A L*st at First Sight (Lily Futa) - Chapter 3

Xiao Li had just left the counter and was heading to the women’s changing room to find someone when Yu Qianlin walked out from around the corner.

Liu Yuelan noticed that she had changed into another set of clean clothes. Her hair on top was a little messy, as if it had just been blow-dried but not styled. Thinking of something, Liu Yuelan lowered her head and smiled.

Yu Qianlin saw that Liu Yuelan was still there and stopped in surprise. Then she was pulled aside by Xiao Li.

Liu Yuelan watched their backs. She saw Xiao Li talking to Yu Qianlin excitedly, gesturing with big movements. She raised her index finger to make a “1” sign, glanced back at Liu Yuelan, said something more, and then put her hands together in a pleading gesture toward Yu Qianlin.

Yu Qianlin also slightly tilted her head to look back. The woman behind her waved at her with small movements. Yu Qianlin turned her head again and said something. Xiao Li jumped up in excitement a few times, then trotted over to Liu Yuelan and said, “Miss Liu, Sister Lin happens to have time right now and can service your car. If you have any questions during the process, you can ask her anytime.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Yu Qianlin had already walked over. Looking at the car outside, she said, “I need the keys to drive the car to the back.”

“Here, take it.”

Yu Qianlin reached out her hand but didn’t feel the keys drop. She turned her head and saw the keys placed directly in her palm while the other woman was smiling brightly at her.

Yu Qianlin hesitated for a moment, then hooked the keyring with her pinky and left. Liu Yuelan withdrew her hand, clenched it in the air, and felt even better. With her hands behind her back, she followed her out.

Yu Qianlin didn’t get in the car immediately. Instead, she walked around the car and inspected it carefully, even squatting down at one point to take a closer look.

Liu Yuelan walked down the steps and asked, “Is there any problem?”

Yu Qianlin shook her head. “Is this the car you mentioned last time that was sent for maintenance?”

Liu Yuelan pretended to be very surprised. “Oh? You still remember what I said?”

Yu Qianlin’s hand, which was about to open the car door, paused. When she looked up at her, her brows were slightly furrowed and her eyes narrowed, making her look like she was in a very bad mood. Liu Yuelan quickly behaved and answered obediently, “It’s not that car.”

Yu Qianlin blinked while frowning, opened the door, and sat inside. As soon as she inserted the key, someone got into the passenger seat.

Before Yu Qianlin could speak, Liu Yuelan said directly, “I want to watch. Is that okay?”

Yu Qianlin was lowering her head to check the dashboard and gear shift. She replied casually, “You can go directly from the lobby.”

“But I don’t want to walk.”

Yu Qianlin didn’t say anything else. She inserted the key and started the car. Liu Yuelan waited more than ten seconds and saw that the car still hadn’t moved. Just as she was about to ask what was wrong, she saw Yu Qianlin gripping the steering wheel with both hands, staring straight ahead with a serious expression.

Liu Yuelan seemed to understand what she was doing. Instead of disturbing her, she leaned forward with interest to look at her like this, feeling an itch in her heart.

A few minutes later, Yu Qianlin stepped on the accelerator and drove the car into the workshop. This was the first time Liu Yuelan had seen the back of the repair shop. The area was very large, with three rows and more than a dozen bays. Only a few were empty now. Liu Yuelan looked curiously out the window. “Can members choose their own bay?”

Yu Qianlin’s grip on the steering wheel tightened. She said in a low voice, “Yes.”

“Then drive slowly around once. I’ll see which spot has the better view.”

So the staff working there watched their boss driving a brand-new, beautiful luxury car circling around the repair workshop.

On the fourth lap, Liu Yuelan clearly sensed the low pressure from the person beside her. She decided to stop while she was ahead and pointed to a spot in the front corner. “That one. It looks nicer.”

Yu Qianlin glanced at the display screen above that position and said coldly, “That one has already been reserved.”

