Separated from Wang Cheng at the gate of the driving school, Yuan Xia walked in the opposite direction. In front of him, a dark car was parked under a huge advertisement signboard. When he went to the car, he opened the door and sat inside. The man in the driverâs seat handed him a packet of paper towels.
âThank you.â Yuan Xia took out a piece of paper towel and wiped the sweat on his forehead. Learning to drive a car in this period of torrid heat in August was a kind of torture. Skin also easily tanned. The man was opposed to it, but Yuan Xia only had time to learn how to drive during summer vacation.
âYou and I donât need to say thank you.â The man knew that he did not like other people smoking. Before he got in the car, he extinguished the cigarette and opened the window to let the air in, but even so, the car still smelled of smoke. âThe person just a moment ago is the young man you spoke of before?â
Yuan Xia was not surprised that he would see Wang Cheng. On the first day he met Wang Cheng, Yuan Xia had already told the man about him. âItâs him. With his good luck, the number of times I could practice with the car increased. I think it wonât be long before I could take the exam.â
âDid something happen?â The man heard other meanings in his words.
Yuan Xia thought that the matter had been resolved. He told him about what happened yesterday and it made the man frown in disapproval.
âYou should have told me yesterday.â
âThereâs nothing to talk about this kind of matter and itâs been resolved.â
The man caught a glimpse of the smile on his face and raised an eyebrow. âYou seem to be in a good mood today, can you tell me about it?â
âThat Wang Chengâs a very interesting person.â Yuan Xia really wanted to laugh at the thought of that womanâs humiliated look because of Wang Cheng.\nAlthough Wang Chengâs hair style was quite strange, he could see right away after meeting him on the first day that he was a very handsome boy. It was not strange at all that the woman would take the initiative to hit on Wang Cheng. After Wang Cheng left first yesterday, she still approached him to ask about Wang Cheng, but he did not tell her anything.
âAre you falling in love with him? Thatâs certainly out of the question.â
Yuan Xia smiled and shook his head. He thought better of it and answered, âEven if I fall in love with him, someone may not agree.â
âBy the way, I have something to do tonight and wonât be back for dinner. Donât wait for me if I go home too late. Go to sleep first.â
âOkay, but donât drink too much.â
It was only past five oâclock when Wang Cheng returned to his apartment. After practicing all day and being exposed to the sun for a long time, he was somewhat dizzy. After discussing with Yuan Xia, the two ended the practice early. However, there was a small incident that happened before he left.
Earlier, he refused the beautiful lady and that rascal man who wanted to borrow their key to practice the car. Wang Cheng did not give it. Although the key was given to them by Instructor He, it did not mean that they could lend it to other students at will. Moreover, he heard from Assistant Instructor Liu that the car was Instructor Heâs personal car.
Not long after returning home, Wang Cheng received a call from Chu Yifeng, who said that he would not come back for dinner, so Wang Cheng should just make his own portion for dinner.
Wang Cheng was already washing vegetables. Having heard what he said, he scooped the ribs out, which he had been thawing in the water, and placed it back into the refrigerator. The vegetables were also put back. Since he would be eating alone, he did not intend to go through a lot of trouble. He casually cooked a bowl of noodles to eat while watching TV. After eating half of the bowl, he received a phone call from Mama Wang.
âCheng Cheng, will you go home this weekend?â
âProbably not.â Wang Cheng looked at the calendar. Today was already the 21st of August. The day after tomorrow would be Sunday. In order to learn to drive a car, he did not go back home last weekend. His family knew that he was learning how to drive, so they only occasionally gave him a call and did not urge him to come back home.\nâI want to talk to you about your sister. In a weekâs time, sheâll be going to Beijing University to register. Your dad and I are not at ease with her going alone, so I want to ask if you or Ningâan have time to accompany her.â Although Ziyu was already an adult, this was the first time that she was going faraway. How could Mama Wang feel at ease about it, especially since there were news often about college students being murdered in the news program?
