Faced with Dong Yuanxi's shout, to be honest, Chen Xiangbei himself was a bit surprised. In his memory, after three years of high school as classmates, apart from some exchanges for class affairs, it was likely only that QQ message in the morning.
Carrying this doubt, Chen Xiangbei walked up to Dong Yuanxi and asked, "What's up?"
"Didn't you say you'd drive me home after school?"
What?
Hearing this, Chen Xiangbei was a bit dumbfounded. He initially thought Dong Yuanxi intended to warn him not to send "harassing messages," but it turned out she agreed to let him drive her home.
Is this playing out in an unexpected way, or is there some trick behind it?
The more beautiful a woman is, the more enigmatic she feels...
"Are you serious?"
Chen Xiangbei still couldn't quite believe it and asked again.
"I am serious; drive."
"Me driving?"
"Who else? Want me to drive you home instead?"
Dong Yuanxi chuckled, her shallow dimples and slightly exposed canine teeth making her look like a young Hong Kong actress, Man Yingshan.
Despite having seen countless women in his two lives, Chen Xiangbei couldn't help but marvel internally, how beautiful...
"The car is too expensive. What if I scratch or bump it? I can't afford to compensate."
Chen Xiangbei joked with a smile, which was also true in a way.
"No worries, drive."
"You seem pretty sure I'd definitely drive?"
Dong Yuanxi's reply made Chen Xiangbei realize a blind spot: she never asked if he knew how to drive.
"I know you can drive."
"How do you know, overheard Shining Hui talking to me?"
"Never mind how I know, just drive."
With that, Dong Yuanxi directly sat in the front passenger seat.
Having said this much, Chen Xiangbei had no choice but to sit in the driver's seat of the Mercedes S65, then start the engine.
People at the school gate were stunned seeing this; it was their first time seeing an unfamiliar boy getting into Dong Yuanxi's car, and even more so being invited by her. What exactly is Chen Xiangbei's relationship with her?
As a good brother of Chen Xiangbei, Fatty Wang muttered to himself, "Since ancient times, we've only seen the rich successfully picking up girls at the school gate, never seen a punk successfully landing a rich woman."
"Did that punk Chen Xiangbei just send a QQ message and change his fate?"
Hearing Fatty Wang's words, Zhou Chenshu pushed up his glasses and said, "Wang Yidong, your jealousy is a bit too much, you were calling him Brother Bei before, now he's just a punk."
Compared to Wang Yidong's shock and surprise, the group of Shining Hui who had just walked out of the school was burning with jealousy at the sight!
"Damn it, I didn't see that wrong, did Chen Xiangbei just get into Dong Yuanxi's car?"
He Zhendong's eyes were red, his face full of disbelief. He had painstakingly sent good night messages with red exclamation points to Dong Yuanxi for half a year, only to be outdone by this Chen Xiangbei who didn't even have any intersection!
"Chen Xiangbei dares to have ulterior motives towards Dong Yuanxi?"
A boy next to him was equally shocked; after all, Dong Yuanxi was the untouchable goddess in their hearts.
"Shining Hui, this time you have to find a really good scapegoat, preferably have that punk Chen Xiangbei crash to death at Nanyun Mountain!"
The last boy, named Ma Minghan, said these words in a cold tone.
His family background as a hall-level official in Guangshen couldn't even get Dong Yuanxi to look at him more than once, so how could a punk like Chen Xiangbei have gotten ahead?
The outside world filled with envy and jealousy, thanks to the top-notch sound insulation of the Mercedes, was naturally unheard by Chen Xiangbei. At this moment, he was more immersed in the deep roar of the 6.0T V12 engine.
Given the emissions standards in later times, the number of cylinders in car engines was getting fewer, and the displacement lower. Forget V12, even six-cylinder cars were becoming rare on the road, not to mention the three-cylinders which came with a wobble!
With the advent of new energy vehicles, the roar of large displacement engines faded away, replaced by the "whistling" sound of electric motors during acceleration.
What Chen Xiangbei wanted was an engine roar that got his blood pumping, not some "whimper"!
"You seem very excited?"
Noticing Chen Xiangbei constantly stroking the steering wheel and closing his eyes to listen to the engine sound, Dong Yuanxi couldn't help but ask.
