Jiang Mu certainly wasn’t going to embarrass herself by dancing ballet in front of two grown men. How could she have known that her trash-talking with San Lai would be overheard by the subject himself? Had she known Jin Chao was upstairs the whole time, she wouldn’t have uttered a single word.
But what’s done was done. She could only meekly approach San Lai’s corner with a red face. San Lai, for his part, wore an expression of someone thoroughly enjoying the drama, clearly finding endless amusement in Jiang Mu’s predicament on this Sunday morning.
Come to think of it, Jin Chao had seen Jiang Mu dance ballet before. Back when she was in the middle class of kindergarten, Jiang Yinghan had enrolled her in a dance class. He had gone with Jin Qiang to pick her up once. She wore a pink dress with white stockings, her hair tied in a high ponytail, looking serious among the other children. She was delightfully chubby then, her legs wrapped in white stockings looking so adorable one could just take a bite – a perfect little plump swan.
Jin Chao could still remember how she would bounce around to the music, bobbing her head. This memory brought a hint of amusement to his eyes now, making Jiang Mu extremely self-conscious under his gaze. However, Jin Chao didn’t linger long before heading to open the auto shop.
Little Yang and Iron Rooster still treated Jiang Mu the same as always, joking around and teasing her. They even ordered lunch for her. When Jiang Mu came to eat at the shop, Jin Chao didn’t say anything except to tell her after the meal, “Head back soon after you’re done eating.”
Jiang Mu responded proudly, “My legs, my choice.”
Jin Chao glanced at her, pressed his lips together, and went back to work.
In the afternoon, Jiang Mu looked up a milk tea shop, asked everyone what they wanted, and headed out to buy drinks.
Since moving to Tonggang, she had indeed reduced her frequency of ordering takeout. With no other leisure activities, her only relaxation besides studying was going out to buy things.
It was like a mission for her – identify the destination, then enjoy the unfamiliar street views along the way. Perhaps because she was usually so bored, she would even stop to watch two dogs fighting, and if she happened upon any unique buildings or unfamiliar street vendors, she would pause to observe.
Such exploration indeed brought a touch of freshness to her otherwise monotonous study life, which was why an hour had passed and she still hadn’t returned.
Jin Chao drove out of a freshly painted car, got out, and asked Little Yang, “Where did Mu Mu go?”
Little Yang told him, “She went to buy milk tea.”
“Taking this long?”
Little Yang then checked his phone and exclaimed, “Oh yeah, it has been a while.”
Jiang Mu had indeed gone to buy milk tea, but on her way back, she came across some old men playing Chinese chess. She stopped to take a look, and right then, one of the old men needed to use the bathroom and asked if anyone could play in his place. Seeing how urgent his situation was, Jiang Mu volunteered.
The opponent, seeing she was just a young girl, asked, “Do you know how to play?”
Jiang Mu was quite skilled at various games, from Chinese chess, Go, and Military Chess, to Five-in-a-Row, Double Bee Chess, and Ludo. This probably stemmed from Jin Chao’s influence during her childhood. Besides going to model shops to race toy cars, his biggest hobby was reading and playing chess. But chess required a partner, so he could only drag tiny Jiang Mu to play with him. When she didn’t understand, he would teach her patiently, but children couldn’t sit still for long and lacked patience. Often, halfway through the game, Jiang Mu would fall asleep on the chessboard, drooling all over her chubby little arms.
Surprisingly, in her final year of kindergarten, during a little Go competition at school, Jiang Mu won first place. After that, she developed a strong interest in chess games.
So when Jin Chao found her, she was sitting cross-legged by the roadside, facing an old man in a padded jacket, one hand propping up her chin in an elderly-like manner.
Jiang Mu had been feeling someone watching her from across the street. When she casually glanced up, she saw Jin Chao leaning against the stone bridge with a cigarette between his fingers. Who knew how long he had been standing there? Startled, Jiang Mu immediately abandoned the game, grabbed the milk tea, and said, “I’m done, I need to head back.”
The old man, not having had enough, tried to keep her: “What’s the rush? One more game.”
Jiang Mu smiled awkwardly and replied, “Next time, next time.”
Then she ran across to the other side of the road. Jin Chao immediately put out his cigarette and turned to leave. Jiang Mu followed closely behind, asking, “Did you come looking for me?”
“No.”
“Were you worried I’d get lost?”
“No.”
“Would you be worried if I did get lost?”
Silence.
Watching his increasingly rapid pace, Jiang Mu mumbled, “Tough outside, soft inside.”
