Chapter 333: Arrogance
Tang Xiu was a bit surprised, since it was needless to say that Ji Mu was an affluent character in Changxi City. But how would someone dare to make trouble in his event? As he asked it out, only then did he understand the whole story and suddenly laughed, “It’s kind of normal for people to gamble with small stakes when there’s a compet.i.tion. Anyhow, we won’t let you lose vain, though. If we lose, we’ll also put out 20 million like everyone else. But if we win, the gambling stake will be ours.”
Ji Mu was slightly surprised.
Was it just a small bet? 20 million was only a small gamble?
Such a remark suddenly piqued his interest toward Tang Xiu’s ident.i.ty. As he inquired Chi Nan about it, the latter only laughed, “I don’t have any say on it.”
“In that case, it’s decided!” Ji Mu nodded and said, “Brother Tang, since it’s your first time coming here, don’t you want to get familiar with the race track? How about you familiarize yourself with the track first and then we begin the game?”
“Do we still have enough time?” asked Tang Xiu.
“To complete the track length of the entire Laoshan Highway, one would only need to spend a dozen minutes if their speed is fast enough,” said Ji Mu.
“Alright. Then I’ll go for a lap,” Tang Xiu nodded and said, “Chi Nan, accompany me!”
“OK!” Chi Nan nodded.
“It’s 15 minutes to eleven now. I wonder if you can finish a lap within the set time. Were you to affect the race, I’m afraid the others won’t be happy,” Li Zhen came, surrounded by a group of people, with a ridiculing look on his face. He observed Tang Xiu for a few moments before his sight finally landed on Chi Nan.
“Chi Nan, you once played here. What is Laoshan Highway’s fastest record?”
“It’s 11 minutes and 45 seconds.”
“That should be about the same. Well, if I can’t lap around Laoshan Highway within 15 minutes, I’m afraid partic.i.p.ating in this race is meaningless. Right, looking at you, you should be the one calling the shots of these chaps. How should I call you?”
"Li Zhen!"
“Got your name. If I were to lose the game today, I’ll give you 40 million! But do you dare to accept my demand if you were to lose?” Tang Xiu nodded and said.
Frowning, Li Zhen then asked, “What do you want?”
“If I win, you will have to stay away from me when you see me later.” Said Tang Xiu.
Raising his brows, a burst of light flashed from Li Zhen’s eyes as he could vaguely feel the subtle meaning behind Tang Xiu’s words. It seemed like that there was a grudge between them.
“Do we know each other?” asked Li Zhen.
“Nope,” Tang Xiu shook his head and said, “I never met you before.”
Li Zhen frowned, “Then why you…”
“It’s nothing,” said Tang Xiu indifferently, “I am someone who doesn’t like trouble, yet bossy young masters like you are very easy to provoke troubles. So you had better stay away from me so that we won’t have a conflict later.”
With mock and ridicule on his face, Li Zhen said, “You are a farsighted person, eh. OK, I’ll be staying away from you when I see you in the future if I were to lose.”
Slightly nodding in response, Tang Xiu then gave Chi Nan a hand signal as they walked toward the Lamborghini. After familiarizing himself with the car, he started it up!
Though Tang Xiu got his driver license just recently and only had a short time driving, yet he was pretty good at it. As long as he could familiarize himself with the control, it was easy to drive a car at high speeds. After all, his vision and reaction rate was far beyond ordinary people. Hence, the Lamborghini’s engine roared as it flashed out in an instant.
“Chi Nan, you know this road well. Tell me what I need to pay attention to.”
Sitting on the copilot seat, Chi Nan nodded, “No problem. After exiting at the front, we’ll enter the road and circ.u.mnavigate the Laoshan Highway. As long as we don’t speed up directly, we won’t fall off the cliff due to the guardrail at the edge of the road. Boss, though you’re speeding up, I’ll tell you in advance when we turn around a curve or a sloping ramp.”
“Got it!”
With one hand on the steering wheel, Tang Xiu’s other hand manually moved the gear, and deeply pressed the accelerator pedal each time he s.h.i.+fted gears. Under the dim lights, the Lamborghini soon reached 100 km/h. After maintaining this speed for two minutes, he began speeding up again.
“Boss, a U-turn is up ahead,” Chi Nan quickly reminded.
Tang Xiu nodded. Though the lights were dim, his eyes were very sharp. In the same pace as he familiarized himself with the controls, the car’s speed rapidly reached 160 km/h.
“I saw cars drifting on TV, how do I do that?” Tang Xiu suddenly asked.
Astonished, Chi Nan was startled for a moment, as she then asked, “Boss, you don’t even know how to drift?”
“I’ve never been in a car race before, how would I know how to drift?” laughed Tang Xiu and said, “Besides, I just got my driver’s license about two months ago. I’m only familiar with a few types of cars. Like this sports car, it’s my first time driving it!”
Chi Nan was somewhat speechless.
She was puzzled. Since Tang Xiu had never drove a sports car before, why did he make a bet with Li Zhen, anyway? Even if 40 million was only a small sum of money, but wasn’t it better not to lose money?
