Boom!
A silver-white F1 race car crashed into the side guardrail, its rear wing flew off, hitting the car closely following behind. That car immediately lost control, spun a few times on the spot, then collided with the vehicles coming right after, and both cars burst into flames simultaneously…
At the same time, the silver-white F1 race car, the culprit, also unwilling to show weakness, flared up before exploding with a "boom"…
GAME OVER! (Failure!)
In front of the electronic screen, Ye Qiu put down the controller, gazing somewhat blankly at the glaring English words on the screen.
Seeing the race car engulfed in flames following his operational error, despite it just being a game, and that a crash wouldn't harm him, Ye Qiu felt it all so real, as if it had genuinely happened!
Click.
The door behind him opened, and wearing a racing suit, Lin Xirou walked in. Upon seeing Ye Qiu staring blankly at the screen, her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and her eyes, as if capable of speech, revealed inexplicable regret.
"You're here!"
Ye Qiu didn't turn around, as if he already knew who had come in from behind.
"Yes, I'm here." Lin Xirou nodded, just about to say something when Ye Qiu, who looked a bit frail and was also wearing a racing suit, got up and said, "Let's go..."
After saying this, he walked past Lin Xirou with his head down.
Lin Xirou opened her mouth slightly, turned around to look at Ye Qiu's departing figure, clenching her fist.
"Alas, Heaven envies the talented... Perhaps the heavens think you're too outstanding!"
Lin Xirou looked heartbroken at Ye Qiu's gradually disappearing back, turned her head to glance at the screen flickering with "GAME OVER" and felt slightly dazzled.
"Haha, created professional racing records, the best driver in a hundred years, yet reduced to killing time playing games, and besides..."
Staring at the car bursting into flames on the screen, Lin Xirou felt uncomfortable inside, quickly turned off the screen, and chased after Ye Qiu.
...
"Highway Hero" professional racing driver's club, still brightly lit late at night.
Ye Qiu came in after knocking and nodded to the manager of the Highway Hero racing club. Then, noticing a young man sitting next to him with a cold face and an unruly smile, his brows furrowed.
"Aik?"
Ye Qiu, frowning, stared at that young man, who, in return, met Ye Qiu's gaze, his unruly smile growing larger. Finally, he stood up and nodded to Ye Qiu, "Brother, you're here!"
Ye Qiu stared at Aik, his best friend, teammate, and brother, saying, "Aik, why are you here?"
"I had him come."
The club manager stood up from his seat, nodded to Aik, then said to Ye Qiu, "You know the club's decision about you, right?"
Ye Qiu nodded, having long known that the club wanted to remove him from the position of a main racing driver, something Ye Qiu had no objections to.
Ever since leading the team to compete for the world championship, for some reason, his mind went blank at a critical moment, not only losing control of the car himself but also causing his teammates to exit one after another.
Fortunately, rescue was timely, and neither he nor his teammates suffered any unexpected incidents, but Ye Qiu became a sinner of the team from then on.
It seemed that from that moment, people forgot how much this record-breaking genius driver Ye Qiu had contributed to this team.
Moreover, people seemed to forget that Ye Qiu led the team to win the world championship in the Professional Racing League the previous year.
This is reality. When you're at the peak, praise and compliments will shower down upon you unstintingly.
But once you fall from the pedestal, all the slander and curses will follow closely behind.
"Alright!"
The manager saw Ye Qiu's somewhat desolate expression, with a trace of regret flashing in his eyes.
But then, noticing Aik's urging glance next to him, he immediately said to Ye Qiu, "Ye Qiu, thank you for everything you've done for the team; the team will not forget your contributions, so..."
Looking at Ye Qiu's still somewhat naive face, recalling everything this genius boy had done for the team, he found it hard to speak the next words.
But hearing Aik's cough beside him, he took a deep breath and said, "So, Ye Qiu, after handing over that car, you can help out at the team's maintenance center!"
Bam!
Just as the manager finished speaking, the door behind Ye Qiu was forcefully pushed open, and then an indignant Lin Xirou stormed in.
As soon as she entered, she pointed at the manager and said angrily, "You're going too far, how can you treat Ye Qiu like this, hasn't he done at least some hard work even if not accomplishments for the team over these years? Moreover, have you forgotten who brought the team the championship last season?"
Saying this, Lin Xirou pointed to a golden sculpture behind the manager, of the greatest racing driver, a symbol of the highest honor in professional racing, the World Professional Racing Championship trophy:
"Have you all forgotten? It was Ye Qiu who brought this to the team, have you forgotten the joy you felt when enjoying those honors? How can you now burn bridges after crossing them..."
As Lin Xirou spoke, the manager also turned to look at that golden, shining trophy esteemed by the world's drivers and teams as the highest honor, sighing inside.
Then, he looked at Ye Qiu, who was also staring blankly at the trophy, shaking his head slightly.
He also knew that Ye Qiu's merit in obtaining this trophy was the greatest, but some things weren't within his deciding power...
"Xirou, control yourself!"
As Lin Xirou trembled all over with anger, Aik, standing by, grabbed Lin Xirou's arm and said.
Then, taking a glance at Ye Qiu, who was staring blankly at the trophy, he smiled and said, "Actually, having Ye Qiu go to the maintenance department isn't bad, the club is also considering Ye Qiu's situation, after all, he isn't suitable for driving now..."
Lin Xirou was stunned and looked at Aik, while Ye Qiu, who was staring at the trophy in a daze, also suddenly looked at Aik, his eyes showing confusion.
