Chapter 58: The Gentleman Pays
Yang Ming laughed. It seemed that all girls liked these things! From her usual speech and behavior, Yang Ming recognized that Chen Mengyan's family background was quite good. It was unexpected that she would buy items from the street vendors.
It was almost the National Higher Education Entrance Examination. Chen Mengyan hadn't gone out shopping for quite some time. Last month, her favorite hair clip broke and she didn't have time to get a new one. She had been substituting it with a rubber band. Now was a good chance for Chen Mengyan to get a couple of them.
If Chen Mengyan wasn't the girl he liked, Yang Ming would have gone berserk! It took so long to choose a hair clip! However, every moment that Yang Ming could stay with Chen Mengyan counted. How could he be against it?
He saw other gentlemen accompanying their partner standing aside like him and Yang Ming finally found a psychological balance.
Finally, after Chen Mengyan looked over many hair clips, she picked up two of them and asked, "Yang Ming, which one of these are prettier?" When girls buy stuff, they always ask for an opinion if their friends were with them.
"They are all pretty nice looking! In fact, you are naturally beautiful. These items are just complementary!" Yang Ming didn't intend to sound indifferent. First, both of the hair clips were great. Secondly, Chen Mengyan would still be dazzlingly beautiful without dressing up.
"You have a smooth tongue. I won't ask you anymore! Nothing you said was helpful at all!" Chen Mengyan rolled her eyes but she felt delighted deep down in her heart. There wouldn't be any girl who disliked others' compliments!
Actually, Chen Mengyan wanted them both. It was just out of habit that she asked for Yang Ming's opinion.
"I want both of these. How much will that be?" Chen Mengyan took the hair accessories and handed them to the street vendor.
"This one is fifteen and that one is twenty. It will be a total of thirty-five yuan." The street vendor looked at the hairpins in Chang Mengyan's hand.
"Why is it so expensive?" Chen Mengyan complained.
"It isn't expensive, young lady. Look at the surface; it is covered with rhinestones. What's more is that it is glued with green adhesive. It is waterproof!" The street vendor explained.
"Thirty yuan!" After she thought about it, Chen Mengyan offered a price that she could accept.
Chen Mengyan's behavior surprised Yang Ming. He initially thought that a girl from such a wonderful family background must have a lot of pocket-money. It was unexpected that she would negotiate a better price when she shopped at street vendors! This made Yang Ming feel very pleased. What came to Yang Ming's mind was that if Chen Mengyan became his girlfriend in the future, he would need to spend a lot. Now it seemed that Chen Mengyan wasn't an extravagant person.
"This… alright! I can't earn any money like this!" said the street vendor as he bitterly smiled.
Chen Mengyan noticed the street vendor accepted her offer. She happily went to take her money out of her pocket. After fumbling for a little while, her expression changed as she secretly thought to herself, This is bad! I forgot to put in my wallet after I changed my clothes yesterday! Due to the exam this morning, my dad was afraid that I would be late so he dropped me off at school! Oh, shoot! Forget about buying things. I would need to walk home later! What matters is the incident in front of my eyes. The price negotiation has already come to an end. If I refuse to buy the items, the street vendor will not be willing to let that happen! I will be embarrassed if the spoken words are not nice by then! But, nothing else can be done. Chen Mengyan gritted her teeth and decided to say, "I don't want it anymore." What is the big deal of being humiliated with a few words?
Chen Mengyan's expression was seen by Yang Ming's eyes. He noticed that Chen Mengyan fumbled in her pocket for a long time but still didn't draw anything out from it and she had an anxious look. Yang Ming then understood the situation. He promptly used his "x-ray vision" and looked at Chen Mengyan's pocket. He discovered that besides the admission card for the entrance examination, there was nothing else!
She forgot to bring money in the first place! How could a hero not offer his help when a pretty girl was in trouble!
Recently, Yang Ming made a small fortune. He was unlike the poor fellow before. Just now, he wanted to treat Chen Mengyan but he was afraid that she would refuse and make him embarrassed. Now, it was great because Yang Ming expected that Chen Mengyan would accept it!
Having come to this conclusion, Yang Ming took out thirty yuan from his pocket and gave it to the street vendor without saying anything. The couples beside them always had the gentlemen paying. Thus, the street vendor didn't think too much about it as he collected the money naturally and put it into his fanny pack.
