My cousin-in-law helped me achieve my ambitions.

When Coach Gao saw that Lin Shumei wouldn't let him hold her hand, his smile froze, and he snorted, clearly annoyed. He picked up the menu and flipped through it haphazardly, muttering, "Then just order a few dishes," his tone carrying a sense of sullen resentment at being slighted.

Su Ming sat next to Lin Shumei, his knuckles white as he gripped a pair of chopsticks. He'd disliked this guy for a long time; his shifty eyes hadn't left Lin Shumei since he walked in, and he'd even tried to touch her inappropriately. Su Ming gritted his teeth, about to get up, when Lin Shumei's hand pressed down on his thigh under the table, gently patting it to signal him not to act impulsively. Su Ming took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and took a swig of tea.

He wanted to see what this reckless coach would dare to do next.

Fortunately, Coach Gao was sensible enough to stop after being rejected by Lin Shumei once. He didn't try anything with her again, but his attitude became noticeably colder. He leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and used chopsticks to pick up peanuts, tossing them into his mouth one by one, looking completely indifferent.

Su Ming didn't bother with formalities. He put down his teacup and got straight to the point: "Coach Gao, I'm here today to ask you for a favor. I've almost finished practicing driving, and I'd like you to arrange my exam earlier than the regular schedule, the sooner the better."

Coach Gao crunched the peanuts in his mouth, glanced sideways at Su Ming, slowly picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then smiled, adopting a bureaucratic tone with a deliberately difficult undertone: "Su Ming, well, it's not that I don't want to help you. You haven't practiced driving with me long enough. To be honest, your skills aren't up to par yet. If you go to take the test now, I'm afraid you'll have a hard time passing. I'm doing this for your own good, don't you think? It wouldn't be good for you if you failed."

Su Ming looked at him seriously, his tone calm and firm: "You don't need to worry about that. Whether I pass or not is my business. You just need to arrange the exam for me."

Upon hearing this, Coach Gao's face darkened slightly. He put his chopsticks on the table, leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms, and stared coldly at Su Ming without saying a word, his face full of arrogance that seemed to say, "What can you do to me?"

Seeing the atmosphere become tense, Lin Shumei quickly tried to smooth things over with a smile. She picked up the teapot and refilled Coach Gao's teacup, then winked at Su Ming and said with a smile, "Come on, come on, have some food. Coach Gao, please help us out with this, make an exception for us. We know what we're doing, and we won't let you help us for nothing."

The awkward atmosphere was barely eased. Coach Gao picked up his teacup, took a sip, glanced at Lin Shumei, and his expression became ambiguous again. He put down his teacup, smiled smugly, and praised Lin Shumei, "Miss Lin, to be honest, a woman as beautiful and elegant as you should find a man with ability. At least a high-quality man earning four or five thousand a month is worthy of you."

At this point, he glanced at Su Ming with disdain, a hint of undisguised contempt on his lips, and continued, "Men who are too poor will only drag you down. Don't judge a book by its cover. Some men may be good-looking, but without money, they're nothing! Don't you think so?"

Su Ming sneered inwardly. Earning four or five thousand a month and calling himself a high-quality man? This frog in a well is quite confident in his ignorance. However, he didn't show it on his face, simply picking up his teacup and slowly taking a sip, watching Coach Gao's performance without making a sound.

Lin Shumei felt both annoyed and amused, but she didn't respond to that. Instead, she smiled and changed the subject, bringing the conversation back to the main point: "Coach Gao is right, but let's get down to business. Do you think it's possible to arrange for Su Ming to take the test earlier? He's really practiced enough; when I ride in his car, he drives more steadily than I do. You just need to arrange for him to take the test earlier, and we'll take responsibility for whether he passes or not."

Seeing that Lin Shumei had brought the topic back to the present, Coach Gao's smile grew even more lewd. He moved closer to Lin Shumei, the chair leg scraping loudly on the tile floor, then placed his hand directly on her slender waist, giving it a light squeeze, and chuckled lewdly, "That depends on your performance. Miss Lin is so smart, she should understand what I mean, right?"

Lin Shumei's face flushed instantly. She abruptly stepped aside, raised her hand and slapped Coach Gao's hand away impatiently, coldly saying, "Coach Gao, please show some respect!"

Coach Gao's face changed abruptly after his hand was slapped away. Enraged, he slammed his chopsticks on the table, his face hardening. He coldly snorted, "Want to take the test early? Then practice driving properly. Su Ming will take the test whenever I say he's ready after he's practiced enough time here. That's the rule, and even the Emperor himself has to follow it!"

He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, a smug "What can you do about it?" smile on his face. He nipped Su Ming in the eye with his chin, as if to say—Kid, your girlfriend doesn't know what's good for her, so you can forget about passing your exam.

He was smiling smugly when Su Ming stood up.

He didn't speak, nor did he slam his hand on the table. He simply walked around the table expressionlessly and stood in front of Coach Gao. Coach Gao looked up, and before he could even wipe the smug smile off his face, Su Ming's hand was already raised, and he slapped Coach Gao hard across the face.

"Snapped!"

The sharp crack echoed through the quiet Sichuan restaurant. Two diners at the next table turned around simultaneously, and even the chef in the kitchen poked half his head out of the window. Coach Gao was jolted to the side, his smile frozen on his lips. A burning pain spread from his cheek to his ear. He covered his face, staring at Su Ming in disbelief, and forced out through gritted teeth, "You dare hit me?"

This time, Lin Shumei didn't stop him or press Su Ming's hand down. She sat in her chair, arms crossed, a slight smile playing on her lips, and clapped twice, her voice clear and loud: "Well done!"

Coach Gao jumped to his feet, his chair crashing to the floor behind him. He clutched his burning face, which was as red as a pig's liver, and pointed a finger at Su Ming's nose, his voice trembling slightly with anger and humiliation: "You're finished! Forget about getting your exam scheduled! I'm telling you, the entire driving school will forget about scheduling your exam! You just wait!"

Su Ming remained expressionless, reached out and grabbed Coach Gao's collar, lifting him up until he was slightly on his tiptoes.

His strength was much greater than Coach Gao had imagined; the collar was so tight that he could hardly breathe, and his face turned even redder.

Su Ming stared into his eyes, his voice low but as cold as an iron plate: "Fine, you don't have to make arrangements, but just refund the money. Tuition fees, driving practice fees, every penny, return it all to me."