Chapter 15
Jin Chao lifted the curtain and walked into the room inside, saying to Jiang Mu, “Come in.”
This is the first time Jiang Mu has stepped into this small single room belonging to Jin Chao. Aside from the steel wire bed and bedside table she had seen last time, there was a dark-colored simple wardrobe, and further inside, a door. Jin Chao opened the door to reveal an even smaller shower room. He found a clean long-sleeve T-shirt, turned around, and placed it on the bed, saying to her, “I’m outside. Call me if you need anything.”
After saying that, Jin Chao left, closing the rest area door behind him.
The events of the night had kept Jiang Mu so occupied that she hadn’t had time to consider her own physical condition. It wasn’t until Jin Chao left that she realized it was inconvenient for her to take a shower right now. She opened the door to the rest area and looked at the heavy rain outside, hesitating whether she should run out again. However, her body had already been exhausted, and her lower abdomen ached faintly, making it painful to take even a single step.
She could only squat down and pull out her phone to find a delivery service but discovered that no one in the area was taking orders. Jiang Mu had never encountered such an awkward situation before.
Jin Chao had been talking to San Lai in the next room, and about ten minutes later, he returned to the garage. He saw the rest area door open, light streaming from inside, and a figure standing by the door. He threw away the cigarette in his hand and walked inside. As he got closer, he saw more clearly that Jiang Mu had not showered. Her hair was still wet, and she was crouching at the door, holding her stomach. In the light of the rest area, Jin Chao saw her face pale, her features all scrunched up in pain.
He bent down and asked, “Where does it hurt?”
Jiang Mu lifted her eyes, and the faint light in her gaze was as fragile as shattered glass, piercing Jin Chao’s heart. He softened his voice and asked again, “Does your stomach hurt?”
Jiang Mu bit her lip, a shy expression spreading across her pale face. She nodded slightly. Jin Chao was about to go look for some stomach medicine when he suddenly realized something. He turned around again, awkwardly asking, “Are you…?”
Then, it was as though a string in his mind snapped. His eyes widened, locking onto the fragile girl in front of him. He asked, “You went out in the heavy rain just now to buy…?”
Jiang Mu felt like there was a massive stone lodged in her throat. The embarrassment and frustration gathered there, and she murmured in a barely audible voice, “I lost it.”
The trembling three words exposed Jiang Mu’s embarrassment, leaving her nowhere to hide. Jin Chao immediately cursed himself as an idiot. He stood frozen for a few seconds, then rubbed his short hair in frustration. His tone softened as he spoke to her, “You go wash up first. I’ll go buy it.”
With that, he quickly walked out. Jiang Mu, eyes stinging, watched as he disappeared into the pouring rain. The light in her eyes finally regained some warmth.
Jin Chao pulled down the shutter door. San Lai happened to be standing outside, holding a large bowl of noodles and slurping it up. Seeing Jin Chao about to leave again, he called out, “Where are you going?”
Jin Chao shot him a glance but didn’t say anything. There was a small shop near the garage still open. The owner, a regular at the shop where Jin Chao often bought cigarettes, was on familiar terms with him. But if he suddenly went there in the middle of the night to buy something for a woman, the entire street would know about it by the next day. After thinking about it, he decided to drive to a convenience store on the backstreet instead.
The convenience store wasn’t very big, with only three rows of shelves. The owner was a middle-aged woman with a large belly and round waist. When she saw him wandering toward the feminine hygiene section, she gave him a knowing look that made Jin Chao feel uncomfortable. He had never bought feminine products before, so he randomly grabbed a bunch of items and hurried to the checkout.
The woman scanned each item and asked, “Would you like to join the promotion? For just one more yuan, you can choose something extra…”
Jin Chao, growing increasingly impatient, pulled out his payment code and said, “Fine, just hurry up.”
The owner quickly became more efficient and asked what he wanted to exchange. Jin Chao, eager to leave, muttered, “Anything.”
Seeing that the young man was buying sanitary pads for his girlfriend in the middle of the night, the owner, sensing he was considerate, picked up a box of condoms from the back shelf and dropped it into the plastic bag.
Jin Chao didn’t even look at it. He grabbed the bag and walked out of the store. The wheels of his car splashed water as he drove back to the garage. San Lai was still sitting there with his bowl, leaning his head out and eyeing the plastic bag in Jin Chao’s hand. He squinted and asked, “What did you buy?”
Without a word, Jin Chao switched the bag to his other hand, pulling it behind his back. He opened the shutter door with one hand and asked, “What do you do if a woman has stomach pain?”
“Which part hurts?”
Jin Chao shot him a sideways glance and replied, “What do you think?”
San Lai chuckled, put down his large bowl, and pulled out his phone, saying “I’ll give Xiao Pingzi a call and ask her.”
Xiao Pingzi was San Lai’s childhood friend, a girl who had pursued him for three years in high school. Back then, San Lai was deeply immersed in online games and had unwittingly crushed her feelings. Later, Xiao Pingzi had a realization, deciding that San Lai was destined to remain single. So, she unilaterally cut ties with him.
After years of no contact, San Lai suddenly called her one rainy night. The first thing he asked when she picked up was, “Pingzi, what do you do when your period causes stomach pain?”
