During middle school, Pan Kai had gone through a phase where he was obsessed with motorcycle games in the arcade. But games could never match the thrill of reality, so when he heard about this exciting tracking mission, he rushed over immediately. Jiang Mu was already fully equipped, waiting downstairs. Taking the helmet Pan Kai handed her and climbing onto the bike, she said, “You drive, I’ll tell you where to go.”
Pan Kai responded with an air of bravado, “No problem, leave it to me.”
Seeing his attitude, Jiang Mu thought they were set.
However, as soon as the motorcycle turned onto the street, Jiang Mu’s confidence deflated. Having experienced Jin Chao’s speed and skill before, now sitting on Pan Kai’s motorcycle and watching electric bikes pass them by, she asked sarcastically, “Is your bike out of gas?”
Pan Kai replied sheepishly, “I don’t ride often. Let me get used to it first.”
Watching the red dot getting further and further away, Jiang Mu grew increasingly anxious. Pan Kai was struggling, only daring to speed up slightly after they left the city center. Fortunately, by the time they reached the eastern suburbs, the red dot had stopped moving.
Jiang Mu zoomed in on the map to show Pan Kai and asked him what area it was. Pan Kai responded puzzled, “There’s nothing there, just wasteland. Why would anyone go there?”
As they got closer to the red dot, Jiang Mu warned him, “Slow down, don’t let them spot us.”
Pan Kai replied confidently, “Don’t worry.”
There were fewer and fewer people and vehicles as they followed the navigation onto a deserted new highway. With the road completely clear, Pan Kai suddenly got excited, like a wild horse off its reins, seeming unable to stop. The cold wind whistled past, giving him the feeling of being a cool rider, and he was so caught up in the moment that when he saw a car with its lights on parked by the roadside ahead, he shouted, “Jiang Jiang, look, there’s a GT-R!”
“…”
Through his shout, Jiang Mu saw the understated black car in the darkness. The asphalt road seemed newly laid, with no streetlights or plants along either side. The car sat conspicuously on the roadside with its headlights on, and Jiang Mu immediately spotted Jin Chao leaning against the car door, a cigarette between his lips, its ember breaking through the pitch-black night as he turned his head to watch their approach with an inscrutable expression. Then that idiot Pan Kai rode right past Jin Chao.
Rode. Right. Past!!!
Jiang Mu’s heart nearly stopped. She hunched behind Pan Kai, covering her face with her hands, and snapped, “Didn’t I tell you to slow down and not get spotted?”
Pan Kai was still looking around vigilantly: “Huh? Were we spotted?”
Two car horn blasts sounded behind them. Pan Kai stopped and looked back, then checked the location on his phone which now overlapped. He suddenly shuddered and exclaimed, “Damn, we’ve been spotted.”
“…” Good thing they weren’t going to war, or they’d already be dead.
Jiang Mu said irritably, “Let’s go back.”
What should have been a simple U-turn became complicated as Pan Kai apparently couldn’t manage it, forcing him to make a wide loop on the empty road before heading back toward the GT-R.
Only when they got close did Pan Kai recognize Jin Chao, exclaiming excitedly, “Brother Seven! It’s you! Wow, what a coincidence!”
At this point, Jiang Mu just wanted to reach out and strangle him. Jin Chao frowned, watching as Pan Kai approached without showing any signs of slowing down, and warned, “Brakes.”
Pan Kai seemed to suddenly realize, slamming on the brakes hard but unable to stop completely. Jin Chao raised his right foot to brace against the motorcycle’s front wheel, helping him stop barely a meter from the GT-R.
The momentum threw Jiang Mu forward into Pan Kai, and she reflexively raised both hands, slapping Pan Kai’s back. The force pushed Pan Kai forward into a perfect 90-degree bow before Jin Chao.
Jin Chao lowered his leg and said coolly, “Stop bowing, I’m broke.”
Pan Kai quickly straightened up, grinning sheepishly, “I’ve got money, I’ve got money. Brother Seven, I’ll treat you to whatever you want to eat.”
Jin Chao ignored him and looked at Jiang Mu, who felt even more awkward, not knowing what expression to make. She said stiffly, “If I told you Pan Kai and I were out looking for a barbecue place, would you believe me?”
Jin Chao unhurriedly took an old phone from his pocket and turned it over in his palm. Jiang Mu’s heart sank as she heard Jin Chao say to her, “Aren’t you getting off?”
Jiang Mu obediently got off Pan Kai’s motorcycle, returned the helmet to him, and walked up to Jin Chao with her head down, wearing the expression of someone who’d been caught doing wrong. Jin Chao jerked his chin toward the car: “Get in.”
