F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 47 First Encounter and Reunion

Li Yurun and Ge Miaomiao practiced twice each, then hooked their arms around each other and said they were going to the bathroom, and they never came back.

Having his little scheme completely exposed, Yu Chengyu was somewhat embarrassed, so he didn't stay in the car for long before making an excuse to go downstairs for a smoke.

Somehow, there were only two people left on the bus, both oddballs who didn't fit in with the group.

Coach Tian didn't pay any attention, and leisurely stood to the side chatting with the other coaches while holding his thermos.

When learning for the second part of the driving test, there is a large bolt under the accelerator. Students can only use half clutch to slowly slide, so they have no chance to step on the accelerator and cause an accident. When most people make a mistake, they panic and release the clutch too quickly, and the car will probably stall. There is no need to worry about students causing problems with the car.

As for the problem of students being unskilled and failing the exam, can that even be considered a problem?

As a so-called VIP coach, besides having excellent teaching quality, Lao Tian's good temper is the most important factor in his evaluation.

It's not like teachers in schools have to worry about other people's futures. If someone pays more money and they fail the exam, they can just take it a few more times. In the end, it's not them who will be anxious if they don't get the certificate.

If you get angry when someone criticizes you, one complaint can basically mean that you've taught several students for nothing.

As for whether the students will complain about the coach slacking off, etc.
Hmph~ These kids nowadays, especially those who have just been released from the strictest control of their senior year of high school, can't wait for you to leave them alone. As long as they've learned something, that's all that matters.

Shu Long went up and symbolically toured the project again, then returned to the reverse parking area, pulled the handbrake, got out of the car to replace the small, mysterious hooded man, and then stood next to the car stretching.

Because the goal is to ensure that most people have a consistent viewpoint, the seats in the training vehicles are generally not allowed to be adjusted arbitrarily. For example, Shu Long felt very cramped sitting in the car, while the mysterious man had to carry a light blue Doraemon cushion at all times to raise his perspective slightly.

How should I put it? I think it's kind of cute?
Even though Shu Long still doesn't know what the other person looks like, his attention seems to always involuntarily drift towards them, something that even sexy, long yoga pants can't do.

However, after the driver was changed, the car did not start for a long time. Shu Long thought that he was blocking the other person's way, so he took a few steps back and stood further away. Suddenly, he noticed that the car seemed to be swaying slightly with a very slight amplitude.

What are you doing? Having sex in the car?

Just as he was about to go forward and ask what was going on, the driver's side window was rolled down, and even through his sunglasses, Shu Long could clearly feel the resentful look in the back of the car.

"I can't let go of the handbrake."

"How could that be? The coach should have taught you that you should lift it up a little bit first, and then..."

Shu Long fell silent, because the little girl in sunglasses gave him a demonstration on the spot. She gripped the handbrake tightly with both hands and tried to pull it off, even making a "woof" sound like a little leopard in her throat, but she still couldn't get it to move. That's how the car sex happened earlier.

I accidentally used too much force.

"Sorry, sorry, let me help you."

In fact, Shu Long felt that he hadn't used much force just now; he had only lightly hooked it with his finger. However, considering that the other person's thin arm was probably less than a third the thickness of his own, it wasn't too hard to understand.

He opened the car door and leaned inside, eliciting a small gasp from the young woman. Only then did he realize how presumptuous his actions had been.

Both of them simultaneously caught a familiar yet pleasant scent from each other, but they tacitly remained impassive, feeling as stiff as old rice dumplings that had just jumped out of their coffins.

"All right."

"Thank you~"

The soft voice was like the downy feathers of a fledgling bird, gently stirring the most sensitive corner of Shulong's heart. This trembling feeling, which even made his breath tremble, was just like when he first saw Hinata, who had always been silently watching Naruto from the corner.

That was probably the first time he had ever been attracted to an anime character. So what was it this time?
A day of driving test practice passed by in the blink of an eye, so blurry that even a photographic memory couldn't capture the passage of time. The absent-mindedness and sluggishness of my whole being made even a blank stare have to admit defeat.

The other three intermittently missing members of the "Potato and Cabbage" group also wandered back before Lao Tian announced the disbandment. They probably spent no more than forty minutes in the car throughout the day.

"Oh, by the way, we've also created a group chat. We'll post any notices about driving practice or exam notes there. Otherwise, it'll be too much trouble for me to contact you one by one. In a bit, any one of you can add this new guy to the group."

After saying that, Lao Tian gave Shu Long a look that said, "I've given you a chance, let's see if you can seize it," then picked up his thermos and swayed as he left, leaving behind a mess and two people looking at each other in bewilderment.

