On the contrary, when Yao Qi and the others heard their friend speak like that, they all broke out in a cold sweat for him in their hearts.
“Well, um, there are so many cars here. If Miss Jiang likes one, she can just pick a car and race with it…”
Yao Qi stepped in with a smile to smooth things over.
No, seriously, was this easy for him?
He had originally wanted to watch Song Qichen make a fool of himself. Instead, not only did that not happen, he now had to diligently smooth things over for Jiang Mian. What on earth was he doing all this for?
Yao Qi felt like crying without tears.
As for all of Yao Qi’s behavior, Song Xiguang saw it clearly and had already cursed him over and over again in his heart.
He had never seen such a stupid bastard.
‘Yao Qi, were you a dead eunuch in your past life or what?’
‘Otherwise, how could you be so practiced and skilled at this kind of master-serving damage control, and even smiling so obsequiously while doing it?’
Song Xiguang’s internal rant went unheard, so we will leave it at that for now.
As for the irritable bald man, after hearing Yao Qi’s words, he stiffened his neck on the spot. “Why? Why should she be allowed to casually pick a car and race against us just because she doesn’t have one? Yao Qi, what’s wrong with you? Don’t tell me you’re secretly in love with Song Qichen’s woman?”
Yao Qi: “……”
Song Qichen: “……”
“Zhang Fei, what nonsense are you spouting? How could I possibly…” ‘dare to?’
“Forget it, I don’t care anymore. You guys decide for yourselves!”
The moment Zhang Fei suddenly dragged him and Jiang Mian into the same sentence and even said he was secretly in love with her, Yao Qi swore his heart had almost stopped on the spot. Having a secret crush on someone like her? Was he tired of living?
Yao Qi gave up trying to explain.
Seeing this, the hot-tempered bald man Zhang Fei immediately cast Jiang Mian a half-smiling, half-mocking look. “Little girl, racing is something adults play with. You should just have President Song buy you a few more Barbie dolls to play with instead. Hahahaha…”
The man burst out laughing.
But after laughing a few times, he realized that he was the only one laughing. Not a single one of Yao Qi and the rest of his buddies joined in. All of them were just staring at him with expressions that were hard to describe.
Seeing this, the man let out a couple of awkward chuckles and stopped.
Feeling so embarrassed that his toes curled inside his shoes, the bald man coughed lightly. “Ahem, that’s the situation. No car, no racing!”
He spoke in a rough, gruff voice.
Hearing this, Jiang Mian raised an eyebrow.
“Who said I don’t have a car? Isn’t it right there? When I came over just now, I talked it over with the driver. He rented the car to me at 200 yuan per hour. There.”
Jiang Mian lifted a finger and pointed straight at the vehicle parked outside the luxury car lot… a Wuling Hongguang.
Yao Qi, Song Xiguang: “……”
The irritable bald man Zhang Fei: “……”
Song Qichen: “……”
Very good. This time next year will be the anniversary of his and Jiang Mian’s deaths!
When on earth did she negotiate that? How did he not notice at all?
Song Qichen was internally losing his mind.
And of all things she could have chosen, why did it have to be a Wuling Hongguang? Could this little junk car possibly outrun a Porsche or a Ferrari?
As for the hot-tempered bald man Zhang Fei, after a brief moment of stunned silence, he very quickly burst into earth-shaking laughter.
“Hahahahaha, Wuling Hongguang, hahahahaha! Isn’t that the crappy little car used up on the mountain to run errands? Two hundred yuan an hour, hahahaha… you’re going to laugh me to death!”
The man laughed so hard he slapped his thigh repeatedly.
No one knew how long he laughed before the bald man finally raised a hand and wiped away the tears he had laughed out of the corners of his eyes. “Very good. Just on the strength of how funny you are alone, little girl, I’ll agree to race with you. Hahahaha. Yao Qi, I’m betting two million on myself to win!”
“Got it.”
Yao Qi responded.
He had even hesitated earlier over whether to bet on Jiang Mian because of her frighteningly high combat ability. Now it seemed there was absolutely no need. This time, Song Qichen was going to bleed heavily. Heh heh heh.
The Song Qichen who was about to suffer a massive financial loss stared unblinkingly at Jiang Mian’s profile.
Feeling the resentment beside her that was practically tangible, Jiang Mian instinctively turned her head, only to meet Song Qichen’s eyes, dead gray like ashes. Her little face immediately scrunched up.
“You don’t believe me either?”
Song Qichen: “……” ‘Heh.’
“Believe me. I’ll definitely win!”
Jiang Mian tugged at his sleeve. After all, racing was just about who was faster. She refused to believe that after driving at high speeds for so many years in the apocalypse, she could lose to these people.
