Chapter 31

Chapter 31 - 31 030 Thank you beautiful woman and her exclusive Chapter 31: 030: Thank you, beautiful woman, and her exclusive little chauffeur Chapter 31: 030: Thank you, beautiful woman, and her exclusive little chauffeur “Lotus Pond Street must have something that interests you, like the female neighbor just now.”

How else to describe companions of over a decade? Spot on with every guess.

Xie Shang neither confirmed nor denied.

“It’s so dark at the entrance, and the girl didn’t come in; you couldn’t even see her face clearly.” He Dongzhou seemed to be enjoying the show, “She hadn’t even spoken before you recognized her. Tell me, how did you know?”

How did he know?

That was the question, and Xie Shang wasn’t quite sure. When Wen Changling opened the door, he only saw a vague outline, and then his instincts reacted faster than his brain could.

With enemies, one always remembers a bit more clearly.

Xie Shang couldn’t be bothered to elaborate and perfunctorily said, “Guessed.”

He Dongzhou didn’t believe him for a second, “With guessing skills like that, why don’t you go tell fortunes?”

On the other side, Guan Sixing picked up his empty glass for the third time, took a sip of air, glanced at the glass indifferently, then put it down and continued to immerse himself in the physical world.

Xie Shang went over and filled his glass with warm water.

“Sixing.”

Guan Sixing was half a beat slow, “Hmm?”

Xie Shang pointed to his ears, “Is it noisy?”

“Noisy.”

Very noisy.

Guan Sixing rubbed his ears.

Guan Sixing was a physics prodigy but had zero life skills and negative social skills. The Gu Family and Xie Family lived close by, and during the years Guan Sixing lived with the Gu Family, Gu Yihuan was reluctant to take him out to play, and it was often the patient and even-tempered Xie Shang who looked after him.

Xie Shang walked over to the control panel of the private room and turned down the volume.

“Is it still noisy?”

Guan Sixing nodded.

Xie Shang turned the volume down a bit more.

Gu Yihuan, who was just getting into his singing, “...” His singing wasn’t worthy of mention, was it?

Gu Yihuan wouldn’t scold Xie Shang, so he rolled his eyes at Guan Sixing.

He and Guan Sixing didn’t get along, and part of the reason was Xie Shang. When he was seven or eight years old, there was a time when Guan Sixing stayed over at Xie Shang’s place, and they shared a bed. He and his cousin Gu Kaiyun had never slept on Xie Shang’s bed, and he was furious, accusing Xie Shang, “Do you like that autistic kid more?”

It was the first time Xie Shang criticized him, “Xiao Huan, you can’t talk like that about your brother, go stand in the corner.”

Brother my ass.

He angrily went to stand in the corner, and ever since kindergarten, aside from his cousin Gu Kaiyun, the person he feared and respected the most was Xie Shang.

“Big Brother Four really dotes on him.”

For a long time, that phrase was Gu Yihuan’s mantra.

*****

There was a buffet in the private room, but Wen Changling was not full. From the moment Xie Shang left, her colleagues looked at her strangely, making her uncomfortable while eating, so she left early.

The time was not too late, and she called for a car, waiting by the roadside for the driver to accept her request. A few leaves had fallen on the stone of the flower bed, and she stared at their veins very seriously.

The streetlight was behind her, casting shadows obliquely.

The ground shadows grew from one to two, and Wen Changling turned around.

“Waiting for a car?”

Xie Shang approached.

“Yeah.” She glanced at her phone; the driver still hadn’t accepted the request.

Xie Shang’s shadow was longer and wider than hers, covering her shadow completely.

The lonely moon hung midway in the sky like a white porcelain plate. The plate poured down its luminescent white light, spilling over the fallen leaves, the tips of branches, and the lashes of a beautiful woman.

Whether the night’s beauty is enchanting or not also depends on who’s in it.

Xie Shang was such an example.

“Have you been drinking?”

“No.”

Jiahui had said that the group of colleagues couldn’t be trusted; one must stay sober in front of unreliable people and never get drunk, so she mixed grapefruit juice with cola, pretending it was red wine, and bluffed her way through any drinking invitations.

“Got a driving license?” Xie Shang asked.

Wen Changling answered, “Yes.”

“The designated driver rejected my request; would you mind giving me a lift to Lotus Pond Street?”

Wen Changling thought for a moment before answering, “I suppose I could.”