"Yes, it's a good car."
Chen Xiangbei lavishly praised it. A wolf in sheep's clothing is still a wolf; no matter how businesslike and luxurious it looked on the outside, once the engine was started, the beast within couldn't be concealed.
"Looks like you really like cars."
"I live in Perfume Bay, let's go."
Shifting gears and starting off, Chen Xiangbei didn't treat the streets as his racetrack, nor did he lose control the moment he got into a good car. On the contrary, he drove extremely steadily, like a master with decades of driving experience.
The biggest difference between a professional driver and a street racer lies in rules and restraint.
Driving the Mercedes S65 AMG through the streets of Guangshen, compared to Chen Xiangbei's repair shop Santana, the biggest difference wasn't the excellent sound insulation, the powerful engine, or the luxurious interior.
It was that no matter how he drove, no cars honked impatiently when pedestrians were crossing; no cars flashed their high beams to urge; no cars constantly changed lanes to cut in front.
Having money is great...
Aside from initially providing the address, Dong Yuanxi stayed silent throughout the journey, simply gazing quietly at the street scenery outside the window.
This behavior made Chen Xiangbei wonder what Dong Yuanxi wanted; he couldn't figure it out, only occasionally glancing at her with his peripheral vision when changing lanes.
But this glance mattered because the mottled streetlights cast on Dong Yuanxi's profile, her high nose bridge, long eyelashes, pink lips distracted Chen Xiangbei, who considered himself well-experienced.
Why was I ever Xue Meiting's sycophant before, if I couldn't win anyone over? It'd be better to be Dong Yuanxi's, at least she's truly beautiful.
Perhaps from staring too long, Dong Yuanxi turned her head and asked, "Chen Xiangbei, what are you looking at?"
"The rearview mirror."
Chen Xiangbei retracted his gaze and nonchalantly replied.
"Aren't you curious why I asked you to drive me home?"
"If you want to talk about it, you'll say it."
"Well, now I don't want to talk about it; I'll let you guess slowly!"
A sly smile appeared on Dong Yuanxi's face, completely different from her aloof image at school.
"Alright, guess slowly then."
Chen Xiangbei pretended not to care, thinking that after being reborn, he couldn't be controlled by a high school girl?
Just as he finished speaking, the gates of the Perfume Bay residential area appeared before them. The security guard at the post immediately opened the barrier upon seeing the Mercedes S65 AMG coming through and even saluted properly.
Compared to the caretaker at Chen Xiangbei's residential area, an old man who barely had any teeth left, the service attitude indeed had a big difference.
"Alright, thank you for driving me home today."
"Not going inside?"
"Want to come visit my house?"
"I didn't mean that, I meant..."
Chen Xiangbei quickly explained. He truly had no improper intentions, just thought maybe Dong Yuanxi couldn't drive, and he should help to drive inside.
Before he finished speaking, there was a knock on the car window, and there stood a middle-aged man in a suit with white gloves.
Seeing the demeanor, Chen Xiangbei immediately understood, this was Dong Yuanxi's driver.
Not only that, behind the S65 were two more Mercedes sedans, from which four or five men in suits got out, each of them had an earpiece for real-time communication, likely being bodyguards.
Wow, such a big setup.
Chen Xiangbei couldn't help muttering in his heart, he had only seen such scenes on F1 racetracks with famous dignitaries in his past life, never expected Dong Yuanxi to have so many bodyguards too. Luckily, he was a gentleman with no evil thoughts.
"I'll head back then, see you."
Without unnecessary words, Chen Xiangbei opened the door to switch places with the driver.
Yet, just as he turned to leave, Dong Yuanxi lowered the window and called out, "Chen Xiangbei, here's a little hint for you, remember Jiangling Park?"
Jiangling Park?
When Chen Xiangbei was a seventh grader, he lived by Jiangling Park. The same year his father passed away, they moved to his current neighborhood. However, he couldn't recall any connection between that and Dong Yuanxi's actions today.
Before Chen Xiangbei could react, Dong Yuanxi had returned to her seat, and the Mercedes entered the residential gate one after another.
PS: Thanks to all the brothers for tipping and voting, today's extended chapters are dedicated to you.