Urban Martial Saint

”Men’s clothing?” The manager glanced at Ye Qing and whispered, ”Is it for...is it for the chairman?”

”No, it’s for Ye!” Lin Huayu specifically pointed at Ye Qing standing beside her.

Ye Qing was stunned for a moment and said, ”What are you buying for me?”

”Clothes!” Lin Huayu tugged at Ye Qing’s wrinkled suit and said, ”This outfit looks terrible on you; you need a new one!”

”What should I change? My clothes are fine!” Ye Qing shook his head. ”No need, just shop for yourself!”

”No way, your clothes must be changed. You are working for me now, so these are work clothes!” Lin Huayu insisted, looking at the manager and asking, ”Do you have any recommendations?”

The manager took a deep breath and couldn’t help but scrutinize Ye Qing again. Ye Qing’s wrinkled clothes made him wonder, was this the dramatic romance of the rich girl and the impoverished scholar he had heard about? A poor boy working for a rich girl suddenly wins her favor and she brings him here for a makeover first? Lin Huayu, this rich young lady, is into this sort of thing?

Fuck, this guy is damn lucky. If I were twenty years younger, I’d have this opportunity too!

The manager fantasized a bit, but he didn’t dare to slow down and took the two to the second floor.

Ye Qing, pulled by Lin Huayu, went up to the second floor, feeling even more embarrassed. However, that was just Lin Huayu’s nature, and he couldn’t oppose her.

”Do you want something formal or casual? For something formal, we have Yucashen, Armani, and Boss here. But Mr. Ye’s age doesn’t really suit Boss. How about trying Fan Sizhe? Fan Sizhe has younger and more casual options; we can start with those,” the manager said as he led the way upstairs.

”No matter the brand, the key is that it has to look good when worn,” Lin Huayu said nonchalantly, for money was just a number to her and had no special meaning.

”Of course, that’s a given,” the manager said with a forced smile, leading Ye Qing into Fan Sizhe and picking several outfits for him to try on.

Ye Qing didn’t want to change, but Lin Huayu pushed him into the fitting room, and he eventually tried on two sets.

Ye Qing was quite handsome, with a sharply defined face and a stern expression. Although he didn’t possess the soft beauty of a pretty boy, he exuded a masculine charm. Now dressed in this casual suit, he looked even more imposing, and even the manager couldn’t help but acknowledge the truth of the saying, ”Clothes make the man.”

Lin Huayu was even more delighted, purchasing all the suits Ye Qing tried on. She also bought him leather shoes, a belt, and a watch, giving him a complete makeover from head to toe. Had Ye Qing not held her back, she might have even taken him to a lingerie store.

Dressed in a brand-new suit, Ye Qing looked much more handsome. Lin Huayu looked at him satisfyingly and said, ”That’s more like it. You’re a handsome guy; why dress so ugly? Ye, from tomorrow, you’ll wear these clothes to work!”

Ye Qing looked at the price tags on the clothes, and even the usually composed him was now sweating profusely. Just one piece of clothing cost several tens of thousands, and the watch was even more ridiculous; a small piece costing seventy or eighty thousand, from some Earl brand.

Ye Qing knew urban consumption was outrageous, but this was just too much. This whole outfit could buy a house in a small town!

Dressed in an outfit worth a house, Ye Qing felt uncomfortable all over. He rifled through a few bags and suddenly turned to Lin Huayu, ”What about my previous clothes?”

”What previous clothes? They were so ugly that I threw them away!” Lin Huayu said nonchalantly.

”What!” Ye Qing’s expression changed, and he urgently asked, ”Where did you throw them?”

Lin Huayu casually said, ”Why are you so anxious? Those clothes were so wrinkled they were unwearable. I threw them in the trash!”

”Which trash can?” Ye Qing was even more anxious.

”The shop we were trying clothes in just now...” Before Lin Huayu could finish, Ye Qing hurriedly ran off, heading straight for the shop where they had tried on the clothes.

Under the astonished gazes of the shop staff, Ye Qing, dressed in branded clothing, overturned the trash can and rummaged through it several times, retrieving his previous wrinkled clothes. A few staff members couldn’t help but whisper privately, wondering if there was some story behind these clothes.

Lin Huayu caught up and seeing Ye Qing like this, couldn’t help but ask in astonishment, ”Ye, what are you doing? Those clothes are unwearable, just throw them away. I’ve checked the pockets; there’s nothing left inside!”

Ye Qing carefully wrapped the clothes and carried them in a bag, looking up at Lin Huayu and said, ”They might be unwearable, but I can’t throw them away.”

”Why?” Lin Huayu was surprised and asked, ”If the clothes are unwearable, why not just throw them away? What’s the use of keeping them?”

Ye Qing shook his head and said, ”Because a friend bought them for me!”

The clothes were what Ye Qing wore on his first day at the Mu Qingrong Company when he arrived in Shenchuan City, bought by Fang Tingyun from a street stall. Though cheap, totaling less than one hundred and fifty yuan, for Ye Qing, they represented friendship, something truly irreplaceable!

