“Alright, big talker — here are the keys. Let’s see if you’ve actually got the nerve.”

Instructor Liu had heard plenty of first-day bravado over the years. Every single one of those students had gone white-knuckled the moment they were actually behind the wheel. He fished the keys out of his pocket and held them out.

Xu Ye shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I?”

He took the keys. Liu climbed into the passenger seat — the training car had a brake pedal on that side, which was the only reason he’d agreed to this in the first place.

Zhiwei stood outside scratching his head. “Xu Ye, don’t embarrass yourself. If you dent the car there’s no walking that back.”

“You getting in or not? If not, step back.”

Zhiwei hesitated, then got in the back.

Once you learned to drive, you never really forgot. Xu Ye settled into the seat, adjusted the mirrors and the position with practiced ease, and buckled up.

Instructor Liu watched with quiet interest and said nothing — he wanted to see if the kid could even start the car.

Xu Ye pressed the clutch and brake, turned the key, and felt the engine come to life. He grinned over at Liu. “Uncle Liu, want me to show you a launch start first?”

Liu laughed in spite of himself. “Skip the launch start. If you can parallel park on your first try, you can show up to practice whenever you feel like it.”

“Done.”

He released the clutch gradually, eased off the brake, and let the car roll forward. It felt sluggish — he applied some gas and settled at around forty kilometers per hour, steered toward the parking bay area, shifted into reverse, and began backing in.

Clean. Measured. He slotted the car into the bay without a hint of hesitation.

Zhiwei stared from the back seat.

“Xu Ye. When did you learn to drive?”

Xu Ye put the car in neutral and waved it off. “Picked things up watching my dad. He showed me a few things.”

Instructor Liu was genuinely pleased. A student who could parallel park on day one of registration was basically a guaranteed pass — and a guaranteed tick in his performance record. He clapped Xu Ye on the shoulder.

“You’ve got something, kid. Not bad at all.” He turned to both of them. “I’ll message you tomorrow — let’s try to get your licenses done before summer break ends.”

“Sounds good.”

On the ride back, Zhiwei was deeply aggrieved.

“You could already reverse park on day one of signing up. When Module Two comes around, if you pass and I fail, I’m going to want to die.”

“You’ll get used to it. There’ll be plenty more chances to be embarrassed in front of me.”

“You absolute—”

Xu Ye laughed.

They were almost home when his phone buzzed. Unknown number. He answered.

“Hello?”

Straight to the point, the other end said: “I’m Chen Qingqing’s father. You’re Xu Ye?”

Xu Ye sat up straighter. “That’s me. Auntie Jiang already came to see me — is there something else?”

A pause on the other end. Chen Hansong hadn’t known about Jiang Meilin’s visit. She hadn’t mentioned it to him.

After a moment: “Are you free this afternoon?”

“I am, but I have work tonight.”

“It won’t take long. I’d like to talk.”

“I can come to you?”

Chen Hansong said it like an instruction: “Tell me your address. I’ll have my driver pick you up. He’ll call when he arrives.”

Xu Ye agreed and hung up.

Zhiwei glanced over. “Who was that?”

“Nobody you’d know.”

“Bull. I know everyone you know.”

“You genuinely don’t know this one.”

“Tell me first.”

Xu Ye said it with a straight face: “My girlfriend’s dad.”

The scooter came to an immediate, screeching halt.

Zhiwei twisted around, eyes wide. “Your girlfriend’s — Gu Mengyao’s dad?!”

“For the love of — I’ve got nothing to do with Gu Mengyao anymore.”

“So you found someone new, that’s why you dropped her — okay, okay, that tracks, I’ve been saying you should’ve moved on ages ago, the way she was treating you was obviously just keeping you dangling, and that Liu Qian is a complete—”

Xu Ye let him run. He hadn’t explained, but the misunderstanding was convenient. It filled in the gap between old Xu Ye and new Xu Ye without requiring any impossible explanations.

