CHAPTER 90: CHAPTER 81: CLASH OF GENIUSES (5K)

After all, humans are not machines.

It wasn’t long before Chen Xiangbei saw a familiar figure. Hoshino Yoshi appeared in the maintenance passageway with a backpack, walking towards the exit of the circuit.

[Going home already?]

Seeing this scene, Chen Xiangbei was puzzled. Logically speaking, Hoshino Yoshi had quite a talent and should work hard to turn that talent into results.

This guy didn’t show up yesterday, was late today, and left early. No matter how talented he is, he can’t squander it like this. Moreover, most true racing geniuses in this world are still fiercely honing their skills in the European Region.

Intuition told Chen Xiangbei that Hoshino Yoshi wasn’t the kind of lazy or arrogant person, so he called out, "Hoshino Yoshi!"

Upon hearing Chen Xiangbei shout, Hoshino Yoshi stopped, looked up towards the stands in response to the voice.

After hesitating at the spot for a moment, Hoshino Yoshi eventually walked up the stairs on the left and sat next to Chen Xiangbei, asking, "Is there something on your mind?"

"You’re heading back now, aren’t you planning to train?"

"I have a part-time job to do this afternoon."

"What about yesterday?"

"Yesterday was another part-time job."

Hearing this answer, Chen Xiangbei was temporarily at a loss for words; he genuinely hadn’t expected such a situation.

The contract of the Honda Racing Academy purely covers the students’ training and competition costs, without any basic salary or sponsorship shares.

After all, they are merely students, not real Honda Riders.

This means that daily expenses unrelated to training are borne by the students themselves, for example, transportation and lodging costs for Chen Xiangbei.

But speaking of which, Hoshino Yoshi is a local and doesn’t need to rent housing; simple daily expenses and commuting shouldn’t necessitate taking multiple part-time jobs, affecting training to such an extent, should they?

"Is your spending really that large?"

Chen Xiangbei queried in confusion. Hoshino Yoshi’s clothes were quite ordinary, showing no sign of luxury.

Hoshino Yoshi did not respond, merely gazing complexly towards the distant track.

Just at that moment, several top-performance cars drove into the maintenance passage, including the famous "Japanese War God" GTR, Audi RS4, and the "Rotary King" Mazda RX7.

As Japan’s top track, on open days, it’s not only possible to hire cars here to run, but also to bring your own performance cars to play around, although various insurance costs are quite expensive.

The car doors opened, and out came a group of flamboyant men and women. It was the prime time for Japan’s visual kei and China’s "sha ma te" style, with many unique fashion appearances and even "grotesque demons" often seen on the streets.

Of course, this group was not that exaggerated, perched between trend and non-mainstream.

While initially uninterested in the people, the cars caught Chen Xiangbei’s eye.

Especially the "Rotary King" Mazda RX7FC, in the movie version of "Initial D," the car driven by Takahashi Ryosuke portrayed by Edison Chen, is precisely this vehicle.

And left a classic remark: "You can’t beat my FC!"

But soon, within this group, Chen Xiangbei spotted a "familiar" face again—specifically, a striking purple hair.

Qin Lianjie’s sister Qin Qiuyu was unexpectedly among this group.

Qin Qiuyu observed the Suzuka Circuit after disembarking, a hint of excitement evident on her face. Just as she looked up, spotting Chen Xiangbei who was watching her from the stands above the station.

Though they had only met in passing today, due to the close timing earlier today, she likewise recognized who he was.

Qin Qiuyu was unaware of Chen Xiangbei’s purpose for coming to Japan, or rather, not interested at all. Were it not for her brother specifically informing her and instructing her to heed this friend’s counsel, there would be no link between them.

Seeing Chen Xiangbei on the Suzuka Circuit, a surprise emotion revealed on Qin Qiuyu’s face, wondering if her brother’s friend was here for tourism.

At that moment, a crew-cut man from another vehicle noticed Qin Qiuyu looking up at something and followed her gaze.

After spotting the two people on the stand, the crew-cut man’s face instantly showed a trace of ridicule, not aiming at Chen Xiangbei, but the seated Hoshino Yoshi beside him.

"Yo, isn’t this Hoshino-kun? What a coincidence indeed."

Seeing this crew-cut man, Hoshino Yoshi’s face turned unpleasant instantly.

"Do you know him?"

Chen Xiangbei asked upon witnessing the scene.

"I’ve raced him before, lost."

Lost?

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiangbei was somewhat surprised.

Hoshino Yoshi’s simulator performance showed top-tier skills among his peers, yet he was defeated by such a sha ma te crew-cut?

It wasn’t that Chen Xiangbei judged solely by appearance, it just that this crew-cut looked unlike a pro.

"Yeah, lost in a mountain race. He’s called Hashimoto Ichiro, a disciple of Tsuchiya Keiichi."

Tsuchiya Keiichi’s name was known to Chen Xiangbei; Fujiwara Takumi’s prototype in "Initial D" is him, holding the "Drift King" title in Japan, once claiming the All Japan Touring Car Championship, and Le Mans 24-hour endurance race runner-up.

Yet, Chen Xiangbei didn’t understand why Hoshino Yoshi, a formula driver, would compete in mountain racing against someone else.

Was it like many domestic folks, inspired by manga wanting to become "Qiuming Mountain’s Car God?"

Seeing Hoshino Yoshi ignoring him while chatting with the guy beside him, an embarrassed Hashimoto Ichiro’s face darkened.

He directly stepped the stairs to face the two and continued provoking: "Remember, Hoshino, as long as I’m around, you won’t get the Jade Peak Mountain event prize money!"

Not wanting his personal matters to affect Chen Xiangbei, a rather rude thing in Japan, Hoshino opened his mouth, "Sorry, Xiangbei-kun, I’m leaving first."

Saying this, Hoshino Yoshi began to rise and prepare to leave.

However, the more Hoshino Yoshi ignored him, the more infuriated Hashimoto Ichiro became.

He couldn’t discern why this failed contender appeared so arrogant before him, while the mountain race result relentlessly faced skepticism by many drivers, becoming a mental knot for Hashimoto Ichiro.

Blocking the path, he exclaimed, "Hoshino, don’t say I bullied you on the mountain, today let’s race the circuit, to ensure your complete submission in loss!"

Upon hearing Hashimoto Ichiro’s words, before Hoshino Yoshi could respond, Chen Xiangbei couldn’t hold back a light laugh.

Choosing to race a formula driver at their home track Suzuka Circuit, what exactly was this crew-cut thinking?