Jiang Mu had originally planned to just drop off some clothes and return to Jin Qiang's house. She took the opportunity to chat with Xiao Yang about Shandian's condition when a driver who had just gotten off the highway pulled up to Feichi Auto Repair. The car had developed some issues along the way, and the driver needed help checking it out since he still had a long journey ahead. Jin Chao called out for Tie Gongji, who entered from the back shed courtyard, gently closing the door behind him.
Out of the corner of her eye, Jiang Mu glanced over and said to Xiao Yang, "You go ahead with your work. I'll be leaving soon too."
Xiao Yang put down what he was holding and went out to check on the car. The repair bay was now empty. Jiang Mu leisurely made her way toward the break room, but just before entering, she glanced back at the group by the entrance. Everyone was busy, and no one noticed her. So she changed direction and headed straight for the shed courtyard.
The door was indeed unlocked. Jiang Mu pulled it open and disappeared behind it.
Tie Gongji's recent work was still scattered all over the ground—various car parts and tools. Jiang Mu lifted her feet, careful not to touch anything as she cautiously moved further in. The object covered by a tarpaulin in the corner of the courtyard had returned.
She had noticed this several times before: whenever Jin Chao went out, this thing would disappear too. And whenever Jin Chao returned, it would always be placed in the farthest corner of the shed courtyard, hidden under a large tarpaulin. It was all very mysterious—so much so that it had even appeared in her dreams. It was hard to suppress her curiosity. With no one around, her steps involuntarily carried her toward the square, tarpaulin-covered object. Her heartbeat quickened, and her mind raced with possibilities—controlled equipment? Contraband? Or something else that shouldn't see the light of day?
She crouched down, lifted a corner of the tarpaulin, and peeked inside. The first thing she saw was a car tire. She pulled back more of the cover, and a car came into view, though its body was protected with foam padding, making it impossible to discern its shape from the outside.
It was just an ordinary black car, far from the dangerous things she had imagined. But just then, a voice suddenly cut through the shed courtyard: "What are you doing?"
Jiang Mu instinctively dropped the tarpaulin and turned around. Jin Chao stood under the shed, his figure outlined by the fading light. The sun had completely set, and with no lights on in the courtyard, the dimness made his silhouette seem as cold as a passing gust of wind.
Jiang Mu feigned nonchalance. "I was just looking."
Jin Chao's gaze swept over her silently, sharp enough to feel like a cutting wind against her face. Then he said, "If you're done looking, get out."
But Jiang Mu pointed at the car. "Whose car is this? Yours?"
Jin Chao merely grunted in acknowledgment.
Unwilling to let it go, Jiang Mu pressed further, "Why have I never seen you drive it?"
Jin Chao simply turned sideways, pulled the door open, and stared at her. She asked another question, "Can you drive me back in it?"
"No," Jin Chao replied decisively.
Seeing Jiang Mu frown, he beckoned her over. She walked toward him, and he promptly guided her back into the repair bay, closing and locking the door behind them. "That car can't be driven," he told her.
Jiang Mu wanted to say more, but Jin Chao called out to Xiao Yang, "You can clock out. Take the car to Lao Yang and drop Mu Mu off home on the way."
Then, turning to Jiang Mu, he said, "I still have work to do. Xiao Yang will take you."Jiang Mu pursed her lips and had no choice but to follow Xiao Yang out of the car shop. On the way, she asked Xiao Yang about the car in the backyard. Xiao Yang said it was a vehicle Tie Gongji and Jin Chao had acquired last year, but it had been in an accident and couldn’t be driven on the road.
Yet Jiang Mu had clearly seen that car disappear into the shed yard. If it couldn’t be driven, such a heavy vehicle couldn’t possibly have been carried away. Moreover, Jin Chao had repeatedly warned her not to go to the shed yard. Jiang Mu couldn’t shake the feeling that Jin Chao was deliberately hiding something from her.
She also recalled the man she had seen that morning—broad forehead, hooked nose, with a faint scar on the side of his nose. His gaze was unfriendly, and her first impression of him was strikingly similar to that of a major drug lord from a documentary.
Connecting all these incidents, Jiang Mu felt that Jin Chao was secretly involved in something. Clearly, he didn’t want her to know about it.
But the more he tried to hide it, the more Jiang Mu wanted to uncover the truth. She remembered that not long after she arrived in Tonggang, Jin Chao and Tie Gongji had once come to the affiliated high school to get a blueprint from Zhang Fan.
So the next day at school, Jiang Mu sought out Zhang Fan. When she appeared at the door of Class One, Zhang Fan was also surprised. He sauntered out of the classroom, followed by a group of his buddies who were teasing him.
