CHAPTER 51: CHAPTER 48: SITU XIN’S CHALLENGE

Upon hearing Situ Yang’s words, Ye Qiu was slightly taken aback and glanced at the two young men that Situ Yang pointed at, both looking quite similar, in their twenties with shaggy long hair.

"They are twins, one called Ye Yu, the other Ye Lei. Currently, they are the main force of our Fiery Sun Team. This time, I brought them to take the A-level driver license assessment. Once they pass, I’ll take them to Shangjing to join the Celestial Dragon Racing Team."

As Ye Qiu was sizing up the two youths, Situ Yang’s voice rang beside him, making Ye Qiu realize: "No wonder they look so alike, turns out they are twins."

"How about it, up for a challenge with them later?" Situ Yang said.

Hearing once again that Situ Yang wanted to duel with him, Ye Qiu frowned, unclear about Situ Yang’s intentions, and fell silent for a while.

Meanwhile, Situ Xin, with bandages wrapped around his arm, was glaring angrily at Ye Qiu from time to time and spoke up: "What, are you afraid to accept the challenge, scared to lose so badly, huh?"

"Haha, has your hand recovered?" Ye Qiu laughed.

"You..."

Situ Xin was about to lose his temper but, upon seeing Situ Yang’s sharp eagle-like gaze, swallowed his words back down.

Seeing Situ Xin dared not speak further, Ye Qiu asked Situ Yang, "Why do you want someone to challenge me?"

Ye Qiu couldn’t figure out what Situ Yang meant, nor did he understand why this supposedly prominent figure showed such enthusiasm towards him.

The two had no real friendship between them; in fact, they nearly became enemies just moments ago. Yet, with Situ Yang’s current demeanor, Ye Qiu felt a sense of warmth as if they had been old friends for years.

"Haha." Situ Yang chuckled and said, "It’s just a challenge, why not?"

"Surely there must be some stakes, what is it you want from me?" Ye Qiu asked.

Situ Yang shook his head: "You’ve misunderstood, I just want my brothers to have a match with you, that’s all. There’s no stakes between us."

"No stakes?" Ye Qiu was somewhat confounded at this point, unsure of what Situ Yang was plotting.

"What say you, accept or not?" Situ Yang asked.

Ye Qiu pondered for a while, looked at the two quietly sitting youths, thinking they were merely A-level drivers. Even if they competed, he wouldn’t lose, and even if he did, which was impossible, he wouldn’t suffer any loss since Situ Yang stated there were no stakes.

Considering these points, Ye Qiu nodded, ready to speak when Wang Xinrui pulled his arm, startling him, then turned to Wang Xinrui: "What’s up?"

Wang Xinrui said: "You’d better clarify what Situ Yang intends to do."

"Haha Wang Xinrui, I’ve known your brother Wang Xuan for many years now, you should be calling me Brother Yang. Why speak ill of me behind my back?"

Just then, Situ Yang’s voice rang out, making Wang Xinrui a bit embarrassed, while Ye Qiu furrowed his brows and gazed at Situ Yang, saying: "I accept your challenge."

"Ye Qiu..." Wang Xinrui was surprised and wanted to say something, but Ye Qiu gestured her to stop, so she closed her mouth.

"Alright then, once it’s time for the A-level driver assessment later, you three will partake together. One part is the assessment and the other is the competition, how about it?"

"Three at a time, will the assessors allow that?" Ye Qiu saw others being tested one by one, thus asking in wonder.

"Haha, rules are dead, people are alive." Situ Yang laughed.

Ye Qiu nodded upon hearing this and said no more, when suddenly Situ Xin, with bandaged arms, stood up and said to Situ Yang: "Big brother, I’ll join too."

"Sit your ass down, are you crazy? You are an SS-level driver, and the captain of the Fiery Sun Team, why are you joining the chaos?" Situ Yang chastised.

Situ Xin then raised his bandaged arm and said: "Big brother, I’ve only one hand left now, so dealing with them is not bullying. Just let me at them."