Liu Yuelan’s tone was relaxed. “Oh? Don’t members have any privileges?”

Yu Qianlin lightly stepped on the accelerator, increased the speed, did a clean reverse into the bay, and the car stopped steadily in the bay.

Yu Qianlin got out of the car and picked up the internal phone nearby. “Change the reservation for bay 9 to bay 12… Mm.”

Liu Yuelan had just gotten out and heard these words. She closed the door in satisfaction and observed the surroundings.

The central air conditioning inside was quite strong, so it didn’t feel too hot. Various noisy tool sounds kept ringing out, making it a bit loud, and some people were talking loudly.

After Yu Qianlin hung up the phone, she watched the indicator light beside her turn green, then pressed a button. The electronic screen began timing. She turned around and saw Liu Yuelan looking around like a curious baby. In her white dress, she stood out very clearly in the dusty workshop. Yu Qianlin glanced at her skirt, wanted to say something, but held it back.

She reached into the car and pressed the hood release, put on gloves, propped the hood up with the support rod, and inspected it carefully. “This car hasn’t been owned for long, right?”

“Mm. It was my New Year’s gift to myself.” Liu Yuelan stood beside her and looked inside curiously.

Yu Qianlin bent down, touching this and that. Liu Yuelan didn’t know what she was doing. Suddenly, she heard her ask, “Have you done the first maintenance yet?”

“Mm.”

As soon as she said that, she saw Yu Qianlin straighten up and take off her gloves. Liu Yuelan looked at her in confusion. “What’s wrong?”

“The car isn’t that fragile. It’s only been a month since the last maintenance. There’s no need to do it again.”

Liu Yuelan instantly understood what she meant. After a brief moment of embarrassment, she returned to normal. “I see. I wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t told me. I’m completely clueless about when I should do maintenance. Can you explain it to me? That way I can plan the next maintenance time in advance.”

Yu Qianlin held the gloves with both hands. She hadn’t expected her to react so quickly. She slowly put the gloves back on and began pointing at various parts inside, explaining which parts needed to be replaced after a certain period and teaching her how to judge the condition of her own car.

“This is the brake fluid reservoir. After driving for a while, you can check the fluid level yourself. If it’s below this lower line, you need to top it up.”

“Where’s the line?”

Liu Yuelan bent down curiously and leaned closer. Yu Qianlin lowered her body and pointed at the side of the reservoir for her. “Here.”

“Ah, I see it. The fluid level is above it now, so I don’t need to add any, right?”

Liu Yuelan didn’t hear her answer. She turned her head and realized that at some point she had leaned against the other woman. The two were very close. She held her breath and looked at Yu Qianlin’s side profile. The other woman had her lips tightly pursed, her breathing slightly unsteady. Just as Liu Yuelan was about to look at her ear, Yu Qianlin took two steps to the side and moved away.

Then Liu Yuelan watched as Yu Qianlin went to the toolbox, took out a small flashlight and a tool with a gauge, squatted down, quickly shone the flashlight into the gap between the tires for a glance, then inserted one end of the tool into the tire valve, checked the gauge, and repeated the same operation on the other three tires. By the time Liu Yuelan reacted, she was already packing up the tools.

Yu Qianlin tidied the toolbox and, with her back to Liu Yuelan, said, “The car has no problems. The last step is washing the car. May I ask—” She turned around, looking at the reflection of the figure on the car door, and paused. “Do you still need it?”

“Yes, just wash the outside.”

Liu Yuelan didn’t want her to get too tired, but she also couldn’t bear to leave now.

Yu Qianlin nodded, lowered the hood, drove the car to the dedicated car-washing bay, and Liu Yuelan followed.

Yu Qianlin attached the connector to the water gun, turned it on and aimed it at the ground to adjust the valve. After confirming it was fine, she was about to start washing when she caught Liu Yuelan in her peripheral vision and turned the faucet off again.