“…Drink your grandmother’s foot bath water.” The phone call ended with a beep.
The phone was on speaker, and a faint air of awkwardness filled the room. Jin Chao glanced at San Lai, who coughed awkwardly and said, “I think her method might not be that great.”
Jin Chao ignored him and went into the room, placing the bag outside the shower. He called out to her, “I put the stuff on the floor.” Then he went out.
The shower was small but impeccably clean, with no discomfort at all. In fact, Jin Chao had always been very tidy when he was young. Compared to other boys his age, who were often dirty and messy, he rarely looked disheveled. When he was little, Jiang Yinghan taught him how to wash his clothes, and in Jiang Mu’s memory, Jin Chao always did his own laundry. She used to not realize it, but now she felt a little embarrassed that even at her age when she was at home, her mother still washed her clothes. She had never seen it before, but now it felt like her mom was being openly biased.
After finishing her shower, she looked at the only towel in the small shower, which was dark blue. She picked it up, and it had a pleasant scent. She had smelled the same minty fragrance on Jin Chao after he had just finished his shower. The thought of sharing a towel with someone of the opposite sex made her feel embarrassed. Her mind couldn’t help but replay Jin Chao’s words earlier, “I’m not your brother. Do you think this is appropriate?”
It wasn’t appropriate, but there didn’t seem to be any other options.
After finishing her shower, Jiang Mu opened the bathroom door slightly. Jin Chao was not in sight, but she looked down and saw a plastic bag on the floor. Inside were several packs of sanitary napkins and, to her embarrassment, a box of new women’s underwear. Jiang Mu felt an overwhelming urge to disappear right then and there, but reality forced her to swallow her discomfort.
She changed into the oversized T-shirt that Jin Chao had found for her which was so large it could pass for a dress and stuffed the plastic bag haphazardly into the nightstand drawer. Thinking of Jin Chao, who was probably as drenched as she was, she pulled back the curtain and walked out of the room to the maintenance area where he was waiting, saying, “I’m done. You can shower now.”
Jin Chao glanced at her feet, noticing that her size 35 feet were slipping around in his size 43 black slippers. The sight made her look like a child who had borrowed an adult’s shoes, and it struck him as a little comical.
Jin Chao had long, sharp eyes. When he was expressionless, he could come off as indifferent, even cold. But when he smiled, it was as if a burning light radiated from his gaze, a warmth that could make anyone uneasy. Jiang Mu felt self-conscious under his gaze. Following his line of sight to her feet, she suddenly realized something. She quickly said, “I’ll go to bed, you can have the shoes.”
After that, she returned to the room, climbed onto the wireframe bed, and left the slippers under the bed.
Jin Chao walked into the room, opened the simple wardrobe, and pulled out a clean set of clothes before heading into the shower. When he opened the bathroom door again, he saw that his towel had been washed and neatly folded into a square shape, placed carefully on the sink. He picked it up, and the soft texture of the towel under his fingers stirred something within him.
The sound of water from the shower filled the room, and Jiang Mu, realizing her shoes were still wet and there were no extra slippers, remained on the bed. She lifted her gaze, and her eyes landed on the wall next to the bed. Three rows of black shelves lined the wall, two rows of books, and one shelf holding lighters, spare car keys, random small parts, and other miscellaneous items.
The two rows of books on the shelves were filled with dense volumes on car structures and disassembly, several thick 3D diagrams, and industrial technical books that Jiang Mu couldn’t make sense of, including one dedicated to studying drag coefficients.
Jin Chao had always enjoyed reading, and back then, Jiang Mu couldn’t understand his books. She hadn’t expected that, even after growing up, she would still find his books incomprehensible.
The door to the shower room opened, and Jiang Mu quickly looked away, only to see Jin Chao walking out. He noticed how she had remained sitting obediently at the edge of the bed, as if afraid to disturb the bedding. From the time he went inside to the time he came out, she hadn’t moved. The long T-shirt covered her knees, enveloping her like a soft, adorable rice dumpling.
He remembered that the long-sleeve T-shirt was from when he left Wanjing last year. San Lai had dragged him to Shijiazhuang for a break, insisting that he visit North Country Outlets. San Lai had said that since he was out, he had to buy something as a treat for himself. Eventually, he randomly picked up the T-shirt. It was a brand-name item, not cheap, and once bought, it had been left unused in his wardrobe. Even though it was now stretched out from Jiang Mu wearing it, he couldn’t be bothered. He turned and rummaged through the cabinet below.
Soon, he found a bag of cotton swabs, a bottle of disinfectant, and a pack of band-aids. He walked over to the bedside, placed the items on the nightstand, and crouched down in front of Jiang Mu, saying, “Let me see your hand.”
After the upheaval of the night, Jiang Mu had almost forgotten about her injuries. She hadn’t expected Jin Chao to notice. She extended her hand out from the long T-shirt sleeve for him. When Jin Chao saw the several alarming nail marks on the delicate back of her hand, he froze for a moment.
Without saying a word, he dipped a cotton swab into the disinfectant and gently held her fingers. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he asked softly, “Does it hurt?”
Jiang Mu rested her chin on her knee and sniffed lightly, making a small sound of acknowledgment.
