20: Chapter 20 Chen Jie's Bottom Line

The train crossed the Yangtze River Bridge, and the smell of coal smoke in the carriage faded slightly, only to be replaced by the fishy scent carried in by the river breeze. Chen Jie was wiping that dark green jade stone with a piece of chamois leather. The patterns on the stone's surface had collected some dust from the carriage, but with a gentle wipe, the translucent dark green underneath was revealed, looking as if it had been washed by a mountain stream.

"Still polishing it?" Zhao Kai placed his freshly prepared instant noodles on the table, the steam mingling with the aroma of the seasoning packet wafting out. "Those gamblers were smoking in the aisle just now. If you hadn't put your backpack there, our table would have become an ashtray long ago—seriously, why did this stone choose you?"

Chen Jie didn't look up, his fingertips tracing the wrench-like pattern on the jade stone. "Maybe it's because I'm always fixing things, so my hands smell like machine oil, and it finds that familiar." This was half-truth, half-lie. He knew clearly in his heart that ever since he found this stone in the creek at Suiyu Slope, it had been like a screw tightened into his life, getting tighter and tighter.

Suddenly, a clattering sound of tables and chairs came from the row behind. The bearded gambler from earlier was arguing with someone again. "I already told you I don't have any money!" A woman's voice carried a sob. "That's money for my mother's medical treatment. If you keep pushing me..."

"Cut the crap!" The bearded man's voice was louder than the train's whistle. "If you owe a gambling debt, you have to pay it back. Either take off that gold bracelet or get off the train with me—"

Chen Jie's fingers gripping the jade stone suddenly tightened, and the stone's surface became scorching hot, making his fingertips go numb. When he looked up, he saw the bearded man dragging a woman in a floral dress. The gold bracelet on her wrist was pulled taut, glinting, while her tears fell to the floor, shattering into tiny spots of light. The people around were either looking down at their phones or pretending to look at the scenery; no one dared to make a sound.

"Let her go." Chen Jie's voice wasn't loud, but it struck like a stone hitting the iron carriage, carrying a stubborn strength in its dull thud.

The bearded man turned and glared at him, the red bloodshot veins in his eyes even denser than when he was playing cards earlier. "None of your business! Trying to be a hero?" He spat at Chen Jie. "I think you're tired of living—"

Before he could finish, Chen Jie had already stood up. He didn't use his fists, but simply slammed his backpack onto the table. The canvas split open, revealing the wrench and the jade stone inside. Strangely, the bearded man, who had been so arrogant just a moment ago, suddenly shivered at the sight of the jade stone, his hand loosening its grip on the woman by half an inch, as if he had been burned by something.

"Losing money on gambling and then bullying a woman—what kind of skill is that?" Chen Jie took two steps forward, the grease stains on his work pants glistening in the sunlight. "If you have the ability, earn the money to pay it back yourself. If you don't, then don't touch that stuff—I hate people like you the most, gambling away your own assets and then robbing others."

Zhao Kai hurried over and tugged at his sleeve, whispering, "Don't look for trouble, this guy looks like a thug."

"Even thugs have to follow the rules." Chen Jie ignored him, pulled his wallet from his pocket, and emptied all the cash onto the table. "Is this enough to pay off her debt? If it is, take it and get lost. If not, I'll find a way, but if you touch her again, this wrench of mine won't show mercy." As he spoke, he pulled the wrench from his tool bag and rubbed his thumb over the non-slip grip—it was the tool he used to fix the benches in his residential compound, still bearing mottled paint marks on its iron surface.

The bearded man stared at the money on the table, then at the wrench in Chen Jie's hand, his Adam's apple bobbing. Suddenly, he grabbed the money, stuffed it into his pocket, and walked toward the carriage connection, grumbling, "Fine, you win."

The woman slumped into her seat, covering her mouth as she began to cry. Only then did the people around dare to speak up, offering comfort in a chaotic chorus. Some handed her tissues, while others cursed the gambler for not being a decent person. When Chen Jie put the wrench back into his bag, his fingertips touched the jade stone and he discovered that the temperature on its surface had faded. In those horizontal and vertical patterns, there was actually some cigarette ash that the bearded man had dropped on the table, embedded inside as if held by a magnet.

"Thank you, young man," the woman said, choking back sobs. "If it weren't for you, I..."

"It's nothing." Chen Jie waved his hand and stuffed his wallet back into his pocket. "Stay away from people like that in the future." As he walked back, Zhao Kai muttered in his ear, "You're really something. Just back at Old Zhou's place, you were saying 'it's better to avoid trouble,' and now you're meddling in other people's business."

Chen Jie smiled and touched his backpack. "Some things can't be helped, but some things must be managed." He remembered how his neighbor's family was torn apart by gambling when he was a child, and remembered his father trembling while gripping a wrench back then—some bottom lines are like the core parts of a machine; if they are touched, everything falls apart, so they must be defended.

When the train entered a tunnel, the carriage suddenly went dark. Chen Jie saw the jade stone in his bag emitting a very faint red light, like sparks about to die out in a stove, flickering in the darkness. He suddenly felt that this stone could not only sense danger but also understand the human heart—when he clenched his fists earlier, its scorching temperature seemed like it was cheering him on.

When the sunlight from outside the tunnel surged in, the woman had already calmed down and was staring blankly out the window. Chen Jie pulled his backpack closer to his chest. The jade stone pressed against his heart, cool and smooth like a weight, suppressing the anger that shouldn't be there while supporting the conviction that must be there. He knew that what this journey had taught him was not just how to identify the Spiritual Qi of jade stones, but also how to hold onto his own bottom line—just like fixing things, the screws that need to be tight must be tightened, and one must learn to let go of the gears that need to be loose, but the core parts must never be moved.