Since he had some "spare cash" on hand, and considering the exhaustion and frustration of taking the bus every day, Chen Fei was determined to buy a car. Of course, before that, he needed to get his driver's license, as he had never taken the test before.
The next day, after careful consideration, Chen Fei finally chose a driving school named Golden Peak. The practice area was located in a remote spot outside the city center.
Long ago, that place had been a vast stretch of farmland. It was later flattened for investment in construction and development, but unfortunately, some issue arose in the process. The investment faltered, and all subsequent actions were halted, leaving the area spacious and empty. Many driving schools then rented it out as a practice area.
Chen Fei's instructor was named Zhou Jianya, which sounded like a woman's name, but he was a genuinely burly man from Northeast China.
When Chen Fei arrived, the instructor wasn't there yet, but three other students were already waiting. The group consisted of two men and one woman. The woman turned out to be Zhao Le, his former college classmate and the arts and literature representative of their class.
"Manager Wangg, what kind of car are you planning to buy after you get your license? I was looking at a mid-trim Volkswagen Sagitar that costs over a hundred thousand. I'm not sure if it's any good, though," a man in his late twenties wearing a yellow shirt asked. He had a noticeably fawning expression as he spoke to another man in his thirties who was slightly overweight and had a beer belly.
"Little Luo, not to criticize you, but even though the Sagitar has sold well in recent years, the Volkswagen brand has been on the decline. With that money, you'd be better off considering a European or American car in the same price range. They use more fuel, but their safety is superior. As for me, I've already picked one out: a Lexus NX. It's not too expensive, just three or four hundred thousand. Miss Zhao, what do you think of my choice?"
The man known as Manager Wangg shook his head boastfully before turning his lecherous eyes toward Zhao Le, asking with feigned suavity.
Even though he was mostly bragging, he was quite certain that many women in today's society fell for that kind of talk. Unfortunately for him, he had run into Zhao Le. In her line of work, she had seen plenty of men like him. Did he really think she was a fool, boasting about cars worth three or four hundred thousand?
Zhao Le simply ignored them as if they were part of the scenery. But just then, the look of impatience on her face suddenly came alive. Her eyes lit up as she exclaimed, "Chen Fei!" and headed toward the entrance to greet him.
The two men were clearly stunned. They followed her gaze and saw only an ordinary-looking young man. In their minds, a stunning beauty like Zhao Le was always cold and distant. Why would she be so proactive in greeting some ordinary-looking young guy? Even if they knew each other, this seemed far too friendly.
"Chen Fei, what brings you here? Are you also at this driving school to learn to drive?" Having experienced a sense of solidarity at the Red River Hotel, Zhao Le seemed to have grown much closer to Chen Fei. She approached him without any reservation, smiling broadly.
"Zhao, the arts and literature representative? Looks like I'm in luck. Yeah, I'm planning to buy a car, so I came to sign up for classes and get my license," Chen Fei said cheerfully, equally surprised to run into someone he knew.
Although he hadn't gotten along with the dazzling arts and literature representative during college, his impression of her had improved immensely after the last class reunion. In this day and age, it was rare to find women who looked pure and reserved on the outside but couldn't resist temptation on the inside. The most admirable ones were those who could stick to their principles and be true to themselves. He respected that type of woman greatly.
"Wow, Big Boss Chen is planning to buy a car! Are you thinking of getting a Mercedes like Slickhead? Not bad," Zhao Le teased, still remembering Slickhead's Mercedes.
Indeed, many people in the country held a special fondness for Mercedes cars.
"Don't make fun of me. Can I even compare to a rich kid like him?" Chen Fei said, feigning grievance.
His words and actions might seem a bit pretentious, considering he was secretly carrying five million. But no one else knew that! Better to stay modest.
"Hey, isn't that Xiaofei? It's been a while. You still remember me, right? Luo Chun. Brother Luo," the man in the yellow shirt suddenly interjected with a surprised voice. Unexpectedly, he also knew Chen Fei.
"Little Luo, you know Miss Zhao's friend? Why don't you introduce us?" the pudgy middle-aged man added, his gaze toward Chen Fei rather unfriendly. He was clearly jealous that a beauty like Zhao Le was showing such warmth to Chen Fei while ignoring a successful man like himself.
