“You seem to be in a good mood. Did driving lessons go well today?” Chu Yifeng stood at the kitchen doorway with his arms folded. Wang Cheng had been humming ever since he entered the kitchen, and Chu Yifeng had never seen him this cheerful before. He was curious what good thing had happened at the driving school.
“I met a university lecturer there today. He seems pretty gentle, and we had a good chat.” Wang Cheng lifted the beef he had put on to boil half an hour earlier out of the pot and set it on the cutting board, answering absentmindedly as he worked.
“A woman?” Chu Yifeng raised an eyebrow slightly.
“A man,” Wang Cheng said. “There are women too, but they’re two middle-aged ladies in their forties or fifties. All the pretty women are in the other groups.”
“You sound disappointed.”
“Women are too delicate. What’s there to be disappointed about?” Wang Cheng had heard one man in their group envying the other groups, but they were there to learn how to drive, not pick up women.
“You’re not planning to get a girlfriend?”
Wang Cheng cut the beef into pieces. He had discovered that the knives in Chu Yifeng’s apartment were extremely sharp. They could cut through bone without much effort, so slicing meat was even easier. Only then did he answer, “I’m still young. Why rush? Besides, girlfriends are hard to please. I have no interest in bringing home an ancestor I have to worship.”
“Your parents don’t say anything?” Most elders wanted their children to marry early and give them grandchildren. Chu Yifeng did not have that problem himself, but Shen Yuan did. Every time they met, Shen Yuan complained about his family arranging blind dates for him at random.
“Of course not.” Wang Cheng glanced at him while he had a free second and said smugly, “Eldest Brother is two years older than me and he still doesn’t have a girlfriend. If Mom is going to worry about anyone, she’ll worry about him first. My turn won’t come for a while.”
Chu Yifeng gave him a long look and said nothing.
Wang Cheng said, “Boss, if you’re not going to help, don’t stand here getting in the way while I cook. Go wait outside. I’m almost done.”
Wang Cheng made two meat dishes, one vegetable dish, and a soup. He had not gone to work today because he spent the whole day at driving school and came back relatively early in the afternoon, so he made the chicken stewed with mushrooms he had not managed to make last time. He used a free-range chicken bought at the supermarket. Free-range chicken was more expensive, but it was considered more nutritious and the meat was flavorful. Wealthier people liked it, so every batch tended to sell out quickly. He had gone early this time and managed to grab two, freezing the other one for next time.
“Boss, try some of the free-range chicken.”
Wang Cheng picked up a piece of chicken and placed it in Chu Yifeng’s bowl. He loved free-range chicken. The chickens his family raised were the same kind. Back when he lived on the mountain, Mama Wang would have Papa Wang bring them one every so often. After eating that kind of chicken for so many years, other chicken simply tasted wrong to him.
“It does taste good.” Chu Yifeng nodded. He had eaten plenty of fine food and could tell good from bad with a single bite.
“Right? But the chickens my family raises taste even better.” Wang Cheng smiled, never missing a chance to praise his family’s food.
“Are you going back to driving school tomorrow?”
“Yeah. Yuan Xia wants to learn as quickly as possible while there’s still some summer vacation left, so he won’t have to take leave once school starts.”
Chu Yifeng looked at him. “You’ve set your sights on him already?”
Wang Cheng put a piece of meat in his mouth, followed it with a bite of rice, and only answered after swallowing. “I have a pretty good impression of him. And I’ve never had a friend who works as a university lecturer before. I think it’s good to get to know more people.”
Chu Yifeng did not respond.
“But there is one thing that’s not so good,” Wang Cheng continued on his own.
“What?”
“Assistant Instructor Liu has too many students, and he only has two cars. Six of us have to take turns with the one we use. By the time it gets to me, most of the time is already gone, so I barely get any turns.” Wang Cheng had been confused at first, but he eventually figured out how things worked.
Driving lessons also used different kinds of cars. Chu Yifeng had registered him for a manual. Manual cars had a clutch and were harder to operate, but once someone learned to drive one, an automatic without a clutch would naturally be easy. That was why more students enrolled for manual training. Yuan Xia was learning manual too.
Assistant Instructor Liu had two cars, one manual and one automatic. Only two students were learning on the automatic, but their side was a different story. Wang Cheng had thought it over after coming home. He had gotten behind the wheel fewer than five times the entire afternoon, and while the others were practicing reversing, he was still learning to move forward and backward.
“You can drive there yourself.”
Driving-school instructors were more than happy when students brought their own cars to practice in.
Wang Cheng rolled his eyes. “Boss, are you kidding me? If I already knew how to drive, I wouldn’t need to go learn.”
“Then teach yourself at home.”
Wang Cheng was silent for a long moment. “Then wouldn’t all that tuition have been paid for nothing?”
