At this hour, the mall had just opened for business, and there were only a handful of players in the arcade. The moment Zhong Weishi stepped through the door, he spotted several men sitting on the motorcycle arcade machines.
“Left, left, left! There’s a small path ahead, watch the turn!—”
Qiangzi was seated at the outermost position, with Da Fei standing beside him, shouting instructions while keeping his eyes glued to the screen. He hadn’t yet noticed their arrival.
The motorcycle section had a total of eight seats. Besides Da Fei, A’Wei, and Qiangzi, there were also two brothers from the internet café. Qiangzi was the type who loved gathering in groups—even going to the restroom had to be a team activity. Naturally, a high-stakes event like “racing” couldn’t do without an audience.
Among the crowd, there were four men Zhong Weishi had never seen before—clearly, they were from the opposing camp.
On their side, two were playing while the other two watched.
One of them, around 27 or 28 years old, had styled his hair in the same slicked-back fashion as Gu Lizhou. The difference was that while Gu Lizhou kept his natural hair color, this guy had dyed his a slightly flashy light ash-blonde. His features were sharp, and his long legs flexed as the sleek motorcycle swayed with the force of his lower body movements.
He wore a black Gucci T-shirt paired with ripped jeans, the English lettering across his chest designed in a bold, lightning-like pattern.
The man next to him had a very recognizable face—long and flat, resembling the stone oven-baked biscuits sold at roadside carts.
By contrast, the slicked-back guy looked outrageously handsome.
Though his face and build were decent enough, Zhong Weishi still felt that this man’s overall presence couldn’t compare to Gu Lizhou’s.
Sure enough, the guy erupted in anger after getting hit by someone in-game. “fvck! Are you fvcking blind? Why the hell did you crash into me?! I’m asking you, why did you bump into me?! Can you even drive?! What, did you have shit for breakfast?! If you don’t know how to play, then get the fvck out of here!”
One was arrogant and irritable, while the other was humorous, cultured, and gentle…
No comparison at all.
Zhong Weishi shook his head as he watched the man’s back, then walked over and nudged Da Fei’s arm. “What did Wei-ge mean by warming up?”
“Since they’re not familiar with the machines yet, that guy said they should do a few practice rounds before competing later,” Da Fei explained, pursing his lips in the direction of the slicked-back guy as he said “that guy.”
“The one who’s chasing you?” Zhong Weishi raised an eyebrow at the man.
At the mention of the word “chasing,” Da Fei’s face turned red. Even though he was dressed very manly today, he still fidgeted like a little green caterpillar. “Ai… He said he wants to race, and if I lose, then… then I have to…”
“Huh?” Zhong Weishi was stunned, and his mind instantly filled with all kinds of indecent images.
Da Fei stammered, “D-d-d… d-date.”
“fvck, you scared me,” Zhong Weishi let out a sigh of relief. “I thought you meant s.e.x.”
Gu Lizhou couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing from the sidelines.
A’Wei, who had barely made it through nine years of compulsory education, was eager to learn and leaned in curiously. “Pay what? Marry what?”
“…”
Zhong Weishi expressionlessly clapped his hands three times.
A’Wei: “Why are you clapping? I’m asking you, what’s paying?”
Two female staff members nearby had been watching the scene unfold, but upon hearing this, they blushed and walked away.
Gu Lizhou searched the keyword online and handed his phone to A’Wei.
A’Wei took a sharp breath.
Da Fei covered his face in embarrassment.
Right now, he deeply regretted jumping on the cross-dressing live broadcast trend.
It was supposed to be a joke, but he didn’t think it would lead to this.
That guy had previously threatened him—if Da Fei refused to date him, he would go to his shop and make a scene. The problem was that the barbershop was owned by Da Fei’s second uncle. If this got out, his parents would inevitably find out about his cross-dressing live broadcast, and they would probably break his legs.
Da Fei didn’t want to bring shame to his family. Frowning, he muttered, “I really don’t like him.”
Zhong Weishi patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’ve got your back. No one’s gonna touch you.”
Da Fei pulled Zhong Weishi aside and discreetly pointed at the man’s back. “His name is Duan Yi. The guys next to him are his brothers. In today’s race, if anyone can beat him, he promised he wouldn’t go to my shop and bother me.”
Zhong Weishi wasn’t sure if this guy would actually keep his word, but at this point, they had no choice but to give it a shot.
The arcade machines could connect for multiplayer races. At this moment, Qiangzi and Duan Yi’s motorcycles had already completed three laps around the map, with only one lap remaining.
