Jiang Mu added San Lai on WeChat, finished her noodles, and went to wash the bowl and chopsticks in the water basin on the first floor of the store. After cleaning them and drying them off, she brought them back to the table.
San Lai had already made her a cup of chrysanthemum tea. Jiang Mu held the warm transparent glass cup in her hands, sniffing the fragrance of the tea. It seemed like every time San Lai stood by the door, he was always holding a cup of chrysanthemum tea.
She couldn’t help but ask, “Is chrysanthemum tea really that good?”
San Lai shrugged and said, “It’s the only tea I have here. I usually don’t drink anything else.”
Jiang Mu took a small sip, and it was a little bitter. Compared to jasmine and rose tea, she preferred the latter two, so she asked, “Why chrysanthemum tea, then?”
San Lai replied seriously, “It helps with heat.”
Jiang Mu, still taking him seriously, asked, “Do you have a lot of heat?”
San Lai burst out laughing and, with a mischievous grin, replied, “Next time, ask him if he gets hot after getting drunk at night.”
Jiang Mu suddenly realized what San Lai was implying, her cheeks flushed red. She awkwardly took a sip of the tea and quickly changed the subject, saying “He’s not talking to me anymore…”
San Lai lazily leaned back in his chair, watching her, “If he’s not talking to you, then don’t talk to him. Go to school like you’re supposed to. He’s not going to eat you.”
Jiang Mu put down her teacup, her hands resting on the edge of the cushion, asking, “Is it true that Jin Chao… didn’t take the college entrance exam because of a motorcycle race accident?”
This was the most plausible guess she could come up with, but San Lai’s expression gradually grew serious as he said, “It has nothing to do with that. He hasn’t touched a motorcycle since his second year of high school. The races he did before were unavoidable.”
Jiang Mu’s expression became serious, and the urgency in her eyes was clear, “Why?”
San Lai glanced at her before continuing, “You should know his family situation. His father, oh no, I mean your father, aside from paying for tuition and food, there wasn’t any extra pocket money for him. Youjiu has many brothers around him, one buys dinner today, and another buys drinks tomorrow. When this happens often enough, he’s not the type to take advantage of others.”
On top of that, he always liked going to bookstores and buying a few books, which would be his food money for the week. Everywhere he went, it cost money. As a minor, no one would hire him for a job, so later on, some of his friends who were into motorcycles joined an underground racing team. They called it a “racing team,” but it was really just a group of young people from Tonggang who would gather at Si Dang Mountain late at night. Each person would chip in a few dozen yuan, sometimes as much as one or two hundred for a head-to-head race. The winners, both those who won the race and those who managed to bet on the right person, would get a share of the money.
With Youjiu borrowing money from people, he got himself a secondhand motorcycle, modified it, and raced up to Si Dang Mountain. At first, people didn’t take him seriously because they didn’t recognize his face, but he ended up becoming the dark horse, making a name for himself that very day, and immediately paid back the money he had borrowed.
Others raced for the thrill of it, but for him, it was about survival. That’s why he was willing to risk everything, unafraid of any opponent. Often, when he got on his motorcycle and his gaze swept across the competition, the others would already back down.
Later on, whenever he had some free time, he would often go to Si Dang Mountain to race and earn some pocket money. At that time, Youjiu had really built up his reputation. However, the police started cracking down, and they would wait at the mountain roads at night to catch people. Whenever they encountered young riders going up, they would seize their motorcycles. For a period, they even completely closed off the mountain. After that, the people who used to race dispersed, and Youjiu never went back again.”
Jiang Mu hadn’t expected that Jin Chao had been racing motorcycles in high school just to make money. Now, Jin Qiang works at a property management company, but the average salary there isn’t high. After deducting the social insurance, Jin Qiang’s monthly income was just a bit over 3,000 yuan. Zhao Meijuan, needing to take care of Jin Xin, spent a lot of time at home and could only occasionally work at a supermarket as a promoter, earning a very modest hourly wage. Jiang Mu could imagine how difficult life must have been for Jin Chao.
In comparison, just a few years after Jin Qiang left Suzhou, Jiang Yinghan sold their old, run-down apartment. She used the money from her job to open a lottery shop, and with the remaining funds and the money earned from the lottery business, she bought two apartments.