Jin Chao’s movements became even gentler as he continued to tend to her hand, saying, “She’s still a child, doesn’t know her own strength. You…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Jiang Mu mumbled, “Who isn’t still a child?”
Jin Chao chuckled softly, and Jiang Mu paused for a moment. Though it was hard to find any traces of his past self, Jin Chao’s smile seemed unchanged. The shape of his lips, when they curved upwards, made the air feel softer.
Jin Chao lowered his gaze and spoke with a slightly relaxed tone, “So, what do you want to do? Should I go get justice for you?”
Jiang Mu looked away in a huff and said, “Would you really go after her for me?”
Jin Chao lifted his eyes and glanced at her puffed-up cheeks, then lowered his head and chuckled softly, “It’s different.”
Jiang Mu didn’t quite understand and asked, “What’s different?”
She was curious whether he meant the difference in their ages or if it was because of how much weight she held in his heart.
But Jin Chao didn’t answer her question. Instead, he asked, “I can’t treat a child the same way. What would make you feel better?”
Jiang Mu held back for a moment before replying, “Not just one night. A few more nights.”
Jin Chao held her fingertips and lifted his gaze to meet hers. For a brief moment, the air seemed to stop moving. The room was eerily quiet, and the sensation of his hand gripping hers grew clearer and more tangible. Since she had become sensible, no one had ever held her hand like this with such strong, reassuring pressure, and a sense of shyness crept up on her. She wanted to look away, but she knew she had to push through this conversation.
So, she continued, “I want to go back to Suzhou, but I don’t know how to transfer schools. I’ll inquire about it in a few days. If it’s really not possible, I’ll just rent a place outside. In any case, I can’t go back there, so… can you let me stay with you for a few more days?”
Jin Chao chuckled again, and this time, the smile in his eyes spread fully, tinged with a hint of amusement.
Jiang Mu furrowed her brows and asked seriously, “Is it really that funny?”
Jin Chao gradually stopped smiling and raised an eyebrow, asking, “Are you feeling wronged?”
If he hadn’t asked that, Jiang Mu might have been able to hold her composure, but once he did, she nearly broke down. She almost started crying but forced herself to turn her head away, biting her lip to hold back.
Seeing the redness in her nose, Jin Chao gently applied the band-aid to her hand, saying, “It’s late, you should get some rest. We’re not discussing this tonight.”
Jiang Mu, feeling deflated, asked in a soft voice, “Then where are you going to sleep tonight?”
“San Lai’s place. You sleep here,” Jin Chao replied.
He straightened up, discarded the cotton swab, and when he turned around, he saw Jiang Mu still sitting at the edge of the bed. He picked up the bottle on the bedside table and asked, “Are you just going to sit here waiting for me to tuck you in?”
Jiang Mu obediently lay down as soon as she heard his words. Her head barely touched the pillow before she began to feel drowsy. As her eyelids fluttered between sleep and wakefulness, she saw Jin Chao turn back to put the things back into the wardrobe. She asked faintly, “When did she get this illness?”
Jin Chao, his back to her, carefully put each item away and replied, “When she was three.”
“Was she causing trouble?”
“I don’t know.” He closed the wardrobe door.
“You don’t know?”
He straightened up, his voice calm and detached, as though he were talking about something trivial, “I wasn’t home at that time. By the time I returned, she had stopped causing trouble.”
His tone carried no emotion, as though he was discussing something insignificant.
Jiang Mu asked in confusion, “Where were you?”
Jin Chao propped himself up against the wardrobe without turning to face her. After a few seconds, he slowly turned around. His expression was calm, devoid of any trace of change, and he said, “Go to sleep. We’ll talk tomorrow.” He turned off the light as an afterthought and walked out.
Once Jin Chao left, Jiang Mu’s eyelids fluttered closed. However, her sleep wasn’t peaceful. There were physical reasons for her discomfort, and the environment didn’t help either. But fatigue overcame her, and she drifted in and out of a hazy state. She wasn’t sure how long she had been asleep when the rain outside continued to pour.
In her dream, it was also raining. She found herself back on that rainy night when she was nine years old. She was at the window, calling out to her father and Jin Chao. But they seemed to be in another world, unable to hear her cries. They didn’t even glance back at her. Her small body squeezed through the railing and outside, drenched by the rain. She reached out her hands to them, but her footing slipped, and she fell from the high ground, the fear rising in her chest as she cried out with a sob, “Chao Chao, Chao Chao, Brother…”
Jin Chao heard the sound and walked in, turning on the light as he asked, “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Mu covered her face with her hand and muttered, “It’s too bright.”
Jin Chao turned off the light again and walked to the bed. He saw her still with her eyes closed, a thin layer of sweat glistening on her forehead in the dim light, making her appear even more fragile and in pain. He called her softly, “Mu Mu.”
Jiang Mu turned over, her hand flailing in the air, searching for something to hold onto but finding nothing. Her frown deepened in unease. Just as her hand was about to fall, Jin Chao caught it. She held onto him like she had found a lifeline, her voice soft and hoarse as she murmured, “It hurts.”
Jin Chao bent down, his voice gentle as he asked, “Does your stomach hurt?”
Jiang Mu didn’t answer, her brow furrowed tightly, unsure whether she was awake or still in a dream, her whole body in a daze.
