“Need help?” he asked in Japanese. I came to my senses and quickly handed him the map, pointing to the supermarket’s name. “How do I get to this supermarket?” I asked in my poor Japanese.
He rattled off a string of words at lightning speed. Struggling to understand, I switched to English: “I’m sorry, do you speak English?” He examined me, and it seemed he didn’t. Just as I was about to take back the map, I unexpectedly heard standard Mandarin: “Get in. I’ll take you!” I was slightly stunned.
My national pride exploded, and I mentally cheered: I knew this handsome guy couldn’t be Japanese!
“Thank you!” I said as I got into the car.
“Fasten your seatbelt!” he reminded me.
Just as I buckled up, he floored the gas pedal, and the car swung around like a flying object.
I secretly observed him. Based on the luxury of his car, I figured he was either from a wealthy family or a high-ranking official’s background. I’d heard about many young men abroad wasting time with luxury cars.
Just as I wondered how to break the silence, he introduced himself: “Hello, I’m Ye Zhengchen. What’s your name?”
Ye Zhengchen?! I looked him up and down. No wonder he was wearing a standard Japanese suit—he had just come from a meeting.
“I’m Bao Bing,” I said.
“When did you come to Japan?” he asked.
“Just two weeks ago.”
“What are you doing in Japan?”
“Studying.”
As I finished speaking, he stopped the car and pointed at the supermarket sign: “This is it.” I checked the map and realized the Indian map had drawn the direction wrong.
“Um… where are you going later?” I asked, hoping he would head back to his apartment so I could catch a ride back.
He seemed puzzled by my question but didn’t show any annoyance, politely answering, “Back to my apartment.” I smiled and asked, “Are you in a hurry? Can you wait three minutes?” He half-squinted his eyes, a mischievous smile on his face, revealing a hint of wildness in his handsome features. “If you want to go to my apartment, I don’t mind.” I found this new neighbor interesting and wanted to tease him a bit. “Okay!”
