Chapter 3: The older brother should give way to his younger sister.
*Snap*
Mr. Chen lit a cigarette, took a deep breath, and said to Wu Zhenlin, "Mr. Wu, do you know what 45.101 means?"
"Mr. Chen, please put out your cigarette." Wu Zhenlin pointed to his child.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Mr. Chen threw his cigarette on the ground and stomped it out. Wu Zhenlin neither abstained from smoking nor drinking, and he had gotten used to it from their previous conversations, so he hadn't noticed that there was a child here today.
"Thank you." Wu Zhenlin patted his son's head and said, "I really don't know much about this. I see you have quite a few records that are higher than this, right?"
"Then you're wrong. Those were cars with higher horsepower. The two cars I just prepared are NCJ-A level cars, with lower performance, specifically for kids."
Mr. Chen began to recall the fastest lap times for this level of competition in previous years.
Last season's first-place finisher ran 15 laps in what seemed like eleven minutes and a half seconds. I don't remember the fastest lap, but a lap time of 45 seconds must have been quite amazing.
He looked at Wu Shi again and said seriously, "I rarely comment on the kids at the racetrack, but he really gives me a different feeling, if this really is his first time driving a go-kart."
Before Wu Zhenlin could reply, a loud cry rang out from behind him.
"Waaaaaah!!!"
Louise, having removed her helmet, burst into tears. Two rosy, glistening gems were set in her pale face. She walked over, rubbing her eyes.
When they saw Wu Shi, their crying grew even louder, and they mumbled something incoherently:
"Cheat! Cheat! Cheat!" (Liar)
"The Chinese are amazing," Wu Shi said in brief English.
"Did he understand?" Wu Zhenlin thought to himself. His previous feeling was right; the child really did understand.
"Louise, stop crying. You should apologize to Wu Shi now!" Martina's voice came. She did not spoil her daughter because she was upset.
"No!" Louise practically screamed.
"You are now taking responsibility for your mistakes. No matter how angry you are, you must understand that you were the one who wanted the competition and provoked the other."
Martina continued, saying that she understood from Wu Shi's words that the child understood English and was criticizing Louise's rude provocation.
"Alright, alright, Louise didn't do it on purpose, it's all in the past," Wu Zhenlin said, trying to smooth things over.
"This is definitely not his first time driving a go-kart! He's a fraud!" Louise continued to shout.
Wu Shi's head was spinning from the childish, broken voice. He felt that as an "adult," it would be better for him to take a step back and resolve the dispute.
"Okay, okay, I'm so sorry."
Upon hearing this, the little girl immediately stopped crying.
Martina walked over, bent down to look him in the eye, and said in accented Chinese, "Wu Shi, you don't need to apologize when you haven't done anything wrong."
"Yes, I understand, but I just want Louise to stop crying. If an apology can solve the problem, isn't that good? Besides, Auntie is also, well."
Wu Shi scratched his head. It was all his father's fault for not making things clear before. He couldn't say it directly now either. What if the aunt hadn't confessed to his father? Wouldn't it be bad if he just said it directly?
Martina's eyes showed a hint of surprise. This child was far too precocious. She smiled and patted Wu Shi on the shoulder: "You are very sensible. I really envy your father for having a child like you."
Then she stood up and looked at Louise. Sure enough, her own child couldn't compare to other children.
But soon they should all belong to us, right?
"Mom! What did he say to you?" Louise wiped the tears from her cheeks and asked Martina.
"Answer my question first. Have you realized your mistake?" Martina asked rhetorically.
Louise would never have bowed her head, but her curiosity about what her mother and Wu Shi had said quickly overwhelmed her resolve.
She nodded and said, "I'm sorry, I was being unreasonable just now, and I apologize for my rudeness."
"Good, I'm glad you understand."
"I've already admitted my mistake! Can you tell me what you were just saying?"
"Of course, I told him that there's no need to apologize if you haven't made a mistake," Martina paused.
"What did he say?" Louise's eyes widened, eager to know the answer.
"He said that the older brother should give way to the younger sister," Martina said with a smile.
"Huh?!" Louise's eyes widened even more.
"?"
Wu Shi, who listened to the whole thing, had a big question mark on his head.
"Ahem, Mr. Wu, speaking of which, do you have any ideas about letting Xiao Wu pursue a professional career?" Boss Chen asked Wu Zhenlin when he saw that the child had stopped making a fuss.
"It depends on him. Besides, just one race isn't enough to prove his talent." Wu Zhenlin actually didn't want Wu Shi to go professional.
Race car drivers are athletes who often have to deal with death; it's too dangerous. But as his first four words suggest, everything depends on Wu Shi's own ideas.
"Xiao Wu, what do you think? How about becoming a professional racer? Uncle really believes in you!"
Mr. Chen exuded confidence, believing in his judgment that Wu Shi not only possessed considerable talent, but more importantly, the Wu family was not short of money.
If you don't have enough money, you can't play racing games.
Wu Shi lowered his eyes, wondering if he should return to the racetrack. When he truly stood at the crossroads of his life, he was still hesitant.
"If all else fails, you can try running in the CKC (China Karting Championship) for a year first. If you do very well, then it's not too late to consider it," Mr. Chen said.
"I think it's worth a try. That lap just now was quite impressive," Martina said. She didn't dwell on whether Wu Shi was a first-timer in go-karting or not; once he's been racing for a season, his talent will be revealed.
When Wu Zhenlin heard Martina's evaluation of Wu Shi again, he couldn't help but wonder, is my son really that talented? So talented that even Martina from the Lafayette racing division looks at him differently?
"Son, what are your thoughts?" Wu Zhenlin asked Wu Shi.
"If you become an excellent driver, it will be a great help to your dad's career too!" Martina suddenly said.
Wu Zhenlin frowned. Just as he was about to speak, he heard his son's voice:
"run."
"son?"
"I want to run away myself." Wu Shi lowered his head and did not look at his father.
He, who was still on the scales of hesitation, was firmly pushed towards becoming a race car driver by Martina's words.
His father was absolutely good to him, and that was not only because of him, but also because of his father.
He is willing to return to the track.
"Great! Get the race license sorted out before April, and I'll cover all the registration fees for this season!" Mr. Chen said happily.
"No, no, no, you're too kind," Wu Zhenlin quickly waved his hand.
"Hey! Mr. Wu, this is my investment, okay?" Mr. Chen was so happy that he reached for a cigarette again, but then quietly put it away after seeing the two children.
"Let's go upstairs and talk," Wu Zhenlin clapped his hands, interrupting everyone and forgetting that they were there to discuss cooperation.
"no problem!"