"Get a driver’s license?" Lin Ruoxi’s eyes widened slightly.

"What, you don’t want to get one?" Xue Rui asked with a smile.

"Hmm, I do want to."

...

Lin Ruoxi thought about how since Yu Minlan had left, she and Xue Rui were always bumming rides or taking taxis. If she had a license, they could buy their own car, which would be much more convenient.

She’d be in the driver’s seat, and Xue Rui would be in the passenger seat.

The young lady’s face broke into a grin; she thought this was a wonderful idea.

The two of them walked away from the crowd as they talked.

"Xiaorui..." Just as Xue Xiaying was about to follow them, she was stopped by Director Wang.

"You’re not going to watch over them for the rest of their lives, are you? They’re all grown up now." Director Wang lit a cigarette, a look of satisfaction on his face, as if he’d just completed a mission.

Xue Xiaying opened her mouth to speak, then closed it, ultimately just watching as the two of them disappeared into the distance.

"Mengze, let’s go check out a driving school." Xue Rui patted Qiu Mengze on the shoulder. At that moment, Qiu Mengze was chatting with a few classmates, looking like they were getting a group together for the internet cafe.

’In my past life,’ he recalled, ’I remember spending days on end at the internet cafe with these guys right after the exams...’

Qiu Mengze looked dazed. "Right now?"

"What do you think? Signing up is just the first step. We can’t schedule the written test until we’re registered," Xue Rui said.

Qiu Mengze looked conflicted. He said to his classmates, "We’re estimating our scores at school tomorrow. Let’s go after that."

’Xue Rui has changed so much,’ he thought. ’It used to be him dragging me to the internet cafe. I thought he’d show his true colors after the exams were over, but I guess he really meant what he said. When he said he wouldn’t go, he really meant it.’

The three of them found a taxi by the roadside. Qiu Mengze automatically took the front passenger seat.

Xue Rui and Lin Ruoxi sat in the back.

After putting her backpack to her right, the young lady leaned over Xue Rui and fastened his seatbelt for him.

Xue Rui was slightly surprised. "Where did you learn to do that?"

"You said it before—that you have to wear a seatbelt in the back seat, too. You fastened mine for me once," Lin Ruoxi said earnestly.

Xue Rui smiled. He had only done that back then to get a little closer to her. Whether he wore a seatbelt in the back usually depended on the driver.

If the car was driving smoothly, he couldn’t be bothered to put one on.

He usually sat in the passenger seat when riding with acquaintances, so it was a rare occasion to sit in the back with Lin Ruoxi. But seeing how serious the girl was, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse, letting her take care of him.

The driver glanced at them in the rearview mirror, his eyes full of envy.

Then he looked at Qiu Mengze in the passenger seat and noticed he wasn’t wearing his seatbelt. The driver said irritably, "Passenger side needs to buckle up. There are traffic cameras."

"Oh..." Qiu Mengze looked embarrassed and reached over to buckle his seatbelt.

"Where to?" the driver asked.

"Sir, we want to sign up for a driving school, but we don’t know which one is good." Xue Rui smiled and handed the driver a pack of cigarettes.

He had gotten his license in Chang’an in his past life, so he wasn’t familiar with the local situation in Hedong.

Thus, the pack of cigarettes was a payment for information. In a small city, taxi drivers were the most well-informed people. All they had to do was put a call out on their radio, and what couldn’t they find out?

Besides, they had hailed a random taxi, not one from near the DMV, so the chances of the driver having a kickback deal with a driving school were also slim.

A single pack of cigarettes could filter out a lot of bad choices. It was a small price for a big result.

The driver smiled as he accepted the cigarettes and made no move to drive off. That pack of premium soft-pack Chunghwas was worth nearly half a day’s fares.

The driver cleared his throat and lit one up. "Now, there’s an inside track to that..."

Qiu Mengze turned his head and said, "Xue Rui, didn’t I tell you I have a relative at a driving school?"

The driver frowned at being interrupted. "What kind of relative? A close one?"

"What was the relation to my family again? I forgot," Qiu Mengze said, trying to recall.

The corner of Xue Rui’s eye twitched. ’This is exactly why I don’t listen to him.’

"I think it’s better if we find one ourselves and not trouble anyone," Xue Rui said tactfully.

’He wants to go without even knowing how they’re related? Isn’t he afraid of being ripped off?’

