We Barely Know Each Other, but I'm Living with a Stone-Faced Mechanic! - Chapter 3

Rain was still falling outside. Qin Zheng held out an arm for Tao Ying to steady herself on.

She didn’t take it. Instead, she asked Xiao Fang to help her.

It wasn’t that she was being precious. Qin Zheng was simply too tall and broad. Standing in front of her, he blocked her from view entirely. The stark difference in their size felt overwhelming.

Only after settling into the passenger seat did Tao Ying relax.

Qin Zheng climbed in as well. After fastening his seat belt, he asked, “Ms. Tao, where do you live?”

“Jinhua Gardens.”

“Jinhua Gardens?” He sounded surprised. “That’s pretty far from your university.”

“The surroundings are nicer.”

Qin Zheng started the car and pulled onto the main road. As though it were an idle question, he asked, “How much is the rent? I’m looking for a place myself.”

Tao Ying turned to him in surprise. He needed to rent a place?

Anyone who could run with those rich heirs couldn’t be badly off himself. Then again, he had opened an auto repair shop. Rich young men might form car clubs for fun, but they certainly didn’t operate repair shops.

Still, Qin Zheng had genuinely repaired her car, and he had seemed skilled and professional while inspecting it.

Tao Ying had never liked prying into other people’s affairs. Since none of this concerned her, her faint curiosity vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

“Two thousand,” she replied evenly.

“I remember Jinhua Gardens being an older complex. The security isn’t very good.”

“It’s all right.”

He wasn’t wrong. Jinhua Gardens was old, and every guard at the entrance was an elderly man who spent his days dozing.

But a few months ago, Tao Ying had argued with her mother over the blind dates and moved out in anger.

Her father had died young. Her mother had worked hard to raise Tao Ying and her older sister alone. Her sister had married a wealthy man, and once one member of the family prospered, everyone benefited. Their mother had promptly turned her attention to Tao Ying, constantly making her sister introduce her to rich young men.

Their creed was simple: nothing mattered except money.

Tao Ying didn’t agree. Besides, her father’s death had been caused by a group of rich young men street racing.

That accident was like the rain stretching before her now. It had fallen in her heart for thirteen years without stopping, leaving everything dim and damp.

The rain stopped as they reached Jinhua Gardens.

Qin Zheng got out and handed her the keys. “Miss Tao, which floor do you live on?”

“The first.” She said, “Thank you, Boss Qin. I’ll call you a cab.”

“No need.” Qin Zheng stopped her. “Go inside.”

Tao Ying had asked him to park in the middle of the complex, beside a landscaped strip running from east to west with parking spaces set into it. Across the lane were eight apartment entrances. The buildings were six stories high, with private yards for the ground-floor units.

She made no move to leave, because she didn’t live on the first floor at all.

She had already said she did, yet Qin Zheng seemed determined to see his good deed through to the end. The situation grew awkward.

He suddenly chuckled. “It’s good for a woman living alone to be cautious, but don’t you think you’re taking it a little too far?”

“We barely know each other.” Tao Ying smiled without warmth. “If you think my caution is excessive, don’t you think your customer service is excessive too, Boss Qin?”

“You paid, didn’t you?” He raised a brow.

Meaning all of this came with the service.

“But you haven’t accepted the payment.” Tao Ying refused to yield an inch.

If he insisted any further, he risked looking pushy at best and predatory at worst. Qin Zheng stepped back. “Then be careful on your way upstairs.”

“Thank you.”

Tao Ying turned away. Using the long-handled umbrella she’d taken from the car as a cane, she slowly hobbled out of his sight.

When she reached home, she went to the window. No one stood below.

She exhaled, then abandoned all dignity and collapsed onto the sofa. Hooking a cushion with her foot, she pulled it over and propped up her injured ankle.

She had barely rested when her phone began ringing as though its life depended on it.

The caller ID showed her mother, Li Meijuan. Tao Ying immediately put the call on speaker.

