Chapter 13
During this time, Jin Xin had also started school, but she didn’t go to school every day, and it seemed like she wasn’t very interested in studying. One time, during a unit test, Jiang Mu heard that Jin Xin had only scored 36 in math. Although her own math wasn’t great, in comparison, she still considered herself a math genius. At least, when she was Jin Xin’s age, she could score full marks.
At first, Jiang Mu thought that perhaps this little girl had a natural disadvantage and just couldn’t grasp things. But soon, she realized that wasn’t the case. Whenever Jiang Mu wasn’t home, Jin Xin would fiddle with the learning machine, but whenever Jiang Mu was around, the little girl would deliberately throw the machine on the ground. Sometimes when Jiang Mu bought food, she would buy an extra portion for Jin Xin, but the girl didn’t appreciate it and kept to herself. Adhering to the principle of “minds their own business,” Jiang Mu usually just ignored her and eventually stopped making any effort to interact with her.
As for Jin Chao, he had originally planned to talk to Jiang Mu, but an urgent matter delayed him. Before he could “break up the couple,” Tonggang was hit by a sudden, heavy downpour.
It was a Saturday, and the school had let out earlier than usual. Jin Qiang hadn’t finished work yet, and shortly after Jiang Mu arrived home, Zhao Meijuan received a call and said she had to go out for a while.
Soon, a series of dazzling lightning bolts lit up the night sky outside. Jiang Mu, sitting at her desk, jumped in surprise. As she looked up, the thunder roared, sending a chill down her spine. She was afraid of thunder. Ever since that stormy night when she was nine years old and her father took Jin Chao and left the house, she had always felt uneasy during such wild weather.
But soon, Jiang Mu remembered that Jin Xin was still at home. She threw her pen down and opened the door. The living room had a small light on, but Jin Xin was nowhere to be seen. She called out twice, but no one responded. She ran to the kitchen to search, and when she came out, she saw Jin Xin curled up under the dining table, hugging her knees. Although the girl was a bit strange, seeing her huddled like that under the table made Jiang Mu feel a bit soft-hearted. She walked over to Jin Xin and said, “Don’t be scared. Come out.”
Just as she was about to bend down, she caught a glimpse of the learning tablet on the table. The screen was on, showing questions she had passed. Usually, every correct answer would reward stars, and then unlock interesting mini-games.
Interestingly, Jin Xin, who couldn’t even calculate 4 plus 7, could pass the twelfth level in the question bank of the second semester of the second grade. Jiang Mu looked at the questions on the screen that were still counting down in shock, pulled Jin Xin out from under the table, pointed at the learning tablet, and asked, “Did you do these questions?”
Jin Xin suddenly picked up the learning tablet in horror and smashed it against the wall when Jiang Mu was unprepared. With a “bang”, the learning tablet fell to the ground, and the screen shattered. Jiang Mu asked unreasonably, “What are you doing?”
Jin Xin turned around and was about to run, and Jiang Mu got angry, grabbed her arm, pressed Jin Xin’s shoulder with his hand, and asked in a low voice, “You obviously know those questions? Why do you pretend not to know? Why don’t you take the exam well? Why don’t you want to go to school? “
Jin Xin ignored Jiang Mu’s questioning and began to struggle hard. The 8-year-old girl already had some strength and Jiang Mu’s physical fitness was not very good. Soon she was sweating all over. Jin Xin’s nails scratched her hands with blood. Jiang Mu’s lower abdomen spasmed and yelled at her, “Does your mother know you are like this? I’ll tell her later.”
Hearing Jiang Mu mention Zhao Meijuan, Jin Xin’s eyes burst into a creepy light. She raised her right foot and stepped hard on Jiang Mu’s instep. Jiang Mu screamed in pain. Jin Xin broke free from her and ran into the room, slamming the door shut.
Jiang Mu limped to the door and turned the doorknob. The door was locked from the inside by Jin Xin. She knocked hard on the door and shouted to Jin Xin, “Don’t hide, come out.”
