Cutting In and Crashing – Is This Your Driving School Instructor? 10

Chapter 10 Remember to Dress Nicely

Chen Yunjin didn’t have a bad impression of Gu Yin. He was around her age, had a kind personality, and had helped her a lot when she was learning to drive last year. Without his help, she wouldn’t have gotten her driver’s license in just two months.

But that was the extent of it. Marriage was all about “suitable matches,” and since she successfully landed a civil service position at the beginning of the year, someone like Gu Yin was no longer on her radar.

It was rather strange that Zhao Jinxia brought him up…

“Did you know he’s also on that show?”

In the dimly lit rental room, the lighting wasn’t great, but Zhao Jinxia’s eyes sparkled like little stars, bright and shining.

“This… is the first I’ve heard of it.” Chen Yunjin didn’t know about it because she wasn’t close to Gu Yin.

Just as Gu Yin didn’t know she was on the show…

“Guess how many people are watching him tonight?” Zhao Jinxia teased.

“How am I supposed to guess?”

Chen Yunjin lifted her proud chin, removed a milky white plastic hair clip from the back of her head, letting her long, beautiful black hair cascade down, releasing a captivating fragrance.

She didn’t want to appear concerned about Gu Yin, yet curiosity got the better of her. Chen Yunjin asked:

“A lot?”

“A lot!”

Zhao Jinxia showed Chen Yunjin a screenshot on her phone:

“Over three thousand people. I just saw it on the app’s same-city ranking today. He’s in the top ten!”

Quancheng wasn’t like Suzhou or Hangzhou; there weren’t as many internet celebrities, so Gu Yin could rank in the top ten with a few thousand viewers.

“?”

Chen Yunjin was a little incredulous. She took her roommate’s phone with her delicate white hands, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, feeling a bit uneasy.

In Chen Yunjin’s heart, she was far ahead of Gu Yin in every aspect – work, life, social class, environment… Ever since she got her civil service job, they were no longer in the same world.

Even on this kind of show, with her good looks and outstanding temperament, more people should be watching her, not Gu Yin…

But now, after a day of filming, she had fewer than ten views, while Gu Yin had over three thousand?

Seriously?

Why?

“A traffic accident?”

Seeing that Gu Yin’s popularity stemmed from a traffic accident, Chen Yunjin breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, as expected…

“It was just a coincidence. They’re probably just onlookers,” she said. “It won’t last.”

“Exactly, exactly…” Zhao Jinxia said dully, “If this kind of popularity could last, people would have accidents all the time. It’s like trading one’s life for it. We can’t emulate that.”

“…”

Chen Yunjin fell silent for a moment, shook her head, said, “I’m going to take a shower,” and went into her room.

…

The mother and son chatted for a while, ending with Gu’s mother saying her health problems were holding Gu Yin back. By the time they finished, their stir-fried noodles were cold. They microwaved them, poured Gu Yin a glass of sugary soda, and he quickly finished his dinner. After washing up, he saw his phone screen light up.

A message.

At first, Gu Yin thought it was work-related. He picked it up and found someone had added him as a friend.

A pink ID, seemingly a girl, with a golden star icon as her nickname, and a wilting rose as her profile picture.

Her Moments (WeChat feed) was empty.

The message said she was referred by a former student and wanted to learn to drive from him.

Gu Yin’s eyes lit up. He accepted the friend request and sent a few official messages, reminding her to bring her ID card and scheduling a meeting at the driving school the next morning to help her register. Then, he added another message:

“Remember to dress nicely tomorrow.”

Before this message, their chat was rather bland, mainly official driving school instructor templates and her replying with “Mmm” or “Okay.”

After this message, things seemed to take a different turn…

“Star Girl” replied with a question mark, then asked, “Why should I dress nicely?”

“Just listen to me. Don’t worry, I won’t harm you.”

It was late, and Gu Yin was very tired. After replying, he tossed his phone on the table and fell asleep on the bed.

Before sleeping, he had considered checking the views on “Reconciling with Life” but figured no one had watched it, so he didn’t bother getting his phone.

That night, Gu Yin dreamt someone was singing a song he’d never heard before. It was quite nice.

…

The sun rose and set. Yesterday’s rain had left a dampness in the air. The morning sun was particularly harsh, dispelling the dampness but not bringing much warmth…

October was approaching, and the temperature in the north was dropping. This was always the hardest time of year.

Because there was no heating yet, the house was colder than outside. People would feel cold hands and feet, so many elderly people went out to bask in the sun early in the morning…

The food stalls near the snack street mostly opened at night, with only a few breakfast vendors setting up shop. The small county town had a strong local vibe. Gu Yin saw vendors selling meat sandwiches, scallion pancakes, burgers, as well as fried dough sticks, soy milk, and tofu pudding.

“Handsome guy, want a scallion pancake?” An auntie called out to Gu Yin.

Gu Yin waved his hand without looking up, “Your scallion pancakes have stale crackers in them; not even a dog would eat them.”

The auntie: “…”

Walking a few steps, Gu Yin wrapped his grey jacket tighter around himself and went to an oil stick stand. A young couple ran it; the husband fried the oil sticks, and the wife sold them. Golden-brown, crispy oil sticks and fried leek cakes sat in an iron basket nearby. Oil sticks cost 1 yuan each, and leek cakes cost 2 yuan.

“Two oil sticks, a tea egg, and a bowl of tofu pudding.”

The prices in the small county town were very low. It cost him 5 yuan in total. Gu Yin pulled up a small stool and sat at a small table, eating while browsing his phone.

“Oh, right…”

While eating, he seemed to remember something. Gu Yin wiped his oily fingers with a napkin, took a camera from his pocket, and clipped it to his chest before connecting it to his phone.

He almost forgot about today’s recording; it was worth more than two hundred yuan.

Perhaps because of last night’s events, Gu Yin had gained some followers. As soon as he went live, dozens of people were watching, and the comments started rolling in:

【Hey, up pretty early!】

【I have to say, those oil sticks look delicious. I want to go downstairs and get one too!】

【Nah, I’ll just order takeout. I can’t get up that early. 】

…

He hadn’t checked his views last night, and Gu Yin didn’t know if anyone had watched it. He just kept broadcasting and continued eating without interacting with the viewers.

Just then, a familiar voice came from behind him.

“Hey? Brother Gu.”

…

(End of Chapter)

Previous Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter