Time dragged on until class was over. As the homeroom teacher's foot stepped out the classroom door, Pan Zhihui led a group of cronies over to Chen Xiangbei's desk, looking like they were ready to start something with their numbers.
"What do you want?"
Wang Yidong stood up at that moment, questioning weakly.
There were five of them, and with Zhou Glasses here, we barely had half a person—right in line with the mathematical rule that two fists can't fend off four hands.
"Chen Xiangbei, I want to race you again!"
Pan Zhihui gritted his teeth and spat out these words. He'd been mocked all morning, the level of humiliation no less than losing the race last night in front of Xu Yali.
Looking back, it was mainly because he got careless and understeered at the first corner. If he had been a bit steadier and more reserved, he could have entirely suppressed Chen Xiangbei throughout the race with his vehicle's performance advantage. How could a Corolla overtake an AMG!
Pan Zhihui had to regain his reputation; otherwise, how could he hold his head high in front of his buddies in the future?
Watching Pan Zhihui's excited demeanor, a mocking smile appeared on Chen Xiangbei's lips as he calmly said, "Pan Zhihui, do you know why you lost last night?"
"I was just being careless, and you got lucky, kid!"
In response to such an answer, Chen Xiangbei shook his head, then stood up, putting on a look he had never shown before, his gaze fixed on Pan Zhihui.
"It wasn't carelessness; it's because you're afraid of death."
"A real racer would rather be battered and bruised than slow down. From the moment you feared, you already lost."
That's right, in racing, if you fear death even slightly, you'll never be able to pursue the limit of speed.
In his past life, the reason Chen Xiangbei ended up crashing off a cliff was that even when he saw the obstacle ahead, he didn't choose to brake hard to slow down in the pursuit of speed and victory, leading to the car losing control.
Living again, Chen Xiangbei didn't directly take the road to professional racing because he would recall the scenes of the accident at the time, unable to completely forget life and death and invest wholly in the race.
In a certain sense, this is a different kind of "fear."
Chen Xiangbei's words seemed to tear down the facade, leaving Pan Zhihui stunned on the spot. No one knew better than him why he hit the brakes hard at the second curve on Nanyun Mountain.
He was afraid of death!
Not only did Pan Zhihui remain silent, but the few rich kids who came along didn't speak up either.
The main reason was that Chen Xiangbei displayed an intimidating aura that none of them expected, making them completely surprised that such a minor character in the class had such a powerful oppressive presence.
The atmosphere froze for a few seconds before Pan Zhihui reacted to his own fear, stuttering as he spoke a harsh word, "You...you don't be arrogant, not afraid of death, huh...then wait till I find some pros ('people') to race you, and don't act all scared when the time comes!"
Pan Zhihui's words startled his companions; this kid was talking the toughest words while doing the most cowardly things.
"Weren't you saying you wanted to beat Chen Xiangbei? How did it turn into hiring pros to race?"
He Zhendong beside him voiced his doubt. He came to support Pan Zhihui, but this kid became timid first.
"Pan Zhihui, could it be that you're really afraid to race?"
Another chimed in, wondering what Pan Zhihui was up to.
Facing his companions' doubts, Pan Zhihui truly found it hard to explain.
These guys hadn't seen Chen Xiangbei's driving skills, really thinking the opponent was some tender chick—if he could win, would he hold back?
Of course, Pan Zhihui wouldn't speak his mind; otherwise, he truly couldn't hold his head up in the class and could only bite his tongue and argue, "Chen Xiangbei is Fatty Wang's driver, so it's perfectly reasonable for me to hire a driver, why so much nonsense."
"Chen Xiangbei, just you wait!"
Saying that, Pan Zhihui pushed through the crowd and walked out of the classroom. Continuing would only make his excuses less convincing.
With the principal offender gone, the remaining few naturally had no reason to stay and could only chase after Pan Zhihui, bewildered.
Watching them leave, Wang Yidong, originally prepared for a fight, said admiringly, "Damn, Xiangbei, what you said earlier was really cool. You downright scared Pan Zhihui!"
"I wasn't trying to scare him, but I was speaking the truth."
This time Chen Xiangbei didn't joke around with Fatty Wang; his expression was quite serious.
"And the same goes for you. From now on, don't always think about racing for no reason; the consequences of forcing a race could lead to death."
Chen Xiangbei knew Fatty Wang had a dream of being a racer, often fantasizing about one day becoming a racing god like Takumi of Qiuming Mountain.
But as a brother, Chen Xiangbei was well aware that Fatty Wang wasn't suited for racing; he didn't have the heart to risk his life pursuing speed and thrill.
If it weren't for Chen Xiangbei stepping in as the driver to race on his behalf, leaving Fatty Wang alone to navigate the mountain road with his Corolla, the consequences might have been unimaginable.
"No, why are you being so serious..."
In this moment, Wang Yidong seemed to feel the pressure Pan Zhihui had felt earlier; Chen Xiangbei's serious demeanor truly seemed like he had become a different person.
"You won't listen if I'm not serious."
Chen Xiangbei sighed helplessly, shook his head, then sat down again.
But before he could even settle back into his seat, a beautiful figure appeared before him—Xue Meiting had arrived at his desk.
"Why didn't you reply to my message last night?"
Upon hearing Xue Meiting's words, Fatty Wang and Zhou Glasses exchanged glances sensibly and moved to the side.
"I forgot."
"You forgot that?"
"Yeah, I usually send messages to dozens of girls at once, so many that I forget who I've messaged, too many unread messages that I can't keep up."
Simultaneously messaging dozens of girls?
Xue Meiting's eyes showed a hint of disbelief.
