CHAPTER 117: CHAPTER 90: I BELIEVE HE CAN BECOME AN F1 DRIVER (PART 2)

Hearing Chen Xiangbei’s question, Qin Lianjie replied with a smile, "The Capital High has been popular for so many years that it has already formed its own circle and system, and it’s often the same familiar group of people racing there."

"Unless someone leads you into the circle, they generally won’t race with strangers. Especially the professional drivers hidden within, they are even less likely to take action easily. This helps avoid a lot of trouble and danger."

"You know, don’t you."

Hearing this explanation, Chen Xiangbei nodded. He understood what it meant.

Not long after, following the navigation, Chen Xiangbei twisted and turned until he arrived at a secluded parking lot under an overpass.

After rounding a bend, the scene before him suddenly opened up. There were dozens of various performance cars parked there, with a variety of models almost resembling a car exhibition.

To be honest, if it weren’t for Hoshino Yoshi giving him the address, outsiders would never find this place.

As soon as Chen Xiangbei drove in, he attracted the attention of everyone present. Just as Qin Lianjie had said, those involved in the underground Circle of Capital High were all familiar with each other, knowing well what cars each person drove.

An unexpected arrival of an unfamiliar Toyota Supra naturally aroused curiosity and suspicion.

Before Chen Xiangbei could even park his car, he saw a familiar figure walking over, none other than Hoshino Yoshi.

"Xiangbei-kun, we meet again."

"Hmm, have you been waiting long?"

Chen Xiangbei replied with a smile, then opened the car door and got out, spreading his arms to hug Hoshino Yoshi.

Seeing their familiarity, many drivers present were visibly surprised. Hoshino Yoshi was well-known for being aloof, and it was rare to see him so close to anyone.

"I’m fine, but my master has been waiting for you. Let’s go over first."

In Japan, the seniority hierarchy is very strictly followed. Generally, you shouldn’t keep an elder waiting.

"Is Suzuki-san at Capital High?"

Chen Xiangbei was quite surprised. He had originally planned just to meet Hoshino Yoshi and then have him take him to see Suzuki Aguri.

Unexpectedly, the legend of the Japanese racing world was directly in the underground parking lot of Capital High.

"Hmm."

Hoshino Yoshi nodded. It wasn’t just Suzuki Aguri here today; another senior figure in the Japanese racing world had also come.

"Alright, let’s hurry over."

Hearing the conversation between these two, the group of underground racers became even more curious.

The two seniors, Suzuki and Tsuchiya, hadn’t been to Capital High for a long time. Could it be that today’s visit was for this young kid?

Just who was this person, to warrant the attention of legendary figures in the Japanese racing community?

Inside the parking lot, a Japanese-style room had been built, with four or five young drivers standing outside. Among them, Chen Xiangbei noticed a familiar face.

It was Hashimoto Ichiro, the mountain road driver he had beaten at Suzuka Circuit.

The other party obviously hadn’t expected to see Chen Xiangbei there, and his face was full of astonishment, mouth agape. So it was this Chinese kid that Senior Suzuki was waiting for!

Hoshino Yoshi pushed open the room door, revealing the figures of two elderly men in their fifties or sixties inside.

"Xiangbei, on the left is my master, Suzuki Aguri, and on the right is Tsuchiya Keiichi, the executive advisor of the ARTA team."

Among the older generation of Japanese drivers, there is often a surprising number of intersections throughout their lengthy careers.

Tsuchiya Keiichi’s relationship with Suzuki Aguri stems from them both being part of the Honda camp, running the SUPER GT series as teammates in 2000 with the NSX-GT car.

After retiring, Tsuchiya Keiichi invested in the ARTA team and took on the role of executive advisor.

Which is why he appeared here.

Tsuchiya Keiichi?

Hearing this name, Chen Xiangbei was taken aback.

To be honest, he had never expected to meet the prototype of Initial D’s Fujiwara Takumi in such a setting.

However, in reality, Tsuchiya Keiichi’s image makes it difficult to connect him with the youthful and handsome character in the manga, or the appearance of Jay Chou in the movie version.

Walking into the room, facing these two senior figures in the Japanese racing world, Chen Xiangbei respectfully greeted: "Hello, Senior Suzuki, Senior Tsuchiya. I am Chinese driver Chen Xiangbei."

"Nakajima has already sent me your information and race results: you’ve defeated Yamamoto Naoki and Ooshima Kazuya, and clinched the Renault Touring Race championship. You’ve indeed performed well."

"However, based on your current performance, I don’t think you qualify to collaborate with ARTA or Super Aguri."

Super Aguri is the F1 team founded by Suzuki Aguri, sharing sponsors and founders with ARTA, essentially acting as ARTA’s highest-level feeder team in the formula racing field.

Hearing this, a barely noticeable smile appeared at the corners of Chen Xiangbei’s mouth.

Suzuki Aguri’s reason for refusal was something Chen Xiangbei could almost guess: it was simply that his achievements were insufficient and his future was still uncertain.

Even if he paid his own way and shared sponsorship profits, it might still fall short of covering the cost of technical support.

After all, the self-funded aspect only covers the driver’s own training and competition expenses, while team personnel costs and equipment replacements must still be borne by the team.

As for sponsorship profit-sharing, without results and fame, how much sponsorship money could there be?

If based purely on finances, it was clearly insufficient to persuade Suzuki Aguri.

When it came to future potential, those things were just pie in the sky before they turned into results.

Now, Chen Xiangbei could only talk about something more abstract, which was Suzuki Aguri’s dreams, or rather his ambitions!