Speed and Love

Jin Chao didn't seem to want to stay long with Jiang Mu. After handing her the fried rice, his fingers unconsciously tapped the cigarette box beside him, as if urging her to eat quickly. Unable to finish, Jiang Mu took only two bites before telling the server, "To go."

She thought it would be wise to pack it up, just in case she had to eat dumplings again tomorrow for lunch.

The guys across the table found it amusing to see the girl eat so delicately and stop after just a few bites. As soon as Jin Chao stood up to leave with her, the man wearing the jade pendant teased him, "Your little sister is easy to feed, huh?"

Jin Chao pulled out his phone, scanned the QR code to pay, and casually replied, "Want to take her in?"

Jiang Mu didn't expect the man to actually respond, "Sure."

Then he glanced at Jiang Mu and said, "Come with me, little girl. I'll treat you to the best food and drinks, guaranteed to fatten you up fair and plump. How about it?"

Jiang Mu instinctively shifted a step behind Jin Chao. The three men at the table laughed, and Jin Chao's lips curved slightly. He picked up the takeout container and pushed back his chair. Suddenly remembering something, he turned to Jiang Mu and asked, "Does your mouth still hurt?"

Jiang Mu had completely forgotten about it after a night's sleep. She touched her lips and said, "Seems like it doesn't hurt anymore."

Jin Chao gave a noncommittal "Hmm" and looked at Jin Fengzi. He said to Jiang Mu, "Pay him back."

Jiang Mu was taken aback. She thought Jin Chao was joking with her yesterday. Staring at the Guan Yu statue twice her size, she really couldn't bring herself to do it.

Jin Fengzi looked up, baffled. "What's going on?"

Jin Chao's eyelids lowered slightly. A pair of chopsticks rested near the edge of the table. He flicked the ends, sending them flying toward Jin Fengzi and striking his left arm with a sharp "crack," like the sound of a whip. Jin Fengzi shuddered, his bulky frame trembling in surprise as he stared at Jin Chao. "What was that for?"

Jin Chao replied indifferently, "Killing mosquitoes."

Then he said to the others, "I'm off. You guys keep drinking."

As soon as he left, the three men exchanged glances, their eyes simultaneously falling on the pile of picked-out scallions, ginger, and garlic.

The man with the large jade pendant couldn't help but remark, "What's the deal with that girl? How come You Jiu is so concerned about her?"

Jin Fengzi rubbed his reddened arm, adopting a spectator's tone. "Who knows? Should I tell Little Green Snake to show my loyalty?"

"Drink up, drink up..." The group of men burst into laughter together.

...

On the way back, Jin Chao didn't take the main road but chose a shortcut instead. The area was an old, unredeveloped urban village with rows of low houses and numerous narrow alleys between them. As soon as Jiang Mu followed Jin Chao into one of these alleys, she couldn't help but smile.

Jin Chao, half a step ahead of her, glanced back. "What's so funny?"

Jiang Mu's round eyes curved into crescent moons as she deliberately suppressed her smile. "So many mosquitoes."

A hint of amusement also appeared in Jin Chao's eyes. The two walked half a person's distance apart in the dimly lit alley. There were no streetlights, and the moonlight had retreated behind the clouds. Under normal circumstances, Jiang Mu would never venture into such an alley so late at night. But with Jin Chao by her side, she didn't feel the slightest bit of danger, even though she knew nothing about this place.

Still, she remained intensely curious about that life-risking matter. Adopting a deliberately casual tone, she asked, "What are you doing tomorrow?"

"Working."

"What kind of work?"Jin Chao didn't speak, so Jiang Mu asked again, "What about the day after tomorrow?"

Jin Chao glanced sideways at her. "Got something going on?"

"Not... not really. I just wanted to ask what you usually do."

"Make money."

After saying that, Jin Chao stopped walking and said to her, "Walk in front."

Jiang Mu, confused, took a few steps forward and turned back to look at him. Jin Chao stood in the dimly lit alley, lighting a cigarette. His shadow stretched long at his feet, and then he lifted his head, blowing smoke faintly in her direction as he said, "Keep walking."

The smoke drifted behind Jin Chao. He stayed behind her while Jiang Mu walked ahead. At turns, Jin Chao would remind her, "Left" or "Right."

Jiang Mu continued asking, "Besides making money, do you do anything else?"

