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Mai Ding made sure that An Ziyan dropped him off a bus stop away from his house. He didn’t want his parents to find out about the relationship.
“Mai Ding.”
“Mhm?”
“Do you intend to be with me forever?”
Mai Ding was rather surprised by the question. “Why are you asking me this? Are you tired of me already? You can kill that thought. I will continue to hara.s.s you in this life and the next.” When it comes to love, Mai Ding was a die-hard lover. He’s never going to give up.
“Your mom and dad will find out sooner or later.”
It was a heavy topic to discuss. It’s not as if Mai Ding hadn’t thought about it before. He knew that for the two of them to be together, life wouldn’t be a bed of roses. Why wouldn"t normal couples accept them?
“I understand where this is going, but there’s no need to rush.”
Before he could finish his thought, An Ziyan cut him off, saying, “How long are you going to sit there? Quick, get out of the car.”
It was indeed getting late. Mai Ding looked outside the window, returned his gaze to An Ziyan, then quickly pecked him on the cheek. “Goodnight, An Ziyan.” And with that, he left hurriedly.
An Ziyan couldn’t help but smile to himself, seeing how shy Mai Ding looked even when pecking him on the cheek. And on the other hand, Mai Ding’s eyes never left the car. It was only when he saw that the car had disappeared into the darkness, did he finally turned to walk in the direction of his house. A sudden wave of loneliness overcame him when he realized that An Ziyan wasn’t by his side anymore. At that moment, he couldn’t be bothered that the person he loves was a guy. He also wasn’t bothered that others would see him as a pervert. When you have fallen in love, all these don’t matter anymore.
Mai Ding was resolute in his love for An Ziyan.
The next day, Mai Ding registered to take his driver’s license. He was indeed true to his word! He did it for two main reasons, of course: one, it is for An Ziyan; two, it is for their safety, and because he wanted to pa.s.s the test as soon as possible, Mai Ding was willing to make that long and gruelling journey to An Ziyan’s house, hoping that he could borrow An Ziyan’s car. Even though he might have felt tired, he was not going to admit it. He was feeling excited thinking about the prospect of driving his car.
When An Ziyan saw that look of happiness on Mai Ding’s face after opening the door, he coldly said, “You again?”
“You mean I can’t come to your house? Anyway, my dear cla.s.smate, would you be willing to teach me how to drive? I wish to take the driving test soon.”
“What’s the point?’ An Ziyan said as he walked to the kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee, flipping through the newspapers as he did so.
“What do you mean by that? You do not respect the law. If I am able to drive, I can drive you around.”
An Ziyan frowned. “The bottom is going to drive the top?”
“What’s with that tone? And can you stop being such a chauvinistic* pig?”
(* - belief that you/your race is better than the rest)
“I’m not teaching.”
“Even if I beg you?”
“How much is that worth?”
“But I am the person you are going to spend forever with…”
“Umm, that’s a bit to early to say.” It looks like nothing Mai Ding said could persuade An Ziyan.
Mai Ding surveyed his surroundings. He saw that An Ziyan’s house was in a mess. And bingo! “My dear cla.s.smate, what if I say that I will clean your house for one month if you teach me how to drive?”
An Ziyan continued to read his papers, not even looking at Mai Ding. “Why would I need you to do that? I’ll just hire a maid.”
Mai Ding thought hard and as he can, so he was twirling his fingers and he couldn’t help but blush. “What if I said that on top of the housework, you can also do "that" to me anytime you want?”
This time, An Ziyan looked up and matter-of-factly replied, “We have a deal.”
In the end, seduction worked. Mai Ding felt that his boyfriend was just too h.o.r.n.y. But it was Mai Ding who thought of this in the first place. So how innocent could he be?
But no matter what, Mai Ding was just excited that he could finally get to drive. And who knows? This car could even be his, he thought. And yes, he did think a lot. Too much, in fact.
An Ziyan was sitting in the driver’s seat and lazily instructed Mai Ding, “Ok hold the handbrake. Step on the clutch. Don’t step on the gas. And slowly turn the ignition. Once you have done that, slowly release the handbrake and the clutch and you can then step on the gas. And you are ready to go.” Even though An Ziyan went through every detail, Mai Ding still fumbled. But despite the initial clumsiness, he managed to get the car going slowly. “All you need to do next is turn the steering wheel left or right and that should be all.”
“Is this how you teach others how to drive?” Mai Ding was not satisfied with his lesson.
At t, a car appeared in front of them and Mai Ding panicked. He was fine when no one was in front of them. “What should I do now, An Ziyan? There’s a car in front of us. What should I do?’
“You just need to overtake him.”
Mai Ding managed to successfully overtake the car in front of him, even though his hands were still shaking. It was his first time driving, and already he was on the street. It would have been more of a surprise if he weren’t nervous. Just then, he realised from a distance that there were two cars in front of him. He started to panic again. “Quick, quick! Take the wheel! We’re gonna crash! I don’t know what to do!” Once he started to panic, he would forget everything.
“You have to calm down! Turn left now.”
But that advice came a little too late. Seeing that he was going to crash into the car, Mai Ding opened the door and jumped out. Fortunately, the car was travelling at a very slow speed and so his injury was superficial. However, for An Ziyan who was still in the car, he had to see his car crash into the other one, but thankfully, it was just a light b.u.mp as both cars were travelling very slowly.
Mai Ding ran towards the car. “Are you alright?”
An Ziyan glared at Mai Ding. It was the coldest look that Mai Ding ever got. The owner of the other car was approaching them, already hollering, “Are you out of your f.u.c.king mind! Don’t you have f.u.c.king eyes! Can you see how badly scratched my car is?”
Mai Ding bowed and apologized, “I am so sorry! I was learning how to drive. It wasn’t intentional.”
An Ziyan got off the car, took out a wad of cash from his wallet. “Is this enough?”
It was obviously more than enough. The owner of the car stared at the cash in front of him and then glanced at An Ziyan’s scary face. He also noticed Mai Ding was still apologizing to him profusely. “Please be careful in future. If you are learning how to drive, it is better to choose a road that is not too crowded.”
And that was how the matter was settled. An Ziyan took his phone out and called for help. “h.e.l.lo? Uncle Fu? My car is currently about a hundred over metres away from my house. Could you get someone to tow it away?”
Once it was settled, both boys were walking in the direction of An Ziyan’s house. “Are you angry with me, An Ziyan?” Mai Ding asked guiltily. “It wasn’t intentional, I swear. It was a moment of danger. You can’t blame me for jumping out of the car.”
An Ziyan turned to look Mai Ding in the eye. “You are not allowed to drive anymore.”
“Why can’t I? It was just a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes. Isn’t this too harsh a punishment?”
“Just go ahead and try defying me.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“So what if I am?” An Ziyan was firm, leaving Mai Ding with no option but to obey. But once when they were home, An Ziyan took an ice pack from the fridge and threw it at Mai Ding.
While treating his own wounds, Mai Ding casually mentioned, “Since you are not going to allow me to drive, then our deal is off. I am not cleaning this place and… and we are not doing that.”
“Rubbish.”
Mai Ding was feeling a little enranged. “Why is it rubbish? Those were the terms of our agreement.”
“You can’t take back what you promised.”
“But you are the one going back on your promise first!”
“That’s me. You are you.”
“What logic are you using? Since you can’t fulfill your end of the bargain, then why should I?”
“But my dear Mai Ding, what you have promised to do are but things that you should have done anyway. That’s your duty as my lover.”
And to some extent, An Ziyan was right. Helping your lover, in all sense of the word, was indeed a kind duty, a kind of responsibility. That was his logic.
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To be continued...