The young man leading them was called Xu Shuai. Tonight, he had called his friends here to race.
Tonight's champion prize was a white Shelby SuperCars (SSC) resting on the racetrack podium. It was worth 100 million yuan and was purchased through the combined efforts of these wealthy people.
This prize was the largest amount of money that their social circle could spend.
At the start of the race, Xu Shuai lost to a female racer who had been invited by a guy named Lin Yi.
"Lin Yi, you're shameless! How could you get a woman to race for you!"
The female racer who stepped out of the race car was a long-haired beauty.
Lin Yi was sitting to the side and smoking.
He grinned and said, "If you have the skill, you can also get a woman to help you race."
Xu Shuai and Lin Yi insulted each other for a while before the former came over to sit by Fu Tingyuan.
In a gloomy voice, he said, "Heck, that was the first round and I already lost!"
Xu Shuai had been racing for quite a while already and had not expected to lose to a woman in the first race. This was a blow to his ego.
"She's a professional," remarked Luo Nanchu. "How can you, a hobbyist, beat her?"
She raised her eyes and watched a few race cars hotly pursuing the woman's car.
Smirking, Luo Nanchu continued, "Seems like that SSC will be your friend's tonight."
Fu Tingyuan leaned back in his chair. Upon hearing these words, he turned to look at Luo Nanchu.
She was smiling indifferently.
The second round concluded with the female racer winning as well.
"Hey." Luo Nanchu patted Xu Shuai's shoulder.
Xu Shuai turned around and was dazed when he realized that it was Luo Nanchu. He instinctively turned to look at Fu Tingyuan's face.
He didn't know if his gut feeling was wrong, but his friend seemed to be especially chilly today.
It made the air around them feel much colder.
"Do you want to win?" Luo Nanchu asked with a smile.
"Do you have a way for me to win?"
Luo Nanchu nodded and replied, "Yeah, but what will you give me if you win?"
"Do you want that car as well?"
Luo Nanchu grinned and offered, "I'll give you the car, but you have to give me 10 thousand yuan. Deal?"
Xu Shuai's eyes lit up and he exclaimed, "If you really bag a win for me, I'll not only give you 10 thousand yuan—I can even give you a million yuan!"
The car itself was worth a 100 million yuan.
Fu Tingyuan's face darkened. He wrapped an arm around Nanchu's waist and held her tightly.
Knitting his brows, he said, "Stop fooling around."
Luo Nanchu turned around and smirked at him. "Nanchu is being self-reliant and getting her own money since Mr. Fu doesn't want to lend Nanchu money. Why is Mr. Fu acting so domineering?"
Fu Tingyuan's gaze fell onto her face, and he raised a hand to touch it.
"How are you going to secure a win for him?" he asked.
Luo Nanchu stood up and said to Xu Shuai, "Let me race the next round."
"You?" Xu Shuai was stunned.
"You're going to lose anyway, so does it make any difference whether you race or I race? If I can help you win, you will give me 10 thousand yuan. If I lose, mm… well, you were going to lose anyway." Luo Nanchu played with the hair that fell by her bosom and smiled deeply.
Xu Shuai was speechless.
In the end, he gnashed his teeth and said, "Sure!"
He was willing to try anything in such a desperate situation. He didn't want to go up again just to embarrass himself, and it didn't feel good to be effortlessly left in the dust for an entire circuit.
Luo Nanchu turned her gaze toward Fu Tingyuan and said charmingly, "Mr. Fu, I'm about to go race. Will you let me?"
Fu Tingyuan's gaze was incomprehensible as he stared at her for a while. Suddenly, he smiled gently and kissed her hand.
"Be careful," he said tenderly.
Currently, Luo Nanchu's greatest fear was this particular smile of his. It made her feel chilly all over.
She retracted her hand and excitedly headed to the racetrack.
Beside Fu Tingyuan, Xu Shuai watched Luo Nanchu's silhouette.