"You don't believe it?"
Chen Xiangbei, without saying a word, pulled out his phone and found Dong Yuanxi's QQ number, then sent a message right in front of Xue Meiting.
[Yuanxi, I'll give you a ride home after school tonight.]
The moment he hit send, Dong Yuanxi's phone on the desk lit up. She saw the message from Chen Xiangbei pop up on the QQ interface and frowned, looking over with a face full of confusion.
Seeing Xue Meiting talking to Chen Xiangbei, she didn't find it convenient to ask in detail, so she just put down the phone and left it alone for the time being.
"See? Sending a message is such a simple thing. Is whether they respond or not that important?"
"You're sending a message to give Dong Yuanxi a ride home, right in front of me?"
Xue Meiting's eyes widened. The two clearly hadn't been together, but at that moment she felt as if she had been dumped!
"I was originally going to test you, but I didn't expect you to be such a fickle jerk!"
Test me?
Hearing this, Chen Xiangbei couldn't help but laugh, but he quickly composed himself and replied seriously.
"I'm sorry, only the organization and the people of this country have the qualification to test me!"
"Go to hell, I'm never speaking to you again!"
Xue Meiting was completely furious. She never expected to see such a shameless side of Chen Xiangbei.
After cursing him out, Xue Meiting turned and ran out of the classroom.
Once Xue Meiting's figure disappeared, Fatty Wang finally dared to come over and said with utmost admiration, "Brother Bei, I, Wang Yidong, am impressed. From now on, in terms of picking up girls, you are my big brother."
Compared to Fatty Wang, Zhou Eyeglasses was much more straightforward. He simply asked out of curiosity, "Xiangbei, did you really send messages to dozens of girls at the same time?"
"Of course not, am I that kind of person?"
"Before, I wouldn't have believed it, but just now, it really seemed like it..."
Zhou Eyeglasses weakly replied, as Chen Xiangbei's demeanor, tone, and actions were all so natural just now.
"Brother Bei, that move just now, I've learned it! From now on, if Xu Yali sends me messages, I won't respond, I'll just play this game of hard to get!"
Wang Yidong was quick to learn and apply things in practice. No wonder Chen Xiangbei advised to compliment several at once, so that, later, he could choose who to pursue and gain the upper hand by stopping the compliments whenever he wanted!
"What are you learning? At least grasp hold first before playing hard to get. You send three messages to Xu Yali, and she doesn't respond to a single one. Tell me, how are you going to play hard to get?"
"Buddy, I don't want to hit you where it hurts, but face reality. This is like trying to cook without rice!"
Chen Xiangbei was really a bit floored. Does Fatty Wang have to hang himself on the tree that is Xu Yali?
"It really did sting."
Just a moment ago, Fatty Wang was very excited, but now he sat down quietly.
After these two little dramas, the rest of the day's classes seemed quite calm. After all, being a prestigious high school like Guangshen High School, most of the time it's all about studying diligently without fancy games.
Nine o'clock, and the night self-study session ended. Chen Xiangbei packed up and headed home. At this moment, Fatty Wang started joking around again. He's the kind of person who's easy-going. No matter what sort of "heavy blow" he receives, it only takes half an hour for him to bounce back.
With Zhou Eyeglasses joining them, the three headed towards the school's entrance. From afar, they saw Dong Yuanxi standing under a streetlight, with a Mercedes AMG S65 parked nearby, its door open.
The streetlight shone on Dong Yuanxi's white dress, making her look like a leading lady on a spotlighted stage, giving off a dazzling radiance that made those around her seem rather dull in comparison.
"So beautiful..."
Wang Yidong couldn't help but exclaim at this scene, truly deserving the title of Guangshen High School's "white moonlight."
However, Chen Xiangbei's attention wasn't on Dong Yuanxi, yet he also sighed in admiration, saying, "Nice car!"
The Mercedes AMG S65 next to Dong Yuanxi was truly what you could call the "wolf in sheep's clothing" of this era. Beneath the business-class luxury of the Mercedes S-Class, it housed a 6.0T V12 twin-turbo engine, delivering a staggering 612 horsepower!
With a restrained exterior hiding a fiery heart, even though the car exceeded five meters in length, it could still reach 0-100 km/h in 4.4 seconds, leaving many so-called performance cars in the dust.
To be honest, many wealthy individuals would either choose a Maybach S-Class or go further up to a Bentley or Rolls-Royce. Very few would choose an AMG S-Class, as they usually had chauffeurs and didn't care about the driving experience.
"Damn, that's wild. You've really got your priorities mixed up, haven't you?"
Faced with Chen Xiangbei focusing on the car, Wang Yidong couldn't help but tease him. How had he not noticed before that this guy's "preferences" might be a bit off?
Of course, admiration still remained. The three took a glance before quietly leaving.
After all, a goddess like Dong Yuanxi, coming from such a wealthy background, was an unattainable dream. Many times, one should know just where they stand in life.
Typically, any wealthy woman who's a realistic target would be of the age when they celebrate their 60th or 70th birthday, and one must also learn the endurance and nobility of a scrubbing pad.
If not, why on earth would a teenage girl choose a teenage boy like you?
Yet, as the three of them walked past Dong Yuanxi, a clear voice suddenly called out from behind.
"Chen Xiangbei!"
Hearing the call, Chen Xiangbei paused and turned around, seeing that the one calling his name was Dong Yuanxi.
At the same time, numerous students at the gate also shifted their focus on him, eyes full of doubt and envy. After all, Dong Yuanxi was famous in the school for her aloofness, and she had never been seen initiating a conversation with any boy before. Why would she suddenly call out to Chen Xiangbei?