Chapter 14

Chapter 14

After that quiet night, the relationship between You Nan and Qi Yuwen seemed to have subtly shifted.

Qi Yuwen drove You Nan to work in the morning, and in the afternoon, You Nan was picked up by his driving instructor for lessons.

He studied diligently, keeping himself busy every day, with little room in his mind for anything else.

Moreover, Qi Yuwen was no longer so reserved with him. Intimate gestures like holding hands or hugging with You Nan now earned him Energy Points. Qi Yuwen’s Energy Points had even surpassed Yao Xianqing’s.

With a stable and long-term source of Energy Points, You Nan gradually relaxed, no longer feeling as anxious as before. He smoothly passed both the theory test and the road test (Subject Two).

As soon as he passed Subject Two, the driving school instructor immediately arranged practice sessions for the on-road driving test (Subject Three).

You Nan sat nervously in the driver’s seat, following every instruction from the instructor in the passenger seat.

“Alright, when you see the distance to the car ahead is within roughly 50 meters, step on the brake, slowly reduce your speed, and come to a full stop!” the instructor explained the key points as You Nan gradually brought the car to a halt at a traffic light.

With a “crunch,” before You Nan could even pull up the parking brake to prevent the car from rolling back, the entire vehicle was struck by a strong force and slid forward about ten meters.

You Nan was stunned, while the driving instructor in the passenger seat darkened, angrily unbuckling his seatbelt, opening the door, and storming to check the rear of the car. One look almost made his vision go dark from fury.

The entire rear of the car was caved in!

This was a new car the driving school had bought less than a year ago! And now it had been totaled like this!

Furious, the instructor didn’t care that the vehicle that hit them was a luxury car. He rolled up his sleeves, revealing his strong, muscular arms, and strode over, ready for a fight, to knock on the other driver’s window.

When he saw that the driver was a young teenager, he gritted his teeth even harder.

“Get out!”

The instructor’s voice was harsh. The blond-haired young man in the driver’s seat didn’t dare speak to him directly, afraid that one punch from the instructor would knock him out.

The young man locked all the car doors, frantically scrolling through his contacts in a panic.

You Nan got out of the car behind the instructor, feeling nervous inside.

He was the one driving—would he be held responsible for this?

On his very first day driving on the road, he’d gotten into an accident. You Nan didn’t want Qi Yuwen to have to pay for his driving lessons and then also be responsible for the aftermath of this incident.

You Nan would feel guilty asking Qi Yuwen for even a single extra cent toward these driving lessons.

At this moment, there wasn’t much You Nan could do. Seeing the instructor confronting the other driver, he quickly took out his phone to photograph the license plate of the at-fault vehicle and the scene of the accident. He then called the traffic police, turned on the hazard lights, opened the trunk to retrieve the warning triangle, and placed it a short distance away to alert other vehicles.

He was swamped.

The driving instructor noticed You Nan’s actions and felt even more satisfied with this student. Seeing that the young man inside the car refused to come out no matter what, the instructor could only temporarily suppress his anger and call the insurance company.

Meanwhile, the young man inside the car was calling someone for help.

“Boss! Boss! Help! I’m in trouble!”

On the other end, Huang Jingming, who was in the middle of a class and so tired she could barely keep her eyes open, suddenly answered the phone and heard her lackey’s plea for help. She immediately shouted, “What happened?”

The classroom, which had been in the middle of a lesson, suddenly fell silent.

The young man sat crying in the luxury car, “I—I was video chatting with my girlfriend, and when I got to the traffic light, I didn’t brake in time. I rear-ended the car in front of me.”

“What!” Huang Jingming’s eyes widened, and she snapped awake. She didn’t even care about the homeroom teacher watching her sternly from the podium and ran out of the classroom in front of everyone. “Explain yourself clearly! This car isn’t even mine!”

“You said you knew how to drive! I can’t believe this! Do you have any idea that’s my sister’s car? You’re going to get me killed!”

Huang Jingming was already running, but cold sweat poured down her forehead.

This car was her sister’s prized car, bankrolled by her fiancé. Although her sister had left it in the garage and ignored it, if it weren’t for her sister’s indulgence, he wouldn’t have gotten near it even if it rotted away.

The young man with blond hair was now bawling his eyes out, “Wahhh, I—I don’t even have a driver’s license. What do I do, boss? Am I going to jail?”

Huang Jingming felt her vision go dark hearing this. She yelled, “Shit, you really don’t have a license and yet you lied to me saying you could drive? Shut the hell up!”

“Just wait there!”

Huang Jingming hung up and immediately called her sister.

As soon as her sister answered, her good-for-nothing brother blurted out everything honestly.

Huang Jingling: “…”

Huang Jingling closed her eyes. If her annoying brother were in front of her right now, she’d beat him up on the spot!

Her anger boiled over, “Huang Jingming, act your age! You’re an adult now, not a child, understand? Can’t you think things through before acting?”

Huang Jingming knew he’d messed up, feeling defensive and miserable. The young man mumbled tearfully, “I know I was wrong. I’ll never lend the car to anyone else again.”

Huang Jingling took a deep breath, rubbing her chest to calm down. “I’m busy right now and don't have bandwidth for this. Call Yao Xianqing and ask him to handle it!”

“I can’t stand the sight of you right now. Let him clean up your mess!”

