Chapter 21: Investing & Driving.

Hao Ren reached the Empress International Office and parked his car carefully in the visitor's spot and left to serve his wife. The vehicle attracted a lot of gazes and a lot of camera shutters. Hao Ren did not know that he was clicked by some people while exiting the vehicle.

He came to the top floor with the tiffin, Han Lingshi had told the people that he can use her personal elevator to come to her office whenever he wanted. This gesture showed a lot of trust and acceptance towards Hao Ren.

The young man knocked on the door and a soft voice sounded, "Come in."

Hao Ren peeked inside and said, "Food Delivery."

Han Lingshi raised her head and was stunned, she was not surprised to see Hao Ren here, but by the changes in him. Although the system made it so that the changes seem nothing odd, but Han Lingshi was still surprised. Hao Ren came inside the cabin, and set up the tiffin and chopsticks on the coffee table in the cabin.

Han Lingshi woke up and asked hurriedly, "Why are you here? Are you not injured?"

Hao Ren shook his head and said, "I am fine, now you come here."

Han Lingshi was already hooked with the aroma of the food and complained, "You will make me fat."

Hao Ren replied, "Good, then no one would want you and you will be stuck with me."

Han Lingshi rolled her eyes and said, "In your dreams."

She had just taken a bite when someone barged inside the office. Hao Ren looked up and found Maria who was surprised. He nodded to her in a greeting and Maria asked, "What is he doing here?"

Han Lingshi frowned at her best friend and asked, "What do you want?"

Maria realized that she has again acted insensitively, and said, "Well, Carlos Ricardo bailed on us. They signed with Streak F1."

Han Lingshi stopped eating her food, and Hao Ren raised his brow as he asked, "Ahem, Miss Maria, could you be talking about Carlos Ricardo, the world champion racer?"

Maria nodded and asked, "You know him?"

Hao Ren shrugged and said, "Only as a race car enthusiast. He clocked the fastest lap at Bahen race track. He was driving a Streak Stingray, no?"

Han Lingshi nodded and said, "Recently, Chariot Motors have been developing a hybrid automobile for race tracks. We wanted Carlos to be the driver for it. The engineers have said that this car can change the face of automobile industry, but now that Carlos has moved away, we will have to look for another driver."

Hao Ren nodded and asked, "That is not hard, you can check with others, right?"

Maria rolled her eyes and said, "The car we have is untested and someone will have to tune it. The established racers do not want to risk themselves in a test project, while the new guys do not have any experience."

Hao Ren thought for a bit and asked, "Even domestic drivers are denying? Why?"

Maria replied, "The struggle between Empress and Crown, their agents do not wish to put the drivers in any difficult situation."

*Ding: Task issued, help your Wife with the project. System will give you a temporary drive assist card*

Hao Ren closed his eyes asked, "Anyway I can help?"

Maria scoffed and asked, "What can you even do?"

Hao Ren did not mind her sarcasm and said, "I can drive."

Maria chuckled and Han Lingshi said, "Maria, enough. Hao Ren, thank you for your good intention but we cannot bring just anyone as a driver, only investors can recommend that, and I have used my only chance."

Hao Ren asked, "Who is the other investor?"

Maria raised her brow and asked, "You gonna talk to them? Forget it, they have been trying for a month but they hold an even small share than us, who will listen to them."

Hao Ren thought and asked, "What is the project valuation and how much profit can you get out of it?"

Han Lingshi raised her brows and probed, "What are you even thinking?"

Hao Ren replied, "I have ten million on my hand, and if you do not mind, I would like to invest it and recommend myself as a test driver. You can decide then if I am suitable or not. Even if I fail, I will still make a profit when the project rolls out."

Maria was surprised and asked, "Why? What do you get out of it?"

Hao Ren sighed and said, "Men are simple creature. One, I get to make money. Two, I get to drive a car around on a race track and no fucker in the world would tell me to slow down."

The two ladies were surprised, when Maria received a call. She went to the side to answer, and Han Lingshi asked, "Hao Ren, I do not wish to put you down, but do you even know how to drive properly?"

Hao Ren raised his brow and took out a key fob from his pocket and his driver's license from the wallet. He said, "This is the car I got today, do you think I would have bought it if I did not know how to drive?"

Han Lingshi was surprised, when Maria said, "Lingling, we need to head to the race track, the chief engineer is raising a ruckus and he is threatening to leave the team."

Han Lingshi sighed and Hao Ren picked up the key as he said, "I'll drive you there."

For Hao Ren this was simply a god send situation. He was thinking where to invest his money, and this project seemed to be a good opportunity that fell in his lap. If he managed to help Han Lingshi then the award from the system would not be a small one.

The two ladies were skeptical but they did not say anything. Hao Ren sounded very confident of himself, and when they came to the parking lot, Maria took in a deep breath while Han Lingshi asked, "When and how did you get the Wisp?"

Hao Ren fed her the crypto coin nonsense, and even showed her the e-mail conversation with the other party and a soft copy of an agreement that was available in his phone gallery. He had to commend the system for being thorough in background details.

The car body was mainly painted white, with a black and red combination in the center of it. (You can see it in the paragraph comment)

Maria said, "I will test your driving."

That said she walked forward but Hao Ren scoffed and said, "Miss Han will be the only one I will drive. You may take your own car."

Maria glared at him in rage, while Han Lingshi felt happy by what Hao Ren said. Maria was about to say something when Han Lingshi said, "We are getting late, lets go."

She walked up to the car, Hao Ren pressed the button on the key fob and the doors opened while the head lights blinked. Maria could only watch the two of them as she got in her own car to follow them and mumbled, "I will remember this Hao Ren, as long as you slip up once, I will make sure you never get a chance to stand up."

Hao Ren did not care about her. Han Lingshi got inside the car, and admired the luxury interior. However, she frowned and said, "This red and black combination is a bit too strong."

The young man nodded and said, "Miss Han, red and black are the staples of hornet company. They do not change them."

After saying that, he said in his mind, 'System, driver package.'

*Ding: Initiated. Duration of usage left: 120 minutes.*

Hao Ren knew it was temporary, and looking at the distance to the race track, he would manage to do it. He revved the engine and the car shot out like a bullet.

...

After an hour, Han Lingshi stepped out of the car with trembling legs. Hao Ren drove like a monster, there were chances for them to collide but every time, they came out unscathed. The twists and turns at those speeds were something that Han Lingshi could have never imagined.

Hao Ren walked up to her with some daze in his eyes, because even he did not know that the skill would allow him to reach such a level. He asked, "Miss Han, are you alright?"

Han Lingshi looked up and nodded, but her eyes looked like she was about to cry. Hao Ren shivered, he said, "I am sorry, Miss Han, I apologize. I should not have driven that fast. I was just excited that you were sitting in my car for the first time. I am sorry."

Han Lingshi heard him saying how he was excited and her fear was washed away by a ticklish feeling. She regained her composure and said, "No, no, its okay. I was just a little flustered."

The two calmed down, and fifteen minutes later, Maria pulled up beside them. She had a shocked expression on her face, when she looked at Hao Ren.

Han Lingshi said, "Come, let's go in, we are getting late."

Hao Ren was in hurry too, his temporary skill card was about to run out.