Jin Chao lifted the curtain and entered the inner room, saying to Jiang Mu, “Come in.”

This was Jiang Mu’s first time stepping into Jin Chao’s small room. Besides the wire bed and bedside table she’d seen before, there was also a dark simple wardrobe. Further inside was a door, which Jin Chao opened to reveal an even smaller shower room. He found a clean long-sleeved T-shirt and placed it on the bed, telling her, “I’ll be outside. Call if you need anything.”

With that, Jin Chao left, closing the rest area door behind him.

The night’s successive events had left Jiang Mu no time to consider her physical condition. Only after Jin Chao left did she realize she wasn’t really in a position to shower. She opened the rest area door, looking at the heavy rain outside, debating whether to rush out again. But her body was already exhausted, her lower abdomen aching so much she didn’t want to take a single step.

She could only crouch down and try to find delivery services on her phone but discovered no one was accepting orders in this area. Jiang Mu had never found herself in such an awkward situation before.

Jin Chao spoke with San Lai next door for a few minutes. About ten minutes later, he returned to the garage and saw the rest area door open, light streaming out, with what seemed to be a figure at the doorway. He tossed away his cigarette and walked quickly inside. As he got closer, he could see more clearly—Jiang Mu hadn’t showered, her hair still dripping as she crouched at the rest area doorway, hands clutching her stomach. In the rest area’s light, Jin Chao saw her face was frighteningly pale, her features scrunched together.

He bent down and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Mu looked up, the light in her eyes as fragile as broken glass, piercing Jin Chao’s heart. He softened his voice and asked again, “Stomach ache?”

Jiang Mu pressed her lips together, an embarrassed look crossing her pale face as she nodded slightly. Jin Chao was about to look for some stomach medicine when he suddenly realized something. He turned back, asking somewhat awkwardly, “Are you…”

Then something seemed to snap in his mind, his pupils dilating as he stared at the fragile girl before him, asking, “You ran out in the heavy rain just to buy…?”

Jiang Mu felt like there was a huge stone stuck in her throat, embarrassment, and distress gathering as she mumbled, “Lost it.”

Those three trembling words laid bare Jiang Mu’s predicament. Jin Chao instantly wanted to curse himself as an idiot. He stood frozen for a few seconds, roughly running his hand through his short hair before softening his voice to tell her, “Go shower first. I’ll go buy some.”

With that, he strode out. Jiang Mu watched through stinging eyes as his figure disappeared into the heavy rain again, the light finally returning to her eyes.

Jin Chao pulled down the rolling door. San Lai was standing at the entrance slurping noodles from a large bowl. Seeing Jin Chao about to leave again, he called out, “Where are you going?”

Jin Chao glanced at him without saying anything. There was a small shop still open near the garage, but he often bought cigarettes there and was quite familiar with the owner, who always called him “brother.” If he suddenly went to buy feminine products in the middle of the night, the news would probably spread throughout the street by tomorrow. After consideration, he drove to a convenience store in the back street instead.

The convenience store was small, with only three shelves of goods. The owner was a middle-aged woman with a large belly who kept giving him meaningful looks as he wandered to the feminine products section, making Jin Chao extremely uncomfortable. Having never bought feminine products before, he randomly grabbed a bunch and went to check out.

The owner scanned the items one by one, saying, “Would you like to participate in the one-yuan exchange promotion? Just add one more yuan and you can choose from these items…”

Jin Chao listened to her rambling, growing impatient. He pulled out his payment code and said, “Fine, just hurry.”

The shop owner indeed became more efficient, asking what item he wanted to exchange. Jin Chao, eager to leave, threw out a “Whatever.”

Seeing a young man buying sanitary pads for his girlfriend in the middle of the night, the shop owner thought he must be a caring person. She very tactfully took a box of condoms from the back shelf and tossed it into the plastic bag.

Jin Chao didn’t even look as he grabbed the bag and left the convenience store. The car wheels splashed through puddles back to the garage. San Lai was still holding his bowl, craning his neck to look outside, his eyes trying to peek into the plastic bag Jin Chao was carrying, asking squintingly, “What good stuff did you buy?”

Jin Chao simply moved the plastic bag to his other hand behind his back, using one hand to pull up the rolling door as he asked, “What do you do for women’s stomach aches?”

“What kind of pain?”

Jin Chao gave him a sideways glance: “What do you think?”

San Lai put down his bowl with a smile, pulling out his phone to say, “I’ll call Little Ping to ask.”

This Little Ping was San Lai’s childhood friend who had chased after him for three years in high school. Back then, San Lai was addicted to online games and personally buried all her passionate feelings. Later, Little Ping wisely realized San Lai was destined for a life of spiritual cultivation and deserved to be alone, so she unilaterally cut off contact with him.

