Ran, he attributed it to her superb makeup skills and exquisite acting. In short, it was definitely not because he didn’t love Yun Ran enough. He loved Yun Ran, and he always had.

He stood outside the fisherman’s house, constantly reinforcing his memory of the place. He stood there until evening, when the owner, the old woman, returned from fishing with her boat.

“Young man, what are you doing standing in front of my house?” the old woman asked, holding a metal bucket and a fishing net. Inside the net, many small fish were struggling and jumping around.

Gu Hongfei was brought back to his senses by the old woman’s question. He carefully asked, “It seems two of my friends stayed here for the night.”

The old woman looked at him warily and asked, “Did they leave?”

Gu Hongfei nodded.

“Then why don’t you leave?”

Gu Hongfei pulled out the excuse he had prepared. “They asked me to stay behind to thank you and to give you some compensation for taking them in.”

At this point, he still couldn’t be sure if it was two men or a man and a woman. He took out all the money he had, a small stack that wasn’t much to him but should be a lot to the old woman in front of him. The old woman just glanced at it and didn’t show much interest in the money in his hand.

Gu Hongfei smiled and said, “Ma’am, I’ve been waiting outside for a long time. Can I come in and have a drink of water?”

The old woman looked at him, opened the door, and said, “Come in.”

Gu Hongfei politely nodded and followed the old woman inside. As he walked through the yard, he didn’t follow the old woman into the house. Instead, he stood under the eaves and looked at a set of women’s clothes hanging on a bamboo pole suspended from an iron hook. It was a red polka-dot shirt and red shorts.

He recalled the green dress Yun Ran had been wearing. The set hanging on the pole was the same style. Was this set Yun Ran’s too? No. Was it Jiang Musheng’s? He closed his eyes and carefully recalled Jiang Musheng’s attire when he left. It was his usual suit and trousers, but he was wearing a pair of old slippers instead of leather shoes. So it must have been Jiang Musheng’s clothes, items he had changed and washed while staying here. He didn’t know if it was because the old woman’s house didn’t have men’s clothes or because Jiang Musheng’s gender was a hidden secret to begin with.

He then carefully recalled Jiang Musheng’s face. His skin was as pale as a vampire’s, and his features were overly delicate, like a man with a feminine appearance. Is it possible that he is a woman? If Jiang Musheng was a woman, it would make sense that he had no girlfriend for so many years and that society had spread rumors about him being impotent.

But what about Yun Ran? Why would Yun Ran choose to continue being with Jiang Musheng? Did she have some kind of agreement with Jiang Musheng for money? Was there no real love between them? When Gu Hongfei thought of this, he felt a flicker of excitement in his heart, as if he had a new hope and possibility.

However, same-sex relationships among women were not uncommon now, especially in all-girls high schools and universities. Gu Hongfei felt as if he had been struck by a bolt from the blue. If Jiang Musheng really was a woman, what was the nature of the relationship between Yun Ran and Jiang Musheng?

The old woman didn’t pay attention to Gu Hongfei at first. She just put her bucket down by the well, threw the fishing net on the ground, washed her hands, and went into the house. She first went back to her room and saw that the wooden box where she kept her clothes had been disturbed. She opened the box and saw that nothing was missing. She unintentionally glanced at her bed and found a thick stack of money under her pillow. She instantly understood. The two young women had left it for her when they left. They must have left safely. So the person squatting outside her house must have another motive.

The old woman came out of her room and went to check the other room. There was a red dress left on the bed. It was left behind by the younger of the two women. She thought for a moment. She felt that she needed to find a way to send a message to the two women. So she took the red dress from the bed, draped it over her arm, and went out.

“Young man, what are you looking at?” the old woman asked as she came out of the house.

“Nothing.” Gu Hongfei pulled his gaze away from the clothes hanging overhead. He sorted out his chaotic thoughts for a moment and pointed at the clothes. “Are these the clothes my friend wore here?”

“No, my daughter wore them.”

“You have a daughter?”

“I do. You don’t need to worry about my daughter’s clothes. Your friend left this dress behind. It looks expensive. Do you want to take it back to her?”

“That would be great.” Gu Hongfei took the red dress. Based on the length and size of the dress, it was undoubtedly Yun Ran’s. He didn’t think there was any other meaning behind the old woman’s actions. All he was thinking was that it was a good excuse to go find Yun Ran. He could take the opportunity to see what she had to say and confirm the questions in his heart.

Before he left, he left the money behind. To not reveal her intentions, the old woman had no choice but to accept it.

The first thing Yun Ran did when she returned to the villa was to take a shower. Although she wasn’t a neat freak, being covered in dirt and mud made her very uncomfortable. Cecilia had also returned to the Jiang family’s villa. Yun Ran glanced at her but didn’t say anything and went upstairs to take a shower. Cecilia muttered in her heart, She obviously doesn’t want me to stay, so why is she pretending to be so generous?

After Jiang Musheng entered the house, he called Zheng Hangyi to tell him that he had returned safely. Zheng Hangyi on the other end of the line was very excited. “Really? I’m not dreaming, am I? It’s not your ghost talking to me?” Although Zheng Hangyi was being a little dramatic, Jiang Musheng was still very moved by his friend’s actions. He said, “Come over. We’ll have dinner together tonight.”

Then, he found a pager and sent a text message to Xueyu.

Big brother and sister-in-law have returned home safely, don’t worry.

