Just as Jin Chao arrived at the auto shop with Jiang Mu, Wan Qing’s car pulled up. San Lai was anxiously waiting at the door, saying, “Quick, come take a look.”
Jin Chao opened the shop door and went straight through the repair area, unlocking the back shed. When he pushed open the door, he froze. The yard was in complete disarray – boxes scattered everywhere, their contents either smashed or destroyed. His gaze slowly fell to the corner of the yard where the tarpaulin had been torn away, revealing the black GTR, now damaged beyond recognition, looking like a complete wreck.
From the beginning, Jin Chao had never mentioned his goods business to San Lai. Whether San Lai knew or not, Jin Chao didn’t want to involve him. Only Iron Rooster knew the origin of this batch of goods. They had been guarding the shop these past few days, waiting for tomorrow’s shipment. An hour ago, Iron Rooster had received a call and left for an urgent matter.
San Lai had only noticed something was wrong when he returned from outside and heard Lightning’s unusual barking, prompting him to call Jin Chao.
Wan Qing had “happened” to look for Jiang Mu tonight, “happened” to be seen by Zhang Fan who called Jin Chao, and the goods “happened” to be vandalized within tens of minutes of his departure.
When too many coincidences pile up, they cease to be coincidences.
Jin Chao’s gaze swept across every corner of the shed before slowly turning to Wan Qing, telling her: “Get out.”
Wan Qing saw Jin Chao’s sinister look and shuddered, explaining, “I don’t know anything.”
Jin Chao roared again: “Get the fuck out!”
Wan Qing left with reddened eyes. Jiang Mu stood in the corner watching Jin Chao. She didn’t know how much this batch of goods would cost him, or what more serious consequences might follow, but she understood that if these items were truly smuggled, they couldn’t go to the police, meaning there would be no legitimate way to resolve this.
Blue veins showed faintly on Jin Chao’s forehead, his eyes terrifyingly dark, his entire being emanating an aura that seemed capable of destroying everything at any moment. Jiang Mu had never seen Jin Chao so angry before – previously, no matter how big the issue, he had always maintained his composure, handling things calmly.
This was the first time she had seen him display such intense emotions, and she didn’t dare approach or speak to him.
Jin Chao turned to San Lai and said, “Help me out, take Mu Mu home.”
San Lai stood at the other end of the repair shop, saying nothing, just nodding at him.
Then Jin Chao shifted his gaze to look at Jiang Mu. She was huddled in the corner, hands clasped to her chest, eyes showing signs of shock.
Jin Chao took a deep breath and walked over to her. Stopping in front of her, he glanced at San Lai, who turned and walked out. After he left, Jin Chao lowered his gaze and asked in a very low, deep voice, “Scared?”
Jiang Mu was indeed quite frightened – whether it was learning about his involvement in smuggled auto parts, the devastated scene in the shed, or Jin Chao’s furious appearance. Each incident, each scene was a significant shock to her.
Seeing the unease flickering in her eyes, Jin Chao slightly furrowed his brows, placed both hands on her shoulders, and bent down to match her height, trying to look her in the eye, his gaze intense and serious: “Remember when you were little and were too scared to get your mom’s signature on a failed test? I signed it for you but your teacher found out and wanted to call your parents. You cried so hard, thought it was the end of the world, right? I told you then it wasn’t a big deal, that I could handle it. Remember?”
Jiang Mu looked at him, face pale, tears welling in her eyes. Jin Chao’s grip on her shoulders gradually tightened as he earnestly asked, “Do you trust me?”
Since childhood, Jin Chao has helped Jiang Mu resolve all her troubles. Her trust in him was ingrained in her bones, almost innate.
He wasn’t a god, but in Jiang Mu’s heart, he was someone she could trust and depend on like one. It was because of this trust that she hadn’t believed he would risk smuggling.
But what lay before her now wasn’t about forging a signature for a test – this was a dangerous gamble that could cost him half his life. Her body trembled, her eyes filled with undisguised fear.
Jin Chao gazed into her eyes, seeming to send a beam of light from his eyes straight into her heart as he said persuasively, “If you trust me, go back and focus on your college entrance exam. Do what you need to do.”
He straightened up, reaching out to pat her head, saying, “Be good, go with San Lai.”
Jin Chao picked up her backpack and helped her put it on. San Lai had already started the car and was waiting by the roadside. Jiang Mu turned and walked step by step into the night toward the repair shop exit, each step tearing at her heart. When she reached the doorway, she stopped and looked back.
Jin Chao still stood there watching her, giving her a faint smile, but Jiang Mu couldn’t smile back. She could only give him one last worried look before walking toward San Lai’s car.
…
The week before the college entrance exam, evening self-study finally ended. Teacher Ma told everyone not to lose heart – they were being released early so they could rest well, adjust their schedules, and maintain good sleep patterns to be in the best condition for the exam.
For Jiang Mu, the rhythm that had been intense for four years finally eased in these last few days. Compared to her classmates, she was already well-prepared.
Since that night when San Lai took her home, she hadn’t returned to the auto shop.
Two days before the exam, with some free time, she wanted to go see everyone and Lightning. She took the bus one extra stop to the milk tea shop they usually visited. She still remembered Iron Rooster liked half sugar without cream, San Lai wanted full sugar with cheese, Xiao Yang didn’t like pearls, and Jin Chao only drank oolong tea.
After queuing for a while to buy everyone’s drinks, she headed toward the auto shop. As she passed the floating bridge, a taxi drove past her and stopped under the bridge. A middle-aged man got out carrying two bags of fruit, and after closing the car door, walked toward the nearby senior community.
