Chapter 40: Just a Hint of Reluctance

Though Ye Mo usually drove fairly well—perhaps not exceptionally, but at least competently enough to avoid being labeled a reckless driver—Lin Jie now found himself staring at the training car half-submerged in a ditch. Watching Ye Mo hunching over the steering wheel, her shoulders shaking in suppressed laughter, he realized he had clearly overestimated her.

"Could you please get the car back on the road? What's so funny?" Lin Jie, seated in the passenger seat, covered his face in exasperation. Across the way, he could see a few instructors gathered together, chuckling in their direction.

"I can't! I really can't!" Ye Mo's laughter was now barely contained, though Lin Jie couldn't quite fathom what was so amusing about her botched attempt at parallel parking, which had somehow ended with the car in a ditch.

"Come on, sis, stop laughing. If my uncle shows up, he's going to scold me," Lin Jie pleaded helplessly.

"But I really can't get it out!"

Even Ye Mo didn't seem to know why she found it so funny—perhaps because she was aware of how foolish she must have looked. Despite Lin Jie's initial show of confidence in her driving, what she truly wanted was his care and attention, not for him to rest peacefully while she drove.

Her simmering frustration had pushed her to do something drastic... and now the car was in the ditch.

"Alright, I'll take over," Lin Jie offered quickly.

"Yes, yes, please do."

They swapped seats, and Lin Jie realized that Ye Mo hadn't really been stuck; she simply hadn't wanted to drive anymore. Otherwise, getting the car out of the shallow ditch wouldn't have required much effort.

It wasn't long before Lin Jie understood why she had refused to drive it out. As soon as he got the car back on the road, a few instructors descended upon him with a stream of critiques.

Lin Jie, bewildered, looked over at Ye Mo. His gaze spoke volumes: Wasn't it you who drove into the ditch?

Ye Mo turned her head away and began whistling innocently.

Lin Jie: "..."

"Sis, you really are something else."

"Hmm? What are you talking about? I don't understand," Ye Mo responded with an expression of mock innocence, her large eyes blinking at him as though she were completely oblivious.

Lin Jie gave her a thumbs-up, and when they reached a quieter spot, he prepared to stop and let her resume driving practice.

But Ye Mo waved off his offer. "I'll take a break. I'll supervise you instead."

"Fine by me."

Lin Jie was a quick learner when it came to driving. In truth, apart from mastering reverse parking, the other elements of the second exam were quickly becoming second nature to him.

Ye Mo, slouched by the window, stared at the tires for quite some time, but couldn't find any fault in his driving. Feeling a bit deflated, she eventually mimicked Lin Jie by reclining in her seat and enjoying the air conditioning.

"Weren't you supposed to be supervising me?" Lin Jie teased.

Ye Mo shot him an exasperated glance. "With driving this good, what do you need supervision for?"

"Double standards, huh?"

"Well, I'm not exactly great at driving," Ye Mo admitted with a sigh. "I did, after all, drive into a ditch. How could you say I'm good?"

"I'm more curious about this strange sense of pride in your voice."

"Hahaha, well, that's for me to know."

Lin Jie rolled his eyes at her.

Sure enough, Wu Fei had been slacking off. By the time they were nearly done practicing, he finally emerged and took each of them for one last round of driving. Afterward, he reminded them about the important points to remember for the first exam tomorrow. Lin Jie listened attentively, even feeling a bit nervous, but Ye Mo, a seasoned university student, seemed unfazed.

"Let's go out and have fun!" Ye Mo looked at Lin Jie, her eyes full of anticipation.

"But we have the first exam tomorrow!"

"What does that have to do with going out to have fun?" Ye Mo asked, puzzled.

"I want to study for the test tonight," Lin Jie admitted honestly.

Ye Mo gave him a look of mild disdain, though she knew she couldn't win him over. Reluctantly, she let him return home.

Once home, Lin Jie did indeed buckle down to study for the exam. Ye Mo, however, wouldn't leave him in peace. Every now and then, she would message him, asking if he had eaten, sharing what she was doing, inviting him to study together, or even asking him to play games with her.

Several times, Lin Jie considered muting her notifications, but it seemed Ye Mo could sense his intentions. Whenever he didn't respond, she would call, laughing cheerfully to "smooth things over."

Most people would find such a girl quite annoying, but Lin Jie couldn't bring himself to dislike her. Every time he saw one of her perfectly timed emoticons, he couldn't help but picture her face as she sent the message.

It was just... adorable.

Before he knew it, the night had passed, and Lin Jie rose early to meet Ye Mo at their agreed-upon spot so they could head to the DMV together for the first exam.

"Why are you in such a rush? We're not going to be late," Ye Mo scolded as she looked at him. "I haven't even finished doing my makeup."

"Why would you need makeup for a driving exam? Besides, you look stunning even without it."

Lin Jie, full of energy, was ready to ace the test and move on to preparing for the second.

"Hehe, alright, let's go."

At the DMV, they waited until it was time for the exam. Lin Jie, Ye Mo, and the others filed into the test center.

Lin Jie's exam went smoothly, and as he neared the end, he couldn't help but feel quite pleased with himself. However, he also wondered if Ye Mo's overly confident attitude would lead to her making a mistake.

A sudden concern for Ye Mo began to gnaw at him.

In the end, though, Ye Mo didn't make a single mistake.

She even outdid him—scoring a perfect 100 to his 98.

Lin Jie found it utterly baffling, though Ye Mo seemed to think it was perfectly natural, explaining that she had stayed up the night before to brush up.

After sharing the good news with Wu Fei, Lin Jie immediately signed up for the second exam, dragging Ye Mo along with him. With that, a sense of relief washed over him.

Ye Mo watched him quietly, a serene yet somewhat enigmatic smile on her face. "At this rate, if we pass each test on the first try, we'll have our licenses within a month."

"Yes, that's what my uncle said too."

"Hmm..." Ye Mo elongated the sound, tucking her hands into the pockets of her white hoodie. "So, what do you plan to do after you get your license? Go traveling with your friends?"

"More or less."

Ye Mo pondered for a moment, then smiled again, her expression gentle yet laden with meaning. "That sounds wonderful—traveling, seeing the world, broadening your horizons... I'll probably do the same. Once I get my license, I'll head out and explore."

"But then again," she continued, "I might need to return home and deal with some work matters first."

Lin Jie was momentarily taken aback. Suddenly, it dawned on him—after they got their licenses, would they go their separate ways? Would she become just another contact in his phone, a name slowly fading from memory?

Isn't this what Lin Jie had always wanted?

Yet somehow, there was a small part of him that wasn't quite ready to let go.