Chapter 51 - 15: Gas Station and Verstappen

Chapter 51: Chapter 15: Gas Station and Verstappen

Wu Shi was taken aback. He wondered, "Would this guy actually apologize for torpedoing me?" The two of them pushed their karts out of the grass by the side of the track. Outside the fence, a group of adults was already rushing over.

"Wu Shi, are you alright?" Sid asked as he ran over. He had noticed something unusual: even relatively minor collisions seemed to cause Wu Shi to experience momentary dizziness. The same thing had happened during the final round of the Italian ACI Championship. That kind of crash wouldn’t typically injure a driver, yet Wu Shi had been briefly unresponsive afterward. The lapse had been so brief that Sid hadn’t paid it much mind—until this latest incident.

"Yeah, I’m fine." Wu Shi shook his head.

"I’m taking you to the hospital for a check-up," Sid said.

"There’s really no need. It was just a tap. I’m completely fine."

Only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches. Wu Shi understood the drawback of his Absolute Vehicle Sense: since he could feel everything about the kart, the physical damage inflicted on the vehicle during a crash was also part of what he perceived.

Verstappen looked at the adults fussing over Wu Shi, but his own father was nowhere to be seen.

"Alright, let’s head back first," Sid said. He instructed the mechanics to push the kart back. Seeing that Verstappen had no one helping him, Sid added, "Help the little guy push his back, too." He muttered as he walked back, "How bizarre. Why didn’t Jos come over?"

"I can do it myself," Verstappen said, rejecting the mechanics’ help.

Wu Shi walked a few steps, then glanced back to see the pint-sized Verstappen struggling to push his kart all by himself. He couldn’t help but sigh. Jos Verstappen might be a phenomenal guide, coach, and perhaps even a godfather of the sport, but he was by no means a competent father. Then again, Verstappen was a freak of nature to grow up so tenacious and strong in such a harsh environment.

He turned back and said, "Let me help you push it."

"I said I can do it myself," Verstappen replied.

"I just feel like pushing a kart," Wu Shi countered.

By the time they finally made it back to the pit lane, Jos was waiting with a grim expression. He looked like the dark, brooding clouds right before a massive thunderstorm, exuding an aura of pure intimidation. Verstappen pushed the kart over and opened his mouth to say something, but Jos simply turned on his heel and walked away. Verstappen had no choice but to keep pushing the kart and follow him. They were heading back to Holland; today’s race was over.

"Let’s head back, too," Sid said, shaking his head at the scene. It was just a race, yet Jos treated his own child like that.

"That’s way too harsh," Seth remarked. "By the way, Wu Shi, he crashed into you, yet you don’t seem to care much?"

"Why would I hold a grudge against a kid?" Wu Shi shook his head. Though that was what he said aloud, he actually had three main reasons for his indifference. First, the collision hadn’t been severe, and the consequences were minimal. Second, he already knew that the young Verstappen was an absolute torpedo on the track. Because he was mentally prepared for it, he didn’t feel much emotional turbulence when it actually happened. Finally, he was someone who drew a clear line between what happened inside the paddock and outside it.

On the track, every driver fought tooth and nail for track position. Accidents caused by fierce, uncompromising rivalry were commonplace. Hell, in just a few years, Hamilton and Rosberg would be playing out this exact drama over at Mercedes-Benz. If you didn’t separate the racing from reality, you’d quickly end up making bitter enemies out of every rival driver you ever faced.

"I heard Martina say you act like a mature adult, and seeing you now, I have to agree. You say you don’t want to hold a grudge against a kid, but aren’t you a kid yourself? Haha!" Sid laughed.

"Ahem," Wu Shi coughed awkwardly, scratching his head.

"Alright, enough about that. Let’s go have some fun in Holland too," Sid said.

"Huh? Was that part of the plan?"

"Of course. I specifically arranged for you to race in Belgium’s KF5 just so I could find an excuse to take you on a trip to Holland. You’re always staring at Holland when you look at the map, so I figured you must be interested in the country," Sid explained.

