A half-minute of silence stretched between them. Lightning lay by the bed, its gaze darting between Jiang Mu and Jin Chao. The washing machine tumbled in the background, its mechanical rhythm particularly clear in the night.
Jin Chao opened the nearby wardrobe and retrieved a small white object from the first drawer, playing with it in his palm. He spoke to her casually, “I don’t have a house or car, and my future is uncertain. Think it through carefully.”
Jiang Mu lifted her head, looking straight at him. “What is there to think about? Whether you deceive my feelings? Or if I’ll starve because you don’t have a house or car?”
Jin Chao kept his gaze lowered, his eyelashes catching the room’s light in pale hues. His attention remained fixed on the white jade bead in his palm as he controlled his breathing. “Throughout my life, people have come and gone. I’ve never been serious about anyone.”
He raised his eyes to meet hers. “So once I become serious, I might not give you a chance to regret it.”
The intensity in his eyes left Jiang Mu no room for retreat. As if he had ignited her emotions, her skin grew warm as she met his gaze and assured him firmly, “I won’t regret it.”
Jin Chao’s lips curved slightly as he tossed the jade bead to her.
Jiang Mu caught it and examined it closely, immediately recognizing the familiar object. Made of mutton-fat white jade with a red agate center, this small carved ball had hung around Jin Chao’s neck throughout their childhood. Cool in summer yet warming with his body heat in winter, Jiang Mu had always loved falling asleep holding it. She had asked him for it many times, but Jin Chao had refused, never explaining what it was despite her repeated questions.
Surprisingly, Jin Chao had kept it all these years. Now looking at it again, she could appreciate its exquisite craftsmanship. She held it up and asked, “You’re giving it to me?”
Jin Chao beckoned her over. As she approached, he took back the small bead and moved behind her, fastening the black cord around her neck. Jiang Mu looked down at the small jade ball resting against her collarbone and complained playfully, “Now you’re willing to give it to me? You were so stingy when I asked for it as a child.”
Jin Chao’s voice came from above her head, “Do you know where it came from?”
“You never told me.”
“It was left to me by my mother.”
Jiang Mu froze. “You mean your birth mother?”
Jin Chao hummed in agreement. Jiang Mu immediately turned around, clutching the small bead tightly. She suddenly recalled his silence whenever she had asked about the jade ball’s origins in the past. Back then, Jin Chao couldn’t tell her – doing so would have revealed to young Jiang Mu that he wasn’t her brother, a truth she couldn’t have handled then. So he had carefully guarded this secret.
Jin Chao had always been more mature than his peers. Many things that Jiang Mu couldn’t understand as a child were gradually becoming clear to her now. She asked emotionally, “This is the only thing your parents left you, isn’t it?”
Jin Chao didn’t deny it. Jiang Mu asked again, “Are you sure you want to give it to me?”
Jin Chao shifted his gaze from the jade bead to her face, noting how well it suited her. The delicate white jade against her collarbone enhanced her natural grace.
His eyes softened as he told her, “I truly couldn’t give it to you before, but now…”
Jiang Mu finished his thought, “Now you can? Why?”
Jin Chao’s smile deepened. “It starts with this object’s history. I’ll tell you gradually.”
He glanced at the snacks by the bed and asked, “Are you moving in?”
Jiang Mu gently fingered the jade ball and tentatively asked, “Um… could I stay tonight?”
Jin Chao smiled and asked in return, “What do you think?”
“I think it might be difficult. Like, if Dad calls, I won’t know what to say. So… help me figure something out?”
Jin Chao watched her silently. Under his gaze, Jiang Mu lowered her head and mumbled, “I might be being a bit rebellious.”
Her sudden self-reflection made Jin Chao suppress a laugh, but she quickly reversed her stance, muttering, “Haven’t I finished my exams? Dad’s house doesn’t have internet, I’ll be bored there. Can’t I just… stay to use the WiFi?”
After a moment’s silence, Jin Chao took his phone and left the room. Jiang Mu heard him calling Jin Qiang but couldn’t make out the conversation. When he returned, he carried two cups of fragrant coffee, handing one to Jiang Mu who still sat at the foot of the bed. She accepted it with surprise – this was the first time Jin Chao had ever offered her coffee. Previously, whenever she wanted some, he would say she was too young as if her age only qualified her for sodas and yogurt.
This cup of coffee in her hands now held profound meaning. She looked up at him questioningly. Jin Chao blew on his coffee, its aroma filling the air. His lips held a subtle meaning as he raised his eyes slightly: “Aren’t you going to try it?”
Jiang Mu finally lowered her head and brought the cup to her lips. Preparing herself for bitterness, she took a small sip. When the smooth liquid spread across her taste buds, she looked up at Jin Chao with delighted surprise.
Jin Chao’s eyes held a smile. “Sweet?”
Those two simple words went straight to Jiang Mu’s heart. She took another large sip, her cheeks flushing. “But it was bitter last time.”
Jin Chao continued smiling. Jiang Mu looked at his coffee and asked, “What about yours?”
Without waiting for him to hand it over, she leaned forward and took a sip from his cup. The bitterness made her furrow her brows. “Mine tastes better. Why is my coffee sweet?”
Jin Chao swirled his cup gently, creating small ripples in the coffee. His gaze held a burning intensity as he watched her. “Not all coffee has to be bitter.”
He lowered his eyes as he added: “I won’t let you taste bitterness.”
For a moment, Jiang Mu felt Jin Chao wasn’t just talking about coffee, but making an unspoken promise. The air grew thick, and Jiang Mu’s heart melted.