There was no sound from behind. Unwilling to give up, Jiang Mu turned to look at him. Jin Chao remained unhurriedly behind her, his gaze calm and fixed on her. When she turned back, he waited a few seconds before speaking, "Yeah, eating, drinking, sleeping, wandering—which one are you asking about?"

Jiang Mu turned back and continued walking. She knew there was no way she could get anything out of Jin Chao.

Silently, Jiang Mu hugged her arms. Her legs beneath her T-shirt were covered in goosebumps from the cold. It was strange—back in Suzhou, even a walk at night would leave her drenched in sweat. But in Tonggang, despite the scorching daytime sun, as soon as it set, it turned chilly, leaving Jiang Mu unsure what to wear when going out.

Ahead was a ditch. Jiang Mu stopped and turned to ask Jin Chao, "Which way?"

Jin Chao said to her, "Straight ahead."

"I can't go straight ahead."

Jin Chao stopped a few steps behind her, finishing his last drag of the cigarette as he watched her shiver, her slender arms and legs exposed and pale, looking as if they could snap with a pinch. She wasn't like this as a child—her chubby little legs and arms were like segments of lotus root. A fleeting softness, long absent, flashed in Jin Chao's eyes before vanishing just as quickly. He crushed the cigarette butt and said to her, "Wear more when you go out at night. The temperature difference here is big."

With that, he stepped across to the other side, leaving Jiang Mu stunned. She stood dumbfounded by the ditch, staring at Jin Chao on the other side, and asked, "How do I get across?"

Jin Chao replied, "Walk over."

Jiang Mu eyed the distance of the ditch and timidly asked, "Aren't you going to give me a hand?"

Unexpectedly, Jin Chao, holding a takeout box in one hand and slipping the other into his pocket, replied indifferently, "I've got thorns on me."

Jiang Mu immediately thought of how she had exaggeratedly shaken him off when crossing the street earlier, which had come off as somewhat off-putting.

But now, lowering her head to beg Jin Chao for help was out of the question. She glanced left, then right, and prepared to detour.

Jin Chao, standing on the other side, leisurely reminded her, "That way's blocked."

Before Jiang Mu could look the other way, Jin Chao added slowly, "The other way leads back."

Jiang Mu blew at the bangs by her cheek and suddenly started backing up. Jin Chao raised an eyebrow, watching her quietly as she retreated several steps, then suddenly accelerated and charged toward the ditch.

The long jump had been tested back in middle school. Though she had needed a retake back then, years had passed, and she had grown taller. With a misplaced confidence, she ran to the edge of the ditch and leaped with all her might.She had put considerable force into the jump and her expression was perfectly executed, yet she barely cleared any distance. Just as her feet were about to land in the stinky ditch, Jin Chao reached out and pulled her back.

By the time Jiang Mu’s feet were firmly planted on the ground, her heart was still pounding wildly, a lingering sense of panic washing over her. Jin Chao, however, had already released her and turned to walk ahead, leaving her with nothing but his retreating figure and a casual remark: "Limb coordination issues."

Jiang Mu’s face flushed instantly. The memory traced back to her first year of elementary school, when Jin Chao was already in sixth grade. His classmates, having heard that his little sister had just started first grade, asked him during calisthenics which one was his sister.

Jin Chao glanced at the tiny figure in the Class 3, Grade 1 lineup and chuckled, "The one moving her same-side arm and leg together."

For an entire year after that, many of the older sixth-grade boys would call her "Same-Side Arm and Leg" whenever they saw her. They’d even gather around to teach her how to march in place, while Jin Chao stood outside the circle, watching her with an amused grin.

Back then, she hadn’t thought much of it, but as she grew older, she realized how utterly humiliating it was to be taught how to march in place by a group of older boys.

She had nearly forgotten about it, but Jin Chao’s comment about her "limb coordination issues" brought back the memory of her inherent shortcomings. As a child, she had inexplicably believed that once she grew up, she would naturally become as athletic as her brother—after all, they were siblings, sharing the same genes. It was only now that she understood it would never happen.

Sure enough, the path was short. After crossing the ditch, they reached the opposite side of the neighborhood. Jin Chao’s phone rang, and with his long strides, he walked ahead to answer it. Jiang Mu couldn’t tell who was on the other end, but she overheard him saying:

"Not a big issue. Bring it over tomorrow, and I’ll take a look."

"I’ll be around these days. If I’m not here, look for Xiao Yang."

