Chapter 46
Jiang Mu took her time getting ready before finally stepping out of her room. Her short, ear-length hair now lay neatly against her cheeks, and her soft, long-knit sweater gave her a delicate, refined appearance.
Everyone else was already seated at the table, waiting for her. She walked to her seat, where Jin Chao was sitting across from her. She looked up at him, and when he caught her gaze, he raised his eyes to meet hers. But she quickly pretended to fiddle with her hair, avoiding his stare.
Zhao Meijuan spoke up, “Jin Chao said you don’t like dumplings, so he made two dishes for you. Go ahead and eat.”
As she spoke, she slid the dishes toward Jiang Mu and handed the dumplings to Jin Xin instead. Keeping her eyes down, Jiang Mu murmured, “Thank you.”
Afterward, when she realized there was no response, she peeked up again. Jin Chao noticed her glance, curled his lips into a faint smile, and replied slowly, “You’re welcome.”
It was a perfectly ordinary exchange, yet it felt oddly formal, so formal that it carried an unspoken tension as if there were some hidden meanings beneath the surface.
After the meal, Jin Qiang and Zhao Meijuan took Jin Xin back to their room for a nap. When Jiang Mu stepped out of her room, Jin Chao was nowhere in sight. The front door was slightly ajar, so she pushed it open and walked into the stairwell, where she heard a faint click-click sound. Following the noise, she spotted Jin Chao sitting on the steps, smoking, his flip-top lighter flicking open and closed idly in his hand.
Jiang Mu walked over and stepped up onto one of the stairs. Jin Chao moved slightly to the side to make room for her, and she sat next to him.
Jin Chao switched the cigarette from his left hand to his right and asked, “Does it bother you?”
Jiang Mu hugged her knees and stared at the cigarette burning between his fingers, silent for a long time. The hallway was so quiet, the only sounds were their breaths. Jin Chao shifted his gaze to her. Suddenly, Jiang Mu reached out and snatched the cigarette from his fingers. She brought it to her lips and took a drag. The filter still carried the lingering warmth of his mouth. The moment her lips touched it, Jiang Mu was certain that she had lost her mind.
The next second, Jiang Mu choked violently, coughing until tears welled up in her eyes. The cigarette in her hand was swiftly snatched from her hand by Jin Chao and crushed under his foot. His voice carried a hint of sternness as he said, “Did you not think this through?”
Jiang Mu, however, turned her head and said to him, “How would I know it’s this bad if I didn’t try?”
Jin Chao’s face darkened. “There won’t be a next time.”
But Jiang Mu lifted her gaze nonchalantly and said, “Didn’t all those women who play with cars smoke? Even Wan Qing smokes.”
“You’re not like them.”
Jiang Mu tilted her head and looked at him. “How am I different?”
Jin Chao turned to meet her eyes, and a strange tension crackled between them. The afternoon sunlight spilled in from the other end of the stairwell, its golden threads tangling in the air.
After a beat, Jin Chao let out a low chuckle and looked away.
Jiang Mu pressed on with her question. “So how am I different from Jin Xin?”
Jin Chao couldn’t quite put it into words. Before Jin Xin was born, he had thought all little girls were like Mu Mu, clingy, playful, mischievous, silly in an endearing way, and so cute that the entire world would melt when they pouted.
It wasn’t until later, when Jin Qiang had Jin Xin, that he realized there was only one Mu Mu in the world. Jin Xin would listen to him, but she wouldn’t cling to him the way Mu Mu had as a child. The age gap between him and Jin Xin was too wide. In that irretrievable stretch of his childhood, there had only ever been one girl – irreplaceable, irreversible.
Jin Chao was silent for a moment before speaking, “You’re more mischievous, cry easily, and harder to handle than her. Jin Xin listens to what I say, but when you were younger, you used to throw unreasonable tantrums.”
Jiang Mu immediately puffed out her cheeks and said, “You’re about to lose me as your sister.”
