When Jin Fengzi suddenly heard Jiang Mu’s question, the hand holding the beer froze. He looked up at her, furrowing his brows, “Who told you that?”
Jiang Mu’s small frame seemed as though it was about to be swallowed by the blue plastic chair. She still kept her head down, her voice sinking like a heavy stone into a well, echoing in a desolate tone, “He didn’t take the college entrance exam. He was arrested, right?”
Jin Fengzi suddenly fell silent. His silence only deepened Jiang Mu’s suspicions. She gripped the beer, her voice trembling uncontrollably, “Brother Jin, tell me, did he kill someone or not?”
Jin Fengzi raised his hand, finished the beer, and then crushed the can. He looked at Jiang Mu and said, “I don’t know where you heard this, but Youjiu got into trouble before, but as for killing, that life doesn’t count towards him.”
Jiang Mu slowly raised her head. Jin Fengzi was stunned to see the faint bloodshot eyes in her gaze, and the tears barely held back. He heard her choke up as she said, “He’s been by my side since I was born. When I was little, I always wanted to be like him. Have you ever seen him stand on a podium and give a speech? Have you seen the wall of certificates in his old room? Have you seen the pump he made in fourth grade to drive a device?”
“I’ve seen it, I’ve seen so many of his great moments. He was always so much more mature than his peers, how could he possibly have committed a crime? How could he have gone to prison?”
Her eyes were filled with worry and trembling light. Jin Fengzi had never seen someone so heartbroken over Jin Chao, and he realized that despite knowing all of Jin Chao’s friends and family, none of them had ever been this upset about him. Even when Jin Chao hit his lowest point, his family just scolded him endlessly, disappointed, and too ashamed to stop people from spreading rumors at school.
During the time Jin Chao was in prison, only his brothers gathered some money to send to him, hoping he’d have a better life inside. His family had only visited him twice.
Jin Fengzi opened another can of beer, recalling what happened back then. His heart felt uneasy, and even more so when he saw this girl, who sincerely cared for Jin Chao, becoming so disappointed in him.
It wasn’t until Jin Fengzi finished the can of beer that he slowly started to tell Jiang Mu some things.
After Sidan Mountain was shut down, Jin Chao’s source of income was once again lost. That same year, Jin Xin was diagnosed with a serious illness. Jin Qiang and Zhao Meijuan took her all over Tonggang for treatment, but her condition kept worsening. They heard that Beijing had advanced laser surgery that could effectively treat her condition, so they rushed to the capital. However, two round trips drained their entire savings. But the treatment didn’t have an immediate effect, and for the whole family, it felt like an endless pit. Just Jin Xin alone overwhelmed Jin Qiang and Zhao Meijuan, and they couldn’t care about Jin Chao at all. He could only go for days without food, eating only when he could.
He needed money to get by, and if possible, he hoped that Jin Xin could continue her treatment.
So, not long after Sidan Mountain was shut down, some of the people who had been involved in that business turned to cars. Jin Chao, through introductions, found a job at Wanji. At that time, Jin Fengzi had already dropped out of school, and he entered Wanji around the same time as Jin Chao. He worked as an apprentice under a master, while Jin Chao did odd jobs and menial tasks. Even so, Jin Chao learned faster than Jin Fengzi.
However, the money earned this way was slow to come. Back then, there were mechanics at the car shop who secretly contacted car owners to buy cheap used cars, repair them, and then resell them, making a profit of 1,000 to 2,000 yuan, or sometimes even more.
Jin Chao saw the opportunity to make money. He even borrowed some money and bought a cheap car. A potential buyer told him that if he could improve the car’s 0-100 km/h acceleration and some other performance aspects, he would pay him more money. So, Jin Chao modified the car’s power and transmission systems.
He made a profit in that transaction, and after that, he decided to focus on his studies. He wanted to pass the university entrance exam in Tonggang. He knew that his family could no longer support him, so he gave some of the money to Jin Qiang, kept some for his university expenses, and applied for a student loan.
If it weren’t for what happened later, Jin Chao would have been able to follow his plan. No one would have known, and no one would have come looking for him because he privately sold a car.
But unfortunately, the car encountered an accident. The owner lost control of the vehicle during a drive, resulting in the complete destruction of the car and the tragic death of the driver. Subsequent investigations determined that the cause of the accident was due to the car’s illegal modifications, which posed a safety hazard.
Eventually, the case was traced back to Jin Chao. The deceased’s family believed that his illegal modifications and sale of the car led to the fatal mistake, and they filed a lawsuit against him.
At the time, Jin Chao was still a minor, and he was sentenced to six months of detention.
From the day Jin Chao stood in the courtroom, his pride was completely shattered. He couldn’t accept that a life was lost due to his mistake, nor could he accept that his actions had destroyed another family. He watched as the parents of the deceased, approaching middle age, cried and fainted several times, and from then on, he could never forgive himself.
He allowed them to hit him, to scold him, everything, in his mind, was deserved. He even believed that he should endure more punishment, and he truly tortured himself in the cruelest ways.