Jiang Mu walked to the passenger side and opened the door. She saw Jin Chao standing outside saying a few words to Pan Kai, who kept nodding. Pan Kai then bent down to wave goodbye to Jiang Mu before wobbling away on his little motorcycle.
Jin Chao watched Pan Kai’s unsteady riding, shook his head, opened the door, and got in. He turned to face Jiang Mu, his dark eyes carrying a damned oppressive pressure. Jiang Mu silently looked away as she heard him speak: “It takes half an hour to get here, yet you waited over an hour. You’re really brave to ride with him.”
Jiang Mu guiltily looked out the window: “You knew it was me?”
“No.”
Jin Chao started the car again: “That’s why I waited to see who would show up.”
He shot her a sinister look: “Getting clever, aren’t you?”
He then tossed the old phone onto her lap. Jiang Mu bit her lip, unable to say a word, her face burning.
The night grew deeper as the car drove along the dark road. Even with the headlights on, everything ahead was pitch black – an unknowable future, an invisible end, a path constantly being swallowed by darkness. This was Jiang Mu’s truest feeling about Jin Chao at this moment.
The pressure in the car was at an all-time low. Jiang Mu’s chest felt like it was being crushed by a boulder, making it hard to breathe.
In the quiet night, on the empty street, alone with Jin Chao, she suddenly felt reckless. She turned to him and said, “I heard what San Lai said to you. You’re going to do something life-threatening. Maybe you think it’s funny, but ever since I came to Tonggang and heard about this, I can’t stay calm. Is it so hard to understand? To understand why I worry about you so much? Maybe you just see me as a childhood playmate, maybe you think I’m just here for a year of school, and after I leave it won’t matter to you anymore, right?”
Jiang Mu’s voice trembled slightly: “Of course, you wouldn’t understand. If you could understand, you wouldn’t have stayed away for so many years without coming to see me once. I waited through the second summer vacation, the third year, and the fourth year, and you still didn’t come back. In the letters I wrote you, you never replied to a single one. From elementary to middle school, then to high school, I knew you wouldn’t come back, but I still returned to where we used to live every so often, writing my contact information on the building’s bulletin board, afraid you might suddenly return and not be able to find me.
Later, I even wondered if you’d forgotten me. I hated cram school and endless homework, but I didn’t dare slack off. I was afraid that if you came back one day and saw my terrible grades, you’d be disappointed…”
Jin Chao’s otherwise unshakeable gaze finally showed a slight tremor.
Jiang Mu sniffled, continuing emotionally: “So I came out today just to know if you’re safe. Whether you think I’m presumptuous or meddlesome, I’ve said what I needed to say. Take me back now, I won’t do such stupid things anymore.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Jin Chao suddenly said to her, “Put your seatbelt on.”
Jiang Mu only then realized the car had already accelerated without her noticing. Earlier on the highway, she had thought this car looked quite ordinary, but now the engine suddenly roared to life. As she hurriedly pulled on her seatbelt, not knowing what was happening, Jin Chao floored the accelerator, and the car’s powerful thrust made Jiang Mu’s heart race.
She clicked on the seatbelt and saw Jin Chao’s furrowed brow as he drove with narrowed eyes. The sound of other cars roaring came from behind, and when Jiang Mu looked back, she saw two vehicles closely tailing them. Jin Chao executed a drift, taking them up a bare slope onto another road. Jiang Mu cried out in fear, “What’s happening?”
Jin Chao’s face was tense, his eyes fixed intently on the road ahead as he instructed her: “Hold on tight.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly turned the wheel without warning, taking the car from the straight road into an abandoned construction site. One of the pursuing cars, unable to react in time, shot past them, while the other managed to follow their turn.
A fierce glint appeared in Jin Chao’s eyes as he drove Jiang Mu through the uneven terrain of the construction site. Jiang Mu gripped the handles with both hands, her eyes fixed on the car behind them, too tense to even blink.
After about ten minutes of this high-speed chase, as they approached a residential area with some night food stalls, Jin Chao suddenly turned the wheel, executing a 180-degree turn that barely missed a large tree. Jiang Mu’s heart nearly jumped out of her throat at that moment.
Jin Chao pulled his phone from his pocket and tossed it to Jiang Mu, asking her, “Do you know what a navigator is?”
“Yes- well, no.”
“Congratulations, you’re now my navigator. The unlock code is our birthday. Find the Number app, open the pinned group location information, and tell me where to go.”
