Night Rose

Zhou Zheng finished his rice noodles while sitting at the entrance of his building. His phone beeped twice, indicating that it was almost out of battery, and then the call ended automatically.

He reluctantly touched the screen, clicked into Su Jin's Moments, and listlessly looked at her latest posts.

That was the championship she and he won together, and she captured the colorful ribbons in the sky beautifully in her photos.

Zhou Zheng gave her a thumbs up and scrolled down to see Su Jin's updates. He wanted to see the race cars Su Jin had modified before, or her past racing updates. He wanted to understand her better; chatting and video calls alone were not enough.

Su Jin loves to share her daily life; even the cats and dogs she encounters on the street are worth posting on social media.

But there wasn't a single update on the match; it was completely silent, nothing at all.

Zhou Zheng also wanted to see those multi-million dollar race cars. He'd never driven one, but he could at least see them and feast his eyes.

Although there are plenty of pictures online, the race cars that have been handled by Su Jin are just different; they look more personal.

After scrolling through Su Jin's WeChat Moments for half a year, I reached my limit, and my battery also hit its limit.

He put away his phone and looked up at the entrance of the residential area again, finally spotting his old man walking back.

"Grandpa, where did you go for breakfast? You're back so late," Zhou Zheng asked, half-complaining.

"I went to the park to watch people play chess." Grandpa's eyes showed unconcealed weariness, and even his forced smile couldn't hide the sadness in them.

"You've lost your mind watching chess?" Zhou Zheng got up to throw out the trash, preparing to go upstairs with his grandfather.

Grandpa's back looked even more hunched as he walked ahead, saying, "I'm getting old."

Zhou Zheng caught up with him in a few steps, put his arm around his back, and said in a disrespectful manner, "Who said you're old? Don't use old age as an excuse. You still have to take care of these flowers yourself. I'll only help you carry them up and down; I won't take care of anything else."

"Really? Then give the succulents back first." Grandpa's mood improved, and he glared at him, blowing his beard.

Zhou Zheng spread his long arms and said, "No, I've already pocketed it."

"You brat! Get back to school as soon as your leave of absence is over," Grandpa said irritably.

"There's still more than half a year to go, no rush."

"Your birthday is coming up soon, what do you want this year?"

Zhou Zheng counted the days. "Wait a minute, there are still three months left. Why are you in more hurry than I am?"

"Three more months? In one month, it will be the anniversary of your mother's death. This year, I'll go with you." Grandpa sighed.

"I thought you were so sad because of something, turns out you were thinking about my mom again. Okay, why don't you come with us this year? My mom must miss you too." Zhou Zheng helped his grandfather slowly upstairs.

Grandpa looked at Zhou Zheng, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

His burly grandson has grown so big. He probably looks like Fang Meng, but his strong features are just like his father's. No wonder Fang Meng insisted on marrying his father back then; he was just too good-looking.

Grandpa couldn't help but worry about Zhou Zheng's future, and sighed.

"What's wrong now, Grandpa? Can you stop being so angry all at once?" Zhou Zheng asked.

"If you like someone, you have to be devoted to them, understand? You can't be fickle and act on a whim. Xiao Su is seven years older than you, and her beauty will eventually fade. When that time comes, will you still love her?" Grandpa asked seriously.

Zhou Zheng had never thought about this question before, but since his grandfather asked, he thought about it carefully.

He imagined what Su Jin would look like when she grew old. She was so beautiful; she would surely be a gentle and graceful old woman when she got old.

Thinking about this, he actually laughed.

"Grandpa, are you worried I'll turn out like my dad? Don't worry, Su Jin is so outstanding, she has more choices than me. If she chooses me too, we'll definitely stick together. My mom must have gotten rid of the bad genes a long time ago, otherwise I wouldn't be so fickle, or I wouldn't be single all this time," Zhou Zheng retorted.

That makes sense, and Grandpa couldn't think of any reason to refute him, so he just patted his head and left.

Zhou Zheng didn't sleep much last night. He plugged in his phone and took a nap until the afternoon.

Tu Ying called him and asked him to come over to discuss something.

When Zhou Zheng arrived at the tavern, Tu Ying was on the phone. He had been making so many calls lately that he was practically splitting his ears apart to make calls and splitting his mouth in two to use them!

"Haha, okay, okay, thank you for your trust. There are some details we can discuss further..." Tu Ying gave him a wink, signaling him to sit down and rest while she finished her call.

Wang Tianle was sitting there playing on his phone when he saw Zhou Zheng arrive. He quickly waved for him to sit next to him.

"Brother Zhou! Come sit here! Why didn't you come with us to celebrate the other day? My parents took me and Grandpa Fang to eat hot pot, the one you like best. Let's go together next time."

Zhou Zheng did not answer why he did not go, but only thanked himself for not going.

"He invited you too? What's going on? Such a grand occasion."

Wang Tianle shook his head. "I don't know. Boss Tu called me here, didn't say anything, and just told me to stay here."

"What are you playing?" Zhou Zheng glanced at his phone.

Wang Tianle held up his phone to show him, "I'm looking at racing news. Ever since I won the championship, my dad has been following racing news every day and insists on discussing it with me. If I don't keep up with the times, I'll have nothing to talk to him about!"

"So what current events have been happening lately?" Zhou Zheng leaned back on the sofa, found a comfortable position, and sent a message to Su Jin on his phone.

Zhou: Boss Tu called me and Little Fatty to the tavern. I wonder what crazy thing he's going to do next.

It was the middle of the night for Su Jin, so she naturally couldn't reply to him.

"The biggest news right now is that the Chinese driver who was injured in the New York rally has woken up! He was in a coma for three months! Racers are really strong," Wang Tianle remarked.

Upon hearing the word "New York," Zhou Zheng turned to look at him. "The New York Rally? I think I've heard about that. It's about that female engineer who caused an accident while repairing a car, leading to the race car catching fire?"

This incident has spread widely; anyone who follows the racing world knows about it.

"Yeah! Didn't you tell me before that the female engineer really killed someone? If the driver doesn't wake up, she'll really be carrying a life on her shoulders," Wang Tianle said with emotion.

As Zhou Zheng listened to this news, he felt something was strange. Could there really be such a coincidence?

The injured driver from the New York Rally wakes up, and just then Su Jin rushes back to New York. What is her connection to this incident?

Before he could figure it out, Tu Yingxing rushed over after finishing the call and slammed his hand on the sofa, attracting the attention of the two men.

"First of all, thanks to everyone's participation, our team achieved good results this time! Many big bosses have contacted me, and the rally organizers are also paying attention to our subsequent races."

I initially thought it was just a simple prize-winning event, but now, someone wants to invest heavily in our team so we can compete in more rally races. What do you mean? Do you want to win more races?