pulling the trigger and changing releases to every day, because i’m imagining how excruciating it must be as a reader and how we have still yet to meet the ML haha. let’s get this ball rolling and finish this thing before the end of this year! x
Chapter 14: A Glance
Li Xin grinned widely as she observed that the front of her car had received no damage from the impact. The one-of-a-kind vehicle had cost her millions to customize. It could probably survive an impact with a train, much less another race car.
This was what the Blue Clan deserved for hurting Xiao Yun.
The other racers that had harbored plans of usurping Dark Cloud in the race retreated immediately upon witnessing what just happened to Streaming Falcon. Going against her was a death wish.
Her rose gold car knocked its opponents out of the race one after another like dominoes. The air was punctured by sounds of impacting cars as they flipped in the air, crashed into one another, taking turns in the undirected chaos. Soon, the stadium bloomed with radiant red and yellow as explosions took over the arena. Everyone"s screams were obscured by the roaring sounds of the cars whizzing past each other.
And yet despite all the chaos, the race was still proceeding according to the profession"s unspoken rules. Everything had just occurred a little more dramatically than usual.
Underground racing was a game of life and death. It wasn"t founded upon morality, it didn"t follow any laws, and the racers were not meant to be courteous to one another. It was a b.l.o.o.d.y battle, especially this particular race, thanks to the stakes at hand. F1 Stadium was currently hosting the world"s premier, most bloodthirsty event.
"What is this?"
Wu Sen attempted to placate Xiu Shui, who was nearly convulsing in fear. He raised an eyebrow and threw a glance at Xiao Yun. "That"s how these races are supposed to go?"
Xiao Yun"s eyes were following the rose gold car as it made its way around the rack, mesmerized. At Wu Sen"s voice, he raised his head to observe the other cars on the screen. "I"m not sure. I"ve never partic.i.p.ated in a race where everyone was scrabbling to be the King of Racing."
In all his time as an elite racer of the sport, he"d never had the opportunity to race for the t.i.tle.
"If you joined the race," Jun Qi asked suddenly, "would you be able to come back alive?"
Xiao Yun didn"t respond for a while. Then, he shook his head. "I don"t know, but it would be dangerous."
"Why not?" Xiu Shui looked startled. "You can"t be like her?"
Xiao Yun shifted his eyes back towards the victorious rose gold blur on the screen. "Girl," he said with his brows raised, "do you have any idea who she is? She"s Dark Cloud! She sits at the apex of underworld car racing. Her vehicle has been customized by the best of the best. You saw yourself just now… none of those repeated impacts made even a tiny dent in the car. Who in their right mind would fight with her?"
"Besides, this Racing King t.i.tle affects a lot of people. Trying to win against her is like an egg wrestling with a rock. Who do you think would win? No one wants to try ramming their car into hers. And they couldn"t even if they wanted to. Look at her speed, it"s out of this world."
Everyone heard the implication behind Xiao Yun"s words. A person would have to be extraordinarily confident to attempt to ram their car into Dark Cloud"s, but if he were to get on the race track, the situation would be different. Everyone would come onto him, and considering how insane the race had become, who knew whether he"d survive or not?
"Does she remind you guys of anyone?" Wu Sen was also following Dark Cloud"s car.
Jun Qi turned to look at him. "Who?"
Xiao Yun, who had always idolized Dark Cloud, scrunched his brows and contemplated Wu Sen"s words. "That 360-degree turn was perfectly executed," he said. "I feel like I"ve seen it somewhere before."
"The day we were running away from those people, right?"
"That"s right! Yes! That day it was a 180-degree turn, and today"s was 360. I knew I"d seen it somewhere before! But her… could it be?" Xiao Yup suddenly slapped his leg and jumped up in excitement, his eyes glittering ecstatically.
At his words, Jun Qi shook his head slowly, and unconsciously, his gaze softened warmly as he continued watching the car. Li Xin was apologizing in her own way. She was reckless and impulsive, but she wasn"t heartless. He felt his heart skip a beat over such a woman.
~~~
Li Xin"s car came to a full stop with an ear-splitting squeal in the position of first place. She smirked smugly and go out of the car, sauntering slowly to the front of the vehicle. A soft, pleasant breeze swept her raven black hair into the air as she leaned against her car, reveling in the thunderous cheers from the spectators.
She smiled widely. It"d been a long time since she last raced and she was a bit out of practice. At least she was doing it for the sake of the territorial war, so it couldn"t really be considered an actual car race — she wasn"t racing for the sake of it. There was an actual purpose behind the necessity to win first place, so she didn"t feel too bad for nabbing first place and sending the other cars in a perilous game of b.u.mper cars.
Li Xin leaned against the car and smoothed her hand over its surface. Last night, she managed to get it shipped from New York to Washington using Qi Clan"s people. She hadn"t seen her precious baby in years, but it still possessed its radiant gleam. She couldn"t help blowing a kiss to her beloved vehicle, which sent the audience into another round of roaring cheers.
Suddenly, amidst all the noise and bustle emanating from the crowd, Li Xin felt a piercing stare coming from the main podium. She raised her head in its direction and saw that all its occupants were getting out of their seats and getting ready to leave. She was too far to see clearly, but she could feel that the powerful, overbearing stare came from the man right in the center whose commanding presence everyone seemed to be circling around.
Eyebrows furrowed, Li Xin turned and got back into her car and raced off, leaving behind nothing but a cloud of dust.
~~~
Back at the hotel, Jun Qi stood in front of an empty room and said, "No one"s here."
"Could something have happened?" Xiu Shui stressed. "Li Xin left the stadium before all of us."
Wu Sen looked from Jun Qi"s somber expression to Xiu Shui"s worried fretting and was just about to go and tell them not to worry, when Xiao Yun came out of the room. "There"s a note," he said.
Jun Qi grabbed it from his hands. The note had only one line:
I"m sure we"ll all meet again someday.
Jun Qi"s face clouded, and a desolate silence descended upon the room.