Rejected by the Campus Belle, I Find My True Love-Chapter 235 - 233: The First Time I Was Tricked

After Lin Xi and the others left, Xue Yang didn’t rush home, instead staying the night at the farmhouse inn. It wasn’t until the next morning that he drove back.

Xue Yuanqing and Zhong Hailan had already gone to work, leaving Xue Yang home alone. He didn’t idle about, however, and drove over to Yang Xiaozhi’s house.

When Yang Xiaozhi saw Xue Yang arrive, he hemmed and hawed for a long moment before finally managing to stammer, "Xiao... Xue... Cousin."

The bodyguard from yesterday had addressed him as Young Master Xue, which had left Yang Xiaozhi in a state of shock. After returning home, he had subtly and overtly asked his mother if there was some hidden big shot in his grandmother’s family that they didn’t know about. However, the conclusion he reached was the same as the one Xue Yuanqing and his family had: they were overthinking it.

Both the Yang and Xue families were born-and-bred farmers. If not for the favorable national policies, they would still be pitting their wits against the weather on their meager plots of land, far from the luxury of having steady jobs.

"Cousin, are you free? Let’s go to the repair shop," Xue Yang said.

"Sure." Yang Xiaozhi opened the passenger door himself and got in.

Sitting next to Xue Yang, his feeling of awkwardness intensified. Damn it, even though we’re about the same age and I’m even three months older than him, I feel incredibly pressured by his presence. This is utterly ridiculous.

But Yang Xiaozhi had to admit that Xue Yang was indeed far more capable than he was.

The car drove smoothly along the road, and about ten minutes later, they arrived at the repair shop they had taken over.

After Brother Zhang sold the shop to them, he had packed up his things and left. While he was packing, Xue Yang had told Yang Xiaozhi to come and supervise, but he hadn’t shown up. Yang Xiaozhi trusted that Brother Zhang wouldn’t cheat him. After all, he had worked there for over half a year, and Brother Zhang had always treated him well, so he considered them to be on good terms.

However, Yang Xiaozhi had underestimated human nature. Back when he worked there, his status was different. He was an apprentice and a source of cheap labor, so of course Brother Zhang had treated him well. But things were different now. Brother Zhang had been operating at a loss for a long time and couldn’t make ends meet. When some people find themselves in such a situation, they’ll try anything to gain an extra advantage, even if it’s just over a tiny screw.

So, when Xue Yang and Yang Xiaozhi arrived at the repair shop, they discovered that Brother Zhang had taken many of the useful tools with him.

An auto repair shop’s primary work is, as the name suggests, automotive repair. This includes maintenance like oil changes, oil filter replacements, spark plug replacements, brake pad replacements, and tire changes; diagnostics using various methods like engine emission, chassis, body, and safety tests to find and resolve issues; and car electronics, which involves repairing and upgrading equipment such as sound systems, navigation systems, lights, and anti-theft systems.

Performing these tasks requires not just raw materials but also the help of tools. These included tire balancing and repair equipment, four-wheel alignment tools, fuel system maintenance and oil-changing equipment, fuel pump and injector repair tools, crankshaft grinding tools, radiators, and so on.

All of these tools were supposed to have been included, but now, except for the things that couldn’t be moved, Brother Zhang had packed up and taken almost everything else. The once-cluttered repair shop was now tidy—excessively so.

Both Yang Xiaozhi and Xue Yang were dumbfounded.

"Hey, what’s going on? Didn’t we agree on a transfer fee of 50,000, including the tools? Why did he take everything?" Yang Xiaozhi’s reaction was particularly strong. He paced around the empty shop several times, as if that could somehow make the equipment reappear.

"I asked you to come and watch. You didn’t?"

Yang Xiaozhi’s face went pale, and he looked away, too guilty to meet Xue Yang’s eyes. Seeing this, Xue Yang knew exactly what had happened. His cousin hadn’t bothered to come, which had led to their current predicament.

"Cousin, I’m sorry, I... I didn’t do it on purpose." But apologies couldn’t change anything now.

"I’ll call Brother Zhang and ask what’s going on."

Yang Xiaozhi took out his phone, found Brother Zhang’s number, and dialed. The call connected quickly, and Brother Zhang’s nonchalant voice came through.

"Xiao Zhi, what’s up? Something you need?"

"Brother Zhang, what happened at the repair shop? Why did you take all the tools?"

"Oh, those tools? I saw they were old, so I did you a favor, gathered them up, and sold them off. No need to thank me. After all, you used to work for me, and I’ve always thought of you as a little brother. This counts as me doing you a big favor. As for the money from the scrap, I’ll just hold onto that as a small fee for my trouble."

"Brother Zhang, you can’t be like this!"

"Like what? I gave you the lowest possible price for the shop. Wasn’t that generous enough? I’m already on my way back to my hometown. If there’s any paperwork, just have the agent contact me. If that’s all, I’m hanging up."

With that, Brother Zhang hung up, leaving Yang Xiaozhi fuming.

"Brother Zhang, Brother Zhang!" he yelled at the dead line. "Damn it, he really hung up." Yang Xiaozhi was so angry he nearly smashed his phone.

Xue Yang grabbed his wrist. "It’s okay. What’s gone is gone. Just consider it a lesson learned."

Ever since meeting Lin Xi, almost everything had gone smoothly for Xue Yang. Plus, being young, he had inevitably failed to consider every detail, which was why he had stumbled so badly this time. But if anyone thought this would make him back down, they were sorely underestimating him.

"But cousin, without those tools, we’ll have to buy new ones. That’s going to be a huge expense!" The thought of the cost made Yang Xiaozhi utterly deflated.

"Let’s put the shop on hold for now," Xue Yang said calmly. "I’ll think of something else."

With the tools gone, it would take time to order new ones anyway. This gave Xue Yang a window to seriously reconsider if running only a repair shop in this location was worthwhile, or if they could do something else with the property. After all, the place was theirs now.

Since he had messed up, Yang Xiaozhi’s spirits were low and he didn’t dare bother Xue Yang any further. He was off to the side, silently sulking.

Why, oh why, didn’t I listen to Xue Yang and come to check? If I’d just come for one look, we wouldn’t be in such a passive predicament now. I really am an idiot.

While his cousin moped, Xue Yang went outside to survey the area. The location wasn’t actually too remote. It was on the outskirts of the city, right on the third ring road, and only about a twenty-minute drive from the city center.