T/N: Only one update today, I'm too busy with my school works so, I didn't had the time to update.

    Jiang Mu's picky eating habits have not improved much even after she grew up, especially in vegetables. She will not touch green peppers, chrysanthemums, celery, and carrots. She will not eat mutton and goose meat. She will not spit out the seeds of watermelons. She finds grapes troublesome. Kiwis make her throat itchy. She only eats crispy apples and cannot eat a single bite of flat apples.

    She has been scolded by Jiang Yinghan since she was a child. When she was a little older, although Jiang Yinghan would not force her to eat those hard-to-swallow foods so harshly, he would always say, "Who dares to marry you in the future? How can I live with you if you refuse to eat this and that?"

    Jiang Mu never thought about such a long-term thing. She always replied nonchalantly, "Then I won't get married. It's good for me to live with you for the rest of my life."

    But when she said this, she never thought that her mother would get married first and leave her one day.

    Jiang Mu finished her bowl of rice quickly, but she didn't eat much of the dishes. She just stared at the potatoes in the big pot and ate them. When she put down her chopsticks, others hadn't started yet.

    Seeing that she had finished eating, Jin Chao stood up and walked to the inner room. After a while, he brought out a bag and handed it to her: "See if you can wear it."

    Jiang Mu took the bag and opened it to see that it was the school uniform of the affiliated middle school. She took out the clothes, a dark red top with white stripes, and the school emblem of the affiliated middle school embroidered on the chest. The school uniform was very clean and there was a faint smell of laundry detergent, just like new.

    Seeing this, Xiao Yang interrupted: "This is really my master's best treasure. I thought he was going to attend a class reunion, and I almost put it in the washing machine with his work clothes."

    Jiang Mu smelled the fresh smell of laundry detergent and said, "It's okay, it's quite clean."

    Xiao Yang replied: "Of course it's clean, my master took it out separately and washed it by hand."

    Jiang Mu was slightly stunned and looked at Jin Chao. Jin Chao was holding a beer in one hand with a faint expression.

    San Lai smiled and said, "I thought so. I saw the school uniform hanging at the door a few days ago, and I was tempted to try it on. But your master scolded me for being a jerk and touching his things. It turns out he was going to give it away."

    After that, San Lai looked at Jiang Mu with a smile and said to her, "Take good care of this school uniform. Youjiu himself didn't even have the chance to wear it. It's the only one. I forgot to tell you that I also graduated from the affiliated high school. According to seniority, you should call me senior San Lai."

    Before Jiang Mu could react, Jin Chao said, "Go home early after dinner."

    Jiang Mu folded the school uniform again and put it in the bag. She looked up at Jin Chao and said, "Can I finish my homework here before going back?"

    Jiang Mu could not discern any emotion in Jin Chao's eyes. This was the biggest difference she felt when she met Jin Chao again.

    In the past, Jin Chao's eyes were bright. She could feel the richness of him through the window in his eyes. Whether he was passionate or depressed, his emotions were always vivid. But now, the light in his eyes disappeared. No matter when you look at him, his eyes are always dull, as if all his experiences were hidden under his dark pupils, without any waves or peek.

    Jin Chao just stared back at her, decadent and cold. Jiang Mu did not dodge at all. The two seemed to be competing silently.

    Xiao Yang and Tie Gong Ji were confused and thought Jiang Mu was Yiujiu's sister. It seemed that Youjiu was reluctant to keep anyone here, so they didn't say much. Only San Lai kept drinking with his head down, a mocking smile on his face.

    After a while, Jin Chao spoke first, saying in a relaxed tone: "Call back and tell them."

    Jiang Mu nodded, got up and walked to the maintenance room. San Lai spoke to ease the atmosphere: "The cats in my shop eat more than her."

    Jin Chao tilted his head and glanced at her small body, his eyes dim.

    Jiang Mu called Jin Qiang and told her that she was doing homework in Jin Chao's shop. Jin Qiang asked her why she went to Jin Chao's place? She said that she came to eat because she was hungry after school. Jin Qiang didn't say much.

