The driver's seat was more than spacious enough for Yu Ning. Gripping the steering wheel, she turned it to the right. Through the side mirror, she could still see half of the man's figure straining to push the car.
Pushing the vehicle to the roadside hadn't taken much effort.
Yu Ning stepped out of the car with panache. Gazing into the distance, the sunset clouds on the horizon seemed to have faded slightly.
She stared for a few seconds, instinctively fished a cigarette case from her bag, then remembered her lighter had been confiscated at the airport. She walked over to the man.
Her clear, beautiful voice, carried by the mountain wind, was like the mist of early spring—moist, tinged with a hint of weariness. "Lend me a light."
Hearing this, Chen Chuan lowered his eyelids to glance at the cigarette between her fair, slender fingers, and replied in a deep voice, "Open flames are forbidden in the mountains."
Yu Ning was exasperated. "I didn't ask you to start a wildfire. Just light my cigarette."
Chen Chuan fell silent again, as if he hadn't heard her.
"..."
Mute again.
Yu Ning twirled the cigarette between her fingers and asked nosily, "Seriously, do you have a girlfriend or not? You're so gloomy. How could your girlfriend stand you?"
"Not everyone talks as much as you do."
"That's because you haven't seen enough. I'm merely articulate; I wouldn't call it talking too much. I have a friend who's the real chatterbox. Once she gets going, guaranteed you can't get a word in edgewise."
Seeing his look of not wanting to deal with her, Yu Ning pursed her lips. "You won't let me smoke, and now you want to stop me from talking too. Isn't that a bit unreasonable?"
"I didn't stop you."
"But you won't talk to me."
Chen Chuan pondered for a moment, then asked incredulously, "Who's being unreasonable now?"
Yu Ning crossed her arms again and said with great solemnity, "Boss Chen, I think, first of all, you need to fix your attitude. I'm your dear, beloved customer. I'm staying at your homestay for the next three months. You won't even chat with me. Is that reasonable?"
"If I write a bad review saying the boss has terrible service and is mean to customers, do you think it will affect your homestay's business?"
Was that a threat?
Chen Chuan had been running his homestay for four or five years. He'd seen his share of unreasonable customers, but one like this was truly a first.
He really wasn't good with words and couldn't outtalk her. After holding it in for a long time, he finally managed, "When did I ever act fierce toward you?"
Yu Ning broke into a smile. "It's going in a bad review anyway. Can't I embellish a little?"
Chen Chuan: "..."
Soon, a yellow tow truck drove up and stopped. A tanned young man in his twenties got out and waved casually at Chen Chuan.
"Brother Chuan, what's wrong with your car this time? Oh, and a beauty. Is this..."
Yu Ning greeted him with a generous smile. "Hello. Hi."
The young man scratched his head embarrassedly and looked at Chen Chuan. "Hello, hello. Brother Chuan..."
"Homestay guest." Chen Chuan was succinct, his large hand clamping down on the back of the man's neck. "It's getting dark. Hurry up and look at the car."
"Oh, okay."
The car's fuel pump needed replacing, so it still had to be towed back to town.
Once the car was loaded onto the tow truck, Yu Ning and Chen Chuan naturally had to ride along. The mountain road wasn't wide enough to turn around, so they had to drive ahead for another ten minutes before reaching a turnaround spot.
Compared to Chen Chuan's gloominess, the young man called Chen Bin was much more lively.
As he drove, he asked, "Sis, are you here to travel?"
The cabin wasn't large, especially with Chen Chuan being tall and bulky. Sitting in the middle, she was squeezed tight. When annoyed, she had a habit of shooting her mouth off.
"No, I'm here to get married."
These words surprised not only Chen Bin; even Chen Chuan turned to stare at her in astonishment.
Chen Bin asked, "Huh, Sis, your boyfriend is from around here?"
Yu Ning's face was completely unruffled. "Maybe."
Chen Bin was baffled. "What do you mean, maybe?"
"It means I haven't started looking yet. Once I find him, he'll be from around here."
"..."
"..."
An eerie silence filled the cramped cabin.
Chen Chuan was floored. She could spew any nonsense.
He simply withdrew his gaze.
Chen Bin laughed loudly, breaking the awkwardness in the car. "Sis, then what kind of man are you looking for?"
"What kind..."
She drawled out the last syllable. Her gaze landed squarely on Chen Chuan, and she looked him up and down without a hint of concealment. "I think your Brother Chuan here is pretty good. Does he have a girlfriend?"
Chen Bin was thrilled. If he weren't driving, he would've jumped up and applauded.
"Oh, Sis, you have excellent taste. Not to sing my own praises, but my Brother Chuan is a great guy. Handsome, kind, considerate, good at taking care of people, family-oriented, earns good money, and gives you a sense of security."
"Is that so?" Yu Ning raised an eyebrow.
"Of course. Though, Sis, you're the prettiest girl I've ever seen among all the ones chasing Brother Chuan."
"Oh my, young man, you have good taste too." Yu Ning smiled brightly. "There are a lot of girls chasing him?"
"Yeah. Just the girls who stayed at his homestay and wanted to chase him—if not eighty or a hundred, then at least a dozen or two."
"Tsk, I wouldn't have guessed he was so popular. Did any of them succeed?"
Chen Bin thought for a moment, then raised his chin with some pride. "As far as I know, none. My Brother Chuan is the type to remain unmoved even with a beauty in his arms. Not just anyone can win him over, right, Brother Chuan?"
The man in question, Chen Chuan, was exasperated. He turned back to meet those fox-like eyes full of teasing. After only a few seconds, he calmly shifted his gaze away and glared at Chen Bin.
He warned through gritted teeth, "Shut your mouth."
Chen Bin shrank back and decisively fell silent.
But he thought resentfully to himself: You only know how to be fierce to me. If you've got guts, be fierce to Yu Ning sitting next to you.
Yu Ning tilted her head. Her fair, delicate oval face bloomed with a smile, her eyes blinking gently, rippling with an exceedingly faint wave.
Like a fox here to claim one's soul.
"So Boss Chen remains unmoved even with a beauty in his arms? Then shall I try my hand at it someday?"
Pfft!
Chen Bin felt a mouthful of blood lodge in his throat.
What kind of scandalous talk was this!
He quickly glanced at Chen Chuan. Unfortunately, besides coldness and displeasure, he didn't see any other expression on his brother's face.
What Chen Chuan saw on Yu Ning's face was nothing but amusement and deliberate provocation.
He very much disliked this feeling.
He was afraid that the more he engaged her, the more encouraged she'd become, so he simply ignored her.
Yu Ning clicked her tongue and looked at the young man driving. "Binzi, do you have a girlfriend? Do you know what your Brother Chuan's behavior is called?"
"Sis, I'm already married. My kid is old enough to buy soy sauce."
Yu Ning was genuinely shocked.
From their interaction just now, he hadn't seemed like a father at all.
Chen Bin chuckled. "My wife is my classmate. We got our marriage certificate right after graduation."
Childhood sweethearts.
So that was it.
Yu Ning nodded in understanding and continued chatting along this topic for a while.
Chen Chuan didn't participate in the conversation at all.
Half an hour later, the tow truck entered Jinan Town, finally stopping in front of an auto repair shop called Wanxing.