Spring Night Kiss.

The next day, Xu Zhouye had a brand event and couldn't go to the racing team with Song Qingjia.

He stood to the side, tilting his head to watch Song Qingjia lock the car door, start the engine, and roll down the window to reveal a clean-cut face.

"I'll pick you up tonight," he said.

"No need." Song Qingjia shifted into reverse, glanced at him, and said, "I don't know when I'll get off work."

"Then call me as soon as you get off work."

"Um."

She rolled up the car window, turned the steering wheel, and drove the car out of the parking space, disappearing at the end of the underground parking garage.

Xu Zhouye stood there for a while before opening his car door and getting in.

The brand event was held at a five-star hotel in Pudong. It was a new product launch for the sponsor. He only needed to make an appearance, stand on the stage for a few minutes, answer a few pre-rehearsed questions, and take a group photo with a few VIP clients.

The process wasn't complicated, but he just couldn't muster any interest.

He'd rather spend that time on a simulator, even running the same track a thousand times, than stand here grinning until his lips are stiff.

But he had no choice.

Commercial activities are part of a driver's contract, especially those involving team sponsors, which are virtually impossible to refuse.

It's not that there's no way to push it, but the main problem is that the team owner, Shen Yanhui, is too unscrupulous. He even exploits his own cousin to make money for him.

He stood in front of the backdrop, flashing a standard smile at the camera, the shutter clicking away in rapid succession. But his mind was still on the rooftop last night, on that moment when she fed him the drink.

-

As usual, Song Qingjia went to a restaurant first and bought an Americano. She ran into several colleagues from the same department on the way and nodded and greeted them.

Back in her office, she pulled up the data she had collected on the track the day before.

She scrolled through rows of curves and data tables on the screen, her fingers sliding across the touchpad, her brow furrowed slightly.

Lin Bosheng's data shows that the exit speed of medium- and high-speed curves is nearly 0.7 kilometers per hour lower than the simulated value.

Xu Zhouye's data wasn't much better. Although his lap time was much faster, the loss of exit speed was almost the same at the same corners.

The problem isn't with the driver, it's with the car.

The downforce values ​​of the front wing are acceptable in the wind tunnel and on the straights, but once entering a series of medium-to-high-speed corners, the stability of the airflow will decrease, causing the driver to be hesitant to go full throttle when exiting the corner.

She bit the pen cap, staring at the curves on the screen, her mind racing through all sorts of possibilities.

What's the angle of the end plate opening? Is it the airflow separation point in the vortex control zone? Or is there a problem with the sealing at the edge of the base plate?

She gets so busy that she loses track of time. By the time she has run through the preliminary simulations of all the hypotheses and looks out the window, it is already dark.

I picked up my phone and saw three unread messages on the screen, all from Xu Zhouye.

6:10 PM: [I'm done here. What time do you get off work?]

6:45 PM: [Still not back? Working overtime again?]

The last message, posted two minutes ago: 【I'm coming to pick you up.】

In fact, given his personality, he would have already set off for the convoy before even replying to the first message.

However, his girlfriend had given him an order to follow her every command, and he dared not disobey.

Song Qingjia looked at the messages, a slight smile playing on her lips, but still replied: 【No need to answer, I'll reply myself.】

She turned off her computer, picked up her bag, and walked towards the elevator.

Many colleagues were working overtime, and the elevators were still packed at this hour. I waited for several elevators before I finally got on.

Xu Zhouye hasn't replied, and it's unclear whether he's even seen the message.

As she walked out, she looked down at her phone, wondering whether she should call him.

"Seika."

Suddenly a voice rang out.

She looked up and met Nie Yuhuai's gaze. This man was truly persistent; it seemed this conversation was something he absolutely had to discuss. She wondered what he would bring up this time—was he here again to act as an intermediary for Cheng Yizhen?

"Want to talk? Let's go then." She walked up to him, her tone very cheerful.

Nie Yuhuai said, "I booked a restaurant so we can eat and chat."

He opened the car door, and Song Qingjia bent down and got in.

Across the street, in a white SUV, Xu Wanran leaned on the steering wheel, watching through the windshield as the black sedan drove out of its parking space and merged into the traffic, her eyes wide open.

"Brother! Sister Qingjia got into that man's car!" She turned to look at Xu Zhouye in the passenger seat.

He leaned back in his chair, twirling his phone in his hand. The screen still showed his chat with Song Qingjia, the last message ending with "No need to answer." He didn't say anything, and put his phone in his pocket.

"Give me some response! Should we follow up?" Xu Wanran said anxiously.

"What's the rush?" he said, but his body betrayed him by fastening his seatbelt.

