Jiang Mu walked quickly along the street, almost breaking into a run. When her phone rang, she leaned against a utility pole, breathless, to answer it. Jin Qiang asked why she wasn’t home yet. She dug her nails into her palm to steady her voice and told him, “Having some food with a classmate.”
After hanging up, she turned off her phone and threw it into her backpack. Her internal organs felt like they were being torn apart and kneaded together, even breathing became difficult. She had never felt like this before – as if drowning, her body out of control. Though she tried to struggle to the surface, the sensation of weightlessness engulfed her. She was powerless to resist, unable to swim to shore.
She stumbled into an arcade, immediately surrounded by dazzling game machines. The noisy claw machines played incomprehensible songs, while young couples laughed at the basketball machines. Jiang Mu dragged herself to a corner, sitting at an arcade cabinet and doubling over, clutching at her chest. Only when someone beside her tapped her shoulder, asking if she was feeling unwell, did she hastily grab her bag and abandon this temporary life preserver.
Jiang Mu walked aimlessly for a long time, thinking about many things. She recalled the times she called Jin Chao at night and he deliberately cut off the calls. She even wondered if on those nights when he hung up on her, he was like tonight, with beautiful women in his arms, making it inconvenient to take her calls. She didn’t want to overthink things, but all the possibilities assembled themselves unbidden in her mind.
She kept telling herself that even if it was for business, nothing was shocking about frequenting such places. It was all consensual anyway, and only girls her age would obsess over fairytale-like devotion.
She understood all the logic, but couldn’t control her emotions. She knew her current state wasn’t good, but she seemed unable to find a way out.
She was just a high school senior waiting for exams, while he had long since entered society’s furnace.
She still had four years of studies ahead of her, while he continued navigating complex social circles.
Their lives had already set off on two non-intersecting tracks since she was nine years old. She couldn’t control her heart’s desire to draw closer to him, nor did she know how to forge a connecting path between their separate tracks.
She could only exhaust herself completely. By the time she returned to the residential complex, almost two hours had passed. The apartment buildings were always quiet at night, not even stray cats in sight. A malfunctioning street lamp emitted crackling electrical sounds as Jiang Mu walked back to the old building, head down, following the alternating light and darkness.
Opening the entrance door, she slumped her shoulders and peered inside. The sound of shoes scuffing against the floor echoed in the stairwell. Jiang Mu looked toward the sound, and a figure appeared unexpectedly before her eyes, its shadow stretched long by the dim street light outside, extending to her feet.
Jiang Mu’s hand froze, her features tensing. Two steps away, her hand gripping the door tightened slightly, not taking another step forward.
She didn’t know when Jin Chao had arrived or how long he’d waited, but now he was watching her with slightly furrowed brows. Jiang Mu felt a surge of emotion welling up inside her, threatening to burst forth. She released the door and tried to walk past him. The door automatically closed behind her, plunging the stairwell into darkness.
As she passed by Jin Chao, he grabbed her arm. Jiang Mu kept her gaze down, her short hair hiding her face. He couldn’t see her expression but felt her desperate attempt to pull her arm free. He simply moved to block her path, bending down to ask, “Where did you go?”
Jiang Mu replied hoarsely, “Just walked around.”
“Walking around requires turning off your phone?”
Jiang Mu’s throat worked as she swallowed the emotions threatening to rise, telling him, “Move aside, I need to go back.”
Jin Chao didn’t move. His tall figure blocked her path completely, leaving her nowhere to go. When Jiang Mu tried to squeeze past him, he simply placed one hand on the railing and the other on the wall, leaning down. His loose shirt collar was slightly open, exuding mature masculine charm as his voice softened, taking on a coaxing tone: “I didn’t go, did I?”
That single sentence nearly caused Jiang Mu’s emotional dam to break. She remained silent, her shoulders trembling slightly. Jin Chao pulled her in front of him and brushed aside the short hair covering her face. In the weak light, Jiang Mu’s clear, bright eyes were brimming with tears, making her appear fragile and helpless.
Jin Chao was taken aback, asking, “Why are you crying?”
Jiang Mu didn’t know why she was crying. She couldn’t explain it, only feeling a throbbing pain in her chest as she continuously backed away, trying to create distance between herself and Jin Chao.
Her actions finally made Jin Chao frown: “What have I done to upset you?”
Jiang Mu cried harder, her gathered tears falling down her cheeks like storm-tossed leaves as she looked at him: “Everything about you upsets me.”