Jiang Mu knocked on the door for a long time, but Jin Xin didn’t respond. A surge of frustration and anger shot through her, and her body weakened. She leaned against the wall, feeling an overwhelming sensation flood her lower body, and staggered to the bathroom to quickly take care of herself. In a hurry, she returned to her room, grabbed her phone and keys, and grabbed an umbrella. She dashed out into the heavy rain, heading straight for a nearby convenience store.
The wind howled, and the umbrella flipped several times as the wind pushed against it. The signs along the streets became blurred as the rain poured down, and Jiang Mu, who had mild myopia, found it difficult to see clearly on the dark stormy night. Though it usually didn’t affect her daily life, it made it harder to navigate through the heavy rain now.
She didn’t care about the wet clothes clinging to her, running almost the entire way. After searching for over ten minutes, she finally found the convenience store. She quickly bought what she needed, but seeing the rain show no signs of letting up, she stood by the door, clutching her increasingly painful abdomen, hesitating for another few minutes. With a deep breath, she braved the downpour and made her way back.
When Jiang Mu returned to the community, she saw two police cars and a fire truck parked in the area. Many people were standing in the rain, and she had no idea what had happened. She walked to the building where Jin Xin and her father, Jin Qiang, lived. As she approached, she was shocked to see a yellow police line cordoning off the area. Her heart sank, and suddenly, she heard a familiar, heart-wrenching voice cry out, “You’re going to kill me!”
Following the sound, Jiang Mu looked up and saw two police officers holding back the almost frantic Zhao Meijuan. Everyone was looking up at the building. Jiang Mu lifted her umbrella and also looked up. The sight made her drop both the umbrella and plastic bag from her hands. On the fifth-floor balcony, she saw a small figure standing outside in the pouring rain. Jing Xin’s heels were completely exposed, and only her hands were still gripping the edge of the balcony. With the relentless rain and strong winds, Jing Xin was at risk of falling from the fifth floor at any moment.
Jiang Mu felt a rush of blood to her head in an instant. She pushed through the crowd and rushed inside, but was stopped by police officers blocking the area near Zhao Meijuan. Her eyes were filled with extreme fear as she stared at the small figure. Several firefighters had already rushed up to the neighboring building, trying to climb over the balcony to rescue Jing Xin.
Another group of firefighters had set up a life-saving air cushion on the ground. The chaotic scene, the torrential rain, the screams, the frantic voices of the police and firefighters directing the scene, and the approaching ambulance all made Jiang Mu feel dizzy.
She almost held her breath as she watched the scene unfold. One firefighter, wearing a safety harness, climbed out onto the neighbor’s balcony. Just as he was about to reach Jing Xin, in that one second, a figure suddenly fell from a high altitude. The surrounding people screamed, and Jiang Mu felt everything go dark, her heartbeat stopping, and the whole world seemed to go black.
Soon after, Zhao Meijuan broke free from the police and rushed forward. Many people gathered around the air cushion, some shouting for doctors, some calling for family members. A group of people in white coats rushed into the crowd, and the police used loudspeakers to disperse people. A small body was carried on a stretcher, rushing towards the ambulance, with a doctor shouting, “Family members, follow us.”
Jiang Mu didn’t know how she ended up following Zhao Meijuan into the ambulance. The whole journey felt like a blur. She had never experienced anything like this before; or rather, she had only seen such things on the news. She had never witnessed a living person fall from a building right in front of her. Her heart was racing uncontrollably, overwhelmed by fear and shock. It felt like something heavy was constantly pounding in her mind, and everything around her looked blurry.
Jing Qiang had received the news and arrived at Tonggang First Hospital almost simultaneously with the ambulance. As soon as Jing Xin was carried in, Jing Qiang and Zhao Meijuan rushed into the hospital with the doctors, and Jiang Mu followed behind. Her legs were shaking so much that she stumbled on the stairs, but quickly got up and continued to follow them.
Jing Xin fell onto the air mattress, unconscious. As soon as they arrived at the hospital, she was immediately taken for an examination. The doctor asked them to arrange for a family member to handle the paperwork while the rest had to wait outside.
