My Ex-Boyfriend Became the Back of My Car - Chapter 5

The moment the car sped off, Tang Zhou questioned, “Why didn’t you just tell me directly? What a waste of time.” Feng Cang explained, “It’s like making a wish. If you say it out loud, it won’t come true.”

Tang Zhou snorted a few times, then, like a child who’d just been given candy, his eyes sparkled as all sorts of sounds reached his ears. But he knew clearly—these weren’t human voices. They were sounds coming from the cars. Who knew there’d be such a perk? Missions would be a breeze from now on.

Then, a sudden thought struck him. If he could harness this skill effectively, wouldn’t criminals and faulty vehicles be dealt with in no time? The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. His face flushed with excitement, and he couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Suddenly, his laughter cut off abruptly. Noticing the change in Tang Zhou’s expression, Feng Cang immediately asked, “Zhou Zhou, what’s wrong?” The next second, he didn’t even need Tang Zhou to say it—he already knew. The blaring of police sirens surrounded them, relentlessly pursuing their car.

Tang Zhou’s lips twitched as he solemnly declared, “Feng Cang, step on it! Whatever you do, don’t let them catch us!” What an unlucky start. He could already picture his future—constantly outsmarting the police, not a criminal but living like one. Entrusted with this critical task, Feng Cang chuckled lightly before replying seriously, “Don’t worry, leave it to me. If we’re getting caught, it won’t be now.” At least not until they completed their mission.

A childish voice kept repeating in Tang Zhou’s ear, broadcasting from the police cars: Attention, vehicle ahead! You are surrounded by the Great King! Surrender at once! If it weren’t coming from the police cars, Tang Zhou would’ve thought it was some mischievous kid playing around. He had no idea what determined the voices vehicles produced. He had assumed something as high-class as a police car would at least sound authoritative.

The tense atmosphere eased slightly, and Tang Zhou found himself in the mood to ask, “Mr. Feng, quick interview—can you hear the cars’ voices too?”

“Nope,” Feng Cang replied with a smile, but judging by Tang Zhou’s expression, whatever the police car was saying must be amusing. Lowering his voice, he added, “So, Reporter Zhou Zhou, you’ll have to be my ears and guiding light. One slip-up, and we’re both done for.”

Then, curiosity got the better of him. “What did the police car say?” “Absolutely.” Tang Zhou thumped his chest proudly before repeating the message.

Feng Cang coughed. He hadn’t expected police cars to sound like that—or say such things. “Quite amusing,” he remarked. No sooner had he said this than Tang Zhou posed another question. “Mr. Feng, logically speaking, someone like you should practically be a car’s kin. So why can’t you hear them talk?”

Feng Cang froze. He’d never considered this before, but since Tang Zhou asked, he mulled it over. “Maybe I’m an anomaly.” Seeing that Feng Cang’s answer was as good as no answer at all, Tang Zhou had a sudden epiphany.

“Mr. Feng, I’ve got it!”

Noticing Tang Zhou’s sudden excitement and the shift in the previously tense atmosphere, Feng Cang couldn’t help but ask, “Got what?”

“Think of it this way, Mr. Feng. Right now, you’re like a newborn baby. We all know babies can’t speak, but they do babble in baby talk.”

“And you’re way ahead of a baby. Even though you’ve just ‘been born’ and don’t speak ‘car language,’ babies learn, and so will you. Who knows? Maybe you’ll pick it up naturally in no time. Then you’ll understand everything they’re saying.” As he spoke, Tang Zhou thought to himself that this way he could gossip and complain with Feng Cang. What was the point if only he could hear the cars talking?

If Feng Cang could hear what they were saying, wouldn’t it make missions much easier?

Feng Cang: “…”

Tang Zhou’s analogy was… surprisingly persuasive. As they talked, they approached Old Street. Old Street wasn’t actually a street—it was a bar far from the city center! If he hadn’t driven all over Changhai City, he might not have even found it.

