Jiang Mu hugged her backpack and stood up, following Jin Chao into the small repair bay behind them. The previously hoisted car had been lowered and driven out, leaving only a narrow aisle beside it. They passed through the aisle to a partitioned rest area of less than ten square meters. Pushing open the door, she saw an iron shelf piled with various parts, repair orders, a water dispenser, and two wooden chairs.
Further inside, a cloth curtain blocked the view of the space beyond. Jin Chao stopped and asked her, "Have you finished your homework?"
Jiang Mu shook her head. Jin Chao moved all the repair orders from the desk onto one of the chairs, roughly clearing the old office desk. He placed the other chair in front of the desk and said to Jiang Mu, "Write here first. I'm going to take a shower."
Jiang Mu set down her backpack and nodded.
After sitting down, she glanced back and saw Jin Chao lift the curtain and step inside. Through a gap in the curtain, she caught a glimpse of an even smaller room—just a wire bed and a low bedside cabinet, with nothing else in sight. The curtain fell back into place, and soon she heard the sound of running water.
She took out a math test paper and spread it flat on the desk, then surveyed the rest area. As she lifted her head, her eyes suddenly fell upon a familiar box placed at the very top of the iron shelf.
Though the outer black camouflage packaging had been torn off, the contents inside remained unopened. The soaring horse design on the box was still intact—it was the Parker "Chase dreams with horses" gift set. Inside was the black gold-plated matte fountain pen she had carefully chosen for Jin Chao, costing over two thousand yuan. She hadn't used Jiang Yinghan's money but had saved up her performance fees from previous shows. Knowing she would visit Tonggang, she had secretly bought it for him.
Jiang Mu lowered her gaze and took out the somewhat worn Parker pen from her pencil case. She had always regarded this pen as her lucky charm, using it only during competitions or exams. Over the years, though the nib and refill had worn out and been replaced, she had kept the barrel, unable to part with it. This pen had quietly rested in her case, witnessing countless major and minor exams, accompanying her through all her struggles.
When Jin Chao left Suzhou years ago, he had left this pen with her. Now, after all this time, she had wanted to give him one in return. She thought he would use it; she believed this gift held the most meaning for both of them. But it never occurred to her that the present Jin Chao had no need for such an impractical pen.
"Chase dreams with horses"—perhaps his dream of dedicating himself to the aerospace industry had shattered years ago.
Jiang Mu was so lost in thought that she didn't even notice the water had stopped behind her. It wasn't until footsteps approached that she hurriedly stuffed the old pen back into the case and snapped it shut.
Jin Chao approached while drying his hair. Jiang Mu didn't turn around; her heart was still pounding. She didn't want Jin Chao to see that old pen—the memories it held were precious to her, but to him, they might no longer matter. Just like the gift box carelessly tossed on the iron shelf, it all made Jiang Mu feel deeply embarrassed.
The warmth from the bathroom enveloped her as Jin Chao stopped behind her and glanced down. "Haven't written a single character all this time?" he remarked.
When Jiang Mu remained silent, he slung the towel over his shoulder, picked up her test paper, and examined it. In a detached tone, he asked, "What's on your mind?"Jiang Mu couldn't very well say she was pondering which of them was more self-destructive, could she? So she could only turn back and try to reclaim her test paper, only to find Jin Chao's gaze wasn't on the paper at all—it had drifted to her face.
He had changed out of his dirty clothes and now wore a clean, fresh T-shirt with loose khaki pants. The pleasant scent of mint from his recent shower lingered around him, and water droplets trailed from his short hair down to his temples. His jawline was taut, and Jiang Mu's eyes unconsciously fell upon his Adam's apple.
Jin Chao had been good-looking since childhood. She couldn't remember which grade it was when he needed to perform in some school event. The teacher had applied lipstick and eyeshadow on him, powdering his face pale. Though he maintained a grumpy expression throughout, young as she was, she thought her brother was angry. She went to hold his hand, urging him not to be upset, but Jin Chao just said coolly, "I'm not angry. I just think I look awful."
She vehemently disagreed, gesturing with a huge circle in the air: "Chaochao, you're the most handsome in the entire universe."
Back then, she only called him "Chaochao" when she was emotionally charged. Each time, Jin Chao would scold her for being disrespectful, but that one time, he didn't say a word to correct her.
She still thought Jin Chao was very handsome, though he looked different from his childhood self. For instance, he had developed a distinct Adam's apple at some point. She never used to find anything special about a person's Adam's apple, but at this moment, she suddenly thought Jin Chao's looked very masculine.
Jin Chao placed the test paper back on the desk and lifted his eyes to ask her, "What are you looking at?"