Jin Chao lowered his eyelashes, moving closer, asking with an indulgent compromise: “What would make you feel better?”
Jiang Mu didn’t want him near and raised her hands to pound on his chest. The blows were not light, producing dull thuds. Jin Chao didn’t move, just looked down at her.
Jiang Mu pushed him, her voice choked with tears: “I’ll never feel better, never again…”
Her small fists hit his chest again and again as she pushed him, but Jin Chao neither dodged nor moved aside, letting her vent. The emotions that had troubled Jiang Mu for so long found their outlet. With each blow, she cried harder, though her fists grew progressively weaker until she was almost completely dissolved in tears.
Jin Chao finally couldn’t bear it anymore and caught both her wrists, lowering his head to shelter her as he called softly, “Mu Mu…”
With a “click,” the building door opened again, and a streak of fading light shot in from outside. Zhao Meijuan stood shocked in the doorway, exclaiming, “What are you two doing?”
Jiang Mu quickly tugged at her wrists, and Jin Chao released her. She ran upstairs without looking back.
The supermarket where Zhao Meijuan worked required two-night shifts at the end of each month for inventory. She was happy to earn the overtime pay but hadn’t expected to encounter this scene today.
Jiang Mu rushed home and locked herself in the bathroom, washing her face over and over. She heard the sound of the door opening outside but didn’t know how to face Zhao Meijuan or what she might think. She stayed in the bathroom for quite a while, only coming out when she heard no movement outside.
Jin Qiang and Jin Xin were already asleep. When she came out of the bathroom, Zhao Meijuan didn’t look at her, just quietly loaded Jin Xin’s changed clothes into the washing machine, as if what had happened earlier didn’t exist.
Jiang Mu anxiously walked to her room door. Her hand touched the doorknob, but she bit her lip and turned back, walking to Zhao Meijuan’s side to say, “Um, Aunt Zhao, about what happened earlier… could you not tell my dad?”
Zhao Meijuan finally straightened up and looked at her tear-stained face, sighing, “By rights, it’s not my place to say anything. I’ve watched Xiao Chao grow up, he’s been through a lot and hasn’t had it easy. He’s a reliable person, but your mother definitely wouldn’t approve. You need to think this through carefully.”
Seeing Jiang Mu’s silent downcast gaze, Zhao Meijuan glanced at the main bedroom door and lowered her voice, “To be honest, I hope Xiao Chao does well too, but if I were your parents, I probably wouldn’t approve either. You’ll be a proper university student in the future, while he…”
He had a criminal record – Zhao Meijuan couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud, only telling Jiang Mu to pretend she hadn’t seen anything tonight and not let it affect her college entrance exam.
After entering May, Jiang Mu rarely went to the auto shop anymore. After Labor Day, there was only one month left until the college entrance exam. Time was getting tighter, and she could only focus all her energy on preparing for the exam.
However, one evening in mid-May, Wan Qing brought several people to wait outside the affiliated middle school. Seeing Jiang Mu come out, Wan Qing flashed her headlights twice. Jiang Mu’s steps faltered, but she didn’t intend to approach. Wan Qing got directly out of her sports car and walked up to Jiang Mu, saying, “Let’s have a chat.”
Seeing Jiang Mu’s defensive posture, Wan Qing smiled, “No need to look at me like that. I wouldn’t stoop to doing anything unsavory to you. If I wanted to, I wouldn’t have come myself to let you know. I want to talk about You Jiu.”
Hearing Jin Chao’s name, Jiang Mu frowned. Wan Qing looked around and pointed to a nearby walkway, “Let’s go there.”
It was a small garden attached to the nearby residential complex. The square dancing aunties had already dispersed, leaving many wooden benches empty. Wan Qing walked straight there, and the men who had come with her started to follow, but she said, “What are you coming for? Don’t scare the young lady.”
Then she looked back at Jiang Mu: “Come on.”
Jiang Mu tightened her backpack strap and followed. Meanwhile, Zhang Fan was called to the school gate, wandered around without finding whoever had called him out, but happened to run into Wan Qing’s people and made a quick call to Jin Chao.
The early summer breeze gently lifted Jiang Mu’s short hair as she set down her backpack beside her. Wan Qing didn’t sit next to her but stood across from her, lighting a slim cigarette.
