Chapter 6
Jiang Mu looked at the figure downstairs, a thin layer of sweat forming in her palms. She felt a little excited, though she wasn’t sure why. She turned around, grabbed a loose oversized T-shirt from the wardrobe she had tidied up earlier that day, slipped it on, and then quietly opened her room door. The living room was dark. She walked quietly to the front door, opened it, and gently closed it behind her.
The moment the door clicked shut, an unexpected sense of excitement surged within Jiang Mu, so much so that her steps quickened, almost as if she were running down the stairs. It reminded her of when she was younger and her brother secretly took her to a faraway model shop to race remote-controlled cars against others. She had found that thrilling back then.
Before Jiang Mu even appeared, Jin Chao, standing at the entrance of the building, had already heard her light footsteps. When her steps reached the first floor, he stubbed out his cigarette.
However, Jiang Mu stopped at the corner of the second floor, and in an attempt to appear calm, she fixed her hair before stepping into Jin Chao’s view. His bright eyes shone in the darkness of the building, landing on her face, which she was trying to steady, lingering for a moment before he turned around and smiled slightly.
Jiang Mu followed him and asked, “Where are we going?”
“Aren’t you hungry?” he replied.
“Uh, are we going for some late-night snacks?”
“Otherwise? Going ghost hunting?”
“……”
Jiang Mu kept a step behind him, watching as his clothes had changed, now dressed entirely in black, a black T-shirt and black pants. His tall figure, walking through the night, resembled a dark boss. She mirrored his movements, always staying in his shadow. When he turned left, she did too, almost as if the shadow surrounding her brought an inexplicable sense of security.
It wasn’t until they exited the neighborhood that Jin Chao suddenly stopped and turned around to ask, “What are you hopping around behind me for?”
Jiang Mu quickly halted her steps and looked up at him. It was then that she realized just how tall Jin Chao really was. She barely reached his chest. If she didn’t already know that they weren’t related by blood, she might have doubted if her genes were somehow off.
She then quickly came up with an excuse, “Aren’t we going for a late-night snack? I thought I’d walk a bit so I could eat more later.”
Jin Chao smirked, his lips curling upward. That expression was unfamiliar to Jiang Mu. If it wasn’t Jin Chao in front of her, she would have likely been scared by such a devil-may-care look. But somehow, on him, it looked strangely cool.
Just as he turned away, Jiang Mu caught the smell of alcohol on him. He was walking across the street, his long legs covering a lot of ground with just a few strides. Jiang Mu quickly caught up and asked, “Have you been drinking?”
“Hmm.”
“Do you drink often?”
As soon as her words left her mouth, a car headlight suddenly flashed toward them. Jiang Mu’s arm was yanked forward with powerful force. Still shaken, she turned her head to see the speeding car behind her, and heard Jin Chao’s deep voice say, “You’re grown up now, but you still don’t know to look out for cars when crossing the street?”
His hand was rough and strong, like a burning iron pressing into her elbow, and the scent of alcohol on him was even stronger, mingling with a wild, masculine energy. Despite having been led by Jin Chao from the moment she could walk, through kindergarten and elementary school, right now, with his hand gripping hers, it felt completely unfamiliar. This kind of physical contact made Jiang Mu instinctively pull her elbow back.
Her sudden movement was so intense that even Jin Chao paused for a moment.
Since her mother had shared the past with Jiang Mu, her feelings towards Jin Chao had subtly shifted. She could no longer fully regard him as the brother she grew up with. Every tiny sense of unfamiliarity reminded her that they shared different bloodlines.
To cover up her overly dramatic reaction, Jiang Mu took the lead and walked ahead quickly, her shoulder-length hair fluttering behind her. It wasn’t until a few minutes later that she realized something was wrong. When she turned around, she saw that Jin Chao was still standing by the roadside, his hands in his pockets, calmly watching her. Just as she turned, he raised an eyebrow with a hint of amusement in his eyes. “Do you know where to go?”
“No.”
“Then why are you leading the way? This way.”