For a long time after, his personality changed drastically. He became silent and withdrawn. The once lively and confident person was no longer there. Even after he was released, he would endure any ridicule or rejection from others, never fighting back, never speaking out.
Teachers from his former school contacted him, hoping he would return to complete his studies, but his life had lost direction. He hadn’t killed anyone, but his hands were stained with blood. He refused to set foot in his old school, even feeling unworthy to enter that sacred place again.
He returned to Wanji, and this time, he resumed his apprenticeship. He took on the dirtiest and most exhausting tasks, working like a machine that never stopped, without clear working hours. He was more diligent and more willing to endure hardship than anyone else. He just wanted to improve his skills, as if he were punishing himself for the mistakes he made in the past.
He was eager to learn and willing to suffer, and his skills improved the fastest among the apprentices at Wanji. Eventually, he could identify the location of a vehicle’s fault just by listening to the engine’s sound.
Many car owners only wanted to work with him after their first encounter. To avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, he would thoroughly check the car and take it for a test drive before handing it back to ensure everything was in perfect condition.
In the first two years, the parents of the deceased would still frequently visit Wanji. The employees at the shop would scold them and even threaten to beat them if they came back. Every time, Jin Chao would intervene, quietly giving them some money. In his eyes, the elderly couple had lost their child because of him, and he felt he should try to make some form of compensation, even if only in a small way.
But as his skills matured, he began to understand more about the inner workings of Wanji.
There were numerous unscrupulous tactics, switching parts, upselling unnecessary repairs, exaggerating minor issues, and performing excessive maintenance, all to profit from unsuspecting customers. Some workers would even intentionally tamper with the ignition timing, add drinks to the engine oil to damage the engine, or put salt in the antifreeze to accelerate the wear and tear on the radiator, all to continue getting money from returning customers.
Over time, the owner of Wanji, Boss Wan, began to appreciate Jin Chao’s work and promoted him to manage the repair shop. He no longer allowed his subordinates to engage in such unethical practices. While he was present, the shop followed some basic rules, but there were always older, more experienced workers who were used to getting away with such tactics and did not follow his management.
The mechanics at the shop had a lot of old parts, ones they had swapped out, parts that the owners didn’t want, ones close to being scrapped, or faulty parts. The bolder ones would even use these old parts to switch out for new ones, selling the new or good parts for a bit of pocket change, like money for alcohol.
Once, Jin Chao discovered that an experienced mechanic almost swapped out the entire set of car parts. He was furious, but the older mechanic didn’t seem to care, shrugging it off with, “We’ve been doing this for years, we know what we’re doing.”
The older mechanic’s words seemed to awaken something in Jin Chao. From that day on, his awareness was sharpened. He began to recall the details of the car modification process from his senior year of high school. Every step, every detail, replayed in his mind in vivid detail.
Back then, his inexperience led him to believe that the accident had been caused by some mistake he had overlooked during the modification. Ever since he had approached his work with reverence, always cautious and self-reflective.
But as the years went by and he accumulated more experience, thinking back on that time, he became almost certain that his modification could not have caused the car to lose control. The car had been left at Wanji for a long time before it was picked up by the buyer. After receiving the payment, he hadn’t even checked the car before letting the buyer take it.
That car wasn’t from Wanji, nor was it any customer’s car, it was just one he had brought into to store there. Even with customers’ cars, people could tamper with them. What if it was a random, dusty car left sitting there for years?
Jin Chao started subtly asking all the senior employees with more than four years of experience. There are no secrets that can be kept forever. Finally, during a drinking session, an old mechanic let something slip and told Jin Chao that Wan Dayong had tampered with the sensors and actuator components of that car back then.
Wan Dayong was the nephew of the owner, Boss Wan. So, after the incident with the car, everyone kept silent. Even Wan Boss privately warned a few people who knew about it. After all, at the time, Jin Chao was still a minor and had no direct connection to the car repair shop. The incident was treated more leniently because of his age. However, if Wan Dayong got involved, he would not only face potential criminal charges and imprisonment but it would also directly affect Wanji’s business.
Jin Chao had indeed made a mistake by agreeing to modify the vehicle illegally, but that offense alone was not enough to warrant a prison sentence. Yet, in his isolated and helpless state, he was left to bear the responsibility of human life alone.
When Jin Chao confronted Boss Wan, the latter responded with a question, “Do you have any proof?”
There was no proof. The car involved in the incident was long gone, and even though the older mechanic had revealed the truth to Jin Chao out of conscience, it was impossible for him to offend Boss Wan and stand as a witness for Jin Chao. The case had already been buried and was beyond redemption.
Boss Wan still tried to persuade him with kind words, urging him to move forward instead of dwelling on the past. He had already given Jin Chao such a big platform. If Jin Chao was willing, Boss Wan could even offer him financial compensation as compensation for the hardship he had endured during his six months in detention.
That day, the weather in Tonggang was hot. The workers at the car repair shop were smoking, working, chatting, and even playing around.
