47: Chapter 47 Learning to Drive

Early the next morning, Chen Fan headed to the driving school to learn to drive.

Upon arriving at the driving school, Instructor Li was already waiting there.

Seeing Chen Fan approach, he smiled and waved. "Little Chen is here. Come on, get in the car and get a feel for it first."

Instructor Li opened the passenger door and sat inside, gesturing for Chen Fan to take the driver's seat.

"Have you ever touched a car before?"

Chen Fan thought for a moment and answered truthfully, "I have."

"Have you driven a manual transmission too?"

"I have."

Instructor Li glanced at him without asking further, then pointed at the steering wheel. "Alright, let's give it a try. Adjust the seat, fasten your seatbelt, and then start the engine."

Chen Fan did as instructed.

He adjusted the seat forward a bit, fastened his seatbelt, turned the key, and the engine hummed to life.

Instructor Li watched from the side, a look of surprise in his eyes. "Your movements are quite practiced."

Chen Fan didn't respond. He pressed the clutch, shifted gears, released the handbrake, and slowly lifted the clutch—the car moved forward steadily.

"Not bad." Instructor Li smiled. "Shall we go straight to practicing reverse parking?"

Chen Fan nodded.

The car slowly drove toward the Subject Two practice field.

White lines were painted on the ground, and several poles were set up. A few training cars were slowly reversing and parking on the side. Nearby, there was a simple shed where a few students were squatting and waiting for their turn.

Instructor Li pointed to the parking spot furthest inside. "Right there, try reverse parking first."

Chen Fan parked the car at the starting point.

Instructor Li got out of the car, stood outside the window holding a thermos, and began to direct him. "Shift into reverse, slowly release the clutch. That's right, watch the right rearview mirror. When the corner of the parking spot appears, turn the wheel all the way to the right..."

Chen Fan did as instructed.

The car reversed steadily, perfectly centered in the spot.

Instructor Li was momentarily stunned. He leaned in to check the position of the rear wheels, then looked at Chen Fan.

"Have you really driven before?"

"I have." Chen Fan shifted into a forward gear, drove out, and began reversing from another angle.

It was another steady entry into the spot.

Instructor Li stood outside the car, watching the Santana reverse back and forth before his eyes, parking perfectly every single time.

Immediately after, Instructor Li let him try the S-curve and the hill start, both of which Chen Fan completed with ease.

Chen Fan parked the car, turned off the engine, and got out.

Instructor Li looked him up and down, his eyes filled with contemplation. "At your level, you could go take the test right now."

"Then, Coach, when can you help me schedule the test? I want to get my license quickly."

"I'll help you schedule Subject One first. Have you memorized the questions for Subject One yet?"

"Not yet, but I can memorize them in one night."

Instructor Li looked at him with a hint of skepticism, then made a phone call. "Hello, Old Zhang, help me check the nearest slots for the Subject One test... Yes, for my student... You have one tomorrow morning? Alright, save it for me."

Hanging up the phone, he looked at Chen Fan. "Tomorrow morning, does that work for you?"

"No problem."

"Then thank you, Coach."

"Are you still going to practice for Subject Two?"

Chen Fan shook his head and smiled. "I won't practice today."

Instructor Li was momentarily stunned, then laughed too. "Alright, then go home and memorize those questions well. Pass it on the first try tomorrow."

Chen Fan nodded and turned to walk toward the driving school gate.

...

That night, Chen Fan opened his computer and, following the link the coach sent in the QQ group, downloaded the "2010 National Driving Theory Test System for Subject One" software and installed it.

After installing it, Chen Fan began to drill the questions.

Having already had the experience once, Chen Fan knew that there was no need to actively memorize the questions for Subject One. You just had to drill them directly; after doing them forty or fifty times, you would remember almost everything.

And this time, Chen Fan was even faster. In less than two hours, his simulated test scores were all above 95 points.

With this score, he was fully prepared to take the actual exam.

Chen Fan stretched and turned off the computer.