She canceled her taxi booking.

At first, Xie Shang didn’t understand what that meant, until Wen Changling sat in the driver’s seat of his car, looking up with her chest out, sitting upright, turning on the navigation, and mistakenly setting the turn signal to high beam.

Xie Shang: “...”

She explained, “I haven’t driven since I got my license.” She gave Xie Shang a heads-up, “I might not be very good at driving, so if you’re afraid, you should wait for the designated driver.”

The roads weren’t busy at night, and the traffic conditions were okay.

Xie Shang checked carefully, “Do you still remember how to start the car?”

“I remember, I have a good memory.”

Her earlier mistake was just a slip-up, she would get better with practice.

Xie Shang didn’t say anything more, but he couldn’t take his eyes off her, watching her every move.

She started over, correctly turning on the headlights, releasing the handbrake, honking before starting, and checking the left and right rearview mirrors. She didn’t forget a single step her instructor had taught her; she was a straight-A student.

The car moved when she released the footbrake, advancing at idle speed.

Wen Changling immediately sat even straighter, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

“No need to be nervous, take your time. If you scratch it, it’s on me.”

Xie Shang’s car must be expensive; no wonder the designated driver refused the job.

Wen Changling didn’t dare to turn her head, focusing on the road ahead. She asked earnestly, “What if someone gets hurt?”

Xie Shang laughed, “It’s on me too.”

Then Wen Changling stepped on the gas pedal.

She concentrated intently on the road, instinctively leaning forward, but apart from her neck, she kept the rest of her body rigidly still, not moving at all, resembling a turtle poking its head out timidly.

Xie Shang rarely saw her so animated.

May wasn’t too hot, there was no need for air conditioning. The car windows were rolled down, bringing in a comfortable breeze, and the streetlights dazzled. Xie Shang had drunk some alcohol, leaning back in the passenger seat, yet with a novice behind the wheel, he felt surprisingly at ease, and was even starting to feel drowsy.

“Xie Shang.”

He responded softly, “Hmm.”

Wen Changling’s voice was tense, “Don’t fall asleep, I’m scared.”

He thought she wasn’t afraid of anything, daring enough to lean out to watch him shoot in Lileitu.

He sat up straight, listening to her, “Okay, I won’t sleep.”

Wen Changling drove at a steady pace.

Maybe because Xie Shang’s car was expensive, or perhaps because the driver was so slow and stiff, clearly a novice, almost no cars came close, all avoiding her by a wide margin. The road wasn’t congested at all, and traffic was smooth.

When turning, Xie Shang would timely remind her when to turn and by how much. For a novice driver, having a calm and stable instructor sitting next to you is vital.

Wen Changling took sixty-nine minutes to drive a distance that should have taken forty, which was relatively smooth, at least without any major mishaps. The only problem arose when trying to parallel park, hitting a bit of a... snag.

Wen Changling couldn’t fit into the parking spot, despite many attempts back and forth, not even daring to get closer for fear of scraping someone else’s car.

After giving her plenty of time to adjust and explore, Xie Shang said, “Let me do it.”

“You’ve been drinking.”

“It’s fine, it’s just parking.”

Wen Changling rejected firmly, “No, drunk driving is not allowed.”

“...”

She seemed quite law-abiding when it came to traffic regulations.

Xie Shang watched her, not rushing, letting her continue, “Okay then, take your time parking.”

Wen Changling continued trying, never taking her foot off the brake, moving forwards and backwards, left and right, but still couldn’t get in. The radar was beeping continuously.

“How did you pass your driving test?”

Xie Shang didn’t get out of the car.

Wen Changling was puzzled; wasn’t he worried she would ruin his pretty face in an accident?

She concentrated on finding the right angle, responding absent-mindedly, “The cars and the ground in the test have marks, you just align them and it’s done.”

It seemed she had no natural talent for driving; although she could make a brake controller and understood the basic physical principles of cars, knowing and driving were two different things.

Xie Shang offered, “How about I get out and mark it for you?”

Wen Changling turned her head instantly, her eyes shining differently, “Can you?” She nodded, “Okay.”

Xie Shang got out of the car, estimated the distance, and made marks on the car door and ground for turning the steering wheel.

Wen Changling parked the car smoothly in an instant.

Under the moonlight, he was smiling all along, while Wen Changling looked down, a bit annoyed with him.