After several turns, they finally arrived, and the sound of police sirens behind them had faded. Tang Zhou let out a sigh of relief. Sitting in the car hadn’t been so bad, but now that he was out, his legs felt weak. He steadied himself, composed his expression, and pulled a toolbox from the car before slowly approaching an old, rundown truck. He knocked on the window.

A moment later, a tall, lanky man climbed out of the driver’s seat, grumbling and looking exhausted, as if he hadn’t slept in days. “Took you long enough,” he snapped. Seeing Tang Zhou holding a toolbox but not dressed like a mechanic, the man didn’t seem suspicious.

“Hurry up and fix it. I’m gonna go have some fun—shout when you’re done.” Tang Zhou nodded. Once the man was gone, he went straight to the other side of the truck and pretended to inspect it with his tools.

Then, he opened the driver’s door, rolled down the window, and fished out a lighter from a hidden corner. So, this was the cause of the explosion! It was summer, the windows were tightly shut, and the lighter had been tucked away in an inconspicuous spot—no wonder it had blown up.

Tang Zhou crouched beside the truck, pretending to continue his inspection while actually listening to the truck’s voice. The truck, worn down from years of neglect, was on the verge of being scrapped. If the lighter exploded, it would be as flimsy as a shoddy construction project. He needed to find out quickly whether Feng Cang’s body was in the cargo hold.

Casually, he muttered, “I’ve checked everything inside and out—where exactly is the problem?” He scratched his head, then glanced at the cargo hold. “Only this part left.”

Instantly, the truck’s aged voice reached him. “Damn it all! Never thought I’d live to see the day I’d be part of a crime. How did I end up with an owner like this? Ugh, just thinking about the corpse on my back makes me freeze up—I’m fine, but this is gonna give me a heart attack!”

“Owner, hurry up! I’m all rested—no need for a checkup. If you don’t come soon, we’re both gonna end up in jail!” Tang Zhou was close enough that the voice felt like it was shouting right in his ear. He mused to himself—even vehicles could throw tantrums.

The truck’s vigorous tone reminded him of a mischievous old man. At the same time, he realized how vehicle voices were determined. Like humans, old vehicles sounded elderly, new ones like children, and so on. As for whether the voice was male or female, he guessed it had to do with color—though so far, he hadn’t heard any vehicles with feminine voices.

Tang Zhou slowly moved closer to the cargo hold. “It’s over, it’s over… My time’s almost up. Brothers and sisters around me, I’ll go first. A few years from now, I’ll be a brand-new ride again!”

“Before I kick the bucket, let me take one last look at the hottie—oh, no, I mean the hot corpse. Who knows where that unscrupulous owner stole it from. Handsome guy in the left crate, see you in the next life.”

Tang Zhou paused mid-step, lowered his gaze, and reached out his hand. Just as he was about to open the compartment, a furious roar rang out, accompanied by the truck’s relieved voice after narrowly escaping disaster.

“Stop right there.”

“Ah, Master, you’re finally here.” Tang Zhou’s heart skipped a beat, and goosebumps rose all over his body. He wasn’t startled by the roar but rather by the truck’s oddly cheerful voice. His ears kept echoing the truck’s off-key, repetitive rendition of “Come Home Often.” He nearly stumbled. The truck’s owner had returned—what did that have to do with coming home? He desperately wanted to ask. Controlling his expression, Tang Zhou looked up and saw the tall man from earlier trailing behind a short, stocky man with a pitiful look on his face.

The furious roar had come from the stocky man, who now seemed startled and asked blankly, “What’s going on?” Xiong San strode forward with his imposing figure, his face dark as he scrutinized Tang Zhou. “What are you doing?”

Tang Zhou pointed at the crate in his hand. “I’ve checked the truck inside and out but still haven’t found the issue. I wanted to take a look inside the compartment for any safety hazards.” He put on an innocent expression. “Since you called me here to fix the truck, you might as well trust me with it.” If it weren’t for his ability to hear vehicles talk, he wouldn’t have known how to approach this one. He hoped the real mechanic would arrive late—or better yet, not at all—otherwise, his cover would be blown.

