F1: In Ferrari, Schumacher at the start.

Wednesday afternoon, banquet hall of a luxury hotel in Shanghai.

"Snap! Snap!"

The blinding flashes of light formed a continuous barrage.

Lin Feng stood in front of the huge sponsor backdrop, maintaining a standard professional fake smile.

He was wearing a casual polo shirt paired with slim-fit black jeans, making him look very capable and dashing.

"Mr. Lin Feng, please look to your left!"

"Lin Feng, look over here! Hold up our latest model phone!"

It lasted a full three hours.

From the moment he entered, Lin Feng was arranged by Zhou Kai to shake hands and take photos with various executives and tech giants, and he also had to play those boring interactive games with the host on stage.

Compared to speeding at 300 kilometers per hour on the track, Lin Feng now feels that operating the platform is simply wasting his precious life force.

"call--"

After finally making it to the end of the event, Lin Feng walked into the backstage dressing room and collapsed onto the sofa as if all his bones had been removed. He then casually unbuttoned the top two buttons of his polo shirt.

"Alright, alright, stop acting like you're about to die." Agent Zhou Kai strode in, beaming, carrying a thick stack of letters of intent. He looked like a ruthless robber who had just robbed a bank. "Do you know how much money your face made for you in these three hours this afternoon? That's all pure cash, my goodness!"

"Brother Kai, even if you moved a mountain of gold here right now, I still wouldn't be motivated." Lin Feng rubbed his cheeks listlessly. "I'd rather go back to the simulator and run two hundred laps in a row. Chatting with those executives is too much of a brain drain."

Zhou Kai chuckled and poured him a glass of water, handing it to him: "Just bear with it. Who told you to be the undisputed top star in the domestic sports circle now? Okay, that's all for today. Go back to your room and get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow, Thursday, will be busy."

Lin Feng had just taken a sip of water when his phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket.

He took out his phone and saw it was a WeChat call. A familiar name was flashing on the screen: [Frog Princess].

Lin Feng paused for a moment, pressed the answer button, and before he could speak, a vibrant female voice with a distinct Beijing accent came through the receiver:

"Hey! Tractor mechanic! Are you off work yet?"

"Just finished the sponsor's torture, and I was about to go back to my room to collapse." Lin Feng sank deeper into the sofa. "How did you know I had an event today?"

"Please, you're the hottest guy in Shanghai right now. Everywhere I look, there are leaked photos of you." The background noise on the other end of the phone was a bit loud, sounding like she was in a high-end restaurant. "Stop lying around like a corpse, come out now! Lily, your teammate Alex, and I are waiting for you at a restaurant by the Huangpu River. I've sent you the location on WeChat. You have half an hour to be there!"

"No, big sister, I'm really tired..."

"Stop talking nonsense, are you coming or not? If you don't come, I'll have Alex post the video of you crying your eyes out at the airport yesterday to your racers' group!" Gu Ailing pinpointed Lin Feng's weakness with remarkable precision.

"You win," Lin Feng said through gritted teeth as he hung up the phone.

Half an hour later, at a well-known Black Pearl riverside restaurant on the Bund.

Lin Feng, wearing a black baseball cap pulled low, followed the waiter's directions to a private room on the second floor.

To be honest, when Lin Feng, who is usually fearless on the track, pushed open the door to the private room, he was a little nervous. The last time he was in this situation was when Vassal forced him into the cockpit in Jeddah.

After all, exchanging barbs on WeChat online is one thing, but meeting up in person is quite another.

The other party was Gu Ailing, a two-gold and one-silver Winter Olympics champion, a prodigy. In front of this Olympic champion who was even more dazzling than himself, Lin Feng suddenly felt a little awkward.

He cleared his throat and went inside.

Inside the private room, Alben and He Muni were sitting on one side looking at the menu, while sitting opposite them was a girl wearing a black casual jacket, exaggerated brown sunglasses, and long hair.

Hearing footsteps, the girl turned around and casually took off her sunglasses.

It was a highly recognizable mixed-race face with striking, three-dimensional features.

Lin Feng stopped in his tracks, subconsciously straightened his back, and was about to put on a proper smile and say something like, "Hello, nice to meet you, I've heard so much about you."

As a result, the moment Gu Ailing saw him, her eyes lit up. Without even saying hello, she took out her phone from her pocket, tapped a few times quickly, flipped the screen, and shoved it in front of Lin Feng.

On the screen, a high-definition video of Lin Feng crying in his mother's arms at Pudong Airport last night was playing on a loop.

