Lin Ze was lazily scrolling through his phone when a message suddenly popped up.
“Little Zeze, want me to take you out for a joyride?”
Today was finally his day off, and Yi Yan actually wanted to call him out?
He would rather just lie at home.
“Not going. Just got back from a ride.”
Yi Yan: “Alright. Actually, I want to invite you street racing.”
Lin Ze: “?”
Yi Yan: “Come on, I’m right downstairs at your place.”
Seeing this message, Lin Ze’s eyes widened. He abruptly sat up, put on his shoes, walked over to the window, and pulled back the curtains.
He saw Yi Yan leaning back against the car door, the headlights illuminating the road ahead. Only two high streetlamps cast their light downward, forming a sharp contrast with the surrounding pitch-black scenery.
The streetlamp light stretched Yi Yan’s figure, making him look exceptionally striking. An extravagant, fiery-red high-fashion racing suit made him appear extremely charming and bold.
Yi Yan looked up and happened to lock gazes with Lin Ze. The corners of his lips curved upward. Waving at Lin Ze with one hand, he pulled out his phone with the other to call him.
“Little Zeze, I see you.”
Lin Ze gave him a deep look and let out a sigh. “I’d better not go. You go have fun by yourself.”
“No way. I told my buddies I was bringing you along to meet everyone. If you don’t go, they’ll just be waiting to laugh at me for getting stood up by you.”
“Who told you to be so arbitrary?” Lin Ze felt a bit irritated.
“Un-huh, well I already told them that. Can’t take it back now. You have to come with me, or I’ll just stay downstairs at your place tonight waiting for you.” Yi Yan shamelessly delivered this threat.
Lin Ze hung up the phone and pressed his lips together.
He really was defeated by this guy.
Go then; consider it doing Yi Yan a favor.
The moment Lin Ze got downstairs, Yi Yan saw him, his eyes shining with excitement as he rushed forward and pulled him into a hug.
“I knew our Little Zeze wouldn’t have the heart to let me stand down here all alone in the cold wind.”
He deliberately painted himself as utterly miserable, solely to win Lin Ze’s sympathy.
Lin Ze didn’t buy it.
“Cut the act.” Lin Ze pushed him away with a look of utter disgust.
“Two guys over six feet hugging and holding each other is just too awkward.”
“Little Zeze.” Yi Yan pitifully tugged at the corner of his shirt.
“Stop pretending.” Lin Ze calmly spat out those two words.
Having spent this long with Yi Yan, how could he not know what kind of person he was?
Total drama king!
“Alrighty.” Yi Yan packed away his playful demeanor, opened the car door for Lin Ze, and said with utmost solemnity, “Get in, Your Royal Highness.”
Lin Ze massaged his temples and shook his head helplessly, genuinely wondering what kind of friend he had gotten himself mixed up with.
On the racetrack, several sports cars lined up at the starting line.
Seated in the front row along the track were extremely glamorous women wearing sexy dresses and holding cheering pompoms.
Yi Yan’s buddies had already gathered under a pavilion.
Seeing Yi Yan bring Lin Ze over, his friends all lit up and exchanged knowing smiles.
“Brother Yan, is this that friend of yours?” Tang Feng stood up, his eyes narrowing into smiling slits.
Yin Chiting gave Tang Feng a light nudge with his elbow and flashed an uninhibited grin at Lin Ze. “Hello there, I’m Yin Chiting, and this next to me is Tang Feng.”
“I’m Lin Ze,” he stated his name with poise and grace.
“The racing rules are the same as before. A five-minute sprint, and only the first place gets the right to punish the remaining contestants,” Tang Feng said.
“Cut the chatter, let’s get on with it.” Yi Yan lazily stretched his back. “Since I’m going to take first place anyway, you two just get yourselves ready to take the penalty.”
“Not necessarily, Brother Yan. Sure, you’re used to casually taking first place every single time, but things are different now. What if some factor stops you from winning today? You won’t even find it a pity, right?” Yin Chiting curved the corners of his mouth and raised an eyebrow at Yi Yan.
Yi Yan crossed his arms, quietly listening to the banter.
“Ting, let’s go up first to pick partners for our passenger seats.” Tang Feng patted Yin Chiting’s shoulder as a reminder.
Lin Ze glanced at Yi Yan. “Aren’t you going? It looks like they’re picking people.”
Yi Yan shook his head. He pulled Lin Ze to the front of his car. “Those painted dolls aren’t worthy of sitting in my passenger seat.”
“My passenger seat is only for you.”
Lin Ze rolled his eyes at him. “Cut it out.”
Lin Ze felt that recently, all of Yi Yan’s pick-up lines and flirting tactics applied to him were extremely cheesy and obnoxious!
He was acting like a totally different person, going out of his way to gross him out.
Yet once they hit the racetrack, Yi Yan’s usual frivolous attitude completely vanished.
