During this period, Jin Xin had also started school, but she didn’t attend every day and seemed to have little interest in studying. Once, during a unit test, Jiang Mu heard that Jin Xin had scored only 36 in math. Though Jiang Mu wasn’t particularly good at math herself, by comparison, she felt like a math prodigy—at least when she was Jin Xin’s age, she could still score full marks.
At first, Jiang Mu thought the little girl might have some innate limitations and simply couldn’t grasp the material, but she soon realized that wasn’t the case. When Jiang Mu wasn’t home, Jin Xin would fiddle with the learning tablet. But as soon as Jiang Mu was around, the girl would deliberately throw the tablet on the floor. Sometimes, when Jiang Mu bought snacks, she would get a portion for Jin Xin, but the younger girl never appreciated the gesture. Sticking to the principle of "mind your own business," Jiang Mu generally treated Jin Xin as if she were invisible and eventually stopped initiating any interaction with her.
As for Jin Chao, he had originally intended to talk to Jiang Mu, but an urgent matter delayed him. Before he could intervene in their relationship, Tonggang was hit by a sudden downpour.
That day happened to be a Saturday, and school let out early. Jin Qiang hadn’t gotten off work yet. Shortly after Jiang Mu arrived home, Zhao Meijuan received a phone call and said she needed to go out.
Not long after, a few startling bolts of lightning lit up the night sky outside the window. Jiang Mu, sitting at her desk, flinched. As she looked up, several thunderclaps boomed loudly. Jiang Mu’s hair stood on end—she was afraid of thunderstorms. Ever since that stormy night when she was nine and her father left home with Jin Chao, she had always felt restless during wild, stormy weather.
But soon, Jiang Mu remembered that Jin Xin was still at home. She tossed her pen aside and opened the door. The living room was dimly lit by a small lamp, but Jin Xin was nowhere in sight. Jiang Mu called out twice, but there was no response. She hurried into the kitchen to search and, on her way out, spotted Jin Xin crouched under the dining table, hugging her knees. Though the girl was rather peculiar, seeing her curled up under the table softened Jiang Mu’s heart a little. She walked over and said, "Don’t be afraid. Come out."
Just as she started to bend down, she caught sight of the learning tablet on the table out of the corner of her eye. The screen was lit up, displaying a cleared level. Usually, each correct answer earned stars, which could then unlock fun mini-games.
What was intriguing was that Jin Xin, who couldn’t even calculate 4 plus 7, had managed to reach the twelfth level in the second-grade question bank. Stunned, Jiang Mu stared at the countdown timer still running on the screen, then pulled Jin Xin out from under the table and pointed at the tablet, demanding, "Did you solve these problems?"
Jin Xin suddenly panicked, snatched the learning tablet, and—before Jiang Mu could react—smashed it against the wall. With a loud "bang," the tablet fell to the floor, its screen shattered. Jiang Mu asked, baffled, "What are you doing?"
Jin Xin turned to run, but Jiang Mu, now furious, grabbed her arm, pressed a hand on her shoulder, and hissed in a low voice, "You clearly know how to solve those problems! Why pretend you don’t? Why not take the exams seriously? Why refuse to go to school?"Jin Xin completely ignored Jiang Mu's questioning and began struggling fiercely. The 8-year-old girl already possessed considerable strength in her hands, and Jiang Mu's physical condition had never been particularly robust. Soon, Jiang Mu was drenched in sweat from the exertion, her hands covered in bloody scratches from Jin Xin's nails. A cramp seized Jiang Mu's lower abdomen, and she shouted at the girl, "Does your mother know you're like this? I'm going to tell her in a moment."
Upon hearing Jiang Mu mention Zhao Meijuan, Jin Xin's already prominent eyes emitted an unsettling glare. She lifted her right foot and stomped hard on Jiang Mu's instep. Jiang Mu cried out in pain, and Jin Xin seized the opportunity to break free, darting into the room and slamming the door shut.