“Your third aunt told me today’s blind date fell through again?”

Tao Ying answered coolly, “Mm.”

“See? I told you that you couldn’t find anyone decent on your own.” Li Meijuan’s jab held a trace of smugness. “Just meet the men your sister arranges for you.”

“No.” Tao Ying’s face remained blank.

“Think you’re all grown up and beyond me now?” Li Meijuan’s temper flared. “Would your sister and I ever hurt you?”

“I don’t like any of the men you introduce. None of them are good enough for me.”

“Not good enough for you?” Li Meijuan sounded as though she had heard the joke of the century. “You act like being matched with one of them would kill you.”

“Then wait until I’m dead to match me with one.”

Usually reserved and sparing with words, Tao Ying turned exceptionally sharp with her mother.

“You—”

Li Meijuan was so furious she hung up.

Tao Ying laughed at herself. Li Meijuan had always played favorites, raising her older daughter to worship wealth and Tao Ying to be silent and cutting.

Before the age of fourteen, though, Tao Ying had been cheerful and carefree under her father’s protection.

The next day was Saturday. Tao Ying rested for two days. When she returned to work on Monday, her ankle still hurt, so she took cabs to and from campus.

Her two classes were scheduled for late morning, and she went to the office first. Several colleagues noticed her injury and asked after her. Tao Ying smiled and said she was fine.

A new colleague by the window leaned closer. “Hey, I heard your car broke down on Friday?”

Tao Ying nodded. “There was a nail in the tire.”

“Did you get it repaired? How much?”

“A hundred. That included wheel balancing or something, and they threw in a complimentary detailing.”

Not to mention an afternoon tea made by the owner himself and a ride all the way home. Qin Zheng hadn’t accepted the extra two hundred yuan either.

“That’s not bad. Was it the new place across the street?”

“Mm.”

“How’s their service?” A male colleague craned his neck toward her. “I went somewhere else for routine maintenance last week and got conned out of several hundred.”

“Exactly. Auto shops are full of tricks these days. Their quotes are always vague, and half of them aren’t even that good at the work.”

Someone else joined the complaints.

“You haven’t heard?” The deputy director at the back of the room spoke up cheerfully. “The university chose a new partner shop for vehicle maintenance this year.”

Everyone immediately asked which one.

“Zhengtu Auto Repair, right across the street. From now on, show your staff ID and you’ll get thirty percent off maintenance and repairs. The university negotiated internal rates and a few free services for us. The notice should go out this week.”

The youngest female lecturer in the office cheered. “The owner across the street is ridiculously handsome.”

The others burst out laughing and teased her for several minutes.

Tao Ying’s lips curved faintly too, though she had no intention of taking her car there for maintenance.

Getting the tire repaired there on Friday had been a last resort. Worse, she had held a blind date in the man’s shop. Every time Tao Ying saw Qin Zheng, she would have to drag that mortifying memory out and flog herself with it all over again.

A week later, her ankle had healed completely.

Remembering her bout of low blood sugar, she got up early and threw together something resembling breakfast.

She had four consecutive classes that morning and left a little earlier than usual. Downstairs, Tao Ying opened the car door.

The car hadn’t moved since Qin Zheng drove her home. The driver’s seat was still adjusted to his height.

Tao Ying sat down and felt for the electric controls with her left hand. The seat didn’t budge. She tried the manual adjustment next, but that didn’t work either.

“Seriously…” She frowned in frustration. By the time she finished wrestling with it, she was almost late.

She climbed out, irritated, and headed toward the entrance while ordering a cab on her phone.

Then she opened WeChat and searched for Qin Zheng’s shop. After looking for ages, she remembered she had deleted the account.

“…”

Karma.

The dealership wouldn’t send anyone out for such a minor issue. At most, they would arrange a free tow, which was far too much trouble.

After considering her options, Tao Ying decided she would have to ask Qin Zheng to take a look.