After all, in the apocalypse, if you drove too slowly, what awaited you was the gaping bloody maw of zombies!
*
At the starting line, eight cars were lined up neatly in a straight row.
The light-blue Wuling Hongguang looked utterly out of place among the lineup of luxury cars.
Since they were still in the preparation stage, Jiang Mian rolled the window down directly and turned with a bright smile to look toward Song Qichen standing by the roadside.
Song Qichen could swear that he truly ached for the money that was about to leave him, but when he saw Jiang Mian’s smile, he involuntarily walked over to her car.
Looking into Jiang Mian’s sparkling eyes that seemed as if they could speak, he felt as though he had been bewitched, and a sentence slipped out of his mouth without thinking. “If you lose, then so be it. Safety comes first.”
The moment he finished speaking, Song Qichen almost bit his own tongue.
No, what nonsense was he saying?
What did he mean, lose and so be it? That was ten to twenty million!
But by the time Song Qichen wanted to take it back, it was already too late. The whistle had sounded, and the race girl in the red miniskirt had already raised the black-and-white checkered flag high.
“Tweet, tweet! Tweeeet!”
As the whistle rang out, all eight cars shot forward at the same time.
Song Qichen’s heart rose along with it.
He did not even know exactly what he was worrying about, yet his heart kept pounding wildly, thump thump, out of control.
“Hahahahaha!”
It was at this moment that a burst of thunderous laughter came from behind him.
“Look, look! Compared to the other cars, that Wuling Hongguang is crawling off the line like a turtle. It’s already been dumped in last place the moment the race starts. Hahahaha, this is too funny!”
“President Song, where did you find this living joke? Or is it that you saw we didn’t have enough money and deliberately came to give us some? Hahahaha!”
The group laughed without restraint.
To make it easier for everyone to clearly see the situation of each car, the large screen in front of them had been deliberately split into eight smaller screens.
Song Qichen kept his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the lower-right screen showing Jiang Mian’s car, completely indifferent to the mockery around him.
When facing outsiders, Song Qichen had always been like this. Silent, calm, and rational, with not the slightest trace of emotion visible on his face.
Even many seasoned veterans in the business world had complained that although Song Qichen was young, he was frighteningly steady. At the negotiation table, you would never be able to read even the smallest change of emotion from his face.
The moment business was discussed, he became like a peerless master who had severed all emotions and desires.
She was definitely the kind of business partner who was extremely hard to deal with.
Who would have thought that after spending only a few short hours with Jiang Mian, he would end up experiencing the most emotionally varied stretch of his entire life?
Seeing that no matter how they mocked him, Song Qichen’s expression never changed in the slightest, the people nearby immediately felt it was pointless. Even their laughter and jeers gradually quieted down.
Instead, Song Xiguang was the first to step over to Song Qichen’s side. “Ah Chen, Miss Jiang is probably going to lose… Looks like you really do like her. You’re usually so stingy, yet you’re willing to let two million go just like that for her…”
“Oh!!”
Before Song Xiguang could finish speaking, a burst of astonished cries suddenly erupted from nearby.
Not just them. Even Song Qichen immediately straightened his expression.
“Oh, oh!!! This woman…”
“My god, my scalp is tingling. She’s taking the turn. That turn was so sharp just now. Not only did the Wuling Hongguang not slow down, it actually accelerated. It almost flew out just now…”
“Heavens, is this woman trying to get herself killed?”
With just one bend, Jiang Mian successfully drew everyone’s attention squarely onto herself.
But if the first turn could still be dismissed as a fluke, then by the second and third turns, the Wuling Hongguang was completely unhinged.
Whenever others reached a bend, they instinctively slowed down for safety. She, on the other hand, accelerated like crazy.
Several times, the car nearly flew off the mountain. Yet every single time, at the very last moment, she managed to pull it back.
Because of this, even though supercars were faster and the Wuling was slower, after just a few bends, she completely caught up with the supercars ahead.
And at the curves, she directly forced the other cars to slow down, leaving them no choice but to let her pass first.
This life-risking driving style left everyone watching the screens utterly stunned. With every turn she took, their adrenaline surged uncontrollably higher and higher.
Just watching like this was somehow even more thrilling than racing themselves.
“Did… did any of the cameras catch the driver’s face?”
In the sudden silence, someone spoke up.
“Sh… should have…”
Hearing that, another person hurriedly pulled up the surveillance footage along the route.
The moment it was brought up, Jiang Mian’s face flashed across their screens.
How should it be described?