âIâve mentioned this matter to Big Brother before. He just transferred to the companyâs headquarters not long ago and his work is hectic. Heâs now in a critical period of his rising career. Most likely, he wonât have that much time. I can actually ask a day off from my boss.â
âIf thatâs the case, donât bother your big brother, but will your boss agree?â
âOf course he will. My boss is very reasonable and itâs not the first time that Iâve asked for a day off.â
âThen Cheng, please book a plane ticket for your sister. Sheâll start school on the 1st of September. Just book for the afternoon of the 30th of August. That dayâs a Sunday, so you wonât have to ask for a day off.â
âWhatever you say. Do you want to book a first class seat?â Whatever his mom decided, he just needed to nod.
âFirst class seat? Is it expensive or not? If itâs too expensive, buy a cheaper one.â Mama Wang, who had never sat in an airplane in her entire life, simply did not know what a first class seat was.
âOkay, Iâll check it out later.â Wang Cheng only knew of first class seats because of his big brother. He also did not know how much it cost. He only knew that the treatment would be pretty good and he did not have to squeeze in with a bunch of people.
Mama Wang urged him again and again for a few times about lifeâs trifles before hanging up.
Wang Cheng put his phone down and quickly ate the noodles, which were almost soggy in the big bowl. After he finished eating, he went to the kitchen, washed the bowl, and watched TV in the living room. Afterward, he took off his clothes and took a shower. It was barely eight oâclock when he came out again. He threw his towel onto the sofa, took the laptop from his big brotherâs study, and intended to check online on how to buy a plane ticket.
Last time, Wang Cheng vaguely heard his big brother say in which website where he bought the plane ticket. Only that website was good. Other websites may be fraudulent. He roughly searched for it at once and after he found the website, he followed the steps and searched the flights on the 30th of August.
\nWang Cheng suddenly felt bored. Before, when Chu Yifeng came back home for dinner, he would occasionally stay with him until the time he was about to go to sleep. During those days, he did not feel bored. Sure enough, after slowly integrating into the lively life of the city, it would be difficult to go back to his lifestyle before. Wonder whatâs the boss doing right now?
Wang Cheng scooped his phone with his foot and looked for Chu Yifengâs phone number from the contacts. He could only harass him to pass the boring time, so he sent him a message.
Nightlife in the city had always been sumptuous. The night owls enjoyed themselves so much under the neon lights that they forgot to go home. The most lively places were the bars, KTVs, and such places. The biggest and most famous bar in Shanhai was the Red Sun. It was said that the proprietor behind the Red Sun was from the capital and their powerful backer was exceptional. Therefore, no one had ever dared to make a scene in the Red Sun.
In order to avoid blind dates arranged by his family, Shen Yuan had repeatedly ran away to Shanhai City recently. In the last few days, he also met a business partner of his around his age. They agreed to meet at the Red Sun. Upholding the principle âthe more the merrier,â he also invited Chu Yifeng to come with him. He made an appointment with him two days in advance in order to prevent Chu Yifeng from slinking off at the time.
When Wang Cheng sent a message to Chu Yifeng, he was inside the bar.
In the lively bar, it was really difficult to still be able to feel the vibrations of the phone in the pocket. Chu Yifeng drank his wine and fished his phone out.
Boss, what are you doing this late at night? Can you share the fun?
Chu Yifeng raised his eyebrows. Wang Cheng sent him a message at this kind of time. He was probably bored to death. He pressed a few times on the screen and sent a message back.
At the bar. Do you want to come over?
Wang Cheng did not expect to receive his bossâs reply so soon. He sat up on the sofa and stared at the message in his hand. It turned out Chu Yifeng was in a bar. He had been to a bar before with his classmates in high school once. His impression of that place was excessively lively. His boss unexpectedly invited him to go. Should he go or not? He looked at the clock on the wall and surprisingly, it was only 8:40. He thought it was at least 9:30 by now. He also could not sleep at this hour.
Three minutes later, Chu Yifeng received a message.