Jiang Mu felt she hadn’t slept long, just dozed off briefly. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself covered with Jin Chao’s coat. Through the windshield, she saw him standing at the cliff’s edge. The eastern sky was beginning to show a faint light, illuminating his tall, slender silhouette.

She watched him quietly for a while until Jin Chao turned around. One in the car, one by the cliff’s edge – the weak light traced his outline as he walked toward her.

They didn’t exchange a single word on the way back. Their discussion had ended in disagreement; Jin Chao hadn’t agreed to her request, and Jiang Mu was upset about it.

Before daybreak, they drove the car back to the garage through the small road. Jin Chao parked it and switched to San Lai’s car to take Jiang Mu back to Jin Qiang’s house.

During the drive, Jiang Mu’s phone rang. After a brief conversation, she stared at the cold morning streets and told Jin Chao, “My mom’s in Tonggang.”

Jin Chao continued to stare ahead, his eyes filled with silence, though his knuckles turned white on the steering wheel. It wasn’t until he dropped Jiang Mu off at Jin Qiang’s building, watching her walk toward the entrance, that he suddenly got out of the car and called after her, “Where is she? I’ll take you there.”

Jiang Mu turned around and told him, “The Liyuan Hotel. Do you know it?”

Jin Chao nodded slightly.

“I’ll go up and get my luggage.”

Tomorrow would be New Year’s Eve. Early that morning, Jin Qiang had taken Zhao Meijuan and Jin Xin to spend the holiday at his father-in-law’s home. The house had Spring Festival couplets posted but felt empty and quiet.

After entering, Jiang Mu went straight to her room to pack. Jiang Yinghan had booked a room at the Liyuan Hotel and asked her to bring her luggage there.

The house was very quiet. Jin Chao sat in the living room, absently tapping his lighter against the table. After a while, he suddenly asked, “You’re leaving right after this?”

Jiang Mu, not planning to pack many clothes, was putting the necessary materials into her suitcase. Her voice carried from the room: “Tomorrow morning.”

Jin Chao didn’t ask anything else after that.

She wheeled her suitcase out of the room, and Jin Chao got up to take it downstairs. Jiang Mu locked the door and followed behind.

The Liyuan Hotel was one of the larger hotels near the train station. Jin Chao parked the car on a nearby street and took the luggage out of the trunk.

Jiang Mu lowered her eyes as she took the luggage, then quickly glanced at Jin Chao and asked, “Do you want to… come say hello?”

Jin Chao lowered his eyelashes impassively: “No.”

Then, looking toward the Liyuan Hotel, he said to her, “You go ahead.”

Jiang Mu had guessed he wouldn’t want to see Jiang Yinghan, so she started walking toward the hotel with her suitcase and backpack. After a few steps, she looked back to see Jin Chao had already gotten in the car and driven away.

She felt deeply disappointed. She’d argued with Jin Chao before leaving, and now during the New Year holiday, her departure felt unsettling.

When Jiang Mu entered the Liyuan Hotel with her luggage, she met Jiang Yinghan and Chris. Chris was very friendly, helping her settle in and asking how she’d been lately.

Jiang Yinghan, however, complained: “The air is so dry here. Remember to use more moisturizer, and don’t be lazy about sunscreen just because you want to sleep in. Your face will get all dried out.”

A moment later, she added: “This morning after getting off the train, your Uncle Chris and I had breakfast nearby. Just a bowl of some unidentifiable mush. It looked so unappetizing, just like the stuff your dad makes – completely ruins your appetite.”

Jiang Yinghan used to make such comments occasionally. Whenever something negative came up, she’d throw in a remark about Jin Qiang. In the past, Jiang Mu hadn’t thought much of it, having grown used to it.

But now, hearing it bothered her. Both Jiang Yinghan’s criticism of Jin Qiang and her disdain for this place made Jiang Mu uncomfortable.

When she’d first arrived, she too had found everything inferior to home. But after staying longer, she understood that Zhao Meijuan’s family didn’t bathe daily not because they were unclean, but because the climate was so dry. In summer, unless you were out in the blazing sun, you barely sweated all day – unlike in Suzhou, where you’d feel sticky even sitting still at home due to the humid heat.