His brows arched upward, his narrowed eyes glowing with a desire for victory, and his lips curved into a sharp angle. That unwavering expression left Lin Ze momentarily stunned.
He had never seen Yi Yan look like this before; it was as if a prize was laid out right in front of him, something he could easily get with just the flick of a finger, yet he still chose to go all out to genuinely win it.
Their car had already pulled half a lap ahead of his friends.
Yi Yan slammed his foot all the way down on the accelerator and glanced in the rearview mirror. No cars behind them.
Sure enough, on this racetrack, Yi Yan was an absolute master.
As long as he maintained this speed, they only needed one and a half laps left to secure victory.
At that moment, the contents of Lin Ze’s stomach were churning. His head felt dizzy, and he even felt a sudden urge to vomit.
This was his first time riding in a racing car. Having never experienced such extreme speed from childhood to now, he naturally couldn’t handle it.
His lips turned somewhat pale, and his eyes shut tightly. Pressing one hand against his stomach, he swallowed desperately to force down the nausea rising in his throat.
His nails dug desperately into the car seat, yet he refused to let out a single sound of discomfort.
He didn’t want to disrupt Yi Yan’s race, and he didn’t want to ruin the first-place victory that was already within Yi Yan’s grasp.
A real man standing tall can grit his teeth and endure a little discomfort like this. He refused to become a burden or a joke to his friends!
“Ugh, but I really want to throw up.”
Gazing at the expensive grey race car, Lin Ze knitted his brows slightly.
“If I throw up in Yi Yan’s beloved car, Yi Yan is going to kill me! Hold it in, hold it in!”
Yi Yan glanced over with his phoenix eyes, seeming to notice Lin Ze’s odd state. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m fine.” Lin Ze frowned, trying to suppress all the sickening sensations. “Focus on driving, don’t get distracted.”
“You…” Yi Yan slowed the car down, a flash of complex emotion crossing his gaze.
Just then, the two cars trailing behind them surged forward. In the blink of an eye, Yi Yan was ruthlessly dropped to last place.
Seeing the car fall behind by half a length, Lin Ze suddenly panicked and straightened his posture. “Yi, Yi Yan! We’ve fallen behind! What do we do?”
“It’s fine.”
Yi Yan’s tone was calm, betraying neither joy nor sorrow, leaving Lin Ze completely unable to probe the emotions deep in his heart.
The race ended. In the end, Yi Yan failed to turn the tide, successfully securing last place and marking his entry into his own otherwise brilliant racing history.
Lin Ze stepped out of the car, his head still spinning. Only after breathing in lungfuls of fresh air did he start to recover.
“Little Zeze, are you okay?” Yi Yan got out of the car and walked around the front to find Lin Ze.
“I’m fine.” Lin Ze managed to pull off a pale, forced smile for him.
“Ha, Brother Yan, I never thought you’d have a day where you lose,” Tang Feng said, walking over with a beauty on his arm.
This remark didn’t cause the slightest ripple on Yi Yan’s face. His eyes were locked tightly onto Lin Ze, who was still standing nearby trying to regain his composure.
Yin Chiting whistled at them. “Brother Yan lost, remember to take your penalty. Haha.”
As they bantered back and forth with Yi Yan, Lin Ze felt a heavy knot in his stomach. After all, Yi Yan only lost because of him.
“Sorry about that,” he guiltily told Yi Yan.
Yi Yan’s starry eyes shifted slightly, a faint smile pulling at the corners of his mouth as even his brows softened. “What are you apologizing for? This has nothing to do with you.”
Even though Yi Yan acted casual and said it had nothing to do with him, Lin Ze knew it was his own problem that had dragged Yi Yan down.
“As brothers, I won’t make things too hard for you two. Just pick someone here and share a passionate kiss for a full minute,” Yin Chiting said with an amused eyebrow-raise toward the two of them.
“Easy enough.”
The moment the words fell, Tang Feng lowered his head and kissed the woman in his arms.
After finishing, he shot a lingering wink at her.
“Disgusting. Young Master Tang is so bad,” the woman whined, leaning against Tang Feng.
“Alright, seriously, I can’t take you guys,” Yin Chiting wiped his eyes as if contaminated.
“Brother Yan, it’s your turn.”
Yin Chiting’s words instantly focused the gaze of every single woman present squarely on Yi Yan.
An eager urgency flashed through their expectant eyes, wishing Yi Yan would pick them right away.
Yi Yan swept his gaze across the area, and the women’s excited cheers and shrieks echoed through the air.
“Yan, pick me, pick me!”
“President Yan, look over this way!”
“Ah, he just looked at me, I’m going to die!”
Finally, Yi Yan let his gaze land on Lin Ze.
Lin Ze, who had been watching the show, froze when he met Yi Yan’s eyes. “?”
With lightning speed, Yi Yan leaned down and kissed Lin Ze.
Realizing what was happening, Lin Ze was struck dumb with shock, his eyes widening in panic.