Xu Wanran stepped on the gas, and the white SUV sped off.

A black sedan pulled up in front of a Japanese restaurant on Huashan Road. Nie Yuhuai had booked a private room on the second floor, with tatami mats and sliding doors, offering excellent privacy.

Song Qingjia sat down, flipped through the menu, and ordered a few of her favorite dishes without being polite. Nie Yuhuai added some more, handed the menu to the waiter, and closed the door.

The food was served quite quickly.

Song Qingjia picked up a piece of salmon belly, dipped it in soy sauce, put it in her mouth, and chewed it slowly.

Nie Yuhuai didn't touch his chopsticks, just watched her eat.

"Aren't you going to eat?" she asked.

I'm not hungry.

Song Qingjia ignored him and picked up another slice of sea urchin sashimi, eating with focused attention and seriousness.

She was really hungry; she hadn't even eaten a proper lunch. And she never deprived herself; even if the person sitting across from her was someone she least wanted to see, she wouldn't skip a single bite of food.

Having eaten until she was about 70% full, she put down her chopsticks, wiped her mouth, picked up her teacup, took a sip, and looked up at him: "Speak, what is it?"

"You and Xu Zhouye..." Nie Yuhuai finally spoke.

"It's just like what you see," Song Qingjia replied casually.

Nie Yuhuai looked at her and said in a deep voice, "You two are not a good match."

"Who said that? Cheng Yizhen? Didn't she say she wouldn't interfere in my love life anymore?" Song Qingjia picked up another piece of sea urchin, dipped it in soy sauce, and slowly put it in her mouth.

"It's not Aunt Cheng. It's me."

Song Qingjia looked up: "That's even less of your business."

"I'm doing this for your own good."

"There are plenty of people who care about me, I won't miss you."

Nie Yuhuai had a headache and pinched the bridge of his nose: "Can't you speak properly?"

Song Qingjia put down her chopsticks and nodded: "Okay, then tell me, why are we not compatible?"

Nie Yuhuai paused for a moment, picked up the teacup in front of him, but didn't drink it, and put it down again.

"His profession is too dangerous. Any accident on the track can be fatal, you should know that better than I do."

"You can choke to death while eating? You shouldn't eat like that anymore," Song Qingjia retorted.

The safety of modern Formula 1 cars has actually been greatly improved.

The racing suit can withstand direct flames of 800 degrees Celsius for more than 12 seconds. The HANS device can protect the head and neck in the event of a collision. In addition, there are roll cages and the Halo system, all of which greatly reduce the possibility of accidents for the driver.

But Song Qingjia was too lazy to explain in such detail to the other party, as it would be a waste of breath.

"I'm not joking with you." Nie Yuhuai's brows furrowed even more.

"I'm not joking with you." She looked at him. "If he dies, I'll commit suicide for him."

What kind of talk is that?

A nameless fire surged in Nie Yuhuai's heart.

He lowered his voice and said, "Okay, let's leave that aside for now. But I heard from friends in the industry that he spent a lot of effort finding a woman in Jingzhou. He cast a wide net and used a lot of connections."

Song Qingjia paused, then remained silent.

Nie Yuhuai continued, "Everyone thought he was indifferent to women, but now it seems that's not necessarily true; he's just good at hiding it. It hasn't been long, and he's already trying to seduce you again. How much of his sincerity do you think is genuine?"

Song Qingjia pinched her earlobe, showing a hint of impatience: "Whatever, I don't care."

What's more, the woman he was looking for was her.

"Song Qingjia!"

"Have you finished talking?" Song Qingjia looked at him, unusually serious. "Nie Yuhuai, I don't think you really need to act like my real brother."

"It's better if we keep our distance. Whether I'm in a relationship or not, and who I'm with, is none of your business."

Nie Yuhuai's face turned ashen; he had never imagined he would hear such hurtful words from her.

He thought...

He thought that the bond they had formed since childhood would also be something she cherished.

Song Qingjia's voice was very calm: "I think our relationship should be maintained at the level of 'when I get married, you give a gift, and when you get married, I give a gift in return,' that's fine."

"You want to marry Xu Zhouye?"

Song Qingjia: "?"

What kind of bizarre thought process does this person have? This isn't the kind of thing to focus on, is it?

She took a deep breath and exhaled, "This has nothing to do with you."

She stepped outside.

"Qingjia," Nie Yuhuai called again, "You said you didn't want me to be your older brother, so if I—"

"Nie Yuhuai, that's enough. I'm leaving."

Song Qingjia didn't turn around; instead, she placed her hand on the door frame, interrupting him.