His voice was close, resonating like a subwoofer in the cramped space. Flustered, Jiang Mu buried her wild thoughts and said, "I like to meditate before doing homework."
Jin Chao tilted his head back. "Why not use telekinesis to solve the problems then? Come out and eat."
With that, he walked out. Jiang Mu followed and asked, "Will I disturb your work if I stay here?"
"No. The shop is mine."
Jiang Mu thought that was somewhat reassuring—at least he wasn't working for someone else; he owned a business.
But then he added, "Co-owned with someone."
Immediately, Jiang Mu felt uneasy again. The shop wasn't large, and he had to share ownership—could it even be profitable?
Of course, she could only keep these doubts to herself.
A table had been set up at the shop entrance. San Lai and Tie Gongji dragged over several stools. The table was laden with freshly delivered dishes and rice, along with several bottles of beer. Xiao Yang had already washed his hands and came over to unpack the takeout containers. Zhang Fan had likely gone to an internet cafe—he was already gone.
San Lai showed no awareness of mooching a meal, instead acting like the host as he greeted Jiang Mu: "Jiang Xiaomu, come on, make yourself at home." Sit anywhere."
Seeing his demeanor, Jiang Mu asked, "Do you work here too?"
Tie Gongji used his teeth to pry open a beer bottle cap, spitting it out distastefully as he said, "Look at those hands—what work could they do? He's the owner of the pet shop next door."
Jiang Mu turned her head in surprise toward the neighboring storefront illuminated with "Golden Triangle Pet Shop," then looked back at the bearded, ponytailed San Lai lounging with crossed legs. He didn't look like someone who cared for small animals at all.
Noticing her stunned expression, San Lai even added, "After eating, come by my shop. Take whatever you like, my treat..."He looked at Jin Chao, who was handing out chopsticks, with a half-smile and added, "Let your beloved big brother pay for you."
Jin Chao directly threw the chopsticks at his face and said coldly, "Get lost.San Lai smoothly caught them and handed them to Jiang Mu first. Jiang Mu took the chopsticks and said, "He's not beloved, and you should remove the word 'big'."
San Lai helped himself to a pair of chopsticks and laughed, "What do you get by removing 'big'? Not 'big brother,' just 'brother'?"
Jiang Mu didn't respond, lowering her head to eat plain rice. San Lai looked at Jin Chao in surprise, "So she really is your sister? The one..."
Jin Chao gave him a cool glance, and San Lai swallowed the rest of his words, his lips quirking as he shot a meaningful look at Jiang Mu.
She was the only one eating while the others were drinking. San Lai had started the conversation, which somehow drifted to the topic of delivering puppies for a female dog. He said the golden retriever at his shop had given birth to puppies the night before last, and he stayed up all night watching over the big mother dog. The key point was, no one knew who had gotten the dog pregnant, and the father of the pups had no sense of responsibility, never coming to check on them. He, who didn't even have a wife, had his first delivery experience devoted to a dog—it was truly a "screwed by a dog" situation.
Tie Gongji took a sip of alcohol and said, "It's normal. That Xishi of yours, whenever she's let out to pee, she runs all over the place. Who's to blame if her belly got big? Blame it on her flirty nature, which she got from her owner."
As they drank, though discussing dogs, their jokes grew increasingly inappropriate.
Jin Chao set his beer bottle on the table and said, "That's enough. There's a kid here."
Jiang Mu hadn't dared to join the discussion about the golden retriever's chaotic private life, but thankfully, Jin Chao promptly stopped the awkward topic.
A car pulled up by the roadside, and a middle-aged man rolled down the window, calling out, "You Jiu."
Jin Chao put down his chopsticks and walked over, chatting with the man by the roadside for a few moments.
Jiang Mu glanced over and asked San Lai beside her, "Why do you all call him You Jiu?"
San Lai, having finished a bottle of beer, spun the empty bottle in front of him and said, "'Jin Chao gets drunk when there's wine today'—your brother had nothing but a bottle of wine to get him through his toughest times."
Whether it was Jiang Mu's imagination or not, San Lai's tone was full of sarcasm as he spoke to her.
She asked again, "Then why is he also called Seventh Day?"
San Lai's expression shifted, and he glanced toward Jin Chao, lowering his voice, "I advise you to ask fewer questions like that in the future, especially in front of You Jiu."
After saying this, he stretched lazily, his eyes hazy yet tinged with complexity, "After all, that nickname marks the end of an era. Not many people like to dig up old, trivial matters to bring bad luck upon themselves."
Jiang Mu fell silent. She suspected this might be related to Jin Chao dropping out of school. If her guess was correct, something major must have happened during his high school years. But since his friends kept tight-lipped, she could only tuck her questions away for the time being.
OpenNovel