In the following days, Jin Chao seemed very busy, and Jiang Mu hadn’t seen him come back at all. With Jin Qiang working during the day, Jiang Mu spent most of her time alone with Zhao Meijuan and her daughter, which made her rather uncomfortable. Fortunately, the school started soon after she arrived in Tonggang.

One day on her way back from school, she thought she saw a man who looked like Jin Chao driving a black Ford, but Jiang Mu figured she must have been mistaken since the last time Jin Chao was driving a white Volkswagen.

As someone with mild social anxiety, Jiang Mu didn’t quite fit in with Class 6 of Senior Year 3 at the affiliated high school. She barely talked to her classmates and kept to herself during the first week of school. Combined with her naturally unsmiling demeanor, she gave off an aloof and reclusive impression.

The girls here were either bold or outgoing, not only loud but mostly large-framed as well. Take her deskmate Yan Xiaoyi for example—far from being delicate, when she first sat down next to Jiang Mu, she shook the entire desk. The two of them sitting together looked like Baymax and Hiro from Big Hero 6.

Perhaps it was this stark contrast that made her already small frame appear even more pronounced. Within three days, many people had noticed this girl with her delicate features and pale skin, especially since she was a transfer student repeating her final year. This sparked intense curiosity in many people.

Among the most curious was Pan Kai from across the hallway. From Jiang Mu’s first day in class, this young man had been staring at her with an expression like he’d seen a celestial maiden descend from heaven. He stared during class, stared between classes—he might as well have had the word “smitten” plastered on his forehead.

Jiang Mu had received indirect attention from boys at her previous school, but she’d never encountered someone so blatant. She deliberately took detours to avoid him even when going to the bathroom. Despite this, her male classmates’ teasing continued unabated, and within a week, some people had started calling her “Pan’s wife” behind her back.

During the long break one day, Yan Xiaoyi told her, “Pan Shuai is a rich second generation. His family owns a factory that makes auto parts.”

Jiang Mu turned and asked, “Do you think if I asked him to give me his factory, he would agree?”

Yan Xiaoyi laughed foolishly, “You’re thinking too much.”

“Then what does his family having a factory have to do with me?”

“…”

Just then, their class monitor—who moved like he was having a seizure but stayed still like he was paralyzed—came running over. Speaking of their Class 6 monitor, he was round in appearance, named Huang He, but for some reason, everyone called him Chang Jiang. He said to Jiang Mu, “Teacher Ma is looking for you.”

Jiang Mu went to the office where Teacher Ma told her that before National Day, the school would be holding a classical Chinese culture performance. The senior year might not participate, but since city officials would be attending, everyone should wear their school uniforms.

Considering Jiang Mu was repeating the year, it wouldn’t make sense to buy a new uniform for just one year. He suggested she borrow one from a classmate, and if she couldn’t, let him know. Jiang Mu nodded.

After evening self-study, Jiang Mu had just packed her things and left the classroom when she noticed several people in the corridor discussing something while looking downstairs.

“Is that Teacher Ma’s friend? Teacher Ma just went down, and that person offered him a cigarette. They chatted for quite a while.”

Someone from Class 5 chimed in, “Not a friend. Teacher Ma mentioned earlier that it was his former star student. Could it be that senior student he used to talk about in class? Why didn’t he invite him up? I’ve never seen him in person.”

“As if I have.”

Jiang Mu glanced downstairs casually and saw quite a few people standing opposite the school who didn’t look like high school students. She paid no attention and walked downstairs with her backpack.

The bus stop was some distance from the school gate. As she was about to head toward it, she happened to look across the street. There were two cars parked there, one of which was a somewhat familiar black Ford. Her gaze focused again, looking at the few people standing in front of the Ford, landing on a man leaning against the hood. He had a corner of his black shirt casually tucked into his jeans, his long legs against the car particularly eye-catching. However, he wore a plain black baseball cap and was looking down with a cigarette in his mouth, the cap almost hiding his entire face.

As Jiang Mu stood studying him, the man seemed to sense something and suddenly looked up, his eyes meeting directly with Jiang Mu’s—it was Jin Chao, whom she hadn’t seen for a week.