Jin Chao considered going out to get her a glass of warm water, but Jiang Mu grabbed onto him. Her grip was weak, and Jin Chao easily pulled his hand free. However, a soft, almost inaudible whimper escaped her throat. The sound hit him like a punch, and suddenly, a long-forgotten memory resurfaced, one from a long time ago, an afternoon when Jiang Yinghan hadn’t been able to pick her up, and she had made a similar soft, pitiful sound. Unable to bear letting go of her again, he gently took her hand in his, speaking in a soothing voice, “I won’t leave. I’ll go get some water and come back, be good.”
He wasn’t sure if Jiang Mu was truly listening, but when he tested pulling his hand away again, she remained silent, as still and quiet as though she had fallen asleep.
Jin Chao did not turn on the light in the room but turned on the light in the lounge outside. He walked back to the room with the light and saw Jiang Mu’s thin body curled up completely. He squatted down and said to her, “Get up and drink some water.”
Jiang Mu did not move. He gently touched her and said to her patiently, “Get up and drink some hot water, okay?”
Jiang Mu seemed to have finally responded. She shook her head painfully and did not want to move. Jin Chao touched her forehead. She did not have a fever. He did not know how to relieve her pain. He could only sit by the bed and help her up. His big hand supported Jiang Mu’s back. Her body was soft and she had no strength at all. Jin Chao had no choice but to half hold her in front of him and feed the water to her mouth. She finally drank two sips, and then the whole person slid down again and curled up into a ball.
Jin Chao put down the cup of water, took out his phone, and searched for ways to relieve pain. After searching for a long time, he found a variety of answers online. It was too late for him to find brown sugar or donkey-hide gelatin cakes. Seeing someone answer that massaging the Sanyinjiao acupoint was effective, he walked to the end of the bed, put his phone on the bedside, and put Jiang Mu’s feet on his legs according to the acupoints in the picture.
The location of the Sanyinjiao acupoint is a little above the ankle. He kicked and kneaded her with the belly of his thumb over and over again. At first, her body was still very tense, but after more than ten minutes, she slowly relaxed. Jin Chao stared at her in the light outside, and her tightly locked eyebrows gradually relaxed.
When Jiang Mu was still a baby, Jin Chao’s fun was to pick up her fat little feet with a milky smell and take a bite every day after school, which always made the little Mu Mu sleeping in the crib laugh and move about.
Jin Chao smiled softly, a quiet, almost imperceptible laugh, as he looked at Jiang Mu’s feet. Even though they were no longer the chubby little feet from her childhood, they still had the same delicate, well-shaped toes and slender arches, making them feel as cute as a child’s feet. The simple act of touching her feet brought a sudden rush of memories, leaving him feeling momentarily disoriented. Just a month ago, before he received that call from Jin Qiang, he never imagined he would have any more connection with her in this lifetime.
Yet now, she was lying in his bed, and he could feel her warmth. Everything felt so real, but at the same time, surreal.
Jiang Mu wasn’t completely unaware of her surroundings. In her groggy, dreamlike state, she felt like she was drifting in and out of consciousness. She knew she was dreaming, yet the pain in her stomach was real. She could vaguely sense Jin Chao trying to help her drink water, but she didn’t want to move, and couldn’t open her eyes. Then, she felt his hands gently pressing on her ankle, massaging the area around it. His fingers, calloused with slight roughness, applied just the right pressure, not too much, not too little, and it helped dispel the unfamiliar fear she had of the environment. Slowly, her tension eased, and she felt herself drifting into a deeper, more comfortable sleep.
She had no sense of how long he had massaged her, but eventually, everything faded away, and she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Meanwhile, Jin Chao couldn’t sleep properly the entire night. He wasn’t sure if it was because witnessing Jin Xing’s fall had shaken Jiang Mu so much or if it was the aftermath of that shock. Every so often, she would tremble slightly in her sleep, emitting small, discomforted sounds, like she had been too frightened. He had to make a makeshift bed using two chairs in the living room and rest there, keeping an ear out for any signs of distress. Every time he heard her stir, he would get up to check on her, gently patting her back to soothe her until she settled again, giving him some peace of mind.
……
The next morning, Xiao Yang arrived at the car shop and was surprised to see the roller shutter already open. Jin Chao, with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, was squatting in the repair shop, working on a vehicle. Xiao Yang, holding two big meat buns, shouted out, “Hey, boss, you’re starting work so early today? Want a bun?”
Jin Chao shot him a glare and said, “Keep your voice down, I’m not eating.”
Then, with a serious expression, he added, “Don’t go into the lounge area.”
Puzzled, Xiao Yang stuck his head toward the door, but before he could get too close, Jin Chao slapped him on the back of the head and pushed him out.
Curious, Xiao Yang asked, “Who’s in there?”
Jin Chao suddenly thought of Jiang Mu’s WeChat name, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Hard to Wake Up.”
Tie Gongji arrived a little later. Upon hearing Xiao Yang’s mention of someone being in his master’s room, he was warned not to go into the lounge area. All morning, whenever the noise level rose a little, Jin Chao would shoot them a cold stare, turning the normally bustling repair shop into a nearly silent one. Xiao Yang and Tie Gongji, who were usually chatty, were both nearly suffocated by the silence.
