Mad Dog

After returning from Qinghai, the two of them began their “cohabitation” life.
At first, they hadn’t planned to live together; it just so happened that Jiang Qi was a fantastic cook and often lured Zhi Qi with delicious meals. He would then sweetly coax her to stay over. Since Jiang Qi’s place and Lan University were both in the East District and not far apart, he would drive her to school in the morning. Gradually, Zhi Qi found herself getting used to this treatment, and her expectations grew.
Primarily, she wanted to spend more time with Jiang Qi.
So, Zhi Qi’s toothbrush, slippers, pajamas, and other personal items began to appear one by one at Jiang Qi’s home, infiltrating every corner.
Every morning, when Jiang Qi woke up and saw the petite girl nestled in his arms, deeply asleep and looking sweet, he felt a sense of fulfillment in his heart, completely content.
If only he could spend a lifetime like this with Zhi Qi.
However, alongside this sense of satisfaction, there was an increasing feeling of emptiness in another part of his heart.
Zhi Qi was currently preparing for her postgraduate entrance exams, and he had been trying hard to find a job. But this was not an easy task.
Jiang Qi had faced repeated failures in his quest for employment.
The manager was a middle-aged man with a scruffy beard. Upon seeing Jiang Qi’s thin frame, he scoffed and questioned, “You can fix cars?”
Jiang Qi replied with just one word: “Yes.”
“Which technical school did you graduate from?” The manager squinted. “Do you have a certificate?”
Jiang Qi fell silent, momentarily at a loss—he hadn’t anticipated that applying for a mechanic’s job would require a “certificate.” It seemed that this truly was an era that prioritized educational qualifications.
Seeing his silence, the manager understood he didn’t have one and waved him off, “What are you applying for without even a technician’s certificate? You didn’t learn some shoddy skills somewhere and think you could bluff your way in, did you? Just leave.”
Even if Jiang Qi was blunt, he couldn’t very well say that he learned his “skills” in prison. He merely pressed his lips together and tried to argue, “How about… let me fix a car to give it a try?”
“I said forget it.” The manager turned and left without looking back.
As he walked away, Jiang Qi overheard him mumbling, “This guy looks like a decorative pillow coming to apply for dirty work at a 4S shop? I’m not hiring some pretty boy to serve as a decoration.”
Jiang Qi realized he had been subjected to “appearance discrimination.”
How peculiar; it was the first time he had been looked down upon for looking like a “decorative pillow.”
After visiting a few more shops, even a small, remote repair shop, he discovered that this kind of discrimination among men was quite common.
Most of the men working in the lowest-tier repair shops were hardworking, rugged types, some of whom had dropped out of school early to learn a trade, while others, like him, chose this easy-entry profession just to get by. But they were generally strong and robust in appearance.
Jiang Qi was too slender and had a delicate and refined look.
To these rough men, he seemed like a wealthy young master trying to experience life, so they were even less likely to hire him.
When Jiang Qi arrived at the last repair shop, the boss was a tall man wearing just a tank top, with slim and muscular arms covered in sweat, and visibly smudged with oil and dust under the sunlight.
Upon hearing Jiang Qi’s intention to apply for a job, he laughed derisively around the cigarette in his mouth.
“With a body like yours, you think you can fix cars?” The man gave him a once-over and said lazily, “Forget about it.”
Jiang Qi had heard similar remarks countless times over the month he had been job hunting and had grown numb to them. But he couldn’t keep coming back empty-handed; he couldn’t wait until he ran out of options and had to rely on Zhi Qi to support him.
So, he lowered his gaze, pretending not to hear the boss’s sarcasm, and instead asked earnestly, “Why not?”
“We only have hard workers here. Do you think your body can lift a tire?” The boss chuckled, patting Jiang Qi on the shoulder—with Jiang Qi wearing a black shirt, the grease stains wouldn’t show.
The boss honestly said, “I think you’d be better off as a pretty boy.”
……
A few months ago, regardless of whether he could take on the burly boss in front of him, Jiang Qi would have at least tried to teach him a lesson.
But now, things were different. He had Zhi Qi, and he couldn’t let her worry about him. He had to constantly remember to control his violent emotions.
So, Jiang Qi simply lowered his eyes and flicked the boss’s hand off his shoulder.
He didn’t let the term “pretty boy” get under his skin; instead, amidst the mocking gazes, he walked over to a pile of tires in the corner of the repair shop and bent down to lift one.
Jiang Qi wasn’t afraid of getting dirty. After standing up, he casually asked the boss, “Do you need me to change it?”
The boss’s eyes flickered with a hint of surprise. After pondering for a moment, he nodded slightly, “Go ahead and change it, the black Wrangler over there on the left.”
Jiang Qi nodded and pushed the tire over.
There were plenty of tools by the car, including wrenches, so he didn’t have to ask. He focused intently on his work.
As he changed the tire, Jiang Qi only had one thought in his mind.
—He knew nothing else; all he could do was fix cars. This was his eleventh repair shop he had applied to, and no matter how humiliating it was, he had to try to get this job.
Before long, Jiang Qi skillfully changed the tire.
He was quick and meticulous in his work. When the boss came over to take a look, his expression was no longer dismissive.
“Brother.” The boss leaned against the car and started chatting with Jiang Qi, offering him a cigarette. “You did well, but what made you think of looking for a job like this?”
Jiang Qi took the cigarette but held it in his hand without smoking, responding coldly, “I only know how to fix cars.”
Or, he also knew how to “act,” but he couldn’t go back to acting anymore.