    After coming to Tonggang, every day except for school, she went back to that home. Jiang Mu wanted to go back later today. It's not that Zhao Meijuan treated her badly. In fact, she didn't know what Zhao Meijuan's attitude towards her was. It's not that she was enthusiastic, but she was not welcoming. She would also boil water for her to take a bath. Her attitude towards herself has always been confusing, so Jiang Mu didn't know how to get along with her.

    Most of the time when she looked at Zhao Meijuan, Jin Qiang and Jin Xin, she would feel that they were a family.

    For so many years, her mother has been raising her alone, and her father has already started a family. The picture that used to exist only in her mind is now often spread out in front of her, vivid and real, making her feel out of place.

    But on the other hand, her mother's upcoming future makes her depressed, worried, and anxious.

    She doesn't know how Jin Chao faced all this in the past? Faced with Jin Qiang starting a family with another woman, and facing the departure of his once familiar family, would he feel uncomfortable? Would he be as depressed as she is at some point?

    She had no way to find out, and just wanted to escape for a short time, so she sat in the messy lounge and wrote questions. From time to time, she could look up through the glass and see Jin Chao and others drinking and chatting at the door of the store, which filled her heart with some lively fireworks. At least, in this unfamiliar place, she felt less lonely and adrift.

    They drank until almost nine o'clock. After packing up, the stingy man left. Xiaoyang was still staying in the maintenance room with Jin Chao to do some finishing work. They did not go into the lounge to disturb Jiang Mu. Through the glass window, they could see that she kept her head down and was very focused, flipping through the test papers from time to time.

    At about ten o'clock, Sanlai knocked on the glass twice from outside. Jiang Mu heard the sound and looked up. She saw Sanlai holding two Cornettos in his hand. He raised them and shouted to her, "Come out and have a cold drink. Don't learn stupid things."

    Jiang Mu put down his pen, opened the door and walked out. Sanlai handed the Cornetto in his right hand to Jiang Mu and said to her, "There's only one with chocolate flavor. Here you go."

    Jiang Mu asked in surprise, "How do you know I like chocolate?"

    "Youjiu asked me to take it."

    Jiang Mu turned around to look for Jin Chao and found that he was not in the maintenance room. She couldn't help asking, "Where is he?"

    Sanlai said casually, "He's busy in the back. Do you want to go to my shop and play?"

    Jiang Mu did not refuse. She tore open the wrapping paper of the Cornetto and followed Sanlai to the pet shop next door. As soon as the door opened, the cats and dogs went crazy, making all kinds of strange noises. Jiang Mu watched Sanlai stop, stretch out his arms and wave them high, like an elegant conductor.

    The key point is that his dressing style is not elegant at all, and there are a pair of blue and white slippers on his feet, which makes this scene look particularly like a charlatan.

    Surprisingly, his trick is very effective. The pet shop returned to silence and all the little things stopped barking.

    Jiang Mu asked in surprise: "How did you do it?"

    San Lai turned around, covered his heart and said to her: "As a king, playing in the wild is a necessary skill."

    "...Have you played too many games?"

    San Lai smiled and said: "The industry is not doing well now, but you don't have to play more games to pass these boring and lonely days. Just look at it."

    Jiang Mu walked to a glass cabinet. There were quite a few popular cats in the store, including a few blue cats, blue and white, and American shorthairs, but the cats here were all lying on their backs, looking like they were professionally burned out. No matter how Jiang Mu teased them against the glass, they didn't want to pay attention to her.

    She finished eating the cute doll in her hand, and Sanlai waved at her from inside: "Come over here and take a look."

    Jiang Mu saw a fence inside, so she walked over and looked inside. It turned out that there was a golden retriever lying inside, the Miss Shih Tzu they had been discussing during the meal.

    In front of the Shih Tzu were four small puppies drinking milk. The strange thing was that although it was a golden retriever mother, the puppies she gave birth to were spotted, gray, and had different fur colors, and there was even one pure black.

    I don't know if it was because it looked too weird, but the pure black one was always pushed out by its brothers and sisters. Its golden retriever mother seemed to dislike it a little. The little black dog went to find its mother several times, but its little legs were so weak that it couldn't walk steadily and fell on its back. It was both sad and funny.

    Jiang Mu pointed at the little black puppy and said, "Why doesn't its mother take care of it?"