The screen was too large, with the mini-map positioned in the upper right corner. First-time players barely had time to glance at it, making it crucial to have a navigator who could check for shortcuts and upcoming sharp turns.
Like a rally car co-driver, this role was essential.
Without Da Fei’s guidance, Qiangzi crashed into obstacles twice, flipping over both times. His speed noticeably dropped in the final two laps, placing him in second. The flatbread-faced guy was in third, and Qiangzi’s crew, playing for the first time, didn’t have much skill.
As the finish line approached, Duan Yi crashed into a truck, reducing his speed by 50%, while Qiangzi still had two nitro boost packs left.
“Boom!—”
A burst of blue exhaust shot out from Qiangzi’s motorcycle as he activated his nitro boost, accelerating almost to the point of riding neck and neck with Duan Yi.
Zhong Weishi was so nervous that he started biting his fingernails. From the corner of his eye, he noticed a figure stepping forward.
Gu Lizhou straddled the sixth motorcycle arcade machine, tapped flatbread-face’s elbow, and mimicked Zhong Weishi’s usual tone when asking him for money. “Hey, bro, got any tokens left?”
Oh, my god ah!—
What the hell was this guy doing ah!—
Zhong Weishi grabbed his bangs in frustration, nearly collapsing to his knees. That was the enemy!
Seeing that he was doomed to lose anyway, flatbread-face couldn’t be bothered to continue. He let go of the handlebars and fished two tokens out of the small basket, handing them over.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
Da Fei: “…”
Zhong Weishi: “…”
Just like that, the extremely unsociable Gu Lizhou—who had been muttering “What a bunch of childish idiots” before entering—calmly and decisively prepared to join the next round.
In the previous match, Qiangzi had finished in 2nd place, losing by just two seconds. Frustrated and unwilling to accept defeat, his eyes were red as if they burned with flames.
With his eyes fixed on Duan Yi, he waved Da Fei over. “Da Fei, get over here. Why are you standing so far away?”
Da Fei hurried over, ready to be the navigator for the second round.
Duan Yi’s gaze lingered on Da Fei after shifting away from the screen, sweeping up and down from head to toe.
That slender waist, those straight, delicate legs, and that face he had seen countless times in his dreams—all of it made his blood boil and his fighting spirit surge.
He wanted to leave bite marks on that pale neck.
He wanted to take him home, lock him up, and make sure he belonged to him alone.
Cuff him up if he disobeyed; fvck him until he did.
The little thing had such a beautiful singing voice—his moans must sound just as intoxicating.
As all the arcade machines in the game hall powered up, the temperature quickly rose.
With his mind filled with indecent thoughts, Duan Yi’s heartbeat sped up, and the corners of his lips curled into an arrogant, sinister smirk.
Da Fei was terrified by his stare and lowered his gaze, not daring to look at him again.
Gu Lizhou hadn’t set foot in an arcade in over a decade. It took him a while just to find where to insert the tokens. He crooked his finger at Zhong Weishi. “Come here. Be my navigator.”
“Navigator!” Zhong Weishi yelled.
“Is there a difference?” Gu Lizhou twisted the throttle. “Help me figure out how to start this thing.”
“…” Navigator Zhong immediately dashed over. “The race hasn’t even started, yet you start fart!”
The five machines on the left were already set up and ready. Meanwhile, the senior citizen group over here was still picking out bike colors.
“Tsk, I don’t like green,” Gu Lizhou said in distaste.
“Then go for silver,” Zhong Weishi scratched the back of his head. “I think you just need to nudge it to the right a bit. Yeah, yeah. Hey, hey, hey,—too far, too far!”
“This black one looks good,” Gu Lizhou said.
“That Surname Duan picked black too. Choose something else, or it’ll be hard to tell you apart,” Zhong Weishi reminded him.
“Heh.” Gu Lizhou sneered, “It’s not like he can catch up with me.”
Duan Yi: “…”
Zhong Weishi couldn’t understand where this old man—who barely even found the token slot—got all his confidence from.
It might have been blind confidence, but the people of Xicheng District never lost in terms of momentum.
Qiangzi whistled like a proper thug, and Da Fei clapped with enthusiasm.
Navigator Zhong remained composed and echoed, “Well, that’s true.”
Duan Yi: “………………” Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
After picking their colors, the screen displayed a selection of performance enhancement packs, which included nitro boosts, speed upgrades, and improved bike handling.
Qiangzi, determined to win, spared no expense in purchasing a high-end hardcore upgrade pack. His bike could accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.8 seconds, with a top speed exceeding 300 km/h.
Duan Yi on the side went even further—his nitro boost lasted from start to finish, practically like he was using cheats.
