Xiao Yang had gone home for New Year’s, while Tie Gongji and Jin Feng had just arrived after finishing their family dinners. San Lai, having quarreled with Old Lai over paying off a substantial debt before the New Year, decided not to go home for the holiday this year.

So at six o’clock, he and Jin Chao had started the hot pot. Tie Gongji and Jin Feng joined them later, and they’d been drinking ever since. They were surprised to hear someone knocking at this hour, and even more surprised to see it was Jiang Mu.

When Jiang Mu walked in, snow-covered her hair and shoulders. She happened to be wearing a white coat, making her look like a snowman that had rolled in from outside. Everyone was startled to see the messy state of her clothes, her white coat now dirty from falls. Jin Feng stood up immediately, saying, “Little sister, how did you end up like this on New Year’s Eve?”

San Lai lowered the shutters and came around to face her, asking anxiously, “Did something happen?”

But Jiang Mu’s face bore an unusually bright smile as she stared at Jin Chao, who had straightened up from his recliner with furrowed brows, asking, “Why didn’t you leave?”

Jiang Mu’s eyes burned bright as she told him, “I’m not leaving. I’m staying for New Year’s.”

Then she glanced at their nearly finished hot pot, her lips turning down pitifully. “Is there nothing left for me to eat?”

San Lai dragged over a stool for her, and Jin Chao looked up at him, saying, “Go get some more food.”

San Lai laughed, “How could we let you go hungry, Your Highness? Your humble servant will prepare a royal feast right away.”

Jiang Mu returned his joke with a brilliant smile, then looked directly at Tie Gongji and said, “Let’s switch seats. I want to sit next to my brother.”

Hearing Jiang Mu’s unusually affectionate way of addressing Jin Chao, Tie Gongji smiled and stood up. Jin Chao’s gaze deepened as he watched her. Jiang Mu squeezed in beside him; the corner was well-heated, and she stretched out her legs comfortably. Jin Chao looked down at her dirty coat and asked in a low voice, “What happened?”

But Jiang Mu seemed completely unconcerned, her eyes misty as she looked at him steadily. “Everyone’s celebrating New Year’s, so no one cleared the snow. It was slippery.”

“Where did you come from?”

Jiang Mu pulled her chair closer to him and said, “From Dad’s house.”

Jin Chao’s brows drew together, his gaze lingering on her face. “You walked all the way?”

Jiang Mu shook her head, unzipping her coat, her face and neck tinged with a faint blush. She turned her head and said softly, “Not just walked. I ran part of the way.”

“…”

Jin Chao watched her silently as she tried to remove her dirty coat, but the corner was too cramped for her to extend her arms fully. Jin Chao reached around from behind to help her pull it off. His presence suddenly enveloped her, and Jiang Mu lifted her head. When Jin Chao met her shining eyes, his gaze was searching. Whether from the alcohol or the holiday spirit, his usually cold eyes held a subtle, captivating gleam. Jiang Mu looked at him, her lips curving into a smile.

Jin Chao stood to hang her coat on the rack to his right. Underneath, Jiang Mu wore only a soft, light blue mohair sweater. She shivered slightly from the cold. Jin Chao sat back down and asked, “Are you cold?”

Jiang Mu naturally extended her hands to him. “Brother, help me warm them up.”

Jin Chao slowly raised his eyebrows, staring at the hand she held out to him, silent for a moment.

Before coming to Tonggang, Jiang Mu had only just learned of her true relationship with Jin Chao. Years of distance and reality had made her uncertain about how to act around him. In all her time here, she’d rarely called him “brother” properly, always feeling it was one-sided and unable to forget how he’d ignored her all these years.

Perhaps the only time she’d called him “brother” while fully conscious was when she’d asked him to get her clothes from Jin Qiang’s house, and that was because he’d teased her into saying it.

But tonight, since entering the shop, this was already the second time she’d called him “brother.” This unusual behavior made Jin Chao wonder what had prompted the change. With all his brothers present, holding her hand in front of others seemed inappropriate. He cleared his throat, took her wrist, and placed her hand in his sweater pocket.

Jiang Mu hadn’t seen him wear this sweater before. It looked comfortable and elegant on him, casual yet refined. His body heat filled the pocket, spreading from her fingertips to her heart. Jin Chao’s elbow rested casually on the armrest, blocking others’ view. Jiang Mu’s arm passed under his elbow, and though they weren’t touching, it felt as if she were holding onto him. On this cold, lonely night, she’d finally found her place of belonging, and the smile hadn’t left her face since she’d entered.

However, when her fingers reached deeper into the pocket, they suddenly touched something. She gradually made out the shape of a key with something attached to it. Jiang Mu froze, a thought flashing through her mind, and she immediately pulled the key from Jin Chao’s pocket.

As she held the key, she saw what was attached to it – a square handmade leather key tag with an antique style, engraved with four characters: “Zhao Si Mu Xiang” (Dawn thoughts, dusk longings).

“Does Jin Chao… have a woman?”

“If you find that key, you’ll have your answer.”