Zhang Fan smiled and asked, “What’s up?”
Jiang Mu didn’t beat around the bush and got straight to the point: “What does your brother do?”
“Huh?” Zhang Fan was taken aback, not expecting Jiang Mu to seek him out specifically to ask about his brother.
Zhang Fan told Jiang Mu that his brother worked in the assembly workshop of a domestic car factory. The factory was in Anhui, and he rarely came back even once a year. Beyond that, Zhang Fan didn’t know much more.
…
As the New Year approached, the weather grew increasingly cold. Tonggang had no tall buildings, and there were still many illegal constructions and self-built two-story houses in the city that hadn’t been demolished. A heavy snowfall lent these low-rise homes a somewhat fairy-tale charm.
Due to the bad weather, the last few days of evening self-study sessions were canceled. Jiang Mu finished school early every day and went to the pet hospital to spend some time with Shandian. Just as Jin Fengzi had said, Shandian was tough. Under the hospital’s careful care, his condition seemed to improve day by day. He was now able to eat some liquid food, but his leg had been broken and would require a long recovery period before he could walk again.
The hospital staff told Jiang Mu that although the little guy was barely hanging on, he was aware of everything. Usually, he lay still and ignored anyone who tried to play with him. But around 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. each day, he would perk up his head and look around the edge of the cage.
Jiang Mu hadn’t been attending evening self-study lately. She finished school around 6 p.m. and arrived at the pet hospital by 7 p.m. It was from the nurses that she learned Jin Chao would stop by around 1 p.m. every day. He didn’t stay long—just checked on Shandian’s condition and exchanged a few words with the doctor.
Even though Jin Chao always coldly denied any connection to Shandian, saying the dog wasn’t his, he still cared about Shandian’s well-being—just as Shandian remained loyal to him.Though wounds may heal, the scars remain forever etched on the body, impossible to erase. The arrogance and cruelty of the Wan Ji gang that day were seared into Jiang Mu's memory. Yet in Tonggang, Wan Ji existed like a local snake entrenched in its territory. She wasn’t foolish—after so many incidents, she could sense that although San Lai always acted like he was idling through life, he had some local influence. But even he wouldn’t touch Wan Ji’s people during conflicts, indicating the complexities ran far deeper than she had imagined.
If even she couldn’t swallow this humiliation, would Jin Chao allow those people to provoke him again and again?
His restraint, low profile, and concessions always gave Jiang Mu a bad feeling. After learning about Jin Chao’s past from Jin Fengzi, she didn’t feel clarity but rather a heavier shadow looming over her heart.
Jin Qiang didn’t know Jiang Mu’s evening self-study had been canceled, so after visiting the pet hospital, she still went to the auto shop. Seeing her approach, Jin Chao put out his cigarette from afar. Jiang Mu walked straight up to him and said, “My mom is coming to Tonggang in a few days to take me back to Suzhou for the holiday. I might not return until before school starts.”
Jin Chao kept his head down, busy with his work, and said nothing. Jiang Mu crouched, tilting her head to look at him. “Don’t you have anything to say to me?”
Jin Chao lifted his gaze. “What do you want me to say?”
“I mean, I won’t be in Tonggang much longer.”
“Hmm, should I throw you a farewell party?”
Jiang Mu laughed. “That wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
The tension in Jin Chao’s brow eased slightly. “Go inside. It’s cold out.”
The smile on Jiang Mu’s face deepened. Jin Chao had finally let her stay. Whether it was because she’d be leaving soon or for some other reason, at least he wasn’t being cold to her anymore.
As she reached the door of the repair shop, Jiang Mu suddenly turned back to look at him. “You’ll be spending the New Year at your dad’s place, right?”
Jin Chao glanced sideways at her, silently watching for a moment before replying with an “Mhm.”
Jiang Mu went into the break room and waited until around nine o’clock when Jin Chao left for San Lai’s place. She stared at the repair shop entrance for a long time before suddenly getting up and rummaging through the metal shelves. Finding nothing, she slipped into Jin Chao’s room and searched through the row of books. Despite the cold weather, she broke into a nervous sweat, feeling like a thief as she moved quietly, listening for any sounds outside—still, she found nothing.
Just as she was about to return to the break room, her eyes fell on the simple wardrobe. She remembered Jin Chao had taken bandages and cotton swabs from the bottom drawer. Carefully, she pulled open that drawer and found a stack of papers folded into squares buried among miscellaneous items. Peeking outside the room, she unfolded one of the papers, took a photo, quickly refolded it, and returned it to its place. She then went back to the break room, packed her things, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and called out to San Lai and Jin Chao that she was leaving before hailing a taxi.