As for the food, that “mush” Jiang Yinghan complained about – Jiang Mu often saw San Lai eating it. Once, San Lai had even shared some with her. Though she wasn’t used to the taste, it wasn’t as bad as her mother made it sound.

After taking Jiang Mu’s luggage to the room, they soon took her downstairs to eat.

The Liyuan Hotel had a street-facing Chinese restaurant on the first floor, where Jiang Yinghan and Chris ordered a table full of dishes.

Sitting across from them, Jiang Mu quietly observed her mother. She was wearing clothes Jiang Mu hadn’t seen before, rings she didn’t recognize, and had even cut her hair short – which surprised Jiang Mu. In her memory, Jiang Yinghan had never had short hair, always wearing it either in a neat bun or braid. It felt strange seeing her like this now.

Whether because of the hairstyle or not, Jiang Mu noticed her mother had lost some weight since she’d last seen her. Even Chris’s hair seemed to be thinning more, making him look even more like an aging foreigner. She couldn’t understand what her mother saw in him – was it his big belly or his baldness?

After the food arrived, Chris asked in his peculiar Chinese accent what she liked to eat, telling her he could cook some dishes himself and would let her try them if she had the chance.

Jiang Mu responded half-heartedly. Jiang Yinghan could sense her daughter’s low spirits and asked, “Do you have a lot of homework? Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. If your grades aren’t good enough, you can always come to Melbourne. We’ve already inquired about schools for you.”

For the next ten minutes or so, Jiang Yinghan went on about the schools in Australia, telling Jiang Mu to take the IELTS exam when she had time.

Jiang Mu listened absent-mindedly until the topic turned to returning to Suzhou tomorrow. That’s when Jiang Yinghan mentioned she had appointments with real estate agents and potential buyers to view the property after the fourth day of the New Year. If all went well, both the storefront and the house could be sold after the holiday.

This finally caught Jiang Mu’s attention, and she responded with disbelief: “You’re selling the house? Why would you sell it? What’s wrong with keeping it?”

Surprised by her daughter’s strong reaction, Jiang Yinghan explained: “After visiting your Uncle Chris’s place, I found the environment there quite nice. The air is good, it’s convenient to drive to the city for shopping, and it’ll be suitable for retirement. Since I’ve decided to settle in Melbourne, I need to have some money on hand there.”

Jiang Mu worried aloud: “If you sell the house, have you thought about what if someday…”

She glanced at Chris and suddenly stopped speaking. Jiang Yinghan could guess what she was going to say and gave her a stern look.

Chris was quite perceptive and excused himself, saying he wanted to ask the front desk if the hotel had a swimming pool, as he had a daily swimming habit.

Once Chris left, Jiang Mu couldn’t hold back anymore and asked directly: “Mom, why are you selling the house? How long have you ever been with him? If things don’t work out and you come back, where will you live?”

Jiang Yinghan only replied: “This isn’t something you need to worry about. Just focus on your studies.”

“I don’t agree with this.”

From Jiang Mu’s perspective, it was bad enough that her mother had found some unknown foreign old man, but now after just one trip to Australia with him, she wanted to sell the house. The whole thing seemed wrong to her. She even wondered if Chris might be running some kind of scam or using PUA tactics.

Jiang Yinghan was very firm on this matter: “I know you don’t like Chris, but I don’t need your approval for my decisions.”

Jiang Mu dropped her chopsticks abruptly. She felt chilled by the mother before her. They had depended solely on each other for nine years, and now, just because of Chris’s appearance, her mother seemed to treat her like an outsider, disregarding her feelings and insisting on selling the house.

“There’s nothing to discuss. This trip to Australia was to check out the situation and environment there. If suitable, I had always planned to come back and deal with the house. Taking you back to Suzhou for New Year was so the family could gather one last time in the house before it’s sold.”

Jiang Mu’s tone turned harsh: “Didn’t you think that once the house is sold, we won’t have a home anymore? Where will I go if I don’t study abroad?”

