Chapter 54 Is Xiang Yun really living across the street?
"What are you honking for! What's the rush? I'm a new driver, give me some time to get used to it!" Lu Xiaomeng was exasperated. She hadn't even driven out of the garage yet, and there were already cars honking at her from behind.
"Why don't you drive faster? Can you even make this turn?" Xu Songning sighed.
Lu Xiaomeng carefully observed the road conditions, but she wasn't sure if the car would scrape against the narrow road. "Sister Xu, why don't you get out and check if we'll scrape against the wall?"
“Just drive over there, it’ll be fine, you won’t scrape it,” Xu Songning explained patiently.
New drivers often find themselves unable to discern the actual width of the road. From the driver's seat, they may feel like they could crash at any moment, even though the steering wheel can pass and the car can.
"Really?" Lu Xiaomeng asked cautiously.
"Beep beep—"
"Stop dripping, stop dripping! I'm about to pass too!" Lu Xiaomeng looked around, looking like a cool thief.
Xu Songning found it amusing and didn't rush her, watching her move little by little, smoothly driving out of the garage at an extremely slow speed.
"I'm so amazing!" Lu Xiaomeng breathed a sigh of relief.
"Xiao Meng is amazing," Ms. Xu agreed.
Xu Songning was too lazy to pay attention to this childish guy. However, after she got on the road, she didn't dare to drive fast. The car that had been following them in the garage suddenly overtook them, leaving them with a face full of exhaust fumes.
"Tch, what's the point of driving so fast? Is it faster than a plane?" Lu Xiaomeng muttered to herself.
“Hey Xiaomeng, are you going 20 miles per hour?” Xu Songning pointed at the dashboard.
Lu Xiaomeng grinned, "Is there a problem?"
"How about I go for a run? I should be able to overtake you."
"Sister Xu, don't make fun of me. I'm a new driver, so please try to get used to it! Look, Auntie is very good at it."
"She's not adapting; she might be experiencing motion sickness?"
"Would you get carsick even at such a slow speed?" Lu Xiaomeng questioned.
“You keep pressing the gas and the brake, I’ll get carsick no matter how fast you go.” Xu Songning leaned back in his seat. “Never mind, just drive slowly, I should be there after a nap.”
"Go to sleep! Anyway, there are few cars, so I feel more confident." Lu Xiaomeng glanced at the rearview mirror. There were only a few scattered cars behind her, which would often accelerate at full speed and overtake her in just over ten seconds. She didn't have to worry about following the cars at all.
Xu Songning didn't dare to actually fall asleep. She calmed down, and Lu Xiaomeng became bolder while driving, gradually increasing the speed.
They arrived a few minutes earlier than Xu Songning had predicted, within forty minutes.
"Great, Lu Xiaomeng, you successfully got us home. Keep it up!" Xu Songning patted his chest, feeling a little carsick.
"I feel like we'll be able to drive on the highway soon," Lu Xiaomeng said confidently.
Xu Songning had to discourage her, "Wake up, you need a year of driving experience to drive on the highway, and the passenger seat needs to be occupied by an experienced driver like me. Don't even think about it now."
"Okay!" Lu Xiaomeng followed behind her, helping Ms. Xu with her suitcase. Now that Ms. Xu had a free hand, she suggested going to buy some side dishes.
When Xu Songning and Lu Xiaomeng arrived at the door, Zhou Qiao was squatting at the door playing on her phone, with a box of seafood at her feet.
"Hey, you guys—" Zhou Qiao suddenly stood up, her heels felt like they were being electrocuted, numb and unsteady, which showed how long she had been squatting there.
Lu Xiaomeng quickly stepped forward and supported her, "Sister Zhou! You're getting old, don't get up so suddenly! You'll get low blood sugar!"
Zhou Qiao sneered and grabbed Lu Xiaomeng's ear. "Lu Xiaomeng! Xu Songning! I've been waiting here for over twenty minutes! You promised to arrive early, why haven't you come yet?!"
