Chapter 49
Jin Chao had just arrived at the car shop with Jiang Mu when Wan Qing’s car pulled up as well. San Lai was already anxiously pacing at the entrance and blurted out the moment he saw them, “You better get in there. Now.”
Without a word, Jin Chao pushed open the shop door, strode through the repair bay, and unlocked the back gate. The instant the back shed door swung open, he froze in place. The yard was a wreck, boxes flung in every direction, and the goods inside were smashed or ruined beyond use. His gaze slowly swept toward the corner of the yard. The tarp had been ripped away, revealing a black GTR beaten so badly it was unrecognizable, like a car ready for the scrapyard.
Jin Chao had never once mentioned this batch of goods to San Lai. Whether or not San Lai had his suspicions, Jin Chao didn’t want to drag him into it. The only one who knew the source of the cargo was Tie Gongji. For days, they’d been guarding the shop, waiting for the shipment to go out tomorrow. Just an hour ago, Tie Gongji had taken a sudden call and left in a rush.
It wasn’t until San Lai came back and heard Lightning barking in a strange, agitated way that he sensed something was off and called Jin Chao.
Wan Qing had, by sheer coincidence, gone to find Jiang Mu tonight. By sheer coincidence, Zhang Fan had spotted her and called Jin Chao. By sheer coincidence, the goods had been destroyed mere minutes after he left. When too many coincidences pile up, they cease to be coincidences.
Jin Chao scanned the ravaged back yard with a cold, measured stare. Then he slowly turned to face Wan Qing. His voice was low and sharp as a blade, “Get out.”
Wan Qing shivered under the weight of his eyes, dark and venomous. She tried to explain, her voice trembling, “I really don’t know anything.”
Jin Chao growled again, harsher this time, “I said, get the hell out.”
Wan Qing left with her eyes red, holding back tears. In the corner, Jiang Mu stood silently, watching Jin Chao.
She didn’t know exactly how much this batch of goods would cost him, or what kind of serious consequences might follow. But what she did know was that if this stuff was really smuggled, they couldn’t go to the police. That meant there would be no legal recourse. No justice. No clean solution.
A faint vein throbbed at Jin Chao’s temple, and his eyes were dark, so dark they seemed to swallow the light around him. His whole body radiated a kind of pressure, as if he might tear the sky apart at any second.
Jiang Mu had never seen him like this.
No matter how big the storm, Jin Chao had always been the calm in its eye, quiet, composed, impossible to rattle. But this? This was the first time she’d seen his mask crack, seeing emotion burn so openly in his eyes. And it scared her.
She didn’t dare step closer. Didn’t dare speak.
Then Jin Chao turned to San Lai and said, “Do me a favor. Take Mu Mu home.”
San Lai stood at the far end of the repair bay. He didn’t say a word, just gave a short nod.
Jin Chao’s gaze shifted to Jiang Mu. She was still huddled in the corner, arms crossed tightly over her chest, her eyes wide and frightened.
He drew in a long breath, then walked toward her. When he reached her, he glanced at San Lai, who understood and quietly slipped outside, leaving them alone.
Only then did Jin Chao lower his eyes and speak, his voice low and rough. “Scared you, didn’t I?”
Jiang Mu was scared.
Scared of what she’d seen in the yard. Scared of what he might be involved in. Scared of the rage she’d never seen in him before.
Everything, every revelation, every smashed crate, every sharp-edged silence, had hit her like a wave.
Jin Chao saw the flicker of fear in her eyes, the way it danced like a nervous spark that wouldn’t go out. He frowned just a little and bent down to her eye level, hands resting gently on her shoulders. His gaze was steady, sincere. Like he was reaching out across the years.
“Remember that time you flunked your test in primary school?” he said. “You were too scared to ask your mom to sign it, so I forged her signature for you. Your teacher found out and wanted to call home. You cried so hard like your world was ending. I told you it wasn’t the end of the world. That I’d handle it. Remember?”
Jiang Mu looked up at him, her face pale as paper, a shimmer of tears gathering quietly in her eyes. Jin Chao’s grip on her shoulders tightened, not out of anger, but with a weight of urgency, “Do you trust me?”
Since they were kids, it was always Jin Chao who picked up her messes. That trust, deep, unshakable, was something carved into her bones, something she never had to question.
He wasn’t a god. But to Jiang Mu, he had always been someone who felt like one. The kind of person you could believe in, no matter what. It was because she trusted him that she never believed he would risk something as reckless and dangerous as smuggling.
