Chapter 26: Midnight Frenzy

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At half past midnight, the engines roared along the mountain road. The race was about to begin, and every car was warming up.

The course would follow the twisting Jesus Nine Bends Road straight to the Catholic church, then on to Sheshan Bell Tower, and return along the same route—a total of 110 kilometers. The most dangerous and challenging part of the entire course was the Jesus Nine Bends, where the curves were so sharp that some reached a staggering three hundred degrees. This was where the race would be won or lost.

The course record stood at thirty minutes and fifty-two seconds, held by Qinglian Zhuo.

Xiao Cheng and Qinglian Zhuo sat in their car, engine idling. Another car slowly rolled up beside their sports car. A window slid down, and a head leaned out, calling to Qinglian Zhuo, “Hey, beauty!” It was none other than Qianfan Tang.

Xiao Cheng glanced over to see a young man dressed with extravagant flair. He didn’t know what had happened before, but seeing this man boldly flirt with Qinglian Zhuo right in front of him irritated him.

“Beauty, betting money on racing is so dull. Why don’t we make it more interesting?” Qianfan Tang’s peach blossom eyes narrowed, his self-assumed charming smile directed at Qinglian Zhuo. He completely ignored Xiao Cheng, as if he wasn’t even there.

“Alright,” Qinglian Zhuo replied with a mischievous smile. “If I win, you’ll strip naked and crawl out of Shanghai. If I lose, I’ll have a drink with you. How about it?” Anyone familiar with her would know that this playful look was a sure sign she was about to get dangerous.

“Deal!” Qianfan Tang laughed, surprised by her straightforwardness. As for being forced out of Shanghai if he lost—did he really think he could lose?

Xiao Cheng frowned, displeased, and rolled up the window.

He knew Qinglian Zhuo’s personality well; she played by her own rules and never cared about what others thought. Still, she never acted too outrageously, and even if she lost, she certainly wouldn’t honor such a ridiculous wager.

But to so casually wager a drink with another man, even if it would never happen, still annoyed him.

“What’s wrong? Are you upset?” Qinglian Zhuo noticed his mood and looked at him with a teasing smile.

Though she always championed her own freedom, knowing that Xiao Cheng cared enough to be upset pleased her. What woman didn’t want to be cherished?

“I don’t want anything like that to happen again. You’re not an object—don’t let yourself be used as a wager.”

“He can’t win anyway. And even if he did, he’d have to live long enough for me to have that drink with him,” Qinglian Zhuo replied, her smile blossoming like a flower.

Indeed, even if he managed to win, he’d have to survive to collect his prize. Her nickname, the Black Widow, was not for nothing.

“I just don’t like it,” Xiao Cheng muttered, clearly annoyed.

“Alright, alright, I know you care about me. The race is starting soon—let me drive, will you?” Qinglian Zhuo said, as if it was only natural.

She was sitting in the passenger seat, Xiao Cheng behind the wheel. To her, it was obvious that she, a skilled driver, should be the one racing.

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“What? You want to drive? I never agreed to let you. I’ll drive myself!” Xiao Cheng had never intended for Qinglian Zhuo to take the wheel. He hadn’t even expected to meet her here tonight.

He knew her skills were impressive, but he was on another level now—no ordinary racer possessed innate peak-level spiritual sense.

His spiritual sense, at its peak, could cover a radius of a hundred meters, giving him a kind of omniscient radar. He could anticipate his opponents’ moves, putting him in an unbeatable position.

“You want to drive?” Qinglian Zhuo was taken aback, her smile fading slightly.

She knew Xiao Cheng’s driving well—good enough to hit someone, perhaps, but hardly competent for racing.

She’d always assumed Xiao Cheng placed such heavy bets because he trusted her abilities. Only now did she realize he intended to drive himself. It wasn’t just a question of winning—she doubted he’d even make it back safely.

Her earlier bravado—offering a drink if she lost—was based entirely on confidence in her own driving. Sure, she could take care of Qianfan Tang afterwards if needed, but rumors would spread, and she’d never truly considered losing.