Jiang Yinghan emphasized: “I’m planning to sell the house, not abandon you. Whether you come with me to Melbourne or study in China, you’ll be living on campus during university anyway. When you graduate and decide where to settle, I’ll set aside money for you. Don’t worry about that.”

Jiang Mu burst out: “Do you think I care about the money? I’m worried Chris is scamming you!”

Upon hearing Jiang Mu’s genuine concern, Jiang Yinghan snapped: “I don’t want to hear you say such things again. This discussion ends here. Chris may not speak Chinese well, but he can understand it. Watch what you say.”

After speaking, Jiang Yinghan picked up her water glass and gazed out the window. The area around Tonggang Station had always been chaotic – motorcycle taxis clustered by the roadside, asking passengers with their luggage where they were headed. Steam rose from food stalls beneath dusty signs, passers-by bundled up like rice dumplings, and people in old cotton jackets shopping for New Year goods. Leftover firecracker debris from the previous night lay scattered and trampled, blowing about in the wind. Occasional glimpses of long-discontinued domestic cars completed the scene – nothing like the atmosphere of a modern city. Crowded, chaotic, and noisy, the entire street exuded a distinctly working-class character.

Wearing her soft cashmere coat, Jiang Yinghan gazed out the window, her eyes wandering across the street. Jiang Mu couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but suddenly Jiang Yinghan put down her glass, staring at a man across the street, and stood up saying: “Is that Jin Chao?”

Hearing this, Jiang Mu quickly turned to look. The man across the street had already turned away the moment Jiang Yinghan spotted him. Jiang Mu only caught a glimpse of his hurrying figure, but she immediately recognized Jin Chao’s jacket – the same black jacket that had covered her that morning.

Hadn’t he driven away? Why did he come back? Why didn’t he tell her? Why was he standing alone across the street? Who was he watching? It couldn’t have been her, which left only one possibility – he had come back to catch a glimpse of Jiang Yinghan, from afar, silently.

A wave of emotions surged through Jiang Mu, driving her to rush out of the restaurant, but Jin Chao had already vanished from the street.

Jiang Yinghan followed her out, demanding: “How did he know we were staying here?”

Jiang Mu’s eyes still searched the opposite street: “He drove me here.”

Jiang Yinghan’s voice turned sharp: “Why were you with him? Didn’t your father promise me he wouldn’t let him stay there during your year here?”

Jiang Mu slowly turned to face her mother: “Why? Why couldn’t he stay there?”

Jiang Yinghan said sternly: “How can a young girl live with a young man? You’d better keep your distance from him.”

Jiang Mu responded incredulously: “How can you be like this? He’s Jin Chao!”

Jiang Yinghan hadn’t expected such a strong reaction from her daughter. She replied harshly: “I told you before you came – he’s not your brother, you have no blood relation. You’re old enough now, don’t you understand what I mean? He’s not a good person anymore.”

Jiang Mu’s chest tightened, her eyes reddening: “Why would you say that about him? Whether we’re blood-related or not, he’s not a stranger.”

Jiang Yinghan snorted coldly, seeing her daughter so emotional over that boy. She held back initially but finally delivered the cruel words: “He’s an ex-convict.”

The wind rose, and the air turned frigid.

Jiang Yinghan continued mercilessly: “Did you know he’s been to prison? Not a stranger? Our family has never produced criminals like that.”

Jiang Mu’s eyelashes trembled, her voice emerging hoarsely: “I know.”

Jiang Yinghan was surprised: “You know? Did your father tell you? If you knew, why are you still associating with him? Where’s your sense?”

A lump formed in Jiang Mu’s throat, threatening to burst. She pronounced each word carefully to Jiang Yinghan: “He’s not an ex-convict.”

Jiang Yinghan hadn’t expected Jiang Mu to defend him even knowing his past. Her anger flared, her voice rising: “If not an ex-convict, then what? I always said that a child couldn’t be raised right. From young he was too bold, feared nothing – bound to get into trouble. He kept calling our house, and I warned him off. I didn’t want you two to have any contact. Wasn’t I right? After that life-threatening incident, your father had the nerve to contact me for money, saying he wanted to keep him out of prison. Ridiculous! I told you, that kind of boy needs to suffer a bit in prison, or he’ll never learn to fear consequences.”

