"Hello." It was the first time for Mu Jiang to shake hands with someone like this, and he was a little uncomfortable.
They were discussing something, and Mu Jiang was sitting on the side. He felt that Ouyang and Dongya were different from the others who were discussing things. He couldn't quite put his finger on what that difference was, but it might be because they didn't rush him into the room like the other adults did.
They didn't talk until very late. Dongya took his things back to his old house and invited Mujiang to visit at any time.
"It's past ten o'clock," Ouyang checked the time. "Go to bed early. Don't you have to get up early for school tomorrow?"
Still unsatisfied, Mu Jiang returned to her room, dwelling on their conversation: the HDA, the case. She'd heard a bit about Ouyang from her father before: she was a strong-minded woman who could reason about cases and worked as a private investigator. This excited her, and she couldn't sleep.
In the morning, Ouyang prepared a new bicycle for Mu Jiang, thinking it would be more convenient for him to go to class, but he shook his head: "This place is too far from school. I usually take a taxi."
Ouyang didn't expect this, because she still didn't know where the school he attended was.
"But it doesn't matter, it can still be used on weekends." After saying that, Mu Jiang ran out and stopped a taxi. It was more convenient to take a taxi at this time.
Ouyang looked at the bicycle placed there: "It seems that I am redundant." Since then, Ouyang rarely paid attention to this bicycle. Perhaps because she didn't care much about it, she felt a little surprised when it appeared in front of her again.
It was a rainy day, and of course it was always a weekend. When Ouyang was driving back to the apartment, he noticed the inconspicuous bicycle at the door of a supermarket.
Perhaps curiosity drove her to park her bike aside and move closer, until she confirmed that the bike was the one she had chosen herself, and then she walked into the supermarket.
The cashier at the supermarket was a boy, probably also a student.
"Welcome." His voice was a little hoarse, perhaps because he had been saying this all day.
Ouyang simply glanced at him. He had some scratches on him, likely from carrying some cargo. She walked a little further inside and saw a familiar figure busy in a corner, mechanically placing labels on the cargo.
She walked closer: "Mu Jiang!" Her voice was not loud and could only be heard within their range.
Mu Jiang looked up and saw Ouyang. He was a little surprised at first, but he quickly regained his composure. He was a confident boy who never showed any nervousness in front of anyone. "Why are you here?"
"I just passed by." It was just the beginning of autumn, but he was busy and sweating. "Do you need me to wait for you outside?" She always understood others, especially her family, and never wanted to cause them any trouble.
"Um."
Ouyang went out first and sat in the car. He saw from the car window that Mu Jiang said something to the cashier boy, and then pointed at the bicycle outside.
He ran to the car in the rain and said, "Let's go."
Ouyang drove away and stopped when passing a hot pot restaurant: "Let's have dinner here!"
Mu Jiang didn't object and followed her up to the second floor of the hot pot restaurant, where they found a quiet place to sit down. Ouyang ordered him a drink to quench his thirst first.
"Do you go to that supermarket every weekend?" Ouyang asked.
"Um."
"He is your classmate?"
"He used to," he said, "but then something happened to his family, and he stopped going to school."
Ouyang initially thought that he sympathized with the child, but later found out from his conversation that it was not the case.
He said that person used to be his best friend, but after a cheating incident, he framed Mu Jiang and threw his own notes on his desk. Mu Jiang was expelled because of this incident and had to transfer to another school. He only recently discovered that he worked at this supermarket, and it was raining heavily that day. He saw him in a taxi, soaking wet from carrying goods. Perhaps it was because of that scene that Mu Jiang lost all resentment towards him and instead began to feel pity for him. Later, he went to help him, and the two of them talked a lot, like old friends who hadn't seen each other for a long time.
Later, Mu Jiang learned that the reason he didn't go to school was because his mother had leukemia and needed a large amount of treatment. So he used the card Ouyang gave him to help his family pay for his mother's chemotherapy. However, the child recorded every expense he spent, saying that he would pay it back one by one.
Ouyang looked at him, trying to find some storytelling elements in it, but she was disappointed. He was a sincere child: "You don't have to stay there to help, right?"
"We're friends now," he smiled, "I'd be happy to help him."
Friend? Perhaps the word made her feel distant. She hadn't expected such a child to be so selfless in helping a friend, even though the friend had betrayed her before. The two chatted for a long time, and after they had almost finished their meal, she noticed the boiling water and said, "Tell your friend not to pay you back. Just let him know if he needs anything in the future."
"He won't accept it," Mu Jiang said. "This is a matter of dignity. It's all they have left now. If we continue to deprive them of this right, I'm afraid we can't even be friends."
Ouyang pondered this question until she drove home. She thought about Mu Jiang's words: why did you still retain your dignity when you have nothing else? Later, when she realized this, she showed respect for those like Mu Shan's friends.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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