F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 19 Intertwined
Zhou Guanyu seemed convinced that following this car would bring him profits, so he cunningly stayed close behind to pick up wallets, meticulously learning and imitating the route and driving style chosen by Shu Long.

With no obstacles ahead, the dragon, which had been feeling stifled for a long time, officially began its full-scale race. As a result, even though the rain gradually subsided as the race progressed, Zhou Guanyu still felt increasingly strained following the car.

This equally young driver has an excellent feel for the car. Every time the car shows the slightest sign of losing control, he nipps it in the bud before it's fully formed.

But that alone is far from enough. His lack of experience on wet tracks is a major weakness. Every correction he makes to the car is quick and precise, but the problem is that the frequency and number of corrections are just too many.

Without the car in front blocking Shulong's way to give him a chance to make mistakes, these meaningless little errors gradually accumulated into a huge time disadvantage. By the 16th lap, he couldn't even find Shulong's car in his sight.

Without the reference line ahead, Zhou Guanyu, whose lap time had slowed down, was unknowingly caught up by Louis, who had caught up from behind, and suddenly felt immense pressure.

Just as Shu Long crossed the finish line in first place, Zhou Guanyu, seeing the checkered flag being waved on the sidelines, felt a sudden tightness in his chest. On the sharp bend of Highway 10, he accidentally stepped on the gas too hard, almost replicating the whirlwind's performance while allowing Louis to overtake him.

After crossing the finish line, Shu Long took advantage of the slippery surface to drift around the track for a while, taking advantage of the fact that it wouldn't damage his tires. Just as he returned to the pit area, Shu Xiong, whose eyes were red with tears, grabbed him out of the car and tossed him up and down several times.

The tough-looking man's eyes were red and swollen, but he couldn't utter a single word. Zhang Xin, on the other hand, seemed calmer. More than the victory, she wanted Shu Long to quickly change out of his soaking wet racing suit.

"how do you feel?"

"Awesome! I want to experience this six more times this year!"

"I meant your clothes. Aren't you cold? Go back to the car and change!"

Shu Xiong, whose emotions had finally calmed down a bit, hurriedly stopped the mother and son in a hoarse voice. There was still an awards ceremony to come, and changing clothes now would be pointless, as they would get dirty again later.

Like all FIA-certified motorsport competitions, the awards ceremony is actually very simple. Everyone goes on stage, wears their medal and certificate, gives a thumbs-up, and takes a photo. Of course, there's also the so-called champagne-opening ceremony at the end.

For underage children, real alcohol cannot be used; instead, a non-alcoholic sparkling fruit juice is used.

Having never experienced anything like this before, Shu Long was unsure of the process and thought it was a reward for them to drink. He immediately gulped down a large mouthful, only to choke and cough.

Before she could even catch her breath, Zhou Guanyu, who was feigning innocence, drenched her face.

What are you doing?
Shu Long, who had been taught by his grandfather to avoid waste since childhood, was completely baffled. He saw Zhou Guanyu's smugness not last long before his signature Type-C mouth, which was grinning from ear to ear, was filled to the brim by Louis next to him.

At times like these, people of the same skin color should naturally stand on the same side. Shu Long gave Zhou Guanyu a wink, and the two shook their bottles and focused their attention on Louis, who was clearly much taller than them.

No matter how fiercely they fought on the field, at least for this moment, all the hostility vanished under the spotlight of victory.

That's right, that's it!
Shu Long glanced sideways at the unsuspecting Zhou Guanyu beside him, then immediately turned the gun around with a sinister grin and poured the remaining half bottle of sparkling juice down Zhou Guanyu's collar.
-
(The train conductor reminds you that the next stop is 2020.)

"hey-hey!"

Coming to his senses, Shu Long blinked twice, brushed aside Zhou Guanyu's hand that kept waving in front of his face, and laboriously pinched his brow with two fingers that were struggling to emerge from the gauze.

"What's wrong with you just now? Why did you suddenly stand there in a daze while we were talking?"

"I was thinking—have you never beaten me before?"

Zhou Guanyu was speechless. What was going on? This guy still had the mood to talk about this?

But then he frowned.

"You're talking nonsense! In 09, in which race did you ever beat me? I was the champion that year!"