Situ Yang’s eagle-like eyes gleamed with a cold light, speaking in a deep tone: "Do you dare disobey me now?"

When confronted with Situ Yang’s gaze and the chill in his voice, Situ Xin felt a shiver, quietly lowered his head and said: "No, I’ve always listened to Big Brother, it’s just..."

Situ Yang frowned, about to say something, when suddenly Ye Qiu smilingly interjected: "Since Situ Xin wants to join the race, let him, after all there are already three and one more won’t matter."

Upon Ye Qiu’s words, Situ Yang cast a surprised glance at him, while Situ Xin lifted his head suddenly, staring intently at Ye Qiu.

Ye Qiu merely smiled at Situ Xin’s fierce look, then asked Situ Yang: "How about it?"

Situ Yang furrowed his brow, looked at Ye Qiu, then at Situ Xin, pondered for a long time before nodding: "Alright."

Once Situ Yang agreed, Situ Xin’s face immediately lit up with joy, glaring fiercely at Ye Qiu and saying: "Big brother, I’ve got one more request, if I win, Ye Qiu has to kneel down and apologize to me."

Situ Yang’s eyes flashed coldly and was about to lose his temper, when Ye Qiu interrupted him, smilingly looked at Situ Xin and said: "It seems you have great confidence in your driving skills? Well then, if I win, shall I break your other hand?"

"You..." Situ Xin was enraged, but thought of Ye Qiu’s competence, restrained his anger, and sneered: "Haha, though I’ve only one hand now, it’s still easy to defeat a racing amateur like you. As for you winning, that’s impossible. Even if I can’t beat you, when it comes to racing, you’re not up to par..."

Looking at Situ Xin, whose face was full of confidence, Ye Qiu said with a smile: "Whether I’m up to par or not, we’ll only know after competing. How about it, if I win, I’ll break your other hand, but if you win, I’ll kneel down and apologize, what do you say?"

"Ye Qiu..." After Ye Qiu finished speaking, Wang Xinrui worriedly tugged at Ye Qiu.

Although she had witnessed Ye Qiu’s driving skills before and guessed they were at the SS-level, Situ Xin now was down to one hand, significantly diminishing his capability. However, Situ Xin was a long-renowned SS driver with extensive racing experience and was even on the verge of entering the SSS level.

Even with just one hand now, his skill was still formidable, so when she heard Ye Qiu making such a big bet, she couldn’t help but worry.

Ye Qiu, however, shook his head at Wang Xinrui, signaling that everything was fine, then looked at the frowning Situ Xin and said, "You’re not afraid, are you?"

"Afraid?" Situ Xin immediately flared up upon hearing this and said harshly, "Fine, I’ll accept. If you beat me, I’ll let you break my arm, but if I win, you must kneel and apologize to me in public."

Though Ye Qiu completely overpowered him in a fight, Situ Xin had accumulated a lot of confidence in car racing over the years.

Even though he didn’t know Ye Qiu’s capability and was also left with just one hand, Situ Xin was full of confidence because he had a secret skill: single-handed driving.

When his arm was fine, he always drove with one hand, so his skills hadn’t diminished at all. Instead, fueled by his hatred for Ye Qiu, it significantly increased his desire to win.

"Situ Yang, be the witness. I believe you won’t be biased towards your brother Situ Xin and cover for him."

Seeing Situ Xin agree, Ye Qiu spoke to Situ Yang.

Situ Yang nodded slightly, sensing from Ye Qiu’s words as if Ye Qiu was certain to win.

He knew about Situ Xin’s secret skill and understood that Situ Xin’s one-armed condition wasn’t a hindrance at all.

So after some contemplation, Situ Yang nodded to Ye Qiu: "Naturally, I won’t be biased. Since you both have agreed, we’ll also need to finish the B-level driver’s assessment. I’ll go speak to President Luo Yun about your competition."