    San Lai glanced at it and said, "Even people can't treat everyone equally, let alone dogs. This black puppy died just after it was born and was carried to the door of the store by Shih Shi. I picked it up and saved it."

    Jiang Mu squatted down and looked at it, "How pitiful."

    San Lai bent down and scooped up the little black puppy. Shih Shi just glanced at it lazily and didn't protect the cub. Jiang Mu came over, and San Lai saw that she was interested, so she handed the little black puppy to her, "Hold it".

    Jiang Mu carefully took the little black puppy and held it in her palm. She had never held a puppy that was only two days old, and her heart melted when she touched this little thing. The little black puppy's body was soft, and as soon as it touched Jiang Mu's little head, it kept searching and sniffing at Jiang Mu, so adorable. Jiang Mu was tickled by it, and she couldn't help but curled the corners of her mouth and lowered her head to rub it gently.

    She remembered something and said to Sanlai, "When I was a kid, I also met a black puppy in my neighborhood. It followed me all the way, but my mother wouldn't let me keep it."

    Jiang Mu only told half of the story. The other half was that she and Jin Chao played dirty and brought back a stray dog. Seeing this, Jiang Yinghan was so angry that she asked them to throw the dog away. Jiang Mu cried amd dragged Jin Chao.

    Jin Chao couldn't decide whether to keep the puppy. He said he would take Mu Mu downstairs to let the puppy go. In the end, he ran to find a cardboard box and hid the puppy under the bridge behind the community. Every day after school, the two of them went to the store mysteriously to buy sausages and ran to feed the puppy. They also named it Lightning. At that time, they both thought the name was cool, but the puppy disappeared after a few days of feeding, and they never saw it again.

    Sanlai suddenly smiled and said, "Want to keep one? I'll give it to you."

    Although Jiang Mu has always liked small animals, she has never kept one seriously. She mentioned it to Jiang Yinghan when she was in junior high school, but her mother rejected it outright. Jiang Yinghan is a woman who is extremely meticulous about her life. She does not allow pet hair and smell to appear in her home. Therefore, keeping small animals has never been considered by Jiang Yinghan.

    Now she lives in Jin Qiang's house. In a way, she is like an outsider. How can she bring a pet back? She said to Sanlai, "Thank you, I have no place to keep one."

    Then she gently sent Xiao Hei back to its mother. A strange scene happened. The little black dog had just been put down by Jiang Mu, and it was crawling to find her again. Even San Lai found it strange.

    Jiang Mu stretched out a finger to it, and the little thing's head immediately rested on her finger. The soft touch went straight to Jiang Mu's heart, making her feel compassionate.

    There were two knocks on the glass door of the pet shop. They turned around at the same time and saw that Jin Chao had put Jiang Mu's things into her schoolbag. He stood at the door of the store with the schoolbag and said to her, "Let's go."

    San Lai suddenly bent down and said to Jiang Mu, "If you really want to keep it, there is a place. Go and talk to Youjiu."

    Jiang Mu raised her head and glanced at San Lai. San Lai smiled and winked at her.

    Jiang Mu left the pet shop and found that the roller shutter door of the car dealership had been closed. Jin Chao put Jiang Mu's schoolbag on a car and sent her back.

    On the way, Jiang Mu turned her head to look at Jin Chao several times, but she didn't know how to start.

    As a result, before she could think of a way to start, she had already arrived at the community where Jin Qiang lived. Jin Chao drove the car into the community, parked near the building, turned off the engine and said, "You have been watching me all the way, just say whatever you want to say."

    Jiang Mu spoke in a roundabout way, "I just saw the puppies born by the golden retriever in Brother Sanlai's store."

    "Yeah."

    "They are quite cute."

    "..." Silence.

    "Among them, there was a little black puppy. Brother Sanlai said that it was dead at birth and was saved by him. I don't know why the Shih Tzu didn't seem to like it very much."

    "..." Silence again.

    Seeing that Jin Chao had no reaction, Jiang Mu could only mutter to herself: "Don't you feel sorry for him?"

    Jin Chao suddenly said: "Can you be moved by his made-up story? Why don't you ask how San Lai was saved? Was he given artificial respiration?"

    Jiang Mu had never thought about this question. Jin Chao turned his head and looked at her and said lightly: "Want to raise it?"

