Chapter Eighteen: The Shelter of a Protective Hand Can Also Cast Someone Else’s Shadow

The driver's seat was fully reclined, and Xia Qianyi was strapped in by the seatbelt, struggling desperately but unable to sit up.

The seatbelt was tightly pressed from above her left shoulder across to her right waist. Whether by coincidence or design, it ran right across her chest, pressing her loose gray sweatshirt snugly against her body and outlining the gentle curve of her bust.

Her legs, slender, firm, and long, were wrapped in denim jeans. The way she pressed her thighs together conveyed an inexplicably soft beauty.

*Glug.*

Gu Yin swore he had no improper thoughts about Xia Qianyi. He simply had drunk too much water and was swallowing normally.

“Need some help?” he asked.

After struggling for a moment and still unable to sit up, Xia Qianyi’s cheeks flushed with a shy pink. “Then... please,” she murmured.

“Happy to.” Gu Yin subtly leaned closer.

To be honest, when Gu Yin had just shown Xia Qianyi how to adjust the seat recline, his movements had already been somewhat suggestive. Now, with Xia Qianyi lying back in the seat, his bending over to help her only intensified the sense of intimacy.

*What kind of cheating drama is this?!* Xia Qianyi’s fans watching the live stream were losing it, furiously cursing.

Inside the car, the silence was so thick they could almost hear each other’s breathing. Xia Qianyi’s face burned bright red as she tightly pursed her lips and turned her head away, unable to endure the feeling of helpless vulnerability.

The girl always carried a sweet, delicate scent, like wild chrysanthemums in autumn, releasing a crisp, unique fragrance every morning. It unsettled Gu Yin’s mind profoundly.

*Better get her upright quickly...* Gu Yin thought.

Her allure was overwhelming. Lying there with an expression of surrender, she stirred the most primal instincts within him, causing his back to arch involuntarily—incredibly awkward, to say the least.

Just as Gu Yin leaned in to help adjust the seatback for Xia Qianyi—

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

A sudden, fierce pounding came from the driver’s side door.

“Hey!”

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

“What are you doing to our Qianyi?!”

“You damn—!”

Outside the door, a plump woman named Mengmeng shouted out, her voice sharp and full of accusation.

Earlier, she had noticed the car shaking and thought she must have imagined it. But when she came closer and saw the scene inside, her jaw almost dropped.

What on earth was going on?

Why were the two of them tangled up like that?

Xia Qianyi lying there? And that young instructor leaning over her?

Honestly, this wasn’t Mengmeng’s fault—this scene was undeniably misleading.

“Damn it...”

Gu Yin silently rubbed his forehead, annoyed. Xia Qianyi looked as if she had done something wrong, sitting up with a flushed face, hurriedly fixing her messy hair and turning away, avoiding Gu Yin’s gaze.

“You damn—!” Mengmeng burst into the car, unloading a furious tirade at Gu Yin.

“Mengmeng...” Xia Qianyi had no choice but to pull her back.

Interestingly, when Mengmeng questioned her about what happened, Xia Qianyi stammered, unable to explain. Mengmeng immediately assumed Gu Yin had bullied her and unleashed more fury on him.

“Why are you snapping at everyone like a mad dog?” Gu Yin groaned in frustration.

*Hahaha...*

*Serves you right!*

Despite the misunderstanding, many viewers found the situation amusing. The live stream’s concurrent viewers surged to nearly fifty thousand.

And that was on the low side. Xia Qianyi was a top-tier celebrity. Once news spread, it wouldn’t be unusual for her stream to attract five or six hundred thousand viewers.

“Leash your dog first,” Gu Yin muttered, giving up on arguing. He grabbed his thermos and opened the car door. “I’m going to get some water.”

As he stepped out, the nearby older driving students in an old Santana car shot him amused looks, especially the woman, who seemed ready to crack sunflower seeds while watching the drama.

*...This is over.* Gu Yin thought grimly. Whatever gossip Sister Liu caught wind of would spread through the driving school by tomorrow.

While fetching water, a familiar coach car drove up, and a bald middle-aged man got out.

Despite his baldness, the man looked kind and always wore a smile like a benevolent Buddha.

“Brother Chen,” Gu Yin greeted him.

Chen Feng was an experienced instructor who partnered with Gu Yin.

Most driving instructors worked in pairs—one teaching the second test, the other the third. Gu Yin hadn’t been at it long, and many of his students were recruited by Brother Chen, who often helped him out. Gu Yin held him in high regard.

“Hey, Xiao Yin.”

Chen Feng approached carrying a thermos. His face smiled as he greeted others, but when he turned to Gu Yin, his expression showed a trace of helplessness.

“Had a run-in with Ma Jixiang this morning?”

Gu Yin shrugged noncommittally. The students’ loyalty affected instructors’ commissions, and that bastard was always trying to poach students. Gu Yin would have none of it.

“Sigh...” Brother Chen sighed quietly and said helplessly, “He just shoved a few students onto me and said to have you help them practice later.”

“More of that disgusting nonsense...” Gu Yin scratched his head in frustration.

At Chuanda Driving School, no one wanted to mess with Ma Jixiang because he had signed so many students. When he couldn’t handle them all, he’d hassle other instructors to take them. If you crossed him, he’d flood you with his students.

You could try going to the principal, but he was Ma’s uncle and would just smile and say everyone’s a colleague helping each other out. “When you have more students, Jixiang will help you too.”

That was complete nonsense. Ma’s students always skipped classes, leaving him with the most. No one ever helped him.

It was a disgusting game of power.

Gu Yin was a young instructor with a temper. Ma Jixiang knew if he brought students directly to Gu Yin, he would be ignored.

But if he sent them through Brother Chen, Gu Yin had to respect Chen’s face and take on some of those students.

*Wait, they really do that?*

*So Ma takes the commission, but someone else teaches?*

*All because he’s the principal’s nephew?*

Many viewers of the “Reconciliation with Life” stream, sympathizing with Gu Yin’s plight, were outraged.

This show aimed to reveal the real conditions in various professions, and this was the reality for driving instructors.

The smaller the place, the more scheming and emphasis on social connections.

In a small county, having connections mattered far more than having relatives in a big city. Those local ties could shield you, block your enemies, and cast shadows over those who crossed you.