F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 99 Post-Match (Fourth Update)
After finishing the interview, Wu Shi had just returned home and packed his luggage with Louise when he received a call from his father.

"Hey, Dad."

"Congratulations on winning the championship! I'm going to Europe before May Day, let's find a place to celebrate then!"

Wu Zhenlin originally planned to visit his son during the May Day holiday, but then remembered that his son seemed to have a competition when he arrived, so he changed his plans.

“Great! Louise took me to a restaurant last time, and it was pretty good. Let’s go eat there together.” Wu Shi doesn’t have many hobbies, but besides racing, eating is one of them.

"OK, by the way, do you still remember Reporter Zhi?"

“Reporter Zhi?” Wu Shi thought for a moment. “Oh! I remember, he was the one who interviewed us when we were karting in China.”

Seven years have passed since 2007. Some things, if not mentioned, will probably slowly fade from memory.

“She just contacted me and said she’s already at Silverstone Circuit, but because she hasn’t received press permission, she can’t get onto the track. She asked me to ask if you’re free so she can talk to you.”

"Hmm! Of course, no problem, but Sid isn't here, so it might be difficult to discuss business matters."

"It's okay, let's just chat first."

After finishing their business, the father and son chatted for a while before hanging up the phone.

Wu Shi found the team leader and told him that some things would take an hour or so.

The team leader glanced at his watch and said, "It's alright, I'll have Alan and the others stay behind. You can take the later flight."

"Okay! Thank you, team leader."

"It's nothing, then we'll head back now. You only have one day of vacation, so remember to come back the day after tomorrow."

"Don't worry, I won't be late."

After greeting the convoy, Wu Shi led Louise to the public area outside the pit room. As soon as they reached the entrance, they saw Zhi Shiwei and the others.

After all, among a group of foreigners, it's still possible to spot your compatriots at a glance.

They were not idle at this time, as they were surrounded by a group of international students.

Wu Shi walked over to them.

Seeing that there were quite a few strangers, Louise silently followed Wu Shi, her arm linked with his.

"Hey! Reporter Zhi!" Wu Shi called out from outside the crowd.

"Whoa!! Wu Shi!"

"Finally, we saw Wu Shi without his helmet!"

"Can we take a picture together?!"

When Zhi Shiwei's response went unheard, the group of international students immediately became lively.

"no problem."

Facing enthusiastic fellow countrymen and car enthusiasts, Wu Shi didn't put on airs; he's not some self-important person.

"Since that's the case, let's just take a group photo!"

The others naturally agreed with the suggestion, so someone stepped forward to direct everyone to stand in line, and then pulled over a foreign friend wearing a baseball cap to help take a picture.

"Let's create a group chat, everyone join, and we'll put the photos in there!" the organizer shouted.

Some people, not satisfied with just taking a group photo, squeezed in and insisted on taking a selfie with Wu Shi.

After finally getting to know his enthusiastic domestic fans, Wu Shi finally had a chance to greet Zhi Shiwei, who was watching him and Louise with a smile.

"Hello, reporter Zhi."

"Are you getting so distant now? You didn't call me that before." Zhi Shiwei extended her hand and teased. "Hehe." Wu Shi shook hands with Zhi Shiwei and said, "Sister Shiwei."

"That's more like it!" Zhi Shiwei said happily, "Is it convenient to conduct the interview now?"

“Of course,” Wu Shi nodded.

Actually, Zhi Shiwei's main purpose in coming here wasn't for an interview, so after asking a few simple, symbolic questions, she asked the cameraman to turn off the equipment and said:

"We'd like to do an exclusive interview with you, as we don't know if you'll be free recently."

"Exclusive interview?"

"Yes, you don't know, there has been a lot more coverage of you in the domestic media."

"Oh, I'm not quite sure about that yet, after all, I'm just a race car driver," Wu Shi said with a smile.

The racing culture in China is not strong. Even when Zhou Guanyu won the F3 championship, it was only mentioned briefly and trended on social media. It didn't really break into the mainstream.

This shows that the racing community is quite niche and doesn't have much online buzz.

"Haha, actually it's mainly within the racing circle~ But the reason we're here for this interview is to help you break into the mainstream and, incidentally, discuss some collaborations with you," Zhi Shiwei said.

"There's no need to break into the mainstream. I don't like being in the spotlight too much, as I'm easily influenced and controlled by public opinion. However, I'm very willing to collaborate, but my agent needs to be involved. After all, I don't understand these things very well, and I'm underage, so I can't make the decisions," Wu Shi said.

Zhi Shiwei was somewhat surprised. With the rise of the Internet in China, the emergence of the term "internet celebrity" in the past two years has attracted a large number of young people to join the Internet wave, hoping to gain attention and traffic to become internet celebrities.

Unexpectedly, Wu Shi had such a rational understanding of online traffic that he directly rejected the suggestion of expanding his reach beyond his immediate circle.

Just like my previous impression, this guy's perspective on things is on a completely different level from his age.

“It’s all negotiable, we can discuss it in detail later! You should be returning to Europe with the convoy soon, so we won’t disturb you any longer,” Zhi Shiwei said.

"You could have just called and discussed this with my dad. I didn't expect you to make a special trip."

"Haha, this is a show of sincerity, so we have to come." Zhi Shiwei laughed and patted Wu Shi's head, saying:
"You've grown taller than me! Wow, that's fast! Back when I interviewed you, I had to squat down! If I hadn't been quick, you would have slipped away during our first interview."

"Hahaha~" Wu Shi couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. At that time, Zeng Tianyi was emotionally unstable, and he was in a hurry to go find him with Ling Kang.

Zhi Shiwei then turned to Louise and said, "Louise has grown so much, from a little doll to a big doll, and you two are still so close!"
Louise clung tightly to Wu Shi, blinked, and, unsure how to respond, simply smiled and said, "Thank you."

"Haha, the little girl has become shy. She wasn't this demure when she was little," Zhi Shiwei laughed.

After chatting for a while, Wu Shi took Louise to the parking lot, where Alan was waiting for them.

"I didn't understand what she said next." Seven years have passed, and Louise's Chinese is not that she hasn't learned it completely, but rather that she hasn't learned it at all.

“She said you’re becoming more and more quiet and lovely,” Wu Shi said.

Louise seemed to understand, but since it was a compliment, she accepted it gladly, and her steps became lighter.

After Wu Shi left, Zhi Shiwei and his group also prepared to return.

"Editor-in-Chief Zhi, why didn't we just conduct an exclusive interview? The sooner we get the report, the better for us!" Chief reporter Yuan Xuanyu, who was in charge of the interview, asked anxiously.

“He doesn’t have time. I told you, I came today to meet with him, assess his attitude, and rebuild our relationship.” Zhi Shiwei put away her smile when facing Wu Shi and glanced at Yuan Xuanyu.

In China, they are a leading social media platform, and many journalists have developed a kind of "big media journalist syndrome" because of this, feeling that it is an honor for that person to interview so-and-so.

This kind of behavior has subtly influenced many journalists. After all, when major media outlets come to local areas to conduct interviews and reporting, the people they receive are always very polite, which makes these journalists think it's their own ability. In reality, it's the power of the platform.

"The initial sponsorship proposals from the domestic side have been released," the Business Assistant said.

"Let's book our tickets to the Netherlands first; we'll talk about that later," Zhi Shiwei said, leading the group away.

(End of this chapter)