"Next month? It depends on the date. I might be away for a few days then. You’d better come earlier."

Jiang Mu followed behind Jin Chao until they entered the building and stopped at their doorstep. Only then did Jin Chao hang up. He took out his keys and unlocked the door. The living room was just as Jiang Mu had left it—quiet, with only the faint ticking of the second hand on the wall. She glanced at the clock; it was almost two in the morning.

Jiang Mu went into the bathroom to brush her teeth again. When she came out, she realized Jin Chao hadn’t left. The lights in the living room were still off, and he was sitting on the sofa, scrolling through his phone.

She walked over to him and asked in a hushed voice, "Where are you staying tonight?"

The glow from his phone cast alternating shadows and light across his face, sharpening his features. Without looking up, he replied, "Don’t worry about me. I’ll sit here for a bit and then leave."

Jiang Mu pressed further, "Do you have a place to stay outside?"

At that, Jin Chao flipped his phone over, and the light vanished abruptly, plunging them both into darkness. She saw him curve his lips into a faint smile, his voice low and magnetic: "Why? Want to stay at my place?"

Their gazes locked silently for a few seconds before Jiang Mu was the first to look away. She understood what Jin Chao meant—he was likely testing whether she was uncomfortable staying here. But her thoughts began to wander uncontrollably.

Fortunately, the darkness of the living room concealed her expression well. She averted her eyes and tossed out two words: "Goodbye."

Then she headed straight to her room. By the time she lay down again, she was already feeling drowsy, though she still subconsciously listened for any sounds outside. About ten minutes later, the front door finally creaked open. Only after Jin Chao had left did Jiang Mu drift into a muddled sleep.The next morning, she noticed the black camouflage gift box that had been on the living room display stand was gone. Jiang Mu felt some relief from the restless irritation that had built up over the past two days.

But her relief was short-lived, as a series of maddening incidents followed. For instance, during summer she typically showered twice a day at home—once after waking up and again before bed—with a minimum of once daily. After arriving here, she discovered Zhao Meijuan and the others showered only once every three days. Although the climate here differed from Jiangnan, going two days without a shower in the height of summer felt like losing half her life.

What tormented her more was that every time she showered, Zhao Meijuan would stare at her with a "Is there mud on you?" look, making Jiang Mu feel like taking a shower was preparing for battle, requiring steadfast mental fortitude.

Then, with Jin Qiang away from home, she had to spend long periods with Zhao Meijuan and the little monster. The key issue was that the little monster mostly ignored her, and she could barely understand Zhao Meijuan’s dialect.

Once, Zhao Meijuan pointed at her and shouted, "Yào dūn dì."

Jiang Mu struggled to comprehend for a while, thinking she meant "squatting," and waved her hand saying, "I don’t want to squat."

Zhao Meijuan grew frantic and yelled, "Dūn dì!"

Seeing how urgent she seemed, Jiang Mu held back a retort and squatted right where she was. After squatting for a long time, she realized "dūn dì" actually meant "mopping the floor"—Zhao Meijuan was telling her to move aside. Jiang Mu walked back to her room as if nothing happened, but that evening Zhao Meijuan told Jin Qiang, "Your daughter is acting neurotic."

Jin Qiang tried to comfort her, "Be understanding. She didn’t do well on the college entrance exam and might have taken it hard."

Jiang Mu knew nothing of this and tried to shut herself in her room as much as possible, minimizing how often she came out. Sometimes, aside from meals and bathroom breaks, she’d be unseen all day.

When Zhao Meijuan asked Jin Chao to fetch medicine, she added on her way downstairs, "That girl probably has depression or something—she doesn’t leave her room all day."

Jin Chao glanced up at the tightly drawn curtains on the fifth floor, listening to Zhao Meijuan’s endless complaints, especially when she exaggerated, "She doesn’t go out but still showers every day. Isn’t she going to scrub her skin raw?"

Without expression, Jin Chao looked away and said, "What’s more valuable, water or a life?"

Zhao Meijuan shot back, "What a stupid question."

"Then let her shower. Didn’t you say she might have depression? Aren’t you afraid she’ll get so depressed from not showering that she locks herself in and tries to harm herself?"

Zhao Meijuan paled at this and hurried home. That evening, when Jiang Mu still hadn’t come out to shower by nine o’clock, Zhao Meijuan specially knocked on her door twice to remind her, "The water’s heated. Hurry up and take a shower."