Jin Chao suddenly stopped and turned around, his sharp gaze sweeping over her: “I’m much more even-tempered now, otherwise you’d be in the river already.”
Seeing him put on a stern face again, Jiang Mu wasn’t scared at all. Instead, she grabbed his sleeve and shook it, tilting her head to smile at him. Her little nose was red from the cold, making her whole face appear more cheerful. Jin Chao looked away and pulled his hand back.
Upon returning to the shop, Jin Chao left to deliver a car to a customer, Iron Rooster went to buy parts, and Jiang Mu returned to the break room to study. Around four o’clock, Little Yang, who had been busy in the repair bay, suddenly shouted, “Get the hell out of here!”
Jiang Mu abruptly stood up and walked out. As soon as she entered the repair bay, the pungent smell of paint hit her. When she reached the entrance, she was shocked to find that someone had splashed red paint all over the shop’s entrance. The unpleasant smell permeated the air, and the bright red paint looked like blood, making the previously clean entrance a horrific sight.
Little Yang stood alone outside the repair bay, glaring fiercely at the roadside. Following his gaze, Jiang Mu saw two young men standing there, wearing malicious grins of accomplishment.
Jiang Mu’s anger instantly flared up. San Lai also came out, cursing, “Broad daylight, and they’re pulling this ghost business, damn them.”
Jiang Mu asked, “Are they from Wan Ji too?”
Little Yang angrily replied, “Who else could it be?”
It had been just over a month since these people last caused trouble. This time they didn’t smash things but came straight with a bucket of paint. As San Lai had said, while they weren’t committing murder and arson, these actions were disgusting enough.
Lightning kept pacing at the shop entrance, barking furiously at the two men, his paws getting covered in red paint and leaving tracks everywhere.
Jiang Mu crouched down and called out, “Lightning!”
Hearing Jiang Mu’s voice, Lightning turned back. Jiang Mu whispered something to him and patted his behind. Suddenly, Lightning sprinted towards the two men. Before they could escape to their car, Lightning had already pounced on them, getting the red paint from his paws all over them. Finally, the two men fled to their car cursing, and sped away.
Lightning barked a couple of times at the departing car before running back. Jiang Mu patted his head and helped clean his paws. Little Yang quickly found supplies to clean the entrance, while San Lai, worried that Lightning might get poisoned from licking the paint, brought out pet shampoo to help and trimmed off the fur that couldn’t be cleaned.
When Jin Chao and Iron Rooster returned, Little Yang had mostly cleaned up the entrance. Though it wasn’t as horrifying as before, the red paint still couldn’t be completely washed away.
Little Yang angrily recounted what had happened. Jin Chao’s expression was grave, but unlike Little Yang’s righteous indignation, he showed no emotion except for the severity in his eyes. He simply patted Little Yang’s shoulder and said, “Bear with it a little longer.”
Later, when Little Yang mentioned Lightning’s heroic deed, he couldn’t hide his satisfaction. He asked Jiang Mu, “How did you get him to pounce on them?”
Jiang Mu hugged Lightning’s big head, stroking his fur while pulling out a meat strip from her pocket. Little Yang immediately laughed, “You always have your ways.”
Jin Chao turned his gaze toward her thoughtfully. When Jiang Mu looked up to meet his eyes, he immediately looked away and entered the repair bay.
Jiang Mu felt this situation couldn’t continue. Wan Ji’s people were like stubborn plasters, causing trouble every few days and affecting business. From what she’d learned during this time, Wan Ji had several large-scale shops in Tonggang and considerable influence. If they wanted to destroy Jin Chao, they could wear Flying Speed down through mere attrition.
As long as the conflict with them remained unresolved, these nasty incidents would keep happening. They intended to make life difficult for Jin Chao, and who knew what they might do next.
This matter weighed heavily on Jiang Mu’s mind. Once when she discussed it with San Lai, he lectured her, saying it wasn’t something she should worry about.
Things continued this way for a while. Though Jiang Mu no longer brought all her homework materials to stay all day like before, she still came by whenever she had free time.
Little Yang, Iron Rooster, and even San Lai were all quite warm toward her. Only Jin Chao remained cold, even colder than when she first arrived in Tonggang.
If Jin Chao had seemed merely unfamiliar and distant when they first reunited, now he was like a seamless block of ice – without any cracks to breach.
Sometimes when she stood in the repair bay chatting with Little Yang, Jin Chao would show his displeasure, throwing her a cold look and saying, “Don’t you have anything better to do? If you’re free, go take a walk outside. Don’t get in the way here.”