After years without contact, San Lai suddenly called her on this rainy night, and his first question upon connecting was: “Hey Ping, what do you usually do when your period cramps are bad?”

“…Drink your grandmother’s foot-washing water.” Click—she hung up.

The phone was on speaker, and an awkward silence filled the air. Jin Chao, holding the bag, glanced at San Lai, who coughed and said, “I don’t think her method is very practical.”

Jin Chao stopped paying attention to him and entered the room, placing the items outside the shower room and calling in, “I’ve left the things on the floor.” Then he went out.

The shower room was cramped but kept spotlessly clean, without any discomfort. Jin Chao had always been quite clean as a child. Unlike other boys his age who were always covered in dirt, he rarely got grimy. Jiang Yinghan had taught him how to wash his clothes when he was very young. In Jiang Mu’s memory, Jin Chao always washed his clothes. Shamefully, at her age now, her clothes were still washed by Jiang Yinghan when she was home. She hadn’t realized it before, but now she felt her mother’s blatant favoritism.

After showering, she looked at the only dark blue towel in the shower room and picked it up. The towel had a pleasant scent, the same she had smelled on Jin Chao that day after his shower—a fresh mint fragrance. Sharing a towel with someone of the opposite sex made Jiang Mu feel quite embarrassed. She couldn’t help but recall Jin Chao’s earlier words: “I’m not your brother, remember? Do you think that’s appropriate?”

It wasn’t appropriate, but there seemed to be no other option.

After showering, she opened the bathroom door slightly. Jin Chao wasn’t there. Looking down, she saw a plastic bag at her feet containing several packages of sanitary pads and even a box of new women’s underwear. Jiang Mu felt like she wanted to disappear on the spot, but reality forced her to face the embarrassment.

She changed into the T-shirt Jin Chao had given her, which was big enough to wear as a dress, then hastily stuffed the plastic bag into the bedside drawer. Thinking of how Jin Chao was also soaked, she pulled back the curtain and walked out to the repair shop to tell him, “I’m done, you can shower now.”

Jin Chao looked at her feet—size 35 feet in his size 43 black slippers, looking comical like a child wearing adult shoes.

Jin Chao had long eyes that could appear very cold when emotionless, but when filled with laughter, they sparked with a warmth that could burn. Jiang Mu felt awkward under his gaze and, following his line of sight to the slippers on her feet, suddenly realized something and said, “I’ll go to bed, you can have the slippers.”

She went back to the room, climbed onto the wire bed, and left the slippers below.

Jin Chao entered the room, opened the simple wardrobe, took out clean clothes, and went into the shower room. When he opened the door, he saw his towel had been washed clean and folded neatly on the sink. He picked up the towel, its soft texture brushing against his fingertips, stirring something in his heart.

As the sound of water came from the bathroom, Jiang Mu, whose shoes were wet, had to stay on the bed without extra slippers. Looking up, she saw three rows of black shelves on the wall beside the bed. Two rows held books, while one contained various items like lighters, spare car keys, and unidentifiable small parts.

The two rows of densely packed books were mostly about automotive construction and dismantling, including several thick three-dimensional illustrated guides and industrial technology books that Jiang Mu couldn’t understand at all, even some specifically about wind resistance coefficients.

Jin Chao had always liked reading, and back then Jiang Mu couldn’t understand his books. Now that they were grown up, she still couldn’t understand them.

The shower room door opened, and Jiang Mu quickly looked away to watch Jin Chao emerge. He saw her sitting obediently at the edge of the bed, seemingly afraid to mess up his bedding, having not changed position from when he went into when he came out. The long T-shirt covered her knees, wrapping her up entirely like a soft, sweet zongzi.

He remembered this long-sleeved T-shirt was from last year, just after leaving Wan Ji when San Lai dragged him to Shijiazhuang to cheer up. San Lai had insisted on taking him to the North Country Outlets, saying he couldn’t leave without buying something to comfort himself, so he randomly picked this T-shirt. It was a brand-name item, not cheap, but he’d just left it there and never worn it once while working. Although it was now stretched out of shape by Jiang Mu, he couldn’t be bothered to care. He turned to rummage through the bottom of the wardrobe.

Soon he found a bag of cotton swabs, a bottle of disinfectant, and a pack of band-aids. He walked straight to Jiang Mu, placed the items on the bedside table, and crouched down, saying, “Let me see your hand.”

After the night’s turmoil, Jiang Mu had almost forgotten about this. She hadn’t expected Jin Chao to notice. She extended her hand from the long T-shirt sleeve to him. When Jin Chao saw the several shocking nail marks on her delicate hand, his gaze froze for a moment.