Xueyu was in class. When she saw the message, she was so excited that she immediately stood up and asked the teacher for a leave of absence. She took Alan and left school early. At this moment, she was eager to return home. After informing his friends and sister, Jiang Musheng finally had time to deal with Cecilia.

Cecilia’s big blue eyes were filled with tears as she looked at him with deep affection. He couldn’t pretend not to see her. “Cecilia, let’s talk.”

“Okay,” Cecilia said with a smile. Her lips trembled with excitement. Although she didn’t know what Musheng wanted to talk about or if the topic was good or bad for her, it didn’t matter. At least at this moment, she was happy.

Jiang Musheng said solemnly, “Cecilia, thank you for your help this time.”

“You don’t need to thank me. I love you, Jiang Musheng. I’m willing to do anything for you.”

Jiang Musheng smiled. “The scope of ‘anything’ is too broad, Cecilia. You don’t need to say things like that to please me.”

“But I really am willing!”

Jiang Musheng looked at her with a serious gaze. “Cecilia, you should give up. I only like Ah Ran. You know this.”

“I know, but Jiang Musheng, I can wait!”

“Wait for what?”

“Wait for the day you get tired of Yun Ran. It’s in a man’s nature to not love just one woman forever. I’m willing to wait.”

Jiang Musheng said, “Cecilia, you’re just blinded by temporary passion. You’re the governor’s daughter, and you’ve probably never faced any romantic setbacks before you met me, have you?”

“Never. But what does that matter?”

“Maybe you don’t love me. Maybe you just don’t like to lose. Your desire to win is getting the best of you. You don’t want to lose to Ah Ran.”

“If I had accepted you from the very beginning, you might have thought I wasn’t that special.”

“Those are all your guesses, Jiang Musheng. You can’t just imagine things about me. It’s not fair to me!”

“I’m sorry,” Jiang Musheng said. “I don’t like you, and I probably never will. And I’m almost certain that one day in the future, you will regret liking me and saying you love me.”

“I will never regret it! Musheng, just you wait and see!”

Cecilia stood up angrily and rushed out of the door. She didn’t understand what made her so inferior to Yun Ran. She also didn’t understand what she had done wrong to make Musheng question her love for him! Everyone in Hong Kong knew that she loved him. Everyone knew that the governor’s daughter was in love with Jiang Musheng. Everyone believed her love, except for Jiang Musheng, the one she loved with all her heart! Why didn’t Musheng believe her?

Cecilia got into her car, pushed the driver into the passenger seat, and drove off wildly, venting her anger at not being trusted.

Zheng Hangyi was on his way up the mountain to see Jiang Musheng and have dinner with him when he almost crashed into Cecilia’s car. Both cars swerved to the side, one towards the mountain and one towards the cliff. There was a thin railing on the edge of the cliff, which was useless to anyone. If they didn’t hit the brakes, they would surely go over.

The driver in the passenger seat was terrified and held his head in his hands. Cecilia was even more furious. She gripped the steering wheel and started cursing, “Which commoner is so reckless? How dare they try to hit my car?”

Zheng Hangyi was also fuming, but when he heard that somewhat familiar voice, his anger subsided a little. He just felt that the word “commoner” was fresh and harsh. He got out of his car, walked in front of Cecilia’s car, and pointed at himself. “Where did the governor’s daughter learn the word ‘commoner’?”

Cecilia was stunned for a moment. Her fury was swept away like by a fire extinguisher. She “hmphed” and turned her head away. After much effort, both of their cars were back on track. Cecilia then said to Zheng Hangyi, “I learned it from a novel. I was trying to understand your Chinese culture. What? Was it wrong?”

Zheng Hangyi said, “It’s not good. Those two words are vulgar and rude. You should find a proper teacher to learn from.”

Cecilia’s face darkened. She bit her lip resentfully. “I know. I’ll never read those crappy books again.”

Zheng Hangyi warned her, “Drive carefully. Don’t lose your life before you even get Musheng.”

“I know.”

Zheng Hangyi moved out of the way, and Cecilia sped off. When he got back in his car, the driver reminded him, “Mr. Zheng, you’re bleeding on your forehead.”

Zheng Hangyi looked in the small mirror and said mockingly, “I came to celebrate Musheng’s return, and I ended up getting into an accident myself.” The driver said, “I’ll clean your wound for you.”

“It’s fine. I’ll just wipe it with my handkerchief. Keep driving.”

The driver had no choice but to listen and continued driving.

Yun Ran finished her shower and changed her clothes. When she came downstairs, she saw Jiang Musheng sitting alone on the sofa, reading a newspaper. She quietly walked over, wanting to scare Jiang Musheng. Unexpectedly, just as she was about to make a sound, Jiang Musheng reached out and put her arm around her waist. She automatically fell back and sat on her lap, her face instantly heating up.

“I never realized you were so mischievous.”

Jiang Musheng smiled and handed her the newspaper she was just reading. “Ah Ran, look. Everyone thinks I died for you.”

Yun Ran read the article and said angrily, “Nonsense.”

Jiang Musheng said, “If I hadn’t saved you, it wouldn’t have been much different from a lovers’ suicide.”

When Yun Ran heard this, she felt a mix of emotions: a sweet feeling and a sense of bad luck. She raised her hand and covered Jiang Musheng’s mouth, not letting her say any more. She busied herself trying to find another topic. She looked down, kicked off her shoes, and gently stepped on Jiang Musheng’s feet. “Why are you still wearing the old woman’s slippers? Didn’t anyone remind you to change?”

Jiang Musheng shook her head.

“Looks like no one dared to.”

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