Outside the window, the night was deep, and the occasional sound of dogs barking came from afar.

He glanced at the time—it was ten-thirty.

Setting an alarm for seven in the morning, Chen Fan lay down on the bed.

The test was at nine tomorrow, so he would go straight there after waking up.

Closing his eyes, he didn't think about anything and quickly fell asleep.

...

The next day, seven in the morning.

The alarm went off right on time. Chen Fan opened his eyes, lay there for a few seconds to wake up, and then rolled out of bed.

He washed up, changed clothes, and ate breakfast.

Wang Mei had already gone out for a walk, and there was porridge and steamed buns left on the table, still warm.

After Chen Fan finished eating, he picked up his ID card and phone and headed out.

The testing center was next to the county traffic police brigade, a twenty-minute bus ride away. When he arrived, it was eight-forty. Several candidates were already standing at the entrance; some were holding study materials, while others were muttering to themselves with their heads bowed.

At eight-fifty, the staff began calling out numbers for entry.

Chen Fan walked in, found his seat, and sat down.

The computer screen displayed the prompt "Please begin the test."

He took a deep breath and clicked start.

The first question popped up on the computer screen.

"What kind of behavior is it to violate the Road Traffic Safety Law while driving a motor vehicle on the road?"

Chen Fan scanned the options and immediately clicked on "Illegal act" with his mouse.

Next question.

"What is the meaning of this sign?"

It was a red circle with a white bar in the middle. Without thinking, Chen Fan selected "No Entry."

Question after question passed by, and he barely paused.

True/false questions, multiple-choice questions, image-based questions—every question seemed engraved in his mind, and he clicked his mouse rapidly.

By the time he was halfway through, the candidate next to him was still lingering on the first page, brow furrowed, staring at the screen motionlessly.

Chen Fan ignored him and continued working through the questions.

By the time he reached the 80th question, he was basically certain that this attempt was a sure pass.

The 90th, 95th, 100th question—

He clicked submit.

A line of text popped up on the screen:

Congratulations, you have passed the exam! Score: 98 points.

Chen Fan smiled and rose from his seat.

After leaving the testing center, Chen Fan gave Instructor Li a call to tell him that he had passed Subject One.

"Alright, once your driving skill permit comes down, I'll schedule Subject Two for you," Instructor Li said on the other end of the line. "This time, it will be at least ten days later; that's the regulation."

"I understand, Coach. Ten days is fine," Chen Fan replied.

...

Because after passing Subject One, the driving skill permit would arrive within 3 days.

Chen Fan had thought he would have to wait about three days.

To his surprise, the very next day, Instructor Li called to tell him that the Subject Two test had been scheduled for June 24th.

Chen Fan checked the date; today was the 13th, so there were about twelve days left until the Subject Two test.

Since he didn't have anything else to do during this time, Chen Fan planned to go to Chang'an tomorrow to open a securities account.

During dinner that evening, Chen Fan told Chen Jianjun and Wang Mei about his plan to go to Chang'an.

"What made you suddenly want to go to Chang'an?" Chen Jianjun asked.

"I have some things to take care of, and I'll take the opportunity to look around Chang'an."

"How many days will you be gone?"

"Not sure. Maybe a day or two, maybe a few days."

Chen Fan naturally couldn't tell them he was going to trade stocks, lest he worry them.

Chen Jianjun, of course, wouldn't ask in detail. His son was much more capable than he was now, so he didn't need to worry too much.

Wang Mei naturally wouldn't pry either, only reminding Chen Fan to eat well and rest on time when he got to Chang'an.

After telling his parents, Chen Fan began planning his trip for the next day.

He had originally planned to book tickets online.

It turned out that there was no software for booking tickets online in this era.

There was no 12306 railway site either.

Moreover, Chen Fan discovered that in this era, there were only slow trains from the county to Chang'an; there were no high-speed trains or bullet trains.

Thinking about having to squeeze into a slow train full of the stench of sweaty feet and sweat, Chen Fan couldn't help but shake his head.

It seemed he would have to take a bus.