Jin Chao half-smiled and said, “The biggest difference is that Jin Xin is afraid of me. With you, I have to coax you instead.“
Although Jin Chao said that the “her” in question didn’t compare to Jin Xin in any way, Jiang Mu still smiled, her eyes curving up. She turned her head and asked, “By the way, how’s Tie Gongji’s dad doing?”
Jin Chao’s expression darkened slightly. “Not good.”
Tie Gongji’s father had previously acted as a guarantor for someone. It was said that this person had been a close friend of his father for over 20 years, going way back to when they worked together in a factory. They ate, lived, and built families together. The two families were closer than most relatives, and no one ever expected that this person would get into huge trouble and then disappear without a trace. Now, the person couldn’t be found, and the creditors, armed with written agreements, showed up at Tie Gongji’s father’s house, forcing him to sell his home to repay the debt.
Tie Gongji’s family wasn’t well-off to begin with. Selling their home would leave them without a place to live, and they would have to go without even basic necessities. When they returned to their hometown for the New Year, they’d hoped to borrow money from relatives, but instead, their relatives berated his father for being foolish and reckless. Already cornered and desperate, terrified of dragging down his wife and son, especially since Tie Gongji wasn’t even married yet, his father saw no way out. If they lost the house, Tie Gongji might never be able to afford a wife in the future.
After drinking, unable to cope with it, he jumped off the roof of his old home, thinking death would put an end to everything, sparing his wife and children from the burden. However, to everyone’s surprise, he didn’t die, but he was severely injured.
The creditors worried that the man might die and they wouldn’t be able to collect the money, so they brought a group of people to the hospital to cause trouble. As a result, Jin Chao and San Lai stayed at the hospital for two days to keep the creditors from harassing Tie Gongji and his mother.
After some negotiation, they were able to pay the creditors 50,000 yuan upfront, and the rest would be settled once Tie Gongji’s father was discharged from the hospital.
His father’s life had been pulled back from the brink of death, and the hospital stay had cost a significant amount of money. The 50,000 yuan was actually covered by San Lai and Jin Chao in advance for Tie Gongji.
Jiang Mu felt frustrated by the whole situation, especially during the New Year. She couldn’t help but think that every family had its own troubles. Compared to Tie Gongji’s troubles, her own family’s issue of their house being sold really didn’t seem like much.
In the following days, Jin Chao brought Lightning back to the car shop to take care of it. Before Lightning’s incident, although it had been kept at the shop, Jin Chao’s involvement had been limited to just feeding it and setting up a place for it to sleep. But after Lightning’s recovery, Jin Chao took on all the responsibilities, feeding medicine, providing food, caring for it, and grooming it.
After everything Lightning had been through, its personality had changed. While its leg had gradually healed, and it could stand and walk again, it had become more fearful of people. It would wag its tail when San Lai or Xiao Yang called it, but it wouldn’t approach them. Unlike its previous free-spirited self, it now mostly stayed inside the repair shop, often following Jin Chao around. If Jin Chao didn’t take it out to relieve itself, Lightning could hold its bladder all day without going outside on its own.
Jiang Mu often felt a sense of sadness about Lightning’s changes. While the physical injuries could heal, the psychological trauma was something they couldn’t erase. All they could do was care for him with extra tenderness, hoping time would soften the shadow of that incident and his wariness toward people.
Before returning to Australia, Jiang Yinghan contacted Jiang Mu to let her know that the property in Suzhou had been sold. She told Jiang Mu to focus on her college entrance exams without worry, as they would see each other again in just a few months.
School started again for Jiang Mu, and the workload in the new semester was even more intense. The car shop wouldn’t reopen until after the Little New Year, so during this time, Jin Chao made use of this free time to help Jiang Mu fill in any gaps in her studies. Even though Jiang Mu told him that her grades had already improved to the top 30 in her grade, her best performance ever, Jin Chao just smiled without saying anything.
He meticulously prepared study outlines and mind maps for her, never slacking on the practice problems she needed to work on. Jiang Mu began to suspect that Jin Chao had high hopes for her to succeed. Although she wasn’t exactly the most enthusiastic about studying, she didn’t mind spending time with Jin Chao, even if it just meant him reading while she worked on problems, she didn’t find it boring.