As expected, Chen Mengyan didn't mutter any words. She quietly accepted both of the hair clips and put them into her school bag but she was blushing. The interaction between her and Yang Ming just now was like a couple on a date on the street!
"I will return the money back to you... " Chen Mengyan was nervous. She held it inside her for quite a long while before uttering these words!
"Uhm?" Yang Ming didn't understand. How did she find out that I knew she didn't bring her money? But, he didn't think about it any further and said, "No need to repay me. The items aren't that expensive. It is a thank you for tutoring me all this time. I ought to give you some small gift!"
After listening, Chen Mengyan smiled sweetly and didn't say anything more. Actually, Chen Mengyan said those words subconsciously from a girl's demureness. She didn't think further about it since they were good friends. Acting like strangers would be artificial.
They continued shopping for a while. Since Chen Mengyan knew that she didn't have money in her pocket, she didn't buy any more items.
She wasn't a girl who liked to spend a guy's money unlike some of the other girls in society. When they went out with guys, they would think of ways to have them buy this and that.
Chen Mengyan's house wasn't close by. She took public transportation to school. Yang Ming accompanied her to the bus stop and waited with her.
"Which bus?" Yang Ming simply asked. He just wanted to know Chen Mengyan's house address.
"Both 114 and 87 are good!" Chen Mengyan didn't hide anything from Yang Ming.
"Oh yeah, do you have change in your pockets?" Yang Ming suddenly thought about a serious issue. That would be that Chen Mengyan forgot to bring money! Hence, without waiting for Chen Mengyan's reply, he took out a one yuan coin and stuffed it into Chen Mengyan's hand. "Luckily, I have a coin with me!"
Chen Mengyan was stunned. Her heart was filled with gratitude but she didn't know what to say. How could he know that Chen Mengyan didn't bring her money? Was it an unintentional act? However, Chen Mengyan quickly ruled out that Yang Ming did that inadvertently! It was because there wouldn't be anyone who simply stuffed a coin into another's hand.
Oh, yes. Just now, I mentioned that I would pay him back. It must be this sentence that helped him to realize that I didn't bring any money or else, why wouldn't I pay him back now but rather tomorrow? Having these thoughts made Chen Mengyan deeply touched in her heart. Yang Ming's outer appearance seemed careless but it never crossed her mind that he was thoughtful and considerate! Moreover, his words obviously intentionally kept her from feeling embarrassed and that was the reason he phrased it that way.
Chapter 59: Plane In the Sky...
Since Yang Ming wasn't exposing it, Chen Mengyan didn't have to make things awkward for herself. Understandably, she accepted the one yuan coin from him.
Yang Ming naturally didn't know what Chen Mengyan was thinking. When he saw that Chen Mengyan didn't have a response, he thought that he had pretty good acting skills and felt really proud of it. "Mengyan, do you think this counts as a date right now?"
Damn, what mouth is this? This is totally flirting! Once Yang Ming said those words, he immediately regretted it. He thought that it was because he was too proud of himself and didn't watch his words at all. What would he do if Chen Mengyan was angry?
"Date my foot!" Chen Mengyan scolded, "I was just accompanying you to relax for a while after the exam. If you are always that naughty, don't come find me next time!"
That's good. Chen Mengyan wasn't angry. Yang Ming was able to be more courageous. "Does that mean we have a next time?"
"Hehe, let's wait for your exam results to come out first before we discuss again. See if there's any improvement!" Chen Mengyan half-jokingly encouraged Yang Ming.
Chen Mengyan was also confused. She started with only the intention to help him, then she agreed to some strange request that he made. But now, Chen Mengyan realized that she really liked being with him. A bit of chit-chat and jokes helped her to get through the tense Grade 12 with joy.
As she spoke with him, an 87 bus drove over and stopped in front of the bus station. The puffs of smoke rose to the sky.
"The bus is here. I am going home..." Chen Mengyan actually felt that she wanted to stay longer. She could actually have so many things to talk about with a guy!
"Wait, Mengyan!" Yang Ming called. Yang Ming was also not willing to let it end so quickly. This was actually their "first date" so of course, he would want it to last longer!
"Yeah, what's the matter?" Chen Mengyan turned around and asked. At the moment when she was delayed, the 87 bus behind her let out vroom and left. All that was left was a cloud of unpleasant smoke.