"Huh? That counts? You already know what happened that year, didn't you? If my dad hadn't been colluding with the coach to tamper with my engine, I would have won back-to-back championships!"

The two argued heatedly about who won against each other in 09, and the harmonious scene of "brotherly love and respect" that had just been there almost turned into "filial piety" in less than 10 seconds.

Shu Long's surprises in 08 were not limited to his stunning comeback in the rain in the first race in Shenzhen. In the following six races, he continued his momentum and achieved an amazing record of seven wins in seven races throughout the year, winning the overall individual championship with an indisputable points advantage.

Zhou Guanyu's performance in his first year was commendable, but just like his true self in the first stop, he would always falter at crucial moments due to a lack of experience, and in the end he only achieved third place in the annual competition.

The second year was different. Shu Xiong and Zhang Xin were worried that Shu Long's consecutive victories would make him lose his sense of self and become arrogant, so they declined the club's invitation to continue representing the club, citing their studies as the priority, and instead participated in the competition under their own names.

At first, Shu Long was quite happy. However, participating in the club's races did not mean that he would not have to wear the uniform racing suit covered with sponsors. It was just that the "Pokémon" series helmet designed by Zhang Xin made him feel a little embarrassed at times.

However, after the race started, Shu Long realized something was wrong. His car seemed to have some kind of problem. Not only was the dynamics unstable on the corners, but even with the slipstream on the straights, he could not catch up with the naked eye. In the end, no matter how hard he tried, he could only manage to get third or fourth place in each race.

Could it be that you've gained so much weight over the New Year that you can't even pull a race car?
That is of course impossible.

Shu Long initially thought that because he didn't receive preferential treatment from the club, the other party wasn't taking the maintenance of the race car seriously. But in the end, he found out that it was much more than that. It turned out that his own father and the coach had been secretly adjusting the valves of his race car!

This means that even if Shulong's engine is of the same specifications, it often has several fewer horsepower than others due to incomplete fuel combustion.

Moreover, because they discovered that Shulong had a habit of not changing the preset settings of the race car, after finding that this brat could actually finish second in the first race, they would secretly adjust the wheel track and camber in every subsequent race, basically doing whatever was uncomfortable for him.

Unlike Shu Long, who struggled immensely throughout the year, Zhou Guanyu became increasingly resilient with each battle.

Not only did he win his first individual championship in 09, but in 10, in his first year in the NCJ-B group, he replicated the miracle of Shulong in 08 with a perfect record.

That year, Shu Long was stuck in the NCJ-A group because he was a year younger.

Having lost almost all his decent competitors, he casually picked a few races to have his fill, and the myth of winning every race he entered continued. But such victories were no longer of any value to him.

It was precisely this age difference that caused the overlap between Shu Long and Zhou Guanyu, two young drivers who started their careers around the same time, to have almost no overlap in their professional careers.

Except for 16.

Shu Long smacked his forehead hard with the back of his hand. He felt that this absent-minded state was becoming more and more frequent. With just a little prompting, he would involuntarily fall into memories of the past.

Is this a long-term consequence of a temporary resurgence of lucidity before death?

"Speaking of which, your performance in F2 this year was pretty good. Do you have a chance to move to F1 next year?"

"I don't know. Alpine promised me a test driver status next year, but there's been no response from other teams. Besides, I didn't win the championship this year, so I'd like to try again next year." Shu Long sighed as well.

This year's situation is indeed quite complicated, not only for the drivers, but also for most of the mid-to-lower-level teams.

The situation with twenty seats is very chaotic. The number of drivers is already oversaturated. A large number of active and reserve drivers are still unable to find jobs, not to mention Zhou Guanyu, who has not won a championship this year and is not even a reserve.

"Then you'd better step up your game. The hopes for Chinese motorsports might just fall on your shoulders again."

"Huh? Are you kidding me? What do you mean by this? I'm here for you."

Zhou Guanyu's expression turned solemn. Shu Long's words just now sounded more like his last words—his final words about his racing career.

"Tell me honestly, what exactly is the situation with your injury?"

"What? What are you thinking? It's just a minor burn, not even moderate. If you don't believe me, you can go after Mr. Steiner. He's taking my report to my family to share the good news."

"Then why did you say those things just now? Has your Dao heart shattered?"

