Jiang Mu had no idea how San Lai had managed to drag her down from the cliff face. Her eyes were fixed on the raging fire at the foot of the mountain. It wasn't until the sound of police sirens echoed through the valley from all directions and the chaos around them intensified that she registered anything. The chaotic mob of youths all scrambled into their cars and fled in all directions, and the other racers also escaped down various mountain roads.
Cars continuously roared past them. Someone shrieked, "Someone's dead, run!"
Jiang Mu had no awareness, none at all. She was dragged into a car by Jin Fengzi and San Lai. They stuffed her into the back seat, and Jin Fengzi started the engine. San Lai quickly jumped into the passenger seat. Only then did Jiang Mu come to her senses, screaming with a sob in her voice, "Jin, Jin Chao… He's still, still in the car, we can't leave…"
San Lai looked at the valley, lit up by the blaze, and said, "The police cars are heading over. If we don't leave now, we won't be able to."
As he spoke, Jin Fengzi was already driving out of the mountains. Jiang Mu was nearly hysterical. "It exploded! Jin Chao's car exploded, didn't you see?"
San Lai turned back and grabbed her wrist, forcefully suppressing her trembling. "I know," he said, "but we can't go over there. The police will find him. If we go, we'll just be seen as part of the racing gang and walk right into a trap. We won't be any help. We have to leave here first and then figure something out."
Down the mountain, Wan Sheng Bang and his crew were long gone. Jin Fengzi dodged several fire trucks that were heading into the mountains.
After leaving the mountain, Jiang Mu didn't say another word. She just sat rigidly in the back seat, her limbs numb, a cold sweat breaking out uncontrollably on her body. In the passenger seat, San Lai had been on the phone constantly, calling everyone he could, ever since his phone regained signal.
Jiang Mu didn't know where they went. The fleeting scenery outside the window became a blurry film; she couldn't see it clearly, nor did she want to. It wasn't until the car stopped at the entrance of Feichi that Jin Fengzi opened the back door and called for her to get out. She still felt as if she were floating.
After dropping them at the shop's entrance, Jin Fengzi sped off in San Lai's car. Jiang Mu curled up on a small wooden stool by the door, staring at San Lai in terror and pinching her own thigh hard. She felt this was a dream, a terrifying nightmare. If it wasn't a dream, how could anyone explain that just this afternoon, she was in Jin Chao's arms? He had fed her, called her a lazy bug who would never grow up. She had rubbed her face against him, acting cute, saying she would never grow up and would cling to him for a lifetime.
Jiang Mu didn't know how long a lifetime was, but it definitely wasn't just half a day. If this wasn't a dream, what was it?
But even after she had pinched her thigh purple, she still couldn't escape this nightmare. All the pain was so vivid.
San Lai made one call after another, asking for information everywhere. She had never seen the usually flippant San Lai so furious. Finally, she saw him roar into the phone, "Are you fucking useful at all? If there's no news at the station, can't you ask your uncle to check the hospital networks? If that doesn't work, check the funeral homes too."
When Jiang Mu heard the words "funeral homes," her stomach suddenly spasmed, churning violently. She ran to the side of the road and dry-heaved. Since she hadn't eaten anything that evening, nothing came out. The discomfort was so intense that sweat and tears mingled together.
San Lai hung up and hurried over to help her up. "Go home," he told her.
Tears streamed down Jiang Mu's cheeks. She couldn't utter a single word, only shaking her head.
San Lai looked at her deathly pale face and clenched his jaw, unable to bear it, but he still spoke the cruel words. "You have to go home. If, if something happened, the police will contact the family."
The emotions Jiang Mu had been bottling up all night finally collapsed, and she broke down in tears.
She did as San Lai said and went back to Jin Qiang's house to wait. She didn't sleep all night, just sat on the edge of the bed. She didn't dare to sleep. She was afraid the police would suddenly call Jin Qiang in the middle of the night and she'd sleep through it. She was even more afraid of hearing Jin Qiang's phone ring while she was awake.
