Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“Wen Shuo?” I was genuinely surprised.

I’d been curious about my new neighbor’s profession before. There were plenty of people in the neighborhood, and gossip traveled fast. With looks as distinctive as his, some people had talked about him behind his back, saying he didn’t look like a good person.

Wen Shuo walked toward me, then glanced past me at the car that had just been towed in. “What happened to the car?”

I spread my hands. “It broke down on the road.”

A worker popped out from behind Wen Shuo and grinned. “Boss, is this your friend?”

“…”

I explained with a smile, “I’m your boss’s neighbor.”

Not quite a friend yet.

But the worker looked me over and clicked his tongue. “Handsome, do all you good-looking people just cluster together when you pick a place to live?”

I looked at Wen Shuo. “Are all your employees this sweet-tongued? They’re not much like you.”

Wen Shuo: “…”

His worker, however, was lively. “Our boss already has a whole swarm of admirers even with that cold face of his. If he knew how to sweet-talk too, we could open a second branch tomorrow.”

“Hm?” I didn’t quite follow.

The worker gestured in one direction. “Handsome, see that row of luxury cars? A bunch of rich guys and ladies are trying to chase our boss. Instead of going to perfectly good 4S dealerships, they all got annual memberships here.”

I laughed, and then heard Wen Shuo turn back to his employee and say, “Do you have nothing better to do?”

The worker took the hint and slipped away.

“Boss Wen,” I couldn’t help teasing, “you’re awfully popular.”

Wen Shuo glanced at me. The look in his eyes seemed like he had something to say, but in the end, he ignored me.

He went straight to my car. After checking it over, he told me, “A part needs to be replaced. Come pick it up tomorrow afternoon.”

I checked the time and asked him, “What time do you get off work?”

Wen Shuo paused. “I don’t have a fixed time. Why?”

“Didn’t I say last night that I’d treat you to a meal when I had time? No time like the present. How about today?”

“No need,” he said.

That answer was consistent with last night.

But I dealt with people every day for a living, so it wasn’t as if my skin was thin. Being rejected was no big deal.

“If you don’t want to eat out, I’ll cook at home tonight. Come back a little earlier?”

Wen Shuo fell silent. He stared at me for a moment. “Where are we eating?”

“No rush.” I curved my eyes at him. “I don’t have a car now anyway. I’ll wait for you to get off work first. You can think about what you want to eat.”

I took a look around this newly opened auto repair shop, though most of the time I was watching Wen Shuo work.

At last, he pulled off his gloves and disappeared from my sight for quite a while. When he reappeared, he had changed clothes, and his face was clean too.

“Let’s go,” he said.

It was dinner hour, and the restaurant was lively. Wen Shuo was still a man of few words, but I was curious about him, so I inevitably found topics to chat with him about.

Communication was, after all, a bridge that brought people closer.

And throughout the meal, the person sitting across from me was truly a feast for the eyes.

Back at the residential complex, I handed Wen Shuo my business card in the elevator.

“I do custom suits. If you ever need one, you can come to me.”

He lowered his eyes to the card, then looked up at me. “Zhong Yanqing?”

I smiled. “That’s me.”

I had introduced myself to him before this, but this neighbor who kept people at arm’s length clearly hadn’t taken it to heart.

I didn’t mind.

After all, anyone could become my client.