Chapter 3165: Paulownia Tree Lane Harsh Summer 05

Jin Xiu Mei didn't go to the garment factory today, but she still had to get ready to leave early.

Jin Chen came out of the kitchen holding a water cup, saw her standing in front of the small round mirror at the entryway, patting powder on her face, but years of hard work had made the lines on her face too deep for the powder to fill; a thin layer of white settled in the creases, making it rather noticeable.

Jin Chen stood silently to the side, watching.

Jin Xiu Mei caught sight of him in the mirror and casually said, "There are still dumplings in the fridge; if you get hungry these two days, boil them to eat, don't just eat noodles. This morning go to the market and buy some vegetables, and remember to take out the trash promptly."

Jin Chen remained silent for a few seconds, feeling an inexplicable chill all over; his fingers gripping the cup tightened, he stubbornly pressed his lips together and asked, "Where are you going?"

Jin Xiu Mei's face lit up; she adjusted her collar in front of the mirror and said, "Your uncle isn't driving this week, he's off work; later I'll go pick up Yue Yue, and we'll stay at your grandparents' place for two or three days."

Zhang Yue's grandparents naturally had nothing to do with Jin Chen. Usually, during holidays or family gatherings, they never brought Jin Chen along. Jin Chen never asked to go either; he just wanted to know the destination, so he could get an answer that Li Xiu Mei was not out of touch somewhere, otherwise he would feel panicked.

Jin Chen answered with a sound, slowly sipping the warm water in his cup, then saw Jin Xiu Mei pick up the sling bag on the table, check the keys and wallet inside, and get ready to go out.

"Stay safe." Jin Chen had never forgotten those words.

Jin Xiu Mei blinked, let out an "eh," pulled the door open, and left.

Jin Chen put the cup on the coffee table, walked over to the wall‑hanging calendar, circled today's date with a ballpoint pen, then wrote a few characters in the box three days later; after looking at it for a moment, he put the pen down—it was time to take his medicine.

Jin Chen went into the room, took a pill from the neat row of medicine bottles on the bedside table, poured it into his palm, and swallowed it with the freshly poured warm water.

After taking the medicine, he followed Jin Xiu Mei's instructions and prepared to go to the market to buy vegetables.

But just after he finished changing clothes, his vision began to waver, his heartbeat gradually quickened, thumping against his chest until his eardrums felt swollen.

The medicine hadn't fully taken effect yet; Jin Chen wanted to hold his ear stud in place, but a scene flashed unbidden into his mind: Chenshu sitting beside him, fingers pushing back his hair, a cotton swab dipped in iodine gently wiping the bone of his ear, along with those words, light and airy.

——It really suits you, looks lovely……Take good care of it, okay.

Amid the loud thumping of his heartbeat, Jin Chen's hand slipped from the ear stud and hung at his side, his fingers curling slightly.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, took out a sewing needle from the drawer, flipped the stuffed bear on his knee over, and pressed the needle tip into the ugly bear's ear; after doing this several times he stopped, lowered his eyes to look at the new holes punched in the bear's ear.

Jin Chen's wavering vision gradually focused, moving from the bear's ear to its mouth—that crookedly sewn mouth—he gently poked it with the needle tip; the soft stuffing caved in under the tip then bounced back.

Jin Chen raised his hand again, touched his lower lip, lost in thought.

——

The morning in Paulownia Tree Lane remained damp and sweltering.

The sun hung blazing in the sky, but the moisture in the air hadn't evaporated much; instead it turned into a stickier heat, like the white steam that bursts out when a steamer lid is lifted.

Chenshu came back from outside with a package, quite big, wrapped in kraft paper, heavy in his arms. He walked slowly toward Building No. 3, his light‑colored hair dampened by sweat in a few strands, sticking to his forehead.

In the shade under the building, several aunts and grandmothers gathered to chat, sitting on little stools at the edge of the flowerbed, holding fans, with tea cups at their feet, chatting lively; Chenshu approached and overheard their conversation somehow turn to Jin Chen.