    He saw through her thoughts at a glance, which made Jiang Mu a little afraid to look at him. She nodded and asked in a low voice: "Is it okay?"

    Jin Chao opened the car door and got out of the car. Jiang Mu got out too. The two were separated by the car. Jin Chao stood under the dilapidated tree trunk and lit a cigarette. The moonlight was cold and his figure was a little distant. He said to her in a not-too-far voice: "Two of his four puppies are good and have been ordered. The other two that can't be sold are given to you. You can ask me to raise them with me. Someone will pay for the dog food and cleaning costs. Are you stupid?"

    Jiang Mu was stunned. She really didn't expect this to be the routine. She put on her schoolbag and held the school uniform bag in her hand.

    Jin Chao didn't seem to plan to go upstairs, and threw the house key to her across the car. Jiang Mu reached out to take it and asked, "When will I return it to you?"

    Jin Chao took a puff of cigarette and replied, "I don't have time to come back recently, you take it first."

    Jiang Mu nodded and turned around and took a few steps, then suddenly turned back and asked, "If... I will pay for all the dog food and cleaning expenses, and keep it with you for the time being, is that okay?"

    Jin Chao turned his head and sneered, then turned around and suddenly said seriously, "What about after you graduate? Are you going to take the dog away or throw it away?"

    Jiang Mu didn't answer, because even she hadn't figured out what to do after the college entrance examination.

    Jin Chao then slowly said, "Since you have to leave anyway, I advise you not to keep it. It will be troublesome if you develop feelings for it."

    Jiang Mu stood there, her whole body was hot, not because of the dog, but because of Jin Chao's words. Is this what he really thinks?

    Since they lived separately back then, why should they be too involved?

    Since they are not brother and sister at all, why should they contact each other?

    More contacts, more feelings, how much trouble will that cause?

    Jiang Mu's expression gradually turned cold, she no longer insisted, just said "hmm".

    After that, she turned around without looking back and strode towards the building. Her heart was stuffy, and Jin Chao called her from behind: "Hey."

    Jiang Mu stopped, turned around and shouted at him: "Don't I have a name? Why do you always call me 'Hey'? I don't call you 'Hey'."

    Jin Chao looked at her blushing face through the night, and pulled the corner of his mouth with amusement: "If I don't give you a dog, you can be so angry? Do you miss that broken dog so much?"

    Jiang Mu said sternly: "It's not a broken dog, it's a poor creature that is not wanted by its father and mother."

    Jin Chao's face became colder and colder until it was completely cold. Jiang Mu felt a suffocating depression, and she avoided Jin Chao. Jiang Mu wanted to flee from this place, but before entering the building, she stopped. She knew that her words touched the most sensitive part between them. She didn't dare to look at Jin Chao, but said weakly: "I am not disappointed in you. If I am, there is only one reason, you cut off contact with me."

    Jiang Mu's figure disappeared at the entrance of the building, but Jin Chao did not leave for a long time. There were deep lines between his eyebrows. Over the years, he has become accustomed to the disappointment of people around him. Almost everyone who knew him in the past saw him now, and their eyes were full of sarcasm, sympathy and disappointment. He had long been numb to these.

    He didn't expect that someone would say to him that they were not disappointed in him, or that her disappointment had nothing to do with his current situation.

    Jin Chao's mouth overflowed with a bitter smile, and he took a deep puff of cigarette. All the unbearable past turned into smoke and was inhaled into his lungs, and the bitterness echoed in his chest.

    It was not until a long time later that he got in the car and drove back. Sanlai was still playing games on the recliner in front of the store.

    When he saw Jin Chao coming back, he glanced at him casually and said, "What took you so long?" Jin Chao didn't say anything to him. He walked to his side and threw him a cigarette: "When will that dog be weaned?"

    Sanlai smiled and immediately quit the game. He stood up and said, "A dog tested you out. How did you repay evil with kindness? I actually dealt with you with just a few words. It really surprised me."

    Jin Chao glared at him impatiently: "Aren't you bored?"

    Sanlai put the cigarette between his ears and kicked a bench for him. Jin Chao sat a few steps away from Sanlai, with his long legs casually bent.

    Hearing him say, "I'm so bored that I'm talking nonsense. They left you to die without helping you back then. If it were me,