Chapter 193: Setting Off

Early Saturday morning, at the break of dawn, the sky was shrouded in a thin layer of mist, revealing a faint glimmer of light. The cold wind howled, raging across the land like a pack of ferocious beasts roaring, bringing gusts of chill.

Today was the day everyone had agreed to go skiing at Jiangnan Tianchi. Shen Yan got up early to wash and get ready, and he solved his breakfast next door at 801.

There were 5 girls and 3 boys in the dorms; Zhu Baoping had to go to a work-study program and did not participate.

Originally, everyone had planned to travel by bus, but plans could not keep up with changes; Chen Jun delivered a Mercedes in time, solving the urgent need.

After picking up the group from school, Shen Yan and Chen Shanni each drove a vehicle, heading straight for the neighboring city of Huzhou Anji. Unlike Shen Yan, Chen Shanni had just received her driver's license and did not dare to get on the highway.

Fortunately, the distance between the two cities was short, and the drive took no more than two hours.

Thus, the two cars followed the navigation instructions, chasing the wind and scenery along the main road. Since it was still early, there was almost no one on the streets, save for a few withered yellow leaves tumbling and dancing in the wind, adding a sense of desolation.

Of the eight people, five were sitting in Shen Yan's car; Wu Yueer occupied the front passenger seat, while Yu Youwei, Luo Qiqi, and Lin Yang huddled in the back.

Looking at the high-spirited Wu Yueer in the front passenger seat, Yu Youwei curled her lips in annoyance and asked, "Yue'er, why didn't you go sit in Shanni's car?"

Wu Yueer blinked mischievously and let out a slightly cunning laugh, saying, "Shanni is a novice after all. To save my dog life, of course, it's more reliable to sit next to an experienced veteran driver!"

Luo Qiqi and Lin Yang laughed in unison.

Great minds think alike!

Lin Yang and Yu Youwei had signed up for driving school together; her progress was the same as Yu Youwei's, having just passed Subject Three. She was considered a quasi-driver, and during her driving lessons, she had heard plenty about the terrors of female drivers.

"Cherish life, stay away from female drivers."

This sentence was the greatest form of reverence for female drivers.

Shen Yan rubbed his nose and chuckled, saying, "Don't be so exaggerated, okay? Shanni has always been careful and cautious. She hasn't had any issues these past few days, so it's clear she passed her driving test on real merit."

The few of them were noncommittal about this; if they had a choice, they would definitely stay on the side of the veteran driver.

However, a slap in the face always comes so quickly.

While passing a corner at an alley entrance, Chen Shanni confronted an Audi head-on. The narrow road conditions made it difficult for Chen Shanni to judge for a moment.

Whether she could pass or not was the question.

She wanted to reverse, but there were cars following behind, and the owner of the Audi opposite was an impatient person who kept honking the horn.

Seeing this situation, Tang Song hurriedly got out of the car to observe.

Uh...

He also couldn't judge whether they would scrape each other if they squeezed past.

Shen Yan saw that the bright red Mercedes hadn't caught up for a long time and, worried that she had gotten lost, dialed her number. After learning the situation, Shen Yan's brows furrowed slightly.

Could the other party not see the "Student Driver" signs plastered all over the car?

So aggressive!

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Shen Yan, and he said into the phone, "Here's what you do: pull up the handbrake and put it in neutral."

"Huh?" Chen Shanni's head was full of question marks, but Shen Yan told her to just do as he said.

Immediately after, Shen Yan told Chen Shanni to turn on the windshield wipers, roll down the window, and stick her head out. She had to make sure the driver opposite saw her. After doing this a few times...

The driver opposite actually reversed and gave way?

Chen Shanni was completely bewildered, but she took the opportunity to pass through the intersection and asked Shen Yan on the phone what the principle behind this was.

Shen Yan coughed twice and said, "Female drivers have a title called 'road killers.' They usually walk with a gust of wind, and when they drive... it's like a tornado."

"Once you turn on those wipers and stick your head out, that whole performance makes the person opposite treat you like a road killer. They're terrified for their life; if they don't run away quickly, are they going to stay and eat at your funeral feast?"

"Pfft!"

Since the phone had been on speaker, everyone in the car could hear the conversation. Upon hearing this, they couldn't help but burst into laughter on the spot.

Wu Yueer was laughing so hard she was out of breath and gave Shen Yan a thumbs up.

"You're still the king of slick tricks!"

Shen Yan shrugged and said, "Evil must be countered by evil; these are all bloody lessons from our predecessors."

Chen Shanni on the other end of the phone was full of helplessness; this sentence was truly a great irony for female drivers.

The damage wasn't high, but the insult was extremely high.

Yu Youwei protested, "Not all female drivers are road killers; how can you generalize like that?"

This kind of rhetoric was not only unfair to the vast number of women but also discriminatory. After all, everyone's driving ability and experience were different; how could one slap a negative label on an entire group just because of gender?

She had even specifically searched online for the ratio of accidents between male and female drivers, and the data showed that the probability of male drivers having accidents was 9 times that of female drivers.

Even though that was the fact, the impression society had of female drivers was already deeply ingrained and not so easily changed.

Yu Youwei was very dissatisfied with this, yet she felt helpless.

The topic was dropped.

Lin Yang complained that a city as big as Hangzhou didn't even have a subway. It was one thing for the traffic to be backward, but the entertainment facilities were also so backward that they had to go to the neighboring city to ski.

It couldn't compare to Shanghai at all.

Her words revealed a sense of pride in being a Shanghainese.

Shen Yan said, "Actually, the Hangzhou subway is under construction, with plans to open in 2012."

"That'll be way too late." Lin Yang shook her head.

Seeing that no one picked up the conversation, Lin Yang said again, "I recently saw a few brain teasers online; let's see if you guys can answer them."

Since they were idle anyway, Wu Yueer told her to hurry up and say them.

Lin Yang: "Which of the 26 letters is the heaviest?"

Shen Yan: "It's 'n', because 'n' is as heavy as a mountain."

The three girls, who had been frowning in thought, suddenly realized. Lin Yang was dumbfounded—oh no! She forgot there was a master of tricks in the car.

How was she supposed to show off now?

Lin Yang rolled her eyes and said, "Old Shen, pay attention to safety while driving, don't get distracted. Let me quiz the three of them."

Shen Yan smiled indifferently and let her be.

Sure enough, without Shen Yan there to stir up trouble, the three women were left stunned by a series of brain teasers, feeling frantically annoyed.

How could they not think of the answers?

Why was their own brain just not as sharp as Shen Yan's?

It was fortunate that Lin Yang did not know their thoughts, otherwise he would surely have been angered to the point of vomiting blood.

After Lin Yang finished his performance, Wu Yueer asked Shen Yan again if he had seen any funny jokes lately, and to tell them so everyone could have a laugh.

Shen Yan said there was a dirty joke, and if they wanted to hear it, he would tell it.

Lin Yang's eyes lit up, and he told him to start telling it quickly.

Shen Yan: "A female customer bought a set of pajamas from a clothing store, but went back to return them within two days.

The proprietress asked her: Why? Don't you like them?

The female customer: I like them!

The proprietress continued to ask: Is it a quality issue then? Or is the size not right?

The female customer: Neither!

The proprietress: Then I find it strange; you like them, the quality is good, and the size is right—I've been wearing this kind of pajamas for three or four years, and my husband won't even let me take them off when I sleep, so why are you returning them?

The female customer: My husband won't let me wear them when I sleep."