Jiang Mu’s gaze fell on the man, feeling he looked familiar. Just then, the man happened to meet an acquaintance and turned his head to greet them. His broad forehead and aquiline nose suddenly reminded Jiang Mu who he was – he had come to Flying Speed for repairs last year. That day there were no other customers in the shop, Iron Rooster wasn’t there, and Xiao Yang had gone to the bathroom. Only Jiang Mu, coming out of the break room, had heard his conversation with Jin Chao – just a few words, with Jin Chao telling him to visit less often. She remembered Jin Chao’s expression had been very serious.
But when they ran into this man at the market after the New Year, Jin Chao said he had no impression of him at all. How could Jin Chao, with his excellent memory, not remember someone he had spoken to when even Jiang Mu could recognize him after just one glance?
The more Jiang Mu thought about it, the stranger it seemed, and her feet unconsciously began following him.
The Xiwa Depression area was formed by several blocks of old buildings, mostly former cadre dormitories and family compounds. Due to their age, the internal layout was interconnected, with no formal residential gates. Mostly elderly people lived there, with exercise equipment and vegetable vendors visible everywhere.
Jiang Mu followed the man through a busy street. Many people were coming and going in the early evening. The man stopped to ask a vendor how much the tomatoes cost per jin.
Jiang Mu stood at the entrance of a barbershop, pretending to look at the price list. The man bought a bag of tomatoes and continued walking. Jiang Mu quickly followed.
After passing through that street, the man turned into a compound. There were fewer and fewer people, and Jiang Mu didn’t dare follow too closely, so she took out her phone and pretended to play with it while keeping an eye ahead. Entering the compound, she saw several old ladies sitting on small stools chatting, while children chased each other on light-up skateboards in the courtyard, but the man had vanished.
Jiang Mu ran to the center of the compound. Several buildings surrounded her, and she didn’t know which one the man might have entered. Just as she was about to turn back, she suddenly saw a bag of tomatoes flash past toward the back building. A large phoenix tree in the eastern corner blocked half her view. Jiang Mu took a few steps to follow, but when she got around the tree, the man had vanished again. She ran to the back of several buildings to find an empty concrete area with many electric bikes and bicycles parked there, but no sign of anyone.
Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly turned around to find the man she had been following emerging from behind the other side of the phoenix tree.
Jiang Mu’s heart leaped in terror, her expression freezing. The man approached her step by step carrying his fruit and tomatoes, silently studying her before stopping in front of her and speaking: “Young lady, were you looking for me?”
Jiang Mu said nervously, “No, no.”
The man narrowed his eyes: “If you weren’t looking for me, why were you following me?”
Jiang Mu caught sight of the old ladies still chatting in her peripheral vision, straightened her chest, and replied calmly, “I can’t find my classmate’s house.”
The man looked at her intently for a few moments. Just then, someone from across the compound called out, “Jiang Nanshan.”
Jiang Mu turned to see Old Man Hai and quickly waved to him. The hook-nosed man then left with his bags.
After the man left, Jiang Mu hurried back around the phoenix tree to the compound. Old Man Hai stood with a teacup behind his back, smiling as he asked, “What brings you here?”
Jiang Mu smiled awkwardly, “Looking for someone, looking for someone.”
As they walked toward the compound exit, Old Man Hai suddenly asked, “You know Lu Wan’s son?”
“Who?”
“Weren’t you just talking to him?”
Jiang Mu paused, then quickly responded, “Not really. By the way, what does he do?”
Old Man Hai said, “Little Lu? He works at customs.”
Jiang Mu frowned, “Customs? Doing what?”
“I think it’s customs anti-smuggling…”
This was the first time Jiang Mu had heard of the “Anti-Smuggling Bureau.” After saying goodbye to Old Man Hai, she immediately took out her phone and searched for these three words. The webpage explained that the Anti-Smuggling Bureau was an important part of customs, led by the Public Relations Department and General Administration of Customs, responsible for severely cracking down on smuggling activities.
Jiang Mu’s head exploded with realization. Someone from the Anti-Smuggling Bureau had come to Flying Speed for repairs, Jin Chao had told him to come less often, and after the New Year, Jin Chao had started smuggling large quantities of parts. Everything is connected by an invisible thread in Jiang Mu’s mind, sketching out a terrifyingly plausible theory.
“Since you can teach yourself university courses, why not get a degree?”
“Every stage has its tasks. Your task at this stage is the college entrance exam. For me, there are more urgent matters.”
“Is it a lot of money? Civil compensation?”
“It’s not about money.”
Jiang Mu suddenly felt as if every pore was being corroded by an icy liquid, every hair standing on end, as a shocking truth seemed to emerge from behind a thin veil.
She had indeed felt it was a shame Jin Chao had dropped out of school and had indeed felt he was wasting his talents doing manual labor in that tiny auto shop. But she had never been disappointed in him for these things. Even after learning about his illegal racing, she had always believed he would stop after a few races. What truly disappointed her was learning these past ten days that he was risking everything with these illegal activities – this crossed a line Jiang Mu couldn’t accept. After their last parting, she felt reality had finally forced them onto opposite paths, that he would grow increasingly distant from her. That helpless despair often made Jiang Mu feel like a drowning person, without even the strength to struggle.
But at this moment, when all the truth presented itself in a completely unexpected way before Jiang Mu’s eyes, she felt an intense beam of light brewing within her. She was scared, yet in an instant, it illuminated her path forward.
She practically ran back to the auto shop, but Jin Chao wasn’t there. Iron Rooster and the others were about to finish work, and Xiao Yang told her, “Don’t wait, we don’t know when Master will be back.”
Indeed, Jin Chao didn’t return early. It was late at night when he pulled up the rolling door. A dim light was on in the break room, and Jiang Mu sat quietly at the table waiting for him. When he stepped into the repair shop, she looked up, her eyes bright and clear.