Chapter 70
Jin Chao’s place was very close to the café. Even with Jiang Mu walking alongside him, it was only a little more than ten minutes away. Before, when they had strolled together, she never thought much of it. But ever since learning about his health, every time she saw him again, she couldn’t help but worry he might tire out. Clearly, it was only a ten-minute walk, yet Jiang Mu had already grown concerned, glancing over at him several times, until Jin Chao finally turned his gaze away and said, “I’m not made of paper.”
Those words made Jiang Mu tuck away her concern, cautiously, at least not wanting him to notice it anymore.
When they reached the entrance of the residential complex, Jiang Mu froze for a moment. Back when she was apartment hunting, she had seen listings here at the real estate office. The environment was nice, and she had been drawn to it at first sight, but because the price was rather high, she hadn’t considered it further.
Jin Chao walked up to the gate. After the facial recognition system scanned him, the electronic door clicked open. He turned back to glance at her. Surprised, Jiang Mu followed him inside and asked, “So you live here?”
Jin Chao cast his eyes sideways. “You’ve been here before?”
Jiang Mu smiled without answering. She had lived in Nanjing for so long without realizing they lived this close. And yet, before she ever went to OON, not once had they bumped into each other right outside their own doors.
The elevator served two units per floor. As Jiang Mu stepped in, she asked, “Which floor?”
“The eighth.”
Jiang Mu reached out to press the button. In that fleeting moment, all the loneliness she had felt earlier about planning to spend the holiday alone dissolved completely. A smile spread across her face, unbidden. Since her back was to Jin Chao, she felt no need to hide it.
But as she kept smiling, something began to feel off. She had the distinct sensation of being watched. Slowly, she turned her gaze to the left only to meet a pair of deep black eyes. She had forgotten about the mirror inside the elevator, and Jin Chao had been quietly watching her smile all this time. She didn’t know how long he had been looking, but the moment she turned her head, he withdrew his gaze, the corner of his lips curving into a faint, ambiguous smile.
That all-too-familiar feeling of social embarrassment washed over her again. Jiang Mu quickly pretended to fix her hair and turned her face away.
This was the first time Jiang Mu had ever been to Jin Chao’s home. When they reached his front door, she suddenly realized she was empty-handed, coming over to his home for dinner, and on a holiday no less, seemed a little inappropriate. She stopped abruptly. Jin Chao turned back and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Mu pointed back toward the elevator and said, “Are you missing anything? Maybe I should go buy something to bring over?”
Jin Chao had already opened the door. He looked at her and said, “Just bring yourself. Come in.”
Jiang Mu walked toward him with a trace of nervousness, but only for a second. The next moment, Lightning came dashing over. Seeing Jin Chao bring Jiang Mu back, the dog was beside itself with excitement, front paws twitching as though ready to pounce on her. One sharp look from Jin Chao, however, sent it trotting obediently to the shoe cabinet, where it picked up a pair of slippers and set them in front of Jiang Mu. They were very large men’s slippers.
Jiang Mu deliberately asked, “No women’s slippers?”
Jin Chao lowered his eyes and said evenly, “Want to check the shoe cabinet yourself?”
Her little thought had been seen right through. Flustered, Jiang Mu muttered vaguely, “It’s just… these are a bit too big for me…”
She changed into the slippers, then crouched down and rubbed Lightning’s big head affectionately. “Why are you so well-behaved, hmm? My Lightning baby.”
Her deliberately cutesy tone drifted into Jin Chao’s ears, making the corners of his lips curve into a smile, even if it wasn’t directed at him.
Jiang Mu’s giant baby was clearly delighted. Lightning proudly ran off, only to return and generously offer her its bone toy. Jiang Mu squeezed it, then set it back down, but Lightning picked it right up again and shoved it insistently into her hands. Not wanting to reject his kindness again, she ended up holding the giant bone toy and calling out to Jin Chao, who was heading toward the kitchen, “Is it okay if I look around?”
Jin Chao, taking out the crabs, turned his head to glance at her. There she stood at the doorway, arms wrapped around Lightning’s giant bone toy, which was nearly half her height. Under the dog’s enthusiastic persistence, she could only hold on to it, looking rather silly. Warmth flickered in Jin Chao’s eyes as he said to her, “Feel free to make yourself at home.”
The apartment was decorated in a clean, minimalist palette, with a spacious living area that suited Jin Chao’s style perfectly. The space was free of clutter, giving it a tidy and refreshing feel. A comfortable sofa sat in the room, but there were no extra decorations or houseplants, not even a television. The space carried a touch of chilliness.
There were two rooms. One door was closed. In the other stood a large bookshelf and a dark-wood desk. Jiang Mu walked in with a few steps. On the desk lay several tender documents and some files. She craned her neck for a glance, and everything was related to power engineering. The bookshelf, too, was filled mostly with books on mechanical manufacturing.
