After returning home, Jiang Mu did receive a report about Jin Chao's physical condition—many pages that left her utterly confused. She eventually had to search online and call an old classmate to fully understand the report, a process that took several days.
She had assumed the accident only cost Jin Chao a leg, but after comprehending the report, she realized that was merely the visible damage. The incident initially caused systemic injuries throughout his body, with brain tissue compression leading to a period of coma. That was why they couldn’t reach him after the accident.
Additionally, he suffered multiple fractures, frequent local swelling during long-term recovery, joint pain restricting movement, followed by decreased muscle strength, and prolonged phantom limb pain.
"Based on his medical history, this person crawled back from death's door. It’s quite difficult for him to be like a normal person. Given the state you described, his current recovery is the result of tremendous effort."
These were her classmate’s exact words, and none of it had crossed Jiang Mu’s mind. Worse than losing a leg were the irreversible aftereffects he endured.
Since reuniting with Jin Chao, he had always acted normally around her, making it hard to detect any differences. But falling ill after their windy mountain hike—without telling her—showed he didn’t want her to know his true condition too quickly.
The more she learned, the more oppressed Jiang Mu felt. She suddenly understood why Jin Chao said he’d wait for her to process things before explaining gradually. Indeed, each revelation weighed heavily, making it hard to breathe, and giving her a new awareness of what lay ahead.
After urgently completing Subject One this week, Jiang Mu threw herself into Subject Two practice. Combined with heavy team tasks, several overtime shifts, and driving lessons, her schedule became packed.
On Wednesday, she received a call from her classmate, and on Thursday, she researched the details her classmate mentioned online. She planned to discuss it properly with Jin Chao over the weekend after the busy week.
However, on Friday, Gu Zhijie needed to host out-of-town visitors for an observatory tour. The leadership wanted two presentable representatives for the institute’s image, and Gu Zhijie immediately thought of Jiang Mu. He went to her team to borrow her, and though the researcher was reluctant, Gu Zhijie promised to treat everyone to dinner that evening.
Once in Gu Zhijie’s car after leaving the institute, he chuckled, "Pretty considerate, right? Knowing you’ve been swamped, I got you out for a break."
Jiang Mu, thinking about the work awaiting her return, couldn’t hide her resentment: "Thanks a lot."
Gu Zhijie laughed heartily, "You’re welcome."
Unexpectedly, that afternoon on the mountain, she received a call from Jin Chao. He asked, "What time do you finish work?"
Jiang Mu glanced at the group interacting with the guide in the distance and replied, "I’m arranging a tour of the observatory for some visitors. It’ll be a while before they leave."
Jin Chao said, "Then focus on your work," and hung up.
Standing in the open area before the meteorite exhibit hall, Jiang Mu gazed at the distant sky, lost in thought, until Gu Zhijie approached and said, "They have other plans later. We’ll leave after seeing them off. Feel like hot pot tonight?"Seeing Jiang Mu constantly looking up, he couldn't help but tilt his head toward the sky and asked inexplicably, "What are you looking at?"
The light in Jiang Mu's eyes suddenly brightened, and a radiant smile appeared on her face—brief, before she composed her expression and turned to Gu Zhijie, saying, "I'm fine with anything."
Gu Zhijie glanced up at the sky again. The visibility was quite high today, with the crisp autumn air, but he couldn't spot anything out of the ordinary, so he turned and went inside.
After a while, the visitors decided to take some photos inside, so Gu Zhijie and Jiang Mu stepped out, intending to wait for them at the main entrance.
Gu Zhijie teased Jiang Mu, "Don't spend all your time busy with getting a driver's license. You're not getting any younger—consider finding a boyfriend."
Jiang Mu shot back, "You're a few years older than me, and you're not in a hurry. How can you have the nerve to say that to me?"
As they bantered, a figure stood beneath the distant red maple tree. His dark overcoat accentuated his refined and steady demeanor. He seemed to have been standing there for a while, his gaze fixed on them.
Jiang Mu's steps faltered slightly, her smile froze, and her face instantly turned pale. She hurried toward him and asked anxiously, "Why are you here?"
Jin Chao glanced at the man following behind her and replied in a low voice, "Just came to see you."
Jiang Mu grew agitated, "Couldn't you wait for me at the foot of the mountain? How did you get up here?"
Jin Chao, with his hands tucked into his overcoat pockets, replied calmly, "By cable car."
Gu Zhijie, overhearing Jiang Mu's exaggerated reaction, immediately laughed, "Why are you so nervous about someone coming up the mountain?"
Jiang Mu glanced at Gu Zhijie but didn't continue the topic. Jin Chao turned his gaze and asked, "And this is...?"
Gu Zhijie introduced himself, "Gu Zhijie."
Then he nudged Jiang Mu and whispered, "Who is he?"
Jiang Mu tilted her head and quickly mouthed, "My ex-boyfriend from a week ago."
Gu Zhijie immediately wore a look of sudden understanding. When he turned to Jin Chao again, he sized him up from head to toe and remarked, "I've heard so much about you."
Jin Chao, however, seemed unfamiliar with him and merely asked, "Half-colleague is...?"
Gu Zhijie explained, "I'm Jiang Mu's senior. Although we don't work together, I did kind of lure her to Nanjing. We're in the same broad field, so you could say we're half-colleagues."
Jin Chao didn't respond, his gaze drifting to Jiang Mu's face with an elusive intensity. Jiang Mu suddenly recalled the day Jin Chao returned her pen at the coffee shop, where she had fabricated that "coming to Nanjing for work was because of him."