”I really don’t get you!” Lin Huayu pouted and muttered a few sentences, letting Ye Qing carry the clothes.

Lin Huayu had originally planned to take Ye Qing to dinner and a night market stroll, but it ended up being Lin Zhen Nan who called her, and she reluctantly went home.

Ye Qing dropped Lin Huayu off and followed her into the Lin Residence. Lin Zhen Nan was waiting in the yard for Lin Huayu. Seeing Ye Qing’s outfit, he guessed what had happened without needing to ask.

He didn’t say much, just made small talk with Ye for a few moments before asking the driver to take Ye home.

Driver Old Wang drove out of the Lin Residence, and Ye decided to sit in the passenger seat this time, intently watching him drive.

”Young man, you can’t drive, can you?” Old Wang casually said, taking out a cigarette and putting it in his mouth. This guy, pretending all day long, seemed really determined now. He lit the cigarette, took a deep drag, and slowly exhaled the smoke with a look of pure enjoyment on his face.

”Haven’t learned yet,” Ye replied truthfully.

”I figured as much. Those who can drive don’t watch like you do,” Old Wang scoffed, adding, ”But, nowadays, it’s rare to find young people who can’t drive.”

Ye nodded but said nothing more. However, Old Wang, having held back all day, finally seized the chance to speak and began to endlessly share driving tips with Ye. He seemed to be a very enthusiastic person.

Ye occasionally asked critical questions. Old Wang answered a few of them and then looked at Ye, saying, ”Young man, your questions are quite good. It seems you have a real knack for driving. How about it? Want to learn? I’ll tell you, I, North Ring Thirteen, don’t usually take disciples – it’s all about fate.

You and I have fate, I won’t charge you much, just one thousand yuan a month, and I guarantee you’ll get the hang of it!”

Old Wang laid a trap there – he mentioned one thousand yuan a month but didn’t specify how many months it would take, clearly trying to deceive people.

Ye was silent for a while and then said, ”North Ring Thirteen Lang, isn’t that Zhao Chengshuang?”

”What?” Old Wang was startled, then burst out, ”That darn kid, really going around using my name to con people! His driving skills were all taught by me. What North Ring Thirteen Lang? That’s all hot air.”

Ye thought for a moment, ”One thousand yuan a month, that works out to a bit over two hundred a week, right?”

”If you want to think of it that way, that’s fine. I’ll charge you two hundred a week. If you can drive well in two weeks, I’ll teach you for free!” Old Wang said.

”Then let’s do it, when do we start?” Ye asked.

”Let’s start now.” Old Wang was crazy enough to drive straight to Ring City Road, saying, ”There’s less traffic here; let’s start practicing now.”

Ring City Road was indeed wide, with few cars at night, making it no problem for practicing. But, it was night after all, and Ye was a beginner; Old Wang was really risking it.

Nevertheless, Ye eventually got in the car and slowly started driving. He drove very slowly and cautiously, but it was steady. Old Wang casually instructed from the side, keeping some secrets to himself; teaching too quickly might stop him from getting paid.

Ye slowly drove along Ring City Road, mimicking Old Wang’s frequency checking the rear-view mirror and surroundings; it made him look quite experienced. After driving over ten miles, Old Wang suddenly realized something serious – Ye had not crossed a single line.

Though the car lanes on Ring City Road were wide, they were all marked. Despite the sharp turns in the middle, Ye, driving for the first time, did not swerve over any lines and steadily continued, giving Old Wang a bad feeling. Perhaps, he really wouldn’t make any money?

Ye picked up driving skills quickly, driving on Ring City Road for two hours, and his driving became more skilled. Although he hadn’t practiced maneuvers like parking or exiting a parking spot, driving on a flat road was no problem.

”Damn, did you learn this before and now you’re just messing with me?” Old Wang couldn’t help but ask.

”Truly haven’t learned before,” Ye honestly replied.

”Damn, what you’re saying is, I met a genius today?” Old Wang stared at Ye, fell silent for a while, then said, ”Kid, you’ve got a gift. Here’s the deal, for one thousand yuan, I’ll teach you everything I know. With this, not just driving on the road, but even if you go racing with others, you won’t fall behind!”

”I wasn’t planning to race others,” Ye looked at Old Wang, ”But if you can truly teach me, one thousand yuan is no problem!”

Old Wang immediately perked up, ”Then what are we waiting for? Come on, I’ll start by teaching you how to overtake other cars!”

Throughout the night, Ye and Old Wang drove around Ring City Road twice. As Old Wang had said, Ye indeed had a knack for driving. At this rate, it probably wouldn’t even take two weeks for him to be road-ready.

Ye learned quickly, and Old Wang happily shared his unique tricks, clearly stating that he intended to make Ye his successor as the ’Car God.’ He even planned a nickname for Ye, calling him the New North Ring Thirteen Lang.

(Four more posts tonight.)