CHAPTER 38: CHAPTER 37: DREAMS ARE MEANT TO BE CHASED (THIRD UPDATE)

"Ding, the system rewards the host with 500 Popularity Points."

"Ding, the system rewards the host with 2000 Popularity Points."

"Ding, the system rewards the host with 5000 Popularity Points."

Hearing the system notifications in his mind, Ye Qiu was momentarily stunned.

He then asked Fle, "Fle, what’s going on?"

Fle replied, "Maybe your car skills just now conquered some people. They developed a sense of admiration for you, so the system determined that you gained Popularity Points."

"Is that so..." Ye Qiu felt relieved, then listened to the constant beeping of notifications and the increasing Popularity Points of 100, 500, several thousand, and again felt puzzled, "Why do the increments vary each time?"

Fle said, "Because it’s determined by the level of admiration people have for you. The higher the level of admiration, the more Popularity Points the system rewards you."

"I see..."

Ding, gained 5000 Popularity Points.

Ding, for gaining over 5000 Popularity Points in a single instance, achievement reward of 1000 Popularity Points.

Ding, due to someone developing great admiration for you, gaining 5000 Popularity Points, the system rewards you with 5 Luck Value points.

"What? Luck Value?" Ye Qiu was stunned for a moment, but the term ’Luck Value’ made his eyes light up.

He had read the system’s introduction, Luck Value relates to driving, for example: foreseeing disasters, track accidents, and racing incidents.

The higher a driver’s Luck Value, the more accurately they can predict disasters.

"But it seems a bit pointless now, not much use?" Ye Qiu muttered.

Fle said, "Don’t say it’s useless. If you didn’t have such high Luck Value, would you have opened Super Driving twice so easily? And nothing happened in the end?"

"If you only had 10 Luck Value points, then with your current strength, when you first opened Super Driving, the result would range from mild to severe consequences, like fainting or even suffocating to death..."

"That serious? It seems the Luck Value is useful!" Ye Qiu was startled, then saw his Luck Value had already reached 65, and nodded in satisfaction, while smiling slightly as his Popularity Points continued to rise.

"I suppose once I finish my driving test, my Popularity Points will increase quite a bit?"

Ye Qiu was looking forward to seeing how many Popularity Points he could gain in the end, but at this moment, he wasn’t just sitting there waiting. Instead, he started the pickup truck and drove towards the Automobile Guild.

However, he was stopped by the guard at the entrance.

"Stop, what are you doing?" The guard, wearing a security uniform in his forties, stopped Ye Qiu.

As Ye Qiu’s pickup truck stopped at the entrance of the Automobile Guild, he noticed it. Although he was from a humble background and didn’t despise it, he still remained vigilant.

Seeing the pickup truck attempting to enter the Automobile Guild, he quickly stopped it, thinking it impossible for the truck to be here for a driving test.

The usual visitors to the Automobile Guild were supercars, at the very least worth nearly a million. But Ye Qiu’s near-scrap pickup was a first sight.

Ye Qiu was slightly surprised to be stopped, but soon understood the reason, patting the steering wheel and sighing, "Ah, this car, clearly comparable to a Level 2 racecar, yet covered in a shell like scrap iron. It’s really frustrating."

Thinking this, Ye Qiu lowered the car window and said to the guard, "I’m sorry, I’m here for a driver’s license test!"

"Driver’s license test? You? In this pickup?" The guard, unable to believe it, looked incredulously at the pickup.

Ye Qiu nodded, "Yes?"

"You’re taking the test with this car?" the guard asked.

Ye Qiu replied, "Yes, is there a problem?"

The guard looked deeply at Ye Qiu and said, "Give me your ID, I need to record your identity."

Ye Qiu, helpless, handed over his ID.

As the guard recorded Ye Qiu’s ID number, he said to Ye Qiu, "You do know that the Automobile Guild’s test requires you to drive your own car for the test!"

Ye Qiu nodded, "I know."

The guard handed the ID back to Ye Qiu, looking at Ye Qiu’s clean-cut appearance, as if seeing his own son, his gaze softened.

He looked again at the outdated pickup Ye Qiu was driving, a truck even he wouldn’t drive, and sighed inwardly, "Ah, this kid seems to have racing dreams, but this family’s really too poor, attempting to use such a rundown car for the test?"

Thinking this, the guard sympathetically said to Ye Qiu, "Kid, let me give you some advice. It’s good to have dreams, but you also have to face reality. Don’t blame me if I speak harshly. Although I don’t know how your car skills are, if you take the test with this car..."

The guard shook his head, "You won’t pass the test, so kid, you should head back to avoid the disappointment of failing later."

The guard had seen too many young people leaving disheartened after failing the test despite having dreams. Although those people failed, they drove advanced sports cars, and their failure lay in their driving skills.

As for Ye Qiu, although the guard hadn’t seen his driving skills, he believed that no matter how hard Ye Qiu, a racing prodigy, practiced daily, using a nearly scrap pickup, what skills could he develop?

How good could his skills be?

"It seems this uncle thinks I won’t pass?"

Ye Qiu saw the guard’s gaze, understanding there was no malice, yet felt helpless: "Even if my pickup is as good as a Level 2 racecar, if I had a regular pickup, with my current strength being near Bronze Car King level, would passing an A-level driver’s license test be hard? Plus, I’ve already passed these tests once in the United States."

Ye Qiu shook his head at the guard: "Thank you, uncle, but I won’t give up. People need dreams, and if you have dreams, you should chase them. What if it succeeds?"

After speaking, Ye Qiu got into his pickup, started the car, and drove into the Automobile Guild under the guard’s helpless gaze.

"Sigh, there aren’t so many ’what ifs’... Dreams are good, but reality is cruel. This young man seems smart, why is he so stubborn about this? Young people nowadays only realize how fragile their so-called dreams are after being hit and getting nowhere."

The guard shook his head, ready to return to his guardroom, when suddenly a McLaren P1 stopped behind him. Seeing this McLaren P1 and its license plate, he was instantly surprised.

"Wang Xinrui, an A-level driver, is this McLaren P1 a top Level 2 race car?"

Having guarded the gates of the Automobile Guild and seen many passing cars for years, the guard naturally recognized them. Besides, he was a loyal fan of professional racing and initially didn’t become a Professional Racing Driver due to a lack of funds.

Thus, he was familiar with some racers and cars in H City and the world, so he recognized Wang Xinrui’s McLaren P1 that often appeared at the Automobile Guild.

He quickly opened the gate and looked respectfully at Wang Xinrui inside the McLaren P1, thinking: "This is truly a prodigy, reaching A-level at such a young age and possessing such an advanced car."

Suddenly, he thought of Ye Qiu, recalling Ye Qiu’s pickup and his persistence in pursuing dreams despite knowing they might crash. The guard shook his head, comparing Ye Qiu and Wang Xinrui, and sighed inwardly: "This is the difference in talent, this is the difference in family background; they are truly worlds apart..."

As the guard was mentally comparing Wang Xinrui and Ye Qiu, Wang Xinrui’s McLaren P1 stopped by him again, and the window rolled down, revealing Wang Xinrui’s absolutely beautiful face beneath her duckbill cap.

The guard, having lived half his life, was stunned and held his breath, only to hear Wang Xinrui’s cold yet slightly playful voice beside him: "Hello, uncle, may I ask if a pickup truck just went in?"

"Uh? Ah? Pickup?" The guard was confused and shook his head: "No?"

"No?" Wang Xinrui frowned, contemplating: "Could I have guessed wrong?"

"Oh, are you asking about an already eliminated and retired classic pickup truck?"

The guard didn’t react earlier when Wang Xinrui asked him.

Who is Wang Xinrui?

A genius-level driver who got her A-level driver’s license at 19, and naturally mingles with people of her level.

That’s why the guard didn’t react earlier when Wang Xinrui asked if he’d seen the pickup.

Because in his mind, how could Ye Qiu and that pickup have anything to do with Wang Xinrui?

Are the two from the same world?

"Oh, did he really go in?" Upon hearing the guard’s words, a hint of happiness surfaced on Wang Xinrui’s icy expression.

"Yes, yes... He just went in, are you looking for him? Did he scratch your car, or..."

The guard, seeing the joy on Wang Xinrui’s face, was puzzled but soon thought maybe Ye Qiu had scratched Wang Xinrui’s car and she had come to chase Ye Qiu for compensation.

For a moment, the guard felt blame and concern for Ye Qiu, a child from a poor family like himself.

Wang Xinrui, however, paused and then smiled, "No, he didn’t scratch my car. We just had a race earlier."

After speaking, Wang Xinrui thanked the dazed guard and then started the McLaren P1, driving into the Automobile Guild.

"Race?" The guard watched the departing McLaren P1 direction, feeling his brain slightly confused.

"A pickup racing a McLaren P1? Ye Qiu racing Wang Xinrui?"

The guard swallowed his saliva, then shook his head: "Wang Xinrui can really joke, claiming she raced a pickup? If her McLaren P1 ran, it would leave the pickup far behind in no time! Sigh, she’s making fun of this old man..."

Saying this, the guard prepared to return to his guardroom when suddenly another braking sound rang behind him.

The guard turned in surprise, and when he saw the people in the Audi R8, he froze: "Wang Jie? Wang Long?"

The guard recognized Wang Jie and Wang Long, knowing they were from the Jiying Racing Team and aware of their prowess, so he quickly greeted them respectfully and opened the gate.

The Audi R8 then headed into the Automobile Guild as the gate opened.

However, as the Audi R8 passed by the guard, he heard a conversation from the lowered window of the Audi R8, which left him stunned.

"Vice captain, what did I say? Xinrui is not Ye Qiu’s match, now look at those videos online, Ye Qiu can drive that pickup like it’s a Formula race car, he’s really too strong."

"Hmph, how strong can he be? I’ll eventually beat him and reclaim all the disgrace he caused me. You should work hard too, strive to surpass him..."

"Don’t worry, vice captain, I’ll definitely work hard, but it’s kind of hard to beat Ye Qiu..."

"Shut up..."

"Yes..."

The voices gradually faded away, and the guard stood there dumbfounded.

Gulp.

Swallowing his saliva, he muttered, "Wang Jie and Wang Long both lost to Ye Qiu, Wang Xinrui also lost to Ye Qiu, this..."

The guard was dumbfounded, then remembered what they said about videos, took out his phone, and went online. When he saw Ye Qiu’s pickup displaying godlike driving skills, he was so startled that his phone nearly dropped.

Afterwards, he stupidly watched the video of the pickup showcasing its skills, recalling his earlier thoughts about Ye Qiu, he couldn’t help but smile wryly.

"Looks like what he said is right, dreams are meant to be chased, they might just come true."