Drive Jiang Chen's car

The February sky featured an indistinct moon, and the temperature was low enough to numb human skin.
Standing in the bitter winter cold, the man possessed an ethereal, striking countenance and a detached expression, as if he cared nothing for his surroundings, merely lowering his gaze to glance at his wristwatch.
The instant he raised his eyes again, a figure flickered into the edge of his peripheral vision.
He lifted his gaze to look, and the young woman who ought to have been back in Jiangcheng was walking toward him, step by step.
The air grew quiet to the point of stagnation.
The nighttime air was damp and cold; the newly sprouted greenery had withered almost as soon as it emerged, heavy with moisture, and the essence of winter lingered heavily in the long night.
Jiang Chen's heart tightened, his hand gripping his phone as his gaze fell tenderly upon the young woman's face, the commotion around him suddenly fading into the distance.

Lin Shan carefully observed his boss's expression. The sudden, icy hostility from moments before had completely vanished, and his mood seemed to have settled into calmness.
Uncertain of his intentions, Lin Shan didn't dare to bring people away just yet.
Jiang Chen was somewhat surprised, staring straight at Ye Mian.
Caught under his gaze, Ye Mian felt a touch of intimidation and confessed without being pressed.
"I... I originally wanted to give you a surprise, but it was such a coincidence—I saw you the moment I came out of the studio. So... the surprise is gone."
Jiang Chen said nothing.
He hadn't been listening to Ye Mian's explanation at all.
He only noticed that the young woman was not wearing a scarf or gloves, her exposed skin turned red by the biting wind, and her eyes avoided his as if she were desperately searching for a convincing excuse.
He smiled. In that exact instant, it felt as though all the turbulent emotions within him were smoothed away.
The waning moon shone in the night sky. He truly, deeply loved her, cherishing a fond affection for her since their youth, which made him utterly unable to bear showing his darker side in front of her.
His slender fingers brushed against the young woman's cheek as he asked softly, "Aren't you cold?"
Ye Mian sniffed and shook her head.
The wind of this day whipped up without warning, blowing straight across her face.
Unable to help it, she let out a loud sneeze.
"..." Well, her face hurt a little.

Jiang Chen chuckled softly, reaching out to open the car door before gently pressing the young woman inside.
Before closing the door, he murmured, "It's windy outside. Wait for me inside?"
His voice was low, possessing a natural warmth that made her heart skip a beat.
Refusing to let the matter rest, Ye Mian reached out to catch his cuff, saying softly, "You can fight back against them, but don't hurt yourself."
She was not going to urge Jiang Chen to forgive anyone.
Even as a couple, she felt she still had no right to make such demands.
Had she been through the things Jiang Chen had suffered, she might not even have lived to reach this age, let alone speak of forgiveness.
The harrowing weight of such suffering was too vast; she found it hard to imagine, and even trying to put herself in his shoes for a moment left her suffocating.
Therefore, she only urged Jiang Chen to protect himself well.

Hearing this, Jiang Chen's fingers paused. He nodded gently, a soft smile in his eyes, and closed the car door for her, shutting out all the biting winter wind.
The moment he turned around, his smile vanished.
He understood what the young woman meant.
Yet he also found it somewhat amusing.
The young woman certainly had an imaginative streak, but Dong Yulian was hardly worth him staking everything.

Guan Shan was an exceptionally observant driver. Drawing the highest salary among all drivers and assistants in Wenrong, his situational awareness was also the sharpest.
The moment the girl got into the car, he had already fetched a manager's vehicle from the secret realm, waiting solely for Jiang Chen's command.
Without even glancing at Dong Yulian, Jiang Chen finally gave a slight nod. "Take her over."
Hearing this, Guan Shan immediately knew what to do.
Dong Yulian's eyes darted back and forth. Seeing that Jiang Chen truly showed no intention of exacting immediate revenge, she pulled out her phone, opened the video recorder, and got into the car.
Preserving evidence was the most foolproof method.

