Night Rose

"Of course we have to go! I can't let you two go by yourselves for something this important."

"Oh, right, I need to talk to Boss Tu. Maybe he should close the shop for the next few days. Too many people will attract unwanted attention, and I need to do some final checks on the car."

As Su Jin spoke, she rushed into the tavern. Zhou Zheng picked up the package she had just opened behind her, tidied up the entrance, and piled the package into the storage room.

The helmet was securely packed inside the shipping box, with shelves and layers of packaging.

Su Jin said that when they no longer need the helmet, they can return it to the rider.

Presumably, such a well-packaged delivery box would require an extra charge. Throwing it away would be a waste, so it's better to keep it.

There wasn't much space in the storage room, so Zhou Zheng simply stuffed it under his bed, where it fit perfectly.

Su Jin said she wanted to go see them survey the road, and she arrived on time the next day.

For the first time ever, Tu Ying didn't talk about making money. Instead, he decided to close the tavern for a few days, writing the closing dates on a small blackboard, and wouldn't reopen until the competition was over.

The rally site has been cordoned off, and only officials are allowed to enter and exit.

A banner stretched ramrod straight at the entrance: "The First Nanyuan Rally Begins!"

"This first one came at the perfect time. It's a perfect storm of favorable circumstances, location, and people—everything is indispensable!" Tu Ying exclaimed, looking at the people standing around her.

He initially wanted to form a racing team simply to make money and bring along the people around him, but he was short of an engineer.

His low-paying engineering job posting at night attracted almost no interest. Just when he thought it was all over, hey, he connected with an engineer who wasn't getting paid. Wasn't all of this destined by fate?

If any one step is missing, his team will have failed in the very first step of forming a team.

With a successful front-end, Tu Ying believed they would definitely succeed! And they had to succeed.

After all... he's invested so much money! It has to succeed!

Tu Ying thought about how he had gone around trying to get sponsorships, and in the end only the car rental company agreed to give him a small amount of money to be a GG sponsor. He couldn't help but want to wipe away his tears. It had been too hard for him all this time!

The race car driver and navigator were warming up when they turned around and saw that their sentimental boss seemed to have red eyes.

Wang Tianle did a twisting motion and muttered to himself, "The wind seems a bit strong today; even Boss Tu's eyes are red from the wind."

"It's quite windy?" Zhou Zheng patted the air. The weather was so hot that the wind had almost stopped. How could it be windy?

"It can't be that Boss Tu cried, can it?" Wang Tianle whispered.

Zhou Zheng was horrified, but he still preferred to believe that the wind had blinded him. Surveying the route didn't cost anything; surely the stingy man couldn't have been driven to tears by anger.

"Stop looking, focus." Su Jin tapped Wang Tianle on the head.

She was wearing a newly bought set of work clothes today, with the sleeves rolled up to her wrists, and her rosy cheeks were covered in a fine sheen of sweat.

A striking woman on the rally track easily attracts attention. Many people openly look in their direction, and seeing the name tag around her neck, they assume she is probably the team manager.

In fact, Su Jin wears many hats: engineer, team manager, race public relations officer, nutritionist, trainer...

She didn't receive a single penny of salary; she should have asked for it back! But the prize money from this competition wasn't even enough to pay her salary.

If she hadn't fallen to rock bottom, Su Jin wouldn't have taken this desperate gamble. She wanted to achieve something more than anyone else, at least to prove that her efforts over the past month hadn't been in vain.

The organizers provided each team with a tent to rest in. When they arrived, they saw the team logo of the Spirits on the side, which meant they would probably meet again on the track.

Sure enough, not long after, He Zhangxing arrived with a group of people.

The team manager followed behind He Zhangxing, fawningly instructing him on various matters, which made He Zhangxing very impatient.

He Zhangxing is tall, so it's already difficult to talk to him. There are some things that can't be said in front of others. The team manager can only tiptoe over to talk to him, but He Zhangxing raises his hand to block him. The manager also has a terrible headache. Serving the young master is really troublesome!

"Hey, Captain He." Su Jin, with breakfast in her mouth, sat at the tent entrance and waved to them.

When He Zhangxing saw her, his expression wasn't as good as last time, and he didn't bother to pretend anymore.

"Miss Su, you seem to be in such a good mood. After a month apart, are you confident you can defeat me?"

"It's alright, at least our engineers are better than yours." Su Jin smiled and took a bite of her steamed bun.

These steamed buns were made by Zhou Zheng last night. She said she wanted to eat steamed buns, so Zhou Zheng brought her two the next morning, along with a bowl of fresh tofu pudding. They tasted the same as the ones she had at the hotel entrance.

The engineers of the spirits, who were naturally with them, couldn't help but sneer upon hearing this.

"With your capabilities, what kind of good engineers could you possibly find? I know all the engineers around here. Who are your engineers? Tell me, you didn't just randomly pick someone who knows how to fix cars, did you? Hahahaha."

Su Jin gave an innocent smile. "Indeed, she doesn't have much of a reputation. You definitely wouldn't know her."

If she said she was Sherry, most people here would recognize her. But the problem is, Sherry is already infamous; bringing her up would only make her a target and wouldn't have any positive impact.

"If you can't beat them, just admit defeat. All you do is spout useless nonsense and sow discord!" the engineer scoffed.

"Ignore her, there's no need to argue. We've already won," He Zhangxing said expressionlessly.

After finishing her steamed bun, Su Jin tore off a piece of paper to wipe her hands, her cheeks puffing out.

"Yes, you absolutely mustn't lose."

"You...!" The blond-haired man stepped forward, about to utter a wild word, when he caught a glimpse of a tall man, about 1.9 meters tall, appearing behind Su Jin.

Su Jin crossed her legs, looking relaxed and carefree.

The person standing behind her was tall and imposing, firmly enclosing her in his own territory.

With his helmet tucked under his arm, Zhou Zheng stared coldly at the blond-haired man, effectively sealing his mouth with his gaze.

The blond-haired man mumbled a few words, spat on the ground, and didn't dare to actually lash out at Zhou Zheng.

He Zhangxing snapped his fingers, drawing Zhou Zheng's attention to himself. "Hey, let's see if you can still overtake me on the straightaway during the race."

"Great! I'll overtake you on the curves too, not just the straightaways!" Zhou Zheng clicked his tongue loudly.

He Zhangxing ignored his pointless provocation, lifted the curtain, and went straight in.

As soon as He Zhangxing entered the room, his expression changed.

The team manager knew things were going to get messed up immediately. How could the young master of the He family resist such provocation? He slammed his helmet on the table right then and there.

"Clang!"

The helmet slammed loudly a few times before being caught by someone before hitting the ground.

The manager, exasperated, could only step forward to comfort him, "Young Master He, don't pay attention to what he says. If it weren't for the rally race, a piece of trash like him would never have seen you in his entire life!"

"She said our engineers are bad? Our car modifications aren't good enough?" He Zhangxing grabbed his collar, his eyes devoid of any gentleness.

The manager quickly explained, "How could that be?! The engineer I found for you is the best! What does that little brat know? She's just trying to play mind games! They can't find any engineers at all! At most, they just need to fix the car's configuration itself."

He Zhangxing suddenly loosened his collar, shoved the man back, and stared intently at the manager with eagle-like eyes.

"That would be best!"