Looking further out, there was a large balcony, furnished with several sets of fitness equipment and training gear. When she stepped out of that room, Jin Chao had just set the crabs into the steamer. Jiang Mu asked aloud, “Did you buy this place or rent it?”
“Bought it,” he replied casually.
Jiang Mu was a little surprised. “The housing prices here aren’t cheap, are they?”
Jin Chao opened the refrigerator, taking out vegetables one after another, and answered, “Made a bit from projects these past few years, just enough to cover the down payment.”
Jiang Mu pointed toward the room with the closed door. “Is that the bedroom?”
Jin Chao gave a brief “Mm” before asking, “Drink? Tea or something else?”
Jiang Mu said, “Don’t trouble yourself, I don’t feel like drinking right now. Can I take a look inside your room?”
Jin Chao paused for a moment, then asked, “Am I allowed to say no?”
Jiang Mu pursed her lips, tilted her chin, and shot him a sidelong look. “What, hiding a woman in there who can’t be seen?”
Jin Chao lowered his gaze with a faint smile, saying nothing. The more he acted like that, the more Jiang Mu wanted to go in and find out. Her hand closed challengingly around the doorknob. “I’m going in, you know?”
Jin Chao lifted his eyes to fix her with a dark, steady gaze. In the end, Jiang Mu released the handle and did not step into his private space. Instead, she turned toward the other door and asked, “That’s the bathroom, right? Mind if I use it?”
Jin Chao parted his lips as if to say something, his expression faintly unnatural. Jiang Mu blinked in surprise. “What, hiding a woman in the bathroom, too, and I can’t go in?”
Jin Chao lowered his gaze, turned away, and tossed back, “Suit yourself.”
After he left, Jiang Mu opened the bathroom door. What met her eyes was a spacious, spotless room with separate wet and dry areas. Even the sink was neatly arranged, with nothing out of place, certainly no hidden woman. Yet she froze on the spot. The floor tiles were fully non-slip, safety grab bars were installed along the walls, and the shower area was designed with accessibility in mind, complete with a fold-down bath seat and a movable wheelchair parked nearby.
Although she had learned about Jin Chao’s condition that day, truly stepping into his life and seeing these facilities with her own eyes still hit Jiang Mu hard.
Once, he had been so strong and sharp, who could lift her effortlessly with one arm, carry her up five flights of stairs without so much as a breath out of place. And now, the smallest details of daily life had become obstacles for him. A wave of sadness washed over Jiang Mu, misting her eyes, but she composed herself before stepping out of the bathroom.
Jin Chao was busy in the kitchen. Jiang Mu walked in as well. The kitchen was laid out in an L-shape, spacious, and the fragrance of the steaming crabs already filled the air. Jin Chao was preparing dinner when Jiang Mu leaned in to take a look. Rolling up her sleeves, she said, “Let me make a couple of dishes too.”
Jin Chao glanced at her sideways, a teasing tone in his voice. “Look at you, all capable now.”
Jiang Mu widened her eyes deliberately, feigning pitifulness. “What else can I do? No one’s taken care of me all these years. I can’t just starve myself to death, can I?”
She took off her coat, and Jin Chao reached out to take it from her. Noticing her slightly reddened eyes despite her calm demeanor, his lips tightened imperceptibly. He looked away and asked casually, “Hard to believe no one was chasing after you.”
Jiang Mu whacked the ginger hard with the back of her knife, retorting angrily, “No one chasing me? Please. The line of people chasing me could stretch from Canberra all the way to the Sydney Opera House!”
Jin Chao hung up her coat, then walked back, his tone light but edged. “So why didn’t you settle with one of them?”
Jiang Mu finished slicing the vegetables and placed them neatly on a plate. Turning her head toward him, she said, “How do you know I didn’t? Honestly, I’ve been on quite a few dates. The wildest one was with this rock musician. On our first date, he took me deep into the mountains. I thought we were going to have a barbecue, but then he just jumped right into the river, shoes still on, and told me to jump in too. I was completely stunned. There was even ice on the surface!”
Jin Chao’s brows furrowed slightly, his movements slowing. He shot her a look that spoke volumes, and Jiang Mu immediately broke into laughter, tilting her head. “See? I knew you’d believe anything I say.”
Jin Chao fixed her with an almost intimidating stare. “So, you’re out of things to talk about, is that it?”
“There’s plenty left,” she shot back quickly. “Are you still working on cars these days?”
“More or less.”
“When I came back to China, I made a trip to Tonggang and ran into Pan Kai. He even gave me your contact info, a landline number in Changchun. I tried calling, but it didn’t go through. Why did you go to Changchun?”
“I spent a couple of years there after graduation before moving here. Still have some business connections there, so I go back occasionally.”
“What kind of work do you do?”