Chu Yifeng looked at him, and the corner of his mouth seemed to lift slightly.
Wang Cheng could only keep puzzling over the problem himself. Fortunately, he and Yuan Xia got along well. Wang Cheng was still curious about Yuan Xia being a lecturer and asked him a flood of questions. Yuan Xia never showed the slightest impatience, which made Wang Cheng like him even more. During dinner with Chu Yifeng, nearly every third sentence out of his mouth involved Yuan Xia. The two had already exchanged phone numbers and stayed in contact outside driving lessons too.
Wang Cheng learned that Yuan Xia was already twenty-nine. After graduating from university, he chose to become a teacher. Coincidentally, he was also a graduate of Jing University. He later transferred to Shanhai University, had once received an Outstanding Young Teacher award, and had won awards for papers he authored, which was why he had already become a lecturer at such a young age.
Chu Yifeng lounged on the sofa watching Wang Cheng carry the plates into the kitchen, feeling vaguely as if he had brought this on himself.
Wang Cheng came back out shortly afterward, said goodbye, and returned to his own apartment. He did not wash the plates or bowls. He cooked, Chu Yifeng washed the dishes. Life stayed harmonious when responsibilities were clearly divided.
After another day of lessons, the third day was Monday, and Wang Cheng did not go to driving school.
Yuan Xia was currently on vacation, but Wang Cheng still had a job. When the company was busy, he could not keep taking leave, so he had to go to work today. He rode in Chu Yifeng’s car as usual, except this time he volunteered to drive. He had barely learned the basics and had never driven on the road before, yet Chu Yifeng actually let him.
He mistook the accelerator for the brake and lurched his way along, eventually crawling to the company in first gear. Both of them arrived late, and Wang Cheng did not dare look at Chu Yifeng.
“People make mistakes and horses stumble. Next time I’ll definitely make it into second gear,” Wang Cheng promised solemnly, clenching his fist.
“Why don’t you try fourth gear while you’re at it?” Chu Yifeng slipped the car keys into his pocket and turned toward the elevator.
Wang Cheng followed closely beside him. “No way. I’m afraid people might think the two of us are committing a lovers’ suicide.”
Chu Yifeng’s steps paused. He turned and looked at him.
Wang Cheng immediately put on an innocent expression.
“If you’ve got the nerve to drag me into a lovers’ suicide with you, go ahead.” With that, Chu Yifeng started walking again.
“What?” Wang Cheng did not understand and hurried after him. “Boss, what do you mean by that?”
Chu Yifeng ignored him.
All three newcomers had already arrived at the company. Ever since Zhu Chunlin and the other newcomer noticed that Wang Cheng’s relationship with Chu Yifeng seemed unusual, they had been thinking of following Cheng Cheng’s example and currying favor with him. They had even prepared excuses, but Wang Cheng did not come to work the next day, nor the day after, and the day after that happened to be a holiday. Most of their enthusiasm had worn away, though that did not mean they had given up. Then they turned around and saw Boss and Wang Cheng enter one after the other. Zhu Chunlin nearly sprayed out a mouthful of water. Leaving work together was one thing, but coming to work together too? Were they living together or something?
Wang Cheng did not care what they thought. He was still trying to figure out what Chu Yifeng had meant when Li Yu called him over for market research and told him to take Cheng Cheng along.
Market research was physical work because they had to run around outside. They did not even have time to return for lunch and ate out instead. They only got back after four in the afternoon. Wang Cheng was fine, but Cheng Cheng looked as if both legs were about to fall off. No matter how hardworking the young man was, running around outside all day was exhausting, especially on his first time doing it.
“Brother Cheng, you’re amazing. You never complained about being tired once.” Cheng Cheng collapsed over the desk.
Wang Cheng handed him a bottle of water. “It’s not bad. My family lives in the mountains, so I’m used to running around up and down them every day. The city is just hotter.”
“Thanks, Brother Cheng.” Cheng Cheng unscrewed the cap and drank half the bottle before stopping. “Brother Cheng, you weren’t at the company the past two days. I only found out you’d taken leave after I asked Brother Xu.”
“I went to driving school.”
“That’s great. I want to learn too, but I don’t even have a car yet. Do you have one, Brother Cheng?” Cheng Cheng’s eyes lit up. There was hardly a man who did not like cars.
“It’s my brother’s car.” Wang Cheng shrugged.
“That’s still better than having no car.” Cheng Cheng thought about how it would probably take him several more years before he could afford one.
Wang Cheng completely agreed with that.
After work, Chu Yifeng refused to let him drive again. Wang Cheng kept trying to persuade him and repeatedly promised he absolutely would not repeat what happened that morning, but Chu Yifeng never budged. Only when Wang Cheng saw the residential complex just ahead did he finally shut up. What a stingy boss.