Just then, two more cars appeared at the same intersection. One car deliberately pulled in front of them to block Jin Chao’s path, making way for the other car. Jin Chao’s steering began to weave left and right, with the car in front matching his movements. Despite the seatbelt, Jiang Mu was being thrown around, her internal organs feeling like they were churning. She could barely hold the phone steady. She saw the window of the car in front lower as someone gave Jin Chao the middle finger, while cars continued pursuing them from behind. Worse still, the car in front kept brake-checking Jin Chao, nearly causing several collisions that left Jiang Mu drenched in cold sweat. Her hands wouldn’t stop shaking, causing her to enter the wrong password twice, her mind completely blank about what was happening.
Jin Chao reached over and gripped her hand tightly: “Don’t be afraid. Just do as I say. Can you do that?”
Jin Chao’s large hand suddenly transmitted a surge of strength to her, helping to steady her panicked mind slightly. He gave her hand a firm squeeze before quickly returning his hand to the wheel. Jiang Mu tried her best to steady the phone screen, entering the familiar numbers. The phone unlocked, and she found and opened the Number app as instructed. Sure enough, the first pinned message in a temporary group of about twenty members showed an unread location message. The group was in full mute mode with only the single location post. Jiang Mu quickly opened it – the destination was about ten kilometers away.
She anxiously told Jin Chao, “There’s no specific address, the map just shows an empty lot.”
“That’s fine, just tell me the direction.”
“Southwest,” Jiang Mu had barely finished speaking when Jin Chao made an unexpected turn, nearly causing her to drop the phone. She gripped it tightly with both hands, eyes fixed on the screen, and said: “The destination is now at three o’clock, wait.”
Jiang Mu quickly zoomed in on the map, scanning horizontally: “There’s a road in 400 meters, turn right.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Jin Chao had already turned onto the road she mentioned. The car behind was still in close pursuit. Jin Chao told Jiang Mu: “Give me distances and curve angles.”
“15 kilometers, northeast direction, 40-degree curve, right turn in 700 meters.”
“Your geography lessons weren’t wasted.”
“8 kilometers, southwest corner, 45-degree curve left turn followed immediately by a 50-degree right turn.”
Jiang Mu gradually calmed down, no longer paying attention to what was happening outside the car. Her fingers constantly zoomed in and out of the map, all her features scrunched in concentration, not daring to relax for a moment: “Watch out, there’s something… something about 800 meters ahead, with three roads around it we could take, similar distances, can’t see the road conditions.”
“Pick one.”
Jiang Mu looked up at the car behind them – it was still following and getting closer. Her limbs felt numb, but her mind suddenly became crystal clear. The map transformed into a three-dimensional image in her head, and inspiration struck: “Circle around that structure, then make a 90-degree turn into the second curve when we reach the east side.”
“Following your lead.”
Jin Chao floored the accelerator, and Jiang Mu waited for this crucial moment, hoping they could shake off the pursuing car.
Sure enough, an abandoned building appeared ahead, not shown on the map. The road was lined with high walls that blocked out the sun year-round, and the ground was reflective. Jiang Mu sat up straight and shouted: “Ice ahead!”
Jin Chao’s expression remained unchanged as he drove straight through. The pursuing car, seeing that Jin Chao wasn’t stopping, followed them around the circle. But suddenly Jin Chao sharply turned the wheel into the curve, releasing the handbrake and accelerating in one smooth, practiced motion. The car drifted into the second curve so quickly that Jiang Mu couldn’t even process how they’d made it through. She felt like her internal organs were being thrown around, and as soon as they entered the curve, she hurried to look back at the pursuing car. In the rearview mirror, she saw it lose control on the ice and crash directly into the building.
In that instant, Jiang Mu’s heart stopped, and she cried out: “They crashed! What do we do?”
Jin Chao didn’t stop, asking instead: “Distance?”
Jiang Mu kept repeating: “That person crashed.”
“Tell me the distance.”
Jiang Mu’s hands and feet felt cold, her phone-holding hands shaking. She brought the phone close to her face again and told him: “Exit the curve, 800 meters to the destination at eleven o’clock.”
“Listen to me now. After we exit this section, follow my rhythm. When I count down from ten, you take the wheel.”
Jiang Mu felt her soul leaving her body as she asked trembling: “How do I hold it?”
“With your hands. Ten, nine—”
The car burst out of the section, and Jiang Mu suddenly noticed about three cars from all directions racing toward the same point. She cried in alarm: “Jin Chao, look!”
“Seven, six—”
Jin Chao, eyes fixed ahead, suddenly drove onto a sandy terrain. Jiang Mu felt him taking wild turns as the tires kicked up clouds of dust, immediately filling the air. The poor visibility and sandstorm made progress almost impossible. Two of the approaching cars slowed down, but one kept pace alongside them.
