Chapter 9
At night, a window in the corner of the room was left open. Moonlight poured in, intermittently obscured by clouds, flickering between light and dark.
On the rooftop, two people moved, one advancing, one retreating, forcing the other towards the edge.
The eyes of the retreating person danced with a frenzied emotion, which seemed to grow even wilder in the rooftop wind. The advancing person’s hands trembled slightly, their eyes fixed on the other without blinking.
The boy backed away step by step towards the edge of the roof. The madness, obsession, and desperation in his eyes intertwined, birthing an even more savage flame.
The wind on the rooftop howled violently, and at this moment, it too felt like a fire, as if it could burn and consume everything.
This was the tallest building in the school, high enough to send a chill up the spine of anyone looking down from the top, high enough to instill an inexplicable sense of fear and despair.
“I’ll give you one more chance!”
The boy’s voice was like a sharp knife in the wind, so piercing it was alarming, chilling to the bone.
His retreating footsteps had already touched the edge of the roof. All it would take was one turn, one final leap.
“No! Don’t jump!” The girl’s voice trembled as she spoke. The boy pointed at her legs, and she immediately dared not move another step.
The whites of her eyes were bloodshot. She stared so hard that her eyes ached, yet she didn’t dare to blink, terrified that in the next instant, the person before her would fall like a bird.
“Jiang Chenyin, promise to marry me, or I’ll jump!” The boy stared at Jiang Chenyin, the veins on the back of his clenched fists bulging.
Jiang Chenyin inched forward, her lips trembling with fear. “You come over here first. We can talk this over. Don’t go any further…”
The boy turned a deaf ear, only shouting sternly, “Promise me! Or I’ll jump!”
His hand was already on the rooftop railing. The faint sound of a clamoring crowd drifted from a distance, with a few clear phrases mixed in.
“Just promise him first, calm him down. Nothing else matters right now.”
“Yeah, just promise him…”
Jiang Chenyin’s heart nearly stopped. She gritted her teeth and said to the boy, “Okay, I promise. Just don’t go any further!”
Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, the boy’s hand did not release the railing. He continued to glare at her.
Jiang Chenyin’s palms were slick with sweat. Just as she was about to move forward, she heard the boy spit out cold, vicious words, each one crystal clear: “Good. Now swear it. If you ever leave me, your parents and your brothers will all be punished for your decision and will never know peace!”
Jiang Chenyin’s whole body shuddered. All the words of persuasion she wanted to say were stuck in her throat.
She just wanted to stabilize the situation. Why had it turned into this? Why did he have to gamble with her family?
The crowd of students, watching from a distance but not daring to get any closer, erupted in an uproar. Still, no one dared to step forward, and no one offered Jiang Chenyin any more advice.
“You don’t dare, do you?” The boy suddenly laughed, a trembling, furious sound. “You’re lying to me! You’re lying to me! You’re still going to leave me… you’ll leave me… you will… Ah!”
His roar lingered in the air above the rooftop. The spot where he had been standing was now empty. The railing still vibrated from the force.
“No!”
Jiang Chenyin stumbled forward, her mind buzzing, as if the world were spinning.
She looked down. The splattered flesh and blood were like a bottomless black hole of fear, boundless and infinite.
The moonlight was obscured by clouds, and the room was plunged into darkness. The distant memory stabbed into Jiang Chenyin’s heart like a sharp blade.
“No… don’t jump… don’t!”
The bedsheet was instantly clenched tight. Jiang Chenyin’s eyes flew open, her heart pounding terrifyingly fast. It was as if she could still hear the howling wind on the rooftop from that year.
“No… no…”
The image before her eyes had not yet faded. The bright red blood, so red it was almost black, was like a seal stamped deep into her soul, never to fade.
The bedside lamp suddenly turned on. A pair of arms wrapped around Jiang Chenyin’s body. She trembled slightly, and then the girl’s clear, bright voice sounded by her ear, “Auntie Yin, what’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?”
She grabbed Bo Muyu’s arm, her breath short, her chest heaving.
“Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. It’s okay,” Bo Muyu hugged Jiang Chenyin tightly, gently pressing her head against her own heart. “It’s just a dream. It’s okay, it’s okay…”
Bo Muyu didn’t know what to say to comfort her, because she didn’t know what kind of dream Jiang Chenyin had had, even though she had seen Jiang Chenyin wake up in such a terrified state before.
Yes, she had seen it once, several years ago. Because it was only once, she remembered it with particular clarity.
That time, too, she had run to Jiang Chenyin’s room to sleep together. In the middle of the night, Jiang Chenyin had started muttering in her sleep, her voice loud enough to wake Bo Muyu, who had just turned over.
The words she had said then were somewhat similar to today’s. It seemed she was trying to persuade someone, but that person wouldn’t listen and was determined to have their own way, until something happened at the end that made Jiang Chenyin wake up in terror.
When she woke up, her forehead was covered in sweat, and she was still panting.
Thinking of this, Bo Muyu did something she hadn’t done last time.
She touched Jiang Chenyin’s forehead. It was a cold sweat.
Jiang Chenyin’s chest rose and fell. Bo Muyu’s comforting words by her ear slowly calmed her down, but her hand still gripped Bo Muyu’s arm tightly.
After calming down for a while, Jiang Chenyin finally spoke, her voice sounding very tired. “I’m sorry, I woke you up.”
“It’s not your fault. Don’t apologize,” Bo Muyu said, shaking her head and taking a tissue from the side to wipe the sweat from her forehead.
Jiang Chenyin forced a smile. “It’s a good thing you don’t have to work tomorrow. Otherwise, if I woke you up and you were tired at work tomorrow, I wouldn’t be able to make it up to you.”
She buried her head a little deeper into Bo Muyu’s embrace, closed her eyes, and sighed softly, as if she hadn’t yet escaped the emotions from just now, looking a little scared.
Bo Muyu pressed her lips together firmly, then asked in a soft voice, “Auntie Yin, was this dream something you experienced?”
Jiang Chenyin’s body stiffened slightly, but she still nodded.
It had happened many years ago. At that time, she was only in her early twenties, just a university student who had not yet stepped into society.
The chirping of the cicadas in late summer was not as loud as in midsummer. Only a few faint sounds drifted in from the window in the corner of the room.
Bo Muyu was still holding Jiang Chenyin, her slightly slender body wrapped around her, one hand gently stroking Jiang Chenyin’s back.
“This dream is not only something I’ve experienced, but it also affects my present, and may even affect my future,” Jiang Chenyin said, her features softening, but her voice held an indescribable emotion. It sounded clear, but the meaning behind the words was hazy.
Listening to this, Bo Muyu didn’t know what it was that touched her heart, but she asked, “Then your not coming back for so many years, does it have anything to do with this dream?”
Jiang Chenyin opened her eyes and said softly, “Yes.”
Bo Muyu pulled her slightly away from her embrace, thought for a moment, and then said, “I thought you left back then because I kissed you…”
Hearing this, Jiang Chenyin recalled, and after a moment of stunned silence, she broke into a laugh and reached out to poke Bo Muyu’s forehead. “How could that be possible?”
Bo Muyu’s cheeks puffed out slightly, then her small, white canine teeth were revealed. “Because right after I kissed you, you left. I even thought that if I hadn’t kissed you, maybe you wouldn’t have left.”
The way she said this, so worried and serious, was a little cute.
No, it was very cute.
Jiang Chenyin’s emotions instantly shifted to focus on Bo Muyu. The lingering fear in her eyes was replaced by a gentle smile.
“How could it be because of you?” She struggled a little against Bo Muyu’s arms, then went to pinch her cheeks. “Why didn’t you ask me then? Didn’t I call you later?”
“But you didn’t tell me yourself,” Bo Muyu retorted, now having something to say on the matter.
How should I explain this to this child?
Jiang Chenyin sighed.
But Bo Muyu didn’t press the issue. Instead, she took her hand and comforted her in a clear, gentle voice, “I only cared if you left because of me. Since it wasn’t, and you’re so scared, then let’s not talk about it.”
