Night Rose

Tu Ying's heart tightened. Oh no, could this be another one trying to steal the caravan?

No way, they've already been so generous with the money, and they only want one sponsorship spot. Now that they've won the race, the sponsors on the race car have gained nationwide exposure, their exposure is off the charts. Surely they wouldn't want to steal his driver?

After receiving their awards in a lively atmosphere on stage, the four members of the team were invited into the venue to wait for staff to take them out. Outside, the media were packed in, eager to make a big deal out of the dark horse team incident, and no one wanted to leave first.

Tu Ying forgot all about it and excitedly rushed over to give Zhou Zheng a big hug. "Amazing, brother! First place!"

"Not bad." Zhou Zheng raised an eyebrow, his smug look exuding youthful vigor that made you want to punch him.

Tu Ying let go of him, then jumped into Wang Tianle's arms, hopping and skipping around him, "Fatty! You've really done a great job! You'll get all the credits this time!"

Wang Tianle excitedly gave a thumbs up, "Of course! My advisor has already contacted me, and they'll add the credits for me right away next semester!"

Su Jin watched with a smile as the group played around like children. After Tu Ying finished hugging Wang Tianle, he was about to give Su Jin a friendly hug when Zhou Zheng glared at him and stopped him.

Tu Ying was not discouraged. He opened his arms and summarized his turmoil in one sentence.

"It's like a dream!"

"Su Jin, you could say we've achieved our goals! Zhou Zheng won first place in the national competition driving your race car, it was so awesome, wasn't it!" Tu Ying laughed heartily.

Su Jin smiled brightly, "Of course! Everyone worked hard to get first place!"

Zhou Zheng was exhausted. He rested his head on Su Jin's shoulder and closed his eyes to rest.

Seeing this, Wang Tianle and Tu Ying spoke in hushed tones, their phones almost constantly in their hands, receiving calls and text messages non-stop.

The four sat in a corner of the venue when a series of footsteps approached from afar. It sounded like there were quite a few people there, and the harsh reprimands were particularly noticeable in the quiet venue.

"Lu Mingzhou! I entrusted this project to you because I trust you! If it weren't for your experience at headquarters, do you think you could have gotten into the branch? Do you know how much pressure I was under to get you two in?" the man shouted, showing no mercy.

Lu Mingzhou's voice was weak and tired, "It's not my fault, it's the driver..."

"Damn it! You can blame this on the driver? If the tire hadn't blown out, would the car have gone out of control? You guys should check why the tire blew out in the first place!" Qian Ke shouted. He was too good at trying to get away with anything, no matter who was right or wrong, he just wanted to shift the blame first.

"Engineer, can you explain yourself? You've caused trouble time and time again. Top Chain isn't a place for junk!" the man roared.

Xu Jingyi walked behind Lu Mingzhou with her head down, tugging at his sleeve, and said pitifully, "It's not my fault. The engineering department people have already checked it, and there's nothing wrong with the race car."

"You're blaming the engineering department? Ma'am, how many times have we reviewed the plans for you? Didn't we say the tire bolts wouldn't work? You insisted on changing them, and I still have the recording of our phone call. Don't try to shift the blame onto us!"

"Alright! You guys really disappointed me in this race! The whole team is out of here!" the man said angrily.

"What do you mean? What do you mean by 'pack up and get out'?" Qian Ke pressed, as if he couldn't believe the man was going to fire them all.

"Your team of over ten people is fired! You can get out now," the man said sternly.

"I can explain..." Lu Mingzhou still wanted to struggle, but seeing the man's eyes, he swallowed his words. The man was serious and definitely not acting on impulse.

"I gave you chances, but you were all useless. I took a huge risk by using the two of you. If we lose this competition, I'll have to explain to headquarters. Don't cause me any more trouble." The man loosened his tie and left his secretary to stop the group.

The man approached the four resting men, greeting them with a smile, "Congratulations on winning the championship. Tonight is your victory celebration, so please do us the honor of staying."

Tu Ying stepped forward to deal with the man, and Su Jin followed the crowd and immediately spotted Lu Mingzhou, who was being stopped by his secretary, and Xu Jingyi, who was faking tears behind him.

Despite the distance, Lu Mingzhou and his former lover exchanged glances once more.

Unfortunately, at this moment, there was no emotion left in their eyes, only the contempt of the winner for the loser.

Lu Mingzhou finally realized how foolish his mistake was in taking such good care of Xu Jingyi in private that day and developing feelings for her.

He not only gave up his lover of many years, but also his future. Everything he had painstakingly built up over the years was ruined by Xu Jingyi.

"Brother Lu, are we really fired?" Xu Jingyi asked softly, taking Lu Mingzhou's hand.

Lu Mingzhou disgustedly shook off her hand. "Yes! Are you satisfied now?"

Xu Jingyi's expression turned gloomy. She stared at Lu Mingzhou until he felt uneasy.

As Lu Mingzhou was about to leave, Xu Jingyi chased after him closely, the two of them one in front of the other, as if they were engaged in some kind of chase.

"Don't follow me!" Lu Mingzhou shouted as he turned around.

With tears in her eyes, Xu Jingyi looked at him with a knowing gaze, "But, Brother Lu, I'm pregnant."

She stroked her belly, and her flat abdomen seemed to be slightly bulging, as if a small life was growing inside.

"No...it's impossible..."

"Brother Lu, don't you acknowledge this child? But I've already told Auntie the good news, and she's very happy. She said she wants to take care of me herself." Xu Jingyi smiled happily.

Lu Mingzhou almost collapsed in front of her. He slowly knelt down on one knee, his whole body kneeling helplessly on the ground, utterly lost and dejected.

His career was ruined, and he was left to spend his life with this woman, raising their child. It all sounded like a horror story, chilling to the bone.

Those hands gently touched his face, and the person was still softly calling his name, "Lu Mingzhou, you'll never abandon me again."

Lu Mingzhou felt a chill run down his spine. He looked up at her, only to find himself caught in her vortex, unable to escape!

Meanwhile, Su Jin stood radiantly beside another man, stroking his head and soothing him to sleep.

"Why is it so noisy?" Zhou Zheng didn't even lift his eyelids, but nuzzled his cheek against her hand.

"It's okay, they said there's a celebration banquet, are we going tonight?" Su Jin said in a low voice.

"Go, finish your meal before you get down to business," Zhou Zheng said in a deep voice.

Su Jin exclaimed, "Is there anything else important?"

Zhou Zheng whispered a single word: "Do it."