We Barely Know Each Other, but I'm Living with a Stone-Faced Mechanic! - Chapter 14

Once home, Tao Ying could no longer resist her curiosity. She opened the bag, and the rich fragrance of butter and cream rose with a faint scent of wheat.

Inside were butter cranberry cookies, sea-salt almond crisps, and small cashew shortbread squares. At the bottom sat a white box.

Tao Ying opened it. Gold, yellow, green, and brown—four flavors of cookies, each in a different shape.

She picked up a green one and chewed slowly. It tasted nothing like the mass-produced sameness of store-bought cookies. Sweet butter mingled with a cool botanical fragrance and a faint, clean bitterness. Neither sugary nor heavy, the flavor had a wild, enticing edge.

It was unusual. Tao Ying liked it, though most people probably wouldn’t.

She left the boxed cookies at home and put everything else in her car and bag.

Knowing handmade food didn’t keep long, she worried she couldn’t finish it all and shared some with colleagues in the office.

After eating two, Qu Le stared at her with bright eyes. “Did you make these, Ms. Tao?”

“No.” Tao Ying laughed. She couldn’t even manage ordinary cooking. Baking was far beyond her.

“Where did you buy them?” Qu Le opened another packet. “I like this fresh, light flavor. It isn’t like the ones from shops.”

“Qin Zheng made them.” Tao Ying didn’t hide it. “You left first after dinner the other day. They were his thank-you gift for driving him back to the shop.”

Qu Le froze. “Boss Qin made these?”

“Why are you so surprised?”

“The contrast is too much.” Qu Le took another bite. “Can you imagine someone that tall and muscular wearing an apron and baking tiny cookies?”

Tao Ying shook her head. She couldn’t imagine it either.

Qin Zheng looked hard and untamed, without the slightest softness in his features. His bold good looks carried their own pressure. No one would question him working construction. Baking dainty cookies, however, seemed absurdly at odds with him.

Yet his baking tasted better than anything sold in stores.

“Why did Boss Qin open an auto shop?” Qu Le sounded regretful. “He should’ve opened a dessert shop.”

Tao Ying smiled without replying.

Her phone vibrated. A stranger had sent a WeChat request—or not quite a stranger. It was Blind Date No. 10, the PE teacher Zhou Tao.

Tao Ying accepted. He asked when she was available to meet.

April had exhausted her, and she wanted two days to rest. They settled on May third, at an open park far from Jinhua Gardens.

The weather was beautiful that day. Tao Ying left her car at home and took the subway.

They were meeting at ten. She arrived early and chose a shaded bench.

She sat quietly for half an hour, but he didn’t appear. She waited a little longer. At ten thirty, there was still no sign of him.

Her first impression of the man plummeted. She had just risen when a voice message arrived from Zhou Tao.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Tao. My battery died. I got a jump in my complex, but the engine cut out again when I reached the park. I was so busy dealing with it that I lost track of time.”

Tao Ying paused. “What are you going to do?”

“A kind stranger happened by and is helping me jump it. He says I probably need a new battery. Why don’t you come over and wait with me? It isn’t right to leave you sitting there alone.”

Tao Ying wanted to reschedule and let him deal with the car, but she had commitments over the next two days. Replacing a battery shouldn’t take long.

“All right. I’m coming now.”

“I’m by the road across from the main entrance.”

“I understand.”

The sun was stronger now. Tao Ying lowered the brim of her hat and headed toward the entrance.

From a distance, she saw two cars—one black, one white—parked nose to nose across the road with their hoods raised and jumper cables running between them.

Except… the black SUV looked familiar.

With every step closer, her alarm grew. Surely her luck couldn’t be this terrible.

The other man disconnected the cables and lowered the hood, revealing half of a stern, sharply defined face. Tao Ying stopped dead.

He noticed her too. Their eyes met, and it was too late to turn away.

“Ms. Tao.” Qin Zheng spoke first and even waved.

Zhou Tao stared, followed his gaze, and saw her.

Tao Ying approached, greeting Qin Zheng first. “Boss Qin.”

Zhou Tao stood frozen. She—she was far too beautiful.

Tao Ying turned and smiled. “Mr. Zhou.”

Zhou Tao snapped back to himself. He extended a hand, then quickly withdrew it. He had been reaching beneath the hood, and his hands were dirty.

“Hello, Ms. Tao.” He greeted her eagerly, then glanced at Qin Zheng. “You two know each other?”

Qin Zheng answered first. “My shop is across from Pu Normal University. Ms. Tao picked up a nail in her tire once, and I repaired it.”

“What a coincidence.” Zhou Tao was delighted. “It’s always easier when you know someone. I need to go to the nearest auto shop, but I’m afraid the car will cut out again on the way. Boss Qin, could you escort me there?”

“Of course. There’s a shop two kilometers ahead. Follow me.”

“Great.” Zhou Tao said, “Could Ms. Tao ride with you? I don’t know whether my car will make it, and I don’t want her in danger if it dies on the road.”

“Sure.” Qin Zheng looked at Tao Ying. “Get in, Ms. Tao.”

There was no point lingering by the road. Zhou Tao’s warning triangle was still set out behind the car.

Not wanting to delay matters, Tao Ying got into Qin Zheng’s passenger seat.

Her feelings were impossible to describe. The same man had witnessed two of her blind dates. It was both funny and absurd.

“What a coincidence, Ms. Tao.” Qin Zheng laughed with playful meaning.

“Such a coincidence.” Tao Ying smiled too, though only her facial muscles moved. “What brought you here, Boss Qin?”

“I’m viewing apartments nearby. I’ve been staying on the second floor of the shop, but it’s beside the road. The traffic and headlights keep me awake. I haven’t been sleeping well.”

That made sense. Passing cars and sweeping headlights couldn’t be good for sleep.

The two kilometers took only five minutes.

Zhou Tao smiled apologetically at Tao Ying. “Wait for me, Ms. Tao.”

“I’ll handle it.” Qin Zheng stopped him. “You two talk.”

“I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

From their earlier conversation, Zhou Tao knew Qin Zheng worked in auto repair. Naturally, having him oversee things was better. At least this shop wouldn’t trick him into replacing unnecessary parts.

“It’s fine.” Qin Zheng called to the owner. “Could someone run a diagnostic? The car sat too long and the battery drained.”

The owner came out, coveralls smeared with grease. “What’s happening?”

Qin Zheng pointed to Zhou Tao’s car. “A jump starts it, but it dies again after a short distance. The alternator clearly isn’t charging, and the battery’s finished. Test it first.”

Hearing that Qin Zheng knew what he was talking about, the owner fetched his equipment without another word.

Zhou Tao scratched his head and smiled at Tao Ying. “Boss Qin is a good man.”

“…Mm.”

He found a stool for her. “I didn’t expect you to be this beautiful in person.”

Tao Ying curved her lips politely. Zhou Tao was reasonably good-looking too. But perhaps because Qin Zheng stood nearby, he seemed dull by comparison.

“Ms. Tao, let me formally introduce myself…”

Everything he said matched the information Li Meili had provided. His parents were both teachers, and Zhou Tao was their only child.

“Ms.—Ms. Tao, I liked you the moment I saw you,” he stammered. “What—what do you think of me?”