She took out all the letters from behind the dartboard and read them over and over, one by one. When she saw the line, "I'm sorry, your Chao Chao who misses you," she slid to the floor. The letters scattered around her. She cried her heart out but didn't dare to make a sound, biting the web of her thumb until the back of her hand was marked with a bloody imprint.
She waited in a daze until dawn. The good news was, no police had contacted the family. The bad news was, there was still no news of Jin Chao.
She couldn't just wait by herself anymore; she was on the verge of a breakdown. At six in the morning, she rushed out of the house. As soon as she reached the shop, she saw San Lai's car parked by the road. Jin Fengzi had returned sometime during the night, and neither of them looked like they had slept.
Seeing Jiang Mu's swollen eyes, San Lai couldn't bear it and said, "We've checked all the major hospitals in Tonggang and the surrounding areas. There's no news of him. You have to know, no news is good news, understand?"
Jiang Mu nodded, her lips trembling. Jin Fengzi, smoking a cigarette, looked at her haggard state and asked, "Have you had breakfast?"
Jiang Mu shook her head. San Lai sighed. "She didn't eat last night either."
Jin Fengzi stamped out his cigarette and stood up. "I'll go buy some buns."
San Lai pulled Jiang Mu into the pet shop, settled her on a chair, and handed her a cup of hot water. "Let's wait until after eight when everyone's at work, then we'll go to the police station to ask."
Jiang Mu held the cup and nodded mechanically.
Soon, Jin Fengzi returned with a few buns. Jiang Mu had no appetite. She held a meat bun, tearing off only a tiny piece of the skin after a long while. San Lai looked up at her absent-minded state and said, "Mu Mu, eat something. Don't collapse before we even get any news. We still have to look for him later, you need your strength."
Jiang Mu took his words to heart and began stuffing the meat bun into her mouth in large bites, but she couldn't taste anything. She was just forcing food into her stomach.
San Lai and Jin Fengzi exchanged a glance when they saw the bite mark on the back of her hand, their expressions growing more worried.
Just after she finished eating, Jiang Mu's stomach churned again, feeling as if it were on fire. She stood up, said she was going to wash her hands, and stayed inside for a long time. Worried, San Lai got up and went around the back to check on her. The water was running continuously. She had thrown up everything she had eaten. Her face and hair were dripping wet. She was crouched by the sink, trying not to let them know, not making a sound, but her shoulders were trembling uncontrollably.
San Lai clenched his back teeth and retreated. A short while later, Jiang Mu came out. She had cleaned herself up, tucking her short hair behind her ears, showing no signs of having cried. San Lai, smoking, gave her a silent glance, then looked away as if he hadn't seen anything.
For the entire day, they went to countless police stations. No one had received any report of a car crash explosion the other night. No one had even heard about any street racing.
It wasn't until noon that Jin Chao's phone, which had been out of service, suddenly connected. However, no one answered.
This discovery suddenly energized the three of them, who hadn't slept for two days and a night. If the phone was on Jin Chao during the race, then they could be sure of one thing: the car explosion didn't destroy the phone. In other words, Jin Chao wasn't in the car.
Before they found Jin Chao, this was the best possible guess. Jin Fengzi and San Lai tacitly agreed to tell Jiang Mu this. They could see that the young woman couldn't hold on much longer after running around with them for a day, both mentally and physically. If not for the conviction that she had to find Jin Chao, she might have collapsed at any moment.
Jin Fengzi and San Lai discussed it and decided to personally take Jiang Mu home. They even spoke to Jin Qiang in front of her. Firstly, they were worried about Jiang Mu's current state, and secondly, it would give Jin Qiang a heads-up in case he received a call from the police in the next couple of days.
Jin Qiang was shocked to hear about the incident and said he would report it to the police. Jin Fengzi and San Lai told him they had already been to all the relevant police stations during the day; if the police knew anything, they would have notified him already.
On the third day, they decided to go back to the mountain where the race had been held. They hadn't planned on taking Jiang Mu, but she showed up at the shop before dawn, numbly feeding Shandian and changing his water.
When San Lai opened the door, he saw her crouching at the entrance, hugging Shandian, her eyes vacant as she stared at the quiet morning street. He even wondered if she had slept at all the previous night.
