The Golden Cane and the Wild Rose - Chapter 45.2

Chapter 45.2

Jiang Musheng smiled. “I forgot myself. They’re more comfortable than leather shoes.”

“Do you want to go back?” Yun Ran asked, wrapping her arms around her neck. The two of them were intimately snuggled together.

It was at this moment that Zheng Hangyi walked into the living room. He opened his mouth in surprise but didn’t make a sound. His forward steps also stopped. Is this still the Musheng he knew? He couldn’t bear to look. He raised his hand to cover his eyes and continued to walk forward, his leather shoes making a “clack-clack” sound. He also cleared his throat.

Yun Ran and Jiang Musheng heard him and naturally separated.

Jiang Musheng said, “You came so fast. Dinner isn’t ready yet, and Xueyu hasn’t gotten out of school either.”

Zheng Hangyi lowered his hand from his eyes. He saw that they had separated and sat down on the sofa across from them, saying indignantly, “I was in a hurry to come see you! I almost died on the way!”

“What happened?” Jiang Musheng asked, getting up to pour a glass of water for his friend.

Zheng Hangyi drank the water in one gulp. “Don’t even get me started. It must be because of you. Did you give Cecilia a scolding? She was driving so recklessly down the mountain.”

Yun Ran and Zheng Hangyi both stared at Jiang Musheng.

“I just formally rejected her again.”

“No wonder,” Zheng Hangyi said. “I don’t know what kind of spell you cast on Cecilia to make her think that she can’t live without you.”

Jiang Musheng just shook his head slightly.

Yun Ran asked, “Is Mr. Zheng speaking up for Cecilia?”

“I wouldn’t say I’m speaking up for her. I just think it’s rare for someone to like another person so much.”

Yun Ran said thoughtfully, “If Mr. Zheng feels so sorry for her, why don’t you try to win over the governor’s daughter yourself?”

Zheng Hangyi shot up like a firecracker. “Why me? I’m not your love security guard.”

Yun Ran said with a laugh, “I was just joking, Mr. Zheng.”

Zheng Hangyi was a little embarrassed. He sat back down and said, “Musheng, why don’t you control her?”

Jiang Musheng said, “Ah Ran just got her life back. Go easy on her.”

Zheng Hangyi was not convinced. He pointed to the small, no longer bleeding wound on his forehead. “I almost had a crash with Cecilia, too!”

Yun Ran still found it funny. She spoke to him as if he were Jiang Musheng’s younger brother. “Okay, it’s my fault. I apologize, Mr. Zheng.”

“No need to apologize,” Zheng Hangyi said, calming down. He turned his face to look at the living room. Just then, Xue Yu ran in. She was like a gentle whirlwind that went around him and floated in front of Jiang Musheng, saying in surprise, “Big brother, you really came back!” She wanted to hug her brother, but she was afraid he was injured and didn’t dare to move.

Jiang Musheng patted her head. “I’m fine. Did you leave early?”

“I asked the teacher for a leave of absence. You can’t accuse me unfairly.”

“Okay.”

With everyone together, Alan stood behind the sofa. In addition to the happy and relieved expression on her face, there seemed to be something else she couldn’t say. Jiang Musheng noticed the girl he had personally selected to protect Xueyu. “Alan, is there something you need to say?”

Alan hesitated, not knowing if she should say it at a time when her mistress was reuniting with her family.

“Just say it, Alan. Don’t delay anything important,” Yun Ran encouraged her. If Jiang Musheng hadn’t noticed first, she wouldn’t have noticed these things.

“Did something happen to you?” Xueyu turned around and asked worriedly.

Alan lowered her head and said, “I’m fine. My mother passed away. I wanted to ask if I could take a few days off to attend the funeral.”

Xueyu said, “Of course you can! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

Alan didn’t say anything. The people who were with Xueyu understood. It was because Jiang Musheng’s life was uncertain in the previous two days that Alan was afraid of anything else happening and didn’t dare to leave Xueyu.

Jiang Musheng said, “Permission granted. Is half a month enough?”

Alan said, “Half a month isn’t necessary. A week is enough.”

Xueyu said, “Consider the rest of the time a vacation. Just do what you want to do.”

“But what about the mistress’s safety…”

Jiang Musheng said, “I’ll arrange for others to protect Xueyu.” He saw the worry in Alan’s eyes and added, “When you come back, you’ll still be protecting Xueyu as usual.”