While the two of them were outside smoking, they couldn’t stop speculating about who might be in Jin Chao’s room. Since Jin Chao started his own business, he rarely went back home. The small room inside had become his temporary refuge. Although the space was small, Jin Chao hated having anyone in his room. So, despite Xiao Yang and Tie Gongji occasionally needing to grab something or sit in the lounge area to play games, they never dared to enter his room.
Once, when Xiao Qingshe came by to visit, she insisted on lying casually on Jin Chao’s bed. When Jin Chao returned, without a word, he grabbed her by the collar and threw her out, furious. Ever since then, Xiao Qingshe hasn’t come back.
Xiao Yang and Tie Gongji were both puzzled, about what kind of immortal allowed him to indulge so much.
It wasn’t until Jiang Mu emerged from the room, having slept until noon, that both of them stood there, stunned. Their surprise wasn’t just because Jiang Mu was wearing Jin Chao’s clothes, but because beneath the oversized T-shirt, her long, slender, and alluring legs were clearly visible. Coupled with her cute short hair, she looked like a forbidden temptation, making them freeze in place, feeling embarrassed at the sight.
Jin Chao, noticing their stares, threw a cigarette butt at them, snapping them back to reality. He then walked toward Jiang Mu, used his body to shield her, and pushed her back into the room. He said, “You don’t know how to wear pants and just ran out like this?”
Jiang Mu had slowly started to recall what happened last night. She seemed to have clung to Jin Chao for most of the night, and now that she thought about it, it was incredibly embarrassing. She instinctively distanced herself from him, her face flushing with humiliation, though she tried to sound confident as she responded, “Do you think I have pants to wear?”
Jin Chao turned around, dug a pair of sweatpants out of his closet, and tossed them to her. He then left the room. Jiang Mu put them on, but the pants were so large that they looked like they belonged to a giant. She didn’t even know how many times she had to roll them up just to get her feet through, and she had to tighten the waistband multiple times before she could even wear them. She caught her reflection in the glass of the lounge area and couldn’t help but sigh, this was a disaster.
Meanwhile, in the repair shop, a car was being lifted up, and Jin Chao was underneath it, inspecting the undercarriage. When he saw her walk out, his eyes flicked over her, and Jiang Mu could see the barely hidden smile in his gaze. It only made her feel more embarrassed.
He called out to Xiao Yang, “You take care of this.”
With that, he took off his gloves and walked over to Jiang Mu, glancing at her with a smirk before asking, “Are you hungry? What do you want to eat?”
Jiang Mu, holding up the pants’ legs, replied, “As long as it’s not dumplings, anything will do.”
“…”
The rain had stopped outside, but the ground was still damp. Jiang Mu watched as Jin Chao set up the electric stove outside the garage. He skillfully chopped a sausage into cubes, then pulled out a carrot to cut. She quickly stepped forward to stop him, saying, “I don’t eat carrots.”
Jin Chao merely responded with an “Oh,” and continued chopping, his knife skills so good that Jiang Mu wondered if he might turn the knife on her if she said anything more. She could only mutter softly, “No scallions.”
After confirming that Jin Chao wasn’t adding scallions, she relaxed and stretched her neck to watch. Jin Chao poured oil into the pan and turned to her, saying, “Move.”
“Why?”
Before she could react, Jin Chao tossed the rice into the hot oil with a sizzle. Jiang Mu jumped back, startled, while Jin Chao shot her a quick glance, the corner of his mouth twitching. Despite clearly being startled himself, he tried to maintain an air of indifference.
Watching him expertly crack an egg with one hand, tossing in the sausage and carrot cubes to stir-fry, Jiang Mu mumbled, “What’s so funny? I’m not afraid of the frying pan. I just didn’t expect it to be so sudden.”
“Can you cook?”
“Well… I can,” Jiang Mu said, a bit uncertain.
Jin Chao knew immediately that she didn’t actually know how to cook. With a quick flick of his wrist, his muscles tensed as he flipped the fried rice with practiced ease, not a single grain spilling out. His movements were swift and decisive, even impressively graceful.
Soon, the delicious aroma of the fried rice filled the room, making Jiang Mu’s stomach growl uncontrollably, and she casually asked, “How’s Jin Xin?”
“She’s fine, she’ll be discharged by noon.”
Jiang Mu let out a relieved sigh but then sank into a bit of gloom. “Oh,” she muttered, knowing that meant Zhao Meijuan and the others had gone home, making it even less likely that she would be able to return.
She lingered near him, hesitating before she asked, “Do you have time later? Can you help me go back and grab my luggage and backpack?”
Jin Chao didn’t look at her, adding seasonings to the frying pan. Seeing he hadn’t responded, Jiang Mu pressed further, “Is that okay?”
Finally, Jin Chao turned off the stove and faced her, “Did I promise to let you stay?”
Jiang Mu lowered her dark eyes, a mix of frustration and resentment on her face. Jin Chao suppressed a smile, raising his hand towards her. Reflexively, Jiang Mu shut her eyes, but when she opened them again, she saw his arm above her head, reaching for a plate. She awkwardly tugged at the waistband of her pants as they slipped down.
Jin Chao plated the fried rice and placed it on the low table beside her, saying, “You’re not allowed to pick out the carrots.”