Silently, he dipped a cotton swab in disinfectant and gently held her fingertips. His Adam’s apple moved as he asked, “Does it hurt?”

Jiang Mu rested her chin on her knees, sniffled, and made an “mm” sound.

Jin Chao’s movements became even gentler as he treated her wounds, saying, “She’s still a child, doesn’t know her strength, you…”

Before he could finish, Jiang Mu muttered, “Who isn’t still a child?”

Jin Chao lowered his head and smiled. Jiang Mu’s expression changed slightly. Although it was now hard to find traces of his former self, Jin Chao’s smile seemed unchanged—his beautiful lip shape, when upturned, made even the air feel gentle.

Jin Chao kept his gaze down, his tone somewhat relaxed: “Then what do you want to do? Want me to seek justice for you?”

Jiang Mu looked away sulkily and said, “Would you confront her for my sake?”

Jin Chao glanced up at her puffy cheeks, lowered his head with a smile, and said three words: “It’s different.”

Jiang Mu didn’t understand and asked, “What’s different?”

She really wanted to know if it was the age difference between her and Jin Xin that was different, or their importance in Jin Chao’s heart that was different.

But Jin Chao didn’t answer this question, only saying, “I can’t treat a child the same way. What would make you feel better?”

Jiang Mu held back for a long time before saying, “Not just one night, but several nights.”

Jin Chao held her fingertips and looked up at her. The air briefly stopped flowing, and the room was very quiet. The sensation at her fingertips became increasingly clear. Since she could remember, she had never been held by such strong, large hands. A feeling of shyness arose naturally, and she wanted to look away, but she knew she had to win this negotiation.

So she continued, “I want to return to Suzhou, but I don’t know how to transfer schools. I’ll ask around in a few days, and if it doesn’t work out, I’ll rent a place outside. Either way, I can’t go back to living there, so… please let me stay with you for a few more days.”

Jin Chao smiled again, this time the laughter in his eyes spreading completely, carrying a hint of playfulness.

Jiang Mu’s eyebrows knitted together as she said seriously, “Is it that funny?”

Jin Chao gradually stopped smiling and raised an eyebrow to ask, “Feeling wronged?”

If he hadn’t asked that, Jiang Mu might have been able to maintain her composure, but with that question, she nearly broke down, almost bursting into tears. To save face, she turned her head away and pressed her lips together.

Seeing her reddened nose, Jin Chao finished applying the band-aid and told her, “It’s too late. Go to sleep first, we won’t discuss this today.”

Jiang Mu asked dejectedly, “Then where will you sleep?”

“At San Lai’s place. You sleep.”

Jin Chao stood up and took the cotton swabs out to throw away. When he returned, he saw Jiang Mu still sitting on the edge of the bed. He picked up the bottle from the bedside table and asked, “Are you waiting for me to tuck you in?”

Hearing this, Jiang Mu obediently lay down. As soon as her head touched the pillow, she began feeling drowsy. Between her flickering eyelids, she saw Jin Chao turn to put things back under the wardrobe, and she asked, “When did she get this illness?”

Jin Chao, facing away from her, put things back one by one and replied, “At three years old.”

“Was she difficult to handle?”

“Don’t know,” Jin Chao closed the cabinet.

“Don’t know?”

He straightened up and said softly, “I wasn’t home during that time. When I came back, she wasn’t acting out anymore.”

His voice showed no fluctuation as if talking about something trivial.

Jiang Mu asked puzzled, “Where did you go?”

Jin Chao leaned one hand against the wardrobe, not turning to look at her. After a few seconds, he turned around, his eyes completely calm without any trace of emotion, and said to her, “Get some sleep.” Then he turned off the light and left.

After Jin Chao left, Jiang Mu’s eyelids closed, but she didn’t sleep well, partly due to physical discomfort and partly due to the unfamiliar environment. However, she was so exhausted that she remained confused. She didn’t know how long she slept, but the heavy rain outside hadn’t stopped. In Jiang Mu’s dream, it was also raining. She returned to that rainy night when she was nine, calling out to her father and Jin Chao from the window, but they seemed to be in another world, completely unable to hear her voice, not even turning to look at her once. Her small body crawled through the railing to the outside, rain soaking her clothes and hair. She reached out to them, but her foot slipped and her body fell from the height, frightening her into crying out, “Chao Chao, Chao Chao, Brother…”

Jin Chao heard the sound and came in from outside, turning on the light and asking, “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Mu covered her face with her hand, mumbling, “Too bright.”

Jin Chao turned the light off again and walked to the bedside. He saw her eyes still closed, a layer of fine sweat on her forehead gleaming in the darkness, making her look even more fragile and pained. He called out to her: “Mu Mu.”