He had seen Jiang Mu too, slowly removing the cigarette from his mouth, his expression unclear under the shadow of his cap brim.

Just as Jiang Mu was about to walk toward him, someone suddenly patted her shoulder, and a figure moved in front of her, completely blocking her view. Jiang Mu looked up to see Pan Kai, and asked, “Do you need something?”

Pan Kai smiled, showing his bright white teeth, and said somewhat sheepishly, “Are you taking Bus 8 home? Let’s walk together?”

Jiang Mu stepped aside saying, “We’re not going the same way.”

Her gaze returned to across the street. Jin Chao’s eyes hadn’t moved at all; though he was talking to people beside him, his gaze remained fixed straight on Jiang Mu.

Seeing Jiang Mu about to leave, Pan Kai quickly blocked her again: “We are going the same way, I’m taking Bus 8 too. You need to transfer buses, right? That’s not safe. Let me accompany you. I’m free anyway.”

Jiang Mu slightly furrowed her brows and looked up at him: “Have you finished your practice papers?”

Pan Kai seized the opportunity: “Speaking of papers, I have a few questions I wanted to ask you. We can discuss them on the way?”

Jin Chao silently watched Jiang Mu struggle with the boy for a while, took a final drag of his cigarette, and stubbed it out.

Jiang Mu said to Pan Kai, “I have something to do. Let’s talk tomorrow.”

Then she walked straight across the street. Besides Jin Chao leaning on the hood, of the other three people, two were standing and one was squatting on the curb. Jiang Mu immediately recognized the tall, thin man squatting on the curb as the one who had come looking for Jin Chao at home recently.

Today this man wore a white Chinese-style T-shirt with large characters for “China” on the chest, oddly paired with patterned shorts. His scraggly stubble made him look even more slovenly.

The group standing at the high school entrance gave off an intimidating aura. Pan Kai kept calling from behind Jiang Mu: “Where are you going? Don’t go over there!”

The group had been chatting casually, but they fell silent when they saw a pretty, well-behaved-looking girl walking toward them.

When Jiang Mu stopped in front of them, she looked at Jin Chao and said, “Did you come to pick me up?”

Although the school gate was bustling with students after evening self-study, Jiang Mu’s words still caused the air to fall silent for a few seconds.

The two standing men looked at her strangely, then turned to look at Jin Chao. The tall, thin man squatting suddenly burst out laughing.

Jin Chao gazed at her coolly, his black pupils suddenly glancing behind her. Just then, Jiang Mu sensed someone stop beside her and address Jin Chao: “Brother Seven, sorry to keep you waiting. Ao Bai talked too much, and delayed us half an hour.”

Jin Chao lowered his gaze and fiddled with the lighter in his hand. The tall, thin man raised his chin and snapped, “Kid, change how you address him. He hasn’t been Seven for a long time, call him Brother You Jiu.”

The person quickly nodded and said, “Sorry, Brother You Jiu.”

Jin Chao asked, “Did you bring the stuff?”

The person patted the backpack he was carrying: “It’s all in here.”

Only then did Jiang Mu turn to look, seeing that the person beside her wore an earring and wasn’t in the affiliated school uniform, but from his words, he was a student there. From the situation, Jin Chao and his group were here for this person, which explained why everyone had fallen silent at her earlier comment.

Jiang Mu awkwardly tugged at her backpack and said, “I’ll go first,” then turned to leave.

Jin Chao raised his gaze again, moving from Jiang Mu to Pan Kai who was still standing across the street. Pan Kai hadn’t left and kept glancing over. Jin Chao’s gaze met his briefly for a second, then he called out to Jiang Mu’s retreating figure: “Hey.”

Jiang Mu heard and stopped, turning back. Jin Chao lazily straightened up and glanced at her: “I’ll take you home.”

Then he turned to the men and said, “I leave this to you, I’ll be back later.” He patted the affiliated school student and looked toward Jiang Mu.

Jiang Mu didn’t move, still standing in place. Jin Chao adjusted his cap, his eyes flickering slightly: “Why are you just standing there? Need a formal invitation?”