So Jiang Mu would leave, going to play chess with the old men, only returning when hunger struck.
Compared to socializing with peers, playing chess had the advantage of requiring no awkward small talk – just sit down, play, and leave. Sometimes when other old men tried to chat, they’d even get scolded by her chess partner.
Even San Lai, with his quirky mindset, couldn’t understand her strange hobby. He asked Jin Chao, “Has your little sister entered early old age? How did she manage to single-handedly infiltrate that mysterious organization of retired cadres in Xiwa Depression?”
Jin Chao remained silent, feeling somehow responsible for this.
This situation continued until one day, San Lai suddenly cut his long hair and shaved off the beard he’d worn for years. When he went to smoke with Jin Chao at the auto shop, not only were Little Yang and Iron Rooster shocked, but even Jin Chao looked at him strangely: “What’s gotten into you?”
San Lai smiled, “Mu Mu said I’d look fresher this way.”
He offered Jin Chao a cigarette, which Jin Chao lit, and then silently studied him.
Recently, Jin Chao hadn’t been very nice to Jiang Mu, and she had indeed been spending more time at San Lai’s place, sometimes staying for an hour or two. San Lai treated her like family, even having her help wash the cats and dogs. From the auto shop, Jin Chao often heard their intermittent laughter coming from the pet shop next door.
But he hadn’t expected San Lai would cut the long hair he’d kept for years just because of one comment from Jiang Mu. After a while, Jin Chao looked at San Lai again, who smiled and rubbed his buzzed head: “What? Still as handsome as ever, right?”
Jin Chao didn’t respond, silently putting out his cigarette.
On Friday evening, just as Jiang Mu got off the No. 6 bus, San Lai spotted her and walked to the street, ready to receive her compliments.
But she walked right past him, not recognizing him at all.
As Little Yang and Iron Rooster laughed hard, Jiang Mu sensed something was off and turned back to look at the man posing on the street.
Being slightly nearsighted, and given how drastically different San Lai’s new look was from his previous disheveled style, Jiang Mu didn’t recognize him at first. After squinting at him for half a minute, she finally exclaimed in surprise, “Brother San Lai?”
San Lai finally felt his long wait wasn’t in vain. He tried to flip his bangs stylishly, only to realize there was nothing left to flip. His head movement stopped awkwardly halfway as he walked to Jiang Mu and asked, “How is it?”
Jiang Mu gave him a thorough look. Though San Lai was quite thin, he wasn’t short, standing at about 1.8 meters. However, he usually slouched around in slippers, always looking lazy and half-asleep. Jiang Mu had never thought of him as handsome material.
Seeing his clean-shaven face suddenly revealed why San Lai had kept himself scruffy – his features were quite refined. With just some eyeliner, he could debut as a pretty boy idol. His delicate features had a somewhat feminine beauty, which the beard had helped balance with masculinity.
However, San Lai’s casual, devil-may-care personality created a natural mix of refinement and roguishness.
Probably to match his new look, he’d even changed his style of dress these past few days, no longer looking slovenly, and seemed more spirited overall. Jiang Mu immediately broke into a smile and exclaimed, “Brother San Lai, did you get plastic surgery? Is this how you originally looked? I feel like I’ve known a fake you all this time!”
San Lai, seeing the desired effect, held his head high in satisfaction.
Jin Chao heard Jiang Mu’s voice and looked over, only to see her circling San Lai like she’d discovered a new continent, before naturally following him back to his shop.
Jin Chao spat out his gum, methodically removed his gloves, and walked to the sink to wash his hands twice with soap. Walking toward the break room, he told Little Yang, “Go next door and call Mu Mu back.”
Little Yang called out, “Jiang Mu!”
Before she could even sit down, Jiang Mu heard Little Yang’s voice and came back from the pet shop. Still wearing a smile from whatever she’d been discussing with San Lai, she asked, “What is it?”
Little Yang jerked his chin toward the break room. Jiang Mu walked there, puzzled. As soon as she pushed open the door, she saw Jin Chao sitting in a chair with his legs crossed. This was the first time in many days that he’d actively sought her out, and Jiang Mu was somewhat surprised.
Seeing her enter, Jin Chao lifted his eyelids slightly and said, “Close the door.”
Jiang Mu turned to close the break room door. Little Yang and Iron Rooster peered through the glass, but Jin Chao glanced over and pulled a cord, immediately lowering the blinds. Jiang Mu had never noticed there were blinds on this window. She had a feeling Jin Chao wanted to tell her something, but couldn’t guess what. She could only lean against the wall and watch him.