“Boss, drifting is kind of a driving technique. It’s also known as ‘skidding’, ‘over-steering’ or ‘drifting’. The driver over-steer the wheel and uses the handbrake and foot brake at the same time. It will then cause the direction of the car’s steering wheel to sharply change. When you’re about to drift, you must precisely judge the road ahead. Your feet…”
While driving, Tang Xiu listened to Chi Nan’s explanation and gradually gained a certain understanding of how to drift. Just as he bypa.s.sed the U-turn, he sped up again and prepared to attempt drifting.
Screech!
The car’s rear rapidly whipped as its tires violently drifted with the road, causing the car to move sideways. In just a few seconds, Tang Xiu finished a less than perfect drift; even almost hitting the side of a mountain wall in the process.
“Holy cow!”
Chi Nan sincerely sighed even though her complexion turned somewhat pale. After all, it was Tang Xiu’s first time driving a sports car; his first time practicing a drift, and even doing it in such a dangerous mountain road. It was already extraordinarily hard to believe that they didn’t get into an accident.
Tang Xiu himself was somehow nervous. But after the car completely stopped, his anxiousness disappeared. However, he was a bit ashamed upon hearing Chi Nan’s praise. After starting the car again, he tried again four or five times.
"Amazing!"
After Tang Xiu’s last attempt, Chi Nan couldn’t help but gasp in amazement. She was also someone who possessed a keen sense to capture dynamic movements. Yet, Tang Xiu’s every attempt was much better than the last. This time, Tang Xiu even almost perfectly drifted the car.
After that, Tang Xiu sped up to 200 km/h as he said with a smile, “Ah, my skill isn’t good enough. Maybe I can fully adapt to it after a few more laps, since this drifting technique is very simple. You only need precise calculation, coordinating the brake and speed with the steering wheel rotation.”
In admiration, Chi Nan exclaimed, “Boss, if I did not know that you had never been drove a sports car and drifted before, I would have thought that you were a racing expert judging from your last attempt! This learning speed of yours is way too powerful. I’ve never seen anyone who can progress as fast as you.”
“Don’t flatter me,” laughed Tang Xiu involuntarily as he said, “How much time do I have?”
The smile on Chi Nan’s face got thicker. She looked at her watch and said, “It’s 10:57. Three minutes to the agreed time. Boss, it’s kinda impossible to complete the remaining track with your current speed within three minutes. Unless…”
“Unless what?” Tang Xiu immediately asked as he pushed the throttle pedal slightly.
“Unless you speed up to the peak.” Said Chi Nan.
"Sit tight!"
Tang Xiu growled in a low voice as his foot pushed the throttle pedal to the most bottom. The car’s sped soared in an instant. At this moment, Tang Xiu’s mental state was highly focused as he instantly released his perception to perceive 200 to 300 meters ahead.
The car was lightning fast!
A distance of 200 to 300 meters could be pa.s.sed in a blink; yet, being able to perceive the road ahead in a speed race was an absolute advantage.
In the Laoshan Highway square, halfway up the hill, everyone was looking up, waiting.
“Boss Ji, do you think Tang Xiu can return within the fixed time? There’s only two minutes left to eleven now,” the skinny, monkey-like faced Hou Zi whispered, showing a worried look on his face.
“You ask me, but who should I ask?” said Ji Mu slowly, “If Tang Xiu didn’t really car raced before, it’ll be close to impossible for him to return within the allotted time. And this is also his first-time drag racing on Laoshan Highway, so I don’t have much hope.”
With a puzzled expression, Hou Zi asked, “I really don’t get it. Why would he bet against Li Zhen, anyway? Do they have any grudges before?”
“There should be no conflict between them that I can tell.” Ji Mu glanced at him and said indifferently, “But didn’t you hear Li Zhen’s question before? I can tell that he doesn’t like Li Zhen!”
“But just because he doesn’t like him, he didn’t have to lose his money, right?” Hou Zi whispered, “It’s like he’s giving money to be slapped by others. Could he be that stupid?”
“It’s a big world. There’s nothing strange even if things like this happen. Some weirdos appearing amongst youngsters is a normal occurrence, anyway,” said Ji Mu.
Weirdo?
Hou Zi let out a hollow laugh and no longer spoke.
At the other side, a smile that didn’t look like a smile hung on the corner of Li Zhen’s mouth. He raised his wrist and looked at the time on his watch. He was curious as to whether Tang Xiu would be able to come back within the allotted time.
“Young Master Li, I think we don’t have to wait any longer.”
Still, with a cool expression on his face, Huan Yu stuffed both of his hands into his trousers and spoke.
“Oh?” Li Zheng laughed and said, “Why do you say that?”
“Don’t you remember back then when I spent a full 14 minutes to circ.u.mnavigate this track the first time I got here? If that guy really can return within the allotted time, it means that his driving skill is comparable to mine.”
“No,” Li Zhen shook his head and smiled, “In fact, it’s possible for him to return within the allotted time. Because…”