“Project-based. Nothing fixed. That number you called, I’d already moved once, so it wasn’t in use anymore.”
Jiang Mu muttered, “No wonder.”
Then she asked again, “College entrance exam or adult higher education entrance exam?”
Jin Chao had already neatly cleared away the scraps she’d cut off, replying, “Self-study exam.”
Jiang Mu froze for a moment. She’d heard that self-study meant studying on your own, passing over a dozen subjects before you could get a diploma. It wasn’t an easy path, especially while also working to support yourself.
She asked, “Was it very hard?”
“For associate degree wasn’t too hard. The bachelor’s degree took more effort, but it was manageable.”
It took Jiang Mu a moment to realize. Strictly speaking, he hadn’t graduated from high school and had to start from the associate level. She couldn’t help but ask, “Did you have to memorize a lot?”
A barely noticeable smile touched Jin Chao’s lips. “Things like Introduction to the Basic Principles of Marxism. During rehab, when I had nothing else to do, I memorized them all.”
On this point, Jiang Mu never doubted him. Jin Chao had always had a sharp mind. Ever since childhood, he memorized things faster than she did. Words taught at school during the day, he could already recite fluently by night. Before her college entrance exam, Jin Chao had even shared his memorization tricks with her, rather unconventional ones, twisting the meaning of a phrase into something entirely unrelated, yet oddly enough, the next time she encountered the same material, she remembered it perfectly.
“Is that what you majored in, too?”
Jin Chao deftly peeled and deveined the prawns. “Back then, Guangyu introduced me to Changchun. I had work experience but no diploma, so I went ahead and studied mechanical design, manufacturing, and automation.”
“And now you’re in graduate school? Same field?”
“Thermal energy and power engineering. I’ll graduate next year.”
Jiang Mu was a little awed. Perhaps for an ordinary person, getting a master’s wasn’t all that remarkable. But for Jin Chao, especially after seeing the setup in his bathroom, it made her heart twist painfully. The harder he strove upward, the more she could feel just how much effort each step cost him.
Sensing her emotions, Jin Chao shifted the subject. “You’ve got more questions than an HR interviewer. Should I just make you a photocopy of my diploma?”
That finally made Jiang Mu laugh, falling silent. With her coat off, she wore a cream-colored knit with a half-high collar, her long hair tied back loosely with a few strands framing her face. She looked both gentle and captivating, bringing a touch of warmth and life to the otherwise sparse kitchen.
Under the warm glow of the light, Jin Chao glanced at her, then opened a drawer and handed her an apron. Jiang Mu was still marinating the pork belly, and her hands were covered in sauce.
Worried she’d dirty her light-colored sweater, Jin Chao simply moved behind her and slipped the apron over her neck himself. Jiang Mu felt his presence enveloping her from behind, her breath catching, even her hands pausing in mid-motion, but he soon stepped away again.
Jiang Mu turned her head slightly to look at him. His tight line of his profile carried a restrained warmth. Then she glanced back at Lightning, sprawled at the kitchen doorway, and felt a dazed sense of unreality, as if this were a scene from a dream.
Jiang Mu made crispy pork belly and a braised fish head, while Jin Chao stir-fried a few dishes. The crabs came out of the pot, large and full. Just before they sat down to eat, Jin Chao received a phone call. Though he hadn’t put the phone on speaker, Jiang Mu could faintly hear the voice on the other end, and it sounded familiar.
She leaned closer, straining her ears, and sure enough heard San Lai’s boisterous laughter, “If you won’t come to us, then we’ll come to you! We’ll head out now, and it’s only a two-hour drive. Spending a holiday alone is no fun.”
Jin Chao lifted his eyes, sweeping a glance at Jiang Mu pressed close beside him, and said evenly, “How do you know I’m spending it alone?”
San Lai immediately corrected himself, “Right, sorry, forgot to count Lightning. But I’m serious, we’re on our way over.”
Jin Chao replied, “No need. I’ll be over there next week anyway.”
Jiang Mu grinned mischievously, pinching her throat and deliberately changing her voice into a soft, sugary tone as she leaned toward the phone. “Darling, hurry up, won’t you?”
“……”
The other end of the line went dead silent. Jin Chao lifted his gaze, fixing her with a frosty stare, while Jiang Mu clapped a hand over her mouth, laughing uncontrollably.
It took more than ten seconds before San Lai finally let out a shocked, “Holy…,” then stammered over the phone, “Th-then, brother, you’re busy, I’ll hang up now.”
When the call ended, Jiang Mu had just started to dart away when Jin Chao caught her by the collar and yanked her back. His voice was low and stern, “My reputation is ruined because of you.”
Jiang Mu giggled, unrepentant. “I’ll take responsibility for you, how about that?”
Jin Chao’s gaze darkened, and the air between them suddenly grew still. Jiang Mu’s smile faded, but her eyes remained fixed on him, bright and intense.