Wu Shi wondered, "Wait, is that really why we came to race in Belgium?" He scratched his head. He had a habit of flipping through maps of Europe at home. The only reason he had been looking at Holland that day was because he happened to be reading a history book about its past as the "Coachmen of the Sea." He never expected Sid to mistake it for a burning passion to visit the country. Still, it wasn’t a bad idea. It would be nice to take in the Dutch scenery. Whether it was the fields of flowers or the giant windmills, it was bound to be beautiful. Though he had to wonder, "Is it even flower season right now?"

On the drive to Holland, Wu Shi gazed out the window. He couldn’t shake the feeling that all the streetscapes in Europe looked roughly the same—a sentiment he had formed back when he used to play *Euro Truck Simulator*. That was until they passed a gas station and he spotted a familiar figure.

"Hey, Chief, pull into the gas station!" Wu Shi called out.

Seth didn’t ask questions. He pulled the vehicle into the station, his expression undergoing a subtle shift when he saw the kid who had crashed into Wu Shi standing there all alone. The group got out of the car and walked over to Verstappen.

"What are you doing here? Where’s your father?" Seth asked. ℴ

"He told me to get out of the car, so here I am," Verstappen replied, continuing to dial his mother’s number on his phone.

"Is that how a fucking father is supposed to act?!" Seth cursed out in anger.

Wu Shi waited for Verstappen to finish his call before asking, "When is your mother getting here?"

"She said she’ll be here in a bit," Verstappen said.

"Your dad is being unreasonable," Wu Shi pointed out.

"No, he’s right. I know the crash was my fault. I assumed you would mess up your rhythm trying to dodge me, leaving a gap for me to exploit," Verstappen confessed. His blunt honesty caught everyone by surprise.

"Haha, then you guessed wrong. I’ll leave just enough space for you to drive through, but I’ll never slow down just to dodge a collision," Wu Shi laughed.

"Aren’t you afraid of crashing?" Verstappen asked.

"Are you?" Wu Shi countered.

"Yes. Everyone is afraid of crashing. But you can’t let it get to you. If you’re scared, you can’t race," Verstappen stated.

"Exactly. The track is no place for modesty." Wu Shi nodded. Politely yielding every time someone challenged you would only give off the impression that you were a pushover. But if you maintained a combative stance, anyone attempting to overtake you would have to weigh the costs, which would invisibly heap psychological pressure onto them.

"Yeah. That’s what my father told me, too," Verstappen said with a smile.

Wu Shi knew that despite Jos’s immense severity towards young Verstappen, the boy actually worshipped, relied on, and deeply respected his father. Years later, after achieving massive success, Verstappen would rationally state that without his father, he never would have become a World Champion.

That was the brutal truth. No top-tier driver was ever raised in a greenhouse. Jos wasn’t just ruthless with Verstappen; he was ruthless with himself. To force Verstappen to master car control, Jos would literally stand in the middle of the track, demanding that Verstappen either drive perfectly around him or run him over.

"Are you racing in the next round?" Verstappen asked.

"I probably will. But I also have to go to France to compete in their Cadet series. If the schedules clash, we’ll prioritize the French races," Wu Shi explained.

"Oh. It’d be a real shame if you missed it. I want to race against you again," Verstappen said.

"Likewise. But we’ll have plenty of opportunities in the future," Wu Shi smiled.

As they spoke, a car pulled up to the station.

"My mother is here," Verstappen said.

"Alright. See you around," Wu Shi said, waving.

Verstappen waved goodbye and walked over. Wu Shi had assumed the boy would get in the car and leave, but he didn’t. A few minutes later, Jos’s car pulled into the station as well. Wu Shi caught sight of the divorced couple beginning to argue, but he didn’t stick around to watch.

The scenery in Holland turned out to be quite lovely. After spending some time touring the country, the group finally set off for France, where the Cadet series awaited them.