Limping to the door, Jiang Mu twisted the handle, but the room door had been locked from the inside by Jin Xin. She pounded on the door and shouted, "Don't hide! Come out here!"
After knocking for a long time without any response from Jin Xin inside, a surge of inexplicable anger rose from her abdomen straight to her heart. Jiang Mu's legs weakened, and she leaned against the wall as an overwhelming sensation flooded downward. Stumbling to the bathroom, she hastily attended to herself before rushing back to her room. Grabbing her phone and keys, she found an umbrella and dashed out into the heavy rain, heading straight for the nearby convenience store.
Along the way, fierce winds several times flipped her umbrella inside out. The signs on both sides of the road grew increasingly blurred under the relentless downpour. Jiang Mu had mild nearsightedness, which usually didn't affect her daily life, but on this dark, rainy night, it made her journey more difficult.
Ignoring her soaked clothes, she almost jogged the entire way. After searching for over ten minutes, she finally located a convenience store. She rushed in, made her purchase, and then hovered near the entrance for another ten minutes, watching the unabated rain while clutching her increasingly painful lower abdomen. Taking a deep breath, she plunged back into the torrential rain to return home.
When Jiang Mu finally made it back to the residential complex, she was met with the sight of two police cars and a fire truck parked inside. Many people stood in the rain within the complex. Unaware of what was happening, she walked to the building where Jin Qiang lived and was startled to see a yellow caution tape cordon stretched outside the entrance. Her heart sank abruptly when she suddenly heard a familiar voice screaming hysterically, "You're going to be the death of me!"
Following the sound, Jiang Mu saw two police officers restraining the nearly frantic Zhao Meijuan. Everyone was looking upward. Jiang Mu lifted her umbrella and gazed up as well—the sight caused her umbrella and plastic bag to fall from her hands simultaneously. There, on the rain-lashed fifth-floor balcony, stood a small, thin figure. Jin Xin's heels were completely exposed over the edge, with only her hands gripping the balcony railing. Under the relentless assault of the heavy rain and strong wind, Jin Xin was at constant risk of falling from the fifth floor.
Instantly, Jiang Mu felt blood rush to her head. She pushed through the crowd, only to be stopped by police officers near Zhao Meijuan. Her eyes wide with terror, she fixed them tightly on the small figure. Several firefighters had already rushed up to the neighbor's unit next to Jin Qiang's apartment, attempting to climb over from the adjacent balcony to rescue Jin Xin.
Another team of firefighters was setting up an air rescue cushion downstairs. The chaotic scene, pouring rain, cries and screams in her ears, the urgent commands of police and firefighters on site, and the approaching ambulance siren—all of it made Jiang Mu feel as if the world were spinning.She held her breath as she watched the firefighters upstairs, secured with safety harnesses, climb over the neighbor's balcony. Just as they were about to reach Jin Xin, in a split second, a figure suddenly plummeted from the high floor. Screams erupted around her. Jiang Mu felt her vision go black, her heart stop, and the entire world darken.
Shortly after, Zhao Meijuan broke free from the police and rushed forward. Crowds surged toward the air cushion, some shouting for a doctor, others calling for family members. A group of people in white coats hurried into the crowd as police used loudspeakers to disperse the onlookers. Soon, a small body was carried out on a stretcher and rushed straight to the ambulance. A doctor yelled, "Family members, follow us."
Jiang Mu didn’t know how she ended up running after Zhao Meijuan into the ambulance. The entire way, her mind was in a daze. She had never experienced anything like this before—or rather, she had only ever seen it in the news. Never had a living person fallen from a height right before her eyes. Her heart raced uncontrollably, filled with fear, panic, and shock. It felt as though a heavy weight were crashing around in her head, and her vision blurred.
Jin Qiang, having received the news, arrived at Tonggang First Hospital almost simultaneously with the ambulance. As Jin Xin was carried inside, Jin Qiang and Zhao Meijuan followed the doctors into the hospital, with Jiang Mu trailing behind. Her legs trembled uncontrollably, and she stumbled on the stairs but quickly picked herself up and hurried after them.