On the way, she cropped a section of the blueprint and sent it to Pan Kai, asking him to find out what it was. True to form, Pan Kai came through—the next day, he told Jiang Mu he’d shown the image to an experienced technician at his family’s factory. It was an intake air cooler, installed between the car’s turbocharger outlet and the intake pipe, similar to a radiator.Just as Jiang Mu had suspected, those drawings were related to car modifications, and she immediately thought of the vehicle in the shed yard. Was the car unable to drive on the road, or was it simply not allowed to?
Zhao Meijuan couldn't control Jin Chao, and Jiang Mu was also puzzled by Jin Qiang's attitude toward Jin Chao over the years. From what she had observed since coming to Tonggang, Jin Qiang rarely interfered in Jin Chao's affairs. Apart from contacting Jin Chao when necessary, there was little concern. As long as Jin Chao was alive, it seemed Jin Qiang didn't care how he lived his life outside. But if Jin Chao were truly involved in something life-threatening, Jiang Mu couldn't just stand by.
She wanted to know what Jin Chao was up to, but she knew it was impossible to get answers directly from him. That car was the best breakthrough point. She even thought that by tracking the car's movements, she might figure out where Jin Chao went when he wasn't at the auto shop.
With this idea, she had a clear direction—like using a tracker. But what was that? Where could she buy one? How to install it? These questions were beyond her knowledge.
She turned to Pan Kai and asked, "Do you know how to track someone's movements?"
Pan Kai laughed. "You clearly have no experience with relationships."
He quickly added, "Don't get me wrong, I don't either."
Jiang Mu frowned. "What does that have to do with relationships?"
Pan Kai grew more enthusiastic. "Phone tracking! If you suspect your husband is cheating, just track his phone. The features these days are so advanced—you can trace every move."
His words struck Jiang Mu like a revelation. "You're a surprisingly clever genius."
Pan Kai felt a bit embarrassed by the praise and asked, "Who do you want to track? Need any help?"
Jiang Mu made a "shush" gesture, and Pan Kai lowered his voice. "Anyway, I'm home during the break. Just let me know if you need anything. I can ride my motorcycle to your place in ten minutes."
Lao Ma came in, and they automatically stopped talking. Lao Ma reminded everyone about holiday precautions and the return-to-school date.
After school that day, Jiang Mu found a phone store and spent a few hundred yuan on an old phone with a tracking function. She set it up as the controlled device, silenced it, charged it fully, and waited for the right moment.
During the break, she could stay at the auto shop from morning till night. In recent days, Jin Chao and Tie Gongji had been going to the shed yard more frequently. Though she pretended not to care, she kept a close watch on the shed yard, waiting for the perfect opportunity.
Finally, at noon on Thursday, Jin Chao took Xiao Yang out, leaving Tie Gongji alone in the shed yard, busy with occasional engine sounds. When a customer arrived at the auto shop, Jiang Mu called for Tie Gongji. As he stepped out, she seized the chance to slip into the shed yard. There were no other vehicles there, and the engine noise had to be coming from the black car. She tried the door—it was unlocked. After searching around, she opened the trunk, placed the phone under the trunk mat, and slipped back to the break room. Tie Gongji was still chatting with the customer at the shop entrance, completely unaware. She opened her own phone to check the tracking—the red dot representing the old phone's location overlapped with hers.That evening after returning to Jin Qiang's home, she turned on the location tracking again. The old phone's location was still at 87 Tongren Lane, and the car hadn't moved all night.
The next day, it still hadn't changed position. By evening, Jiang Mu kept the tracking on, glancing at it occasionally. Around nine o'clock, she took a shower. After entering her room post-shower, she checked the location again and suddenly noticed the red dot had moved. It kept refreshing eastward every few minutes. Hastily changing clothes, she called Pan Kai while getting dressed.
Pan Kai was in the middle of gaming when Jiang Mu's call came through, surprising him. "Jiang Jiang, what's up?"
"The location is moving east fast, almost leaving Tonggang. What's over there?"
Hearing this, Pan Kai immediately perked up. "Should we chase it?"
"Let's go."
"On my way."
Author's Note: Comment to enter the red packet giveaway.
Thanks to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated with nutrient solution from 2021-09-12 23:58:52 to 2021-09-13 15:36:54~
Thanks to the little angels who threw landmines: Sansheng, Dream Sets Sail, 《Dazzling》1, 6:30 Salted Egg Yolk, 41074950, Pau, 47253517, 1 each;
Thanks to the little angels who irrigated with nutrient solution: 911, 5 bottles; Wanna Be a Panda, 4 bottles; Dali Loves Cabbage, 1 bottle;
Many thanks for your support, I will keep working hard!
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