Later, when property prices skyrocketed, the value of Jiang Yinghan’s two apartments increased. She sold one to pay off the loan on the other, and the money left over was enough to comfortably support her lifestyle. She had been living quite comfortably ever since. Jiang Mu couldn’t imagine how difficult it must have been for a high school student like Jin Chao, who had to not only deal with the heavy load of studies but also had to figure out how to make a living.
Did Jiang Mu still feel angry at Jin Chao? It seemed that at this moment, all her anger had vanished. What remained was a heavy feeling in her chest. If their lives hadn’t been separated back then, would he have had to endure all of this? Jiang Mu didn’t know. It was a hypothetical question, but at this moment, she felt an uncomfortable ache in her heart.
After speaking, San Lai picked up his big tea mug and took a sip of chrysanthemum tea. Before Jiang Mu had the chance to ask further, San Lai shifted the topic back to himself. He said that he once owned a Yamaha motorcycle. Every time Jin Chao went to a race, he would go with him. Though he never participated in the races himself, his Yamaha was definitely the flashiest motorcycle on the whole mountain.
For some reason, when San Lai mentioned his motorcycle being the “flashiest,” Jiang Mu didn’t picture a cool design. Instead, she imagined a bike decked out with flashy LED lights blasting dance music. And she couldn’t help but think that San Lai would actually do something like that, after all, his current Honda was covered in ambient lights, and even when he opened the door, there was a ring of spotlights shining on the ground, as if trying to make sure no one missed the fact that he was getting out.
As for why he didn’t race, San Lai answered confidently. He said that even if he couldn’t keep up with the last-place rider, it didn’t matter. The real issue was that his body was too precious, and he didn’t want to risk getting hurt in a crash.
He’d go to Si Dang Mountain, strike a pose, and countless beautiful women dressed in sexy outfits would see his bike and come over to take selfies.
“I’m not bragging, but back in the day, I, San Lai, was a legend at Si Dang Mountain. Every time I showed up, the bets were sure to win. I’d come back down the mountain with a pocket full of cash.”
“How did you do that?”
“Simple. I just bet everything on Youjiu.”
“……”
The first time Jiang Mu heard the news Pan Kai had gathered, she didn’t have much of an idea of it. But tonight, sitting in the San Lai shop, listening to him describe their youthful years, everything started to form a picture in her mind. It was as if she could see their past through the sound of San Lai’s voice, some of it was ridiculous, some passionate, some full of youthful vigor, and most of it was an irretrievable youth.
But every time San Lai talked about their high school years, he would skillfully avoid mentioning what happened after that.
Time passed quickly during their casual chat. Before she knew it, an hour had gone by. Jiang Mu was so absorbed in listening that it was clear that if San Lai were an incredibly unreliable and endlessly rambling speaker, Jiang Mu would definitely be his most loyal listener.
Because it seemed like only by doing this could Jiang Mu catch glimpses of what Jin Chao was like during the years she had never experienced.
Of course, more than that, San Lai’s mysterious descriptions of his own appearance, honestly, Jiang Mu had known San Lai for over three months, and because of his constant stubble and often disheveled look, she could never quite make out what he truly looked like. Every time he described himself as being so charming, Jiang Mu couldn’t help but feel that he was talking about someone else entirely.
So, she stared at him carefully for a long time and finally asked, “Since you have such a face that even the heavens are jealous of, why do you go around making yourself look like this?”
San Lai shook his leg lazily and said, “What do you mean, ‘look like this’?”
Jiang Mu, feeling a bit embarrassed to say it outright, subtly rubbed her chin and gestured at him. “I mean, you know… the way you have so much hair.”
San Lai lowered his legs, leaned in mysteriously, and told her, “You see, my peach blossom luck is just too good. I’m afraid that if any girl sees me, she won’t be able to walk and it’ll affect my business, so I purposely make it hard for people to figure out my true handsomeness.”
“…Well, you’ve really thought this through.”
San Lai nodded in agreement.
Seeing his serious face, Jiang Mu couldn’t hold it in anymore and covered her mouth, laughing. She said to him, “But seriously if you shaved your beard and trimmed your hair, you’d probably look quite refreshing.”
When San Lai saw her finally laugh, he too relaxed, his eyes softening.
As they were chatting and laughing, someone knocked on the glass door of the pet shop from the outside. Both of them turned at the same time, and Jin Chao was standing in the doorway. San Lai grinned and called out, “Didn’t you say you were going to lock the door? I thought you were asleep.”
