142. Extortion

Fang Chang'an was on edge, prepared to flee at a moment's notice. Fortunately, Cheng Mengfei was actually quite steady behind the wheel; the car backed out smoothly and parked in the alley outside the gate.

Looking through the window at Fang Chang'an, she pressed the brake and asked with a hint of pride, "How about that? Your teacher is a pretty steady driver, right?"

Fang Chang'an nodded, returned to the passenger seat, and fastened his seatbelt. Looking relieved, he said, "It’s indeed steadier than I expected. Sigh, I was just terrified by Uncle Shen; I really thought your driving was as unreliable as he made it out to be."

Cheng Mengfei slowly released the brake and clutch, carefully starting the car to avoid stalling. Once she had successfully pulled away, she scoffed, "You listen to him? He’s always making a fuss over nothing."

She kept it in first gear as she drove out of the alley and onto the side street. With no other cars in sight, she slowly shifted into second gear and headed out of town.

Fang Chang'an kept a nervous watch from the side, worried that Cheng Mengfei might confuse the brake and accelerator or accidentally veer off course. Fortunately, Cheng Mengfei had been practicing with Shen Chengyan for a while, and her mind was sharp enough that these basic skills were not an issue.

The town was small, and the three of them soon reached the outskirts. There were some residential houses along the roadside, but they were far less dense than in the town center. Vast stretches of farmland appeared on both sides of the road, featuring watermelons and young corn shoots that had just sprouted. The fiery red sun hung on the western horizon, presenting a beautiful pastoral scene.

The weather was no longer very hot. Cheng Mengfei turned off the air conditioning and rolled down the windows. A warm breeze, still carrying the heat of the day, blew into the car, refreshing them all.

Shen Mo stretched her little hand out the window and said sweetly, "Wow, this feels so nice! The sun is so pretty!"

It was Cheng Mengfei’s first time driving alone, and she was clearly quite nervous. She didn't dare turn her head, keeping her eyes fixed on the road ahead. However, she had relaxed quite a bit by now. She glanced at Fang Chang'an and smiled, "Right?"

"Yeah."

Fang Chang'an nodded, helping Cheng Mengfei keep an eye on the traffic conditions on both sides. Focusing only on what is directly in front is a common problem for many beginners; however, in most cases, accidents do not occur directly ahead—or by the time they appear directly ahead, it is already too late.

A gap in the residential houses appeared ahead, revealing only farmland. There was a school by the roadside with the words "Wangmingji Elementary School" written on it; it was likely the name of the nearby village.

Fang Chang'an said, "Teacher Cheng, this should be enough. Let's make a U-turn ahead and head back."

"Alright, the cake should be arriving soon, too."

Knowing that Fang Chang'an still had to get home and fearing it might get too late, Cheng Mengfei turned the car around at the next intersection and started heading back. Having moved past the initial nervousness of being on the road alone, she was now much more relaxed. On the way back, one could clearly feel that she was more confident in pressing the accelerator.

Fang Chang'an kept a close watch. Seeing that the speed was only around thirty and that Cheng Mengfei was driving quite steadily, he didn't say anything.

After all, Cheng Mengfei was just starting out, and she still had many small habits. For instance, she would keep the speed in the low twenties while in second gear, and in the low forties while in third, often checking the speedometer nervously for fear of going too fast.

After relaxing a bit more, seeing that there were no other vehicles on the road ahead, she seemed to want to increase the speed further and pressed the accelerator again.

During this process, whether it was her first time shifting into fourth gear or just an unconscious action, her eyes remained fixed on the dashboard. Seeing the needle hit forty, she lowered her head to change gears.

Lowered her head?

Fang Chang'an was just about to warn her when he suddenly saw a Toyota appear beside a house on the left. Ahead was actually a T-junction, and because of the obstruction of the house, they hadn't realized it was an intersection before driving up to it.

Fortunately, because it was near the town, the road was relatively wide, allowing the two cars to pass each other easily. The Toyota did not signal, turning right directly and heading toward them.