Qiu Mengze was the type of student with zero life experience. When you needed to buy something or pay for a service, the biggest taboo was going to relatives or acquaintances.

If it was someone you were in frequent contact with, that was fine; they could really be a lot of help.

But a distant one? You were just serving yourself up as a lamb for the slaughter...

Especially for a commission-based job like at a driving school, getting overcharged was the least of your worries. The real fear was that they’d feel they could slack off with a relative, since you were family and probably wouldn’t file a complaint.

It would be hard for Qiu Mengze’s family to refuse, but for him, wouldn’t it just cause delays?

In any case, he just had to drag Qiu Mengze along to sign up, and that would be that.

The driver glanced at Xue Rui, thinking to himself that this kid had more sense than many adults.

He figured Xue Rui had probably been burned before. He said to Qiu Mengze, "It’s best to find one yourself. Listen to him; he’s right."

"A few years ago, when I was renovating my house, my relative told me he gave me a huge discount. Later, my neighbor hired a renovation company, and their guys told me my relative had ripped me off by tens of thousands..."

"If I’d been ripped off by a stranger, whatever. The key is, he was my relative. Son of a bitch..."

Listening to the driver’s rant, Qiu Mengze had a sudden realization.

Lin Ruoxi stared blankly. She recalled a time when relatives had approached her, and it had also been for her money.

"Are all relatives bad people?" Lin Ruoxi asked weakly.

Xue Rui laughed. The girl’s innocence was adorable.

The college entrance exams had standard answers; for anything with a clear pattern, Lin Ruoxi could handle it with ease. But interpersonal relationships had no standard answers, and the young lady’s mind wasn’t as sharp in this area.

"For you, they are," Xue Rui sighed.

The young lady instinctively leaned closer to Xue Rui. She knew he would never hurt her.

Qiu Mengze shot Xue Rui a glare. He felt like Xue Rui had just brought him along to be the third wheel.

Xue Rui winked back with a hint of smugness, making Qiu Mengze clench his jaw.

’If it were me and Gu Muxue getting our licenses, I definitely wouldn’t have invited a third wheel like Qiu Mengze. It would only cramp my style.’

’But it’s different with Lin Ruoxi. The young lady lets me hold her and tease her as I like, and she’ll even initiate contact herself. The concept of ’taking advantage’ doesn’t even exist between us.’

’Sometimes... I even feel like I’m the one being taken advantage of.’

After finishing his cigarette, the driver started the car, one hand resting on the steering wheel. "A lot of people have been getting their licenses these past two years. You might not be able to book a test."

"My son got his at Xunfeng Driving School. The situation there is..."

...

Xue Rui frowned. It had taken him a long time to get his license in Chang’an, also because of the "driver’s license rush." At times, he couldn’t even book a test for a month or two.

Some students, due to poor scheduling and failed attempts, even took two years to barely pass...

’I thought that since Hedong is smaller, we’d be able to get our licenses without a hitch. I can’t believe we’re running into the same issue here.’

"Sir, is there a faster way?"

"There is. I’ll take you to Dongfang Driving School. That school’s got connections, but the price is high, too. What do you think?" the driver said, glancing in the rearview mirror.

He figured a kid who could casually hand him a pack of premium cigarettes must come from a well-off family.

"No problem, let’s go," Xue Rui said.

"Alrighty."

A look of embarrassment appeared on Qiu Mengze’s face. He had no idea how much it cost to sign up for driving school...

Xue Rui’s family certainly wasn’t short on money. He couldn’t read Lin Ruoxi, but she was holding the latest "Tycoon Gold" iPhone 5S, so he figured she wasn’t lacking cash either.

But the car was already moving. He had to grit his teeth and go along; he couldn’t just say he wasn’t going.

After Xue Rui and the others arrived at the driving school, a staff member heard they were there to register and, beaming with delight, led them into the lobby to handle the paperwork.

"Are all three of you signing up? It’s 2,800 per person, which includes..." said the person in charge of registration.

Qiu Mengze was a little surprised. He pulled Xue Rui aside and whispered, "My relative said it would only be 1,500."

He felt this place was way too expensive. His dad probably wouldn’t agree to it.

’Expensive things have their advantages,’ Xue Rui thought. ’The driver said the process here is fast, which means this school has some pull...’