The cold wind swept past, leaving desolation in its wake. The biting chill struck Jiang Mu’s face like knives as she stood frozen, staring at Jiang Yinghan: “What did you say?”

Jiang Yinghan pulled her coat tighter and said to Jiang Mu: “Let’s go inside.”

She turned toward the hotel, but Jiang Mu ran in front of her, blocking her path and demanding: “He tried to contact me before? What did you warn him about?”

Jiang Yinghan replied impatiently: “What could I warn him about? I told him to know his place. You were in middle school by then, not a little kid anymore. How would it look?”

Jiang Mu clenched her jaw, her fists tight at her sides, breathing increasingly rapidly: “When Jin Chao got in trouble, Dad asked for your help. Why didn’t you help him?”

“How could I help him? Said they needed a hundred thousand yuan upfront to get the other family to drop charges. Never mind that your father didn’t even leave me that much when we divorced, and he never paid a cent in child support all these years after he left. I raised you alone, and then he had the nerve to ask me for money to clean up after that boy? How ridiculous!”

The blood in Jiang Mu’s body began to boil, words rushing out: “But if you had helped him through that crisis, he could have taken the college entrance exam, he wouldn’t have had to…”

“Why should I have helped him?” Jiang Yinghan cut her off forcefully.

“I told your father then – if he did something wrong, he should face legal consequences. Learn his lesson.”

“What about me?” Jiang Mu’s face turned pale, her lips trembling.

“If I made a mistake, would you personally send me to prison even if you could protect me?”

Jiang Yinghan said severely: “You’re my daughter. Did I carry him for ten months? What obligation did I have to him? Let me tell you, he still hasn’t paid off all his civil compensation. Stay away from him.”

With that, Jiang Yinghan turned and strode into the hotel. The cold wind continued to whip from all directions as Jiang Mu stood there, countless images crashing into her mind.

“I wasn’t disappointed in you. If I was, it was only for one reason – you cut off contact with me.”

“How could you understand? If you could understand, you wouldn’t have stayed away all these years without coming to see me once.”

“So… is this why you never came back to see me? Do you blame us? Blame Mom for leaving Dad with nothing, you hate her, don’t you?”

Facing her repeated questioning, Jin Chao’s obscure expressions, his silence, the bitter yet casual curve of his lips – every detail magnified in Jiang Mu’s mind. She felt she understood everything at this moment.

He hadn’t defended himself once. Even when she repeatedly accused him of breaking his promises, Jin Chao never explained himself, because he knew how much this matter meant to Jiang Mu. Once she knew the truth, she would blame Jiang Yinghan.

Even so, he had chosen to preserve the harmonious mother-daughter relationship between her and Jiang Yinghan. If Jiang Mu hadn’t understood why he did this before, seeing him stand across the street just to silently glimpse Jiang Yinghan made something suddenly clear to her.

He was only just over two years old when Jin Qiang brought him home. At that age, though he could recognize people and knew Jiang Yinghan wasn’t his birth mother, his understanding of the world was just beginning. There must have been times when he woke up frightened at night when he fell and got hurt when he needed to depend on adults. Before Jiang Mu came into this world, it was Jiang Yinghan who raised him. She was the only female presence in Jin Chao’s life from his earliest awareness through his early youth. He had spent a full ten years by her side. Jiang Mu had never considered Jin Chao’s feelings toward Jiang Yinghan, but at this moment, she seemed to suddenly understand the bitterness and struggle that had lingered in his heart for years.

This was something that Zhao Meijuan could never replace. Jiang Yinghan had been the unique presence in Jin Chao’s most vulnerable childhood years, giving him his only image of what a mother could be. She had been his mother too!

While Jiang Mu had longed for her father and wished for such a presence in her life, hadn’t Jin Chao also wished for his mother to be by his side?

Jiang Mu tilted her head back, tears sliding down her face. The sky was covered in heavy grey clouds, pressing down endlessly upon her chest.