Chapter 48
Jiang Mu walked quickly along the street, almost breaking into a run by the end. Her phone rang, and she leaned against a lamppost, gasping for breath as she answered the call. Jin Qiang asked why she hadn’t returned yet. She dug her nails into her palm, forcing herself to steady her voice as she replied, “Just grabbing something to eat with classmates.”
After hanging up, she turned off her phone and tossed it into her backpack. It felt as if her insides had been torn apart and twisted together, leaving her breathless. She had never experienced anything like this before, like drowning in water, her body beyond her control, struggling to surface, only to be swallowed by the weightlessness. She couldn’t fight it, nor could she swim to shore.
She stumbled into an arcade and threw herself into it. The dazzling array of game machines filled her vision. Noisy claw machines played incomprehensible tunes while groups of laughing teenagers crowded around the basketball shooters. Dragging her feet, Jiang Mu made her way to a corner and slumped in front of an arcade cabinet, bending over with a hand pressed to her chest. It wasn’t until someone nudged her and asked if she was okay that she hurriedly grabbed her bag and abandoned this fleeting lifeline.
Jiang Mu wandered aimlessly for a long time, her mind racing. She thought about the nights she had called Jin Chao, only for him to deliberately hang up. She even wondered if, on those nights, he had been too busy with some beauty in his arms, just like tonight, to answer her calls. She didn’t want to let her imagination run wild, but all the possibilities pieced themselves together in her mind without warning.
She kept telling herself that even if it was just for business, there was nothing unusual about that kind of environment. It was all a matter of mutual consent. Only a girl her age would cling to fairy-tale ideals.
Logically, she understood everything. But her emotions refused to be controlled. She knew how pathetic she was being right now, yet there seemed to be no way out.
She was just a high school senior preparing for college entrance exams, while he had long been tempered in the crucible of society.
She still had four years of studies ahead of her, while he would continue navigating the complexities of the adult world.
From the time she was nine years old, their lives had already set off on two separate tracks, never meant to intersect. She couldn’t control the part of her heart that kept pulling her toward him, nor did she know how to forge a path that could connect those two parallel lines.
All she could do was simply exhaust herself, wandering until she finally returned to the neighborhood nearly two hours later. The residential area was quiet at night, with not even a stray cat in sight. A flickering streetlight buzzed with faulty electricity, and Jiang Mu walked with her head down, following the intermittent glow until she reached the old building.
She pushed open the stairwell door, shoulders slumped as she stepped inside. The faint sound of shoe soles scraping against the floor echoed in the hallway. Jiang Mu turned toward the noise and there, standing before her without warning, was a figure whose shadow stretched long under the dim outdoor light, reaching all the way to her feet.
Her hand froze mid-motion, her expression locking in place. Just two steps apart, her grip on the door tightened slightly, but she didn’t take another step forward.
She had no idea how long Jin Chao had been waiting, or when he had arrived. But now, he was staring at her with a slight frown. Jiang Mu could feel a torrent of emotions building inside her, threatening to break free. She let go of the door of the building and brushed past him, heading inside. The door shut behind her, plunging the hallway back into darkness.
Just as she passed him, Jin Chao grabbed her arm. Jiang Mu kept her gaze down, her short hair hiding her face. He couldn’t see her expression, only felt the way she desperately tried to pull her arm free. Instead of letting go, he stepped directly in front of her, tilting his head down to ask, “Where were you?”
Her voice was brittle. “Just walking around.”
“You turned off your phone just to walk around?”
Jiang Mu’s throat moved up and down as she forced down the surge of emotions threatening to spill out. She said to him, “Move. I want to go back.”
Jin Chao didn’t budge. His tall frame blocked her path completely, leaving her no room to slip past. When Jiang Mu tried to push by him, he braced one hand on the railing and the other against the wall, leaning down slightly. His loose shirt collar fell slightly open, exuding the quiet charm of a mature man. His voice softened a little, carrying a hint of coaxing, “I didn’t go in the end, did I?”
That single sentence made the dam crack further inside her. She stayed silent, but her shoulders trembled faintly. Jin Chao pulled her closer, gently brushing aside the short hair covering her face. In the dim light, her clear eyes were brimming with tears, making her look fragile and so helpless.
For a moment, Jin Chao seemed caught off guard, then asked, “Why are you crying?”
Jiang Mu didn’t know why. She couldn’t explain it. All she could feel was a dull, twisting ache in her chest. She kept stepping back, trying to put distance between them.
Her resistance finally made his brow furrow. “What did I do to upset you?”
Jiang Mu only cried harder. The tears welled up and spilled down her cheeks in silent misery, like leaves trembling in wind and rain. She looked up at him and said, “Everything about you upsets me.”