Jin Xin had landed on the air cushion and was unconscious. He was immediately taken for examinations upon arrival at the hospital. The doctors instructed one family member to handle the paperwork while the others waited outside.
Jin Qiang hurried downstairs. In the corridor, curious nurses and other patients craned their necks to see what was happening. Zhao Meijuan, barred from entering, covered her face in despair and wept.
Jiang Mu stood a few steps away in the corridor, rainwater dripping from her clothes and pooling at her feet. She stared anxiously at the emergency room doors, equally panicked.
Just then, Zhao Meijuan seemed to remember something. She turned abruptly and glared viciously at Jiang Mu, striding back to stand directly in front of her. "Why did you leave Xin Xin alone at home? Where did you go?" she demanded.
Where had she gone? She couldn’t possibly tell Zhao Meijuan, in front of all those people, that she had gone to buy sanitary pads. But her brief silence only fueled Zhao Meijuan’s rage. "Were you meeting that boy?" she shrieked. "Running out late at night—have you no shame? If anything happens to Xin Xin, you can get out of here!"
Countless judgmental stares felt like slaps across Jiang Mu’s face. She could no longer comprehend Zhao Meijuan’s ramblings. The corridor lights seemed to sway before her eyes, and only one thought consumed her: she wanted to leave, to buy a ticket and return to Suzhou immediately. Even if there were no relatives left there, she had to go back. She didn’t want to stay here—not for another moment, not another second.
A figure strode swiftly from the end of the corridor. Seeing Jiang Mu remain unresponsive, Zhao Meijuan’s anger reached its peak. She raised her hand and shoved Jiang Mu backward with force. Jiang Mu’s legs were weak and powerless, and her body slammed uncontrollably against the wall. In a flash, her back collided with a supportive arm. She looked up and saw Jin Chao, who had rushed over. He held a black umbrella, his brow furrowed tightly as he pulled Jiang Mu aside. Stepping forward, he said to Zhao Meijuan, "Enough. How is Xin Xin?"Zhao Meijuan wept bitterly, repeating over and over the details of Jin Xin's jump from the building, saying that if anything happened to Jin Xin, she wouldn't want to live either. Jin Chao's face was grim, his eyes suppressing a terrifying light—an expression Jiang Mu had never seen before, one that frightened her so much she didn't even dare approach.
Not long after Jin Qiang finished handling the procedures, Jin Xin was transferred to a regular ward. After leaving the room, Jin Qiang and Jin Chao went to the doctor's office. Jiang Mu followed behind Jin Qiang and stopped at the doorway of the office, overhearing the doctor say that the child was not in any life-threatening danger. The fall had caused significant shock, leading to temporary unconsciousness, but she was now awake. Additionally, there was a minor fracture in her right index finger, which had been treated and was not serious. However, the child's emotions were quite unstable and required plenty of comfort from the family.
When Jin Qiang and Jin Chao came out of the office, Jiang Mu was standing by the wall not far away, the dim overhead light enveloping her. Perhaps because she was soaked through, she looked like a piece of paper that could be blown away by the wind at any moment.
Jin Qiang sighed and said to Jin Chao, "She's probably terrified too. You should take Mumu and go first."
After speaking, Jin Qiang walked up to Jiang Mu, patted her shoulder, and said, "You go back first. There's nothing more to do here."
Once Jin Qiang finished and returned to the ward, Jiang Mu kept her head lowered. A shadow fell in front of her, blocking the corridor's light. She could feel the warmth from Jin Chao's presence, but she didn't have the courage to look up.
Moving closer, Jin Chao noticed her pale face and the slight trembling of her arms as she hugged herself. He asked her, "Are you cold?"
She didn't answer. He then said, "Come with me."
She still didn't move.
He turned and walked away, the warmth in front of her vanishing. Panicked, she turned to look at him. After a few steps, he stopped and turned back to gaze at her. In the empty corridor, on the quiet night, his eyes held no warmth—hollow, icy, and somber.
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