"Aik, what are you saying?" Seeing the confusion in Ye Qiu's eyes, Lin Xirou asked somewhat angrily.
Aik, who was being stared at by Ye Qiu and Lin Xirou, avoided looking at Ye Qiu and instead explained to Lin Xirou, "I'm just stating the facts. Ye Qiu is indeed not suitable for driving right now..."
Hearing Aik say this again and seeing the fear in the manager's eyes when looking at Aik, Ye Qiu recalled a rumor that Aik's father was the owner of this club. In that moment, it seemed Ye Qiu found his answer.
He wants me to lose everything, he wants to replace me, he wants to become the team captain. Ye Qiu stared at Aik, watching his avoiding gaze, Ye Qiu's fists slowly clenched.
"Aik, what are you saying? Aren't you and Ye Qiu brothers? How can you at this moment suggest sending Ye Qiu to the maintenance department?"
Lin Xirou couldn't believe it. Aik, instead of speaking up for Ye Qiu and fighting for some opportunities, was actually in favor of sending Ye Qiu, who joined the Professional Racing Alliance at 12 as the strongest new talent, setting countless records,
and at 14, achieved his first MVP, becoming the youngest MVP, leading the team to clinch the Professional Racing World Championship, and winning the finals FMVP, to do car maintenance.
What they call car maintenance sounds nice, like giving cars a service, but in the club, it's washing cars, not even as good as a repair technician!
And they used to be the best of brothers!
"I'm not wrong, Xirou. Ye Qiu really can't drive right now!"
Aik, seeing Lin Xirou's questioning gaze, explained, "Besides, does Ye Qiu understand vehicle repair, does he know car modification?"
Seeing Lin Xirou fall silent, Aik continued, "So, having Ye Qiu do maintenance work is also good. At least the team will support him, and as a maintenance worker, he's still in the team, you and I can still see him, and we can take care of him, don't you think..."
"Enough!"
Ye Qiu, who had been silently staring at Aik, shouted, interrupting Aik's words.
Aik looked at Ye Qiu, his brows furrowing tightly, just about to say something.
Ye Qiu then said, "No need to say anymore, I understand!"
"What do you understand, Ye Qiu? Maybe what Aik said..."
Lin Xirou was also persuaded by Aik. She thought that as a main team member, she could take care of Ye Qiu as long as he stayed with the team, using her earnings to support him.
But now, seeing the look in Ye Qiu's eyes and the expression on Aik's face, Lin Xirou suddenly seemed to realize something, abruptly turning to say something to Aik, only to have Ye Qiu grab her arm.
Ye Qiu's calm voice resonated through the room, "I don't need this charity, terminate my contract, I'm leaving..."
"Ye Qiu!"
Upon hearing Ye Qiu's words, Lin Xirou was shocked, wanting to say something but only seeing Ye Qiu shaking his head desolately at her, swallowed her words again.
She knew that although Ye Qiu wasn't the talkative type, once he made a decision, no one could change it.
Not even her...
"Ye Qiu, you still have three years left on your contract with the team, the termination fee..."
"I'll pay it!"
Before the manager could finish, Ye Qiu interrupted, "I've saved up some money over these years, so however much the termination fee is, I'll cover it all!"
The manager nodded at Ye Qiu's words, not saying anything further.
Even though Ye Qiu rarely took on commercial activities, his fame over the years had grown so much that any time he did take on endorsements, they were always at exorbitant fees, so the manager knew Ye Qiu could afford the termination fee.
After speaking to the manager, Ye Qiu glanced at the trophies he had earned through endless days and nights of effort, smiled faintly, then turned to look at Lin Xirou.
Looking at the girl who joined the team with him, trained with him, ate with him, and always supported and admired him, and stood by his side no matter the circumstances.
Ye Qiu smiled, wanting to reach out and pinch her smooth face as usual, but as he raised his hand, he thought about her promising future, potentially becoming a big name in the racing world.
While he himself could only become a nobody...
Thinking about how the two might be worlds apart from now on, raising his hand, he slowly put it down.
"Take care of yourself!"
Feeling a pain in his heart, Ye Qiu ultimately managed to squeeze out a smile for the girl with tears in her eyes, knowing what could happen, and turned to leave...
"Ye Qiu..."
Lin Xirou could no longer hold it back, tears fell as she went to chase after Ye Qiu.
But as she took a step, a strong hand grabbed her arm.
After Lin Xirou shouted, Ye Qiu paused his steps, slowly turning.
When he turned and saw Aik holding Lin Xirou's arm, with a rebellious smile on his face, looking at him, Ye Qiu's eyes reddened.
"Don't worry, Ye Qiu, I'll take good care of Xirou."
When Ye Qiu heard Aik say this, a blank feeling once again surged in his brain, and he fainted again.
But this time, unlike the last, at the moment of collapsing, Ye Qiu heard a clear voice in his mind: "The Car God System has successfully merged with the host."
...
...
pS
New book seeking support: If you think it's good, please leave your recommendation votes and add the book to your shelf. Racing novels are rare and hard to write. But rest assured, the author has prepared extensively to ensure it won't disappoint.
Here, a little spoiler from the author: the protagonist Ye Qiu will encounter Fujiwara Takumi, the Car God of Qiuming Mountain, during the Asian Region's intercontinental battles. Let's see whether Takumi is more impressive, or if Ye Qiu surpasses him. Every time the author sees the outline of Ye Qiu's showdown with Takumi, it gets their blood pumping...
Also, a quick update, the book has already been signed within a chapter, so feel free to add it to your collection.