In the woman’s stark black-and-white eyes burned a sharp yet exuberant light. Her lips were slightly pressed together, the corners faintly lifted, like a cheetah on a vast grassland with its back arched taut, on the verge of striking. Wild and elegant, yet cold.
That seemingly casual glance toward the camera made almost everyone present involuntarily hold their breath for a split second. Immediately after, a dense wave of goosebumps spread across their backs.
When her car shot past like a blur, everyone finally let out a collective breath.
Silence spread, and no one knew how long it lasted.
“Cool!”
An admiring exclamation rang out by everyone’s ears.
“My god, I’ve grown this old and I’ve never had my whole body shudder just from someone’s gaze. My heart is beating so fast!”
“Did you see that? She’s driving a Wuling Hongguang and has already left all the supercars behind. I’d say there’s no suspense at all about who’s winning this race!”
“With skills like that, I’d lose without a single complaint, okay?”
“Wow! Heaven knows, I was just cheering for her out loud!”
…
Amid the surrounding chatter, Song Qichen could no longer hear a single word. He continued to stare fixedly at Jiang Mian’s car on the screen, his brows faintly knit, giving no one any clue what he was thinking.
On the other hand, seeing this, Song Xiguang subconsciously clenched his fists.
Why was the world so unfair!!!
The Banshan Road was not very long. After completing one lap, the racing cars soon drove back.
Knowing that the cars were about to reach the finish line, hardly anyone stayed indoors to watch the big screen anymore. Everyone rushed outside and stood by the roadside, waiting for the eight cars to return.
As the cars drew closer, applause, whistles, and clapping rang out one after another, nonstop.
Sure enough, Jiang Mian’s Wuling Hongguang was the first to cross the finish line.
The car had barely come to a stop when, before Jiang Mian could even get out, Song Qichen yanked open her car door and climbed in.
Seeing him, Jiang Mian was just about to greet him when Song Qichen suddenly grabbed her wrist and slammed it down against the seat behind her, his whole body pressing in close.
The distance between them was extremely close, so close that she could even feel his slightly rapid breathing, so close that she could count his eyelashes.
Having just finished driving, Jiang Mian truly had not been prepared. She was caught off guard and restrained by Song Qichen. Feeling the strength of his grip around her wrist, Jiang Mian lifted the corner of her mouth, a teasing remark just about to leave her lips.
“Do you want to die that badly? Didn’t I say before that losing didn’t matter? What were you doing just now? Do you have any idea that if even the slightest mistake had happened at any point, I’d be visiting your grave this time next year!”
In his fury, Song Qichen spoke without much restraint.
His words and his expression both left Jiang Mian genuinely surprised.
Truth be told, growing up without parents and with only a master by her side, Jiang Mian had genuinely never heard this kind of near-scolding concern before. After the apocalypse, even her one and only master had died. Because her combat strength was high enough, there was even less reason for anyone to speak to her like this.
Mm, it was a very novel feeling.
The corners of Jiang Mian’s lips lifted slightly. Then, as if possessed, she suddenly broke free of Song Qichen’s restraint and reached out to pinch the flesh of his cheek. “Hey now, didn’t I come out fine? I know my limits. Nothing was ever going to happen! I even helped you win money. That should be over twenty million, right? Are you happy?”
Song Qichen: “……”
“Happy or not? Happy or not? Happy or not? Happy or not?”
Jiang Mian asked cheerfully, again and again.
Song Qichen: “……” Ah, he was completely defeated.
The man took a deep breath and leaned back against the seat behind him. Only then did he realize just how tightly his muscles had been tensed all over his body, and how fast his heart had been pounding.
Once he relaxed, he even felt a bit mentally drained.
Even though he had not known Jiang Mian for very long, they had still spent a fair amount of time together. He truly could not bear to watch something happen to her right in front of him.
“Next time, you’re not allowed to do something this dangerous again, understand?”
“Mhm!”
Jiang Mian nodded obediently.
“I want to hear your answer.”
“Got it.”
“I can’t hear you.”
“Got it!”
“Didn’t you eat? Your voice is so… ahem. What I mean is, this concerns life and death. Your attitude should be a bit more serious. Don’t you think that makes sense?”
The instant he caught the half-smiling, half-amused look Jiang Mian shot over, the previously righteous Song Qichen panicked internally and hurried to patch things up.
“Hmph.”
“I’m doing this for your own good!”
“Alright, alright, you’re so long-winded…”
Song Qichen: “……”
Who exactly was he doing all this for??
Why was it that despite never having even been in a relationship before, he now felt like a miserable old father lecturing a rebellious teenage daughter in the throes of adolescence?
Ah, his head was about to split!