“Who is she? How old? Same school as us? Actually, how do you keep having secret relationships without me knowing—”

“Stop talking. Help me with a multiple choice question.”

“A what?”

“When meeting your girlfriend’s father for the first time — what’s the appropriate thing to bring?”

“A: power suit and an Audi.”

“B: premium baijiu and expensive cigarettes.” [TL: 飞天茅台 (Fēitiān Máotāi) is the flagship product of Moutai, China’s most prestigious baijiu brand — a bottle can cost hundreds of dollars. 华子 refers to Zhonghua cigarettes (中华烟), a premium Chinese brand often given as a gift. Both are classic symbols of face-giving gift culture in China.]

“C: PhD certificate and property deed.”

“D: souped-up motorcycle and dyed hair.”

“E: ultrasound scan and full confidence.” [TL: Option E is a dark joke — showing up with an ultrasound would imply the girlfriend is pregnant, which would be the nuclear option for forcing a meeting.]

“Which would you pick?”

Zhiwei stared at him. “You don’t have a car, or a house, or any savings — A, B, and C are all out. Are you seriously going to meet her dad this afternoon?”

“It’s a long story. I already met her mom last time — she was actually pretty reasonable. Her dad sounds like he’s going to be harder to deal with. If he comes at me respectfully, I’ll be respectful back. If he comes at me sideways—”

“Keep going!”

“Nothing to keep going with. I’m going home. See you tomorrow.”

Xu Ye climbed off the scooter and headed inside. Zhiwei sat there fuming, but it was getting close to lunch and he had no choice but to ride home.

Two o’clock in the afternoon.

An Audi A6L pulled up outside Xu Ye’s building.

He got the call, came downstairs shortly after, and got in. The driver didn’t say a word the whole way — took him straight to the bank.

“The branch president is waiting upstairs.”

Xu Ye nodded and got out. The moment he walked into the lobby, a staff member stepped forward.

“You’re Xu Ye?”

“Yes.”

“This way, please.”

He was led up to the door of Chen Hansong’s office. Two knocks. A voice from inside. The staff member headed back downstairs.

Xu Ye pushed the door open and walked in.

Chen Hansong was alone. He set down what he’d been working on and gestured to the chair across from his desk.

“Sit.”

“Uncle Chen — I’d imagine you’ve already been in contact with Auntie Jiang. I explained everything clearly when she came to see me.”

“Relax. Sit down first.”

“I am relaxed.”

“I’ve already got the general picture. What I wanted to talk to you about is something else.”

“What is it?”

“I hear you’re planning to go to Shanghai for university.”

“That’s right.”

Chen Hansong leaned back, legs crossed, with the comfortable authority of a man used to being listened to. “Here’s the situation. My daughter has decided on the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Her mother and I can’t talk her out of it. The reason I asked you here is — I’d like to discuss the possibility of you applying somewhere else.”

“No.”

Clean and immediate.

Chen Hansong’s brow tightened. He shifted to the incentive angle. “Don’t say no too fast. I have connections in the financial sector. If you agreed to this, helping you land a decent position after graduation wouldn’t be difficult for me. Isn’t that the whole point of university — setting yourself up for a good career afterward?”

The screech of a chair on tile.

Xu Ye was already standing. His voice was even and cold.

“You want me to change universities because your daughter and I might end up in the same city? Uncle Chen — how little do you actually think of me?”

“I—”

“Your daughter and I have met three times. There’s every chance we’ll never cross paths again after this. I used to let people tell me what to do. That’s not who I am anymore. The more someone tells me not to do something, the more certain I am that I’m going to do it.”

He put the chair back where it belonged. At the door, he paused.

“One more thing, Uncle Chen. Is this how you talk to everyone — looking down from that height? Or is it just people like me that get that treatment?”

Chen Hansong had nothing to say to that.

Xu Ye didn’t wait. He turned and left.

(End of Chapter)