“Is your boss a relative?” Yuan Xia was almost too stunned by Wang Cheng’s answer to react. He had never heard of a boss personally coming to pick an employee up and take him home, but Wang Cheng had just denied they were friends.
“No.” Wang Cheng was the one who looked puzzled now. He remembered already saying that.
“Then why would your boss drive over to pick you up?” Yuan Xia was confused too.
Wang Cheng let out an enlightened “Oh,” finally understanding what he meant. “My boss is my neighbor. Our apartments are right across from each other. He got off work early, so he asked if I needed him to come pick me up. He drove me here this morning too. It’s perfectly normal.”
There did not seem to be anything suspicious about that explanation, yet Yuan Xia still felt something was off. Even neighbors who got along well did not normally go to and from work together, but Wang Cheng’s tone made it sound utterly ordinary. Yuan Xia felt a little dizzy. Was he really just overthinking it?
While they were talking, a black sports car drove straight into the training grounds. It was so conspicuous that it immediately drew most people’s attention.
Wang Cheng noticed it too and promptly waved to Yuan Xia. “My boss is here to pick me up. I’m heading out. See you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow.” Yuan Xia watched with a complicated expression as he ran toward the sports car. Through the windshield, he could vaguely make out a man around his own age. A boss that young was most likely from a wealthy, well-connected family. Yuan Xia still could not tell whether he truly was reading too much into things.
The ringing of his phone pulled Yuan Xia’s attention back. He took it out, glanced down at the caller ID, pressed his lips together slightly, and smiled.
“How did practice go today?” Chu Yifeng steered the car onto the main road and glanced at Wang Cheng, who had not said a word since getting in. He had already sensed something was wrong when he called earlier. Wang Cheng had sounded as though he was in a bad mood.
Wang Cheng heaved a heavy sigh. “Young people these days are getting more and more ridiculous.”
“How old are you yourself? Every other sentence out of your mouth is ‘young people.’”
“My heart has grown old.” Wang Cheng pressed a hand to his chest with exaggerated solemnity.
“Quit fooling around. Tell me what happened.”
With his hands clasped behind his head, Wang Cheng casually told him about the man and woman. There was no real complaint left in his voice. He was broad-minded by nature. Unless someone truly crossed him badly, he generally did not hold grudges for long.
“Then change instructors. Have He Guang teach you personally.”
“Boss, are you close with Instructor He?”
“Not especially.”
Wang Cheng clicked his tongue. “Then just because you tell him to teach me, he will?”
“Money makes things easier.”
“…I look down on you.” Wang Cheng genuinely wanted to raise a middle finger at him. “While you’re at it, mention Yuan Xia too and have him learn with me. If there are two of us taking turns, it won’t be as tiring.”
“Who was it just now who said he looked down on me?”
Wang Cheng raised a fist and waved it. “Who? Point him out. I’ll beat him up for you.”
＊
The next day, when Wang Cheng went back to driving school, Instructor He Guang came over and called him and Yuan Xia aside. He gave them a car and told them to find a practice area on their own. The preferential treatment was so obvious that people kept looking over. Chu Yifeng was getting more efficient by the day.
“Did someone tell Instructor He what happened to us?” Yuan Xia still had no idea what was going on.
“Of course. Otherwise, why would Instructor He be generous enough to hand us an entire car? Gas is getting more and more expensive.”
Seeing that Wang Cheng was not surprised at all, Yuan Xia suddenly had a flash of insight. “Don’t tell me your boss arranged this?”
“He was the one who signed me up. If I don’t learn properly, that’s his responsibility.” Wang Cheng said it with complete confidence. He had absolutely no objection to pulling strings. If there was a way to make himself more comfortable, why would he refuse it? He had no interest in torturing himself. As long as it was not anything like murder or arson, he was fine with it.
“Is this how you and your boss usually get along? You haven’t even known each other for three months, have you?” Yuan Xia was not trying to be suspicious for no reason. He genuinely felt that the way Wang Cheng and his boss interacted was a little unusual. If they were lovers, it would make sense, but judging from Wang Cheng’s behavior, there was plainly nothing of that sort on his side.
“You can’t measure how well two people get along by time alone. Some people meet for the first time and hit it off immediately. You can think of me and my boss that way.”
“Does your boss think the same thing?” Yuan Xia was finally certain Wang Cheng had no romantic intentions toward his boss, which only worried him more. For that boss to indulge Wang Cheng this much, it was hard to believe simple appreciation was the whole story.
Wang Cheng suddenly sighed.
“What’s wrong?” Yuan Xia asked cautiously.
“You hit me where it hurts.” Wang Cheng said, “The truth is, the only reason I managed to build such a good relationship with my boss is because I’m shameless enough…”
Then he told Yuan Xia how he had repeatedly thickened his skin and bummed rides from Chu Yifeng. It was simply one of those things where, after mooching enough rides, it had somehow become normal.
Yuan Xia was left staring at him in disbelief.
Just as the two of them got out to switch places, a woman who had apparently been waiting for exactly that moment suddenly called out to them and walked over. Wang Cheng recognized her as the spoiled, pretty woman. Beside him, Yuan Xia immediately wore an expression of understanding.