The door closed again, and the footsteps faded into the distance.

Nie Yuhuai sat on the tatami mat, with a table in front of her containing dishes that had only been partially eaten, and the teacup she had used, with faint traces of her lipstick still on the cup.

He stared at the cup for a long time, then reached out and turned it so that the rim faced inwards, towards himself.

For a fleeting moment, he really wanted to blurt out those words without thinking.

Fortunately, she interrupted him.

The door to the next private room opened a crack, and Xu Wanran pressed her face against the crack, as if facing a formidable enemy.

Seeing Song Qingjia come out, she quickly shrank back, turned around and patted Xu Zhouye's arm: "Brother! She's out! Sister Qingjia is out!"

The soundproofing in the private room was so good that she didn't hear a word of the conversation next door, which made her very anxious.

Xu Zhouye leaned against the wall of the private room, his hands in his pockets, expressionless: "Keep your voice down."

"I'm already speaking very softly! Hurry, hurry, let's catch up, or some other man will snatch it away!"

Xu Zhouye gave her a cold look, opened the door, and walked out.

Xu Wanran felt bewildered. She had been so proactive for his happiness, and yet she was still being given the cold shoulder?

But never mind, it's more important to catch up first.

Both of them wore hats with the brims pulled low, thinking they were being low-key, but this only attracted the attention of many people.

Song Qingjia hadn't noticed it at first, but there was an oval mirror on the wall in front of her. In the mirror, the figures of the two people behind her looked somewhat familiar.

Especially the tall one.

That figure, that aura...

She stopped, turned around, and looked at the two of them with a half-smile.

Xu Wanran suddenly stopped, lowered her head to hide her face, and tugged at the sleeve of the person next to her, telling him to hide as well.

Xu Zhouye scoffed, "Why are you still hiding?"

He walked lazily to Song Qingjia with his hands in his pockets, showing no embarrassment at being caught, and was so self-righteous that it made no sense.

Song Qingjia looked at him, a half-smile on her face: "Xu Zhouye, have you been following me?"

Xu Wanran realized she had been exposed, so she stopped pretending and blurted out, "No! Sister Qingjia, it was me—"

"Shut up."

Xu Zhouye didn't look at her; his eyes were fixed on Song Qingjia.

Song Qingjia raised an eyebrow: "So you instructed her to follow me?"

"First of all, I can't control her," Xu Zhouye paused, "Secondly, I'm just concerned about my girlfriend, how can that be called stalking?"

Song Qingjia scoffed: "Concerned?"

"Yes, I'm worried... worried about whether my girlfriend will be seduced by some other man's sweet talk. I need to keep a close eye on her."

He was clearly stalking someone, but he made it sound so nice.

The real culprit, Xu Wanran, became increasingly guilty. She took a step back, almost tripped on the steps, and had to hold onto the wall to steady herself.

Song Qingjia couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Hearing the laughter, Xu Wanran breathed a sigh of relief: "Sister, you're not angry?"

Song Qingjia: "I'm angry."

"Huh?" Xu Wanran was at a loss, blinking innocently with her big eyes wide open.

Xu Zhouye shook his head at her stupidity. He stepped forward, naturally put his arm around Song Qingjia's waist, and said in a low voice, "Let's go home."

"Brother—what about me?" Xu Wanran called from behind.

"Take a taxi yourself."

Xu Wanran: "..."

This is outrageous! He's got a wife and forgot about his sister.

Of course, Song Qingjia didn't let Xu Zhouye abandon Xu Wanran. She picked up the little girl and threw her into the back seat.

The little girl sat upright and behaved very well.

But halfway there, she couldn't hold back any longer and blurted out, "Sister, what did you and that man talk about?"

Fearing that Song Qingjia might misunderstand, she added, "He looks very fierce, I'm afraid he'll hit you."

Song Qingjia leaned back in her chair, looking languid: "He can't beat me."

Xu Wanran: "!"

Her curiosity immediately shifted from the content of their conversation to this.

"What about my brother? If you fought him, who would be stronger?"

Xu Zhouye was speechless: "Will you become mute if you don't speak?"

Xu Wanran said disdainfully, "Girls are talking, stinky men shouldn't interrupt." She continued to whine, "Sister, hurry up and tell me!"

"That depends on what kind of fight it is," Song Qingjia said.

Xu Zhouye glanced at her in the rearview mirror and suddenly realized that she wouldn't say anything nice.

"However, no matter what kind of fight it is, he can't beat me."

really.

Xu Wanran shook her head in disgust: "So useless, so utterly useless."

No wonder her aunt insisted on having her come; her brother really can't do anything except drive!