Jiang Mu stopped being polite and walked back to open the passenger door. Under the gaze of all the men, she properly fastened her seatbelt. Jin Chao gave a few more instructions outside, and the other men gradually got into the car behind them. Before leaving, the tall, thin man deliberately came to the passenger side and tapped on the window glass. Jiang Mu turned to look at him, and he gave her a roguish smile before leaving.

Meanwhile, Jin Chao got into the driver’s seat and immediately threw his black cap into the back, casually running his fingers through his short hair. Jiang Mu asked, “Why wear a cap at night?”

Jin Chao started the car and turned the steering wheel to drive off: “Avoids trouble.”

“What trouble?”

“Too many people, too much talk.”

Jiang Mu remembered this was Jin Chao’s alma mater; he probably didn’t want to be recognized. She couldn’t help asking, “Were you popular at school back then?”

The street lights cast a faint glow inside the car as Jin Chao’s lips curved slightly: “Not in a good way. Don’t tell anyone at school you know me.”

Jiang Mu obediently nodded: “I won’t cause trouble for myself.”

Jin Chao raised his eyebrows slightly, and they fell silent. He drove incredibly fast as if rushing to reincarnation. Although Jiang Mu had experienced his driving speed before, she couldn’t help feeling nervous.

Perhaps due to the high speed, her mind also raced. What had that high school student brought them? Why were they all so cautious about a single package?

Thinking about Jin Chao’s life-threatening matter, Jiang Mu’s imagination ran wild. Could it be drugs or weapons? Jin Chao said he was making money outside, and everyone around him looked so slovenly—could it be dirty money?

Jiang Mu’s heart started racing. The usual bus ride home took over half an hour, but Jin Chao got them to the old residential complex in about ten minutes. This time, he didn’t drive in but stopped outside and told her, “We’re here.”

Jiang Mu looked at the car again and said, “I remember you were driving a different car last time.”

Jin Chao lowered the window and gave an “mm” in response. Jiang Mu didn’t get out, instead asking, “Why do you often drive different cars?”

Jin Chao gave a perfunctory reply: “Work reasons.”

Jiang Mu tensed up even more. What kind of work requires changing cars? Was it to avoid being tracked, needing to constantly switch vehicles?

She quickly asked another question: “What did that student give you earlier?”

As expected, as soon as she asked this, Jin Chao suddenly turned his head, lifting his eyelids slightly, staring at her coldly. Although Jin Chao’s gaze was penetrating, Jiang Mu didn’t flinch. She tried to find some flaw in his expression, but there was none. Jin Chao just stared at her silently for a few seconds before suddenly saying, “With so many questions, why don’t you buy a book of ‘Ten Thousand Whys’?”

She really did have a lot of questions, like how could he switch cars so frequently? Where did the money come from? Was that him she saw on the bus the other day? Where were they taking that male student later?

However, this didn’t seem like a good time for a casual chat, as Jin Chao needed to get back. After his comment, his gaze shifted to the window on the other side, his fingers tapping on the windowsill, appearing rushed but not urging her to leave.

Jiang Mu took the hint and unbuckled her seatbelt to get out, but then heard him suddenly ask, “Who was that person?”

“Which person?”

“The square-faced one who kept waiting for you across the street.”

Jiang Mu took several seconds to realize he meant Pan Kai, and replied, “A classmate.”

Jin Chao turned back to look at her. In the confined space, his bright, intense eyes seemed to radiate heat, making Jiang Mu feel the temperature in the car rise several degrees, becoming somewhat stuffy.

Seeing her avoiding his gaze and looking uncomfortable, Jin Chao didn’t ask anything more, only saying, “Take care of yourself.”

Then he unlocked the car doors. Just as Jiang Mu got out, she suddenly remembered something and bent down again: “Do you still have your old school uniform jacket?”

Jin Chao rested one hand on the steering wheel and said flatly, “Don’t know.”

Then he asked, “Why?”

Jiang Mu explained, “Teacher Ma asked me to borrow one, and said there’s an event.”