"Xiao Meng, drive," Xu Songning calmly explained, taking out his keys to open the door.
Zhou Qiao exclaimed, her gaze shifting to Lu Xiaomeng. She hesitated, then patted Lu Xiaomeng's shoulder, saying, "Then Song Ning and Auntie have really had a hard time."
Lu Xiaomeng was furious and dragged her suitcase into the house. "I'm the one who's suffering! Sister Xu didn't help at all. I asked her to drive, but she wouldn't."
"Isn't your sister Xu training you? You're such a newbie, what will you do if you don't learn to drive? Will your dad drive you every day? Once you learn to drive, you can drive yourself, right?" Zhou Qiao carried the seafood into the house and put it in the kitchen.
Xu Songning filled a pool with water, opened the styrofoam boxes, and poured the live lobsters and abalone into the pool.
"Sister Xu, I'm going to pick up Auntie and buy some drinks while I'm at it." Lu Xiaomeng put the suitcase on the balcony and sprayed it with disinfectant alcohol, which was Xu Songning's habit.
"Okay." Xu Songning responded from the kitchen. Zhou Qiao brought in two pairs of gloves, gave her one pair, and the two of them started scrubbing the seafood with small scrubbing brushes.
Zhou Qiao, standing slouching, bumped into Xu Songning. "Hey, does Xiang Yun really live across the street? I was squatting there for so long, wondering if I'd bump into him. If I did, I could at least get a better look at Captain Xiang's good looks."
“He really lives there. He must have a flight mission today, so he’s not home.” Xu Songning rubbed the belly of a crayfish.
"How did you know he wasn't home?" Zhou Qiao stopped brushing her brush and stared at her with interest.
Xu Songning elbowed her, pushing her away a bit. "When he's home, he leaves his shoes by the door."
"So maybe they were taken in today?" Zhou Qiao chuckled.
"I don't know, why don't you go knock on the door?" Xu Songning handed the cleaned lobster to her. "See? The lobster has to be cleaned like this."
"I saw it, I saw it, but I'm not going to knock on the door. I don't like him anyway," Zhou Qiao hummed a song.
The melody was a song Xu Songning hadn't heard before; it felt familiar, but he wasn't sure.
"What song is this?" Xu Songning asked, tilting his head.
Zhou Qiao looked guilty for a moment, then immediately fell silent and focused on browsing the shrimp app. "There's no song, I was just humming something I heard while watching videos, it's kind of catchy."
"Catchy? This melody isn't catchy at all." Xu Songning chuckled, knowing what song it was. She'd find out by searching for Qin You's new song later.
Zhou Qiao snorted, knowing that Xu Songning was smart, and didn't bother to say anything more.
After the two finished eating seafood, Lu Xiaomeng and Ms. Xu returned.
The kitchen suddenly became crowded. Ms. Xu tied on an apron and shooed everyone out, saying, "Go out and have some fun. You young girls shouldn't cause me any trouble."
"Thank you for your hard work, Auntie!" Zhou Qiao shouted.
"Auntie, be careful not to get hurt while handling seafood. I saw on the news last time that someone injured their hand, and it was quite serious," Lu Xiaomeng said, pointing to the seafood in the tank.
"Alright, you all just wait to eat!" Ms. Xu shooed everyone away and closed the kitchen door.
The three were ushered to the living room. Lu Xiaomeng unpacked some snacks, and Zhou Qiao found a melodramatic modern romance drama she was currently watching. The group snuggled on the sofa, sharing recent gossip and complaining about the TV series.
In the end, they forgot all about the TV series and gathered together to gossip, talking about it with great interest.
Xu Songning was responsible for listening and also for stopping Lu Xiaomeng from eating too many snacks, lest she not be able to eat her meal later.
The gathering lasted for three hours. Xu Songning yawned, but Ms. Xu still had energy and shared her experiences with the young people. Xu Songning also enjoyed listening to these stories and listened quietly, but then she started to doze off.
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