CHAPTER 829: CHAPTER 828

He couldn’t believe how stunning her eyes were!

When she was seated in the car, he saw her behind the wheel and caught a glimpse of her face – she was absolutely gorgeous.

Last night, all he saw was her agility and deft movements. He didn’t expect that when she stood before him, her figure and poise would be so stunning.

Timothy was gobsmacked, utterly unable to tear his gaze away until Harlan stepped forward to inspect things. That’s when he finally spoke up, "Let someone from another team handle it."

Perhaps fearing that Harlan wouldn’t be fair, a volunteer from one of the other teams stepped up with an air of eagerness. After a thorough check, he announced, "The turbocharger, the clutch, you name it – it’s all stock. Top speed’s legit, only 210 mph."

"No way." Harlan’s face soured, disbelief etched into every line in his face. The results were a slap to his pride.

How could it be stock!

It couldn’t possibly be stock!

But the crowd was already jeering at him.

"Can’t handle losing, eh?"

"Making a fool of yourself, man. They said it’s stock. You got beat fair and square by a girl."

"Lucky he wasn’t the one inspecting. He would’ve claimed it was rigged for sure."

"Are we racing or what?"

"I say this round decides it. With her speed, Harlan could race her ten more times and still lose."

"I think we might as well call the results. It’s just the Kowloon Bay track. We’ve got plenty of training grounds. Just give it to her."

Then, a voice rippled through the crowd.

"The boss is here."

Sean approached with an unmistakable authority, his presence parting the onlookers.

Harlan perked up, thinking the boss was here to back him. He started, "Boss."

But Sean told him to buzz off.

Harlan slunk away, while Sean appraised the girl who had captivated everyone’s attention – the same striking eyes from last night, hair tied up in a bun, still wearing those little white sneakers.

No doubt about it, it was her.

"Where’s your boss?" Sean didn’t care if she was part of the Light Fleet or not; all he wanted to know was why Ophelia hadn’t shown up.

"If you’re friends, you can ask her in private. If you’re not, why should I tell you?"

Rosemary’s tone was as cool and detached as her demeanor.

Timothy, standing nearby, was struck by how even her voice was so captivating, which further deepened his admiration.

"How dare you! Do you have any idea who you’re talking to?" Steward moved to teach the girl a lesson.

But Sean just smirked, with a devil-may-care glinting in his eye, "If I win, you have to answer that question."

"Then you’ll never know the answer in this lifetime."

Sean just chuckled at her response – she was bold, almost like him.

"You think you can beat our boss?" A member of the Drift Kings couldn’t hold back his derision.

In the eyes of onlookers, she was so naïve, still unscathed by the harsh realities of the world, that she was unaware of the caliber of racer standing before her.

"Can we race now?" Rosemary was clearly not interested in wasting any more time here.

She seemed to not fear him one bit, as if racing him was merely a formality, a pit stop before more pressing matters.

Sean laughed. He’d seen confident racers before, but she was something else. Fine, he thought, let’s show the little lady that there are always bigger fish.

Harlan was taken aback as Sean walked past him and climbed into his car, ready to show everyone just what he was made of.

The captain himself was stepping up to the challenge with the girl.

"Thanks a bunch." Harlan didn’t forget to give a grateful bow, shooting a snitching glance at the fiery red sports car parked beside him, "Just now she was all fire and brimstone, saying that if any of us

from the Drift Kings lose, we’d have to crawl from the starting line to the finish."

"That was your deal, not mine," Sean retorted and rolled up his window indifferently.

Harlan hadn’t expected the captain to be just as tough to talk to as ever. He’d actually been touched a moment ago because he thought the captain had come forward to save his bacon and to smack down the girl’s pride for him.

Guess he thought too much.

The leggy Ref stood between the two cars, blew a whistle, and motioned for the onlookers to clear out to the sides.

"Rose." Mignon intended to warn Rosemary that this Sean was no joke. He’d never lost an international race, and he always left a mile-wide gap between him and second place.

But right then, she didn’t dare step forward, afraid of piling on the pressure and throwing Rosemary off her game.

"Go Rose!" Candice from the Light Fleet cheered at the top of her lungs, "You’ve got this!"

The rest of the Light Fleet crew joined in the rallying cry, "Rose, go, go, go!"

None of the other spectators, though, dared to echo the chants, not even mustering the courage to cheer for "Light Fleet".

But the Drift Kings was another story – they were all over it, leading everyone in a chant of "Sean! Sean! Sean!!"

Their spirit was undeniable.

In contrast, the support for Rose seemed a bit thin on the ground.

With the countdown at three seconds, the Light Fleet folks held their breath in suspense.

Three.

Two.

One!

The two cars burst from the starting line, stirring up a breeze that had the girls clutching their skirts and hair.

"What do we do, Candice." Mignon fretted, watching the red sports car zoom away. "I’m so worried about Rose. No race has ever made the Drift Kings’ big boss show up himself. If Rose loses, losing Kowloon Bay track is the least of our troubles. What if they force Rose to hang with Harlan. Should we tell Ms. Almond and get her to step in?"

"No need, don’t worry Ms. Almond. Let’s just watch and see," Candice replied, trying to keep cool, though inside she was somewhat anxious. After all, Sean’s reputation was no small thing.

They knew Sean was an ace behind the wheel, a true champion, but they didn’t know he was the Sean of the Collins family. Because the international races he competed in were those with low-slung cars,the kind where you have to wear a safety helmet.

And with his temperament, he never did any media interviews.

So almost no one had seen his face beneath the helmet. Even today, despite seeing him in person, the audience at site knew only that he was handsome and a bit aloof, but not his true identity.

The giant screen showed that Sean’s speed was just a tad faster than Rosemary’s.

But Rosemary wasn’t showing any signs of fear. After a few hair-raising bends, she actually pulled ahead of Sean.

Everyone was in disbelief. Someone was actually outpacing Sean?!

Was this girl playing with her life??

Did she have a death wish??

Sean tried to overtake, but when he veered left, Rosemary’s car swerved left; when he tried right, she went right.

Heh.

Sean smirked; he stepped his foot heavy on the gas as he nearly kissed her rear bumper, but she didn’t flinch, nor even budge.

Rosemary was certain – he was the leader, so he had to value his life more than she did. He wouldn’t dare risk both their lives to crash into her.

At such breakneck speeds, a collision would spell doom for both the drivers and their cars on the spot.