Jiang Mu turned over, her hand grasping aimlessly in the air. Finding nothing made her furrow her brows anxiously, but just as her hand was about to fall, Jin Chao caught it. Like finding a lifeline, she said softly, her voice caught in her throat, “Hurts.”

Jin Chao bent down and asked, “Stomach hurts?”

Jiang Mu didn’t speak, her eyebrows tightly knitted together, unclear whether she was awake or asleep, seeming very confused.

Jin Chao wanted to go get her some hot water, but Jiang Mu held onto him. Her grip was weak, and Jin Chao could have easily freed his hand, but Jiang Mu made a whimpering sound that made his mind buzz. He suddenly remembered an afternoon long ago when Jiang Yinghan couldn’t pick her up, and she had made the same soft, pitiful sound. Unable to let go, he held her hand again and tried to coax her gently: “I’m not leaving, I’ll just get some water and come right back, be good.”

Whether Jiang Mu understood or not, when he tried to release her hand again, she didn’t make a sound, quiet as if asleep.

Jin Chao didn’t turn on the room light but instead turned on the light in the outer rest area. Using that light, he walked back into the room to find Jiang Mu’s small body completely curled up. He crouched down and said to her, “Get up and drink some water.”

Jiang Mu didn’t move. He gently touched her and said patiently, “Will you get up and drink some hot water?”

Jiang Mu finally showed some response, painfully shaking her head, seeming unwilling to move. Jin Chao touched her forehead—no fever. Not knowing how else to ease her pain, he could only sit on the bed’s edge and help her sit up. His large palm supported her back as her body remained completely limp. Jin Chao had no choice but to half-hold her against him, bringing the water to her lips. She finally took a few sips before sliding down again, curling up into a ball.

Jin Chao put down the water cup and took out his phone to search for ways to relieve pain. After searching for a while, he found various suggestions online. It was too late to find brown sugar or Ejiao jelly, but he saw someone recommend massaging the San Yin Jiao acupoint. He moved to the foot of the bed, placed his phone nearby, and following the acupoint diagram, put Jiang Mu’s foot on his leg.

The San Yin Jiao point is located just above the ankle. He used his thumb pad to massage and knead the area repeatedly. Initially, her body remained tense, but after more than ten minutes, she gradually relaxed. Jin Chao glanced at her in the outside light and saw her tightly furrowed brows slowly smoothing out.

When Jiang Mu was still an infant, Jin Chao’s daily pleasure was coming home from school and playfully biting her milk-scented chubby feet, always making little Mu Mu laugh and waving her arms and legs in her crib.

After all these years, her feet were still so small. Though no longer chubby as in childhood, her proportionate toes and delicate instep still seemed as cute as a child’s feet to him. He smiled silently, then suddenly felt a bit dazed. Before receiving Jin Qiang’s call last month, he had thought he would never have any connection with her again in this life.

But now she was lying in his bed, and he could feel her warmth. Everything felt so real, yet somehow unreal.

Jiang Mu wasn’t completely unaware. She knew she had been dreaming, and in her confused state, Jin Chao had tried to get her to drink water, but she didn’t want to move and couldn’t open her eyes. She just felt stomach pain, and later felt Jin Chao holding her foot and massaging near her ankle. The slight calluses on his fingertips, applying just the right pressure, drove away her fear of the unfamiliar environment in the night, and her consciousness gradually relaxed.

She didn’t know how long Jin Chao massaged that night, only that she stopped dreaming and fell into a deep sleep.

But Jin Chao barely slept all night. Perhaps traumatized by witnessing Jin Xin’s fall, Jiang Mu would involuntarily shiver every now and then, making small sounds of discomfort, as if in shock. He could only put two chairs together and rest in the lounge, going in to pat her whenever he heard movement from inside, only then would she sleep peacefully again.

…

In the morning, when Xiao Yang came to the garage, he was surprised to see the rolling door already wide open. Jin Chao had rolled up his work uniform sleeves to his elbows and was crouching in the repair bay working. Xiao Yang, carrying two large meat buns, called out, “Hey, Master, why are you starting so early today? Want a bun?”

Jin Chao glared at him: “Keep it down. No thanks.”

Then he added, “Don’t go into the rest area.”

Xiao Yang puzzledly tried to peek inside but was pushed away by Jin Chao with a slap to his head.

He asked curiously, “Who’s in there?”

Jin Chao suddenly remembered Jiang Mu’s WeChat name and smiled slightly: “A heavy sleeper.”

Iron Rooster came a bit later and immediately heard from Xiao Yang that there was someone in Master’s room and they weren’t allowed in the rest area. All morning, whenever they made too much noise, Jin Chao would give them a cold look, turning the usually noisy repair shop into silent mode. Xiao Yang and Iron Rooster, typically talkative, felt like they were suffocating.