’Besides, the rule I set for the young lady is to go for high-end consumption.’

’Paying more might not filter out low-quality people, but it definitely filters out most people. And Lin Ruoxi likes places that aren’t crowded.’

’This driving school is pretty good, and the location is convenient, too.’

The young lady watched the people practicing in the distance, her eyes filled with curiosity.

"I told you to crank the wheel all the way! Are you an idiot?" an instructor yelled, pointing at a girl.

The girl, thoroughly berated, had tears welling up in her eyes.

Lin Ruoxi flinched and swallowed nervously.

’The people here are so mean,’ she thought. ’I’m scared...’

Xue Rui’s eye twitched. ’Looks like whether it’s expensive or cheap, the instructors are all cut from the same cloth...’

He had talked with driving instructors before and knew that schools actually had a bonus system. As long as a student passed the practical test on the first try, the responsible instructor would get a commission of several hundred yuan...

The interests of the instructor and the student were actually aligned. If the student couldn’t learn, the instructor would earn less money.

’When you watch money that should be in your pocket fly away, and on top of that, some people are just plain slow and can’t be taught in an afternoon... the more you teach, the angrier you get...’

Xue Rui walked over and comforted her, "It’s okay. They won’t yell at you."

Signing up for the school was mainly just to follow the official process. In reality, he could teach the girl to drive himself.

Besides, with Lin Ruoxi’s looks—someone had almost driven their car into a ditch when she walked in—who would have the heart to yell at her?

He was more afraid of the girl being bullied.

Therefore, he wouldn’t let Lin Ruoxi practice here alone.

...

"Take your time to think about it."

The person in charge had a great attitude, bringing the three of them glasses of water and waiting quietly for them to discuss it.

"Mm," Lin Ruoxi nodded.

When Xue Rui said she wouldn’t be yelled at, the young lady immediately broke into a smile.

"This is the place. Let’s pay and sign the contract," Xue Rui said.

Hearing this, Qiu Mengze turned and walked out.

He didn’t have any money on him. Even if he wanted to sign up here, he’d have to go home and discuss it with his family first.

But he felt there wasn’t much hope. His family had already made arrangements with that relative.

"Let’s pay. For all of us," Xue Rui said.

Lin Ruoxi obediently walked over and followed the staff member to pay by card.

The young woman handling registration took out a few standard contracts and asked for their ID cards.

Lin Ruoxi walked to the doorway and asked the dazed Qiu Mengze, "Where’s your ID? We need it to register."

Qiu Mengze mumbled and handed over his ID. As he passed it to Lin Ruoxi, he suddenly said, "I haven’t decided yet."

"But your fee has already been paid," Lin Ruoxi said.

Qiu Mengze’s breathing quickened. That was almost three thousand yuan. Who had paid for him?

"Xue Rui paid?" Qiu Mengze murmured.

’Has the ’seal’ on Xue Rui been broken?’

He suddenly felt that he and Xue Rui were no longer in the same world. But...

His childhood friend had paid for his driving school fees. His feelings were very complicated right now...

"I paid," Lin Ruoxi said.

Qiu Mengze’s expression grew increasingly strange. "You paid for me? Why?"

Faced with Qiu Mengze’s questioning, Lin Ruoxi suddenly didn’t know how to answer.

When she paid just now, she hadn’t thought much about it. Xue Rui had said to pay for all three of them, so she just went and swiped her card.

’Thinking about it now, why did I pay for Qiu Mengze?’

’Spending money on someone of the opposite sex is called being a sugar mommy.’

’But the only one I want to be a sugar mommy to is Xue Rui.’

Lin Ruoxi became conflicted. She frowned and said, "I don’t want to be your sugar mommy."

After saying that, the young lady took the ID card to get it copied.

Qiu Mengze’s mouth twitched. ’What the hell was that all about?’

Xue Rui, who had heard their conversation from inside, couldn’t help but laugh.

"What she means is, consider it a loan," Xue Rui said, walking over.

"Oh, that’s a relief," Qiu Mengze said, patting his chest.

Having someone suddenly pay such a large sum for him felt really strange, like he owed them some kind of intangible debt. Calling it a loan felt much more comfortable.

Xue Rui smiled and patted Qiu Mengze’s shoulder. His childhood friend wasn’t particularly promising or ambitious, and his moral compass wasn’t exactly straight, but he had his own principles.