An Qiqi's car was a pure parallel import, and there was no corresponding brand store in Dragon City, meaning repairs could only be done at other auto repair shops. Fortunately, Bai Hongbo had a vast network and knew many people, so he helped Su Tianyu and An Qiqi find an auto service center that dealt with similar imports.
At Baotong Auto Service Center in Longkou District, the staff was checking An Qiqi's car. Bai Hongbo and Su Tianyu stood in the shade, watching the three Yu sisters chatting nearby. They whispered quietly while observing them.
"These three sisters are something else. Just looking at them makes me feel like I'm on fire," Bai Hongbo whispered to Su Tianyu.
"They seem to be mostly Yu Mingyuan's sisters. An Qiqi is their cousin," Su Tianyu replied quietly.
"At that age, with youth and beauty, every inch of their skin is pure collagen, amazing!" Bai continued.
"Where do you get all these adjectives from?" Su Tianyu responded, a little speechless.
"Come on, let's go talk to them. Standing here is so boring," Bai Hongbo urged impatiently.
"I'm texting Tian Nan right now."
"Why text him? Forget it!" Bai Hongbo muttered and immediately walked toward the three sisters. "Hey, ladies, what are you chatting about?"
As the three sisters turned, the one with a doll-like face casually responded, "What's up, uncle?"
"Uncle? Call me brother!" Bai Hongbo grinned.
"Big uncle, you must be at least thirty-five, you're almost double my age," the doll-faced girl retorted, looking up and making a face. "Calling you brother doesn't seem right, does it?"
"Little sister, what kind of eyes do you have? I'm only twenty-five!" Bai quickly replied, visibly excited. "It's hot today. Let's not stand here, come, I'll treat you all to some cold drinks while they finish checking the car."
"Forget it, we'll pay and leave soon. We have evening classes later," An Qiqi gently refused, feeling that Bai Hongbo wasn't exactly someone to trust.
Bai Hongbo's strength was that he could strike up a conversation with anyone and wasn't afraid of awkwardness. If someone talked about cosmetics, he'd bring up menstruation; if someone said the sea was salty, he'd mention how he'd just had a drink of seawater yesterday. He was a master at finding topics.
Meanwhile, Su Tianyu, holding his phone, was casually looking at the women nearby. Suddenly, the staff called out, "Hey, brother, the car's done."
Su Tianyu turned around. "How much?"
"About three thousand," the staff pointed to the back of the car. "It needs some paint and a windshield replacement..."
"I asked for a 4S store in Area One. It shouldn't cost that much!" Su Tianyu replied.
"Of course, it's cheaper in Area One, but the paint and windshield have to be shipped in. The cost definitely adds up," the staff explained. "We could use parts from another manufacturer; that would make it cheaper."
"Forget it, just use the original parts," Su Tianyu said while walking over to the car, casually picking up a mat and squatting down to check the damaged areas. "I won't discuss the price, but when you're painting, you'll need to remove the undercarriage shield, take off the rear bumper, and spray all the gaps. Also, the fender—don't try pushing it from the inside. It won't be even if you do..."
The staff stared at him, surprised to find someone who actually knew what they were talking about.
Su Tianyu had some knowledge of cars, as he had been part of a unit where maintaining mechanical equipment was part of the job. He wasn't an expert, but at least he wasn't easily fooled.
After a few minutes of discussing, the staff spoke softly, "Alright, you can pick it up in ten days."
"Thanks, master," Su Tianyu said, patting the dust off his clothes and handing over a pack of cigarettes. "Please take care of it."
"Got it!" The staff smiled and nodded.
Nearby, Bai Hongbo, An Qiqi, and the others walked over.
"Why are you under the car?" Bai Hongbo asked.
"Just checking it out," Su Tianyu replied, turning to An Qiqi. "The price is settled. You can pick it up in ten days."
"Okay," An Qiqi stood in the sunlight, raising her delicate arm to shield her eyes. She glanced at Su Tianyu and smiled. "Thank you for your hard work."
Originally, An Qiqi was still upset about her car being damaged, but seeing how attentive Su Tianyu was, personally lying under the car and discussing it with the staff, her frustration faded.
"No problem, it was my fault. Heh, just don't tell your brother about this, okay?" Su Tianyu smiled.
"By the way, you work for my brother, right?" An Qiqi asked.
"Yeah, I work at his company."
"Ah, I'll be sure to compliment you to him, hehe!" An Qiqi casually replied, then turned to notice a pink car cover hanging on the wall inside the shop. She said, "Wow, this car cover looks great! How much is it?"
"With your car, it'll probably cost over 800 yuan," the staff answered.
"That's so expensive!"
"This is the best dragon film coating. Even small stones won't leave scratches," the staff started to promote.
An Qiqi hesitated for a moment before saying, "Forget it, I've been so broke lately. Maybe another time."
"How about 500?" Su Tianyu casually asked the staff.
"500 won't work."
"Come on, after all we've done here, give me a discount!"
"The lowest I can do is 600," the staff member shook his head.
"Alright, let's get the cover as well and pay together," Su Tianyu replied generously.
"This is too much," An Qiqi immediately stopped him. "Just fix the car."
"It's been nearly two months, I feel bad about it. Consider it interesting," Su Tianyu turned to Bai Hongbo. "Pay up, brother."
Bai Hongbo rolled his eyes and muttered, "Damn, using my money to act all generous!"
Despite the grumbling, Bai still walked into the shop to pay. An Qiqi hesitated a bit, but seeing that Su Tianyu was insistent, she stopped protesting and smiled. "Alright, you don't have to pay for the Winnie-the-Pooh toy. I'll treat you to a meal later."
"A candlelight dinner?" Su Tianyu grinned.
An Qiqi was momentarily taken aback, then pouted. "You're too forward with that flirting."
As they were chatting, Su Tianyu's phone rang. He stepped aside and answered, "Hello?"
"The speedboats and the house are ready. Come over," Linda's voice came through.
"Alright," Su Tianyu hung up the phone and turned to An Qiqi. "We've got something to do. We'll leave now. Just pick up the car later."
"Alright," An Qiqi nodded.
Bai Hongbo finished paying and walked out, originally wanting to grab some cold drinks with the three women, but Su Tianyu dragged him off to handle business.
On the way back to school, the girl with the doll-like face asked An Qiqi, "Hehe, is he the one trying to flirt with you? I think he's quite handsome..."
"He's alright, no special feelings," An Qiqi casually replied.
"Hey, did you get Bai Hongbo's number earlier?"
"Ah, he said he's a director and might help me find an internship," the girl replied innocently.
Just then, the girl's phone buzzed. She looked at the message—Bai Hongbo had sent a simple message with an exact date and time.
Curious, she replied, asking, "What's this?"
"It's nothing. It's the moment we met..." Bai Hongbo replied passionately.
"Haha, I'm going to puke!" The girl laughed out loud. "What's with this 'moment we met' thing? This old guy is quite amusing..."
Evening.
Three trucks parked along a small rural road in Zhannan District. Linda whispered to Su Tianyu, "Inside are three speedboats for cargo. I've also rented a third-floor place nearby to store goods."
Su Tianyu nodded. "Got it."
"Mr. Yu said, You'd be in charge of incoming and outgoing shipments," Linda added.
Su Tianyu grinned. "Alright, I'll give it a try."
Yu Mingyuan was decisive and methodical. After the team was in place and all preparations were made, he contacted the suppliers.
A week later, the first batch of goods arrived.
Around 8 PM, everyone gathered at Su's scrapyard to prepare for the work ahead, marking the beginning of an exciting and risky night.