At that moment, the pretty girl spotted Zhang Shuai, too. When she saw Coach Wu walking over with him, her eyes lit up. She must have recognized him, and she looked surprised and excited.
"Hey, handsome, are you here to get your driver's license, too?"
Zhang Shuai smiled and nodded. "Yeah. What a coincidence. I didn't expect you to be learning to drive here, too."
"My best friend and I came together. Hehe, I practically dragged her here. I'm Sun Xiaoya. See? That's my best friend, Lin Xiuwen. She's the belle of our school. Take a look—pretty, right?"
Following Sun Xiaoya's pointing finger, Zhang Shuai saw a graceful girl with long, flowing hair. She stood quietly beside the instructor's car, wearing a simple white T-shirt and jeans. She looked clean and fresh, with big eyes and long lashes. When she noticed Zhang Shuai looking at her, she waved at him openly and gave him a faint smile.
That slight smile made Zhang Shuai's heart race. It was as if a youthful energy had washed over him.
What a lovely, delicate girl. She was almost exactly his type.
When Sun Xiaoya saw Zhang Shuai staring at Lin Xiuwen, she felt a little jealous. "Handsome, what do you think? Isn't my best friend beautiful?"
Zhang Shuai finally managed to tear his gaze away. "She really is!"
"What about me? Am I pretty?"
"Uh, you're pretty, too!"
"Handsome, you're the new guy from Malong in the group, Zhang, right?"
"That's right. That's me."
"Then I'll add you on WeChat. Accept my request!"
Zhang Shuai took out his phone and checked. Sun Xiaoya's WeChat name was simply Xiaoya, so he accepted her friend request.
Coach Wu, standing beside Zhang Shuai, knew Sun Xiaoya's outgoing, lively personality—and how talkative she could be—so he quickly cut in. "Sun Xiaoya, you can chat later. I need to teach Zhang Shuai how to drive first!"
Sun Xiaoya stuck out her tongue, a little embarrassed. "Brother Five, I just ran into someone I know, so I got a bit carried away."
Coach Wu laughed. "You can chat after you leave the driving school. I don't mind how long you talk then, but right now I need to teach Zhang Shuai how to drive!"
Then Coach Wu turned to Zhang Shuai. "Starting today, you'll practice with them. They've been practicing for three days longer than you, so you'll need to put in extra time to catch up. The test for the second part of the driving exam is in ten days. Let's aim to pass on the first try. I'll start by teaching you the basics of parallel parking."
Coach Wu called down a girl who was practicing and the boy in the passenger seat. "All right, take a break for now. I'll teach the new student first."
Zhang Shuai noticed that the students learning to drive were all young. They looked like college students.
That made sense. It was summer vacation, after all, and plenty of college students used the break to get their driver's licenses.
Coach Wu sat in the driver's seat and explained the steps for parallel parking.
"This is reverse... This is drive... The first thing you do when you get in the car is fasten your seat belt..."
Coach Wu demonstrated the parallel-parking steps, then had Zhang Shuai get in and try. Coach Wu moved to the passenger seat to guide him.
It was the first time Zhang Shuai had ever touched a car. The driving school's instructor car was an old, beat-up used car, but he still found it fascinating.
At first, Zhang Shuai was a little clumsy. With Coach Wu's reminders, he barely managed to parallel park.
On his second try, Zhang Shuai didn't need any reminders from Coach Wu. He completed the maneuver with ease, and Coach Wu couldn't find a single thing to criticize.
Zhang Shuai's performance astonished Coach Wu. He'd been teaching at the driving school for more than ten years and had taught countless students, but he'd never seen anyone pick up the techniques as quickly as Zhang Shuai. Zhang Shuai didn't act like a beginner at all; he seemed more like a veteran who'd been driving for years.
Even the female students watching were amazed. When they'd first started practicing, they hadn't picked up the techniques so quickly.
Coach Wu had Zhang Shuai practice two more times. Each time, he did everything perfectly. Even Coach Wu himself might not have done it as well.
"All right, Zhang Shuai. You're clever and a quick learner. To be honest, in all my years at this driving school, I've never seen anyone learn as fast as you. You've basically got parallel parking down. Spend the rest of the time reinforcing what you've learned. Tomorrow we'll start on the next exercise: reversing into a parking space."
Coach Wu got out of the instructor car and told the students to continue practicing. Each person was to take two turns, going in rotation. One student had to sit in the passenger seat during each practice session so they could hit the brakes in an emergency.
Coach Wu then went to another practice area, where students were learning to drive through an S-curve. A few of his students were there, and they had their tests in four days, so he spent most of his time with them.
The students continued practicing. Zhang Shuai was a little surprised. He'd thought driving would be difficult, but it turned out to be incredibly easy.
As he watched the college girls practice, he saw them make mistakes every so often on something as simple as parallel parking. Either they didn't park properly, or they crossed the line.
Zhang Shuai was at a loss. Were college students really this slow? He'd picked it up after one try, so why were these students still making mistakes after several days of practice?
Apparently, being well-read didn't necessarily make you a faster learner behind the wheel.
Just then, Sun Xiaoya and her best friend, Lin Xiuwen, walked over to Zhang Shuai together.
Sun Xiaoya looked at him with admiration. "Handsome, is this really your first time touching a car? How do you control it so well? You handle the steering wheel so smoothly. I almost thought you were an old hand."
"Parallel parking is easy. There are only a few steps. Shouldn't you get it after one lesson?"
"It's not that easy. It took me a whole day just to manage to park the car, and I still cross the line if I'm not careful. You got it right on your first try. You're amazing."
"Maybe I just have a good feel for cars. You'll be fine after a couple more days of practice."
"When it's my turn to drive later, could you sit in the passenger seat and guide me?"
Before Zhang Shuai could answer, Sun Xiaoya's best friend, Lin Xiuwen, spoke up. "Xiaoya, weren't we supposed to practice together? I can sit in the passenger seat."
Sun Xiaoya turned and glared at Lin Xiuwen. "Your driving's too bad. You can't help me. I'd rather have Zhang Shuai sit beside me and give me pointers."
Under the murderous warning in Sun Xiaoya's eyes, Lin Xiuwen didn't dare say anything more. She muttered under her breath, "What a woman, choosing a pretty face over her friend!"
Her voice was quiet, but Zhang Shuai heard her clearly.
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