Situ Yang said this and stood up, glancing at Situ Xin, whose eyes were filled with the fire of revenge, and said, "Axin, try not to hold such a grudge in your heart; it’s not good for your driving."

"Yes, big brother." Facing Situ Yang’s advice, Situ Xin dared not disobey and replied with his head down.

Situ Yang looked at Situ Xin, sighed, then deeply glanced at Ye Qiu, who had a calm and confident look, slightly frowned, pondering: "Why is this guy so confident, could it be that he really is?"

A glint appeared in his eyes as he looked at Ye Qiu, but it quickly vanished. Shaking his head, he turned and left to find President Luo Yun to discuss changing the test to a race.

"What did that look in his eyes mean?"

After Situ Yang left, Ye Qiu watched his back and reflected on the glint in his eyes earlier, falling into deep thought.

"Hmph..."

Just then, Situ Xin’s cold snort interrupted his thoughts. Looking at Situ Xin, he saw the excitement burning in his bronze bell-like eyes.

It felt as if he had already won and was now humiliating Ye Qiu.

"Haha, self-inflicted suffering." Ye Qiu chuckled. Although Situ Xin was strong, in Ye Qiu’s eyes, he was nothing to worry about. So after a laugh, he sat down in a chair, sinking back into contemplation over Situ Yang’s earlier gaze.

"Hmph, once I beat you, I’ll have you kneel before me. I want to properly humiliate you..."

Seeing that Ye Qiu was nonchalantly sitting in the chair, not paying any attention to him, Situ Xin couldn’t wait to start the race and ruthlessly crush Ye Qiu, making him realize that on the racetrack, he was completely outclassed.

He wanted Ye Qiu to understand the gap between them.

...

While Ye Qiu and others were waiting for the bet and the race to begin, Situ Yang went to Luo Yun’s room, but after searching around and not finding him, he asked the staff and learned that Luo Yun and Luo Bing were sitting at the entrance of the Automobile Guild hall.

After coming out, Situ Yang searched for a while and found Luo Yun and Luo Bing at the gazebo beside the entrance.

Seeing Luo Yun, Situ Yang frowned slightly. Looking at Luo Yun sitting on a stone bench under the gazebo, clasping a letter with a very troubled expression, he asked in confusion, "Uncle Luo, what’s the matter?"

"Oh, it’s Xiao Yang... Sit down first."

Luo Yun waved without looking up. After Situ Yang sat down, he knitted his brows, then looked at Luo Bing beside him, seeking explanation with his eyes.

Luo Bing shook her head, indicating she was also unsure, then signaled with her eyes for Situ Yang to look at the envelope in front of Luo Yun, tightly held in his hands on the stone table.

Situ Yang understood and looked at the envelope, but just then, Luo Yun took it away, lifted his head to look at Situ Yang, pondered for a long time before saying, "Xiao Yang, since Xiao Bing already has a boy she likes, and I am quite... satisfied with that boy. Thus, Uncle can only apologize to you."

Situ Yang didn’t understand what Luo Yun meant, while Luo Bing was somewhat taken aback, her blushing face filled with surprise.

Then Luo Yun got up, sighed, and said to Luo Bing, "Xiao Bing, since you like that kid Ye Qiu, then just be with him."

"Ah..." For a moment, Luo Bing didn’t react.

Luo Yun smiled, patted Luo Bing on the head, then walked away. At this moment, Situ Yang glanced at Luo Bing, remembered he still had to discuss changing the assessment to a race with Luo Yun, and so he chased after Luo Yun, the two talking as they walked off.

After Luo Yun and Situ Yang left, sitting on the stone bench, Luo Bing, whose face was red as a ripe peach, dug her fingers into each other, remembering what Luo Yun said earlier, she was immediately shy.

But then thinking about Ye Qiu’s earlier words that they were just friends, she was momentarily at a loss.

"What should I do? Do I have to pursue him actively?" For a moment, Luo Bing sank into a dilemma.