Jing Qiang quickly ran downstairs. In the hallway, many nurses and other patients, unaware of what had happened, were peering out. Zhao Meijuan was blocked from entering and was crying out of frustration and worry.
Jiang Mu stood a few steps away from her, rainwater dripping off her body and pooling at her feet. She, too, was in a state of panic, staring at the door of the emergency room.
It was then that Zhao Meijuan seemed to remember something suddenly. She whirled around, glaring at Jiang Mu with anger, then walked a few steps toward her, stopping right in front of her, demanding, “Why did you leave Xin Xin alone at home? Where did you go?”
Where did she go? She couldn’t possibly tell Zhao Meijuan in front of so many people that she had gone to buy sanitary pads. But her brief silence only fueled Zhao Meijuan’s anger further. She shouted at the top of her voice, “Did you go meet that boy? Going out in the middle of the night, don’t you have any shame? If anything happens to Xin Xin, you better get lost!”
Countless strange stares felt like slaps across Jiang Mu’s face. She couldn’t even register what Zhao Meijuan was rambling about anymore. The only thing she could feel was that the lights in the hallway seemed to be flickering. Her mind was consumed by a single thought that she wanted to leave, immediately. She wanted to buy a ticket and leave this place. She wanted to return to Suzhou, even though there was no family left there. She didn’t want to stay here, not for another second, minute, or hour.
A figure hurriedly approached from the end of the corridor. Zhao Meijuan, seeing that Jiang Mu still hadn’t responded, finally reached her breaking point. She raised her hand and forcefully pushed her back. Jiang Mu’s legs gave out, and with no strength to resist, her body crashed uncontrollably against the wall. In an instant, a figure flashed, and Jiang Mu’s back collided with a firm arm. She looked up to see Jin Chao, holding a black umbrella, his brows furrowed. He pulled Jiang Mu to one side, stepped forward, and addressed Zhao Meijuan coldly, “Enough. How is Xin Xin?”
Zhao Meijuan cried uncontrollably, repeatedly recounting the details of Jing Xin’s suicide attempt, saying that if anything happened to her, she wouldn’t want to live anymore. Jin Chao’s expression was grim, his eyes dark with a frightening intensity that Jiang Mu had never seen before. It was terrifying, and she instinctively shrank back, not daring to approach him.
Not long after, Jin Qiang returned after completing the paperwork, and Jing Xin was transferred to a regular ward. After leaving the ward, Jin Qiang and Jin Chao went to the doctor’s office, and Jiang Mu followed behind them, stopping at the door of the office. She overheard the doctor saying that the child’s life was not in danger, but she had suffered a significant shock during the fall, which caused her to lose consciousness briefly. Now, she had regained consciousness, though her right index finger had a slight fracture, which had already been treated. The main concern was that the child’s emotions were unstable, and the family needed to provide more comfort and reassurance.
When Jin Qiang and Jin Chao came out of the office, Jiang Mu was standing near the wall a little further away, the dim light above her casting a soft glow. Perhaps it was because she was drenched from the rain, but she seemed fragile, like a piece of paper that could be blown away by the wind at any moment.
Jin Qiang sighed and said to Jin Chao, “She must have been deeply scared. You take Mu Mu home first.”
He then walked up to Jiang Mu, patted her on the shoulder, and said, “You should go home first. There’s nothing more to worry about here.”
Jin Qiang finished giving his instructions and returned to the ward. Jiang Mu kept her head lowered, and a shadow fell in front of her, blocking the light from the corridor. She could feel the warmth radiating from Jin Chao, but she didn’t have the courage to look up.
When he stepped closer, Jin Chao noticed how pale her face was, and how her arms, wrapped around her body, were still trembling slightly. He asked her, “Are you cold?”
She didn’t respond. He then said, “Come with me.”
She still didn’t move.
He turned and began walking away, and the warmth he had given her faded. In a panic, she turned her head to look at him. After a few steps, he stopped and turned back to look at her. The empty corridor, the silent night, his eyes were devoid of warmth. They were hollow, cold, and dark.