"Nothing much..." Once Yang Ming saw the bus drive off, he felt relieved and subconsciously said what he felt in his heart.
"Ah!" After Chen Mengyan was dismayed for a while, she understood what Yang Ming was actually doing and said agitatedly, "Yang Ming, how could you do this? Now the bus is gone. If I went home too late, my father would be worried and if from that point on, I can no longer hang out outside I can't do anything about it!" Chen Mengyan purposely threatened Yang Ming.
"Ah? Really?" Yang Ming didn't quite believe it. "This is only for a short while. Would your dad actually go to the police and report that you've gone missing?"
Chen Mengyan said in her heart, Of course, there's don't need to report to the police. He simply doesn't need to make a report! Then she said unhappily, "Yang Ming, I have already told you before. You should focus your attention on your studies. Once you are in a university, we have a lot of chances to meet one another. Why does such a small moment matter?"
"Hehe, actually, it wasn't what you were thinking. I just stopped you because I didn't want you to go on the 87 bus!" Yang Ming smiled cheekily.
"Why?" Chen Mengyan asked, "Don't tell me that there were some punks or something on that bus!"
"I don't really know whether there were any punks but who dares to board the 87 bus? Have you heard of an idiom called 'plane in the sky, 87 on the ground'?" Yang Ming said this as if it were real. "This meant that the 87 bus driver could be really crazy. Boarding onto this kind of bus is as if you're playing with your own life. How could I let you experience that?" [1]
"Plane in the sky, 87 on the ground?" Chen Mengyan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Yang Ming was able to bring out this classic phrase! "Then what about the years that I boarded the bus and nothing ever happened?"
Just as Chen Mengyan's finished speaking this sentence, they heard a loud screeching sound from not far away. Then there was a loud bang!
Yang Ming turned his head to take a look. Damn! He was astonished. This 87 bus driver really did give too much respect to Yang Ming, right? The 87 bus crashed into a truck at the intersection not far from here!
Chen Mengyan also dropped her jaw, showing an unbelievable expression.
"Look at that! Our pretty miss study commissary, I have just saved your life. Should you compensate me by marrying me?" Yang Ming pointed at the 87 bus not far ahead.
"Stop jinxing it!" Chen Mengyan gave Yang Ming a glare. "There's a car accident in front of us and you still are in the mood to joke around?"
"They have already applied the brakes. If you take a look at the damage at the front part of the bus, it's obvious that no one was hurt!" As Yang Ming finished his sentence, the two drivers from the vehicles came out and started arguing on their own behalf.
Chen Mengyan did see how it wasn't really a big thing and she was reassured. In a short while, a 114 bus came. Chen Mengyan and Yang Ming said goodbye to one another and she boarded the bus.
Yang Ming was only willing to leave after he had seen the bus disappear from his sight when it turned at another intersection. This was because, not long ago, there was an accident right in front of his eyes.
Chen Mengyan stared at Yang Ming from her bus window and noticed how he was looking at her as she was leaving. She felt a sense of gratitude from her heart. The seed of love was nurtured by the little things.
Yang Ming had just left. Not far away, a Santana Police car started and began to follow him. [2]
Once Yang Ming was back into his housing area, he saw a police car that stopped not far ahead of himself. Yang Ming was slightly more sensitive to police cars recently because he had entered the police station a few times. The moment he saw the car, he unconsciously thought that the police car was here for him.
"Yang Ming!" The person in the police car was indeed here for Yang Ming as Chen Fei rolled down his window and shouted to him.
"Uncle Chen, why are you here?" Yang Ming stopped his footsteps.
"I am here to settle a few things, so conveniently I came here to visit you too!" Chen Fei said, "You made me wait for a while. Since you all were having exams today, you should have been back home quite a while ago. Why are you only back here at such a late hour?"
"Ah? Uncle Chen, how did you know that I had an exam today?" Yang Ming was shocked. He really is the head of the criminal investigation team. I didn't even have to say it and he already knew it?
Chen Fei didn't answer Yang Ming directly. "Hehe, why? Not going home after school - you went on a date, right?"
"Hehe, Uncle Chen, how did you see through it?" Yang Ming laughed embarrassingly.
"What did you say?!" Chen Fei's voice raised in pitch. "You really went on a date with your girlfriend?"