Night Rose

Zhou Zheng watched from the side the whole time, fiddling with the cup in his hand, making a clanging sound.

Tu Ying glanced at Zhou Zheng's expression, guessing that he was in a good mood, and cleared her throat.

"Miss Su, we thought you would arrive in a few more days. Your friend said you haven't made a decision yet."

Ms. Su is very talented, and I was quite nervous, afraid you wouldn't consider us a good fit for the team. But we managed to gather enough members before registration even started—it's truly fate!

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zheng finally stopped what he was doing.

"No way? This is the engineer you poached?"

"Come on, let me introduce you." Tu Ying proudly raised her chin, "This is our team's star driver—Zhou Zheng!"

Zhou Zheng was utterly blunt, "The team has a second driver?"

Su Jin's lips twitched in surprise. She couldn't believe that this idiot was actually a race car driver.

"An unlicensed taxi driver driving a race car?"

"Miss Su, driving an unlicensed taxi is just a side job for me." Zhou Zheng smiled in a way that was quite irritating.

Su Jin didn't know why she was interested in talking to such a selfish person, and casually asked, "So your main job is racing cars?"

Zhou Zheng dropped his nonchalant expression and said seriously, "No, my main job is a family chef."

Su Jin's eyes widened as she glanced at Zhou Zheng, then at Tu Ying, whose face was full of awkward smiles. She stepped forward and said, "I must have gone the wrong way."

"You didn't go to the wrong place, Miss Su! Zhou Zheng is talking nonsense! He's a very fast racer!" Tu Ying scolded Zhou Zheng with her eyes, but Zhou Zheng just picked at his ear and didn't care at all.

He introduced Su Jin solemnly, "Su Jin, Miss Su. She's a top engineer I brought back from abroad. Zhou Zheng, show some respect!"

"A top-tier engineer? I've never seen her online before?" Zhou Zheng deliberately emphasized his words to express his disbelief. Someone who even throws up in his car is a racing engineer? And a top-tier one at that?

Su Jin devoted countless efforts to Top Chain Company, but Lu Mingzhou didn't like her showing her face, so Su Jin didn't expose her information in any media.

There are no photos or real names of her in newspapers or online; people in the industry call her Sherry.

It's perfectly normal that Zhou Zheng hadn't seen her photos.

Tu Ying chuckled. Miss Su had already told him this, but he couldn't say it to Zhou Zheng openly.

He gestured with his lip, "Ms. Su is very low-key and never makes public appearances. But she has participated in WRC and CRC competitions, so with this wealth of experience, she can definitely help us win the championship!"

"Wow, Miss Su is so amazing." Zhou Zheng clapped his hands, his expression completely contradicting his words—he didn't believe her at all! What did this girl use to fool Tu Ying? Her face?

Su Jin ignored him and sat down at the bar.

Zhou Zheng stretched out his long arm and pulled Tu Ying aside. He put one hand on Tu Ying's lean waist and the other around Tu Ying's neck, and spoke to Tu Ying in a low voice.

"Boss, are you out of your mind? You think you can just pick anyone to take us to the competition?"

As he spoke, Zhou Zheng glanced back at Su Jin, his expression indescribable. "You can't just go easy on her because she's pretty, can you?"

Tu Ying opened his mouth, wanting to reveal Su Jin's true background, but he had promised Su Jin's friend that he would keep it a secret, otherwise the driver would never truly accept her.

"Whether it works or not, why not just give it a try? Besides, Young Master Zhou! Do you think our car is any good? Your driving skills..."

Under Zhou Zheng's fierce gaze, Tu Ying made an abrupt turn.

"Your driving skills are good! But this is such a small competition, nobody even cares! It's good enough if anyone's even willing to come! Do you know how long I've been looking? It's been two months before someone signed up. Most importantly, Miss Su, you don't get paid to work here!"

"No money? Then what does she want?" Zhou Zheng asked curiously.

"We're just ordinary folks who don't understand other people's pursuits. Anyway, we'll split the prize money among the three of us, and no one else will get involved. How about it?" Tu Ying patted his chest.

Zhou Zheng didn't say anything.

Tu Ying was getting anxious. Zhou Zheng was still the driver, and if he didn't agree, Su Jin definitely wouldn't be able to join their unprofessional and impoverished convoy.

"Young master! Aren't you short of money? The prize money for first place in this rally race is 100,000! Don't you want it?"

Zhou Zheng hated money the most and didn't want to listen to Tu Ying, this miser, nagging. "Alright! Stop nagging."

He turned and walked towards Su Jin, slamming the cup he was holding onto the table with a clatter.

Su Jin wasn't frightened; she simply looked up at him.

Through her sunglasses, Zhou Zheng couldn't tell whether her eyes were mocking or smug; he only knew that her chin and lips were quite pretty.

"Let me make this clear first: if you're just here to muddy the waters, get lost. We don't need you. I can modify cars all by myself."

Su Jin adjusted her sunglasses, revealing half of her light-colored eyes, her long eyelashes curling alluringly.

"Many drivers can sense problems with the car while driving, but they can't pinpoint the exact problem. That's what engineers do."

Do you know where your car's limits are? Do you know how to tune the suspension to suit your personal driving style? Can you make sure your car won't fall apart when you cross the finish line?

Zhou Zheng stared blankly, speechless for the first time after being rebuked.

Tu Ying was laughing so hard she couldn't stand up straight. It was hilarious! Watching Zhou Zheng get his comeuppance was so entertaining! This engineer was really something, managing to completely outmaneuver Zhou Zheng on the very first day.

The problems Su Jin mentioned are precisely why Tu Ying insisted on hiring an engineer, even though Zhou Zheng can drive, he can't solve the car's problems.

"I've really struck gold!" Tu Ying swayed her head with delight, already fantasizing about how she would divide the 100,000 yuan prize money when it arrived in her account.

I'm the investor, so I get 60,000. Zhou Zheng is the driver, so I'll give him 30,000. Little Fatty is the navigator, so it's just a matter of talking, and he'll get 10,000!

It's such a steal to have engineers who work for free!

Su Jin's eyelids twitched, and she immediately sensed something was wrong.

She agreed to come to this remote little city to work as an engineer for free, with her own competitive goals.

She's leading a team she personally invested in, aiming to compete in this year's Top Chain rally in China and prove her abilities to everyone once again. She's not here for charity.

However, large domestic companies dared not hire her, and small companies had only heard of her "reputation," so she could only select from racing teams in small towns.

On a friend's recommendation, she chose this racing team, which was said to be invincible in Nanyuan.

But the cunning Tu Ying had crafted a sophisticated resume for their team, causing her to misjudge the capabilities of this makeshift crew.

She asked the most crucial question, "Zhou Zheng, you've run a full rally race, right...you have?"