While smoking outside, they discussed who might be inside. Since starting his garage, Jin Chao rarely went home, using the single room as his temporary residence. Though small, he strongly disliked others entering his room, so even when Xiao Yang and Iron Rooster went to the rest area to look for things or play games, they never entered his room.

Once when Little Green Snake came to visit them and casually lay on Jin Chao’s bed, Jin Chao returned and without a word grabbed her by the collar and threw her out. Little Green Snake was so angry she hadn’t come back for a long time.

So Xiao Yang and Iron Rooster wondered what kind of special person could make him so accommodating.

When Jiang Mu, who had slept until noon, walked out of the room, Xiao Yang and Iron Rooster were stunned. Not just because she was wearing Jin Chao’s clothes, but because under that oversized T-shirt were long, straight, alluring legs. Combined with her ear-length pure short hair, it created a forbidden image of youthful allure that could make one’s nose bleed, causing both men to freeze in their tracks.

Jin Chao threw cigarette butts at them, snapping them back to reality. He walked over to Jiang Mu, using his body to block her view as he pushed her back inside, scolding, “Don’t you know to wear pants before coming out?”

Jiang Mu had slowly begun remembering what happened last night. She seemed to have clung to Jin Chao and wouldn’t let go in the early morning. Thinking about it now was extremely embarrassing. She deliberately kept her distance from him, every feature of her face showing mortification, yet she replied defiantly, “Do I have any pants to wear?”

Jin Chao turned back to the wardrobe, pulled out a pair of track pants, threw them to her, and went out. Jiang Mu put on the track pants, but ridiculously, they were like giant pantlegs on her. She didn’t know how many times she had to roll them up just to show her feet and had to tie the elastic waistband several times to barely keep them up. Looking at herself in the rest area’s large mirror, she thought she looked terrible—what kind of mess was this?

In the repair bay, a car was lifted, and Jin Chao was checking the chassis. Seeing her come out, he gave her a scanning look, and Jiang Mu saw the poorly concealed amusement in his eyes, making her feel even more embarrassed.

Jin Chao turned back and called to Xiao Yang: “Take over here.”

Then he took off his gloves, walked to the passageway beside Jiang Mu, and asked, “Hungry? What do you want to eat?”

Jiang Mu, holding up the pant legs with both hands, replied, “Anything but dumplings.”

“…”

Outside, the rain had stopped, though the ground was still wet. Jiang Mu saw Jin Chao set up an induction cooker outside the garage, skillfully dicing a sausage on the cutting board, and then taking out a carrot to cut. She hurried forward to stop him, “I don’t eat carrots.”

Jin Chao merely “Oh-ed” and continued cutting as before, his knife skills impressive. Jiang Mu suspected if she said another word, he might turn around and slice her instead, so she could only mumble quietly, “No green onions.”

After confirming Jin Chao wasn’t adding chopped green onions, she relaxed and craned her neck to watch. Jin Chao poured oil into the wok and turned to tell her, “Step back.”

“Why?”

The next second, Jin Chao poured the white rice into the hot oil, making a loud sizzling sound that made Jiang Mu jump far back. Jin Chao glanced at her, his mouth twitching—startled but trying to act composed.

Seeing him skillfully crack an egg one-handed and toss the sausage and carrot bits into the wok to stir-fry, she muttered, “What are you smiling at? I’m not afraid of the work, I just didn’t expect it to be so sudden.”

“Can you cook?”

“Well… yes.”

Jin Chao knew she definitely couldn’t. He flipped the rice twice, the veins in his arm standing out, turning the fried rice over without spilling a single grain—his movements quick and clean, actually quite dashing.

Soon the aroma of the fried rice made Jiang Mu’s stomach growl. She asked casually, “How’s Jin Xin?”

“She’s fine, discharged at noon.”

Jiang Mu had just felt relieved when she dejectedly “Oh-ed,” realizing this meant Zhao Meijuan and the others had returned home, making it even more impossible for her to go back.

She hovered around Jin Chao, tentatively asking, “Do you have time later? Could you help me get my luggage and backpack?”

Jin Chao didn’t look at her, adding seasonings to the wok. Seeing his silence, she pressed, “Can you?”

Jin Chao turned off the induction cooker and turned to look at her: “Did I agree to let you stay?”

Jiang Mu’s dark eyes turned downward, looking both aggrieved and angry. Jin Chao’s mouth suppressed a smile as he raised his hand toward her. Jiang Mu instinctively closed her eyes, but when she opened them again, she saw Jin Chao’s arm reaching past her head to grab a plate. She awkwardly tugged at the falling waistband of her pants.

Jin Chao served the fried rice on the low table beside them and said, “Don’t pick out the carrots.”