Smiling, he commented, "President Fu, that was very affectionate of you."
Fu Tingyuan shot a look at him.
Xu Shuai couldn't help but shiver from the chill.
Hm? Did he say something wrong?
Xu Shuai's car was a modified Ferrari 458.
On the racetrack, Luo Nanchu loosened her fingers and warmed up for a bit before getting into the car.
In the spectator seats, a gentle and refined-looking man raised his eyes and looked at the black Ferrari 458 on the racetrack.
Between his fingertips was a lit cigarette. The dense smoke from it clouded his face, enhancing the impenetrable gaze in his eyes.
A gunshot rang out.
On the racetrack, the thunderous rumble of car engines roaring to life was deafening. The black Ferrari 458 shot forward like lightning, immediately leading by a huge margin.
"The heck!"
Xu Shuai, who had been inattentively watching the race, swore softly and shot up from his sitting position in the spectator seats. He stared as his Ferrari amazingly took the lead while driven by Luo Nanchu, leaving the rest of the competitors in the dust by a few lengths.
In the end, only the female racer, who Lin Yi had invited, managed to catch up to Luo Nanchu, nipping at the tail of her car. At a turn, the Ferrari suddenly accelerated to top speed and shook off the female racer. The latter's car almost flipped over, but the Ferrari was already heading toward the finish line.
The Ferrari stopped after crossing the finishing line. After a moment of silence, the crowd erupted with thunderous cheers.
Xu Shuai rushed down from the spectator seats.
Upon seeing Luo Nanchu emerge from the car, he rubbed his hands excitedly and said, "Sister Luo, I never thought that you'd have such skill. Can you teach me later?"
Luo Nanchu looked behind her and saw the female racer get out of her car. Upon seeing that Luo Nanchu was looking at her, the female racer's face turned sour.
Luo Nanchu looked away and asked with a smile, "Do you have a smoke?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Xu Shuai enthusiastically fished out his cigarettes from his pocket. Luo Nanchu received a cigarette and placed it between her lips. Xu Shuai then took out a lighter and personally lit it for her.
Luo Nanchu took a deep drag on the cigarette before breathing out the smoke slowly. The sharp tang of tobacco burned her lungs. The thrill of the extreme speed from earlier still seemed to throb in her palms, and she narrowed her eyes slightly to reminisce about it before carelessly smiling.
This momentary flirtatious expression made Xu Shuai's heart skip a beat.
The next round was about to begin.
Luo Nanchu flicked the cigarette lightly with her fingers, cocked an eyebrow at Xu Shuai, and grinned.
"I will definitely get that car for you, so prepare the money. I want it in cash."
"Okay…" Xu Shuai looked at her beaming face and nodded dazedly. His voice sounded a little fluttery.
After Luo Nanchu got back into the car, Xu Shuai's phone rang.
Through the phone, Lin Yi said, "You should come back up if you still want your life tomorrow."
"Ah?"
"Whose woman do you think you're hitting on?"
Xu Shuai was stunned and reflexively looked up at the spectator seats. Fu Tingyuan was leaning against the railing with smoke wafting around him from the cigarette at his fingertips. He smiled down at Xu Shuai.
Xu Shuai shivered for a while due to that one smile.
…
The race ended, and the winners were naturally Xu Shuai's team.
After her defeat, the female racer did not race again. Luo Nanchu won every single round after that.
Since Xu Shuai won the SSC, he wanted to invite everyone to get drinks.
"Sure, sure." Luo Nanchu had made friends with the others and bobbed her head excitedly.
It had been a long time since she felt like this.
It felt like she had returned to the time from three years ago.
"Come here, Chuchu." Fu Tingyuan stood by the side of his car and stretched out a hand to her.
Upon hearing his voice, Luo Nanchu turned around. When her eyes saw him, Fu Tingyuan could feel Luo Nanchu snap out of something, like she had just had a revelation.
After a moment, her expression gradually relaxed as she smiled her usual smile while walking toward him.