After the small incident at the Wuyin Temple, they seemed to be the same on the surface, but something between them had changed.
Sometimes, when Jiang Mu was writing problems and looked up, she would find herself daydreaming, and Jin Chao would tap on the desk to remind her, “Focus.”
But sometimes, he would look at her daydreaming, and she would wave her hand in front of him and say, “Am I that good-looking?”
Jin Chao would smile and walk away, as always, never admitting she looked good.
Jin Chao still went out often, but mostly at night. Jiang Mu didn’t know, and when he was gone for more than two days and couldn’t keep it a secret anymore, she would always remind him repeatedly, “Be safe, be safe, you have to be safe.”
Then, she would anxiously wait for him to call her once everything was over.
Tie Gongji returned after the Little New Year, and even Jiang Mu could tell that he had lost a lot of weight. She felt like there wasn’t much she could do to help, so she thought maybe she could cook a meal for everyone. After all, she’d been freeloading off their food every time she visited, it was time to contribute.
San Lai, however, was highly skeptical of her cooking skills and specifically requested a dish of squirrel-shaped mandarin fish. So, Jiang Mu dragged Jin Chao to the wet market. When they reached the fish stall, it was quite crowded. Jiang Mu stood there dazed for a while before turning to Jin Chao and asking, “Do you know what a mandarin fish looks like?”
Jin Chao smiled and picked out a plump fish, having the vendor weigh it. Jiang Mu smiled sweetly, turning to the vendor and saying, “Could you please clean it for me?”
The vendor seemed to be very familiar with Jin Chao. He glanced at him, and Jin Chao casually replied, “No need, you’re busy.”
After paying for the fish and holding it in her hand, Jiang Mu leaned in to ask, “They don’t clean the fish here? How am I supposed to cook it if it’s not gutted? It still needs scaling, and I’m not sure I can do it properly. I’ve never cleaned fish before. Most importantly, I don’t dare kill it.”
Jin Chao shot her a sidelong glance and said, “Didn’t you see all the people waiting in line?”
Jiang Mu looked back and noticed how busy the stall was. She quickly turned her gaze back to him and asked, “But you can kill a fish, right?”
Jin Chao answered casually, “I can even kill people.”
Jiang Mu laughed and caught up with him. When they passed a stall selling green onions, she tugged at Jin Chao, grabbed a small bunch, and handed it to the vendor. The middle-aged woman just stared at her without taking it. Jiang Mu, confused, kept holding it up and asked, “Aren’t you going to weigh it?” And so, two of them stood there, staring at each other for a while.
Just as Jiang Mu was about to ask again, another person came up and threw a bundle of green onions at the vendor, who finally took them, lightly telling Jiang Mu, “Just take it, just don’t make my scale dirty.”
Jiang Mu, who had picked a single green onion, felt a bit embarrassed but also thought the vendor was generous. She quickly turned to Jin Chao and proudly showed him the onion, saying, “Look, the vendor gave this to me for free!”
Amusement flickered in Jin Chao’s eyes, but he didn’t have the heart to tell her that in their market, buying a single stalk of green onion like that was basically asking for trouble. If he hadn’t been standing behind her, the vendor would’ve already cursed her out.
Afterward, Jin Chao led her to the meat stall to buy some pork ribs. Jiang Mu didn’t know how to pick good ribs, she couldn’t tell the difference between lean or fatty cuts, so while Jin Chao handled the selection, she stood there clutching her precious green onion, her gaze wandering around.
As Jiang Mu turned her head, she noticed a man wearing a high-collared jacket buying pork belly four stalls away. Jiang Mu immediately noticed his nose, a prominent, slightly hooked shape like a camel’s hump. She thought she’d seen him somewhere before. Quickly scanning her memory, Jiang Mu tapped Jin Chao and asked, “Isn’t that guy the one who came to Speedy Auto Shop to fix his car?”