“Muyu…”
Bo Muyu shook her hand and slowly began to tell her about her own wild thoughts from back then. “I remember when I heard you had left that day, I was so anxious that I made Mom and Dad bring me to Grandpa Jiang’s. I was afraid you hated me, so I didn’t dare to call you first. I just thought I could ask Grandpa and Grandma Jiang to call you back, and then I could apologize to you…”
Jiang Chenyin burst out laughing. “What silly thoughts. How could I possibly hate you? Since you were little, besides your parents, you’ve spent the most time with me.”
Seeing that she was no longer immersed in the emotions brought on by the dream, Bo Muyu’s eyes sparkled.
“That was the first time I kissed you, so I was very scared and thought that.”
Jiang Chenyin felt both amused and heartbroken. She reached out and pulled her into a hug. “Silly girl. If your parents knew about this, they would laugh for a long time.”
Bo Muyu had been letting her hold her obediently, but upon hearing this, she immediately bit her lip and looked up. “Don’t tell Mom and Dad…”
Jiang Chenyin’s eyes and brows were filled with amusement. Bo Muyu felt shy under her gaze and reached out to turn off the bedside lamp.
As the light dimmed, Jiang Chenyin’s laughter became even softer.
For the entire Sunday, Bo Muyu was passed around by the Jiang family.
First, the two Jiang daughters-in-law wanted to go for a morning run. As it happened, Jiang Chenyin also had a habit of working out. Once Jiang Chenyin joined, Bo Muyu was also invited, and after a little persuasion, she went along.
After the morning run, Jiang Yingzong talked to her about work for a while.
Around noon, Jiang Gaojun was in the kitchen experimenting with ingredients, and she was roped into taste-testing.
In the afternoon, she played chess with Old Master Jiang, and in the evening, she helped tutor Jiang Yixuan with his homework for a while.
And so, Bo Muyu’s weekend at the Jiang family came to an end. To avoid the trouble of going back and forth, she stayed at the Jiang’s on Sunday night, and Jiang Chenyin drove her to work on Monday morning.
“Alright, hurry up and go to work,” Jiang Chenyin said after parking the car, turning to unbuckle Bo Muyu’s seatbelt. “I’ll take your luggage to your house in a bit.”
Bo Muyu pulled her hands back, watched as Jiang Chenyin finished unbuckling her seatbelt and sat back, then said seriously, “I can unbuckle my own seatbelt. I’m not a child.”
Jiang Chenyin smiled. “I’m used to it. I can’t change it all at once. But it doesn’t matter, it’s not a big deal. Just a habit.”
Although she said she wasn’t a child anymore, as Jiang Chenyin leaned over, she obediently put her hands behind her back just like before, waiting for Jiang Chenyin to unbuckle her seatbelt.
Bo Muyu’s hands fidgeted on her knees. She bit her lip, and as if having made a decision, she took a set of keys out of her pocket.
“What’s wrong?” Jiang Chenyin asked.
“These are the keys to your place,” Bo Muyu said, holding them out. “The apartment you have in the city. You gave them to me when I just started university. Now that you’re back and I’ve graduated, I should give them back to you.”
Jiang Chenyin remembered. At the time, she had said that if Bo Muyu ever didn’t want to stay in the school dormitory or at home, she could go to her place. No one would bother her, it was very quiet, and she could go anytime.
She glanced out the window, then smiled at Bo Muyy. Her long, silky black curls were spread out, her eyes like stars.
“You don’t have to give them back. We don’t need to be so formal with each other.” She pushed Bo Muyu’s open palm back, then closed it, making Bo Muyu grip the keys again.
Her palm was warm. Bo Muyu was momentarily captivated by the feeling and stood there in a daze.
“Hurry up and go to work. If you don’t go now, you’ll be late,” Jiang Chenyin reminded her with a faint smile, withdrawing her hand.
“Okay. Goodbye, Auntie Yin,” Bo Muyu said, snapping out of it. She lowered her head to say goodbye, then hurriedly got out of the car.
She clutched the keys tightly in her hand, remembering an idea she’d had before.
She wanted to move out of her parents’ house, but she had never gotten around to it. Today, when she tried to return the keys, Jiang Chenyin wouldn’t take them. The idea in her heart was stirring again.
She wanted to move out and be more independent. But she also wanted to live with Jiang Chenyin, to be able to go to work together, eat together, watch TV together.
However, those two things seemed a bit contradictory.