The worry in Alan’s eyes finally faded. Jiang Musheng said, “Go pack your things and go back. You can drive, so I’ll get a car for you to drive back.”

“Thank you, Mr. Jiang.”

That night, Alan left the villa. No one immediately replaced Alan. Xue Yu was safe at home and didn’t need to be constantly followed, but Xueyu had gotten used to Alan being by her side. Jiang Musheng made arrangements overnight but couldn’t find a suitable female bodyguard. He didn’t trust someone too unfamiliar, so he had Biao temporarily protect Xueyu. Of course, it wasn’t as close of a protection as Alan’s. For example, when Xueyu went to the school bathroom, Biao, as a man, couldn’t go in, so he stood at the door with a fierce expression, scaring the other girls from going in. It caused a lot of funny moments, but at least they didn’t have to worry about safety.

But sometimes in class, Xueyu would get distracted. When she wanted to pass a note to Alan to chat, she would realize that the person next to her wasn’t Alan. She would sadly take the note back and continue listening to the lecture.

Yun Ran also went to school as usual. Her few Irish friends welcomed her back and would pester her during breaks to tell them about her experience in the fishing village. Of course, she couldn’t tell them everything, so she told them a modified version of the story. The Irish girls listened with tears in their eyes.

After class on Friday, Yun Ran packed her bag and was about to go home when a hand grabbed hers as she walked out of the classroom. It was Jiang Musheng.

“How did you get in here?” She was very surprised that Jiang Musheng had come so far into the school.

Jiang Musheng said, “I had some things to talk about with the principal, and I came to check on your classes at the same time.”

It was only then that Yun Ran realized the principal was also next to him. She immediately became nervous. The students in the class were also peeking out or standing by the doors and windows to watch openly.

Jiang Musheng saw the situation and said, “Principal, we’ll be going now. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye, Mr. Jiang.” The principal smiled and saw them off. Of course, he had to smile when he was seeing off a benefactor.

After they left the school gates and got into the car to go home, Yun Ran couldn’t hold back and asked Jiang Musheng why he was at the school.

Jiang Musheng said, “Something worth celebrating happened today.”

“What is it?” Yun Ran asked, blinking her eyes.

“You’ve received your permit to own a gun, as long as you pass the exam.” He left out the part about him setting up a high-value scholarship at the university.

“Really?” She had been looking forward to learning how to shoot for a long time.

“Yes. I’ll teach you personally tomorrow.”

“But I want to learn now,” Yun Ran said, already impatient and eager to try.

Jiang Musheng said, “Okay.”

At this time, it was almost past the time when the shooting range was available for practice. But it wasn’t a big deal for Jiang Musheng to ask the governor to make an exception. The only awkward thing was that ten minutes after they arrived at the shooting range, Cecilia also showed up.

Yun Ran had just learned how to identify different types of guns and how to disassemble and assemble them and load bullets.

Cecilia fired a shot from the other side of the training range. Through the camouflage netting, it was blurry, but they could still see who it was. The gunshot echoed on their side. Yun Ran caught a glimpse of Cecilia’s valiant figure with the gun, and her desire to learn how to shoot grew even stronger.

Jiang Musheng was also a good teacher. He patiently taught her to keep her stance steady and her shoulders level to maintain her stability and balance. This was very difficult for someone who had never trained before. Fortunately, Jiang Musheng was standing behind her, guiding her hands.

From Cecilia’s perspective, Yun Ran was just leaning against Musheng. They were supposed to be practicing shooting, so why were they so intimate? Was Yun Ran deliberately provoking her, doing it for her to see? Cecilia’s heart ached. She fired two shots in a row, determined to break the flirtatious atmosphere between the two of them.

Yun Ran didn’t know what Cecilia was thinking. She was still not used to the sound of gunshots, and her first reaction was fear, which made her distracted.

“Don’t be afraid.”

“Okay.”

Cecilia kept firing shots from her side. Jiang Musheng simply stopped and listened with her. “Ah Ran, get used to the sound of gunshots first.”

After hearing it many times, Yun Ran was no longer as afraid. Cecilia’s arm was sore from shooting, so she took a break. Yun Ran continued her practice. Perhaps she was afraid of a sudden gunshot from the other side, so Yun Ran would glance over from time to time.

Jiang Musheng noticed and leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Ah Ran, focus. Only with focus can you improve your shooting accuracy and kill the enemy with one shot.”

Yun Ran closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and said, “Musheng, I’m ready.”

