CHAPTER 545: CHAPTER 236: FRIENDS

Qimeng didn’t hold back and said after hearing Zhou Guanyu’s words, "Just leave it on the coffee table in the living room, I’ll look at it later."

"Alright, I won’t bother you then." After saying that, Zhou Guanyu hurriedly placed the necklace he picked for Qimeng on the coffee table in the living room. Then, he skillfully took out two white PS5 controllers from under Qin Miao’s TV cabinet.

At this time, Qin Miao also entered with Leclerc.

Since this was Leclerc’s first time at Qin Miao’s place, he was not as unrestrained as Zhou Guanyu.

However, he didn’t seem overly cautious either, after all, they are all F1 drivers who have seen all kinds of people.

Like Zhou Guanyu, he placed the gift prepared for Qimeng on the table in the living room, and then Qin Miao took Leclerc around to tour his home.

Before coming, Leclerc actually planned to prepare a gift for both of them, but Zhou Guanyu, who went gift shopping with him, directly stated that giving Qin Miao such accessories was a waste. You’d know from seeing Qin Miao several times in private occasions that he never liked wearing accessories; he doesn’t even like wearing watches. He’s the complete opposite of his teammate, Hamilton.

Taking Zhou Guanyu’s advice as a frequent visitor, Leclerc ended up preparing just one gift for Qimeng.

Touring Qin Miao’s house almost inevitably leads to the main attraction, which is Qin Miao’s trophy room.

By now, Qin Miao’s F2 championship car had already been sent back to China by Zhou Guanyu, so Zhou Guanyu’s two F2 race wins trophies were also at Qin Miao’s house. Qin Miao’s trophy room left no empty space; meticulously displayed were all the sprint and main race trophies from the 2020 F2 season.

gold trophies of various designs were neatly arranged in two rows, and seeing them suddenly was an incredibly shocking visual impact.

And by understanding the significance behind these 24 trophies a little more, the feeling of awe would become even stronger.

After witnessing this scene, Leclerc was clearly stunned.

Seeing Leclerc’s reaction, Qin Miao barely managed to suppress the urge to let a wild grin spread across his face.

Honestly, Qin Miao felt that it was even harder to suppress than Ak’s smirk at this moment.

But fortunately, Qin Miao ultimately controlled that urge within himself and didn’t show any odd expressions.

"Unbelievable," Leclerc said, eyes full of amazement as he entered Qin Miao’s exhibition room. "Now looking back at my F2 races and championships, and then comparing them to your results in F2, I really want to know how you did it. Was there not a single strong driver that season in F2, letting you perform so dominantly on the track?"

Qin Miao, arms crossed, leaned against the doorframe and with a smile, said, "Is it possible that I was the strong driver you mentioned?"

Leclerc was about to tell Qin Miao off for being shameless, but on second thought, he had a point, especially amidst a room full of F2 championship trophies. His words held undeniable credibility.

Seeing Leclerc’s expression of "You have a point, and I can’t argue with it," Qin Miao chuckled and said, "Don’t worry, it just looks impressive. In reality, two of these championship trophies belong to Zhou Guanyu."

Admittedly, Leclerc felt a sense of relief after hearing Qin Miao’s words, but then quickly realized that, darn it, even minus two, it’s still quite terrifying, isn’t it?

After putting on a bit of a show in front of his friend, Qin Miao felt quite satisfied, and the tour of Qin Miao’s house was more or less complete.

One could even say that the place Qin Miao most wanted to show was actually his trophy room.

The two returned to the living room.

By that time, Zhou Guanyu had already skillfully opened "FIFA" and was looking for his save file.

Truth be told, Qin Miao couldn’t quite get the hang of these games. Compared to games like "NBA" and "FIFA," Qin Miao preferred single-player story-driven games like "The Witcher 3" and "GTA."

However, it’s impossible to find someone with the exact same preferences, profession, and even choice of games as you. Just as close friends will always have some differences, it’s normal for the two to have different game interests.

Though Qin Miao wasn’t very interested, Leclerc beside him became enthusiastic.

"Come on, Zhou, let’s have a match!"

Of course, Zhou Guanyu was happy to oblige and handed another controller to Leclerc. Then the two of them lay on the sofa and started playing.

...

At dinner, Le the Fourth naturally showered praises on Qimeng’s cooking skills. Even if Qimeng’s dish wasn’t that good, just the fact that a friend’s girlfriend personally cooked dinner for you would warrant a compliment on the taste.

Not to mention, the dishes Qimeng made were truly a feast for the eyes and palate.

Even Zhou Guanyu, who usually eats just a bit over one bowl, ended up devouring three bowls of rice.

After dinner, the three of them continued to play CSGO at home for quite a while.

Since Qin Miao’s house originally had only two desktop computers, with three people needing to play games, someone unfortunately had to use the laptop.

Although Qin Miao’s ROG laptop was definitely powerful enough and could run CSGO smoothly, the screen was a bit small, making the gaming experience less enjoyable.

There is no courtesy principle abroad of conceding turns, so the three of them quickly decided not to bother with those simplistic contests like rock-paper-scissors. Instead, they prepared to play a simple and exciting mini-game on Qin Miao’s simulator.

The game wasn’t complicated. On the next Grand Prix, which is the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring circuit, they would run a flying lap. Whoever was the slowest had to play on the laptop.

Zhou Guanyu immediately objected after learning the game rules.

"Darn it, you two are cheating! You both are F1 drivers! Although I often drive F1 on the simulator during practice, it’s just a simulator. In reality, I’ve only driven Alonso’s Alpine during a practice session at the Red Bull Ring."

Comparatively, Zhou Guanyu’s F1 driving experience and time were on a completely different level.

Qin Miao and Leclerc thought for a moment and agreed.

After some more discussion, the race format didn’t change, but they decided to drive F2 cars instead of F1 cars.

Even though Zhou Guanyu still felt something was off, he eventually agreed.

The outcome was not hard to guess.

Qin Miao, back in his F2 days, could beat everyone effortlessly.

As for Leclerc, he’s an F1 driver, and his understanding of the track far exceeds any F2 driver’s.

With F2 being standardized cars, there’s no performance difference when drivers race F2, so the speed mainly depends on the driver’s understanding of the track.

In this regard, Qin Miao and Leclerc completely outclassed Zhou Guanyu.

Although Zhou Guanyu realized it afterward, regardless of his complaints, the matter was already settled. Qin Miao and Leclerc got to use the desktops, leaving Zhou Guanyu stuck with playing on Qin Miao’s laptop.

...

The two of them played at Qin Miao’s house until well past 1 a.m.

A gaming environment with a good vibe like an internet cafe doesn’t just attract young people; it also holds an irresistible allure for those like Qin Miao, Leclerc, and Zhou Guanyu who have already gained some life experience.

So, once started, the three got a little carried away.

Returning home at that hour was out of the question, as one lived in London and the other in Monaco, clearly unrealistic at such a late hour.

So, these two ended up going back to their respective hotels.

Qin Miao held a cup of health potion, sipping it while seeing them off at the door.

Watching them leave, arm in arm, as they drove away in their Ferrari 488, Qin Miao suddenly felt a bit emotional.

Along this journey, I’ve unknowingly made more friends.

Life is truly amazing.