Chapter 32: The Penultimate Stop

Chapter 32: Chapter 32: The Penultimate Stop

The Grand Prix was over, like the curtain falling on a magnificent party.

All good things must come to an end, and returning to normal life after the revelry always brought a bit of monotony and a sense of emptiness.

This was how Wu Shi felt sitting in his classroom. People only feel this way when they’re bored, or after a period of indulgence.

On the very night of the Grand Prix, Zhi Shiwei’s report had already been published.

The article used phrases like "a once-in-a-century genius from Hua Country," "lavished with the highest praise by F1 drivers," and "expected to become Hua Country’s first F1 driver."

It was a good thing Hamilton wasn’t a Seven-Time Champion yet, or the article’s wording would have probably been even more exaggerated.

Of course, because racing culture was still niche, absolutely no one in his class had seen the news article.

Wu Shi remained an invisible nobody in his class. Lost in his philosophical musings, the weekend arrived quickly.

He had to fly to Shanghai again to participate in the CKC Shanghai Station.

This stop, because it was held right after the F1 Grand Prix, had unexpectedly attracted a fair bit of attention.

Wu Shi had just walked into the paddock when several teenagers, around sixteen or seventeen years old, suddenly surrounded them, startling Louise, who was with him.

"Wu Shi?"

"Holy crap, you’re so lucky! You actually got to go to the Paddock Club and shake hands with F1 drivers!"

"I was at the track too! How come I didn’t get to go down there?"

"Stop bullshitting. Weren’t you the one who tried to force your way in and got dragged out?"

The scene was a bit chaotic. A scared Louise squeezed closer to Wu Shi, wanting to grab him and make a run for it.

"Everyone, make way!" a technician shouted as he came out.

A few of them were wearing race suits, looking like drivers from the higher categories. They naturally wouldn’t cause a scene here, and realizing it wasn’t appropriate to mob a little kid like that, they backed off a bit.

But for every well-mannered person, there was a poorly-mannered one. Though they weren’t blocking his path, they continued to crowd around him, constantly running their mouths.

"Wu Shi, how old are you anyway? Your English is already so fluent."

"Kid, saying you want to be an F1 driver... aren’t you afraid of speaking too soon?"

"It’s easy to win in the lower categories, but the higher categories are a different story."

There were curious voices, mocking ones, and doubtful ones. With his hands in his pockets, Wu Shi completely ignored them and just kept walking. As long as they didn’t block his way, he didn’t care.

"They’re so noisy," Louise complained in English, taking Wu Shi’s arm with a troubled look.

"I think so too, but there’s nothing we can do," Wu Shi said, shaking his head.

"Can you win this race?" Louise asked.

"If there’s no problem with the car, there’s no problem," Wu Shi said.

At this point in the season, the outcome was already obvious. Whether in a wet race or starting from the back of the grid, he had fully demonstrated his ability to win the championship. It was just a matter of how much he would lead the second-place driver by.

After completing scrutineering, Wu Shi took his kart out on the track for a few laps. He then returned to the pits to discuss adjusting the car’s caster angle with the technician. After the adjustment, they had to check if it still complied with the regulations to avoid winning the race but losing on a technicality.

After the adjustment, he had to go out again to test the car until it was perfectly matched with the track.

In this kind of spec series, Wu Shi’s talent for car setup undoubtedly gave him a huge advantage.

For today’s race, neither of the adults came.

Martina had an important business meeting in Peng City, while Wu Zhenlin had gone to Shangjing after the F1 Shanghai Grand Prix and had been there for over a week.

Word was that he had been talking with several department heads from his corporate group during this time. Next month, he would likely go through a round of interviews with the board of directors. The promotion was basically set in stone, but there was still no news on the exact position.

Louise stood by the glass in the second-floor viewing hall, holding Wu Shi’s water bottle and watching the drivers race lap after lap on the track below.

She also loved karting, but unfortunately, she wasn’t very talented. Plus, there wasn’t much room for women to advance in this type of racing, so it could only ever be a hobby for her.

But just listening to the buzz of the engines and watching the karts fly by was enough to make her happy. Most importantly, Wu Shi was among them.

But as the time for their expected trip to Europe drew closer, a sense of unease grew in her heart.

Compared to the karting scene in Hua Country, the one in Europe was much more developed.

And a developed system meant more participants, which in turn meant more prodigies were discovered.

She didn’t know if Wu Shi would still be able to achieve such results after going to Europe.

’If he faces failure then, how am I supposed to comfort and encourage him?’

’If he can’t continue racing and has to return to Hua Country, should I come back with him, or stay in Europe?’

Because her mother had so much business travel this year, her own schooling had been intermittent. This state of affairs couldn’t last for long. Next year, her mother would apply for a more suitable position with her boss, and she probably wouldn’t have any more opportunities for business trips to Hua Country.

WHOOSH!

A race car flew past, shattering her daze. Louise felt a little down.

"Hello, foreign big sister," a sweet, childish voice said from beside her.

Louise looked and saw a little girl a head shorter than her. She was as exquisitely carved as pink jade, utterly adorable.

If her own skin was a cool, frosty white like the moon, then this girl’s skin was like warm-tinted snow. Her fair complexion had the perfect rosy hue, making her look like the morning sun or a new sprout, full of warmth and hope.

"Hel... lo," Louise said with a smile, trying to be friendly.

"Hey, the big sister speaks Chinese!" Ye Ningning’s eyes widened.

"Of course," Louise said proudly, her stray lock of hair trembling as if in sync with her racing heart.

"Big sister, what’s your relationship with the Boss?" Ye Ningning asked.

"Boss?" Louise frowned, not understanding.

Ye Ningning scratched her little face and said, "Our Boss, Wu Shi."

"Why is he your Boss?" Louise was dumbfounded.

"He’s fast! Faster than anyone! Whoever’s the best is the Boss!" Ye Ningning huffed.

"Ooh~!" Louise nodded, half-understanding. But she knew the girl was praising Wu Shi, which made her heart feel all warm and fuzzy!

"Big sister, you still haven’t answered my question. What’s your relationship with the Boss?" Ye Ningning asked persistently.

"Wu Shi, is..." The two "shi" sounds nearly tied Louise’s tongue in a knot. After once again complaining internally about how hard Chinese was to learn, she found herself saying, "He’s my big brother! Brother!"

"Eh!???" Ye Ningning was completely shocked. ’How could the Boss’s younger sister be a foreigner? Is the Boss mixed-race? But he doesn’t look it.’

While the two little girls were still pondering each other’s words, today’s untimed practice session was coming to an end.

Wu Shi, having already finished setting up his car, had returned to the pits early.

Not seeing Louise downstairs, he frowned slightly and asked the technician, "Uncle Li, where’s Louise?"

"Oh, she said she was going upstairs to watch," the technician said.

"I’ll go find her then. Her Chinese isn’t very good, and it wouldn’t be good if something happened to her up there alone," Wu Shi said.

"Oh, you’re right! I shouldn’t have let her go up by herself." The technician slapped his forehead. The race track area wasn’t completely safe; in fact, it could be quite chaotic.

Seeing that Uncle Li had gotten the message, Wu Shi said a quick farewell and headed upstairs.

As soon as he got upstairs, he saw the two little girls staring at each other, wide-eyed.