Jin Chao lowered his gaze and stepped closer, his voice now gentle and yielding, “Then tell me how to fix it.”
But Jiang Mu didn’t want him any closer. She raised her hand and hit his chest, hard enough to make a deep, muffled sound. Jin Chao didn’t flinch, just looked down at her quietly.
Jiang Mu, still crying, pushed at him with trembling hands, “I can’t feel better. Not anymore. Never again…”
Her small fists kept pounding against his chest, one hit after another, pushing him away again and again. Jin Chao didn’t dodge or retreat, letting her vent freely. The turmoil that had tormented Jiang Mu for so long finally found an outlet. With every strike, her crying grew louder, but her punches grew weaker, until in the end, she was practically a girl made of tears, completely unraveling.
Finally, Jin Chao couldn’t hold back anymore. He grabbed both her wrists, lowered himself, and gently enveloped her, softly calling her name, “Mu Mu…”
“Click.”
The building’s entrance door swung open again, a sliver of dim light slicing through the darkness. Zhao Meijuan stood frozen in the doorway, staring at them in shock. “What are you two doing?”
Jiang Mu jerked her hands free, and Jin Chao released her instantly. Without a backward glance, she bolted upstairs.
Zhao Meijuan worked at a supermarket that took inventory at the end of each month, requiring two overnight shifts. She didn’t mind the extra pay, but she never expected to walk in on this.
Jiang Mu rushed home and locked herself in the bathroom, splashing cold water on her face over and over. She heard the front door open, her stomach twisting with dread. How was she supposed to face Zhao Meijuan? What would she even say? She stayed in the bathroom until the sounds outside faded, then finally stepped out.
Jin Qiang and Jin Xin were already asleep. When Jiang Mu emerged, Zhao Meijuan didn’t even glance at her, quietly gathering Jin Xin’s laundry as if nothing had happened.
Heart pounding, Jiang Mu hesitated at her bedroom door. Her hand touched the doorknob, but she hesitated, bit her lip, then turned around and walked over to Zhao Meijuan, “Um… Aunt Zhao, about what happened just now… can you not tell my dad?”
Zhao Meijuan straightened up, studying Jiang Mu’s tear-streaked face. With a sigh, she said, “It’s not really my place to say anything, but I’ve watched Xiao Zhao grow up. He’s been through a lot and has had it rough. He’s a reliable guy. But your mom definitely won’t agree to this. You need to think it through carefully.”
Zhao Meijuan noticed Jiang Mu lowering her gaze in silence. She glanced at the door of the main room and lowered her voice, saying, “To be honest, I also hope Xiao Chao has a good life. But if I were your parents, I might not agree either. No matter what, you’ll always be a clean and respectable college graduate, while he…”
He has a criminal record. Zhao Meijuan didn’t voice it outright but simply told Jiang Mu to act as if she had seen nothing that night and not let it affect her college entrance exams.
Once May arrived, Jiang Mu rarely went to the car shop anymore. After Labor Day, there was only one month left until the college entrance exam. Time was running out, and she had no choice but to throw herself entirely into preparing for it.
However, one evening in mid-May, Wan Qing and a few others were waiting near the high school entrance. When she saw Jiang Mu come out, Wan Qing flashed her car headlights twice. Jiang Mu paused but had no intention of approaching. Wan Qing stepped out of her sports car and walked straight up to her, saying, “Need to talk to you for a minute.”
Seeing Jiang Mu’s guarded expression, Wan Qing smirked, “Don’t look at me like that. I, Wan Qing, am not the type to do anything shady to a little girl. If I really wanted to do something, I wouldn’t come here myself to let you know. I’m here to talk about Youjiu.”
At the mention of Jin Chao’s name, Jiang Mu frowned. Wan Qing glanced around and pointed to a nearby walkway. “Let’s go over there.”
It was a small garden adjacent to a residential area. The square-dancing aunties had already dispersed, leaving several wooden benches empty. Wan Qing headed straight there, but the men who had come with her began to follow. She snapped at them, “What are you coming for? Don’t scare the girl.”
Then she turned back to Jiang Mu and said, “Come on.”
Jiang Mu tightened the straps of her backpack and followed along. Meanwhile, Zhang Fan had been called to the school gate but found no sign of whoever had summoned him. Instead, he happened to run into Wan Qing’s men and gave Jin Chao a call.
The cool early summer breeze gently lifted Jiang Mu’s short hair. She set her backpack down beside her. Wan Qing didn’t sit next to her but stood opposite, lighting a slim lady’s cigarette.
Jiang Mu had to admit that Wan Qing looked effortlessly cool while smoking. If not for the issue with Boss Wan, she wouldn’t really say she disliked her all that much.
