"I called you, but you didn't pick up!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Yidong remembered that he had left his phone at home to avoid being bombarded by phone calls from his old man at night.
Given the situation, Wang Yidong lightly coughed to feign calmness, turned his head, and shouted, "Show-off Hui, the person is here already, just wait and see how you lose."
Maybe it was Chen Xiangbei's flashy entrance that provoked it, but Show-off Hui walked over with an exaggerated expression and asked, "Chen Xiangbei, do you even know how to drive?"
After saying this, Show-off Hui immediately waved his hand and said, "Sorry, I should ask if you can afford to drive a car?"
As soon as he said that, a condescending smile appeared on many people's faces in the crowd.
Although in recent years Guangzhou and Shenzhen have been developing and evicting people to sell land, resulting in many landlords and nouveau riche, there are still countless people who can't afford a car, especially for a high school student.
"A little bit."
Chen Xiangbei replied with a smile, not letting the mockery affect his mindset at all.
"A little bit?"
"Chen Xiangbei, for the sake of being classmates, just admit defeat honestly. Racing on mountain roads isn't like riding a motorcycle taxi; if you crash, you could die."
"No worries, I'll drive slowly."
Drive slowly?
When Chen Xiangbei said this, the crowd erupted in laughter.
So much so that a driver from the Light Point Team couldn't help but stand out and tease Show-off Hui, "Show-off Hui, if you're going to bully someone, at least pick a decent opponent. This one's a good kid!"
Originally, Show-off Hui intended to mock Wang Yidong and Chen Xiangbei harshly, but their foolish demeanor made him feel like he lost face instead.
After all, when you're bullying someone easier, you want a sense of achievement; without it, it feels like you've been bullied instead!
"Chen Xiangbei, since you're looking to die, I'll make it happen for you."
"You may not know how to drive, but you understand the cat and mouse rule of mountain racing, right?"
Show-off Hui didn't want to waste any more words with Chen Xiangbei and his friend and agreed to the race rules immediately to start the race.
The so-called "cat and mouse" rule involves two cars on the mountain road, one in front and one behind. The rear car wins by overtaking the front car, or the front car wins by completely losing the rear car.
If there's no winner, the cars switch positions and run again.
If the two sides are very evenly matched and continuously close after many runs, then the "sudden death rule" is adopted, with a coin toss determining positions and one round deciding the winner.
"I know, I'll let you run ahead."
Chen Xiangbei nodded. In terms of rules, he was far more knowledgeable than a newbie like Show-off Hui.
"Shithead! Does my AMG need charity from your Corolla at the start?"
The more nonchalant the words, the harder they were to bear. Show-off Hui and Fatty Wang couldn't provoke each other this much after arguing for half a day, but Chen Xiangbei did with just one sentence.
"Promote civility and set a new trend, why so agitated?"
To Show-off Hui's poor manners, Chen Xiangbei frowned, feeling helpless.
"Stop blabbering, get in the car and start now!"
Show-off Hui really didn't want to say a single extra word; he wanted to finish the race with these two idiots as soon as possible, or else his fellow team members would definitely tease him about this race later.
"Aren't we waiting for midnight?"
Chen Xiangbei asked.
The usual timing for underground racing is after midnight, because at that time, there are fewer third-party vehicles and people on the road, which not only enhances racing speed but also reduces many safety risks.
Just like street racing in Japan apart from the famous manga "Initial D," there's actually another slightly lesser-known one called "Bayshore Midnight," where the English word means midnight.
So for underground racing, midnight is the real start time for the games.
"Country bumpkin, acting like you know something, but not even aware that the mountain road has been blocked off for the race."
Show-off Hui snorted, turned around, and sat in the driver's seat of the SLK55.
"It's actually professional."
Chen Xiangbei shrugged indifferently and gestured for Wang Yidong to get into the Toyota Corolla with him.
Both cars almost started simultaneously, the roar of the Mercedes SLK55 with its V8 naturally aspirated engine echoing across the mountaintop platform, completely overshadowing the sound of the Corolla's engine.
"Xiangbei, it seems like the gap is quite significant."
Wang Yidong mumbled. Facing the AMG's 5.4L eight-cylinder naturally aspirated engine roaring like a beast, the tenth-generation Corolla's 1.8L four-cylinder engine was like a cat meowing, highlighting a sense of "weakness."
"It's a bit huge."
"Xiangbei, you seem a little nervous."
"I'm not nervous."
Chen Xiangbei immediately denied Wang Yidong's claim.
"Then why is your seat belt buckled into my slot?"
Upon hearing Wang Yidong's words, Chen Xiangbei quickly looked down, and sure enough, the seat belt was clipped into the passenger's slot.
In that moment, he was a bit distracted, realizing he hadn't completely shaken off the impact of a racing accident from his past life.
Back then, Chen Xiangbei didn't obtain an official F1 driver contract, nor was he willing to be a test driver sitting on a simulator or babysitting a water cooler in the team's P room. So, like many other eliminated formula drivers, he could only switch to touring car races or endurance races.
But having sat in the top-notch F1 cockpit, having felt that unmatched speed and passion, the same-class circuit racing could no longer rouse Chen Xiangbei.
So Chen Xiangbei switched to WRC, hoping to rediscover his initial passion for racing through different types of off-road events.
In the WRC championship fight, in a bid to achieve extreme speed and prove his ability, Chen Xiangbei encountered a car accident, plunged off a cliff, and returned to the year 2008, over a decade ago.