Chapter Ten: Turning Foes into Friends

“Who the hell are you? How dare you lay a hand on me!” Ai Chixiang screamed hysterically. A young man who seemed to have come with him stepped forward and whispered a few words in Ai Chixiang’s ear.

At first, Ai Chixiang listened impatiently, but after a few seconds, his expression shifted to seriousness. He pondered for a moment, then suddenly raised his head and stared intently at Wang Yining, his gaze lingering before he finally nodded toward her in disbelief.

“Ahem…” Ai Chixiang cleared his throat, his flickering eyes deliberately avoiding Wang Yining’s.

“Well… the lady who threw wine at me—since I am a man, I won’t hold it against you. You may leave.”

His attempt to de-escalate was laughable, considering he had just been pulling the hair of a much younger woman moments ago.

“But for the bastard who slapped me, I demand an explanation!”

Mo Shu heard this and a contemptuous smile appeared at the corner of his lips. This guy, clearly intimidated by that whispered warning, dared not provoke Wang Yining any further. He was the sort who bullied the weak and feared the strong, likely only picking on those without any backing, like Mo Shu himself.

“Alright, what kind of explanation do you want?” Mo Shu just wanted to resolve the dispute quickly and return for some dessert.

“For the sake of Wang Yu and this lady, I won’t beat you. But do you know who I am? I’m the number two driver for Kunsheng Racing Team!”

After all his shouting, only this declaration received a nod from Mo Shu. As the old saying goes, “The fish rots from the head down.” Kunsheng Racing Team seemed to be a textbook example.

“I heard you’re a racer too. Since we’re both in the business, let’s settle our grievances on the track. If you win, I’ll call you ‘brother’ from now on. If you lose, you’ll have to bow and step aside whenever you see me!”

It was an unfair wager, but Mo Shu didn’t mind and replied calmly, “Fine… But let me say this: no illegal racing, no harming innocents. Any other rules, you can set as you like.”

“Good! I’ll go fetch my car. Tonight, I’ll make you lose so badly you won’t know what hit you!”

Half an hour later, still within the South Zhong Auto Trade City, near the RAL restaurant, Ai Chixiang arrived at the entrance of a car dealership, driving a flamboyant neon yellow, heavily modified muscle car.

He lowered the window, shaking his head arrogantly as he glared at Mo Shu. But his gaze inadvertently landed on two RT500s parked behind Mo Shu, and he drew a sharp breath. Wasn’t this kid supposed to be penniless? Wasn’t he a photographer who’d just switched careers? Had he been misled by rumors?

Luckily, Ai Chixiang was shameless enough to brush it off and said thick-skinned, “Uh… well… no supercars allowed in this drag race!”

“What nonsense! Where did you ever hear that supercars aren’t allowed?” Wang Yining was itching to splash another drink at him.

Mo Shu waved it off, pulling Wang Yining behind him and whispering a few words to Wang Yu. Wang Yu hesitated for a while before reluctantly nodding.

“You don’t mind if I use that car?” Mo Shu pointed at Wang Yu’s newly purchased coupe.

Ai Chixiang was overjoyed, thinking he could win with his eyes closed. Newcomers were always too naive and overconfident.

He feigned reluctance, saying, “That’s a German-imported Carbon ALS—pretty potent, sure. But alright, I’ll let you have the advantage!”

Utterly shameless, Wang Yu and the others twitched with anger. Wang Yu’s hesitation was because the ALS couldn’t possibly match the straight-line acceleration of Ai Chixiang’s heavily modified muscle car. No matter how skilled Mo Shu was, he couldn’t overcome the gap in horsepower and displacement.

Yet Mo Shu remained supremely confident, wearing his trademark mysterious smile and signaling everyone to relax.

Behind this dealership was a vast test-driving lot. By day, it served customers trying out cars; by night, it became a haven for racing enthusiasts.

Entering the lot, Mo Shu and his friends were surprised to see others still racing so late.

The car looked familiar—covered in racing livery. As soon as it spotted newcomers, it spun around deftly, executing a flawless drift before stopping precisely in front of Mo Shu and his group.

The driver removed his helmet—it was Geng Hua.

Talk about bad luck; one Ai Chixiang wasn’t enough, now Geng Hua appeared. Mo Shu sighed inwardly.

“Geng Hua, brother?” Wang Qing, who hadn’t acted coy in ages, suddenly piped up.

Why did she call him brother too? Mo Shu and Wang Yu exchanged looks of deep dissatisfaction.

“Brother, Mo Shu, let me introduce you. Geng Hua was my senior when I studied in England. He’s an amazing driver—tons of fangirls at school. He really looked after me in the UK. Once, when I was bullied by foreign girls, he stood up for me.” Wang Qing’s sweet voice even brought a doting smile to the usually aloof Geng Hua.

“Pfft—great driving skills, but sportsmanship leaves much to be desired…” Mo Shu muttered under his breath, disdainful.

Unexpectedly, Geng Hua walked up to Mo Shu with openness and apologized, “Sorry for knocking you off the track today…”

Mo Shu said nothing, rolling his eyes.

Geng Hua lowered his head with a gentle smile and continued, “Someone tampered with my car this afternoon, so I really couldn’t brake in that hairpin turn. Sorry.”

Mo Shu was taken aback. Had Geng Hua’s sudden lack of defense in the last two laps been due to sabotage?

Geng Hua was a proud man. He wouldn’t lower himself to seek forgiveness unless he felt genuine remorse.

Now, having explained twice without response, he felt the sting of embarrassment, knitted his brows, and returned to his car.

Just as he was about to get in, Mo Shu called out loudly from behind, “I respect a real man who takes responsibility. A crash is nothing. Want to race together sometime?”

Geng Hua paused, a warm surge rising in his heart, but he kept his face cold and strode briskly to his car, agilely climbing in and starting the engine with a roar.

Mo Shu sighed, wondering if he’d hurt Geng Hua’s feelings by being so petty, but then saw Geng Hua perform another elegant drift, parking perfectly on the other side of the two RT500s.

Without planning it, everyone—including Geng Hua—wore Mo Shu’s cheeky, enigmatic smile.

“Hey, are you going to race or not? If you want to fool around, go home and pick up a bar of soap!” Ai Chixiang, as much as he was disliked, was full of quips.

“Give me a moment to tweak the car…” Mo Shu said, heading for Wang Yu’s ALS.

After a burst of clanging, Mo Shu dusted himself off and declared the race could begin.

Ai Chixiang, bored, adjusted his seat upright and peered out the window.

What?! Was this even an ALS anymore?

To put it bluntly, it was just four wheels supporting a seat.

Mo Shu had stripped the ALS down, keeping only the essential parts and discarding everything else.

Seeing Wang Yu’s bitter smile, Mo Shu apologized, “Once I win some money from racing, I’ll buy you a new one.”

Looking at this ALS with its distinct nineteenth-century automobile features, Ai Chixiang felt his hands and feet trembling involuntarily.

He began to wonder if he’d really provoked a monster this time.