Ye Zhengchen and I officially started dating, and many people, including Qin Xue, didn’t believe it. Ye Zhengchen drove his BMW to the research lab every day, while I rode my nearly new second-hand bicycle to class and work. It wasn’t that Ye Zhengchen was heartless, nor was I being pretentious. I was happy when he offered to take me to school, but coordinating schedules would require mutual compromise. I’ve always been independent, disliking restrictions.
Ye Zhengchen once pointed to a wine-red Mercedes sports car and asked if I liked it. I was honest: “I can’t drive.” “I’ll take you to driving school.” “Please spare me! I have no sense of direction, can’t even distinguish east from west. I get lost riding a bicycle on campus.” Before he could argue, I added: “Bicycles aren’t bad. They’re eco-friendly, no traffic worries, and good exercise.”
Sometimes I could ride back with Brother Feng or Ling Ling, chatting and laughing freely. Bicycles have many advantages, except during rainy days. In Japan, occasional heavy rain is inevitable. A few days later, I encountered a thunderstorm on my way back to the apartment and stopped at a Mercedes dealership to take shelter.
Shivering in a corner, I cursed the weather and hoped the country would soon be submerged by seawater. A staff member came out and politely asked if I wanted to come inside. I glanced at my wet shoes and then at the red carpet in their showroom, bowing quickly. “Thank you, but I’m fine here.”
While watching the staff return inside, I admired the wine-red Mercedes sports car, its luxurious metallic paint and smooth lines. The rain continued pouring for over an hour, getting heavier and accompanied by howling winds. Rainwater flowed horizontally on the empty street, with cars moving slowly.
Looking around, it was a dark, watery world. Had my curse actually worked? Let the storm come even more violently!
After waiting ten minutes, certain the heavy rain wouldn’t stop, I took out my phone to call Ye Zhengchen, wondering if he could rescue me.
I saw over a dozen missed calls from him. I called back, and before I could speak, he asked, “Where are you?”
“In front of the Mercedes-Benz store, sheltering from the rain,” I replied to prevent any misunderstanding about car shopping.