Jin Fengzi had also arrived early. Unwilling to leave Jiang Mu alone, they simply took her with them back to the village near the accident site to find the police station with jurisdiction. Strangely, after asking around, the officers at the local station also knew nothing about the explosion that night. They told them that if they wanted to report a missing person, they should follow the normal procedure after 24 hours, and someone would handle the case.
After leaving the small town police station, San Lai and Jin Fengzi each lit a cigarette at the entrance. Jiang Mu stared blankly at a stray dog in the station's courtyard.
After two days of inquiries, if the three of them hadn't seen Jin Chao's car explode with their own eyes, they would have doubted whether the events of that night had even happened.
So they decided to go back into the mountains to see for themselves. At the edge of the cliff where the explosion occurred, they could still see the dent from the crash and the scorched marks on the surrounding weeds and bushes. But other than that, there wasn't a single piece of car debris on the mountain road. It had been completely cleaned up.
On the way back, the three of them were unusually silent. Nothing was right. It was as if Jin Chao had vanished into thin air. Logically, if he had really died in an accident, his identity should have been confirmed and his family contacted after 40 hours. Even if he had been sent to a hospital, his family should have been notified. How could there be no news at all?
San Lai and Jin Fengzi had already used every connection they had in Tonggang, practically turning the small city upside down, but found nothing. Besides waiting for the police to contact them, they had searched every place they could.
For the past few days, Jiang Mu had been in a daze. When she closed her eyes, she would be jolted awake from sleep within two hours. Once awake, it was hard to fall asleep again. As soon as she entered a state of rest, she would suddenly be plunged into a world of blinding fire and deafening explosions, only to be startled awake again, repeating the cycle.
She still went to the shop at the crack of dawn to take care of Shandian, staying there all day, not speaking or eating much. In just a few days, she had visibly lost a lot of weight, and even the sockets of her eyes had become sunken.
On the afternoon of the fourth day, she was too exhausted to go on. She was resting her head on Shandian and had just closed her eyes when a thought echoed vaguely in her mind. A few minutes later, she shot her eyes open, put Shandian back in the shop, locked the door, and ran towards West Lowland Hollow. That was her last hope. She ran faster and faster under the scorching sun. When she reached the place where the old men usually cooled off and played chess, she asked around and found out that Hai Deye's daughter had taken him on a trip to Guilin a few days ago; he wasn't home.
For the next two days, Jiang Mu would periodically run to West Lowland Hollow to ask if Hai Deye had returned. Finally, on the third day, she ran into Uncle Tao, who was out buying groceries. He told her that Grandpa Hai had returned last night and that she should look for him at the pavilion.
Without even taking the time to thank Uncle Tao, Jiang Mu turned and ran towards the pavilion. In the morning, the pavilion was crowded with old men and women—some playing cards, some playing chess, and some playing with fighting crickets on the side. The spiral pavilion was full of people. Jiang Mu anxiously wove through the crowd. After running for who knows how long, someone under a banyan tree diagonally behind her called out, "Jiang Nanshan."
Jiang Mu turned and saw Hai Deye sitting under the large tree, wearing a vest. Her eyes reddened with emotion. Hai Deye was startled and quickly had the old man next to him take his place. He got up and walked towards Jiang Mu, asking, "I heard you've been looking for me everywhere these past two days? Why are you crying?"
Jiang Mu rubbed her eyes hard and said to him, "I need to find Officer Lu. Grandpa Hai, please help me."
Ten minutes later, Hai Deye personally led Jiang Mu to Officer Lu's parents' home. He knocked on the security door, and Old Father Lu warmly invited Hai Deye in. As old neighbors of many years, he was very familiar with Hai Deye. Hearing that the young lady he brought wanted to find his son, Old Father Lu dialed Officer Lu's number right in front of Hai Deye.
As the "beep" from the receiver sounded, the anxiety of the past few days reached its peak. Jiang Mu's hands were trembling with nervousness. Hai Deye pulled her down to sit on the sofa. The call connected. Jiang Mu jolted and shot up from the sofa again, holding the phone with a strained voice. "Hello, Officer Lu, I'm Jiang Mu."
The person on the other end was surprised, his voice somewhat stern. "How did you find my home?"
