32: Chapter 32 Curfew Time
Nanling City at night was still incredibly bustling.
Looking out from the overpass, the surroundings were brilliantly lit.
It was the first time Lin Yi had seen a city's night view from such a perspective.
Moreover, looking to his right, he could see Ye Shuangshuang's pretty profile in his peripheral vision.
Lin Yi's heart couldn't help but beat a little faster.
He didn't know if it was because he was nervous driving for the first time or because of the beautiful woman sitting in the passenger seat.
Ye Shuangshuang leaned against the seatback, her hands resting obediently on her thighs like a well-behaved elementary school student.
She remembered that the last time that rich second-generation guy had driven her out, he had intentionally or unintentionally reached over the whole way, pretending to accidentally brush the back of his hand against her leg.
All to take advantage of her.
But Lin Yi was very well-behaved.
Both his hands stayed honestly on the steering wheel.
There wasn't a single inappropriate move.
Ye Shuangshuang felt happy, but also inevitably a little disappointed.
She was happy because Lin Yi was a true gentleman, indeed different from the men she had known before, and someone worth loving with all her heart.
She was disappointed because she felt she wasn't attractive enough in front of Lin Yi.
Otherwise, why hadn't Lin Yi even taken the initiative to hold her hand after all this time?
How could Ye Shuangshuang know that today was Lin Yi's first time driving after getting his license, and he was extremely nervous?
All his focus was on the road conditions; he simply had no time to worry about anything else.
As for taking advantage of her, that was even more impossible; he didn't even dare to let his hands leave the steering wheel right now.
...
Lin Yi drove a full loop on the overpass like that. Seeing that it was getting late, he thought about sending Ye Shuangshuang back first.
"Shuangshuang, I'll take you back to school first."
"When I was waiting for you today, I saw the curfew time posted at your dormitory entrance was 11:00 PM."
"It's already 10:30 now. If you don't go back, your dormitory will be locked."
Lin Yi even sounded a bit proud when he said this.
He thought to himself.
"Luckily I'm observant and remembered Shuangshuang's curfew."
"I wonder if Ye Shuangshuang's favorability will increase again after seeing such a careful and considerate move?"
He was truly an "iron straight man." When other guys asked a girl out, they couldn't wait to stay out a bit later.
It would be best to stay past the curfew, then use the excuse of the dormitory being locked to openly take the girl to a hotel.
But not only did Lin Yi not have this thought, he was even thinking about whether to drive a bit faster. After all, there was only half an hour left, and they might still be in a bit of a rush.
As he thought about it, Lin Yi even stepped on the accelerator a bit harder.
Fearing they wouldn't make it in time.
Ye Shuangshuang was both annoyed and amused.
Looking at Lin Yi's serious expression, she sighed helplessly.
In her heart, she cursed Lin Yi for being a blockhead.
...
Nanling University of the Arts was at the northernmost end of Nanling City, and there was still a long way to drive after getting off the overpass.
As they drove, two bolts of lightning suddenly flashed across the sky, and then it began to pour.
The sudden rain blurred the view in front of the car.
Lin Yi was also forced to reduce his speed to a relatively safe level.
But just then, the car suddenly jolted, and a fault light on the dashboard suddenly lit up.
Seeing this, Lin Yi hurriedly parked the car on a deserted roadside.
"Lin Yi, what's wrong?"
Ye Shuangshuang also saw the lit-up fault light, but she didn't know what it meant.
Lin Yi looked at it, then rested his forehead on one hand with an embarrassed expression.
"It seems... I have a flat tire..."
Hearing this, Ye Shuangshuang also became a bit anxious.
"Ah, then what should we do?"
This was the difference in thinking between men and women.
When men encounter a problem, their first reaction is often to think about how to solve it.
But when women encounter a problem, their first reaction is always to ask the person beside them what to do.
"It's at least a forty-minute walk from here to your school... It's raining so hard outside... and I don't have an umbrella in the car..."
Lin Yi felt extremely frustrated as he said this.
He just had to show off and ask a girl out for a drive, and as a result, when it rains, it pours. Not only did the car get a flat tire, but they were also trapped in the car by this heavy rain.
What was he supposed to do...
"How about I get out and check first to see what the situation is."
After Lin Yi finished speaking, he rolled up his sleeves, opened the door, and got out of the car.
Although he didn't know how to fix a car either.
But as a man, he couldn't just stay in the car and do nothing in this situation.
That would make him seem too useless.
Lin Yi braved the rain and circled the car once, finally finding the source of the problem.
A nail was deeply embedded in the tire, and the tire was already leaking and becoming flat.
Moreover, there was no spare tire in the trunk.
There were no repair shops nearby either.
Lin Yi shook his head, opened the car door again, and climbed back inside.
"How is it?"
Ye Shuangshuang asked concernedly.
But her eyes unconsciously drifted toward Lin Yi's rain-soaked upper body.
His water-soaked shirt clung tightly to his body, clearly revealing his lean and strong physique at this moment.
Even his six-pack abs were clearly visible.
Looking at him, Ye Shuangshuang couldn't help but blush a little.
Lin Yi wiped the rain off his face, looking apologetic.
"A nail punctured the tire; I can't drive it anymore."
"I'm sorry, I didn't expect this to happen."
"I've made you miss your dormitory curfew."
Lin Yi was full of guilt.
As a grown man, it didn't matter if he couldn't get back to his dorm; he could just find an internet cafe and spend the night there.
But he couldn't let Ye Shuangshuang go to an internet cafe with him.
After all, internet cafes were full of all sorts of people, and there might be many punks there.
A girl as beautiful and refined as Ye Shuangshuang probably had never been to such a place.
Ye Shuangshuang glanced at the time; it was indeed too late to rush back to the dormitory now.
In the middle of the night, if she knocked on the door to have the dorm manager open it, she might even get a scolding from that fierce dorm auntie.
Instead of that, she might as well just stay outside.
Seeing that Ye Shuangshuang seemed to have given up on the idea of returning to the dormitory, Lin Yi asked tentatively.
"How about... we find a..."
Before Lin Yi could finish his sentence, Ye Shuangshuang spoke up.
"Fine, then let's just find a hotel to stay in for the night."
Hearing this, Lin Yi felt as if he had been hit by a Frost Ultimate and was frozen in place.
"Ah, a hotel?"
"Wasn't it an internet cafe..."
"Holy crap!"
"Am I... going to get a room?"
"After working hard on my own for so many years, can I finally say goodbye to this loser status and become a real man?"
Lin Yi's face felt as if it had been burned by fire, instantly turning red.
Seeing Lin Yi's reaction, Ye Shuangshuang also lowered her head shyly.
"The rain is too heavy... the car can't be driven... we can only stay outside..."
"Unless you still want to sleep in the car..."
Seeing this, Lin Yi immediately took up the conversation.
"No, no, no, not sleeping in the car."
"Let's go, we'll go to a hotel; we can even take a hot shower."
Lin Yi hurriedly opened the door and got out, gentlemanly taking off his jacket for Ye Shuangshuang to hold over her head to shield her from the rain.
As the rain slid down Lin Yi's muscular lines, Ye Shuangshuang felt a bit distracted for a moment.
But Lin Yi didn't notice Ye Shuangshuang's thoughts at all, only caring about taking her hand to hurry along.
The two of them braved the rain like that, running quickly toward a nearby hotel.