"I didn't see Jin Chen at the little supermarket across the street when I went shopping the day before yesterday," said the fat aunt, "I guess he got fired."

"Being fired is normal," Grandma Zhao chimed in, "Who would hire a lunatic these days? He's always like a ghost, neither male nor female, and I don't know why Jin Xiu Mei still puts up with this freeloader. In my opinion, he should be sent to a mental hospital sooner rather than later, so he doesn't stay at home and cause harm."

The aunts nearby had been just chatting, but when Grandma Zhao suddenly flew into a rage, they all felt a bit embarrassed, lowering their heads to sip tea or waving their fans.

A worker cooling himself on the steps nearby heard, wiped a sweat towel from his neck, came over and asked, "Hey, the Jin Chen you're talking about—is that the guy with long hair?"

Grandma Zhao glanced at him: "You know about him too?"

"How could I not know?" the worker spat, "I just moved into the building next door a short while ago; the first time I saw him I thought a pretty girl lived here. But when I got closer, I saw a tall man, and only after hearing people talk did I learn he's a crazy pervert."

Several aunts furrowed their brows, thinking, "Regardless of whether he's a pervert, the way you're saying it sounds like you're tailing him," but they kept quiet—better not to stir up trouble.

But Grandma Zhao seemed to have found a kindred spirit, waving her fan and speaking with growing fervor: "Exactly! He's gloomy all day, doesn't greet anyone; when my Bao Bao barks at him, he turns his head to look at me, and that gaze—so sinister!"

"People like that—who knows when they might suddenly have an attack and hurt someone?"

Jin Chen, carrying the few vegetables he'd bought from the market, could hear these words as he walked back from the lane's entrance.

The heat made a light sweat break out on his forehead and neck, the dampness clinging to him; his gaze drifted vaguely ahead, but since he'd taken his medicine before leaving, the side effect meant his emotions were unlikely to fluctuate easily—his handsome, narrow eyes held dark pupils that were still as dead water.

Jin Chen even calculated in his mind how long it would take to get there, hoping to show up just as Grandma Zhao was getting worked up, to give her a start.

However, someone got there before him.

Jin Chen saw Chenshu coming from the side lane's little supermarket ahead of him, so Chenshu didn't notice Jin Chen, merely swaying up to the aunts' side, about to pass, with a pleasant smile and a gentle, refined tone: "You shouldn't speak ill of others behind their backs—that's not good."

Grandma Zhao and the worker's words cut off abruptly.

Several aunts looked up at him, recognizing the young man who had moved in a few days ago—fair and clean‑looking, speaking politely and gently; the fat aunt hurried to smooth things over: "Oh, Grandma Zhao was just talking off the cuff, don't take it seriously."

But the worker wasn't having it, giving Chenshu a sideways glance: "Who are you? Meddling. What's that pervert to you?"

Chenshu's eyes curved with a faint aloofness: "He's my friend, so I can't just ignore him—but, Brother, the street next door is all under construction; how'd you end up coming here to slack off?"

The worker's face changed, he lifted the enamel basin from the ground, took a sip of cool water, stood up, muttered about meddling, and hurried away.

But Grandma Zhao wouldn't let up, she said to Chenshu, "You've just moved in—how can you be friends with that jinx of a pervert? Nobody knows whether mental illness is contagious, and you don't even know him……

Before she could finish, the aunts beside her suddenly tugged her sleeve and whispered, "Stop, don't say any more."

Grandma Zhao turned around and saw Jin Chen walking up from the lane's entrance, his face set, eyes straight ahead, he walked straight through the midst of the aunts.

Sure enough, Grandma Zhao jumped back, shrank a little, lifted her fan to shield her face, and her expression turned ugly.

Chenshu watched Jin Chen make his way through the crowd with a stern face, found it amusing, inexplicably felt that Jin Chen had done it on purpose, harboring a little mischief, and thought him rather cute.