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I had no other choice…"
Jiang Mu's voice choked with tears. "Jin Chao, do you know where he is?"
The person on the phone fell silent. A long silence. Jiang Mu felt her soul being slowly drawn from her body. Time stood still; the entire world seemed to freeze. She started to lose her balance, grabbing the corner of a table, her nails digging into her flesh. She asked Officer Lu, "Is he… is he still alive?"
Officer Lu paused for two seconds before telling her, "I'm busy right now. Wait a moment, I'll call you back."
He then hung up. Hai Deye, standing beside her, asked repeatedly, "What on earth happened? Don't worry, come sit down first. I'll have Old Lu's son help you figure something out."
Old Father Lu also chimed in, "That's right, girl, don't be anxious. Come, sit down and have some water first."
For the next few minutes, Jiang Mu sat on the sofa, clutching her phone, not daring to look away for a second. About ten minutes later, Officer Lu called back. Jiang Mu answered immediately. Officer Lu asked, "Jiang Mu, right?"
She held the phone to her ear with both hands and let out a heavy "Mhm." "It's me."
Then, Officer Lu told her, "Jin Chao is fine. Everything is okay. You don't need to worry. As for where he is right now, I can't tell you for the time being. Do you understand what I mean?"
Upon hearing this news, Jiang Mu nodded excitedly again and again, only realizing that Officer Lu couldn't see her when she saw her reflection in the LCD TV screen.
Ever since learning that Jin Chao was safe, Jiang Mu could eat and sleep again, though she still woke up easily. Every day, she would stare at her phone in a daze, sending many messages to Jin Chao. Although they all vanished without a trace, she thought that Jin Chao would eventually see them. As long as he was alive, there would come a day when his business was finished. He would come back, back to her side. He hadn't taken her out to have fun yet, hadn't answered whether he would go to Nanjing with her. She had to wait for him, wait for him to come home.
She still went to the shop every day to take care of Shandian, sitting with him at the entrance all day long. Life seemed to have returned to normal, but her heart felt empty. Other than waiting for Jin Chao's return, she had no interest in anything.
It was Yan Xiaoyi who called to ask about her exam score. Only then did she realize the results were out. She logged in and saw her score was higher than expected, high enough to get her into her ideal university.
She should have been laughing with joy, even celebrating. After all, she had worked harder than others for an extra year, a result earned over four years of effort.
But Jiang Mu sat in front of the computer without a hint of a smile. The person she most wanted to share this with was now missing. Until she saw him with her own eyes, Jiang Mu could not let go of the worry in her heart.
However, what she didn't expect was that on the day after the scores were released, someone appeared at Jin Qiang's house, having flown all the way from distant Australia to China to find her.
Author's Note:
I see that some readers often compare this book to a slice-of-life novel I wrote before. That one was, on the whole, a lighthearted, silly, and satisfying story. But this book is clearly not that. This is a story about ordinary people fighting on the long road to find justice, relying on their own beliefs when faced with injustice. It's not a "cool" story setup, and there are no so-called "golden fingers."
Thank you all for your support of the entire book. There will be no update tomorrow. The day after tomorrow will be the final chapter of the main story.
So—see you the day after tomorrow—
Thank you to the little angels who threw "overlord votes" or irrigated "nutrient solution" for me between 2021-10-11 15:43:32 and 2021-10-12 15:54:24~
Thanks to the little angels who threw grenades: 17444142, Zhao Feige (1 each);
Thanks to the little angels who threw landmines: dandan, Orange Purple, Please Treat Xing Wuqing to Hotpot Too, Everything Goes Smoothly, Ning's Smile, Pau, Peaches Eat More Kiwis (1 each);
Thanks to the little angels who irrigated nutrient solution: Pau, Idly Wandering Fish, Qi lody (10 bottles each); Healer. (9 bottles); Me Who Has No Money But Is Still Subscribing (8 bottles); Persimmons Be As You Wish, Everything Goes Smoothly (5 bottles each); 24118841 (3 bottles); Salted Egg Yolk at 6:30, 45932546 (1 bottle each);
Thank you all very much for your support, I will continue to work hard.
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