After saying that, Jin Chao turned and walked in a different direction. Jiang Mu, now looking a bit embarrassed, had no choice but to turn around and follow him.
Jin Chao led her for about ten minutes before they arrived at a busy street lined with stalls. He stopped and asked, “Hot pot?”
Jiang Mu shook her head.
Jin Chao asked again, “Barbecue?”
Jiang Mu shook her head once more.
Jin Chao pointed across the street to a row of shops. “Pick one.”
Jiang Mu glanced at him, “Anyone is fine?”
Jin Chao raised his chin indifferently.
“Then let’s go with the one that’s the busiest.”
Jin Chao led her straight to a seafood restaurant at the end of the street. The place was packed inside, but they managed to find a table outside.
The restaurant had a variety of seafood displayed in glass cabinets, all clearly visible.
Jin Chao tossed the menu to her. Jiang Mu carefully looked through it twice before lifting her head and saying, “I’ll have a bowl of seafood fried rice.”
“…” Jin Chao raised an eyebrow, glancing at her silently. He took the menu, marked a few signature dishes, and handed it to the waiter.
While waiting for the food, Jin Chao sat across from Jiang Mu, his head lowered as he looked at his phone. Several times, Jiang Mu’s gaze drifted to his face, and she hesitated, wanting to say something but not quite sure how. Eventually, she couldn’t hold it in any longer and asked, “Don’t you have anything to say to me?”
Jin Chao didn’t lift his eyes from his phone and replied, “Say what?”
“Like, asking how I’m doing now, or about my life? Aren’t you curious?”
Jin Chao slowly put down his phone, leaned back in his chair, and stared at her for a couple of seconds before suddenly asking, “How’s your stepfather?”
“…”
Jiang Mu didn’t expect him to bring up the topic she least wanted to talk about.
She coldly responded, “Not great.”
Jin Chao’s tone remained indifferent as he said, “Not great is your excuse for giving up on yourself?”
Jiang Mu’s pupils quivered slightly. His direct words left her speechless. After a few seconds of silence, she replied, “I haven’t given up. I’m just at that level.”
Jin Chao chuckled lightly and said nothing more. But his laugh made Jiang Mu feel uneasy as if he saw through the doubts in her mind. Even her mother, Jiang Yinghan, believed her underperformance was due to health issues, yet Jin Chao seemed to have instantly spotted deeper thoughts in her heart. This surprised Jiang Mu, but since he didn’t press further, she pretended not to understand.
At that moment, a taxi drove past them, only to make a U-turn and return, parking beside them.
Three men got out of the car and headed straight toward them. The leader, Jin Fengzi, shouted as he approached, “Oh, I thought you had something urgent, but it turns out it’s a midnight serenade.”
The three men walked toward their table, grabbed chairs, and casually sat down. The folding table was already small, and with three large men taking a seat, it became even more cramped. Jin Fengzi directly squeezed in next to Jiang Mu, and before he even sat down, Jin Chao raised his hand and grabbed the back of Jiang Mu’s chair, pulling both her and the chair over to his side.
Jiang Mu, small and slender, was dragged next to Jin Chao like a human doll, her wide T-shirt concealing her body. She looked at the three men who didn’t seem like they could be good people with some surprise.
Jin Chao didn’t seem inclined to introduce her. The man sitting on his left, wearing a large jade pendant, kept his eyes fixed on Jiang Mu and teased, “So Brother Youjiu likes younger ones, huh? Never seen you bring her out, keeping her under wraps.”
Another man opposite them chimed in, “No wonder you ran from the second round straight to the third. We almost thought we were seeing things in the car just now. Good thing Jinzi has sharp eyes.”
Jin Chao’s voice grew cold, “Stop talking nonsense. I’m not into that kind of thing.”
It was then that Jin Fengzi recognized Jiang Mu, and after taking a closer look, he exclaimed, “Hey, isn’t this the little girlfriend you had in the car yesterday?”
A few jokes left Jiang Mu feeling uneasy and at a loss. She glanced at Jin Chao, but he didn’t look back at her. With his eyes lowered, he spoke calmly, “My sister.”