Jiang Mu had to admit Wan Qing looked cool when smoking. If it weren’t for Old Man Wan’s sake, she wouldn’t dislike Wan Qing that much.
After taking a few drags, Wan Qing silently studied Jiang Mu, suddenly smiling: “Honestly, before meeting you, I had no idea You Jiu was into this type.”
Jiang Mu turned away, responding, “I think I’ve told you before, I’m his sister.”
Wan Qing flicked her cigarette ash, her expression bland: “Sister it is then. At least you’re someone who can talk to him.”
She took a deep drag of her cigarette, her voice drifting with the smoke: “When You Jiu first started working for my dad, I’d already heard about him. People said a handsome young guy had joined the auto shop, efficient and capable. The first time I met him was when I was coming back from a bar one night. I drove past the shop and noticed the lights were still on so late, so I stopped to check. When I went in, he was shirtless, bent over working under the hood. I stood at the shop door smoking an entire cigarette, and he never even glanced at me. I’d never seen any worker so focused before.
Later, the sound of my high heels caught his attention, and he looked up at me. Young lady, do you believe in love at first sight?”
A flirtatious smile spread across Wan Qing’s lips: “Maybe it was because when he looked up, I found he had not only a good body but a handsome face too, so I became interested. Sometimes when I was out late, I’d especially go by the auto shop, and find him for a smoke. Sometimes I’d do nothing, just sit nearby playing games while keeping him company as he worked.
There were many mechanics his age in my dad’s shop, coming and going like racehorses – here today, gone tomorrow. Few stayed put, and even fewer worked hard, all doing just enough to earn their pay. He was the only one I’d ever seen who always had a book in hand. While others kept cigarettes and alcohol in their lockers, he kept books. I saw him fill up two large notebooks with notes, written in beautiful handwriting.
During You Jiu’s years at Wan’s, there were internal employee disputes that led to vandalism, conflicts with competitors over customers, and chaos when new shops expanded without leadership – he shouldered many of these burdens.
His abilities shouldn’t have been limited to that tiny repair shop. My father…
You Jiu is different from others. If he just worked steadily, even if it took longer, he would eventually make something of himself. He shouldn’t get involved with those things.”
Jiang Mu’s expression froze as she asked, “What things?”
Wan Qing looked down, stubbing out her cigarette: “Don’t you know he’s been doing great lately dealing in auto parts?”
Jiang Mu frowned: “I know.”
“You know? What did he tell you?”
Jiang Mu paused for a moment, looking at Wan Qing: “He said he got a distributorship.”
Wan Qing let out a scornful laugh: “You think anyone can get a first-tier distributorship? Those are all smuggled parts. The batch You Jiu got was probably already being watched. It’s because there are problems that they let You Jiu sell it off. If anything goes wrong, he’ll take the fall alone. Do you know how many years that could mean in prison?”
Jiang Mu’s expression instantly froze on her face. She abruptly stood up from the bench, the breeze no longer feeling like early summer’s coolness but like knives repeatedly slashing at her body.
She asked numbly: “Who’s ‘they’?”
Wan Qing’s expression turned serious: “Never mind who ‘they’ are. Even I don’t know. The point is, that you need to find a way to persuade You Jiu to stop. He can’t touch that batch of goods anymore.”
Before they could talk further, Jin Chao had already appeared on the walkway. Wan Qing hadn’t expected him to find them here and looked somewhat shocked at his approaching figure, saying sarcastically: “Quite a few informants at the affiliated school, huh? Found us so quickly?”
Jin Chao walked straight to Jiang Mu’s side, pulling her behind him as he coldly asked Wan Qing: “Why did you come looking for her?”
Seeing his protective stance over the girl behind him, Wan Qing’s eyes flickered back and forth before she laughed mockingly: “Just wanted to play with her, is that not allowed?”
Jin Chao’s face darkened as he warned her: “I’m showing you some respect, but if there’s a next time, I won’t be so polite.”
A slight tremor passed through the light in Wan Qing’s eyes, followed by a hint of desolation at the corner of her mouth, barely noticeable and gone in an instant.
Jin Chao’s phone rang – it was San Lai calling. After a few sentences, Jin Chao’s expression changed dramatically. Hanging up, his eyes suddenly filled with a terrifying coldness as he stared intently at Wan Qing, then picked up Jiang Mu’s backpack and strode away.
Not knowing what had happened, Wan Qing glanced at Jiang Mu, then followed after them.