Not only that, Gu Ailing also vividly pursed her lips, made an exaggerated gesture of wiping away tears, and imitated in a high-pitched voice, "Waaah, Mom, I'm back... Oh my god, Lin, the contrast between this tough guy and his tears is too strong! When I watched this video in the hotel, I laughed so hard my face mask cracked!"

The nervousness and awe Lin Feng felt for the Olympic champion shattered into nothingness in an instant.

"Are you crazy?!"

Lin Feng's expression instantly fell apart. He strode over and plopped down in the empty seat next to her, giving her an annoyed look: "You're in Shanghai, sitting in a private room late at night wearing sunglasses. Are you here to tell fortunes? With your outfit, it's a shame you're not setting up a stall under a pedestrian bridge."

"What do you know? This is high street fashion. Do you even understand fashion?" Gu Ailing retorted without hesitation, pushing her sunglasses up her head. "But you, wearing a team uniform with the sponsor's logo printed on it to eat at the Black Pearl? What, are Williams so poor that they can't even give you a decent outfit?"

"I just got off work and you dragged me here, okay?" Lin Feng poured himself a glass of water. "Besides, my face is the best fashion accessory."

"Ugh—" Gu Ailing made a disgusted gagging expression.

Alben and He Muni, sitting opposite each other, watched the two start bickering as soon as they met, showing no sense of unfamiliarity whatsoever, as if they had known each other for eight hundred years. They couldn't help but smile at each other.

"Hey, Lin, you're finally here." Alben smiled wryly and pointed to the table. "I thought that once I got to China, Lily would treat me to something nice, but it seems the outlook isn't so optimistic."

Lin Feng then turned his attention to the dining table.

Just then, the waiter pushed the food cart in and began serving the dishes.

The first dish was a plate of Shanghai-style braised pork belly, its color a deep, glossy red, rich and dark soy sauce, the trembling skin emitting an incredibly enticing caramel aroma; next came steaming hot crab roe soup dumplings, the golden broth inside visible through the thin wrapper; then came crispy on the outside and tender on the inside sweet and sour pork ribs, and fragrant scallion oil noodles…

Lin Feng's Adam's apple bobbed uncontrollably, and his eyes were glued to the screen.

For the past six months in England, he'd been eating nothing but boiled potatoes, dry roasted meat, or soulless vegetable salads every day. This authentic Chinese food before him was like a wild dance party for his very soul.

"Come on, Ailing, try this braised pork. It's the restaurant's signature dish, and it melts in your mouth." He Muni enthusiastically picked up the serving chopsticks and placed a large piece of braised pork with alternating layers of fat and lean meat on Gu Ailing's plate.

"Wow! Thank you, Lily! I've been craving this for so long since I came to America!" Gu Ailing's eyes lit up as she picked up a piece of braised pork and stuffed it into her mouth, squinting her eyes in satisfaction. She even deliberately breathed in Lin Feng's direction, "Mmm~ It smells so good!"

Lin Feng swallowed hard, preparing to quietly reach out with his chopsticks to pick up a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs.

Lin Feng swallowed hard, preparing to quietly reach out with his chopsticks to pick up a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs.

"Smack."

Gu Ailing reacted quickly, precisely tapping Lin Feng's hand with her chopsticks.

"What?" Lin Feng covered the back of his hand and glared at her.

"Trying to sneak a bite? No way." Gu Ailing raised an eyebrow triumphantly, then turned and snapped her fingers at the waiter standing at the door. "Please bring up the two special set meals we ordered in advance."

Under the questioning gazes of Lin Feng and Albon, the waiter came forward with two conspicuous transparent plastic lunch boxes and two shaker cups filled with an unidentified green liquid, and placed them in front of the two F1 drivers.

Lin Feng opened the lunchbox with trembling hands.

Inside were several pieces of pale, boiled chicken breast, not a speck of oil in sight, accompanied by a few florets of broccoli that had also been boiled until they were white.

"What the hell is this green thing?" Lin Feng asked, pointing at the shaker cup, his voice trembling.

"Juice made from kale, celery, cucumber, and unsweetened whey protein powder." Gu Ailing crossed her arms. "This is a nutritionist's recipe I specially asked your Kai-ge for this afternoon, and then had the hotel kitchen make it especially for you two. Surprised? Unexpected?"

"You..." Lin Feng gritted his teeth.

"Don't thank me." Gu Ailing waved her hand and said nonsense in a serious tone, "As a fellow top athlete, I know all too well how hard it is to control your diet. This weekend is your home game. If you eat this braised pork and gain 0.5 kilograms, and you can't outrun Zhou Guanyu on the straight, that would be too embarrassing. As your friend, I have to keep a close eye on you."

