Night Rose

"Brother Zhou, the ice here might melt, and it's quite thick. Be careful with your speed and don't turn too sharply." Wang Tianle was recording data in the road book when he glanced at the rearview mirror and saw a black car closely following behind him.

The black car sped up and slowed down, testing the red car. Sometimes it followed too closely, making it feel like it was about to crash into its rear. The red car slowed down, trying to let the black car pass first, but the black car remained right behind the red car, showing no intention of overtaking.

The black car had no intention of overtaking, but it would occasionally accelerate and rush to the rear of their car. If Zhou Zheng hadn't reacted quickly and stepped on the gas, the two cars would very likely have collided.

Wang Tianle broke out in a cold sweat. This was their new car. If it got damaged again, where would they find another one?

"Brother Zhou, they're catching up," Wang Tianle shouted.

Zhou Zheng had already noticed the black car behind them. Qian Ke and his gang were deliberately trying to cause trouble. They had already made some threats, so they were sure to harass them.

"Take careful notes, don't make any mistakes, and ignore them. You can be a little rough on the first round, and check again on the second round."

"Why does it feel like they're about to crash into us?" Wang Tianle asked, sounding a little flustered. "The first lap was this difficult; they probably won't let us off the hook on the second lap either."

Zhou Zheng clicked his tongue lightly, "Don't worry, do you think they'll let him crash? They're targeting us, so they won't be able to make it to the second lap."

The black car followed again, and Zhou Zheng stepped on the gas and drove forward, increasing his speed to take the corner.

"Brother Qian, he's sped up again. You've got him cornered!" Qian Ke's navigator laughed heartily, oblivious to the fact that he'd written down a wrong number.

Qian Ke, blinded by his praise, became arrogant again. "Of course! Don't you know who I am? A pretty boy like him can win? Wishful thinking! I'll show him what real racing is all about."

Qian Ke accelerated to catch up with the red car, showing no intention of slowing down.

This was his first time driving this track, and he wasn't very familiar with the road conditions. In order to trip up Zhou Zheng, he drove faster than he usually did when scouting the road.

The navigator was taking notes and flattering him, but his mind was far from the route.

Zhou Zheng kept an eye on the speed of the black car behind him. Ahead was a bend in the road with a rather unusual terrain, a steep slope, and a huge pile of rocks on the outside of the bend. He floored the accelerator and launched himself into the bend in a perfect arc.

The black car right behind him was in a blind spot and didn't see the big bend at all. Qian Ke was only focused on chasing the red car and didn't pay attention to his surroundings. By the time he realized something was wrong, it was too late to shift gears. He sped into the bend in fourth gear, but his car didn't maintain its shape well, and the rear of his car scraped against a boulder.

"Clang!"

The tail fin shattered into several pieces with a loud bang.

"Damn it!" Qian Ke slammed on the brakes, slamming his fist on the steering wheel. "What happened to the spoiler?!"

The navigator looked back at the ground, which was littered with fragments of the tail fin. "Dude... the tail fin is completely destroyed."

Qian Ke got out of the car with a dark face to check. Sure enough, the tail wing was shattered into pieces, and several pieces of debris were scattered on the track and on the pile of boulders.

The red car in the distance turned into a blur; they couldn't even see Zhou Zheng's exhaust fumes anymore.

"We've shaken them off! Hahahaha! Serves them right! They crashed into the rocks themselves, so they can't blame us." Wang Tianle was overjoyed. The black car had been shaken off, and its rear wing was broken. It definitely wouldn't be able to catch up for a while.

Zhou Zheng didn't reply, but said, "Be careful, Sister Su might twist your head off."

Wang Tianle shrank his neck and focused on his work.

After one round of reconnaissance, he had a general idea of ​​the route. In the second round, they improved the route book, adding places where they could speed up the journey and marking out areas with boulders.

The Schalak Rally is 18.2 kilometers long and has a complex track condition, consisting of a highway and a section of gravel road. The gravel road is bumpy and muddy, with gravel and puddles, but the ice and snow covering the road surface is what really requires attention.

Unmelted snow will turn into ice. The weather on that day is unpredictable and it may snow at any time. Once it snows, their route map will be somewhat inaccurate. Areas where there was no snow accumulation during the survey may suddenly accumulate snow or freeze.

Given the complexity of this competition, even professional players wouldn't dare say they're guaranteed to win. However, professional players are least wary of individual teams. When discussing tactics, they don't really take the Haoxianglai team seriously and often overlook them.

Rally racing is about finding the best time for a car to complete the entire course. The time spent catching up with other cars is not long, so they focus more on other teams.

The teams they looked down on, who actually wanted to join, secretly studied all the teams thoroughly, preparing to deal with them regardless of whether they would actually encounter them.

In the days leading up to the competition, Zhou Zheng and Wang Tianle were in a calm mood, while Su Jin was studying the car with her computer. Only Tu Ying, who had nothing to do, was anxious and wished she could kowtow to the car to please its spirit.

After changing hotels, Su Jin never ran into her ex-boyfriend again, and Lu Mingzhou was also clearly avoiding her, not wanting to see her.

The two have fallen out to this point, and it's best to avoid seeing each other altogether.

When they rested at night, Su Jin made a point of separating from Zhou Zheng, each taking a separate room, to avoid any accidental intimacy that might affect Zhou Zheng's state.

Zhou Zheng was clearly not satisfied with this matter. He knocked on her door several times, using the excuse of wanting to have a heart-to-heart talk with her. But once he let her into the room, Su Jin found it hard to refuse him.

If she doesn't understand Zhou Zheng, doesn't she understand herself?

Su Jin sent him a message on her phone, telling him to go home and get some rest.

In the empty corridor, only Zhou Zheng's knocking could be heard. He knocked so hard his face turned black, but Su Jin still wouldn't open the door.

Wang Tianle from next door opened his door, looking at him with a bewildered expression. "Brother Zhou, do you need something from Sister Su? Why are you knocking on the door? Why don't you give her a call? Maybe she's taking a shower."

Zhou Zheng took a deep breath, slammed the door, and went into his room.

"Don't meddle with the kids, just close the door and go to sleep."

Wang Tianle pointed to himself, "Me?"

He's a perfectly healthy young man, how could he be a child?

Poor Wang Tianle still couldn't understand what his brother Zhou had said, nor did he have the shrewd insight of Tu Ying. He could only obediently close the door and go to sleep.

They had been preparing for more than half a month and finally the competition was about to begin.

On the day the Schalke Rally officially started, long queues formed outside the venue, with some people even queuing up before dawn.

Compared to this grand occasion, Tu Ying felt that they were just country bumpkins seeing the world for the first time.

They used the employee entrance, and the security check for the convoy was very quick. Tu Ying walked backwards, marveling at how many people there were.

Su Jin only glanced at it briefly. To her, she had seen all sorts of audiences and lively scenes before.

The Shiha tournament is the last major competition of the year and Su Jin's ultimate goal; she must win.

"Are you nervous?" Su Jin asked.

"Nervous! Extremely nervous!" Tu Ying trembled, her hands tucked into her pockets.

Zhou Zheng chewed his gum, looking at Su Jin with a slightly resentful expression, "What's there to be nervous about?"

Su Jin pretended not to see his resentful expression and coughed, "Fatty, what about you?"

"I'm not nervous at all. I can get extra credits by participating in this competition! If I win the championship, I'll probably get even more credits," Wang Tianle said with a grin.