But everyone heard the sound of Jin Chao smashing the reception room. They watched as he left the place where he had spent over three years, never to return again.
After Jin Chao left, the morale of Wanji went low, rumors continued to spread, and many people left one after another. Jin Fengzi also wanted to leave, but his father was in poor health. He had worked in Wanji for so many years and had a good income. When Jin Chao left, he only said one sentence to him, “You are different from me. I left Wanji for the lost justice, and you must stay in Wanji for your family.”
……
The night was getting colder and colder. Jiang Mu could no longer feel the cold outside her body. She only felt the piercing cold coming from her body, mixed with the coldest and most mournful wind.
While she went to school and went home every day, she lived a simple life, Jin Chao had already been trapped in a complex vortex of social life. She was not by his side, no one was by his side. He suffered from the torment of conscience every day, dried up his passion, and crushed his ardent dreams. He was only 17 years old at that time, facing the deceased’s parents and the iron cage of the law alone. No one told him how to go next, and no one accompanied him through those tormenting days and nights.
He wanted to make up for the mistake he made when he was 17. Such a brilliant man, now covered in dust and broken his wings, hiding in a dark corner and torturing himself.
She couldn’t imagine how angry, wronged, and painful he would be when he heard the truth behind the accident after crawling back from hell. Those were four years of irreversible time in his life. But when she saw him again, he had been smoothed by reality, hiding the cruelty of the world to him in a place where no one could see, and the surface was calm.
It was not until this moment that Jiang Mu could see clearly that behind the unusual calm were bones and tendons pierced by thorns, dignity, and ambition.
Jiang Mu didn’t know how many cans of beer she’d drunk by now. Every time she finished one, Jin Fengzi would hand her another. But she didn’t feel any warmer. Instead, as Jin Fengzi spoke, her mind grew colder. Her vision blurred, and multiple shadows of Jin Chao appeared before her until it seemed like he stood in front of her, calling her name.
“Mu Mu, Mu Mu…”
Her shoulders were shaken a few times, and the door to the operating room opened. She heard Dr. Li’s voice as he spoke to Jin Fengzi and Jin Chao, who had rushed in, “The wound has been stitched up. He’s lost too much blood, but luckily, the dog has DEA1.1 blood, so we can give him a transfusion. Whether he survives depends on the next couple of days. Prepare for the worst.”
Jiang Mu staggered to her feet, and through the glass, she saw Lightning being wheeled into another room. She pressed her face against the glass, silently shedding tears. She could no longer tell if she was crying for Lightning or for Jin Chao. The peaceful life of the past eighteen years had been violently torn apart. She had seen the harshest side of life, the bloody reality laid out before her.
Dr. Li spoke again, “Please register your contact information and pay a deposit. You can head home for now. We have staff on duty here tonight, and we’ll contact you if anything happens.”
As Jin Chao went to register, Jiang Mu sat in a chair, watching him. He was dressed in a black short parka and black leather gloves, his features sharp and cold. She didn’t know when he had returned, but seeing him like this, he felt almost unreal.
Jin Chao’s brows remained furrowed, and every now and then, he would glance at Jiang Mu, who sat nearby. Her coat, which had been wrapped around Lightning’s bloodied body, was already dirty. She only wore a cream-colored sweater, the collar and cuffs stained with dark red and black blood. Her eyes were distant, unfocused, as though she was swaying in her seat, looking like a lost, helpless little soul.
Jin Chao’s lips tightened, and his movements quickened as he handed the registration form to the nurse. He turned and muttered angrily at Jin Fengzi, “What the hell is wrong with you? Why did you make her drink so much?”
Jin Fengzi casually replied, “I was just worried she’d get scared, you know, never having experienced life and death.”
Jin Chao shot him an exasperated glare, then walked over to Jiang Mu. Her eyes followed him, lifting her head to gaze at him, her eyes filled with tears.
Jin Chao removed his coat and draped it over her shoulders, then crouched down to take off his gloves and put them on her hands. The cold feeling inside her began to melt away with the warmth from his actions. Her eyes softened, filled with warmth, and she couldn’t bear to look away from him.
He looked at her and asked, “Let’s go home, okay?”
Jiang Mu nodded but didn’t move. Jin Chao asked again, “Can you walk?”
She shook her head. “I can’t.”
Her legs hurt, her stomach was empty, her vision blurred, she couldn’t walk anymore. Jin Chao, seeing how resolutely she spoke, couldn’t help but smirk a little. He bent down and picked her up in his arms.
The moment her small body left the ground, she curled tightly against him, like a bird returning to its nest. Jin Chao wasn’t sure if she was frightened, so he pulled her closer to his chest.
As they left the veterinary hospital, the cold wind brushed past them. Jiang Mu lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck, burying her face in the crook of his shoulder. Warm tears fell down her cheeks, landing on his chest. Jin Chao paused, looking down at her face, which was hidden behind strands of hair, feeling her slight trembling. He heard her voice softly ask, “Please don’t push me away anymore, okay?”