Huang Jingming didn’t dare talk back and could only mutter a defeated “Okay.”

He breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Compared to his future brother-in-law, who was still practically a stranger, he was more afraid of his own sister.

His brother-in-law had a truly soft heart.

Huang Jingming wanted to say something else, like asking about the car insurance, but he heard a “beep” in his ear—his sister had hung up.

Huang Jingming: “…”

Typical. Today, once again, his sister showed she didn’t like her brother.

Helpless, Huang Jingming called Yao Xianqing, feeling utterly mortified.

Although his sister and Yao Xianqing had been set up by their families for an arranged match, both families knew the two didn’t like each other at all.

Apart from family-arranged banquets and collaborations between the two families, the two were never seen together, let alone on a date.

Even this car was something Yao Xianqing’s family insisted he buy for Huang Jingling—the only gift between them. His sister had parked it in the garage to gather dust, out of sight, out of mind.

Huang Jingming sighed inwardly. He didn’t want to trouble Yao Xianqing, but now only Yao Xianqing could show some kindness and help out him and his lackey.

Yao Xianqing had just left work and was exiting the company when he saw a call from his “fiancée’s” brother.

Yao Xianqing answered, “Hello? Is this Xiaoming?”

As soon as Huang Jingming heard Yao Xianqing’s calm voice, he couldn’t hold back anymore, pleading desperately for him to help out him and his lackey out of respect for their families’ partnership.

Yao Xianqing rubbed his tired brow. He always felt like he was indebted to Huang Jingling for occupying her "fiancé" position.

"Alright, send me your location first, then go back to class, understand?"

Huang Jingming felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders upon hearing this. He quickly sent his location and, without another word, hurried back to the classroom as instructed.

.

It wasn't until the traffic police arrived at the scene that the blond kid finally stepped out of the luxury car. When the officer asked for his driver's license, the young man broke down completely, whimpering that he hadn't even obtained one yet. His waterworks left the driving school instructor utterly at a loss.

The driving instructor was equal parts annoyed and amused. "No license and you still drove? Now that there's been an accident, do you think you can handle the responsibility?"

The situation was clear-cut, and the traffic police quickly issued the corresponding penalties: "Cover the other party's vehicle repair costs. The car will be impounded, and you'll be detained for a traffic safety course. Only after serving your penalty will the car be returned to you."

The blond kid wasn't much older, having just reached adulthood, and had never experienced anything like this. He knew he had messed up badly. Hearing the police's decision, his vision went dark, and he was too choked up to utter a single word.

When he saw Yao Xianqing drive up, he started wailing even harder, like a child who finally sees a responsible adult who can take charge.

He regretted it deeply in his heart—he would never answer phone calls while driving again, (sniffle)—

"Hello, I'm a friend of the car owner. She's still at work and asked me to come handle this for her."

Yao Xianqing shook hands with the traffic police officer, and his sweeping gaze halted when he spotted You Nan.

You Nan hadn't expected to run into Yao Xianqing here either.

What a small world.

But then again, the world revolves around protagonists. Protagonists run into all sorts of troubles day in and day out. When you think about it, being a protagonist isn’t easy.

Speaking of which: here was another one of those situations.

Yao Xianqing noticed the logo of a certain driving school printed on the car that had been hit and realized Huang Jingming's friend had coincidentally crashed into a car from You Nan's driving school.

Yao Xianqing didn’t acknowledge You Nan in front of the driving instructor, and You Nan didn’t speak up either. The two acted like strangers.

The blond kid hid behind the adults as soon as Yao Xianqing arrived, refusing to come out no matter what.

Yao Xianqing stepped forward to sort things out with the traffic police and the driving instructor.

Yao Xianqing knew they were in the wrong, so he was willing to make concessions. Both insurance companies arrived quickly. With Yao Xianqing—who was clear-headed, contract-savvy, and knew how to negotiate—present, the matter was wrapped up in under ten minutes.

Both insurance companies would cover part of the cost, and Yao Xianqing's side would pay for the remaining amount.

The blond kid wiped his eyes. He didn’t want Yao Xianqing to clean up his mess and pay on his behalf too.

He took out his phone and wired over the few grand in red envelopes Huang Jingming had sent him when he was in a good mood to the coach. He apologized profusely, though still fearfully, then obediently went along without protest with the traffic police. The car his good friend had lent him was impounded as well.

The driving school coach wasn’t the type to rub it in when he had the upper hand. Seeing the young man actively admit his mistake and the respectful attitude of the older party, and since the problem had been resolved, he saw no reason to dwell on it further.

With the matter settled, the group stood together by the roadside. The driving school instructor, thinking Yao Xianqing seemed like a decent guy, smiled and said, "Hey there, since both our cars are getting towed for repairs, how about grabbing dinner together?"

"No beef, no meet, right?"

Yao Xianqing lifted his gaze, his eyes landing on a surprised yet somewhat delighted You Nan. The corners of his lips lifted into a smile, his expression as gentle and approachable as always.

"Sure thing."

Yao Xianqing got to his feet, his posture erect. "I drove here. Let's take my car. My treat."

As he finished speaking, he turned his head slightly and met You Nan's smiling, crinkled eyes.

This kind of secrecy—where no one else knew they were acquainted—struck Yao Xianqing as both unfamiliar and novel and exciting.