But this wasn’t a forged test signature or a call home from the teacher. This was something far more dangerous, something that could cost him everything. Her body trembled, her eyes brimming with unconcealed fear.
Jin Chao stared into those eyes like he was looking for something, anchoring her. In his gaze was a strange kind of calm, and when he spoke, his voice was low, soothing, almost hypnotic. “If you trust me, then go home. Focus on your exams. Do what you’re supposed to do.”
Then he straightened up, reaching out to ruffle her hair gently. “Be good. Go with San Lai.”
He fetched her backpack, stepped around her, and helped her slip it on, buckling the straps like he had a hundred times before.
He grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulders before nudging her toward the door. San Lai’s car was already idling by the curb, waiting. Jiang Mu turned and walked slowly into the night, each step feeling like a crack splintering through her heart. When she reached the doorway, she paused and glanced back.
Jin Chao was still standing exactly where she left him, watching her. He gave her a faint smile, but she couldn’t return it. Instead, she gave him one last worried look before turning away and heading toward San Lai’s car.
……
The week before the college entrance exam, evening study sessions were finally suspended. Old Ma reminded the class not to slack off, the early dismissal was meant to give them ample rest, adjust their routines, and maintain good sleep habits to be in top shape for the exam.
For Jiang Mu, the relentless pace of the past four years had finally eased, if only a little. Unlike some of her classmates, she felt ready.
Since that night when San Lai drove her home, she hadn’t returned to the car shop.
Two days before the exam, with nothing pressing on her schedule, she decided to stop by and check in on everyone, including Lightning. She took the bus, deliberately riding one stop further than usual so she could swing by the milk tea shop. She still remembered everyone’s orders: Tie Gongji liked half sugar, no milk foam; San Lai wanted full sugar with cheese; Xiao Yang didn’t like pearls; and Jin Chao only drank oolong tea, straight.
After waiting in line for a while, she got everyone’s drinks and headed toward the car shop, a plastic bag swinging gently in her hand.
As she crossed the floating bridge, a taxi drove by and stopped near the base. A middle-aged man stepped out carrying two bags of fruit, shut the door, and made his way toward the nearby senior living community.
Jiang Mu’s eyes lingered on the man. He looked familiar.
Just then, he ran into someone he knew and turned to say hello. The wide forehead and prominent hooked nose jogged her memory, he’d been at Speedy Auto Car Shop last year, getting a car repaired. That day, there were no other customers. Tie Gongji wasn’t around, Xiao Yang had gone to the restroom, and it was only Jiang Mu who had come out of the lounge just in time to hear a brief exchange between Jin Chao and the man.
The conversation was short, but Jin Chao had looked serious, telling the man to stop showing up there so often.
But earlier this year, when Jiang Mu ran into the same man at the market and mentioned him, Jin Chao had claimed not to recognize him at all.
Which didn’t add up. Jiang Mu had only seen the man once and remembered him, but how could Jin Chao, with his sharp memory and even having spoken to the guy, not remember?
The more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
The inconsistency gnawed at her. Before she realized it, her feet had already carried her forward, following him.
The Xiwa’ao area was a labyrinth of old residential buildings, originally dormitories for government workers and their families, now weathered by time. The place had become a tangle of narrow paths and shortcuts, with no official entrance or exit. Most residents were elderly, and everywhere you looked, there were exercise machines, vegetable stalls, or someone pulling a cart of groceries home.
Jiang Mu trailed the man from earlier across a lively street, where the evening crowd bustled in every direction. He stopped at a vendor’s stall and asked a middle-aged woman how much the tomatoes were.
Jiang Mu paused in front of a barbershop, pretending to check the price list in the window. The man paid for a bag of tomatoes and continued walking, and she quickly followed at a careful distance.
They passed through the busy stretch into a quieter courtyard. As they went deeper in, the crowds thinned. Jiang Mu slowed down, wary of being noticed, and pulled out her phone to feign distraction, glancing up now and then to track the man’s direction. In the courtyard, a few elderly women sat on low stools chatting, and children zipped around on scooters with flashing lights. But the man had disappeared.
Jiang Mu jogged a few steps into the center of the yard. Several old buildings surrounded her, but she had no idea which one he might’ve entered. Just as she was about to turn around, she caught a glimpse of the tomato bag, barely visible, swinging past the large parasol tree at the east end of the courtyard. She hurried after it, rounding the tree, but the man was gone again. Behind the buildings, she found only an empty concrete space where electric scooters and bikes were parked. No sign of him.