Wan Qing took a few drags, silently studying Jiang Mu before suddenly smiling. “Honestly, before I met you, I never would’ve guessed Youjiu would go for this type.”
Jiang Mu averted her gaze, “Like I told you before, I’m his sister.”
Wan Qing flicked the ash off her cigarette with her index finger, her expression indifferent. “Sister or not, you’re still someone who can get through to him.”
She took a deep drag, exhaling smoke as her voice drifted out with it. “Not long after Youjiu started working for my dad, I heard people talking about the new guy at the car shop and said he was good-looking, worked fast, and could actually get things done. The first time I actually saw him was one night when I was driving back from a bar and noticed the car shop lights were still on. I parked and went in to check. He was shirtless, bent over under a hood, working. I stood at the entrance, smoked a whole cigarette, and he never once looked up. I’ve never seen a mechanic so focused.”
“Eventually, the sound of my heels caught his attention. He raised his head and looked at me… Tell me, little girl, do you believe in love at first sight?”
A frivolous smile curled at the corners of Wan Qing’s lips, “Maybe it was because when he looked up, I realized he wasn’t just fit, he was also ridiculously good-looking. That’s when I took an interest in him. Sometimes, after a late night out, I’d make a detour to the car shop just to smoke a cigarette with him. Other times, I’d do nothing but sit nearby, playing games on my phone while he worked.”
“There were plenty of mechanics my dad’s age at the shop, coming and going like horses at a racetrack, here today, gone tomorrow. Most of them were restless, cutting corners whenever they could, doing only as much as they were paid for. But he was the only one I ever saw with a book in his hand. Back when he was still an apprentice, while others stuffed their lockers with cigarettes and booze, his was packed with books. I even saw him fill two thick notebooks with notes, and his handwriting was impeccable.”
“During Youjiu’s years at Wanji, there were all kinds of messes, employees causing trouble, smashing up the place, beef with other garages over clients, chaos when the new branch opened without anyone to take the lead. Time and again, he was the one who stepped up and held things together.”
“A man like him was never meant to be stuck in some dingy repair bay. Most of the guys under my dad are reckless types, couldn’t study, couldn’t handle hard work, so they gamble with their lives for cash.”
“But Youjiu was different. If he just kept at it, even if it took time, he’d have made something of himself eventually. He shouldn’t have gotten mixed up in… that stuff.”
Jiang Mu’s expression froze. She asked quietly, “What stuff?”
Wan Qing crushed her cigarette under her heel. “You don’t know he’s been making a killing reselling auto parts lately?”
Jiang Mu frowned. “I know.”
“You know? And what did he tell you about it?”
Jiang Mu fell silent for a moment before replying, “He said he secured a distributorship.”
Wan Qing let out a scornful laugh, “You think just anyone can get a first-tier distributorship? Those parts are smuggled goods. The batch Youjiu took might already be under surveillance. The only reason it was handed off to him is that there’s something wrong with it. If anything happens, he’ll be the one left holding the bag. Do you have any idea how many years he could get for that?”
In an instant, Jiang Mu’s expression froze. She shot up from the bench, the once-gentle early summer wind now feeling like knives lashing against her skin.
She stood there in a daze, asking, “Who’s ‘watching’? Where’s it coming from?”
Wan Qing’s expression darkened. “Don’t ask. Even I don’t know. But you need to find a way to talk Youjiu out of this. He can’t touch that batch anymore.”
Before they could say more, Jin Chao appeared on the walkway. Wan Qing hadn’t expected him to find them so quickly. She stared in surprise as he strode toward them, then sneered, “You’ve got eyes all over the high school, huh? Didn’t take long for you to show up.”
Jin Chao stepped directly in front of Jiang Mu, pulling her behind him as he glared at Wan Qing, his voice cold, “What the hell are you doing with her?”
Seeing him shield the girl so instinctively, Wan Qing’s eyes flickered slightly. A mocking smile curled her lips, “Just wanted to have a little chat with her. That a problem?”
Jin Chao’s voice was icy, “I’ve been tolerating you out of respect. If there’s a next time, I won’t hold back.”
A flicker of something fragile passed through Wan Qing’s eyes, a fleeting trace of bitterness at the corners of her mouth, there and gone in an instant.
Then Jin Chao’s phone rang. It was Sanlai. After a few terse words, his expression twisted into something terrifying. The moment he hung up, his eyes burned with a chilling fury as they locked onto Wan Qing. Without another word, he grabbed Jiang Mu’s backpack and turned on his heel, striding away.
Wan Qing didn’t know what had happened. She glanced at Jiang Mu, then followed after them.