Of all the people present, he was the only one with Shu Long's good friend, yet he insisted on having others pull him away. He was simply insidious and cunning!
Yu Chengyu pretended not to hear. This group of people had made him lose face today. Even his former white moonlight was now being cursed as an idiot by him in his heart. He didn't even want to come tomorrow.

He gave a cold laugh, turned his face away, and then, thinking himself cool, slung his coat over his shoulder and walked away with a nonchalant gait without looking back.

"A bunch of academic failures, I'm too lazy to deal with them!"

This is so classic, even Shu Long can't tell if he's joking or serious.

Scoring over 670 on a test certainly puts you ahead of most people in terms of IQ, but emotional intelligence is a major weakness for humans!

Before Shu Long could even turn away from that oddball, Ge Miaomiao blurted out, "I have a boyfriend. I'm afraid he'll misunderstand if I add you."

Li Yurun didn't say anything, but silently put pressure on the little girl in sunglasses with her eyes, then said goodbye and the two best friends walked away hand in hand.

"Then I'll scan you first." The easily bullied little one obediently took out his phone.

This was exactly the scenario that Shu Long hoped for at that moment. While he was thanking God in his heart, he noticed that as soon as his phone beeped, the girl's movements seemed to suddenly freeze.

"What's wrong? Can't you add it?"

Shu Long instinctively leaned over to look, startling the other person who quickly shielded his phone to his chest.

Come to think of it, the two of them aren't that close yet, so it would be somewhat inappropriate to suddenly look at someone else's private information on their screen.

Gan Mengning's heart nearly jumped out of her throat. The account that appeared after scanning the QR code was completely unfamiliar at first glance, but the button that popped up below was not "Add to Contacts" at all; instead, it was "Send Message" and "Audio/Video Call".
"Strange, I think my network is stuck. Wait while I scan again."

I frantically tapped around on the screen, deleting my friend without thinking, and then trying to add her back.

"Um, what's your name again? It'll be easier for me to give you a note."

"Oh, Shulong. Shu as in 'to bind,' and Long as in 'the dragon' in the Chinese zodiac."

"I'm f***ing %￥#@%￥!" "Huh?!"

Shu Long felt as if he had heard a word he used most frequently abroad. Judging from his height, physique, and voice, this word was clearly incompatible with the person in front of him.

"Hmm? I said, I sent you the group invitation link."

Gan Mengning nervously glanced at Shu Long's reaction, wondering if he would notice the message on WeChat that appeared four years ago: "I have accepted your friend request. We can start chatting now."

I secretly glanced at the corner of his eye, and sure enough, that signature beauty mark under his eye was right there. It really was him!
I forgot the specifics of the last time, but as soon as Grandpa Gan returned home from Yunnan, he called Gan Mengning to his side and asked her if she had a WeChat account, which is very popular among young people these days.

She said "Yes." Then Grandpa Gan handed her a slip of paper with a string of numbers written on it, saying that young people should keep in touch and that she should add Shulong to the list.

But adding her wouldn't make a difference, and why should she have to be the one to add her?
Gan Mengning wanted to say that the two of them were actually QQ friends, but apart from the initial exchange of emojis with Shu Long, he hadn't sent her a single message in almost six or seven years.

I've always heard about them running races all over the country, and then going abroad. What's so great about that? They act like they're superior to everyone else.
If I were to add him as a friend now, wouldn't it seem too pathetic, almost like saying, "Please, let's make up!"

Why should she? It wasn't her who ignored me first!
While Gan Mengning was still debating whether to click send, Shu Long sent the friend request first with two "buzzing" sounds.

Will accepting his message too quickly make him feel like I've been waiting for his reply? Will I be dragged into talking about random, inexplicable topics?

Gan Mengning hesitated for a full two minutes while holding her phone before finally tapping "accept."

Then nothing happened, and to this day their conversation history is almost entirely blank.

On the other side of Shulong, there was nothing. He had changed phones several times, and his previous chat history was long gone.

Moreover, because the two of them had changed their profile pictures and nicknames countless times over the years, he didn't notice anything amiss at first, and even felt a little smug.

However, after he got on his electric bike and rode away, he suddenly remembered something halfway there.
Damn it, why did I forget to ask where she lived? If she lived nearby, I could have given her a ride!

You're such a useless tree stump! You just ran off so happily, did a pig eat your brain?! Huh?!

Thankfully, he didn't ask. Gan Mengning, who had been left alone at the driving school, breathed a sigh of relief, otherwise she would have had to make up an address on the spot.

Taking a taxi is too expensive, so Gan Mengning takes the subway to commute to the driving school every day.

She didn't receive much encouragement from Ah B, and after graduating from high school, she wanted to buy a lot of new audio equipment and radios, so she was worried about spending her meager savings.