Jin Chao nodded, though Jiang Mu wasn’t sure what his nod meant.

Jiang Mu stepped back, Jin Chao closed the window, and Ford’s engine roared as he accelerated away, disappearing at the end of the street.

That night, every time Jiang Mu thought about the scene at the school gate, she felt embarrassed from head to toe. She had asked Jin Chao if he had come to pick her up! Jin Chao had spared her dignity by not denying it on the spot and even took the time to drive her home. The embarrassment made her roll around in bed.

Just when she wanted to forget about it, the next morning at school, Pan Kai immediately came up asking, “How do you know the Director?”

Jiang Mu was confused: “Director? Director of what?”

“The toilet!”

“…”

Jiang Mu stared at Pan Kai for a full five seconds, suddenly remembering Jin Chao calling him square-faced. If not for that nickname, she wouldn’t have noticed how Pan Kai’s face looked like it came from a mold, too perfectly square. She laughed unexpectedly and walked around him to her seat. This laugh left Pan Kai dumbfounded, and he grabbed Yan Xiaoyi, who was just returning from the bathroom: “Jiang Jiang smiled at me, do you think she likes me?”

“I saw her smile at Aristotle’s statue in her book this morning, so she must like Aristotle too.”

“…” This conversation was going nowhere.

Pan Kai turned and sat down in the empty seat in front of Jiang Mu, explaining that the “Director” he mentioned was named Zhang Fan from Class 1 of Senior Year 3. They were a group who didn’t plan to go to university and just fooled around all day. They called him Director because they liked to cause trouble in the toilets, often blocking off the third-floor bathroom to smoke, and forcing others to use the second-floor facilities. Over time, the third-floor toilet became a gathering place for delinquents, with Zhang Fan as its “director.”

While Pan Kai kept rambling, warning Jiang Mu to stay away from Zhang Fan, saying he was no good, Jiang Mu remembered how respectfully Zhang Fan had addressed Jin Chao the previous night.

She suddenly looked up at Pan Kai, startling him so much that he trembled and asked weakly, “What’s wrong now? Possessed?”

Jiang Mu asked directly, “Which class did you say the Director was in?”

“Class 1.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Mu dropped her pen and headed toward Class 1. Pan Kai hurriedly followed behind, trying to persuade her: “You’re not going to look for him, are you? Oh my goodness, I told you not to associate with him, he’s a gangster. Do you know what that means? Jiang Mu, Jiang Jiang…”

Pan Kai called out the whole way, drawing many side glances. To Jiang Mu, it felt like a huge fly buzzing constantly beside her ear. She turned and snapped two words at him: “Shut up.”

Pan Kai cheerfully responded, “Okay!”

When they reached Class 1’s door, Jiang Mu gave Pan Kai a look: “You go.”

Pan Kai knew quite a few people in Class 1 and casually called out to a boy, asking, “Where’s the Director?”

The boy curiously looked at the girl behind Pan Kai and replied, “He didn’t come today, seems he took leave.”

Then he asked, “Who’s that girl?”

Pan Kai lowered his voice and whispered in the boy’s ear: “Your future sister-in-law.”

After they joked around for a bit, they turned around to find no one there—Jiang Mu had already left. Pan Kai quickly said goodbye and chased after her.

When he caught up, Jiang Mu turned and asked, “Have you heard of Tou Qi?”

“Sure, it’s the seventh day after death, right? During my grandpa’s seventh day, the whole family stayed up all night. My dad and the others played mahjong, and I was playing games in my grandpa’s old room. At midnight, I kept hearing someone calling ‘Xiao Kai, Xiao Kai.’ I lost several games because of it. When I got annoyed and opened the curtains, I saw my grandpa’s shadow on the window glass. Damn, my grandpa’s house was on the third floor, and there was a shadow floating outside the window…”

Seeing Jiang Mu walking faster, he hurried to add, “Hey, wait up! I’m not making this up! Don’t you believe me?”

Just before reaching their classroom door, Jiang Mu suddenly stopped and told him: “The Tou Qi I’m talking about is a person.”

Pan Kai froze, his mouth twitching: “That person sounds creepy!”