Once the race ended, aside from Jiang Mian and Song Qichen, everyone else was a loser. The math was simple, so it very quickly reached Song Qichen’s favorite segment: collecting the money.
The hot-tempered bald man Zhang Fei, who had lost both his race and his money, looked at Song Qichen standing in front of him with a blank expression and an infuriatingly punchable face, and felt utterly irritated.
“I’ll give it to you tomorrow!”
Song Qichen did not move and continued standing right in front of him, his meaning crystal clear: pay up.
That immediately caused a surge of nameless anger to rise in Zhang Fei’s chest.
“I said tomorrow, tomorrow! Are you deaf?”
Yet Song Qichen still stared at him without even blinking.
So angry that he slapped his own bald head, Zhang Fei began pacing in circles on the spot. “Fine, fine, I’ll give it to you! Look at you, acting like a debt collector! I’ll use my watch as collateral. A Patek Philippe. It cost me 2.2 million when I bought it. I’ll give it to you. I’ll give it to you, alright?”
Seeing this, Song Qichen took the watch, flipped it over and examined it carefully, then once again extended his hand toward Zhang Fei. “The watch is only ninety percent new, so it can’t be calculated at the original price. There are scratches on the strap, and one diamond is missing from the dial. Based on depreciation rate and net salvage value calculations, it comes to 1,999,999.5. So…”
Song Qichen paused briefly, then looked at Zhang Fei with an utterly sincere expression.
“You still owe 0.5 yuan.”
Zhang Fei: “……”
Yao Qi: “……”
Song Xiguang: “……”
The other onlookers: “……”
“Wh… what did you say?”
Zhang Fei froze in place in disbelief. He seriously suspected something was wrong with his ears.
Seeing this, Jiang Mian stepped forward two paces. Before Zhang Fei could react, she grabbed his ear and pulled it outward, shouting loudly, “He said… you still owe 0.5 yuan. Did you hear that?”
After yelling, Jiang Mian immediately let go of Zhang Fei’s ear, which was this close to turning to stone, and walked back toward Song Qichen while muttering under her breath. “This is really hopeless. So young, ugly enough already, and now his ears don’t work either. Tsk.”
Zhang Fei: “……”
Yao Qi: “……”
Song Xiguang: “……”
The other onlookers: “……”
Song Qichen: “……” ‘Pfft.’
Zhang Fei’s lips trembled and trembled, and no one knew how long they had been shaking.
In the end, the man completely lost it. “Ha, haha, hahahahaha fck, hahahaha! 0.5 yuan, right? 0.5 yuan. I’ll give you 0.5 yuan. 0.5 yuan!”
On the verge of a breakdown, the bald man laughed nonstop while frantically patting himself all over.
“Fck, hurry up and look. See if anyone has cash on them. Fcking find some money for me right now, hahahaha fck, fck!”
The way the bald man laughed and cursed at the same time made him look completely insane.
The group searched themselves from head to toe. In the end, it was Yao Qi who dug out a crumpled ten-yuan bill from his pants pocket and handed it to the bald man.
The bald man snatched it over and threw it straight at Song Qichen.
“Fcking ten yuan, is it enough or not, fck? Huh? Is it enough or not?”
The bald man was furious beyond measure.
After taking the money, Song Qichen lowered his head and started fiddling with his phone.
Less than ten seconds later, amid the silence, a sweet female voice slowly sounded.
“WeChat received 9.5 yuan.”
The sound came from the bald man’s phone.
“Now it’s exactly right.”
Only then did Song Qichen unhurriedly put his phone away.
Zhang Fei: “……”
Yao Qi: “……”
Song Xiguang: “……”
The other onlookers: “……”
“You… ha, you you… ahahaha, ahhh!”
Pointing at Song Qichen with a trembling finger, the hot-tempered bald man Zhang Fei was finally pushed completely over the edge. Clutching his bald head, he screamed incoherently and ran off.
“He’s ugly, and he sounds awful when he screams too. What’s wrong with him?”
Jiang Mian asked.
“No idea. Maybe he just didn’t want to give me those 0.5 yuan.”
Song Qichen put himself in the other man’s shoes for a moment and answered seriously.
Song Xiguang: “……”
The onlookers: “……”
Yao Qi: “……”
What had Zhang Fei ever done wrong, to be fortunate enough to encounter both of you—Wolong and Fengchu[1]Wolong (卧龙) and Fengchu (凤雏) are famous nicknames from Romance of the Three Kingdoms, referring to the brilliant strategists Zhuge Liang (Wolong, “Crouching Dragon”) and Pang Tong … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1735239_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1735239_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });—at the same time?
He—he was so moved he was about to cry!
Sob. Sob. Sob.
References[+]