“It will splash. You can wait in the rest area.”

Liu Yuelan stepped a bit farther to the side. “It’s fine. I’ll stand farther away. You can wash.”

Yu Qianlin gripped the water gun and squeezed the handle a few times. Without saying anything else, she turned on the faucet and started working, but the water stream deliberately avoided the direction where Liu Yuelan was standing.

Liu Yuelan noticed it too. She held the straps of her bag with both hands, lowered her head, and secretly smiled. Wearing her high heels, she stood there watching her busy about.

Yu Qianlin first used a thin stream of water to rinse the roof from top to bottom, then the body, front, and rear, and finally the tires. After rinsing the entire car once, she took a small bucket, poured in some car wash powder, added water while stirring, and once there was enough foam, turned off the faucet. She picked up the bucket, took a clean special sponge, and wiped the car body. Then she squatted down and carefully brushed the tires and rims with a brush.

Yu Qianlin wiped the sweat from her forehead with her arm, put down the bucket, and turned to get the water gun. Then she noticed the passageway behind her.

Liu Yuelan was now comfortably sitting on a chair, legs crossed elegantly, turned sideways and chatting with Xiao C beside her. When she saw Yu Qianlin looking over, she even waved to greet her.

Yu Qianlin looked at Xiao C’s excited face, his eyes glued to Liu Yuelan the whole time. Without changing her expression, she turned back, turned on the water gun, increased the pressure, and used the loud sound of the strong water stream to cover up the laughter and chatter behind her.

After rinsing all the foam off the car, she took two clean cloths, threw one to the other side of the roof, then stood with one hand in her pocket and stared at Xiao C.

Xiao C didn’t notice at all. Only when the sound of water stopped did Liu Yuelan look over in this direction. She finally noticed Yu Qianlin staring at Xiao C with a serious face. She quickly pushed the person beside her who was talking nonstop and pointed at Yu Qianlin.

“M-Master…” As soon as Xiao C saw her expression, he wilted completely. He carefully walked over.

Yu Qianlin threw the cloth onto the roof and pointed her chin at the opposite side, then began wiping. Xiao C understood instantly and quickly ran to the other side to help her.

After wiping her side, Yu Qianlin lowered the car window and wiped the inner edge clean. She rinsed the cloth several times, then finally opened the trunk and wiped it.

After the two finished, they tacitly put everything away together. Yu Qianlin washed her hands, took a clean towel, and while wiping them, walked into the passageway and looked at the car. Once she confirmed there were no issues, she took the keys out of her pants pocket and handed them to Xiao C. “Drive the car out.”

Xiao C happily ran over. He had been eyeing this car all morning. Just as he was about to reach for the keys, Liu Yuelan said, “Just give them to me. I’ll drive it out myself.”

Xiao C looked at the car beside him with disappointment.

Yu Qianlin hooked the keyring with her fingers and spun it a few times, then turned and walked in front of her to hand over the keys. The other woman reached out with both hands to take them. This action just happened to brush across the back of Yu Qianlin’s hand. She immediately pulled her hand back and glared at Liu Yuelan.

The other woman acted as if she hadn’t noticed, as if the touch had been unintentional. She took the keys and walked toward the driver’s seat. Yu Qianlin used the towel to rub hard at the spot that had been touched, wondering if she was being too sensitive.

As soon as Liu Yuelan closed the car door, someone came from outside. She looked up and saw it was Yu Qianlin. Surprised that she would actually come looking for her on her own, she smiled and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“You still need to go to the front desk to sign something.”

“Okay, I won’t leave.”

Yu Qianlin heard her somewhat strange reply. Although she understood the meaning, it still felt odd. Since she had delivered the message, she stopped dwelling on it and turned to leave.

After signing some forms at the front desk, Liu Yuelan looked around. “Where’s your store manager?”

“She should be in the office. Do you still need to see her for something?”