"You might as well just give me paraquat..." Lin Feng leaned back in his chair in despair.

Alben on the other side also looked ashen-faced.

As F1 drivers, they are used to this ascetic diet, but eating boiled chicken breast in front of others who are eating large amounts of meat and extremely tempting Chinese food is a mental torture comparable to the Ten Great Tortures of the Qing Dynasty.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Seeing Lin Feng's expression of utter despair, Gu Ailing arrogantly picked up a crab roe xiaolongbao, bit a small hole in it, and sipped the savory broth inside, deliberately smacking her lips: "Wow, this broth is amazing! Lin, the great driver, how's the boiled chicken? Do you need me to lend you some vinegar to dip it in?"

Lin Feng picked up his fork expressionlessly, speared a piece of dry chicken breast, and stuffed it into his mouth.

It was extremely dry, like chewing on a piece of cardboard that had been sitting for three years.

He chewed expressionlessly, his eyes fixed on the still steaming xiaolongbao in Gu Ailing's hand, and said in a low voice:

"Gu Ailing, you'd better pray it doesn't rain in Shanghai this weekend."

Gu Ailing was taken aback: "Why?"

Lin Feng picked up the glass of bright green kale juice, forced back the urge to vomit, and took a big gulp. Then he wiped his mouth and said, "Otherwise, I would definitely find an opportunity during qualifying to drive the car into the pit lane and dump all the sauce from this braised pork dish, along with this glass of sauce, on your head."

"Tch, he's getting impatient, he's getting impatient." Gu Ailing wasn't afraid of him at all, instead she shook her head provocatively, "I'll just sit in the VIP room and watch you. If you're so capable, come and drag me up to the second floor with your car and all. Go eat your grass."

Watching the two bicker like elementary school kids, He Muni laughed until tears streamed down her face.

"Seriously, Lin," Alben mumbled, chewing on broccoli, as he vaguely changed the subject, "How was it running the Shanghai track in the simulator this morning?"

The moment the topic turned to cars, Lin Feng's eyes instantly became serious. He put down his fork, took out a tissue, and wiped his hands.

"It's a struggle." Lin Feng frowned slightly. "The characteristics of the Shanghai track are very unfriendly to our car. Especially the continuous 'spiral corner' from turn one to turn three, which requires too much downforce from the front of the car. Our FW46 is practically skating on ice in this area, with extremely severe understeer. If the front tires don't warm up, we'll lose at least 0.5 seconds going through that corner."

Alben nodded in agreement: "That's right. And while the long straight section of 1.1 kilometers in the second half is advantageous for our top speed, the uphill right bend before entering the straight section means that if the traction is not strong enough when exiting the bend, the advantage of the straight section cannot be fully utilized."

"So when I go for a walk on the track tomorrow, Thursday, I need to take a close look at the kerb height at Turn 1 and the asphalt grip on the track surface. I have to push Paul and the others to make the front suspension geometry even more aggressive." Lin Feng tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his brain already in working mode.

Gu Ailing chewed on her ribs, looking at Lin Feng, who had just been exchanging trash talk with her, but now, as he talked about the racetrack, he instantly exuded a focused and cool professional aura, and Gu Ailing couldn't help but glance at him a few more times.

This person is truly multifaceted.

"Oh, right, Lin Feng," He Muni suddenly remembered something, "There's a sprint race this weekend, right? That means there's only one practice race on Friday, and then it's straight into the sprint qualifying rounds. Isn't the margin for error particularly low?"

"It's not just low, it's downright unbearable." Lin Feng sighed. "Even if you're a genius, it's difficult to tune a car to perfect condition in such a short sixty-minute practice session. What's more, this is the Shanghai circuit hosting the race after five years, so all the data we have is outdated."

Lin Feng picked up the glass of unpalatable vegetable juice and gestured towards Gu Ailing from a distance.

"So, Frog Princess, if you see a dark blue Williams spinning like a top at Turn 1 in the stands this weekend, don't laugh too loudly. Otherwise, I really will drive my car into the stands and run you over."

"Don't worry." Gu Ailing picked up the watermelon juice in her glass, smiled, and touched it to his face. "If you really do spin out at Turn 1, I'll just post the video on TikTok, and use the background music from when you were crying yesterday."

"You just wait." Lin Feng gritted his teeth and swallowed the last bite of dry, brittle chicken.

As night deepens, the neon lights on both banks of the Huangpu River are reflected on the water, creating a shimmering effect.