Just then the waiter brought a can of Coke. Jin Chao opened the can with one hand and pushed it in front of Jiang Mu. She hurriedly held the Coke and drank it. The Coke was cold, but her heart was warmed by his words “My sister”.
Unexpectedly, the big brother opposite said directly, “Isn’t your sister just in elementary school? How come there is another younger sister so big? Is she biological or sworn? The kind that grew up naked?”
Jin Chao waved his hand and retorted, “Are you annoying? Population census?” Then, he asked the waiter to bring a few more bottles of beer.
Jiang Mu lowered her head and drank Coke. To be precise, she was neither biological nor sworn. As for growing up naked, this guy was really right.
When she was a child, she was very attached to Jin Chao. She would often climb onto his bed to play after taking a bath and fall asleep when she was tired. However, before she was three years old, she would occasionally wet the bed. Sometimes, Jin Chao would pick her up in the middle of the night, and the whole family would rush to find clothes and a basin for her to take a bath. Even when she was in elementary school, her family would still make fun of this incident.
However, her memories before the age of three were already very vague. She could only remember that she took a bath with Jin Chao in kindergarten. She could not remember many things at that time, but she did not know why she could still remember that Jin Chao’s body structure was different from hers, because she seemed to have said in a baby voice at that time, “Brother, there is a stick on your body.”
At an age when she should not remember much, she was deeply impressed by this incident, because she vaguely remembered the way Jin Chao turned over in a panic, and she also remembered that it seemed that Jin Chao would never take a bath with her again after that time.
Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but look at the people around her. Now, even if he was wearing loose clothes, she could feel that his body was extremely strong. Thinking of the time when she wet the bed and was stripped naked and thrown into the basin by him, Jiang Mu’s face was burning and indescribably embarrassed.
Jin Chao seemed to feel her strangeness and glanced at her sideways. Jiang Mu quickly turned her head away, looking awkward.
Jin Chao moved the spicy crab that had just been served to her. Since these people had eaten two rounds, they only drank a little alcohol at this time. But Jin Chao ordered a lot of things, fresh sea urchins, small abalone, big roe, and mantis shrimp.
So basically, a table of big men accompanied Jiang Mu to eat. Jiang Mu was really hungry. Once her appetite was opened, she ate very happily, especially the spicy crab that Jin Chao pushed in front of her. She was afraid of trouble and rarely ate this thing before. After tasting one, she found that it tasted good, and the meat was also plump. Once she ate it, she couldn’t stop at all.
She ate her food, they talked about theirs, and while they were chatting, Jin Fengzi suddenly said, “Youjiu, listen to me, it’s best to find a place to practice, I heard that the young people that Old Feng hired are not to be trifled with, you can…”
Jin Chao suddenly knocked the wine glass on the table, raised his index finger, and moved it, and Jin Fengzi stopped talking. The group of people were all well acquainted, and immediately changed the topic.
Jin Chao glanced at Jiang Mu again. She was eating very attentively as if she was not listening to them at all. He looked at the time again, brought the seafood fried rice that Jiang Mu had not paid attention to in front of him, and then took a pair of clean chopsticks.
Although Jiang Mu’s mouth didn’t stop for a moment, she heard everything she was supposed to hear, but she only caught half of it. She didn’t know what Jin Chao was going to practice. Was it related to that life-threatening thing?
Her ears were perked up, but this group of people suddenly changed the topic and talked about three-way catalysis, and carbon deposits in the combustion chamber, which completely touched her knowledge blind spots, and she couldn’t understand it at all.
Jin Chao took the fried rice away, and Jiang Mu thought he was going to eat it. She grabbed a few tissues and quickly wiped her hands. Jin Chao put down his chopsticks and pushed the fried rice back toward her. That’s when she realized the fried rice hadn’t been touched at all, and in front of Jin Chao, there was a pile of onions, ginger, and garlic that he had just picked out of the rice.
When she looked over, he lightly urged, “Aren’t you going to sleep? Eat faster.”
Translator’s Note:
Youjiu – Jin Chao’s nickname among his friends. The name directly translates to “have alcohol” in English.