Jiang Mu muttered irritably, “He’s not my brother, why does he care so much?”
Jin Chao raised an eyebrow at her but didn’t respond, continuing with his work. Jiang Mu sat alone at the entrance of the car shop, watching the cars come and go, sighing in frustration.
San Lai, following the scent of the food, emerged and, seeing Jiang Mu sitting at the shop entrance eating fried rice, immediately burst out laughing. “Hey, little sis, are you going fishing? What kind of junk are you wearing? Youjiu has no taste at all. A pretty girl dressed like she’s just been pulled out of the sea.”
Jiang Mu huffed, lifting her pant cuffs, and angrily stuffed another bite of fried rice into her mouth. Surprisingly, it tasted pretty good.
But the thought of her situation after eating left her a bit uneasy. It felt like Jin Chao wanted to send her away with just one meal.
San Lai went back into his shop, then returned a moment later, carrying a small black dog. He handed it to Jiang Mu and said, “Here, little sis, check out your puppy. Is it a little chubbier now?”
Jiang Mu looked up at the little black dog, took it in her arms, and smiled. It had indeed grown a bit, now wagging its tail at her. She set the dog on her lap and asked, “What do you mean, ‘your puppy’?”
San Lai raised his eyebrows. “Didn’t Jin Chao tell you? This dog’s yours now.”
“Wait, what?” Jiang Mu was a bit shocked. “He didn’t tell me that! He’s been trying to get rid of me. There’s no way he’d give me a dog.”
San Lai raised an eyebrow, surprised. “He said that? He’s trying to kick you out?”
Jiang Mu gently stroked the soft furry little thing in her arms. “He didn’t exactly say it…”
San Lai leaned against the door of the pet shop, half-smiling. “Don’t you think if he wanted to kick you out, he wouldn’t have gone all the way to buy you slippers and towels this morning?”
Jiang Mu suddenly paused, looking down at the pink cartoon slippers on her feet. She remembered how, when she woke up, there were new towels and a toothbrush already laid out in the bathroom, everything was pink.
She used to love pink as a child. She had an obsession with it, to the point where if something wasn’t pink, it would upset her. But that was long ago, and now she preferred the more neutral black, white, and gray. It surprised her that Jin Chao still remembered her childhood preferences.
She couldn’t help but glance over at Jin Chao, who was working nearby, and then at San Lai, who was lazily smiling at her.
Feeling like she had found a clue, Jiang Mu finished her fried rice in a couple of bites, then scooped up the little black dog and walked over to Jin Chao. She held the dog up to him and asked, “Isn’t it cute?”
Jin Chao gave her a glance before turning to the other side of the car, ignoring her. Undeterred, she walked around to his side again and raised the dog in front of him, saying, “San Lai says you agreed to let me keep it?”
Jin Chao crouched down, rummaging through his toolbox without looking up. Jiang Mu squatted beside him, tilting her head to watch him, and said, “The dog’s still small, so I should stay and take care of it for a few days, right?”
Jin Chao didn’t even glance at her, replying coolly, “I’m not your brother. If I have to take care of the dog, am I supposed to take care of you too?”
“I ate the carrots.”
Jin Chao looked up, and Jiang Mu gazed at him with two watery eyes full of innocence, as if seeking approval. He moved his toolbox aside and straightened up, and Jiang Mu seized the moment, continuing, “I still have a paper to finish, it’s due tomorrow, it is at Dad’s place.”
Jin Chao found it amusing that she was still thinking about her homework. He took a cigarette out of his pocket and gestured for Xiao Yang to hand him a lighter. After lighting the cigarette and taking a puff, he glanced at her and said nonchalantly, “Shout it out, let me hear it.”
Jiang Mu, holding the dog, stood in the repair shop, staring at him. “Shout what?”
Jin Chao exhaled a puff of smoke, his tone teasing, “What did you shout last night?”
Xiao Yang and Tie Gongji watched the scene like it was a performance. Jiang Mu pressed her lips together tightly. Although her head had been foggy the night before, she vaguely remembered, perhaps, that she had shamefully called out “brother” in her sleep, especially after saying that Jin Chao wasn’t her brother.
But that was all unconscious. There was no way she could admit it in front of everyone.
She pouted, holding the dog, and walked toward the lounge area. Just as she was about to lift the curtain, she suddenly remembered she had no clean bra to change into, and the dampness made it uncomfortable. Wearing these clothes, with the men’s pants constantly slipping off, and having to go out to buy more, she might as well just give up entirely.
The desire for victory seemed trivial in the face of survival. A strong woman is capable of both yielding and enduring. She struggled for a few seconds, then turned back. Jin Chao was still standing there, cigarette between his fingers, staring at her.
Jiang Mu, wearing those cartoon slippers, shuffled out of the rest area. She glanced at Xiao Yang and the others, then looked outside the garage, confirming that no one but Jin Chao was watching her. She softly called out, “Brother.”
Xiao Yang and Tie Gongji couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing. Jiang Mu’s face turned bright red, and Jin Chao’s eyes also held a trace of amusement.