Jiang Mu grumbled petulantly, “You’re not my brother, yet you’re so bossy.”

Jin Chao raised an eyebrow, glanced at her, and went back to work. Jiang Mu sat alone at the garage entrance, sighing as she watched the passing vehicles.

San Lai came out following the aroma, and seeing Jiang Mu sitting at the shop entrance eating fried rice in her current attire, he burst out laughing: “Little sister, were you fishing? What are these rags you’re wearing? You Jiu’s got some taste, taking a pretty young lady and making her look like she was just fished out of the sea.”

Jiang Mu pulled up her pant legs and angrily stuffed fried rice into her mouth. Had to admit, it was quite tasty.

Just thinking about her situation after finishing the meal made her anxious, feeling like Jin Chao wanted to send her away with just a meal of fried rice.

San Lai went back into his shop and soon came out carrying the little black puppy, saying to Jiang Mu, “Here, little sister, look at your dog son, hasn’t he gotten fatter?”

Jiang Mu looked up at the little black dog and reached out to take it. After not seeing it for several days, it had indeed grown quite a bit and could now wag its tail at her. She put the puppy on her leg and asked, “What do you mean, dog son?”

San Lai raised his eyebrows: “Didn’t You Jiu tell you? This dog is yours now.”

“Huh?” Jiang Mu was somewhat disbelieving: “He didn’t tell me. He wants to drive me away, how could he give me a dog to raise?”

San Lai was also surprised: “Drive you away? Did he say that?”

Jiang Mu petted the fluffy little thing: “Well, not exactly.”

San Lai leaned against the pet shop doorway, half-smiling: “Think about it—if he wanted to drive you away, why would he go out early in the morning to buy you slippers, towels, and such?”

Jiang Mu suddenly froze, looking at the pink cartoon woman’s slippers on her feet, remembering that when she woke up, there were new towels and toothbrushes in the shower room. Amusingly, they were all pink.

She had indeed loved pink when she was little, to the point of being obsessive—she would get upset if anything she bought wasn’t pink. But now she was well past that girlish phase, and Jiang Yinghan often said she liked wearing old-fashioned black, white, and gray. Yet Jin Chao still remembered her childhood preference.

She couldn’t help looking up at Jin Chao working, then turning to look at San Lai, who was smiling lazily at her.

Jiang Mu suddenly felt hopeful. She quickly finished the fried rice and, holding the puppy, wandered over to Jin Chao’s side. Jin Chao glanced at her, and she held up the puppy in front of him asking, “Isn’t it cute?”

Jin Chao ignored her and went to the other side of the car. Jiang Mu circled around to his side again: “Brother San Lai said you agreed to let me keep it?”

Jin Chao crouched down, searching through his toolbox. Jiang Mu also crouched down with the puppy, tilting her head to look at him: “The dog’s still small, don’t I need to stay a few days to take care of it?”

Jin Chao said without looking up, “I’m not your brother, why should I look after both the dog and you?”

“I ate the carrots.”

Jin Chao looked up to see Jiang Mu’s watery eyes watching him as if seeking praise. He moved the toolbox aside and stood up. Jiang Mu pressed her advantage, continuing, “And I have worksheets to finish, due tomorrow, they’re at Dad’s house.”

Jin Chao found it amusing that she still remembered her homework. He took out a cigarette from his pocket and reached toward Xiao Yang, who threw him a lighter. He walked a few steps away, lit the cigarette, and glanced at her casually: “Let me hear you say it.”

Jiang Mu stood in the repair bay holding the dog, staring at him: “Say what?”

Jin Chao exhaled some smoke, his tone playful: “How did you call me last night?”

Xiao Yang and Iron Rooster watched the two like a show. Jiang Mu pressed her lips tightly together. Although her mind had been foggy last night, she could vaguely remember that she had, embarrassingly, called him “Brother,” especially after her outburst about him not being her brother.

But that had been unconscious—there was no way she would humble herself like that now in front of everyone.

She hugged the dog angrily and walked toward the rest area. Just as she was about to lift the curtain, she remembered she had no bra to change into, and the current one was still damp and extremely uncomfortable. Making her go out to buy clothes in this outfit, with men’s pants constantly falling—he might as well just kill her.

Pride meant nothing in the face of survival; a mature woman should know when to bend. After struggling for a few seconds, she turned back. Jin Chao was still standing there, holding his cigarette end, watching her.

Jiang Mu, wearing those cartoon slippers, shuffled back out of the rest area. She glanced at Xiao Yang and the others, then looked outside the garage. Making sure no one but Jin Chao was watching her, she called out in a tiny voice: “Brother.”

Iron Rooster and Xiao Yang couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing. Jiang Mu’s face turned bright red, while amusement showed in Jin Chao’s eyes.