Seeing Shu Long earnestly raising his middle finger and rolling his eyes speechlessly, Zhou Guanyu felt relieved.

Zhou Guanyu was still reeling from witnessing his teammate Huber's tragic crash from behind. He was genuinely worried that this accident would become a mental block for Shu Long, causing him to abruptly end his racing career.

Especially now that Shu Long's mental state is clearly abnormal, who would suddenly freeze up while talking? He looks like he has Alzheimer's.

Shu Long proudly waved his two bruised hands, but before Zhou Guanyu could react, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"You've seen it yourself, haven't you? Given my condition, I won't be able to play in the next two games, and whether I'll even have a job next year is another matter."

"How is that possible? I saw the news outside saying that you were already booked to be recalled and the contract was already signed. Now everyone is talking about how many years you will be signed for."

"Sign me? They're just leaving me hanging! I have no advantages right now, and compared to them, my sponsorships are practically nonexistent. For drivers like us who haven't won a world championship or a division title, who's even remembering us once we leave the paddock? It'll be difficult for us to come back!"

"What the hell are you talking about! Haas cars are in such bad shape this year, and you, a Martian who can score points at every station, are you worried about not finding a job? They'd be fighting over you!"

Zhou Guanyu seemed to want to say something more to wake up this lazy bum with a dejected look in front of him, but Shu Long chased him away without saying a word.

Some emotions don't need to be comforted by others; they can only be slowly licked in one's heart.

Once a wound is exposed, even the slightest touch of a caring breeze will only bring another stinging pain.

"Buzz~"

"do not bother me!"

"Buzz~" The phone in my pocket vibrated twice more persistently.

"Tsk! Who the hell is this? Don't they have any common sense? Do I look like I can use a phone? Huh?"

"Buzz~"

"Zhou Guanyu! Zhou Guanyu, where are you? Come back here! You bastard, you just left like that? You're really fast!"

He limped over to find a stool and sat down. It took Shu Long a lot of effort to slowly pull the phone out of his pants.

With his hands so bandaged up, he couldn't hold his phone properly, so like an idiot, he trudged over to the front desk and found a spot to use. This spot was more comfortable; he didn't have to tilt his head and strain his neck.

WhatsApp is flooded with new chat bubbles, from former teammates, engineers they've worked with, and of course, the current drivers.

They all came to check on him; before this, Shu Long had no idea he was so popular.

Shu Long is the type of person who won't send a message to others for years unless they reach out to him first, so his chat boxes are usually all black.

But once someone on the other end starts talking, things get really interesting.

When someone sends a message, Shulong can quickly reply with four or five messages, all of them long and detailed, as if he's pouring out everything he has to say.

Not only does it hurt other people's eyes to watch, but I also get dragged into having a conversation that lasts for half an hour every time.

Few can withstand Shu Long's talkative mode, so now, apart from Zhou Guanyu, Shu Long's social media accounts are basically in a state of fear and dread.

Shu Long was in a bad mood today, and he just gave everyone a perfunctory "I'm fine." When he went back, the person on the other end, whether out of consideration for Shu Long's injury or fear of triggering some bad memories, simply gave a brief response and then said nothing more.

Oh right, I almost forgot to mention someone else, Max!
On WhatsApp, Shu Long had saved his contact as Mr. Xide. He hadn't even replied to him yet, but chat bubbles were still popping up one after another.

From inquiring about safety, to explaining that he didn't see any accident at first, to saying how shocked he was, to complaining that the race was hastily ended with a red flag, and finally going through more than a dozen segments before circling back to asking about his physical condition and starting to talk about which hospital he thought was better.

It's basically just a short essay!
Shu Long's lips twitched as he casually scribbled a few lines; it was too long to read.

This is also a typical chatterbox, always finding something to talk about when there's nothing to say. Shu Long originally thought he was a night owl enough, but who would have thought there would be such a master in this world, who would often receive messages from him at 3 a.m.

Domestic car enthusiasts have always called Max "Tower Cannon" because of his extremely reckless driving style, but Shu Long has always felt that this nickname is more used to describe his mouth.

I first met him in 12, and I remember Max has been like this ever since then.
-
(The train conductor is tired; the next stop is a one-shot sequence spanning 12 years, culminating in the crucial moment of obtaining a super license.)

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(End of this chapter)