With her back to Xiao Yang and Tie Gongji, she shuffled closer to Jin Chao. He flicked the cigarette butt to the ground and looked down at her. Jiang Mu couldn’t bear to meet his gaze. Avoiding eye contact, she mumbled in a barely audible voice, “The… the underwear… it’s hanging on the balcony, don’t forget to take it.” After saying this, she turned and ran back to the room without looking back.
When Jin Chao went back, Jin Qiang asked him about Jiang Mu. He said she refused to come back and was insisting on returning to Suzhou. Jin Qiang was overwhelmed and asked Jin Chao what to do. Jin Chao shrugged and said, “There’s nothing to be done. She’s angry. Let her calm down for a couple of days.”
Jin Qiang could only repeatedly remind Jin Chao to keep an eye on Jiang Mu. He planned to talk to Zhao Meijuan in the next few days and wanted Jin Chao to do some persuasion work with Jiang Mu. No one wanted this situation to escalate further.
Jin Chao didn’t say much. He went into the room and picked up the homework and papers scattered on Jiang Mu’s desk, putting them into her bag. He went to the balcony to collect her clothes. Suddenly, he remembered that Jiang Mu had told him not to forget her underwear. He saw the white lace hanging on the clothesline, swaying in the wind. Normally, Jin Chao’s thoughts were quite innocent, but just thinking about her shy and awkward manner earlier made him uncomfortable. He quickly avoided his gaze, grabbed the underwear, and stuffed it into her bag without giving it another thought.
Half an hour later, Jin Chao returned with the things. He dropped them off and immediately went out again, leaving Jiang Mu to finally change out of the fisherwoman’s outfit.
In the afternoon, Xiao Yang and Tie Gongji kept going in and out of the lounge area to look for things, so Jiang Mu simply sat at the small table by the door, doing her work. Several cars came and went, and she had to get up and make way whenever a car arrived. San Lai saw this through the glass door, pushed it open, and directly moved the table outside his store. He said to her, “Sit here and write.”
Jiang Mu felt a bit embarrassed and asked, “Won’t it disturb your business?”
San Lai smiled and replied, “It won’t disturb you. Just top up your card later.”
“…”
Jiang Mu placed the little black dog on her lap and continued writing. The little dog was very well-behaved, quietly sleeping on her lap.
Around four o’clock, a car suddenly stopped on the street. Three men got out and headed straight for the car shop. One of them, a man called Xiao Pingtou, loudly called out, “Where’s Brother Jiu?”
Jiang Mu, who had been wearing headphones, raised her head at the loud voice. She saw Xiao Yang and Tie Gongji stop their work, vigilantly watching the group. The man with the buzz cut first walked up to an SUV parked at the shop entrance, slapped the hood, and shouted, “Am I speaking a foreign language? Can’t you understand?”
Xiao Yang showed an angry expression, and Tie Gongji patted him on the back, stepping forward to offer the man a cigarette and reply, “Brother Jiu went to the auto parts market. If you need something…”
Before he finished speaking, the short-haired guy in a floral sweatshirt broke his cigarette and spat, “Who the hell are you?”
Jiang Mu pulled off his headphones and frowned. San Lai also heard the noise and walked out of the store. Jiang Mu whispered, “Who are they?”
San Lai said coldly, “People from Wanji Car Shop.”
As he was talking, the gang walked into the maintenance room and kicked the container directly, and the screws and parts fell and rolled everywhere.
Jiang Mu stood up suddenly, San Lai held her shoulders and said to her, “Ignore them.”
Jiang Mu stared at the group of people and asked, “What are they doing?”
San Lai told her, “Youjiu worked in Wanji for more than three years before. After he went out on his own last year, people from their side would come to cause trouble from time to time. Don’t go over there.”
After saying that, San Lai walked to the next door and said with a smile on his face, “Brothers, if you have something to say, you are not a hero if you burn, kill, and loot while the boss is not around. People who don’t know would think that you are cowards who only dare to take advantage of others’ misfortunes. You are all hanging around in this area. It’s so embarrassing to tell others.”
The leader, the short-haired guy, turned around and stared at San Lai with disdain, and said sarcastically, “It’s none of your damn business. Lai Zi, go and pet your cat next door. If it weren’t for your father, I would have taken care of you too.”
San Lai wore an indifferent expression and said, “If you want to chat, I’m always available but don’t bring my old man into this. He drinks, gambles, and messes around, but I’m a law-abiding citizen. If you’re trying to do me a favor because of him, there’s no need. Even though my roots aren’t deep and my character isn’t pure, I really don’t need the protection of society’s dark forces.”
Another man in the group told Xiao Pingtou, “Stop wasting time with him. This guy’s always talking nonsense.”
Xiao Pingtou knew he couldn’t get anything out of San Lai, so he stopped wasting time on him. San Lai deliberately stepped forward and gave Xiao Yang, who was glaring at them, a subtle look, then continued, “What do you mean by nonsense? If you had any common sense, you wouldn’t mistake a handsome guy for a donkey.”
However, Xiao Yang didn’t catch San Lai’s hint. Seeing the mess around him, he was so angry that he was ready to pick up a wrench and fight these people. Xiao Pingtou noticed Xiao Yang’s angry expression and immediately kicked him to the ground, cursing, “What the hell are you staring at?”