She turned her back to Xiao Yang and Iron Rooster, shuffling over to Jin Chao. He dropped and stepped on his cigarette, looking down at her. Jiang Mu couldn’t meet his eyes, avoiding his gaze and mumbling in a mosquito-like voice: “Just… underwear… hanging on the balcony, don’t forget to get it.” Then she fled back to the room without looking back.

When Jin Chao returned home, Jin Qiang asked how Jiang Mu was doing. He said she refused to come back and was making noise about returning to Suzhou. Jin Qiang was immediately troubled and asked Jin Chao what to do. Jin Chao shrugged: “Nothing to be done. She’s angry—let her cool down for a couple of days before discussing it.”

Jin Qiang could only repeatedly instruct Jin Chao to look after Jiang Mu, saying he would talk to Zhao Meijuan over the next few days, and asking Jin Chao to also work on convincing Jiang Mu—this situation was something no one had wanted.

Jin Chao said nothing, walking into the room to gather all of Jiang Mu’s worksheets and notebooks into her school bag. He then went to the balcony to collect her clothes, suddenly remembering her reminder not to forget her underwear. He saw the white lace fabric hanging on the clothes rack, fluttering in the wind. Though Jin Chao normally had quite pure thoughts, remembering her bashful demeanor made him feel awkward too, and he averted his eyes as he quickly stuffed it into her bag.

Half an hour later, Jin Chao returned with her things, dropped them off, and left again. Jiang Mu could finally change out of her “fishing outfit.”

In the afternoon, as Xiao Yang and Iron Rooster frequently needed to go to the rest area to get things, Jiang Mu decided to sit at the small table by the door to do her work. Four or five cars came by, and since she was somewhat in the way at the entrance, she had to stand up whenever a car arrived. San Lai saw this through his glass door and moved the table to his shop entrance, telling her, “Sit here to work.”

Jiang Mu felt a bit embarrassed and asked, “Won’t it disturb your business?”

San Lai smiled: “Not at all, just add extra money when you get a membership card later.”

“…”

Jiang Mu put the black puppy on her lap while working. The puppy was very well-behaved, sleeping softly on her leg.

Around four o’clock, a car suddenly stopped at the street corner, and three men got out, heading straight for the garage. One with a crew cut shouted, “Where’s Brother Jiu?”

Jiang Mu had been wearing headphones, but the loud voice made her look up. She saw Xiao Yang and Iron Rooster stop their work and watch these people warily. The crew-cut leader first walked to an SUV at the shop entrance, patted its hood, and shouted again, “Am I speaking a foreign language? Don’t understand?”

Xiao Yang showed an angry expression, but Iron Rooster patted him and went forward to offer the man a cigarette, saying, “Brother Jiu went to the auto parts market. If you need something…”

Before he could finish, the man in the colorful hoodie snapped the cigarette and spat, “Who do you think you are?”

Jiang Mu pulled off her headphones, frowning. San Lai also came out from his shop hearing the commotion. Jiang Mu asked quietly, “Who are they?”

San Lai gave a cold laugh: “People from Wan Ji Garage.”

As they spoke, the group walked into the repair bay and kicked the storage cabinet, sending screws and parts scattering everywhere.

Jiang Mu suddenly stood up, but San Lai held her shoulder, saying, “Don’t get involved.”

Jiang Mu watched the group intently and asked, “What are they doing?”

San Lai told her: “You Jiu worked at Wan Ji for over three years. Since he started his own business last year, their people come to cause trouble every now and then. Don’t go over there.”

San Lai then walked next door, saying with a smile, “Brothers, if you have something to say, say it. What kind of heroes are you, causing havoc while the boss is away? People might think you’re cowards who only dare to act when someone’s vulnerable. We all work in this area—it’s embarrassing.”

The crew-cut leader turned and looked at San Lai contemptuously, sneering, “None of your fucking business, Lai. Go back to grooming your cats. If it weren’t for your old man, I’d deal with you too.”

San Lai looked unconcerned: “If you want to chat with me, I’m available anytime, but don’t bring up my old man. He’s into gambling and whoring, but I’m a good citizen. If you’re trying to look after me for his sake, that’s really unnecessary. Though I might not come from the best background, I don’t need protection from thugs.”

Another man said to Crew Cut, “Stop wasting words with him, he’s always talking nonsense.”

Knowing he couldn’t touch San Lai, Crew Cut couldn’t be bothered arguing. San Lai deliberately moved a step, giving Xiao Yang a meaningful look while continuing, “What do you mean nonsense? If you had even a primate’s eyesight, you wouldn’t mistake a handsome guy for a three-legged firecracker.”

