Night Rose

Wang Tianle had been instructed by Zhou Zheng not to tell anyone else about Zhou Zheng's affairs.

But when faced with Su Jin, Wang Tianle hesitated. He scratched his fingertips and whispered, "Brother Zhou has been very busy lately. He's busy with important matters."

"He's so busy, does he even have time to practice racing? You can't just go straight to the track and win a championship with some amateurish methods. That's too simplistic of you," Su Jin pouted, feeling dissatisfied.

"Brother Zhou can definitely do it!" Wang Tianle slammed his fist on the table, his determined expression unwavering.

A loud "thump" woke Zhou Zheng from his nap.

"What the hell are you yelling about?" Zhou Zheng's voice was hoarse as he kicked the chubby boy in the butt.

"Brother Zhou, it's Sister Su." Wang Tianle stood aside, feeling wronged, and continued working on his abacus.

Su Jin waved to him, still with a smile on her face.

Her optimistic nature had helped her accept the team's incompetence; perhaps it was a test from heaven on her road to success, she comforted herself with that thought.

Zhou Zheng has a terrible temper when he wakes up. He struggled to open his sleepy eyes several times before he could finally manage to.

He rubbed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

The phone alarm went off. Su Jin glanced at the slightly worn phone, which kept ringing until its owner's slender fingers slid across the screen and finally went silent.

Zhou Zheng propped his head up with both hands, rubbed his numb scalp vigorously, and then looked up at her.

"You don't need to be so punctual next time, Miss Su."

He had just woken up, and his voice was deep and husky, which sounded strangely pleasant.

For some reason, Su Jin felt a little embarrassed and turned her head to look at the mural on the wall.

Why did that scoundrel's voice sound somewhat like Zhou Zheng's that night?

Zhou Zheng assumed she was just being difficult, so he took a sip of ice water to clear his throat, went backstage to wash his face, and then came out.

"Let's go to the venue."

It doesn't sound like that now.

Su Jin's ears twitched slightly, reassuring herself that it must be her imagination.

She couldn't help but glance at Zhou Zheng. Zhou Zheng was still wearing an ordinary suit, no different from the mechanics in the car repair shop, but his superior physique always gave him a unique look.

Tu Ying insisted on coming to watch them lap around the track in person, but he got up later than Zhou Zheng.

It wasn't until Zhou Zheng called to urge him that this stingy boss slowly got out of bed.

While waiting, Su Jin went into the garage and looked at the haphazardly placed car repair tools and the cleaned old car.

It seems someone already inspected the car yesterday. After all, it's a car that's going to be on the track; who can feel at ease without a thorough inspection?

Zhou Zheng picked up a stool, sat down on it, his long legs dangling casually. His gaze seemed unintentional, but it was subtly fixed on Su Jin, as if trying to see what she was going to do.

Su Jin grabbed the roll cage and shook it hard. It felt too loose. If it were to run at race car speed, it would be extremely dangerous.

Several hidden dangers lurk deep within and require repair.

Su Jin was able to move freely in her clothes today, and picked up the tools next to her to start working.

Zhou Zheng initially watched while sitting, then stood while watching, and gradually moved to Su Jin's side, watching her operate the device.

A pair of very steady hands, moving as smoothly as a doctor performing surgery, the tools moving between parts, precisely pinpointing the "lesion" and patching it up.

As Su Jin straightened up, she saw Zhou Zheng beside her looking at her with a curious expression. She shrugged helplessly and said, "Let's do some emergency repairs first. I'll move it after I buy some replacement parts. It's too old, and I'm afraid too much work will cause problems."

Zhou Zheng nodded. He was somewhat surprised by Su Jin's performance and even wondered how much truth there was to Tu Ying's claim that she was a top foreign engineer.

"Sorry for the long wait!"

Tu Ying pulled up the heels of her shoes as she walked this way.

Zhou Zheng tossed him the Volkswagen keys, "Boss Tu, you and Little Fatty drive this and follow behind us."

