TL Note: (3/6)
“Is it not easy to find a girlfriend?”
Xiao Kesong, completely unconcerned about Chen Zemian’s life or death, slung an arm around his shoulders and said, “Just add a few more pretty girls. One of them will stick while you chat.”
Lu Zhuonian’s expression didn’t change at all.
Chen Zemian whispered, “I haven’t added them yet.”
Lu Zhuonian replied indifferently, “It doesn’t matter. Making friends is your freedom—add whoever you like.”
Chen Zemian: “…”
Ye Chen put a fist to his lips and coughed lightly to suppress a laugh.
Chen Zemian glanced at Ye Chen.
Ye Chen, kindly changing the subject, said, “It’s almost time. Let’s get on the track, Zhuonian.”
Lu Zhuonian nodded. “Yeah.”
Xiao Kesong turned and walked toward Ye Chen’s car.
Lu Zhuonian asked Chen Zemian, “I have another car here. Do you want to drive?”
Chen Zemian wasn’t too interested and replied, “I’ve never driven a racing car. I can’t keep up with you.”
Lu Zhuonian said, “I can drive slower.”
“Ah? What did you say?” Xiao Kesong, who was walking ahead, suddenly turned around—his speed rivaling that of a drug-sniffing dog detecting heroin. “What do you mean by ‘you can drive slower’? You didn’t say that when I wanted to race!”
Lu Zhuonian replied blandly, “Really?”
Xiao Kesong: “Yes!”
Lu Zhuonian’s expression remained blank. “I don’t remember.”
Ye Chen testified on Xiao Kesong’s behalf. “It’s true.”
Xiao Kesong complained, “Back then, they wouldn’t let me race. They said I’d overturn the car because I drove so shakily. Zhuonian even said, ‘Don’t worry. When I’m overtaking him, if I see an overturned car, I’ll call 120 for him.’”
As a friend, Chen Zemian knew he shouldn’t laugh.
But the line itself was hilarious—especially coming from Lu Zhuonian. Just thinking about his tone and deadpan delivery made it impossible to hold it in.
“That’s not what you said.” Chen Zemian’s eyes curved into a beautiful arc. He secretly poked Lu Zhuonian and teased, tilting his head, “Lu Shao can actually be this frivolous and arrogant?”
Lu Zhuonian coughed. “I was young back then.”
At that, Xiao Kesong nearly jumped in anger. He shouted, “Wasn’t that just last year?!”
Lu Zhuonian, who had an excellent memory, corrected him. “It was the year before last.”
Xiao Kesong narrowed his eyes, questioning each word. “You. Don’t. Remember. Can you?”
Lu Zhuonian: “…”
Xiao Kesong looked between the two of them and grew more suspicious.
Lu Zhuonian was so competitive—always striving to be number one in everything. How could someone like that say, “I can drive slower,” just to keep Chen Zemian company during a race?
Something was definitely off.
“There’s something going on between you two,” Xiao Kesong suddenly declared.
Chen Zemian immediately said, “No!”
The speed of his denial made Lu Zhuonian look slightly displeased.
Though Chen Zemian responded quickly, Xiao Kesong was not easily convinced.
“There’s definitely something going on,” he insisted.
Xiao Kesong clasped his hands behind his back and began pacing. “Before, it was just hard to make plans together, but we could still reach each other. But since last month, it’s been almost impossible to get through to either of you—and Zhuonian even took a sick leave…”
Chen Zemian held his breath and didn’t dare meet his eyes.
Lu Zhuonian, on the other hand, remained calm and expressionless. When Xiao Kesong looked his way, he even raised his eyebrows slightly, as if waiting to be questioned.
Between the two of them, it was obvious who was easier to interrogate.
Xiao Kesong picked the easier target. “Xiao Mianmian.”
Chen Zemian’s heart skipped a beat. “Huh?”
Xiao Kesong walked over slowly. “Where were you when Zhuonian was sick?”
Chen Zemian instinctively wanted to ask Lu Zhuonian for help but quickly realized he couldn’t give himself away. On the brink of exposure, he quickly made something up. “I was at home.”
“Whose home?” Xiao Kesong pressed.
“My home, my home!” Chen Zemian quickly pushed Lu Zhuonian toward the car. “Let’s go, let’s hit the mountain track!”
*****
The Fenglin International Track was built into the mountains, filled with natural obstacles—rocks, shrubs, shallow water—and featured high-adrenaline zones like a crosswind area and a cliff rockfall section.
At the black-and-white starting line at the base of the mountain, more than a dozen top-tier race cars were lined up like warhorses, their edges sharp and ready to strike.
They would begin at the base, ascend the mountain, cross a glass viewing bridge at the peak, dive through a viaduct over a valley, return to the start, and repeat five laps—totaling 310 kilometers.
Beep-beep-beep—
The warning sounded three times. The red countdown lights flashed, and the engines whined, like arrows straining against the string, ready to be loosed.
Lu Zhuonian removed his mask and looked sideways at Chen Zemian. “Ready?”
It was Chen Zemian’s first race. He clutched the seatbelt nervously. “Will it be fast?”
Lu Zhuonian nodded. “It will. If you’re not used to it, I can slow down.”
Chen Zemian gave him a wary glance. “You say that every time.”
Before the sentence finished, the countdown hit zero.
More than a dozen cars shot forward!
Chen Zemian was pinned back in his seat by the g-force. A red blur zipped by on the right.
