Chapter 433 - The driving test (finally) (3)

Ryn came out of the restaurant, rubbing her stomach happily. The bulge was so small it was not noticeable but she knew she ate a lot. She smiled happily as she walked to the car. Now, she was ready to face the world.

Mei Li went to her side and started the engine. Then, she pulled the safety belt and looked at the happy Ryn. She smiled as well.

"Are you ready now?" she asked, talking about the driving test.

"Hmm..." Ryn nodded. She was more than ready. In fact, she could not wait for this to finish. She did not want to think and fret over the test ever again.

"Stay calm and drive slowly," Mei Li reminded as she drove the car toward the driving center.

"Hmm..." Ryn nodded. However, her attention switched to her ringing phone. She remembered that she was on the camera (after she finally full) and swiped the screen to make the call on speaker. "Hello, Mika."

"Hello, Ryn. Where are you?" Mika asked cheerfully.

"I'm on my way to the center. Why?" Ryn frowned. Somehow she could guess what it was but she wanted Mika to confirm it herself.

"I'm already at the center. I brought some food too," Mika said proudly.

"Ah... I just have my breakfast with Mei Li," Ryn glanced at her manager. She knew Mei Li could hear their conversation.

"You can eat after the test," Mika said without any hurt in her voice. She knew Ryn would eat before she came to take her test. It would be weird if Ryn did not eat first. "How much longer before you come?"

Ryn looked at Mei Li questioningly.

"Half an hour more with this traffic," Mei Li replied. The traffic was quite heavy with some were still on the way to go to work. Luckily, they had escaped the worst of the time. If they were earlier, Mei Li could not guess how long it would take for them to arrive.

And both Mei Li and Ryn would not want to be late for the test.

"We'll be waiting for you. Call me once you've arrived. Bye, Ryn." Mika did not wait for Ryn to reply. She immediately ended the call, leaving Ryn to stare blankly at the phone.

"We?" Mei Li asked but her eyes were still on the road.

"Maybe him?" Ryn shrugged. She did not think it was important to know who 'we' that Mika was talking about. As long as Mika was there, it was enough to support her. In fact, she did not expect Mika to come to support her for the driving test.

"Not the dowager, you think?" Mei Li gulped. She knew the Long family all loved Ryn and accepted her as their own. It would not be weird for the Dowager to come holding her cane. Mei Li was scared to face the elder woman. She heard a lot about the outspoken woman who was not afraid to speak what she had in mind and even expect others, especially her family members to follow her order.

"Impossible," Ryn shook her head. She did not think the Dowager would come for her driving test. Who was she to be so important for the true leader of the family to come to support her during the driving test? She was a nobody!

"We will see once we've arrived," Mei Li mumbled. She did not want to continue this conversation as it brought a shudder to her. It did not affect Ryn at all. This model must be thinking about sleeping again.

She would either think of food or sleep. Those two were her favorite thing and activity to do.

Both did not speak anymore. They were deep in their own thought. 

Before long, they arrived at the center. Mei Li found an empty lot to park and she quickly shut off the engine. However, instead of getting out of the car, she turned to look at Ryn who seemed to freeze.

Mei Li took her hands. They were cold.

It seemed like, behind the cool and nonchalant look from Ryn, she was nervous for the test. This girl...

"Don't worry. You can do this. Remember, not to panic and not to get stressed. Stay calm."

Ryn's eyes widened. Her lips parted but there was no sound coming from her lips.

"It's okay. Let's go. Miss Mika is waiting for us," Mei Li patted Ryn's shoulder and got out of the car.

A cameraman was already waiting outside to catch every single moment. In fact, this driving test was the highlight of this episode. If the interview was not interrupted this morning, the director would ask the reason why Ryn wanted to do her driving test now, why not before. He heard about the kidnapping incident and wondered whether that was the reason why Ryn was determined to learn how to drive.

Ryn and Mei Li ignored the cameraman's presence and walked into the building. Ryn took out her phone, preparing to call Mika. 

"Ryn!"

Ryn did not have to call for her when Mika's loud voice grabbed her attention. Well, her loud voice actually grabbed everyone's attention and every pair of eyes turned to look at the petite girl.

Ignoring the attention given, Mika skipped happily toward Ryn. A man and a woman were following behind her.

"I do understand him but why is she here too?" Mei Li could not stop murmuring in a puzzled. She recognized both of them. She looked at Ryn but could not see any surprise on her face. Well, did Ryn guess this?

"Aunty," Ryn managed to untangle herself from Mika's embrace and greeted the elder woman politely.

"Your driving test, dear. Are you ready?" Mrs. Long asked tenderly. She handed her purse to Jason and hugged the younger woman. She missed this girl dearly but it seemed like Ryn was so busy with her work, she did not even have time to come visit her and her mother-in-law, much to the unhappiness of the Dowager.

"Yes, aunty," Ryn nodded her head. Whether she liked it or not, she must do this.

"Good. Don't get too nervous. Later we will have our lunch together. Jason already booked a room for us," Mrs. Long smiled for a second at her future son-in-law but her whole attention was on Ryn. She rubbed Ryn's head tenderly. "You can do it."

Mei Li returned from registering Ryn's name. She already received Ryn's turn and was going to urge Ryn to the test section.

Ryn saw her and understood when the manager nodded her head. She turned and smiled at the elder woman, "Aunty, I should go now. It will be my turn soon."

"We can watch her. Let's go," Jason who was holding a bag of lunch box finally spoke up. He used his free hand to run Mika's back gently before urged her to lead her mother to the waiting area.

Ryn went to the test area alone. She did not show how nervous she was. She kept the cool mask on her face, not showing any emotion at all. In her mind, this was another kind of test for her and she would do everything to ace this. 

Mei Li waited with Mika, Jason, and Mrs. Long. She was nervous, for both Ryn's test and to be in the same space as Mrs. Long. She did not find herself nervous when she was with Mika, Jeremy, and Jason, but when she was with the elder Longs, she could not help from fretting, worried that she made a mistake.

"Ah... she's already driving," Mika cried. She grabbed Jason's hand for support. She was so excited but at the same time nervous for Ryn. She wanted Ryn to pass on her first try.

"And please don't shout," she prayed hard.

Mrs. Long gave a puzzled look at her daughter but neither of the younger generations bothered to explain to her. She turned back to look at the small car where Ryn was driving quietly. Her hands were gripping hard as she worried about Ryn's test. Would she pass the test?

It seemed like God was smiling over Ryn. She did not make any mistakes at all. It must be when she was under so much pressure, she was calmer and determined to do her best. Even during the parking section, Ryn did not get nervous and drove the car carefully, especially when she needed to turn the steering wheel in order to let the car entering the small space without getting the tire to stop on or over the line.

When Ryn returned with the driving inspector, Mika could not help from screaming delightfully as she ran toward Ryn. She jumped to hug her best friend happily, almost making Ryn fell on her back. Luckily Ryn managed to control herself and hugged Ryn back.

The inspector twitched his lips but did not comment. He went to get the next candidate.

"I've passed, Mika. I've passed," Ryn showed the paper to her best friend. She felt like crying, letting out all the stress she has been holding since days ago. 

She passed her driving test. Now, she could drive to every place she needed to be. She did not have to depend on either Mika, Jeremy, or Mei Li to get her to places. She also did not have to use a taxi or Grab. She could drive now.