Perhaps because they saw that Fang Chang'an’s car was on the right side of the road and there were no vehicles on the left, or perhaps out of habit, the Toyota hardly slowed down during the turn.

It seemed that because they had been driving on a dirt road and had finally reached a paved one, the Toyota accelerated immediately after completing the turn. In the front seats were two middle-aged men with flushed faces. They noticed the young, beautiful woman in the driver's seat of the BMW and couldn't help but take a few extra looks.

"Teacher Cheng, there's a car ahead..."

Seeing that the two cars were about to pass each other, Fang Chang'an reminded her softly. Before he could finish, Cheng Mengfei had already shifted gears and raised her head. In doing so, her right hand, which was gripping the steering wheel, unconsciously exerted some force. The steering wheel shifted slightly, and the direction of the car changed immediately, heading straight toward the oncoming Toyota!

Fang Chang'an didn't even have time to feel afraid; he reached out quickly and grabbed the steering wheel, immediately twisting it back. The Toyota was also startled and swerved, allowing the two cars to pass each other with no harm done.

"Ah!"

Cheng Mengfei finally reacted. She instinctively wanted to scream, but probably realized there were two children in the car, so she only uttered the first sound and swallowed the rest of the scream, grabbing the steering wheel tightly in shock.

However, under her tension, she gripped the wheel too hard and couldn't control the direction. As soon as Fang Chang'an let go, he saw that Cheng Mengfei was already driving the car toward the farmland on the right. He quickly reached out to grab the steering wheel again to straighten the car, but Cheng Mengfei was so nervous that she felt him turning the wheel and fought back with even more force.

Fang Chang'an couldn't use too much strength and couldn't overpower her, so he shouted, "Teacher Cheng! Don't panic, don't panic! Stay calm, stay calm! Let go of the wheel! Your hands!"

He was afraid that Cheng Mengfei wouldn't be able to react, so he didn't dare call out any more instructions for fear she would become even more confused about what to do!

"Oh, oh, oh, oh—I know, I know—"

Cheng Mengfei was clearly panicked and had no idea what to do. Hearing Fang Chang'an’s words, she finally regained some composure and followed him in turning the steering wheel to the left.

She was too nervous and completely forgot to lift her foot from the accelerator or hit the brake. It was already too late to turn the wheel back, and the right side of the car dropped into the lower mud by the roadside, then jerked to a stop and stalled.

However, this was the best-case scenario. Fang Chang'an sighed in relief and, not bothering to comfort Cheng Mengfei, turned to look at Shen Mo.

The little girl probably hadn't even seen what had just happened, but knowing they had nearly crashed, her already pale face seemed to turn even paler. Fortunately, she wasn't panicked. Seeing Fang Chang'an look over, she even flashed him a smile to show she was fine and not to worry.

"Scared the life out of me..."

Cheng Mengfei patted her chest, exhaled a long breath, and took a few deep breaths to steady herself. She turned to Fang Chang'an and said, "It's fine, it's fine, we almost hit them. Thanks to your quick reaction."

Fang Chang'an smiled and said, "It's alright as long as we're safe. Teacher Cheng, don't panic, it just stalled."

"Yeah..."

Cheng Mengfei replied, took a few more deep breaths, and, having steadied her nerves, looked left and right. "Are we stuck? Can we drive back up?"

Fang Chang'an unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the door, and got out to check. "It's fine, it should be no problem."

Cheng Mengfei also got out of the car, looked around, and didn't see any issues. Just as she was about to get back into the car, Fang Chang'an saw that the Toyota from earlier had driven back. He gave her a look.

Cheng Mengfei followed his gaze and looked back. She hadn't remembered the other party's license plate, or even what kind of car it was, but with Fang Chang'an’s hint, she realized that this car approaching them was likely the one they had almost collided with.

The window was still open, and Shen Mo could notice the situation outside. Seeing this, she also leaned against the window to look out.

Fang Chang'an said, "Teacher Cheng, let's roll up all the windows first."

