CH 21

Chapter 021 Uncle

What does he mean by ‘compared to Lu Rong’?

Xu Xizhou always felt that this question was a bit weird, and he looked at Zhuang Jingchun suspiciously.

“Of course Lu Rong and you are different. But… why do you care so much about what I think?”

He blinked and stared somewhat teasingly at the man across from him.

“What’s up? You got too deep into character and wanted to turn the fake show into reality?”

Zhuang Jingchun narrowed his eyes slightly, and suddenly curled his fingers and knocked Xu Xizhou on the head.

“I’m reminding you to do your duty when you sign the agreement. Don’t get too involved with irrelevant people. So as not to spread rumors and ruin my reputation.”

Was he suggesting that Lu Rong has any thoughts on him?

Xu Xizhou suddenly shuddered. In his previous life, Lu Rong and he were two strangers who lived under the same roof, and they didn’t get along with each other from character to temper. It was understandable for Lu Rong to resent him, but if he liked him, that would be outrageous.

Xu Mei probably wanted them to have a good relationship, so Lu Rong had no choice but to be nice to him.

“Don’t worry, I will still honor the contract.” Xu Xizhou patted his chest as he made the promise, and leaned affectionately toward Zhuang Jingchun, his black eyes sparkling with anticipation.

“Is there anything delicious today?”

The boy’s shoulders were pressed against him, and this kind of unconscious intimacy made Zhuang Jingchun somewhat at a loss. He frowned slightly, sat a little further away from him, and took out a paper bag from under the seat.

“My mother made cranberry cookies.”

Ever since Jiang Xia learned about Xu Xizhou’s experience with the Lu family, she was very concerned about him. She made some snacks for Zhuang Jingchun to bring to him from time to time.

“Auntie is so kind.”

Xu Xizhou opened the paper bag, picked up a cookie, and tasted it. It was sweet and crispy. He narrowed his eyes in satisfaction.

Zhuang Jingchun stared at him with a smile in his eyes that he hadn’t noticed.

At this time, Melbourne.

Ren’s Enterprise Australia Headquarters.

Outside the president’s office, the special assistant opened the door and was about to put the documents in his hand on the desk when he saw something and his expression changed.

He picked up the ticket on the table and asked the new secretary outside.

“Who sent this race ticket?”

Seeing his serious expression, the secretary couldn’t help feeling a little uneasy.

“Special Assistant Liu, it was sent by a cooperation partner. Isn’t there a racing competition in Melbourne these days? The partner said there would be a Chinese racer and Mr. Ren might be interested in seeing it. Is there any problem with this ticket?”

The special assistant frowned and lowered his voice, “Do you know that Mr. Ren has a younger brother—”

“What’s wrong?” A deep and majestic voice sounded, and a tall figure in a suit came over.

“It’s just a race ticket. Why are you losing your temper with the little girl?”

Ren Junyun took the race ticket for the VIP box from the secretary and chuckled with nostalgia.

“It’s been so many years since anyone gave me a racing ticket…”

He was about to hand the ticket away when suddenly the phone in his pocket rang.

He glanced at the incoming call, his expression changed slightly, and he walked into the office.

“Have you confirmed that there are no bones in the lake? That’s great… Yes, I know that the next work will be difficult, and you will have to work hard… The cost is not a problem, it doesn’t matter how long it takes… Thank you very much.”

After the phone call, Ren Junyun put the ticket on the table and took out a photo frame from the drawer. Looking at the person with a pair of shining black eyes wearing a racing driver’s helmet in the photo, the man’s eyes were slightly red.

“A’Dian, don’t worry… we will definitely find him.”

Putting the photo frame back in the drawer, Ren Junyun’s eyes again fell on the ticket on the table.

Maybe it’s not a bad thing to go to a game.

Saturday, the F2 opener race.

The manager of the Lightning team was still immersed in the joy of qualifying on Friday. Both drivers in the team achieved good results. Howard started from pole position[1] and Xu Xizhou also performed well. He finished fifth in qualifying and is expected to sprint to the podium.

“Xu, you must stabilize your mind later. It’s fine to just accumulate points, don’t put too much pressure on yourself, okay?”

Before getting into the car, the team manager comforted him.

Xu Xizhou gestured OK to him. He got into the driver’s seat, put on his helmet, and took a deep breath. A figure in a smoky gray suit stood out among the crowd not far away, and he could feel that Zhuang Jingchun was looking at him. He smiled slightly and gave a thumbs-up in that direction.

Five red lights went out, and the race officially started.

