It happened to be a weekend, with decent afternoon sunlight. After waking up, Jiang Mu went to the auto shop. Jin Chao and the others were all busy, so Jiang Mu moved a stool herself and sat between the auto shop and the pet store, wearing headphones to practice listening. Shandian lay lazily at her feet. On rest days, San Lai’s shop had good business, with several dogs coming in one after another for baths and grooming.
Around dusk, a brown Mercedes slowly pulled up in front of the auto shop. A young man got out of the car and called into the shop, "Someone come check the front right tire."
Xiao Yang walked out of the repair bay upon hearing this, but just then the man suddenly shouted into the shop, "Whoa, who’s this? Am I seeing things? The Seventh Day of Fuzhong?"
Jin Chao was in the repair bay helping a car owner replace the engine oil and filter. He turned his head at the sound and recognized the man—Liang Zhi, who had been in the same class as him back in the day. As the class study monitor, Liang Zhi had never managed to outshine Jin Chao throughout high school, which probably left him resentful. He’d constantly pulled underhanded tricks behind Jin Chao’s back, even recording Jin Chao being half a minute late. Half of Jin Chao’s high school self-criticism essays were thanks to Liang Zhi. Once, Liang Zhi reported Jin Chao for smoking, nearly getting him a disciplinary record, though he had no solid evidence. In the end, Lao Ma smoothed things over, and San Lai and his crew beat Liang Zhi up once, after which he behaved much better.
Unexpectedly, Liang Zhi had found his way to Feichi today. Seeing Jin Chao in work clothes, Liang Zhi suddenly laughed and waved Xiao Yang off, saying, "No need for you. I know that mechanic—let him handle it."
Xiao Yang looked back at Jin Chao uncertainly. Jin Chao had Tie Gongji take over his work and walked out, asking, "What’s wrong with the car?"
Liang Zhi looked him up and down, answering evasively, "How did you end up like this? I almost didn’t recognize you."
He then pulled out a pack of Huazi cigarettes and offered one to Jin Chao, shaking his head. "Never would’ve thought."
Jin Chao didn’t take it, turning away instead. "Front right tire, right?"
Liang Zhi licked his back teeth, annoyed, and stuffed the cigarette back into the pack. Leaning against his Mercedes, he suddenly remarked, "Remember Xiao Hui? The class beauty from Class Three? The one Liao Zi tried to take to the bamboo grove until you ruined his plans. After that, she saw you as her protector. When you got into trouble, Liao Zi and his gang gave her a hard time. She went to your house every day looking for you, but you didn’t even come back for the college entrance exams. After she heard I got into a 985 university, her attitude toward me improved a lot. Women are so pragmatic. After I got tired of her, I arranged to meet Liao Zi. She never dreamed that years later, she’d still end up in Liao Zi’s hands. Heard she’s in Guangzhou now because of him. Tsk tsk..."
Jin Chao finished checking the tire pressure and began removing the tire, his gaze still lowered, offering no response.
Liang Zhi patted the car and sneered, "How’d you end up as a mechanic? If you’re struggling, you could always work for me. I’m in engineering at Tongjian Group now and could use a driver."
Jiang Mu pulled off her headphones and stared at the man. He was dressed neatly in a shirt and dress pants, looking presentable, but his words made her want to hit him.
Jin Chao’s expression remained indifferent. He just turned to Jiang Mu and said, "Go inside."After speaking, he withdrew his gaze again and continued dismantling the tire for inspection. Jiang Mu picked up a stack of test papers beside her and had just stood up to walk toward the repair bay when she suddenly stopped, turned back, and looked at Liang Zhi with a smile on her face, saying, "Little brother, you graduated from a 985 university? That's so impressive!"
Liang Zhi's attention was entirely on Jin Chao and he hadn't noticed Jiang Mu. Hearing this, he turned his head and saw a delicate, fair-skinned girl with large, smiling eyes—quite innocent-looking. He became somewhat interested and turned to ask, "How old are you?"
Jiang Mu smiled at him and replied, "Me? I'm in my final year of high school."
Jin Chao frowned and turned his head, giving Jiang Mu a cold, fierce glare. Jiang Mu completely ignored his look, pulled out one test paper from the stack, placed the rest on a bench, and opened it to a specific question. She handed it to Liang Zhi with an expectant expression, saying, "I've never been able to understand this problem. You must know how to solve it, right?"
Liang Zhi, feeling quite pleased, took the paper from her and said, "Let me take a look for you."
With that, he actually took the paper and pen from Jiang Mu and placed them on the car's hood. Jiang Mu obediently stood beside him, watching attentively. Every time Liang Zhi looked up, she gave him an admiring smile, which made him feel compelled to solve the problem.