Xiao Li spoke while reaching for the phone. Liu Yuelan shook her head and glanced at the time. “It’s nothing important. Just tell me where the office is. I’ll go find her and say a few words.”

After learning the location, Liu Yuelan only took her phone and went over. The office door was open. She walked in and knocked. Yu Qianlin’s gaze shifted to her for only a second before returning to the computer screen.

“What is it?”

Liu Yuelan observed the layout of the office and sat down in front of her without any politeness. “You explained a lot to me earlier. I can’t remember everything. Can I have a contact method? If I have any questions in the future, I can ask you.”

“You can follow our official account. It’s explained in great detail there.”

Liu Yuelan rested her head on one hand and watched her serious working appearance. “Can I find everything there?”

“Mm.”

“Can I find your contact information there?”

Yu Qianlin’s typing hand paused for a moment. She didn’t speak.

Liu Yuelan folded her hands and leaned on the table, smiling with curved eyes as she looked at her. “I have many ways to get it, but I want you to give it to me.”

Yu Qianlin kept her hands on the keyboard for a long time without moving. Liu Yuelan wasn’t in a hurry. She just looked at her like that, even tilting her head to adjust to a more comfortable position.

Yu Qianlin pulled out a business card from the file rack beside her and placed it in front of her. “If you have any questions, contact Xiao Li. She will help you solve them.”

Liu Yuelan glanced at the landline number on the business card, curled her index finger, and flicked the card back onto her. Then she stood up and left.

Yu Qianlin didn’t have time to care about the business card that fell to the ground. She pressed her legs tightly together, picked up the water cup beside her, and drank the entire bottle. She held her forehead uncomfortably and took deep breaths.

Just as she finally calmed down a little, Xiao Li came over with a serious expression, holding a tablet.

“Sister Lin, I just checked the feedback on the official account. Someone complained that our service attitude is bad.”

Yu Qianlin took the tablet. On it was a long paragraph: The technical skills are okay, but a very few employees have poor service attitudes. When talking to them, they don’t even look at you, and it’s unclear if they’re even listening. When answering questions, they also don’t look at you. It feels like being treated as air, which is very discouraging. I wanted a contact method to consult about proper car repair matters in the future, but no matter what I said, they refused to give it. If the person in question is reading this feedback now, please correct it in time. Thank you.

“Sister Lin, should we contact the customer to ask which employee it was? Talk to them? After all, we are in the service industry. We can’t be careless about attitude issues. We can’t ruin our reputation after so many years. We’ve gotten to where we are today thanks to those repeat customers who come voluntarily.”

Yu Qianlin rubbed her temples, turned off the tablet screen, and said in a low voice, “I know. Leave this matter to me.”

“Okay.” Xiao Li left feeling reassured. She was most at ease when Sister Lin handled things.

After Liu Yuelan finished discussing work with someone, she hung up the phone while waiting for the red light and received a friend verification message. Thinking it was another big-mouthed friend who had given her WeChat to someone else, she ignored it and continued driving peacefully.

It wasn’t until she got home that she opened WeChat and took a look. The verification message from the other party was: Yu Qianlin.

The corners of Liu Yuelan’s mouth curved up. She hadn’t expected it to be so fast. After accepting the friend request, she started to act spoiled after getting what she wanted.

: Liu Yuelan
: Mm
: Still so cold?
: [smile]

Liu Yuelan couldn’t help laughing out loud when she saw that expression.

: Then keep being cold
: …
: What did you eat for lunch?

: Do you have anything you want to consult about?

Liu Yuelan twirled her hair, smiling as she walked back and forth.

: If I say no, will you immediately ignore me?

She waited for a while. Sure enough, the other party didn’t reply. She sighed helplessly, changed the other person’s remark, and looked at the new name on the chat interface with great satisfaction. Then she clicked into her Moments. After scrolling for a long time, there were only reposted industry-related articles. Not even a single song, let alone any selfies.

She pouted and switched to the food delivery app.