As Jing Mingqiu looked in the direction of the sound, he saw Sun Heng’s plump figure wriggling back and forth, waving vigorously at him, and he couldn't help but laugh.
"Little Fatty, didn't you dislike driving? Why are you here practicing too?"
Sun Heng’s face was full of bitterness, "I didn't want to either! My mom wasn't happy seeing me play at home every day, so she sent me to practice driving. This is the third day."
"Hey, Ming Ge, aren't you supposed to be at home watching the shop? Why are you here practicing driving too?"
"It's fine, there are usually no customers in the morning," Jing Mingqiu shrugged and sat down next to Sun Heng. "Before school starts, I have plenty of free time. I should hurry and get my driver's license. It'll be troublesome to get it after school starts or when I start working."
Sun Heng was unconcerned, "Taking taxis is so convenient, why bother buying a car yourself?"
"Forget it, let's not talk about this. I've already paid the tuition, and it's too late to back out now. Ming Ge, I feel like my drone is still lacking something. Do you think it's possible..."
Jing Mingqiu and Sun Heng began a heated discussion about the next stage of modifications for the min2 drone.
As a ten-year veteran player, Sun Heng could easily find various problems, and Jing Mingqiu, with the system's assistance, tackled these issues one by one.
Unconsciously, half an hour passed.
A tall young man walked over and patted Sun Heng on the shoulder, "Brother, it's your turn."
"Let's go," Sun Heng stood up abruptly. "Ming Ge, you just got here and don't know, I've been practicing for a while. I'll teach you!"
Without giving Jing Mingqiu a chance to refuse, Sun Heng directly got into the driver's seat, turned the key to start the engine, and invited Jing Mingqiu to sit in the passenger seat, demonstrating to him personally.
"Left foot clutch, right foot brake. First, press the clutch, engage first gear, then slowly release the clutch. Once the wheels pass the white line, turn the steering wheel half a circle to the left..."
Sun Heng recited incantations while quickly turning the steering wheel. It went smoothly when going out, but when it was time to come back, he accidentally turned the wheel a little more than half a circle. After the practice car entered the parking space, it ran over the white line on the left.
"This was a mistake, let's try again!" Sun Heng was very embarrassed and quickly shifted gears and sped out.
Once, twice, thrice...
In just ten minutes, Sun Heng tried seven times in a row, and finally, on the last try, he managed to park the car crookedly in the parking space.
"Phew!"
Liu Heng breathed a long sigh of relief and looked at Jing Mingqiu with feigned ease, "Ming Ge, did you see clearly? You just need to drive like this, it's very simple."
"Ten minutes are up, it's your turn. Drive with confidence, don't be afraid. I'll be sitting in the passenger seat, ready to hit the brakes for you at any time."
The biggest difference between a practice car and a regular car is the additional brake in the passenger seat, allowing the coach to intervene promptly in case of an accident during the student's practice and prevent incidents.
With the eight-level fitter skill, after listening to the coach's brief explanation, Jing Mingqiu had already mastered the technique of reversing into a parking space.
However, seeing Liu Heng's enthusiasm, he didn't expose it and instead smiled and nodded, "I'm pretty clear. Little Fatty, I'll need your guidance from here on."
"No trouble, no trouble!" Sun Heng quickly waved his hands. "In a while, I'll still need Ming Ge to help me modify the drone."
Jing Mingqiu walked to the driver's seat, adjusted the seat slightly, fastened his seatbelt, turned the key, started the engine, placed his hands on the steering wheel, pressed the clutch, engaged first gear, released the clutch, the gears meshed, the tires began to turn, and he shot forward.
"Ming Ge, slow down, slow down..."
Feeling a starting speed at least twice his own, Sun Heng panicked and quickly called out, "If it's too fast, the engine will stall!"
Jing Mingqiu was unconcerned, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I'm about to start reversing. Help me keep an eye on the rear wheels and tell me when they cross the white line."
Sun Heng came back to his senses and was surprised to find that Jing Mingqiu had already driven the car out of the space and parked it perfectly at the point designated by the coach for reversing.
Press the clutch, engage reverse gear...
The operations were fluid, as if he were a seasoned driver with years of experience.
Unlike Sun Heng, he didn't need to memorize the points and turn the steering wheel when the coach indicated. Jing Mingqiu glanced at the rearview mirror and then casually turned the steering wheel a few times.
The practice car traced a graceful arc and landed steadily in the center of the parking space, with the distance between the wheels and the boundary lines being exactly the same, accurate to the millimeter.
As soon as the car stopped, Sun Heng eagerly jumped out, circled the car, and his eyes widened involuntarily, "Perfectly centered in the parking space! Ming Ge, how did you do that! Did you practice in secret?"
"Just good luck," Jing Mingqiu waved his hand. "You live right across the hall from me, don't you know what I do? Don't block the way here. Hurry up and get in the car. Ten minutes per person, no wasting time!"
Sitting in the passenger seat and being driven by Jing Mingqiu to complete thirteen perfect reverse parking maneuvers, Sun Heng was completely convinced. After getting out of the car, he stared at Jing Mingqiu with immense admiration.
"Ming Ge, please teach me! Why is your starting speed so fast and the engine doesn't stall?"
"Why, when reversing into the parking space, even though you didn't turn the steering wheel at the points the coach taught, you didn't cross the line?"
Jing Mingqiu explained seriously, "The clutch mainly controls the connection between the engine and the gearbox. If you release it too quickly, the gears engage directly, and the engine's power is insufficient to move the car, causing the gears to jam and the engine to stall."
"If you release it too slowly, the gears don't contact, and the power is insufficient, so the car's starting speed naturally won't be fast. How quickly the clutch should be released, and how much it should be released – this can't be explained in a sentence or two. You'll understand after practicing a few more times."
"As for why I don't cross the line when reversing into the parking space, that's also very simple," Jing Mingqiu casually picked up a twig and drew two lines on the ground. "The vehicle's movement follows this trajectory. As long as you calculate the angle correctly, let alone reversing into a parking space, you can even drive home backward..."
Just talking wasn't enough, so he waited for over an hour under the pavilion. During the second round of practice, Jing Mingqiu provided on-the-spot teaching.
Under Jing Mingqiu's guidance, Sun Heng's driving skills improved rapidly. Now, out of three attempts, two would result in a perfect parking without crossing the line.
Coach Wu practiced Subject 2 in the morning and Subject 3 in the afternoon. Jing Mingqiu and Sun Heng hadn't reached the stage of practicing Subject 3 yet. After informing the coach, they each rode an electric scooter and left the driving school.
To prevent Sun Heng from falling behind, Jing Mingqiu deliberately slowed down, turning the throttle by less than ten degrees.
Halfway through, Sun Heng received a phone call and then called out, "Ming Ge, your parents aren't home. Come to my place for lunch today! My mom made braised pork today."
"Okay." As long-time neighbors, it wasn't the first time Jing Mingqiu had gone to their place for a meal. He readily agreed, "I haven't had Aunt Zheng's braised pork in a long time... Hey, where did he go?"
Mid-sentence, Jing Mingqiu was shocked to find that Sun Heng had suddenly disappeared!