Once he lowered his head, the smile vanished from Jiang Mu's face, replaced by an icy stare fixed on the tip of his pen.
Jin Chao glanced at her briefly. Jiang Mu also shifted her gaze, and their eyes met silently for a moment before she looked away, leaving him to continue patching the tire.
The problem Jiang Mu had asked Liang Zhi wasn't simple. Jin Chao had explained it to her twice, and she still hadn't fully grasped it. Moreover, Liang Zhi had graduated from high school many years ago. Although his grades had been decent back then, students of his caliber often succeeded under high-pressure study environments. After the college entrance exam, once they relaxed, revisiting high school problems now proved somewhat challenging.
Fifteen minutes later, he handed the paper back to Jiang Mu and said, "That should be about right."
As Jiang Mu took the paper, her frown deepened the more she read. Seeing her troubled expression, Liang Zhi asked in return, "What's wrong? Don't you understand?"
Jiang Mu nodded honestly, "Yeah, I don't really get what you've written, and it doesn't seem quite right."
With that, she took out the draft Jin Chao had previously written for her and handed it to Liang Zhi, saying in a flat tone, "So this is what a 985 graduate is like? Not even as good as someone who never went to college."
Only then did Liang Zhi realize that this girl hadn't been asking for help—she had been setting a trap for him. Furious and humiliated, he crumpled the paper into a ball. Jin Chao promptly pulled Jiang Mu aside and said to him, "This is a run-flat tire. Even after patching, it might not last long. If it gets wet on the highway, it's still prone to leaking. If you often drive long distances, I suggest you replace it outright."
San Lai, hearing the commotion, pushed the door open and came out. Liang Zhi, his face flushed with anger, suddenly stepped forward, chest to chest with Jin Chao, and said, "Even if I replace it, I won't do it here."
Jin Chao nodded and said to Xiao Yang behind him, "Patch it up and put it on for him."
With that, he turned to walk toward the repair bay. Liang Zhi stared coldly at his back and said, "Looks like this is all you'll ever amount to. No matter how impressive you were in the past."
Jin Chao's steps faltered for a moment, but he didn't turn around. Liang Zhi's eyes flashed with venom as he suddenly added, "I heard you've got a life on your hands, don't you?"With a loud "bang," Jiang Mu felt a wooden stool whiz past her, propelled by a gust of wind as it smashed directly into Liang Zhi's forehead. She turned her head in terror to look at San Lai. Even when the people from Ten Thousand Records Car Shop had caused trouble last time, San Lai hadn't lifted a hand. She had never seen him like this before—his face wore a sinister and terrifying expression.
In an instant, Xiao Yang and Tie Gongji (Iron Rooster) rushed out and surrounded them. The evening sunset dyed the earth blood-red. Jiang Mu felt as if she had been struck hard by a club; the sounds around her turned shrill and piercing, and her body seemed nailed to the spot, stiff and immobile. Two words echoed repeatedly in her mind: "human life."
Amid the chaos, Jin Chao grabbed her arm and shoved her into the car shop. Immediately after, the rolling shutter was pulled down from the outside, plunging Jiang Mu into complete darkness. Fear slithered over her skin like an icy snake. Separated by the shutter, she had no idea what was happening outside, what they were doing, or even what that man was saying. All she felt was that her entire understanding of the world had been shattered in an instant.
...
"I heard he dropped out after high school? Why?"
"Couldn't keep up with the studies."
"Kid, watch your words. He hasn't been 'Seventh Day' for a long time."
"After all, that title marks the end of an era. Not many people like to dig up old, irrelevant matters to bring bad luck upon themselves."
"No one knows what happened. A month or two before the college entrance exams, he suddenly vanished. No one at the school ever saw him again. They say he didn't even show up for the exams later."
Human life.
All the doubts were crashing into Jiang Mu's mind in an abrupt and overwhelming manner, gradually converging into the most horrifying answer.
She stood rooted to the spot, utterly unable to move. Her flowing blood seemed to freeze solid. She couldn't believe what she had heard, nor could she connect it to Jin Chao. She still remembered when they were children, she would poke a snail with a twig, and Jin Chao would stop her. He said, "Don't casually harm a life that can't fight back. Nature has its food chain, but that doesn't mean humans should look down on everything weak from a high perch."
Yet, this very person, who held the greatest kindness for the world, was burdened with a human life. The moment the rolling shutter fell, Jiang Mu's entire eighteen years of understanding about Jin Chao were overturned in an instant.