"Okay! No problem, just drive slowly," Tu Ying said cheerfully.

Wang Tianle had just arrived and hadn't heard any instructions. He instinctively tried to walk towards Zhou Zheng, but Tu Ying grabbed him by the neck and pulled him outside.

Tu Ying patted his belly, "Little Fatty, come on, ride in my car today."

Wang Tianle glanced back at the two of them, suddenly realized something, exclaimed "Oh!", and followed Tu Ying away.

The two were left standing there silently looking at each other before quickly looking away.

Su Jin was quite disgusted with the car yesterday, but after it was washed, it finally looked much better, and the air inside the car smelled better too, but the old engine oil smell just wouldn't go away.

A helmet was handed to her, and Su Jin took it instinctively.

Looking down, she saw the pink pig electric scooter helmet pointing its nose at her with a憨厚 (honest and simple) expression.

"You...you all..." Su Jin couldn't speak.

"I paid for the new helmet," Zhou Zheng emphasized. "If you don't want it, just give me the money back."

She had long been aware of how poor this team was, but she almost laughed in anger when Zhou Zheng pulled out an electric scooter helmet.

Su Jin actually laughed; she looked furious.

She patted her helmet. "To be honest, Zhou Zheng, I haven't had time to buy accident insurance yet."

Zhou Zheng put another electric scooter helmet on his head and adjusted the strap.

"Then why don't you buy one now? And buy one for me while you're at it, with Wang Xiaopang listed as the beneficiary."

Su Jin closed her eyes, her fingers trembling as she tried to accept reality.

After taking a few deep breaths, she put on her helmet, got into the car expressionlessly, and used her phone to buy insurance.

She fastened her seatbelt, her voice calm and collected, "Let's go."

Zhou Zheng drove the race car very steadily. When they entered the city, they attracted a lot of attention. Seeing some citizens taking pictures with their phones, Su Jin just hoped that she would not appear in the local video recommendation section.

Nanyuan has a professional racetrack, where young men from neighboring cities usually come to race cars. When there are official competitions, the track is temporarily closed to allow participating teams to practice.

Tu Ying had booked a time. The track was in a remote location, but it wasn't far for their tavern; it only took them forty minutes to get there.

Tu Ying's car couldn't drive on the track, so she waited for them at the parking spot next to it.

The Nanyuan race track is divided into two sections.

The first section of the course is a winding mountain road, about 7 kilometers long, with an elevation difference of up to 25 meters.

The second section of the course is a rural road, about 16 kilometers long, with complex terrain and muddy, difficult terrain.

The entire route traversed asphalt roads, gravel roads, and dirt roads, posing a significant challenge to tire selection and on-the-spot adaptability.

Today they'll first test the car's performance at a professional racetrack.

Looking at the endless track, Wang Tianle felt uneasy.

"Boss, is Brother Zhou capable?"

Tu Ying put his hands on his hips and did some warm-up exercises, jumping a few steps in place as if he were the one who was going to drive the car later.

"I trust you, Brother Zhou."

The track was only open to them today, and after they registered, the security guards let them in.

Even the security guards couldn't help but glance at their car a couple more times.

The two changed into the racing suits and helmets provided by the venue. Su Jin tugged at her clothes with disdain, wishing she had bought her own set.

"The return rate is extremely high," Zhou Zheng concluded.

Su Jin tried to cover her head, but only touched the helmet. She waved her hand weakly, "Try driving, give it your all, don't drive as slowly as you do in an unlicensed car."

She had wanted to say this earlier in the city: Zhou Zheng's driving was exemplary; he absolutely obeyed traffic rules, never speeding, cutting in front of others, or swerving.

"Too slow?" Zhou Zheng chuckled enigmatically. He adjusted his posture, clenched his fists a few times, and muttered to himself, "Haven't driven in a while, need to be careful with the speed."

After saying that, he started the race car.