Although that "him" was fictional, Gu Zhijie's words now made it strangely coincidental.
Jiang Mu suddenly understood the meaning behind his gaze and lowered her head, chuckling.
Seeing that neither of them spoke, Gu Zhijie felt a bit out of place and turned to Jiang Mu, saying, "Don't bother coming over later. Xiao Qin and I will see them off. Are we having dinner together tonight?"
Jiang Mu replied, "Let's confirm by phone later."
"Alright," Gu Zhijie responded, then turned to Jin Chao and said, "I have other guests to attend to, so I'll head over now."
Jin Chao gave a slight nod.
After Gu Zhijie left, Jiang Mu walked up to Jin Chao and asked, "Have you been up here before? I mean, have you taken the cable car up here before?"
"No."
Jin Chao lowered his gaze to look at her. She was wearing beige high-waisted pants and a light blue shirt, her long hair cascading over her shoulders, elegant and enchanting.
The wind lifted her hair, and its faint fragrance made him instinctively reach out to tidy the strands that had been swept behind her by the breeze.When Jiang Mu turned around, he had already slipped his hands back into his overcoat pockets. She asked him, "Since you've never been here, would you like to look around?"
"If it's convenient for you," Jin Chao said.
"What if it weren't convenient? What if I were still working? Wouldn't your trip up here be a waste?"
Jin Chao repeated, "I told you, I just came up to see you."
"Just to see me? Why?"
Jin Chao's gaze fell on the distant blue glazed tiles, his eyes deep and thoughtful. "To see if you've been scared off by me."
Jiang Mu was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "And what did you find out?"
Jin Chao gave a faint smile without answering, stopping before a bronze celestial globe and reading the description beside it, appearing genuinely interested.
Although Jiang Mu hadn't been in Nanjing for long, this wasn't her first time at the observatory, so she could somewhat act as a guide. She explained that the 1,449 bronze nails represented stars visible to the naked eye, described how the instrument operated, and outlined the method for estimating the relative coordinates between stars.
To her surprise, Jin Chao understood immediately and even asked if the framework consisted of the meridian circle and the horizon circle, which caught Jiang Mu off guard.
She had only casually asked if he wanted to look around, but he was seriously exploring the place.
As they descended the staircase, Jin Chao asked her, "What's the focus of your current work?"
Jiang Mu replied, "The place I'm at mainly researches the dynamics of various celestial systems."
Then she glanced sideways at him. "To be precise, you were my enlightenment teacher.""
Jin Chao couldn't help but recall how she struggled with physics during her senior year of high school and laughed. He then turned to look at her, his gaze so profound it seemed to hold countless unspoken thoughts, and asked, "Have you been very busy lately?"
Jiang Mu's heart tightened. She had indeed been busy the past couple of days, and it wasn't until yesterday that she fully understood the report. She hadn't expected that such a short time would make Jin Chao uneasy.
She avoided the question and asked instead, "Let me ask you something. If I really had a fiancé who played games and chased women, like I mentioned before, what would you do?"
Jin Chao looked into her eyes with a faint smile. "Do you want the truth?"
"Of course."
"I'd make you willingly ditch that man before you married him."
"And then? Make me willingly come to you?"
Jin Chao didn't answer, but the smile in his eyes deepened.
Jiang Mu pressed on, "What if I really was scared by that report and wanted to back out?"
Jin Chao tensed his jaw, a self-mocking curve appearing at the corner of his lips. "I should still have time to catch the last cable car down the mountain."
Jiang Mu shot him a fierce glare and strode ahead down the steps. Then, remembering he might worry if he couldn't catch up, she paused after two steps against the stepped backdrop that outlined his tall, slender figure. He walked toward her against the light and asked, "So, have you made up your mind?"
A faint, almost imperceptible smile flickered in Jiang Mu's eyes. "I'll take you somewhere."
Following the heavy rubble-built wall, they stepped onto the boardwalk. Jiang Mu led Jin Chao all the way to the innermost part, stopping before a staircase. Dusk was approaching, and the tourists were gradually thinning out. She said to him, "My answer is up there."
Gazing into her sparkling eyes, Jin Chao slowly began to ascend the steps.As the final step vanished from sight, a vast observation deck unfolded before them, offering a panoramic view of the entire Jinling city. The landscape breathed with majestic grandeur, where six dynasties had once coiled like dragons.
Jiang Mu walked to Jin Chao’s side and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him. The evening glow cascaded for miles, dyeing the entire city in crimson hues. She lifted her head toward the horizon, a soft smile glimmering in her eyes. "Do you see anything?" she asked.
Jin Chao followed her gaze. On the other side of the setting sun, a faint, mirror-like silhouette of the moon hung in the sky.
She said to him, "At this time every year, the orbital cycles of Earth around the Sun and the Moon around Earth shift, allowing both the sun and the moon to appear simultaneously on the horizon. This creates the natural phenomenon known as 'sun and moon shining together.'
Even the alternation of the sun and moon—a law of nature—is not absolute, let alone human beings.
Do you know what this is called?"
Jin Chao turned his gaze to her.
Her delicate face shone with a resolute light as she told him, "Chao is the sun, Mu is the moon. Sun and moon shining together—day after day, night after night."
The radiance of both sun and moon poured into Jin Chao’s eyes, blooming into the most touching brilliance in this world.
He reached out and firmly grasped the hand of the person beside him, reserved.
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