Chapter 30

This chapter was written intermittently over the past two days, with drinking and helping out in between. Most of it was written while I was drunk, so it can only just meet the standard of being coherent. Please bear with it for now... I just finished one, and there's another one tomorrow, so I can only apologize. This one counts for today, and I still owe you two more updates.

---

The next morning, Li Chong was woken up by a series of text messages... There were messages from Zheng Xiuyan, Huang Meiying, Chae Sooyoung, and of course, Kwon Yooli... Kwon Yooli said she had left something at the door for Li Chong and asked him to get it...

Li Chong finally mustered the strength to get up... He opened the door and found a pink backpack. "What's this?" Li Chong muttered as he opened the backpack. Inside were several bags of a brownish-yellow liquid, along with a small note that read, "Uncle, I'm sorry. I've decided to take care of your nutrition from now on—Kwon Yooli." At the bottom was a small, apologetic drawing of Yooli.

"Hehe, this little girl..." Li Chong knew that if he didn't do something, Kwon Yooli would be restless. He counted the yam juice and found exactly 15 bags, corresponding to the number of days she would be away.

Li Chong poured a bag into a cup, took a sip, and tasted it. It was quite good, sweet. He picked up his phone and thought for a moment before sending a text to Kwon Yooli.

Kwon Yooli had been busy until 3 in the morning and was just dozing off when she was woken up. Their first stop was Busan, and it would take a few hours to get there, so she could sleep on the way.

Kwon Yooli deliberately waited until she was the last one to go downstairs, leaving her pink backpack at Li Chong's door, hoping to make some amends...

Just as Kwon Yooli was drowsily thinking about whether Li Chong would forgive her, her phone rang with a text message.

"The yam juice is good, but the color is too ugly. And you're just giving me yam juice? That's a bit too stingy, isn't it?" Kwon Yooli immediately felt relieved. She replied, "When I earn some money, I'll treat you to a big meal... Chinese or French, you choose."

Li Chong was making instant noodles and wondering what to do for the morning when the text came. He chuckled, thinking she was quite an interesting girl. "Okay, I'll wait. But you should learn some cooking first, because I'm afraid I'll starve if I wait too long..."

When Kwon Yooli saw the text, she gasped and quickly covered her mouth. The car was quiet, and the manager turned to look at her. She quickly waved her hand to indicate that everything was fine...

How could this be? Kwon Yooli had been independent since she was young, starting her training in ** at a young age, but she rarely cooked. The company had a cafeteria, and although the food was average, it was cheap and filling. Asking her to learn how to cook was really asking too much...

"Um... Can I just learn a few dishes?" Kwon Yooli asked cautiously.

"No problem, I'm not picky..." Li Chong felt he shouldn't push too hard. Teasing was fine, but not too much...

After that, Kwon Yooli was finally able to sleep soundly... She could sleep, but Zhang Xun was in trouble. Li Chong dragged him out of bed at around 8 in the morning to go car shopping... Zhang Xun yawned as he drove, saying irritably, "Did you take some energy drink or drink fake alcohol? It's so early, and you dragged me out? I was writing a script last night and didn't lie down until 3. I haven't even slept properly yet..."

Li Chong smiled apologetically. He couldn't help it; he was just too energetic this morning, with no trace of sleepiness. He had tried to go back to sleep after finishing his instant noodles, but he just couldn't. He kept thinking about what to do, and finally decided to get a car...

The used car market was in the suburbs of Seoul, so Zhang Xun was the one who had to suffer...

"Um, what kind of car are you looking for?" Zhang Xun felt a bit better after complaining.

"Any kind will do," Li Chong said.

Zhang Xun felt frustrated again... "You need to have some specific type or purpose in mind. Do you want a sedan, an SUV, or a city SUV? Do you want a newer one with low mileage, or an older one for the short term?"

"Um... Just for the short term... We'll see how the movie does after it's released..." Li Chong was confident in his film.

When they arrived, Li Chong's mood changed faster than the weather. He said this one was too old and could be a collector's item; that one was too dirty and couldn't be driven; the next one was too feminine and not suitable for a man. The salesperson's face turned green, and Zhang Xun kept his distance, pretending not to know him. It was too embarrassing...

"What kind of car do you want? Can you give me some specific conditions?" Zhang Xun couldn't stand it anymore. Waiting for Li Chong to choose would take forever, and he would suffer along with him.

"My requirements are not high. I just want a smaller car with more space, not too ugly, not too dirty, and a reasonable price..." The salesperson's face turned even greener as he listened to Li Chong's demands. He thought to himself, "Why don't you just buy a new car and stop torturing me?"

The salesperson thought for a moment and flipped through his car catalog. "How about a five-seat MVP? The rear seats can be folded down to create a large trunk. It's a Hyundai Matrix from 2002, with less than 50,000 kilometers, silver, 1.8-liter engine, and it's not expensive, only 3.5 million won."

The salesperson showed Li Chong the car, which basically met his requirements, but Li Chong still felt something was missing... Zhang Xun kept urging Li Chong to make a decision, and after some consideration, Li Chong paid, completed the paperwork, and got the insurance.

Driving the car out of the used car market was no problem, but when they got on the road, Li Chong couldn't get up to speed. He couldn't drive fast, and Zhang Xun waited for him for a long time. "What's wrong with you? Can you even drive? Didn't you say you got your license in America?"

Li Chong looked at Zhang Xun sheepishly and scratched his head. "Um, Brother Zhang Xun, I need your help with something..."

Zhang Xun was annoyed. "What is it? As long as I can help."

"You can definitely help. I've always driven automatics, and this one is manual. I forgot how to drive a manual," Li Chong said with a sly smile.

"Ah, you can't drive a manual, and you bought a manual car? You're just asking for trouble." Zhang Xun was so frustrated that his nose almost bent. This was all Li Chong's fault. He had to get up early, lost sleep, and now he had to teach Li Chong how to drive. Was this what an assistant director should do?

Since he knew Li Chong, Zhang Xun could only accept his fate. After Li Chong treated Zhang Xun to lunch, they found a quiet road and practiced driving for the afternoon. Li Chong had driven a manual before, but it had been a long time, so by the end of the afternoon, he could drive on his own.

In the evening, Li Chong took Zhang Xun out for a good meal to make up for his injured feelings. Zhang Xun had secretly vowed that when Li Chong was filming, he would make his life miserable... And indeed, Zhang Xun arranged a miserable and meaningful program for Li Chong.

---

End of page

Start of AD

End of AD