Today was a pretty surreal day. How did I end up running into that guy by sheer bad luck?
Luckily, I was calm enough today. I almost fell for it! I was just a tiny bit away from being smitten!

It's only been a few years, but the changes are too great. I can hardly recognize him from when he was a child. How did he suddenly grow so big?
It's no wonder Gan Mengning felt unfamiliar; this was probably the first time she had ever looked at her childhood sweetheart from a bottom-up perspective.

After returning home, Gan Mengning took a comfortable bath in a hot tub. She didn't eat dinner, but went downstairs to take the salad that had been left for her on the table.

I forked a cherry tomato, popped it into my mouth, and gently squeezed it open. While sucking on the sweet and sour juice, I skillfully turned on the computer and threw myself onto the small sofa in front of it with a "plop."

Wasn't he always out racing? Why is he suddenly back? Could it be that he was fired by the team or something?

Poor thing, pfft pfft~
Bored, Gan Mengning opened A-B's webpage and browsed it for a while. Then she returned to her own homepage to see the response to her last submission. Half of the salad in the glass bowl had been gone without her noticing. Suddenly, Gan Mengning had an idea and typed "Shulong" into the search box.

Before, all I knew was that he was racing cars. When I searched online, there was very little information. The few articles I found only mentioned that he won some race with a long string of English letters.

It seems impressive, but I don't know why it's impressive.

The circles she usually followed had absolutely nothing to do with racing, not to mention that Gan Mengning often deliberately avoided information about it because of a certain guy's annoying attitude. In addition, she had to balance her studies and hobbies, so it was really hard for her to spare any extra energy. She really didn't know what kind of name Shu Long had made outside.

"The miraculous Red Bull youth academy: the most likely first Chinese F1 driver since Ma Qinghua"

How did he overcome invisible prejudice with his strength? A retrospective of driver Shu Long's growth story.

As soon as I pressed Enter, a whole bunch of related videos popped up below.

Unfortunately, most of the videos didn't get many views. The highest number was less than 80,000, and most of the rest only got a few thousand views, which looked pathetic.

Most of the video covers featured a somewhat quirky photo—Shu Long, dressed in a racing suit, stood atop a race car, holding his racing helmet in one hand and making a "1" gesture with the other, seemingly celebrating winning first place in some race.

What's hard to watch is the person being introduced in the video. While everyone else is roaring to the sky in celebration of their victory, the boy who should be showing off his skills is now yawning listlessly, his gaping mouth revealing his molars clearly.

They were all yawning with their mouths open. Don't ask why this was so easily identified as yawning. That lazy vibe was almost coming out of the screen. Apart from their clothes, everything else was exactly the same as the person who sat in the training car with them today.

So if that's the case, then he was running away quite well, so why did he come back at this time?
The title of the next video then revealed the answer to her: "Shulong is about to come of age, will Marco fulfill his promise of the super license and seat?"

In addition to introducing the requirements for obtaining a Super License after the rule changes, the video also analyzes Red Bull's past practices and concludes that Shu Long is likely to replace someone from the Toro Rosso team at the end of this season or next year.

What a joke! After all that talk, all that bragging about being so amazing, he still has to come back and learn to drive and get his driver's license.

Gan Mengning, with her face sticking out, chuckled, sounding like a deep-voiced, lewd old man, which startled even herself.

　Thanks to DYExia, Schrödinger's Future, My Wife is Dark Lychee, Bad Laugh K, and the big boss who has been feeding me monthly votes for the past month.

　　I'll just say two updates, right? Most of the characters who appear later in the story are useful. I generally don't create meaningless plots, unless it's for character development or foreshadowing.

　　My understanding of writing is that first and foremost, it has to be a novel, and only then can it be an F1-themed novel. The content has to be substantial; otherwise, if what you write is just a transcript of the race, what's the point?
　　The romance storyline can't just be something like, "Oh, there's a woman, she's my wife." What's the difference between a poorly developed female lead and a picture pasted on an inflatable doll's face?

　　So let's not rush to conclusions. This comment really makes me feel wronged. Although I had a feeling this was coming before this chapter was published, it's true that a chapter can only convey so much.

　　Besides highlighting the female protagonist's personality, the group of people learning to drive also represent several typical personality types in the social environment. Furthermore, personality models are not black and white, and the protagonist's changing attitudes towards them reflect a shift in mindset where compromises are necessary for the sake of the market.

　　To be honest, it would be very easy for me to write a lot of articles. I could easily write a dozen chapters in a minute by reading all the online debates, questions, and comments from netizens, the shocked thoughts of my teammates on the field, and the despair and resentment of my opponents.

　　I've also discussed this issue with the editor. Aside from evoking strong emotions while reading, there's nothing to reflect on afterward, so it's pointless, isn't it?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)