The boss raised an eyebrow. “Why aren’t you smoking?”
Jiang Qi shook his head and returned it, “I’m quitting.”
Smoking was too expensive, and it was better to quit; besides, Zhi Qi didn’t like the smell of cigarettes.
“Ha ha.” The boss laughed, shaking his head with some helplessness. “Not smoking isn’t good. We’re all smokers here; you’ll end up inhaling secondhand smoke every day.”
Hearing his implied meaning, Jiang Qi paused for a moment, then placed the cigarette back to his lips.
Seeing that Jiang Qi was quick-witted and “understanding,” the boss couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Well, you can start working here from Monday. Our repair shop isn’t large, but the pay for mechanics isn’t high—base salary is 4,000, and commissions are additional. What do you think?”
For Jiang Qi, having a job was like “finding a rare blessing in a drought.” He nodded without hesitation, “Sure.”
“Great, just do your best.” The boss finished speaking just as he finished his cigarette. As he was about to stand up and leave, he seemed to remember something and turned back to Jiang Qi. “My last name is Zhan, first name Yang; just call me Brother Zhan from now on.”
After signing the labor contract, Jiang Qi began working at Zhan Yang’s repair shop.
When Zhi Qi returned from class and heard that he had found a job, her eyes lit up, and she leaped onto the boy with a smile, “Jiang Qi, I told you you could do it.”
Previously, when Jiang Qi couldn’t find a job and often couldn’t sleep at night, going out to the balcony to look at the stars, Zhi Qi had been aware of it.
But she didn’t want to increase his psychological burden, so she pretended to be oblivious, knowing that Jiang Qi had the capability to handle everything, and indeed, things turned out just as she had expected.
“Zhi Qi.” With the girl’s smiling eyes so close, Jiang Qi awkwardly raised his hands, not daring to embrace her. “I just got back from the repair shop; I’m all covered in dust, dirty…”
“It’s fine.” Zhi Qi cupped his face and kissed him with a soft “mua.” “I don’t mind.”
Later, when Jiang Qi reminisced about the time he spent living with Zhi Qi, he realized that the girl had consistently and persistently instilled in him the belief that “we are equals, I’m proud of you, and I don’t mind you,” allowing him to gradually rebuild his self-confidence.
She had truly helped him emerge from that dark shadow.
Once he stepped out, a smooth and bright road stretched out before them; if he didn’t, it would again lead to the boundless solitude of a dark winter night.
During that time,
things were not as precarious as they seemed, but at that moment, he hadn’t felt it. It was only later that he realized all that the girl had done.
At that time, Jiang Qi had simply developed a habit—after work, he would immediately go to the bathroom to clean himself up.
As Zhan Yang had said, working in a car repair shop was dirty and exhausting. Even wearing work clothes and gloves, he would inevitably get covered in gasoline and grime throughout the day. Moreover, the “old hands” there constantly smoked.
Since Jiang Qi was determined to quit smoking, he wouldn’t even entertain the thought of smoking, even in close proximity to them.
Yet, by the end of the day, he would nearly smell like a chimney from secondhand smoke.
To avoid stinking up Zhi Qi, the first thing he did when he got home was to wash his clothes and take a shower.
Fortunately, Zhi Qi was busy preparing for her exams during that time and returned later than him.
However, there were occasional instances when Jiang Qi would miscalculate.
For example, one day when Zhi Qi returned home a little earlier, he was in the bathroom showering, and with the water running so loudly, he couldn’t hear anything.
As the girl changed her shoes at the entrance and walked in, she saw Jiang Qi’s coat hanging by the door but didn’t see him. After calling for him a few times without a response, she furrowed her brows in confusion.
“Jiang Qi?” Zhi Qi called again. “Are you not home?”
Still no response.
It was only when she walked barefoot inside that she faintly heard the sound of running water in the bathroom.
Huh? Was Jiang Qi showering, or was the toilet overflowing?
Zhi Qi knocked on the door, but when there was still no answer, she immediately thought the toilet must be overflowing. She pushed the door open to get the property management to handle it—only to see Jiang Qi’s figure faintly visible through the thin steam.
“Jiang, Jiang Qi!” Zhi Qi exclaimed, quickly covering her eyes with her hands. “Why didn’t you say you were home?”
A small part of her white, delicate skin was exposed, blushing a deep crimson.
Jiang Qi looked over, his water-soaked eyes dark and teasing.
“Go ahead and keep washing…” Zhi Qi complained and, not waiting for Jiang Qi to respond, was about to step back outside. “I’ll go out first.”
“What’s the rush?”
But before she could escape, the boy grabbed her wrist and pulled her in front of him.
The floor of the bathroom was slippery like a water curtain cave, and afraid of slipping, Zhi Qi squealed in surprise and tightly wrapped her arms around Jiang Qi’s waist.
The shower spray soaked the girl completely.
Zhi Qi was wearing a white shirt dress, and now it was completely drenched, clinging to her body and outlining her curves perfectly, the white fabric becoming increasingly transparent and revealing what was underneath.
“Jiang Qi!” Zhi Qi felt both embarrassed and angry, her small fists unable to resist punching him. “You’re so annoying!”
Jiang Qi remained silent, his gaze intensifying as he looked at her.
After a moment, he leaned down and kissed her softly.
“Zhi Qi, we’ve already done it before,” Jiang Qi chuckled, feeling Zhi Qi’s shoulder tremble slightly beneath his hand. “Why are you still shy?”
As he spoke, he lifted the girl and set her down by the sink in front of the mirror.