CH 52

Author: Yin Ya

Proofreader: Zeraphiel25

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 driver’s seat handed him a packet of paper towels.

“Thank you.” 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.

“You and I don’t need to say thank you.” 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. “The person just a moment ago is the young man you spoke of before?”

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. “It’s him. With his good luck, the number of times I could practice with the car increased. I think it won’t be long before I could take the exam.”

“Did something happen?” 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.

“You should have told me yesterday.”

“There’s nothing to talk about this kind of matter and it’s been resolved.”

The man caught a glimpse of the smile on his face and raised an eyebrow. “You seem to be in a good mood today, can you tell me about it?”

“That Wang Cheng’s a very interesting person.” Yuan Xia really wanted to laugh at the thought of that woman’s humiliated look because of Wang Cheng.

Although Wang Cheng’s 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.

“Are you falling in love with him? That’s certainly out of the question.”

Yuan Xia smiled and shook his head. He thought better of it and answered, “Even if I fall in love with him, someone may not agree.”

“By the way, I have something to do tonight and won’t be back for dinner. Don’t wait for me if I go home too late. Go to sleep first.”

“Okay, but don’t drink too much.”

It was only past five o’clock 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 He’s 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.

“Cheng Cheng, will you go home this weekend?”

“Probably not.”  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.

“I want to talk to you about your sister. In a week’s time, she’ll 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 Ning’an have time to accompany her.” 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?

“I’ve mentioned this matter to Big Brother before. He just transferred to the company’s headquarters not long ago and his work is hectic. He’s now in a critical period of his rising career. Most likely, he won’t have that much time. I can actually ask a day off from my boss.”

“If that’s the case, don’t bother your big brother, but will your boss agree?”

“Of course he will. My boss is very reasonable and it’s not the first time that I’ve asked for a day off.”

“Then Cheng, please book a plane ticket for your sister. She’ll start school on the 1st of September. Just book for the afternoon of the 30th of August. That day’s a Sunday, so you won’t have to ask for a day off.”

“Whatever you say. Do you want to book a first class seat?” Whatever his mom decided, he just needed to nod.

“First class seat?  Is it expensive or not? If it’s too expensive, buy a cheaper one.” Mama Wang, who had never sat in an airplane in her entire life, simply did not know what a first class seat was.

“Okay, I’ll check it out later.” 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 life’s 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 o’clock when he came out again. He threw his towel onto the sofa, took the laptop from his big brother’s 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.

There were many flights from Shanhai to the capital city. The lowest fare was 460 yuan, but there were also airport constructions and fuel cost fees which added up to more than 600 yuan.

Wang Cheng registered his account number. At first, he wanted to choose the one with a high rate of punctuality and a relatively cheaper one, but it could be said that there were no tickets like that available. There were many people who were going to the capital city during that time. The prices after that were expensive and the punctuality rates were also not high. After a long time of searching, he booked two ordinary seats and used his big brother’s online banking. Soon afterward, he received a text message confirming that the booking was successful.

Wang Cheng forwarded the information to his sister and reminded her to prepare early. As a result, when he just put his phone down, he received a call from Wang Ziyu.

“Second Brother, Mom just said that you’re too fast.” There was still a few trace of excitement in Wang Ziyu’s tone once she recalled that she was about to travel far away from home. She was slightly looking forward to it.

“If we’re not quick, the tickets will be booked by someone else.” Wang Cheng laid on one side of the sofa, looking calm.

“So what do I need to prepare?”

“It’s not the first time that you’re leaving home.” Why did she ask him about everything as if he had moved out into his husband’s house before? Wang Cheng still said, “Prepare your clothes first. For other daily necessities, wait ’til you get there to buy them.”

“Mom also said this.” Wang Ziyu whispered. She originally wanted to take those daily utensils she used in high school to the capital, but Mama Wang said that those had already been used for three years and moreover, this trip was by airplane, so it would definitely be troublesome to bring those things. Therefore, she did not allow her to take them.

“Then just listen to Mom.” Wang Cheng very much agreed with their mother’s decision.

“Okay, I understand. Mom’s calling me. Second Brother, you should go to bed early.”

After the phone call ended, Wang Cheng threw his phone to the other end of the sofa. The TV was still showing a family drama and its content was extremely melodramatic. Watching it gave him goose bumps. He could not bear it anymore so he turned the TV off and the apartment became quiet in a split second.

Wang 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 what’s the boss doing right now?

Wang Cheng scooped his phone with his foot and looked for Chu Yifeng’s 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 ‘the more the merrier,’ 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 boss’s 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.

Which bar?