Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Darkness Before Dawn

Wang Yining, the second driver for the Stellar Racing Team, is Mo Shu’s current girlfriend. She is also the younger sister of Zhao Yibin, known as Black Mirror, and the biological daughter of Zhao Kunlun, president of Kunsen Group. Stellar Racing Team and Kunsen Racing Team are bitter rivals in the 2017 GTCC Championship.

Wang Yu listened as Mo Shu recounted Wang Yining’s background, scarcely able to believe that such a plot straight out of a television drama was unfolding right before him.

“So… you and Wang Yining…” Wang Yu hesitated, unable to finish his sentence.

“Ah… we had a huge argument. We’re teetering on the edge of breaking up!” At the mention of relationship troubles, Mo Shu’s eyes brimmed with unshed tears.

“Don’t dwell on it. Take a few days off. No matter who ends up taking over Stellar Racing Team, we still have to finish the 2017 season, right?” Seeing his friend so despondent, Wang Yu’s heart ached.

Mo Shu forced a wretched smile and got up to walk to his room. His head hung low, his shoulders slumped in such a way that it was painful to watch, as if he had aged decades in a single day.

Perhaps Mo Shu’s path had been too smooth since his debut, or maybe his string of championships and his current position at the top of the season had lifted him too high, but now, falling from the pedestal, he was plunged into the icy shadows of despair, both body and soul.

Yet, as the old saying goes, “Good fortune never comes in pairs, but misfortune seldom travels alone.”

The next morning, Wang Yu had barely gotten out of bed when messages forwarded by friends flooded his phone, sending chills down his spine again and again.

“Stellar Racing Team’s financial chain severely broken, facing imminent dissolution!”

“Lead driver Mo Shu and teammate Wang Yining’s scandalous romance exposed!”

“Stellar boss Zhang Aimin nearly jailed for illegal fundraising, now hiding out in the hospital, refusing to show his face!”

“Kunsen Group, setting aside past grudges, steps forward in a crisis, preparing to invest heavily to help Stellar Racing Team out of trouble!”

If the phone weren’t his own, Wang Yu would have smashed it. So many malicious, slanderous messages had appeared overnight—there was no doubt that Kunsen Racing Team had seized this critical moment to stir up trouble and kick them while they were down with shameless tactics.

Since Zhang Aimin was hospitalized, Wang Yu had been left to handle every major and minor issue for the team. The daily workload, with him wearing so many hats, was already overwhelming. Now, with the championship looming and a slew of new problems erupting, his mind was muddled and chaotic, and only one word could describe his state:

Frustrated!

Ever since Mo Shu and Wang Yining’s quarrel, neither had been present at the team at the same time. If one was avoiding the other, the other was steering clear as well. Even the chief designer couldn’t gather both drivers to discuss final tuning strategies for the last race. Rumors began to circulate throughout the team, seriously undermining unity.

It must be said, Kunsen Racing Team’s tactics were ruthless. Looking back through history, how many formidable institutions and collectives, feared by outsiders, ultimately fell apart due to internal collapse?

Mo Shu sometimes wondered: was Wang Yining’s appearance from the very beginning the most crucial, important, and vicious move in Zhao Kunlun’s scheme? If he truly used his own daughter as a pawn, as a wager, Mo Shu would admit defeat, for that was shamelessness at its highest level.

Just as Mo Shu was lost in such bitter thoughts, gnashing his teeth, an unexpected visitor pushed open his door.

“Mo Shu, have you given up? Back when you were competing with me in the qualifiers, you weren’t so easily discouraged!”

It was Geng Hua, the lead driver for a rival team, who had long heard of Stellar Racing Team’s troubles but felt it inappropriate to interfere in another team’s affairs.

“Old Geng, how did I suddenly fall from heaven into hell?” Mo Shu, having lain in his room for ages, now poured out his bitterness upon seeing Geng Hua.

“Heh, are you waiting for me to give you some motivational talk?” Geng Hua joked, sitting at the foot of Mo Shu’s bed.

“Can you understand this feeling? I’ve achieved a bit, but I’m more miserable than I was in my years of disappointment.” Mo Shu looked haggard.

“How could I not? The higher you stand, the harder you fall. I was once hailed as a super-genius racer at my debut, but now I’ve earned the nickname ‘Eternal Third Place,’ haven’t I?” Geng Hua said with a self-deprecating smile.

“Heh, Eternal Third Place… Eternal Third Place…” Mo Shu finally smiled at Geng Hua. Drivers understand each other best.

“I came here today to tell you—you’ve misunderstood Wang Yining.” Geng Hua paused, then spoke with earnestness.

“…”

“Don’t act like you know it all. Let me ask you, why does Wang Yining have the surname Wang, not Zhao? Do you know why?”

“…”

“Do you know how much effort Wang Yining put into joining Stellar Racing Team?”

“…”

“If you’re unwilling to know anything, then let me tell you: to be with you, Wang Yining gave up Zhao Kunlun’s financial backing, and abandoned the chance to join the Belgium Sonic Racing Team. Would you like to hear the story?” Geng Hua was visibly agitated.

Mo Shu suddenly looked up, his face full of shock and astonishment.

Geng Hua sighed, calmed his emotions, and told Mo Shu everything he knew.

Night deepened. Geng Hua checked his watch and left alone. Mo Shu lay quietly, exhausted, yet Geng Hua’s words kept him from any peaceful sleep.

Regret filled him—regret for his rashness and simplicity. If Geng Hua hadn’t told him, he would never have known that Wang Yining had left Zhao Kunlun with her mother as a child, nor about Zhao Kunlun’s attempts to make amends later, constantly trying to please his daughter, only for Wang Yining to resolutely refuse.

Mo Shu, who had always thought his life was tough, now realized that many people, beneath their glamorous exteriors, were hiding unknown sorrows and bitterness.

He felt foolish—so foolish that he had let down Wang Yining, who trusted him so deeply.

…

Another morning dawned. For days, Wang Yu faced the team in anxiety, so exhausted he felt almost disembodied.

But as soon as he entered the team’s lobby, he sensed something different. Many employees wore rare expressions of confidence and joy.

“Brother! I told you, stiffen the suspension a bit more!” Mo Shu’s voice echoed from the workshop.

Wang Yu couldn’t believe it and listened closely.

“My goodness, brother! If the suspension’s stiffer, shouldn’t we increase the downforce?”

It really was Mo Shu! The sun must be rising in the west!

Wang Yu’s gloom vanished instantly. He whispered, “My God Mo! Have you come back?”

An employee passing by heard him and replied with a broad smile, “Good morning, Mr. Wang! Mo is back—and he’s not alone!”

Who else? Could it be…

“Miss Wang is back too. The two of them are studying the new Russel Rhine car, planning to transplant its best technology into ours!”