Just as she was about to give up and head back, she spun around, only to find the man stepping out from the shadows beneath a carport on the other side of the tree. He was staring right at her.
Jiang Mu’s blood turned to ice. Her face froze mid-breath.
The man walked toward her slowly, the bags still in his hand, his eyes studying her without a word. He stopped a few feet away, then finally spoke, “Are you looking for me, little girl?”
Jiang Mu voice wavered. “N-no.”
The man narrowed his eyes. “If you weren’t looking for me, then why were you following me?”
Jiang Mu caught a glimpse of the chatting grandmothers nearby and straightened up, forcing herself to stay calm. “I was trying to find a classmate’s house.”
The man stared at her for a long second, eyes sharp and unreadable. Just then, a voice called out from the other end of the courtyard, “Jiang Nanshan!”
Jiang Mu turned and saw it was Old Hai, a familiar face. She quickly raised her hand and waved at him. The hook-nosed man gave her one last look, then turned and walked away with his bags.
Once he was gone, Jiang Mu quickly circled back around the paulownia tree. Old Hai stood with his hands clasped behind his back, a teacup dangling from his fingers as he smiled knowingly. “What brings you here?”
Jiang Mu gave a sheepish smile, “Just… looking for someone.”
As they walked toward the courtyard exit together, Old Hai suddenly asked, “You know Old Lu’s son?”
“Who?”
“The guy you were just talking to.”
Jiang Mu froze for a beat before quickly covering, “Not really. Just ran into him. Who is he?”
Old Hai replied casually, “Oh, Little Lu? He works in customs.”
Jiang Mu frowned slightly. “Customs? Doing what?”
“Smuggling investigation bureau, I think. Always busy. His parents live in the building behind mine.”
This was the first time Jiang Mu had heard of the “Anti-Smuggling Bureau.” After parting ways with Old Hai, she immediately pulled out her phone and searched the term. The results flashed onto her screen, the Anti-Smuggling Bureau was a critical division of Customs, jointly overseen by the Ministry of Public Security and the General Administration of Customs, tasked with rigorously combating smuggling operations.
Jiang Mu’s mind buzzed loudly.
That man, a customs officer, had been to Speedy Auto Car Shop. Jin Chao had told him not to come by so often. And then, after the new year, Jin Chao began dealing with large volumes of smuggled parts. Each memory, each fragment, started clicking together like puzzle pieces, forming a terrifying outline of something she hadn’t dared imagine until now.
“If you can already self-study university-level courses, why not just get the degree?”
“Every stage has its priorities. Yours is the college entrance exam. For me… there are always more urgent matters.”
“Is it about money? Civil compensation?”
“It’s not about the money.”
A chill spread through her like icy water pouring through her veins. Every hair on her body stood on end. Something she hadn’t wanted to face, something she hadn’t even known she was afraid of, was beginning to come into focus, just behind a thin veil. And it scared her more than anything.
She had always regretted Jin Chao dropping out of school, had always believed that burying himself in manual labor at that cramped car shop was a waste of his potential. But even so, she’d never once felt disappointed in him. Even when she found out he used to street race illegally, she believed he’d quit after a few thrills. That wasn’t what broke her trust.
The real disappointment had come over these past ten days, with the crushing realization that he was involved in something far more dangerous, something clearly illegal. This was the line she couldn’t cross. After their last parting, she’d started to believe that reality had finally forced them onto two diverging paths. He would only drift further away, and that helpless despair had left her feeling like a drowning person, without even the strength to struggle.
At this moment, as all the truth presented itself in a completely unpredictable manner before Jiang Mu’s eyes, she felt a blazing beam of light brewing within her. Fear and terror, however, also illuminated her path in an instant.
She nearly ran back to the car shop. Jin Chao, however, wasn’t there. The others, Tie Gongji and Xiao Yang were closing up for the night. Xiao Yang glanced over and said, “Don’t wait. No telling when he’ll be back.”
It was late when Jin Chao finally returned. The sky outside was deep and quiet. He pulled open the rolling shutter, stepping into the dimly lit repair bay. A dim light still glowed in the lounge area, and there Jiang Mu sat, silent and waiting. The moment he stepped into the repair area, she lifted her head, and her eyes burned with a resolve he’d never seen before.