Jin Chao walked in, glanced at Jiang Mu, who was still smiling with a relaxed expression, then turned his cold gaze to San Lai and said, “Still going on about this? How can anyone sleep with all that noise?”
San Lai lazily responded, “Well then, don’t sleep. If you’re really sleepy, you can sleep through a tractor running next to your ear, then clearly you’re not tired.”
Jiang Mu glanced at the time and realized it was indeed getting late. She stood up, grabbed her bag, and said to San Lai, “I’ll head back now.”
San Lai stood up slowly and said, “It’s this late and you’re still heading back?”
Jiang Mu looked back at Jin Chao and said, “Yeah, no one’s taking me in.”
San Lai squinted his eyes and smiled, while Jin Chao’s gaze shifted over to her with little emotion, “If you know, you should leave sooner.”
Perhaps chatting with San Lai had built up some psychological resilience because when faced with Jin Chao’s cold attitude again, Jiang Mu found herself somewhat immune. She calmly replied, “I’m leaving now, no need to see me off. Goodbye.”
Then, without hurrying, she opened the door, walked to the car shop’s entrance, rubbed Lightning’s big head, and then flagged down a taxi, heading home.
On Sunday morning, the red envelopes that Jin Chao hadn’t accepted were slowly returned to her change purse. Unusually, Jiang Mu didn’t linger in bed; she woke up early, went downstairs, found a clean, hygienic breakfast shop, filled her stomach, and even took some meat-filled potstickers with her to Tongren Li.
The car repair shop door was still shut, and the roll-up door was pulled down. She had no choice but to knock on the door of San Lai’s shop. San Lai seemed to have just woken up, his long hair casually tied into a small bun, wearing slippers and pajamas, and was diligently fulfilling his role as a litter box cleaner, busy with the cats’ litter trays.
The cold November morning in Tonggang had already ushered in the winter season. Jiang Mu, dressed warmly in a white cotton coat, pulled the fuzzy hood over her head, leaving only her face exposed, which she peered out with as she looked inside.
San Lai turned his head and immediately saw a cute girl dressed in fluffy clothes. He smiled and put down the litter scoop to open the door for her. As Jiang Mu entered with the warm potstickers, the shop was immediately filled with the aroma of the meat filling, causing all the little animals to stir. Jiang Mu felt like she had just unlocked San Lai’s secret summon code.
She placed the bag on the glass table and asked, “The car repair still isn’t open today?”
San Lai closed the cabinet door and answered her, “In the morning, there aren’t many customers, so the door should open after ten. After you were gone, Youjiu resumed back to normal hours.”
“Hmm… So, has he not gotten up yet?”
San Lai went to wash his hands and said, “That weirdo barely sleeps, usually wakes up before 6 or 7 in the morning.”
Jiang Mu teased the cats, waving her finger outside the glass cabinet, and asked, “So what does he do when he wakes up?”
San Lai turned around, grabbed a tissue, and wiped his hands while smiling at her.
Seeing that he didn’t answer, Jiang Mu turned back and asked, “Do you think he’ll kick me out again when he sees me later?”
San Lai walked over, picked up a potsticker, and asked, “What will you do if he does kick you out again?”
Jiang Mu replied, with righteous indignation, “What can I do? Sing for him? Tell jokes? Do a magic trick? If that doesn’t work, should I dance for him?”
“You can dance?”
“Not really, but I learned ballet when I was little. I’ll give it a try. If I’m dancing for him, how could he still have the heart to kick me out?”
San Lai looked at her, bundled up like a bear, and couldn’t even imagine how ridiculous she’d look trying to do ballet in such an awkward coat. The entire pet shop was filled with San Lai’s loud laughter, and Jiang Mu couldn’t help but join in.
Amidst the joyous laughter, San Lai suddenly looked up and called out, “Did you hear that? Why don’t you come down and take a look at the little swan!”
Jiang Mu’s smile instantly froze, her face paling in shock as she stared at the stairs. There was movement from the second floor, and soon a pair of long legs casually descended the stairs. Jiang Mu’s heart started to race faster and faster until Jin Chao finally appeared fully within her line of sight.
He paused at the bottom of the stairs, then turned around, slowly leaning against the railing. His expression softened as he looked at her and said, “Go ahead, dance.”