Once Guan Shan left, Jiang Chen had to drive himself.
Watching him stride toward the driver's side and get into the car, Ye Mian couldn't help leaning over the back of his seat to ask, "Where did you take her?"
With that, Ye Mian fixed her eyes on Jiang Chen's profile, refusing to miss the slightest flicker of emotion.
The crescent moon hung high, casting mottled shadows from the tree branches.
Jiang Chen showed not a trace of negative emotion.
After a brief silence, his voice came out flat and calm. "To look at some real estate."
Hearing this, Ye Mian frowned. "You're certainly generous. Are you really going to give her a house? You look like a total sucker!"
She saw the corners of Jiang Chen's mouth twitch.
The next second, he turned his head, his fair hand resting on the door-release button.
Then, the door beside Ye Mian opened automatically.
???
Ye Mian's eyes widened.
In that brief fraction of a second, her mind raced through countless possibilities.
Was he going to kick her out without a second word just like that?
Puffing out her cheeks in indignation, she prepared to step out of the car, only to hear Jiang Chen say softly, "Treating me like your chauffeur? Sit in the front."
Oh! A misunderstanding.
Ye Mian's irritation vanished in a second.
Nimbly scrambling out of the car, she suddenly remembered something and poked her head back into the interior. "Jiang Chen, your leg... can you still drive? Did you buy your driver's license or something?"
She wasn't worrying needlessly; she was genuinely skeptical.
Walking around was fine for fracture rehabilitation.
But driving?
You've got to be kidding me.

Silence descended all around.
Jiang Chen's captivating eyes curled with a trace of a smile.
Because the young woman's worried expression was simply too obvious, a brow arched slightly. "Then why don't you drive, little Ye Mian?"
Ye Mian pointed at herself. "I do have a license, but I only got it recently, and this car of yours..."
His car looked rather expensive.
If she wrecked it, her little studio would have to work diligently for a good several years just to pay for the damages.

Yet Jiang Chen showed not the slightest reluctance.
Opening the driver's door, he stepped out, his long legs moving over to the passenger side as he rested a hand on the door frame. "Drive if you want to. If you break it, there's insurance."
Hearing that there was insurance, Ye Mian's eyes lit up.
Jiang Chen's car was truly magnificent.
If she had enough money, she would gladly buy one herself.
harboring a mixture of apprehension, nervousness, and excitement, she slipped into the driver's seat and mimicked Jiang Chen's movements to start the car.
Only to be halted by Jiang Chen.
"Wait."
Ye Mian turned her head. The man had already leaned over, a clean and pleasant fragrance closing in on her. His expression was calm and gentle, the corners of his eyes perpetually crinkled with a smile as he spoke.
"You didn't even put on your seatbelt."
Reaching out, he deftly pulled the seatbelt across her body, his slender fingers clicking the buckle into place with a crisp *click*.
"Who on earth issued your driver's license? I may only have a broken leg, but you might actually take both our lives."
?
Meeting the man's deep, smiling gaze, Ye Mian's mind went blank for a few seconds.
At that moment, she seriously considered just tossing Jiang Chen out and driving all the way back to Jiangcheng overnight.
She had already suffered far too many mortifying moments in Wenrong.
Blinking rapidly, she said, "That was an oversight on my part."
Yet her expression was utterly adorable, her eyes seeming to ask: *Then are you still going to let me drive?*

The corners of Jiang Chen's lips curved slightly, his voice laced with a low chuckle. "Drive. Don't be afraid."
Ye Mian nodded, though she remained deeply nervous.
Concentrating with every fiber of her being on the steering wheel, she only breathed a sigh of relief once the car finally merged smoothly onto the main road at a normal speed.
Turning her head with a beaming smile, she said, "I'm driving..."
Out of the corner of her eye, however, she caught sight of Jiang Chen with his eyes closed, as if he had fallen asleep, and instantly swallowed her words.
???
Surely he didn't need to trust her *this* much??
Hearing her voice, Jiang Chen instantly opened his eyes, staring straight ahead at the road while softening his tone even further.
"You're doing wonderfully."
Ye Mian beamed brilliantly. "Then where do you live? Shall I drive you back?"