"Zhuang Ge, why hasn't Cao Ze arrived yet? Have you contacted him?" Qin Tian asked Chen Zhuang, who was sitting there.
"I sent him a message yesterday, and he said he was looking for someone to drive with him. He should be here by now," Chen Zhuang replied.
"He bought a car?" Qin Tian asked, surprised.
"Yeah, didn't you see his social media post? A Mercedes SUV. His dad bought it for him during the New Year. He's been showing off like crazy. It's good to have a dad who owns a mine," Chen Zhuang said with a look of envy and jealousy.
"I actually didn't see it. Call him and ask where he is," Qin Tian said with a smile.
"Okay!" Chen Zhuang nodded, took out his phone, and called Cao Mingliang.
The call was answered quickly, and Cao Mingliang's somewhat impatient voice came through. "Hello?"
"Cao Ze, where are you? Why haven't we seen you?"
"Don't ask. I'm so annoyed. The car was hit." Cao Mingliang explained gloomily.
"What? What happened?" Chen Zhuang was stunned.
Qin Tian and Zhuang Zhe also hurried closer.
"I just got my license, and I can't drive on the highway by myself, so I was driving with a friend. He drove on the highway, and after we entered Jiangcheng, I took over. But then a novice female driver rear-ended us. Damn it, my luck is too bad." Cao Mingliang cursed.
Chen Zhuang glanced at Qin Tian and Zhuang Zhe and asked, "Where are you now? Have you sorted it out?"
"We just finished arguing. That woman is definitely going through menopause; she's completely unreasonable. The argument gave me a headache. The traffic police just came and assigned fault. I'm preparing to send the car for repair now."
"Let your friend help you with it. You can just take a taxi back to school. We're planning to go to Tian Ge's place for a meal to celebrate their new home."
"Celebrate their new home? What's going on?"
"That place he and Xia Nuannuan got. It's all ready. Tian Ge is going to show off his cooking skills today and make some good dishes to host us."
"Okay, then I'll take a taxi over. Wait for me."
"Alright, hurry up." After finishing, Chen Zhuang hung up the phone and looked at Qin Tian, shrugging with a smile.
"My goodness, what kind of driving skills is that? He crashed it after only a few days of owning it."
"It's good that the person is okay," Qin Tian said with a smile.
"That guy clearly lacks experience. He ran into a novice female driver and didn't know to avoid her," Chen Zhuang chuckled.
"The key is, if she hadn't put on the sticker, he might not have known she was a novice female driver!" Zhuang Zhe interjected.
"That's true too," Chen Zhuang nodded.
"Is it possible that his driving skills aren't much better than hers?" Qin Tian said with a smile.
Chen Zhuang and Zhuang Zhe were stunned for a moment, then both nodded in agreement.
"How about this, we'll go ahead. I'll send him a message with the address," Qin Tian said, glancing at a message from Xia Nuannuan on his phone.
"Aren't we waiting for Cao Ze?" Chen Zhuang asked in surprise.
"Yeah, let him make his own way over later. I still need to go and prepare the ingredients, otherwise, I'm afraid I won't make it back in time for the evening roll call. Nuannuan and the others are also ready to leave."
"Alright, let's go!"
...
...
Moxiang Shuyuan was not far from Jiangcheng University, but given the university's size, it took a considerable amount of time just to walk from the dormitory to the school gate.
Qin Tian drove, first dropping Chen Zhuang and Zhuang Zhe off at the entrance of the residential complex and asking them to wait, then he turned around to pick up Xia Nuannuan and the others.
Soon, everyone from the two dormitories gathered at the entrance of the complex.
After Qin Tian parked the car, they all headed towards the apartment building together.
Upon hearing that Cao Mingliang had bought a car and had been rear-ended by a female driver right after arriving in Jiangcheng, the three girls were all astonished.
"He's just too unlucky, isn't he?" Shen Siqi exclaimed with a smile.
"Indeed, he ran into that terrifying creature known as a novice female driver," Chen Zhuang said with a chuckle.
Shen Siqi frowned upon hearing this, glared at him playfully, and questioned, "What do you mean by that? What do you mean by 'that terrifying creature known as a novice female driver'? Who told you that all girls are bad drivers?"
"Cough... I didn't mean it like that." Chen Zhuang realized he had said something wrong and waved his hands sheepishly.
"You totally meant it. You're obviously looking down on us girls. Get away, get away from me." Shen Siqi pushed him away with disgust.
"Siqi..."
"Get away, I'm planning to sign up for driving lessons this year, so I'll be a novice female driver soon too. Don't get so close to a terrifying creature like me; it's dangerous."
"Uh... Siqi, don't mess around. I was wrong, I was wrong."
"Who's messing around? Get off!"
Beside them, Qin Tian and the others didn't intervene, just watching and laughing gleefully.
They took the elevator to the sixth floor.
Qin Tian and Xia Nuannuan took out their keys and opened their respective doors.
Shen Siqi and Lu Lei went with Xia Nuannuan into her unit, 602, and began to explore excitedly.
In 601, Qin Tian led Chen Zhuang and Zhuang Zhe into the apartment.
"Slippers are over here." Opening the shoe cabinet by the entrance, he took out a few pairs of slippers and tossed them on the floor.
"Wow, Tian Ge, this apartment is nicely decorated!" Chen Zhuang praised as he changed his shoes.
"It's alright." Qin Tian walked into the living room and turned on the TV with the remote.
Chen Zhuang and Zhuang Zhe followed, looking around and observing with curiosity.
"There's a game console over there you can play with," Qin Tian pointed below the television.
"A game console? Holy crap, that's awesome." Chen Zhuang was thrilled.
"Make yourselves at home, I'll go get some drinks," Qin Tian said with a smile, then walked to the open kitchen and opened the refrigerator.
A short while later, the three girls arrived. After touring the apartment with Xia Nuannuan, Shen Siqi was full of praise.
Then, they all sat on the living room sofas and chatted.
"Nuannuan, we ordinary people are still thinking about buying a house as soon as possible after graduation and establishing ourselves in Jiangcheng. You guys have reached the finish line already. We can't compare, we can't compare," Shen Siqi said comfortably, leaning back on a plush beanbag chair with a look of envy.
"What are you talking about!" Xia Nuannuan rolled her eyes.
"You won't understand the struggles of ordinary people like us, being a rich and beautiful girl." Shen Siqi pouted.
"Siqi, you don't need to compare yourself to them. Come play games!" Chen Zhuang held up two game controllers, shaking one with a smile.
"Play your head. All you think about is playing games." Shen Siqi glared at him reproachfully.
Chen Zhuang gave a naive, innocent smile and could only hand the controller to Qin Tian.
After taking it, Qin Tian played a couple of rounds of King of Fighters with him, winning both easily.
"Again, again." Chen Zhuang urged.
"I'm not playing anymore. You guys play; I'm going to cook," Qin Tian said, handing the controller to Zhuang Zhe beside him and standing up.
"Do you need help?" Xia Nuannuan asked him with a smile.
"No need. You stay here and chat with them!" Qin Tian smiled and shook his head.