She took a large gulp of coffee to hide her racing heartbeat. Perhaps she drank too quickly – when she looked up, there was a coffee ring above her upper lip, like a fake mustache. Jin Chao laughed, taking both cups and setting them aside. He pulled Jiang Mu close, using his thumb to gently wipe her lip, the clear warmth of his touch sliding from her upper lip to the corner of her mouth. He leaned down, his eyes mesmerizing as he asked, “What do you want to feel?”
He lifted her chin and placed a light kiss at the corner of her mouth. “Like this?”
Jiang Mu’s eyes flickered as she gazed at his close features, her body tense with nervousness. Jin Chao placed another kiss, this time on her lips, slowly caressing them. His voice rumbled from his throat: “Or this?”
Like a natural leader, he gradually took control of her consciousness. His voice grew husky as he asked, “Or perhaps this?”
He pressed against her lips, invading her territory, slowly drawing out her interest. Each movement was etched in Jiang Mu’s mind, the unfamiliar tingling making her body tremble.
This was her first conscious kiss with Jin Chao. Their lips and tongues intertwined with the rich aroma of coffee, a seductive mixture of bitter and sweet that was impossible to fully savor or forget.
Jiang Mu wasn’t sure how long they kissed, but when Jin Chao finally released her, her lips felt swollen. He told her to take a shower, and she obeyed, entering the bathroom. When she turned on the shower, her breathing was still irregular. Her body felt like it housed many strange insects, gnawing at her, uncontrollably. She didn’t understand why she felt this way, only that the bathroom’s warm yellow light seemed dreamy and hazy, and her emotions were excited.
When Jiang Mu came out after her shower, Jin Chao had put on a movie. He turned to look at her as she walked to the bed. Jin Chao moved over to make room, but she just sat stiffly at the edge, too shy to lie down.
Jin Chao smiled faintly. “You weren’t this polite when climbing into my bed as a child.”
He pulled her down, and she fell into his embrace, her body rigid and motionless. Jin Chao simply held her loosely as he continued watching the movie, but Jiang Mu, lying in his arms surrounded by his warmth, couldn’t focus on the film at all.
She secretly looked up at him, and Jin Chao lowered his gaze to meet hers, asking, “Am I more interesting than the movie?”
Jiang Mu quickly looked away, pretending to focus intently on the screen, though she wasn’t taking anything in.
During New Year’s, she had wished she could lie with Jin Chao like when they were children, freely playing with each other. But now that she was lying beside him, Jiang Mu realized it wasn’t the same at all. She couldn’t stick her head under his clothes and pop out through his collar anymore, claiming to be his baby or biting his chin, making Jin Chao pin her down and tickle her in revenge.
Now she lay beside Jin Chao like a mummy, stiff and well-behaved, not daring to move. She couldn’t help but sigh at the freedom of childhood.
Lying there quietly watching a movie with Jin Chao should have been a rare moment of peace, but Jiang Mu couldn’t understand why an intimate scene suddenly appeared in what was supposed to be a comedy.
She hadn’t been following the plot at all, but when it suddenly jumped to a man and woman passionately kissing and undressing each other, she instantly became alert. Her heart raced faster, she barely dared to breathe, and absolutely couldn’t look up at Jin Chao. Her whole body felt weak with embarrassment, even more awkward than watching kissing scenes with her parents as a child.
Jin Chao leaned against the headboard, his arm around her, his hand resting on her pillow, occasionally brushing her shoulder with light, teasing touches. Jiang Mu’s already rigid body became even stiffer, and she didn’t know where to look, staring straight up at the ceiling.
The scene in the movie went on far too long, each second torture. Finally, Jin Chao couldn’t help but mutter, “Annoying.”
He turned to his side, his profile blocking the ceiling from Jiang Mu’s view, and then a shadow fell over her as he kissed her eyes, and her cheeks, caressing her hairline, very carefully and gently. Jiang Mu’s body tensed up, her breathing completely irregular.
Jin Chao’s kisses slid down to her neck, the burning heat searing her nerves. Feeling her body trembling with fear, he ultimately didn’t continue, returning to his original position to watch the movie.
Jiang Mu turned to face the edge of the bed, only to meet Lightning’s dark eyes, startling her so much she nearly fell off the bed.
She maintained that position and gradually fell asleep. Before turning off the movie, Jin Chao moved her to the inside of the bed.
Jiang Mu was awakened in the morning by a wet, sticky sensation. She opened her bleary eyes to see Lightning wagging its tail by the bed, licking her hand. Perhaps because Jiang Mu rarely stayed overnight, Lightning was particularly excited.
Jiang Mu patted its fluffy head, got up to wash, and put Lightning’s leash on.
Jin Chao and Xiao Yang were busy in the repair shop, talking with a customer. Jiang Mu only glanced at him before taking Lightning out for a walk.
When San Lai opened his shop, he saw a small figure in a nightgown walking Lightning. He wondered which girl had come so early to help Jin Chao walk his dog, until Jiang Mu turned around, yawning as she waved: “Good morning, Brother San Lai.”
Then she led Lightning back to the garage. San Lai stood dumbfounded, walking out of his pet shop to the garage entrance to stare at Jiang Mu’s retreating figure for a long while.
When Jin Chao finished his work and came out, he saw San Lai and casually tossed him a cigarette. San Lai tucked it behind his ear and immediately asked, “Mu Mu didn’t go home last night?”
Jin Chao glanced up briefly but said nothing.
San Lai continued, “You didn’t come to my place either. So how did you two sleep?”
Jin Chao remained silent, walking to the side to turn on the faucet and wash his hands with soap. San Lai followed him, pointing in shock: “You son of a… you didn’t…”
Jin Chao raised his eyes and pushed down San Lai’s hand, his voice mild: “Some things are better left unsaid if we’re to remain brothers.”
Then he turned and left, leaving behind a thoroughly confused Brother San Lai.