Jin Chao followed her gaze. The man had just finished paying for the meat and turned around, meeting Jin Chao’s eyes. Jin Chao calmly looked away and said, “I don’t know him.”
The man passed by them with a bag of meat, and Jiang Mu continued to watch him. She turned back to Jin Chao and insisted, “Are you sure you don’t know him? He came in once to refill the air for his tires. You didn’t even charge him.”
Jin Chao handed the chosen pork ribs to the vendor, then turned to her and said, “Do you know how many random cars stop by for air in a year? It’s a small favor. I usually don’t charge locals, hoping they’ll come back. Do you expect me to remember everyone’s face?”
Jiang Mu fell silent. Jin Chao took the ribs, scanned the payment code, and then turned to ask her, “Is there anything else you want to buy?”
Jiang Mu shook her head, and Jin Chao pointed to the fruit shop at the entrance of the market. “Then go pick out some fruit. I’ll step outside for a smoke.”
Jiang Mu selected a few oranges and glanced at the strawberries, newly in season. They were always expensive, neatly packed in elegant boxes, and sold by the box. After hesitating for a few seconds, she resisted the urge. When she looked back, she saw Jin Chao at the entrance, on the phone. Just as her gaze landed on him, he hung up and turned around.
Jiang Mu handed the oranges to the vendor to be weighed while Jin Chao casually grabbed a box of strawberries, placed it on the counter, paid, and left.
Jiang Mu followed him outside and nudged him. “Actually, if you wait another month, the strawberries will be much cheaper.”
Jin Chao gave her a sidelong glance. “What if, in a month, you don’t want to eat them anymore?”
Jiang Mu laughed. “I never said I wanted to eat them.”
“Mm, I do.”
Back at the car shop, Jiang Mu earnestly pulled up a recipe for a squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, studying it intently. Jin Chao washed the strawberries and set them beside her, so she nibbled on them while jotting down the cooking steps.
Maybe because they were so expensive, they tasted especially good. Before she knew it, she had eaten over half of the box. Hurriedly, she carried the remaining strawberries to Jin Chao and said, “Aren’t you going to eat the strawberries? If you leave them in there, I’ll eat them all.”
A faint amusement softened Jin Chao’s expression, and he said, “Just leave them.”
Jiang Mu set the strawberries aside and only then noticed that while she had been prepping, Jin Chao had already taken care of everything, from gutting the fish to scoring it for frying.
He even heated the oil for her. However, when it came time to drop the fish into the hot oil, Jiang Mu hesitated, feeling a bit nervous at the sight of the sizzling oil. She turned to Jin Chao and asked, “Can you turn off the heat first? I’ll put the fish in, and then you can turn it back on?”
Jin Chao popped a strawberry into her mouth, grabbed the fish, and dropped it into the oil with a quick motion. The sizzling sound made Jiang Mu jump, and she immediately hid behind Jin Chao.
So, in the end, Jiang Mu did participate in the cooking process, like opening the tomato ketchup and ladling hot oil over the fish a few times, and, in the end, she was the one who arranged the fish on the plate.
During this, Jin Chao kept feeding her strawberries. By the time the fish was done, the strawberries were finished, too. Jiang Mu, a bit puzzled, asked Jin Chao, “Did you even eat any strawberries?”
Jin Chao, carrying the finished fish, dropped it on the table and casually replied, “I did.”
“Did you? Did you eat it out of my mouth?”
“Sorry for the trouble.”
“…”
Once they sat down to eat, San Lai, Xiao Yang, and Tie Gongji all marveled at the impressively plated squirrel mandarin fish, praising Jiang Mu as a culinary prodigy.
Jiang Mu blushed and glanced at Jin Chao. It felt a bit like someone else had taken the test for her and got full marks, except the test-taker, the examiner, and the student were all sitting at the same table, feeling somewhat guilty.
Jin Chao, however, simply lowered his head, a faint smile playing on his lips. He didn’t expose her, maintaining the impeccable professionalism of a seasoned academic surrogate.