San Lai gritted his teeth. At that moment, Xiao Pingtou took the opportunity to kick over a rice bucket nearby, pulled out a set of keys, and started inspecting the cars parked at the entrance. He picked up the most expensive BMW and began scratching the door with the key. Just as he was about to scratch the back door, a figure suddenly leaned against the car door and blocked his hand. He looked up to see a delicate-looking young girl.
Xiao Pingtou paused for a moment and asked, “Hey, girl, what are you doing?”
Jiang Mu, holding the little black dog, said, “Hands, off.”
Xiao Pingtou tucked the keys away and seemed to get interested, teasing, “What’s this? Is this your family’s place?”
Jiang Mu nodded, “You guessed it right.”
Xiao Pingtou stepped back, surprised, and then his eyes lit up. “You must be the girl that Youjiu brought back, right? You’re really good looking. Da Guang, Xiang Zi, come take a look.”
Seeing this, San Lai took a few steps forward and said to the others, “Stop it, stop it, don’t you see she’s still a little girl?”
Unexpectedly, the 200-pound Da Guang put his hand on San Lai’s shoulder to control him, and Xiang Zi and Xiao Pingtou went up and surrounded Jiang Mu with indecent expressions.
The little black puppy, who was nestled in Jiang Mu’s arms, seemed to feel something and suddenly barked at Xiao Pingtou fiercely.
Xiao Pingtou cursed speechlessly, “What the heck, playing like a damn Labrador?”
Then he grabbed the little black puppy’s neck and yanked it out from Jiang Mu’s arms, holding it in his hand like a black plastic bag, before stepping forward to make a move on her.
Jiang Mu took out her phone from her pocket and turned on the camera to face them. Xiao Pingtou was frozen at the moment, then stopped moving and cursed, “You b*tch, are you looking for trouble? Turn off your phone.”
He raised his hand and was about to slap her phone, but before his hand could reach it, it was forcefully knocked away. Immediately, Jiang Mu felt a weight on her shoulder, and when she looked up, she saw the person who had moved to shield her. Jin Chao, with a cold expression on his face, pulled her behind him, glaring at Xiao Pingtou, his face full of menace. Xiao Pingtou’s face slightly changed, and he instinctively took a step back.
Jin Chao glanced at the disheveled Xiao Yang, then looked at the BMW door next to them, and then at the small black puppy Xiao Pingtou was holding. He raised his hand and pointed at the black puppy, and it was unclear whether it was his overwhelming aura, but Xiao Pingtou, who had been so cocky just moments ago, actually handed the black puppy back to him.
Jin Chao took the puppy and handed the dog to Jiang Mu, pulling her behind him. A casual yet ruthless expression appeared on his face as he glared at Xiao Pingtou. In a cold voice, deep and threatening, he said, “I can still fix my car if you damage it, but if you touch my people, I think you’re asking for death.”
After saying that, he raised his fist. Xiao Pingtou thought Jin Chao was going to punch him, so he instinctively curled up his hands to protect his head. However, Jin Chao did not touch him at all. His fist veered and landed squarely on Da Guang’s face, followed by a kick. In terms of height, Da Guang was not as tall as Jin Chao, though he was hefty, his fat didn’t give him any strength. He was easily knocked down by Jin Chao. Without Da Guang’s restraint, San Lai’s body relaxed and he immediately stepped up, wrapping his arms around, shouting, “Hey, stop fighting, stop fighting. We are old colleagues, why fight? Harmony brings wealth, harmony brings wealth!”
While persuading them to stop fighting, San Lai easily twisted Xiao Pingtou’s arm behind his back. Jin Chao, without hesitation, moved forward and delivered a few more blows to him.
The two men moved in perfect coordination, and their actions were so swift and fierce that Jiang Mu was left stunned, unable to comprehend what was happening. Meanwhile, on the other side, Tie Gongji and Xiao Yang each held a wrench, pointing it at Da Guang’s head. When Da Guang saw this, he sat down on the ground, no longer daring to make a move.
It was probably because the little black puppy kept whimpering and whining. Finally, the ‘mom’ Xishi could no longer stand it and rushed out of the pet store. With an earth-shattering bark, she pounced on Da Guang, biting his arm and refusing to let go. Da Guang, frightened and panicked, cried out, “Why is it always me who gets hurt? What did I do to deserve this?”
Meanwhile, a few free-range chickens from a small restaurant, attracted by the overturned rice bucket, fluttered their wings and made their way over, gathering at the entrance of the car shop and pecking at the rice.
The scene could be described as total chaos, with a mix of chickens flying and dogs running around, and it became increasingly messy as more people gathered on the street to watch. In the midst of the confusion, Xiang Zi grabbed a hammer from the ground, sneaking up behind Jin Chao and charging at him. Jiang Mu turned around and saw a scrawny guy, looking like nothing but bones, raising a club-like object as if he were sacrificing himself for his brother.
With that, she took a few steps forward, holding the little black puppy in her arms, and quietly extended her foot. The next moment, as the hammer flew through the air, it hit Xiang Zi squarely on the forehead. He collapsed, his forehead slamming into the ground near Jin Chao’s heel with a loud “thud.” When Jin Chao heard the noise and turned around, he saw Xiang Zi on the ground, offering a dramatic “salute” to him with his forehead.
Jiang Mu stepped aside, her role in the scene discreet and unacknowledged.