“Have some faith in me—or at least in your own judgment,” Xiao Cheng said with a smile, sensing her concern.

Qinglian Zhuo glanced at him and quietly fastened her seatbelt. If he wanted to play, so be it. At worst, they could deal with Qianfan Tang later.

“Fine, just don’t lose your darling sister!” Qinglian Zhuo stretched lazily, her ample chest straining against the seatbelt.

...

As the race queen’s high heels left the track, the midnight race began right on schedule. All eight sports cars shot forward together, engines screaming into the sky.

The circuit started wide but narrowed drastically once they hit the mountain, barely accommodating two cars side by side. The order in this opening stretch was crucial—once on the mountain, overtaking became nearly impossible.

Xiao Cheng’s Lamborghini was untouched by modifications and lacked the explosive power of the others, putting him in last place right from the start. But he wasn’t in a hurry. The real test lay ahead in those nine harrowing bends.

Racing wasn’t just about speed. Cornering and overtaking tactics were more important, especially when the mountain roads forced everyone to slow down.

“If I were driving, those bastards would’ve been left in the dust,” Qinglian Zhuo muttered, disappointed as the distance to the other cars grew. She’d hoped Xiao Cheng would surprise her, but it seemed not.

Xiao Cheng only smiled, stealing a glance at her curves, accentuated by the seatbelt, and offered no explanation.

After about five minutes, the cars ahead entered the mountain road, slowing down. Xiao Cheng, however, kept up his speed and charged forward. As he closed the gap, the car ahead swerved erratically across the narrow track, blocking his way.

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Xiao Cheng smiled, locking onto the driver’s movements with his spiritual sense, and barreled forward without slowing. When he was five meters behind, he feinted right to overtake; as expected, the driver immediately turned right to block. At that very moment, Xiao Cheng swung back left and floored the accelerator.

Because he’d anticipated the driver’s actions with his spiritual sense, there was a split-second window—the driver simply couldn’t react in time. Xiao Cheng slipped by on the left, overtaking with ease.

Qinglian Zhuo watched Xiao Cheng pass with surprising ease and was slightly taken aback, but thought little of it. Feints were basic skills every driver mastered.

The climb up the mountain was uneventful. Xiao Cheng drove unremarkably, without any flashy moves, using three awkward feints to overtake and reach fifth place.

Now, Qinglian Zhuo finally realized something was off. She’d seen through all of Xiao Cheng’s feints—they truly were feints, and terribly obvious ones at that. Yet, he’d managed to overtake skilled drivers with such clumsy tricks.

She knew those drivers weren’t easily fooled—they had solid technique and wouldn’t fall for such basic ploys.

But Xiao Cheng seemed to anticipate every move, slipping past as if he’d planned it with the other drivers. No matter if they believed his feints or not, he always found a gap. It was uncanny, as if the others were making way for him.

Qinglian Zhuo couldn’t figure out how he pulled it off.

Sixteen minutes in, Xiao Cheng finished the course and began the return leg. The key lay in the return: with downhill slopes, the nine great bends became even more treacherous—a single misstep could send a car flying off the track.

As he entered the downhill stretch, Xiao Cheng kept his speed steady. Soon, two cars came into view ahead, driving side by side on the narrow road.

There was barely enough room for two cars to drive abreast, and these two blocked the route entirely—no one could get past unless they took flight.

Qinglian Zhuo frowned. Even she would find this situation nearly impossible to overcome. She was deeply annoyed. Racing was racing; why resort to such shameless tactics? This was exactly what she despised.

“Xiao Cheng, let’s just give up. The wager doesn’t matter to us anyway,” she said, glancing at him in concern.

“Give up? I have no intention of losing,” Xiao Cheng replied with an easy smile.

He wouldn’t bet so much unless he was confident of victory. He needed this cash—he was counting on it to buy that piece of golden star-patterned steel. Besides, as a man, if he lost and his woman had to drink with another man, what dignity would he have left? He refused to be humiliated.

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