Xiong San looked skeptical, but apart from them, no one else knew about the truck’s issues. “Really?” He regretted not switching vehicles earlier. Something was clearly wrong with this truck—it had been fine before, but from last night until now, it kept malfunctioning. They had no choice but to stop at the city’s edge.

Tang Zhou nodded eagerly, lying through his teeth. “I’m very professional, sir. Don’t let my age fool you—I’ve been working with vehicles since I was a kid. I can diagnose any problem. I’ve checked everywhere else; only the compartment is left.”

Xiong San relaxed slightly but kept his eyes locked on Tang Zhou, reluctantly agreeing to let him inspect the compartment. “Take another careful look. You might have missed something.” Still so wary. Tang Zhou immediately feigned offense. “Sir, you don’t trust me? I told you I’ve checked everything except the compartment. If you won’t let me inspect it, unless…” He trailed off, stroking his chin and eyeing Xiong San up and down.

Xiong San tensed again, his hands moving subtly behind his back as he considered how to deal with Tang Zhou. Noticing the tense atmosphere, Xiong San’s companion, Xiong Si, piped up, “Third Brother, just let him check the compartment. Once he’s done, we can leave. It’s getting late—we can’t afford delays.”

Tang Zhou seized the moment. “Unless you’ve got some beauties hidden in there,” he said with a knowing smirk, waggling his eyebrows.

Xiong San chuckled at Tang Zhou’s expression. “No beauties here,” he said—though there were a few corpses. He stepped forward and opened the compartment door, climbing in first and shooting Xiong Si a meaningful glance. Then, he said sheepishly, “The stuff inside is very valuable. I was just worried you might be a bit careless and damage it, so I got a little anxious. Sorry about that, brother!”

Tang Zhou nodded in understanding and waited for Xiong Si to climb up before following suit. His gaze swept briefly across the interior of the truck. Aside from several large cardboard boxes, there was nothing else inside. These body snatchers were truly bold—they’d stolen five corpses plus Feng Cang’s body, making six large boxes in total. Which box on the left contained Feng Cang’s body? As he pondered this, his hand casually rested on the topmost box.

Xiong San and Xiong Si were closely watching his movements. When they saw his hand on the box, they subtly shifted their positions, only stopping when Tang Zhou removed his hand.

Tang Zhou seemed oblivious to their scrutiny. The sounds reaching his ears confirmed his suspicions—he’d gotten lucky. The corner of Tang Zhou’s mouth lifted. Just as he was figuring out how to get them out of the way, an unfamiliar voice interrupted. “Excuse me, are you the ones who needed car repairs? Sorry I’m late—there were traffic cops checking the roads today.”

Tang Zhou’s smile froze as he and the Xiong brothers stared at each other in stunned silence. In that critical moment, he reacted swiftly, leaping down from the truck. With a loud bang, he slammed the truck door shut and quickly locked it before collapsing to the ground. He licked his dry lips. He had to thank Xiong San’s paranoia for only opening one door and keeping him near the entrance—otherwise, he’d have been done for. Fighting two against one was hopeless.

Catching his breath, Tang Zhou winced—he’d twisted his ankle jumping down too hard. “No need for repairs anymore. I’ve already fixed it.” Anyone could imagine the body snatchers’ furious reaction inside. Thankfully, the truck’s soundproofing muffled most of the noise, or such a commotion would be hard to explain.

Noticing the repairman standing silently, Tang Zhou suddenly understood. Limping to the passenger seat, he opened the glove compartment and pulled out two red bills, pressing them into the repairman’s hand. “Thanks for coming all this way, brother.”

Thank goodness he’d spotted the money during his inspection—otherwise, where would he have gotten repair fees? He hadn’t brought any cash. As Tang Zhou tried to withdraw his hand after handing over the money, he found it held firmly. “Is it not enough?” he asked, puzzled.

The next second, cold metal clamped around his wrist. Tang Zhou stared silently at the gleaming handcuffs. This was no repairman—it was clearly an undercover officer. Since when did police officers handle such a wide range of duties?