Lu Zhuonian spun the steering wheel, and the V8 twin-turbo engine roared. The Koenigsegg One:1 dove into the inside lane with razor-sharp precision, instantly overtaking every car and racing far ahead.
In a blink, Chen Zemian had traveled five kilometers—but his soul felt like it was still stuck at the start.
Too fast.
It was like riding a roller coaster.
No, it was worse—roller coasters maxed out below 300 km/h. The Koenigsegg could hit 450 km/h.
It only took 20 seconds to go from 0 to 400 km/h.
That 200 million yuan was not wasted—every cent was surging in the gearbox, transformed into unrelenting power.
The dynamic neon lights flickered like breath, guiding the car through maple-lined curves and tight S-bends.
After just a few turns, Chen Zemian was already feeling nauseous.
In theory, it should be thrilling—but in reality… it was awful.
The helmet was hot and heavy, filled with the choking scent of leather and rubber, irritating his throat.
He coughed and lifted his visor. “Can I take off the helmet?”
“It’s dangerous right now,” Lu Zhuonian replied, glancing at the rearview mirror. “Wait until they pass us.”
From a distance, engine roars closed in. Two cars sped up and overtook the Koenigsegg from both sides.
The average speed was over 340 km/h. Though they looked far away, they closed in within half a second. Lu Zhuonian didn’t brake sharply but eased off the throttle, enough to let them pass safely.
Once the other cars were gone, he flicked on the hazard lights, slowed fully, and told Chen Zemian he could remove his helmet.
Chen Zemian immediately complied, rolling down the window and gulping fresh air.
Lu Zhuonian glanced at his pale face. “Feeling unwell?”
Chen Zemian slumped in the passenger seat. “Just… flustered from the speed.”
“Then I’ll go slower.”
Chen Zemian checked the time. “But driving too slow is dangerous. Each lap only takes about 20 minutes. The front-runners will catch up soon.”
Lu Zhuonian chuckled twice.
The sound was elegant and aristocratic—so infuriatingly rich and detached that Chen Zemian wanted to shout “Long live the Emperor!” and punch him in the face all at once.
It was that smug, capitalist laugh completely disconnected from the masses.
“What are you laughing at?” Chen Zemian asked, annoyed.
“Nothing.”
Because no one would dare lap Lu Zhuonian. They might overtake him, but no one would humiliate Beijing’s crown prince by lapping his car.
Even if he gave up on winning, the others would still trail behind his taillights, waiting for the final lap when they could cross the finish line—only after he did.
Chen Zemian had six things to say about that: “…”
He didn’t even want to imagine the scene—dozens of racers tailing them like an imperial escort.
“It’s like a royal parade,” he muttered, rolling the window back up. “You’d better drive normally. Otherwise, they’ll start wondering why you’re so slow.”
Lu Zhuonian said coolly, “Let them wonder. The Maple Forest track is beautiful. I like to take a quick look around while I drive.”
At first, it sounded like a reasonable excuse. But the more you thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.
Still, all they could do was speculate.
Ten minutes later, Xiao Kesong directly tagged Chen Zemian in their group chat:
Croissant is not bread: @Chen Gaoge, why are you driving so slow? I saw your taillights just now. Are you carsick?
Chen Zemian looked in the rearview mirror. No racing cars in sight.
That meant Ye Chen had slowed down on purpose after spotting them.
Moved by that loyalty, he messaged back: Sorry, speeding up now.
Croissant is not bread: No worries. If you’re carsick, I can walk with you in the woods.
Chen Zemian: Appreciate it, but no thanks. It’s dark—you might fall in a ditch.
Croissant is not bread: There’s a light strip on the Linxi plank road. Too bad it’s not the season. In summer, you could see fireflies. In autumn, the red maple is gorgeous. Let’s come back then.
Chen Zemian: You won’t be here. You’ll be abroad, bro.
Croissant is not bread: What, I’m going abroad, not dying! We can still go next year!
Chen Zemian laughed, genuinely touched.
Suddenly, Lu Zhuonian spoke. “Playing on your phone while dizzy?”
“No, just chatting with Xiao Shao.”
“Not chatting with me,” Lu Zhuonian said, expression neutral, like he was stating a fact.
Chen Zemian put down the phone. “You’re driving fast. Pay attention—there’s a rockfall zone ahead.”
Lu Zhuonian tapped the steering wheel. “It’s under 100 km/h, Chen Zemian.”
In a race where average speeds topped 300, 100 was practically crawling.
Even so, no one caught up.
Chen Zemian looked back again. “You’re enjoying this way too much.”
Lu Zhuonian smiled. “You can enjoy it too.”
Chen Zemian was confused. “What?”
“I can make them treat you the same way they treat me.”
Chen Zemian paused. “Let’s not.”
“Why not?”
“It gets boring, doing this all the time.”
At that moment, a strange vibration ran through the car.
Lu Zhuonian frowned, hands tightening on the wheel.
If this weren’t a brand-new Koenigsegg, he might’ve blamed engine buildup or tire pressure. But this was a pristine, two-month-old, top-of-the-line supercar.
And it had just started shaking.
Zheng Huaiyu had ordered this car for Chen Zemian—knowing who it was really for. No way he’d risk delivering a faulty car.
So what caused the vibration?
Outside, steep rock walls flashed past. Lu Zhuonian recalled the heavy rain and strong winds from recent days.
“Put on your helmet,” he said calmly. “There might be falling rocks.”
*****
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Author: LazyHermitGal
A Lazy Hermit Gal wondering in the void and falling into the translation abyss.