Time seemed to stand still before her. She felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar. In the darkness, countless tiny insects swarmed from all directions, gnawing at her thoughts, making her entire body tremble.
It wasn't until the rolling shutter was pulled up again that peace was restored outside. The man, along with his Mercedes-Benz, was gone. Xiao Yang and Tie Gongji had left too, leaving only San Lai squatting by the roadside, smoking.
And the moment Jin Chao stepped into the car shop, he saw Jiang Mu's figure sway slightly. She was trembling, and the fear in her eyes stabbed into his heart like a sharp blade.
Jin Chao simply looked at her. The mere step between them felt like an insurmountable chasm of knives and flames. The warmth that had grown between them since their reunion these past days vanished entirely, freezing over in that moment.
Without a word, he silently walked into the repair bay, pulled open the door to the shed courtyard, and with a soft "click," the door closed. The repair bay was left with only Jiang Mu once more. Her eyelashes trembled violently, and she stood there utterly at a loss.San Lai stubbed out his cigarette, stood up, and turned around to see the girl pressed against the rolling shutter door, fists clenched and trembling. He walked back a few steps and said to her before entering the shop, "Don’t ask him anything. Don’t ask anything at all."
After San Lai went inside, Jiang Mu turned and walked toward the shed courtyard. She twisted the doorknob a few times, but the door had been locked from the outside by Jin Chao. She knocked several times, but there was no response from outside. She called out, "Can you open the door?"
Jin Chao still ignored her. Growing anxious, Jiang Mu slapped the door until her hands turned red, shouting, "I won’t say anything. Can you open the door?"
By the time both her hands were sore from pounding, she turned and ran into the room, climbed onto the bed, and opened the blinds. The shed courtyard was dark, with no lights on. Finally, she spotted Jin Chao in a corner of the yard. He was leaning against a large tarpaulin, his back to her. The pale moonlight cast a cold glow over his silhouette. His head was lowered, and twisted, ethereal wisps of smoke rose from the cigarette between his fingers, vanishing into the air.
Jiang Mu shouted at his back, "Why are you ignoring me?"
He didn’t move. Jiang Mu pressed, "Say something!"
Jin Chao slowly raised his hand, inhaling the smoke into his lungs. His voice emerged along with the exhaled smoke: "You’d be better off without a brother like me."
Jiang Mu gripped the blinds tightly. Upon hearing his words, her heart sank abruptly, and the color drained from her face.
His voice blended into the night, faint and soft: "Go back."
"Go back to your dad’s place. Don’t come here unless it’s necessary."
Jiang Mu’s eyes reddened instantly. Struggling to suppress the tremor in her voice, she demanded, "Didn’t you say this was also my home? That no one could drive me away?"
Jin Chao took another drag from his cigarette, his tone flippant: "Yeah, no one can drive you away—except me."
He exhaled deeply, impatience seeping into his voice: "Honestly, your abilities are more than enough to handle the college entrance exams. I’m running a business here, not a tutoring center. If you’re aiming for Tsinghua or Peking University, I can’t help you. To be frank, you’re just in the way here."
Jiang Mu’s knuckles turned white as she clenched the blinds. Unable to hide the choked sobs in her voice, she stared at his back and said, "Say that again."
"Leave me alone."
…
Shandian seemed to sense something, whimpering and pacing restlessly in the repair shop, emitting pitiful sounds. As Jiang Mu rushed out, Shandian went wild, chasing after her with frantic, mournful barks. Jiang Mu stopped at the entrance of the auto shop, and Shandian leaped onto her. Holding Shandian, Jiang Mu cried, "I’m not abandoning you. I won’t leave you behind. I just can’t take you with me right now."
Hearing Shandian’s unusual barking, San Lai stood up and pushed the door open. He saw Jiang Mu run across the street, with Shandian standing by the roadside, barking incessantly after her. Before the taxi came to a full stop, she wiped her tears, pulled the door open, and disappeared into the night.
San Lai turned and walked back into the auto shop, stopping at the door to the shed courtyard. He knocked and said, "She’s gone."
A moment later, the door opened. Jin Chao’s brow cast a shadow over his eyes, his gaze icy and lifeless.
San Lai leaned against the wall, feeling uneasy. "Was it necessary?"
Jin Chao brushed past him expressionlessly. He crouched down and beckoned to Shandian, who was still standing at the shop entrance, looking out. He said, "If the myrmecophyte lost its Müllerian bodies, do you think the Aztec ants would still stay in its trunk? I’ve been foolish lately."He raised his hand to gently stroke Shandian's head, soothing it. Shandian whimpered softly and obediently lay down at his feet, burying its head between its paws and pressing close against Jin Chao.
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