“Aim!” Jiang Musheng reminded her.

Yun Ran aimed with her right eye, and Jiang Musheng moved her hand. She also kept adjusting.

“Ready…”

With a “bang,” the bullet left the gun and shot out, hitting the bullseye!

“I hit it!” Yun Ran was so excited she wanted to jump. Although the shot wasn’t entirely her own, she was still very happy.

Just as she was about to try to fire a shot on her own, Jiang Musheng stopped her and said, “We’ll come back tomorrow.”

“Is that all for today?” Yun Ran was a little confused.

“Yes. Today, you just need to understand the basic knowledge and remember the feeling of victory.”

Yun Ran said, “Okay!”

She felt like she had mastered the mindset. It wasn’t that difficult. It was just that the moment the bullet shot out of the gun, her hand was a little sore and numb.

They left without any warning. Cecilia was so focused on venting her frustration by shooting on the other side of the camouflage netting that she didn’t even notice them leaving. When she did, she walked over and looked at the target Yun Ran had shot. She said in disbelief, “It’s impossible. This is impossible!” How could a beginner hit the bullseye with one shot?

After they left the shooting range, Jiang Musheng asked Yun Ran if she was hungry.

Yun Ran said, “A little. I wonder if Xueyu saved us any dinner.”

Jiang Musheng smiled and said, “We’ll eat out today.”

“Okay.”

Yun Ran took Jiang Musheng to a restaurant that a few of her Irish friends had recommended. It was a fusion restaurant that combined Chinese and Western cuisines.

“I really like the lobster linguine at this restaurant, and I want you to try it, too.”

Jiang Musheng said with a smile, “Okay.”

“The stir-fried beef ho fun is also very delicious.”

Jiang Musheng still said okay and told the driver to drive to the restaurant Yun Ran wanted to go to. As the driver was driving, he suddenly said at a red light, “Mr. Jiang, it looks like there’s a car that’s been following us for a while. It might be dangerous. I’ll call some of the other guys to come over.”

Jiang Musheng nodded. Yun Ran asked worriedly, “Is it possible that you sent those two bosses to prison after you returned, and their men are seeking revenge?”

“That’s a possibility.”

Yun Ran looked back nervously. The night in Hong Kong was full of lights and colors. The light had a hazy, blurry quality to it. Through the blur, she saw Gu Hongfei’s face.

“Turn around and see if that’s the car that’s following us,” Yun Ran asked the driver.

The driver said, “Yes. It’s been following us for a while.”

Jiang Musheng also looked back. It was Gu Hongfei, and he was alone in the car.

Yun Ran said to Jiang Musheng, “He’s probably here to find me. He might have something to say to me.”

Jiang Musheng nodded slightly. Yun Ran didn’t say anything else. She couldn’t think of anything important that Gu Hongfei would need to talk to her about. In her opinion, since they had already broken up, they shouldn’t have any more contact to avoid any unnecessary problems. She turned her head and looked at Jiang Musheng several times. She leaned in and whispered, “Musheng, you’re not jealous of Gu Hongfei now, are you?”

“Do you want to talk to him alone?”

“No.”

When they arrived at the restaurant, the driver stopped the car and asked, “Mr. Jiang, if that man gets out of his car, should I stop him?”

Jiang Musheng said, “No.”

Yun Ran didn’t know exactly what Jiang Musheng was thinking, but her conscience was clear. However, as she held Jiang Musheng’s arm and walked up the stairs, she still explained, “I’ve never liked him.”

Jiang Musheng patted her hand reassuringly. “I know.”

Gu Hongfei also got out of his car. Through the glass, he saw the intimate little actions between the two of them. He couldn’t help but clench his fist. The boxed gift in his hand fell to the ground. He picked it up, dusted it off, and walked into the restaurant, walking up the same stairs they had just walked up.

Jiang Musheng and Yun Ran found a table by the window and sat down. Yun Ran’s back was to the staircase, but Jiang Musheng was facing it. She could see Gu Hongfei walking towards them with a gift box wrapped in a red ribbon. He followed them all this way just to give Yun Ran a gift in front of her? Jiang Musheng felt that something was strange.

Gu Hongfei met her gaze and suddenly stopped walking. He stood there and slowly untied the ribbon, opened the gift box, and took out a red dress. Jiang Musheng’s deep, calm eyes wavered. In Gu Hongfei’s hand was the dress that Yun Ran had been wearing when she fell into the water.

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