Looking at the small key tag, all other sounds around her disappeared. She slowly turned to look at Jin Chao. Beneath the coldness and composure forged in the underground racing world, he was still the same Jin Chao – her Jin Chao – with flesh and blood and feelings for her. He might have lost the confidence and flair of his youth, but he was still himself, her Chao-chao.

Jin Chao had also turned to look at the keychain in her hand, his expression somewhat unnatural. He then lifted his eyes to her face, his gaze filled with complex emotions. In their corner, Jiang Mu smiled so widely that her eyes curved into crescents. Her pale skin glowed with a beautiful blush that spread from her upturned nose to her elegant collarbone. The girl’s radiance and beauty caught Jin Chao’s eye, along with a hint of triumphant pride. He could only lower his gaze and smile helplessly as if her enchanting presence had infected the entire room.

Jiang Mu turned the keychain over in her palm, showing no intention of returning it. He let her keep it, turning to pick up his drink.

San Lai returned with the pot, preparing a new, less spicy broth and adding deveined shrimp.

Watching him, Jiang Mu remembered the meaningful look in San Lai’s eyes when she first told him her name –

“What’s your name?”

“Jiang Mu.”

“Mu as in ‘dawn thoughts, dusk longings’?”

She clutched the keychain and smiled at him, tilting her head.

San Lai couldn’t help but smile back: “Don’t look at me with such adoring eyes. Your Brother San Lai has been single so long that even Xi Shi would look beautiful to me now. What are you smiling about anyway?”

Jiang Mu tucked away the keychain and praised him: “Brother San Lai, you’re truly a good comrade.”

Though confused, San Lai played along: “It’s mainly because I don’t have a proper work unit, otherwise I’d write my Party membership application.”

“…”

A TV hung on the wall of San Lai’s shop, usually used for streaming movies or gaming, but tonight it showed the Spring Festival Gala. Though no one was watching, the background noise added to the New Year atmosphere.

Once the food arrived, Jiang Mu began eating heartily. Everyone could tell that not only was she in a good mood, but her appetite was excellent – perhaps the most she’d eaten since arriving.

She even asked San Lai for several fennel dumplings.

San Lai was surprised: “Didn’t you say you weren’t used to these?”

Jiang Mu smiled and replied, “I want to try them again.”

While the men drank and chatted beside her, she never stopped eating, joining in their laughter at their conversations.

Jin Chao, tall and long-legged, occupied an entire recliner. He’d had quite a bit to drink and was unusually relaxed, occasionally glancing at Jiang Mu enjoying her meal. Whenever she looked back at him, he’d respond with a gentle smile in his eyes.

Whenever San Lai or Tie Gongji asked if she wanted shrimp paste or beef, Jiang Mu would respond with a playfully proud expression: “I want my brother to cook it for me.”

Jin Chao had no choice but to sit up again and again to help her with the food. Eventually, he gave up on reclining altogether, sitting upright in the chair, waiting for the food to cook before placing it in her bowl.

San Lai couldn’t help but comment: “What, is our cooking poisoned or something?”

Jin Chao smiled slightly, and Jin Feng laughed as he offered Jiang Mu a drink, only to be stopped by Jin Chao’s glare. San Lai smacked Jin Feng’s shoulder and scolded, “What’s wrong with you, always trying to get her to drink?”

He turned to Jiang Mu: “How about a soft drink? What would you like?”

By now Jiang Mu was warm from eating, sitting in the well-heated corner with a light sheen of sweat on her nose. She looked up and asked, “Do you have Sprite?”

San Lai stood up and replied, “Of course, my fridge has everything.”

Jiang Mu happily raised her hand: “With ice, please!”

Jin Chao commented from beside her: “Just drink it at room temperature. Why add ice?”

Jiang Mu turned to him and held up one finger: “Just one cube.”

Then another: “Maybe two.”

Then two more: “How about four? No, four is unlucky. Five cubes, okay? Please, brother?”

Jin Chao watched her haggling, with a hint of coquettishness in her manner, and indulgently turned away without further comment.

Jin Feng, quite drunk by now, began talking: “Little Yong crashed his car the other day. Though he’s fine, he probably won’t be active for quite a while.”

Suddenly seeming to remember Jiang Mu’s presence, he clicked his tongue and looked at Jin Chao, who calmly said, “She knows. She was my navigator in that chase race.”

At these words, everyone present, including San Lai returning with the Sprite, froze and turned to look at Jiang Mu, who was focused on eating her meat.

Jin Feng recovered first, tapping his glass on the table and addressing Jiang Mu: “Sister, do you know what a navigator means to a driver?”

Jiang Mu put down her chopsticks and looked at him. Jin Feng, half-joking and half-serious, said: “They’re like lovers – they can make a driver’s success or take their life at any moment. That’s why someone like You Jiu never trusts anyone easily.”

San Lai poured the Sprite into a clear glass and added the ice cubes. The bubbles fizzed up, just like her heart at that moment, bubbling with an unprecedented excitement that spread through her bloodstream to every part of her body. In that second, she could hear her heartbeat.