Unfortunately, Xiao Yang completely missed San Lai’s hint. Seeing the mess, he was so angry he wanted to grab a wrench and fight these people. Crew Cut caught Xiao Yang’s expression and immediately kicked him to the ground, cursing, “What are you looking at?”

San Lai clenched his jaw. Crew Cut then kicked over a rice bucket nearby, took out a key, and surveyed the cars parked at the entrance. He chose the most expensive BMW and started scratching it with his key from the front door. Just as he was about to reach the back door, a figure suddenly leaned against the car door, blocking his hand. He looked up to see a pretty young woman.

Crew Cut paused slightly and asked, “Miss, what are you doing?”

Jiang Mu, holding the black puppy, said to him, “Hand. Remove it.”

Crew Cut put away his key, becoming interested, and joked, “What? Is this your family’s shop?”

Jiang Mu nodded: “You actually guessed right.”

Crew Cut stepped back in surprise to look at her, his eyes suddenly lighting up: “You must be that girl You Jiu just found? Really something. Da Guang, Xiang Zi, come look!”

Seeing this, San Lai quickly stepped forward to intervene: “Don’t mess around, she’s just a young girl.”

Unexpectedly, the two-hundred-pound Da Guang put his hand on San Lai’s shoulder to restrain him, while Xiang Zi and Crew Cut surrounded Jiang Mu with lewd expressions.

The black puppy in Jiang Mu’s arms seemed to sense something and suddenly started barking at Crew Cut with baby-fierce determination.

Crew Cut cursed in annoyance: “Trying to act like a Labrador?”

He grabbed the puppy by the scruff of its neck, pulling it from Jiang Mu’s arms like a black plastic bag, and started to get handsy with Jiang Mu.

Jiang Mu took out her phone from her pocket and turned on the camera to film them. Crew Cut was startled and stopped, then cursed, “Bitch, looking to die? Turn off that phone.”

He raised his hand to slap her phone away, but before he could touch Jiang Mu, his hand was forcefully knocked aside. Jiang Mu felt a weight on her shoulder and looked up to see Jin Chao, who had a cold expression as he pulled her behind him, his threatening gaze forcing Crew Cut to instinctively step back.

Jin Chao glanced at the disheveled Xiao Yang, then at the BMW’s door, and finally at the black puppy in Crew Cut’s hand. He extended his hand toward him, gesturing at the dog with his eyes. Perhaps it was his intimidating presence, but the previously aggressive Crew Cut actually handed the puppy over.

Jin Chao passed the dog to Jiang Mu, pulled her behind him, and with a casual yet menacing expression, glanced at Crew Cut and said in a low voice, “I can fix my cars if you damage them, but mess with my people and you must be tired of living.”

Then he raised his fist. Crew Cut thought Jin Chao was going to hit him and covered his head, but Jin Chao ignored him completely and instead struck Da Guang in the face, following up with a kick. Though Da Guang was shorter than Jin Chao, he was quite fat, but it was mostly flab—he went down immediately under Jin Chao’s attack. Freed from Da Guang’s restraint, San Lai quickly grabbed Crew Cut from behind, shouting, “Hey, stop fighting, stop fighting! We’re all old colleagues, what’s the point? Let’s keep the peace, keep the peace!”

While San Lai was supposedly breaking up the fight, he actually twisted Crew Cut’s arm behind his back, and Jin Chao showed no mercy, landing several hits.

The two men’s coordinated operation was so fierce it left Jiang Mu dumbfounded. Meanwhile, Iron Rooster and Xiao Yang each held up a wrench against Da Guang’s head, and seeing this situation, Da Guang didn’t dare move from where he sat on the ground.

Perhaps because the black puppy kept whimpering, its mother Xishi finally couldn’t bear it anymore and rushed out from the pet shop with earth-shattering barks, pouncing on Da Guang and biting his arm without letting go. Fat Da Guang was scared witless, crying out, “Why am I always the one getting hurt? What did I do to deserve this?”

At the other end, several chickens that were free-ranging near the small restaurant came fluttering over to the spilled rice bucket, gathering at the garage entrance to peck at the rice.

The scene was absolute chaos—chickens flying and dogs jumping. More and more people came out to watch from the street. In the confusion, Xiang Zi picked up a hammer from the ground and rushed at Jin Chao from behind. Jiang Mu turned around to see this skinny man raising what looked like a rolling pin, sacrificing himself for his brothers.

So she stepped forward with the black puppy and quietly stuck out her foot. The next second, along with the flying hammer, Xiang Zi’s forehead planted right next to Jin Chao’s heel with a “thud”—when Jin Chao turned around at the sound, he saw Xiang Zi’s forehead giving him a grand kowtow on the ground.

Jiang Mu stepped aside, keeping her great deed anonymous.