Chen Fei glanced at the man in his twenties and said indifferently, "Oh, it's you, Brother Luo. As I recall, you still owe me several hundred in wages, don't you? How about we settle that now?"
It turned out the man in the yellow shirt had been one of Chen Fei's bosses at a job he worked after graduation. The whole experience had been unpleasant, and Chen Fei had quit after just ten days. The man had withheld his pay, and the issue was never resolved. He never expected to run into him here.
"That's because you didn't work a full month. According to the rules, we couldn't pay you," the man in the yellow shirt said, his face flushing with embarrassment as he quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, let me introduce you. This is Manager Wangg from Yunfei Industrial Co., Ltd."
"I never expected you to have worked for Little Luo. What a coincidence. But in my opinion, you're not old enough to be buying a car yet, are you? It's good to get your license early, but you shouldn't aim too high. Work diligently for a few years, and then you can consider buying a car. By then, you should be able to afford one for around a hundred thousand or so, hahaha." Manager Wangg's eyes twinkled with malice, though he put on an enthusiastic facade, "advising" Chen Fei like a seasoned veteran.
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that, Manager Wangg. After all, we're not close, are we?" Chen Fei shot him a look, not bothering to hide the disgust in his voice.
"You..."
Manager Wangg grew angry, shocked that a mere young man would disrespect him so openly. But he failed to consider who he was, or that he had been the one to belittle Chen Fei first.
Chen Fei wasn't the type of timid pushover who would just take it.
"Little Chen, you're wrong to say that. Manager Wangg is just being kind and showing concern for you. Why are you so aggressive? Oh, right, I was wondering if you found a new job after leaving my company. Do you make two thousand a month?" Luo Chun chimed in, seeing Manager Wangg get shut down. He mockingly tried to assert his own superiority.
"His base salary probably isn't that high, but with tips, he should be able to make that much, right, young man?" Manager Wangg roared with laughter, thoroughly enjoying himself.
However, his laughter froze after only two seconds.
He realized both Chen Fei and Zhao Le were looking at him as if he were a simpleton, their faces filled with undisguised scorn.
If it were just Chen Fei looking at him that way, he might not have been so unnerved. But the fact that even the stylish and beautiful Zhao Le was staring at him with such a look made him extremely uncomfortable and indignant.
"What's the matter, Miss Zhao? Did I say something wrong again? For a fresh college graduate like him, making two thousand a month is already quite good. One shouldn't be too ambitious. You should work hard and struggle for a few years before your salary looks a little more attractive..."
The portly, middle-aged Manager Wangg was still pontificating, posturing as a successful man giving a lecture. However, before he could finish, Zhao Le had already grabbed Chen Fei's arm and walked to the side.
As they walked away, she remarked with a tone of disgust, "Let's go over there. I really can't stand it... Him, comparing himself to you? He must be out of his mind!"
She certainly remembered the scene at the Red River Restaurant.
From the day an attending physician from a top department at the city's central hospital had trembled while apologizing to him, she knew Chen Fei had already become successful, far beyond the reach of ordinary people like them. So, for someone like him—just a department manager in a small company with an annual salary of sixty to seventy thousand—to pose as a successful person in front of Chen Fei is an absolute joke. What an embarrassment!
"Miss Zhao, you..."
The two men, especially Manager Wangg, were immediately displeased when they saw Zhao Le move away in disgust while muttering to herself. Of course, they were more upset about losing face. Thankfully, the instructor, Zhou Jianya, finally made his belated appearance. The four of them tacitly chose to forget the previous incident and went to greet him.
"You must be Chen Fei. Since it's your first time, the usual rule is I'll have you get familiar with the steering wheel. Practice that for a bit, and then I'll teach you how to drive," Zhou Jianya said. Probably aware that he was late, he wasted no time and got straight to the point.
As for Zhao Le, Manager Wangg, and Luo Chun, they had already practiced for some time and had a decent grasp of the basics, so they were sent to practice reverse parking.
Meanwhile, Coach Zhou Jianya carefully explained the key points of handling the steering wheel to Chen Fei several times, personally demonstrating on a steering wheel simulator before letting Chen Fei have a go.
"That's it?" Chen Fei muttered to himself as he sat down at the simulator and began turning the wheel with practiced ease.
Clearly, after becoming a genuine cultivator, his senses were many times more acute than an average person's. He could master something like this with just a single glance. It wouldn't be an overstatement to call him a genius.
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