From the first turn, there was constant friction. Obviously, many drivers have not adapted to the new cars of this season. Xu Xizhou, on the other hand, seemed at ease. He rushed out of the chaos of the first turn, and after reaching the straight lane, he took advantage of the wake ahead and passed the car in front smoothly.

The engineer’s surprised voice came over the radio.

“Xu, you did a great job. In front of you is Blake[2] from the Trey Team. If you pass him, you will be on the podium.”

Looking at the familiar orange-red racing car ahead, Xu Xizhou narrowed his eyes slightly. Blake, who was in front, naturally sensed his intentions. Blake was tightly stuck in every corner and did not give Xu Xizhou any chance to overtake him. The two cars drove out of the corner together several times in a row. The scene was very thrilling.

Zhuang Jingchun stared nervously at the silver racing car on the screen, his palms slightly moist.

After two laps, Blake and Xu Xizhou still bit each other tightly. They chased each other, so close it was impossible to tell who was in front. Xu Xizhou could almost imagine Black’s expression at this time. That guy must be gnashing his teeth in anger.

He simply gave up overtaking from the inside and quietly cut to the outside. Just when Blake triumphantly thought that he had gotten rid of Xu Xizhou, a streak of silver appeared in his field of vision in the rearview mirror.

Blake was shocked. In spite of the tricky angle, Xu Xizhou didn’t even rush out of the track. Was this guy really reborn[3]?!

Watching Xu Xizhou throw off the orange-red racing car, there was a burst of applause and cheers in the paddock.

In the VIP box, Ren Junyun, who was dressed in a black suit, stood on the stand and applauded.

The special assistant told him, “This No. 18 is called Xu Xizhou. He has just turned 18 years old. He is the only Chinese driver in F2. He was on the podium last year. It is said that he has a prospect of entering F1.”

Although he could watch the race at close range by sitting in the VIP box, all the racers wore helmets, so Ren Junyun couldn’t see everyone’s face clearly. It’s just that the silver figure seemed to inexplicably overlap with a figure in his memory.

“He’s only eighteen years old? So young.” The man sighed and put down the binoculars.

“You can make arrangements. After the race, I want to treat Xiao Xu to a meal. Ask him if he has time.”

“Yes, Mr. Ren.”

There were five laps left in the race.

Blake was still chasing after Xu Xizhou, but Xu Xizhou’s goal had now moved to the second place, Edward of the Unique Team.

There was only a hint of blue in his eyes. Lap after lap, he kept refreshing his fastest lap time. The distance between the two cars soon got closer. Suddenly, he heard a click, followed by a pungent smell.

“Xu, it’s a fuel leak…”

“I’m sorry… you need to slow down and stop immediately.”

Xu Xizhou’s mind went blank for a few seconds. He distinctly felt that the vehicle was losing speed, but the fuel leak… how did he encounter such a problem?

He was obviously just one step away from reaching the podium!

Xu Xizhou parked the car in the buffer zone, and he sat on the isolation belt blankly. In the rearview mirror, one car after another raced past.

Not long after, the engineer’s excited voice came over the radio.

“Howard got first place, great!”

Xu Xizhou turned off the radio and watched the maintenance truck drag the car away. He took off his gloves, pulled off the water tube on his body, and walked back to the P-room.

The team manager patted him on the shoulder regretfully, and comforted him, “Xu, don’t be discouraged, it’s not your fault. I will communicate with the technical department about today’s problem.”

Xu Xizhou remained silent. He was still wearing the helmet and walked into the lounge.

He sat hugging his knees for a while before realizing that there was another person in the lounge.

“Howard won the first place, you don’t want to go celebrate with them?” he asked, his voice muffled.

Zhuang Jingchun didn’t speak, just walked in front of him, leaned over, and took off his helmet.

Xu Xizhou subconsciously didn’t want him to see his face. He lowered his head and covered his eyes with his hands.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you.” His voice was hoarse.

“I’m not disappointed. On the contrary, I think you performed very well today, especially when you overtook Blake at the ninth turn.”

“Really?” Xu Xizhou looked up at him in disbelief.

The lights in the lounge were not on, and the curtains were half drawn. In the dim light, Zhuang Jingchun could clearly see the tears in Xu Xizhou’s eyes.

In an instant, his heart seemed to be hit hard by something.

Zhuang Jingchun replied with some difficulty, “Really, I…”

At this moment, a knock on the door suddenly interrupted the two of them, “Xu, are you in? Someone wants to see you.”

References