“Three, two—”
Jin Chao suddenly opened the driver’s door, and with a “One!”
Jiang Mu lunged toward the driver’s seat to grab the wheel, catching a glimpse of Jin Chao holding the door, his body leaning out of the car. To the left was a wall of broken bricks with a bag hanging from it. At that moment, everything around them seemed to shift into slow motion. “This is insane” was Jiang Mu’s first thought, the scene before her feeling so unreal it was like being in some impossible movie scene.
In less than a second, Jin Chao grabbed the bag, but just as he was about to close the door, the tires hit an uneven patch of ground, making the car lurch violently. Jiang Mu held the wheel with all her might as the car scraped past the brick wall. Jin Chao took back control of the wheel and tossed the bag to Jiang Mu, reaching over to pat her head with a triumphant smile: “Beautifully done, good girl.”
Jiang Mu’s throat was dry, her fear nowhere near subsiding. She turned to see the car that had been keeping pace with them suddenly stop and lower its window. A man with a circular crew cut made a “six” gesture toward her before ceasing pursuit.
Ahead, at the end of the sandy terrain, a line of cars waited with their high beams on, illuminating the night. Jiang Mu quickly looked at Jin Chao, who remained composed as he slowed down and told her: “Stay by my side and don’t speak. Get out.”
He accelerated one last time before stopping. Jiang Mu followed Jin Chao out of the car, aware of all eyes fixed on the bag she was holding. She instinctively clutched it tighter as she quickly moved to Jin Chao’s side, watching the others warily.
Jin Chao took the bag from Jiang Mu and casually tossed it to a bandana-wearing man leaning against a Ferrari.
The man caught the bag and passed it to a young man beside him, saying, “Weren’t you not coming today?”
Jin Chao shrugged carelessly: “Wasn’t planning to, but Wan Shengbang’s little punks saw my car on the street and went rabid, forced me onto the track.”
The bandana man said: “You guys shouldn’t bring your business to the alliance.”
Jin Chao’s attitude was defiant: “I just want to make money, tell that to him.”
The bandana man’s eyes roamed over Jiang Mu before turning back to Jin Chao: “You know the rules, You Jiu. Bringing outsiders here has consequences.”
Jiang Mu nervously edged closer behind Jin Chao, but to her surprise, he pulled her into his arms and said with a laugh: “She’s not an outsider, she’s my woman. She’s been suspicious lately, thinking I’ve got someone else, says I sneak out every night. She was gonna break up with me if I kept going out behind her back.”
The group burst into laughter. Jiang Mu suddenly looked up at Jin Chao to find him wearing a completely different face – his smooth features bore a casual smile, his eyes carrying a flirtatious air. When she looked at him, he lowered his gaze and asked: “Still angry about earlier?”
His voice carried a coaxing tone, gentle and low, like someone well-versed in handling women. Being held in his arms made Jiang Mu’s heart beat faster than during the chase, leaving her momentarily confused about what was real and what wasn’t.
Someone nearby said: “Never thought You Jiu would be so whipped over a young girl, letting the threat of a breakup control you.”
Jin Chao raised his eyes to meet theirs, his tone playful: “How could I break up when I can barely stand to see her hurt?”
Another round of laughter erupted. Jiang Mu’s heartbeat drowned out other sounds. Jin Chao discretely squeezed her shoulder, and she lowered her head, her body still stiff, only the pressure of his hand keeping her from trembling violently.
The bandana man took an envelope from his car and threw it to Jin Chao: “Take good care of your little girlfriend.”
Jin Chao caught the envelope and immediately handed it to Jiang Mu, who clutched it with nervous, burning fingers.
A man opposite offered Jin Chao a cigarette. He released Jiang Mu to light up, while others occasionally glanced at her – women in leather boots and smoking girls who all looked mature and alluring. In comparison, her innocent appearance seemed completely out of place, bringing back that mortifying feeling in full force.
After lighting his cigarette, Jin Chao tossed the lighter back to the man and took Jiang Mu’s hand, holding her soft, cold fingers firmly in his palm. She moved closer to him like finding a lifeline, nervously staying close as she watched him handle everything smoothly, exuding a street-smart casualness that let him field any joke or innuendo. He was completely different from his usual serious, cold demeanor at the garage.
She had grown up holding his hand since her first toddling steps, but over these many years, his palm had become broader and stronger, the slight calluses brushing against her hand as he quietly calmed her nerves in this den of wolves.