Cheng Mengfei was stunned for a moment, a bit confused. Fang Chang'an reminded her, "The two men in that car seem to have been drinking. It’s just to be safe."

Cheng Mengfei finally understood. Although she didn't think it would come to a physical confrontation, she followed Fang Chang'an’s advice and rolled up all the windows from the driver's side door. She then instructed, "Mo, stay inside the car and don't move. Don't be afraid."

Shen Mo looked at her, then at Fang Chang'an. Fang Chang'an smiled at her and said, "Just a precaution, nothing will happen."

Shen Mo nodded and sat obediently in the car without moving.

Cheng Mengfei felt a bit guilty and asked Fang Chang'an, "Did we hit them just now?"

"No."

Fang Chang'an watched from a distance and said, "However, there seems to be a scratch on the side of their car. They must have scraped it somewhere while drunk, and now they want to extort us. If they really try to extort us later and it doesn't make sense, Teacher Cheng, you should get back in the car, close the door, lock it, and call the police. They are both driving under the influence and attempting extortion."

Infected by his calm and composed demeanor, Cheng Mengfei felt a little more settled and nodded, "Okay."

Regarding this incident alone, she knew she was in the wrong, but if the other party really wanted to take the opportunity to extort her, she wouldn't be afraid anymore.

As they were talking, the Toyota approached quickly and stopped nearby. The two middle-aged men got out, one from each side, slamming their doors shut with a loud "Bang! Bang!"

The one who got out of the driver's seat had a beer belly, a rather wealthy appearance, and a black mole on his chin. The one who got out of the passenger seat was slightly shorter, dark and thin, but quite sturdy, wearing a tank top that revealed red and blue tattoos on his shoulders.

Both men had flushed faces and necks and reeked of alcohol. They shouted angrily, "How the hell are you driving? Huh? How are you driving?"

As they got closer, a wave of alcohol hit them, and there seemed to be the smell of vomit as well.

Cheng Mengfei couldn't help but frown. However, since the other party wasn't just extorting but also wanted an explanation, and she was clearly in the wrong, she apologized quickly, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just got my license and I'm not familiar with it yet. I really apologize."

"Is an apology all it takes?"

"Look at what you've done to my car! Huh? Take a look!"

One of the men accused her, while the other turned back and pointed at his car body. There was a very obvious, long scratch on the door on the right side.

Seeing that they were truly trying to extort her, Cheng Mengfei said indignantly, "We didn't hit you just now. Besides, when we passed you, your car was on the left side, on my side! The scratch on your car is on the right side!"

The two men clearly realized that this clumsy lie might be exposed and put on an angry act. The man with the mole shouted loudly, "What do you mean we didn't hit? We swerved into a tree just to avoid you!"

The one with tattoos also pointed at Cheng Mengfei and said, "That—that's right! Stop talking so much, just tell us what you're going to do about it?"

Fang Chang'an said, "We have a dashcam in our car. We didn't hit you, and there's only farmland on the side of the road. There's no way you could have gotten that scratch there."

"What does a little brat like you know!"

Seeing that Fang Chang'an dared to interrupt, the two men became even more enraged. The man with the mole extended a palm toward Cheng Mengfei and said aggressively, "Are you going to pay or not? Five thousand yuan and this matter is settled, otherwise, I'm calling the police right now!"

"Did you hear that? You cough up five thousand yuan and this matter is settled today."

The tattooed man looked like a thug, pointing at Cheng Mengfei and then at Fang Chang'an. "Otherwise, we'll see you at the police station!"

As the two men shouted, some of the residents nearby heard the commotion and looked over from their doors. Some were even discussing it among themselves, but no one stepped forward.

Fang Chang'an gave Cheng Mengfei a look. It was Cheng Mengfei's first time experiencing such a scene, and she was clearly a bit nervous. However, with two children in the car, she didn't dare show weakness. She forced herself to remain calm and said, "Then let's call the police."

After saying this, she quickly ducked into the car and closed the door. Seeing that Fang Chang'an had also quickly climbed in, she locked the doors as soon as he closed his, then took out her phone to call Shen Chengyan.