Meanwhile, Gu Lizhou, with only two tokens, clicked the “Skip” button.
A line of extremely eye-catching, ruthless prompt appeared on the screen: Are you sure you want to miss this opportunity?!
Qiangzi, with his competitive streak, shouted from across the arcade, “Bro! Buy the last upgrade pack! That one’s the best value!”
Gu Lizhou let out an “Ah.” Before he could react, the “Confirm Miss Opportunity” button flashed—since he had been idle for too long, the system automatically selected it for him.
Gu Lizhou consoled himself, “Whatever, whatever. The Mountain God Akina never needed that kind of stuff.”
Since the driver had spoken, what else could Navigator Zhong say? He nodded in agreement and coolly added, “I think so too. With enough skill, even a Wuling Hongguang can win.”
Duan Yi, who had just spent a fortune on speed boosts, was so furious his face twisted.
Where the hell did these two donkeys come from?
Their arrogance was downright outrageous!
Qiangzi was also too stunned by these two to form a coherent sentence. He could only offer a quiet, “Then, good luck to you both.”
Three seconds later, the game started automatically.
The map was still Akina Pass, the same one Qiangzi’s group had played earlier. Although Zhong Weishi hadn’t participated, his competitive nature had driven him to mentally review where Duan Yi had crashed last round.
The six bikes staggered into position, awaiting the five-second countdown.
Though it was just a practice round, everyone was nervous as hell.
Zhong Weishi bent down, leaning close to Gu Lizhou’s ear. “I remember the first turn is a left drift. Be careful not to hit the wall.”
Gu Lizhou nodded, “Don’t worry, everything is on command.”
The “START” sign suddenly lit up.
Five modified motorcycles shot out like lightning, vanishing from the screen in an instant.
The so-called impossible-to-catch-up-with black motorcycle remained stationary, its rider casually resting one foot on the ground.
“Ai?” The self-proclaimed Mountain Akina God twisted the throttle several times. “How do you start this thing?”
Pfft—
Zhong Weishi had only ever played Need for Speed on his phone and rarely stepped foot in an arcade.
By the time the two of them figured out how to get the bike moving, the other five racers were already halfway through the first lap.
But a great navigator must remain calm under pressure. Zhong Weishi gripped Gu Lizhou’s shoulders, guiding him carefully, seizing every shortcut opportunity.
“Slow down, slow down. There’s a turn ahead.”
Duan Yi, having overused his nitro boost, struggled to make sharp turns. A crash and a speed drop pushed him from first place down to third, while Qiangzi maintained a comfortable lead.
When Gu Lizhou glanced at the mini-map for the first time, he only saw his own vehicle’s marker. The second time he checked, he noticed two bikes tailing him relentlessly.
“See? Taking shortcuts is way faster ah. I told you, the vehicle god never needed those fancy upgrade packs.”
“Big bro, they’re on their second lap.”
The crowd watching burst into laughter, nearly collapsing from amusement.
Zhong Weishi had finally figured it out—Gu Lizhou was playing purely on dumb luck. He hadn’t picked up a single nitro boost on the track and never drifted around corners.
Frustrated, Zhong Weishi grabbed the man’s wrist, swung a leg over the motorcycle, and roared with determination, “Let me show you what a real Mountain Akina God looks like!”
Gu Lizhou was forced to shift backward, barely making room before Zhong Weishi suddenly executed a sharp drift. The bike tilted dramatically, the handlebars nearly scraping the ground.
With his long legs, Gu Lizhou ended up with one knee on the floor, quickly gripping Zhong Weishi’s shoulder to keep himself from falling off.
Another rapid drift sent the bike veering hard to the left.
Gu Lizhou dizzily followed and swayed to the other side.
Zhong Weishi kept his eyes locked on the screen. The moment another black motorcycle appeared, he jerked the bike sharply to the right, ramming into Duan Yi, who had been chasing from behind.
Gu Lizhou’s stomach churned—he nearly threw up the wontons he had for breakfast.
Duan Yi, proud and competitive, couldn’t tolerate being knocked aside like that. After getting sent flying, he relentlessly pursued Zhong Weishi, determined to shove him off the track in retaliation.
Zhong Weishi dodged frantically.
The race had reached a fever pitch.
Gu Lizhou considered hopping off but hesitated, afraid the swaying bike might hit him in the crotch. So, he opted for the safer choice—wrapping an arm around the boy’s waist.
It was firm.
Their body heat seeped through the fabric, and Zhong Weishi glanced down at the arm around his waist.
The wristwatch was tilted at an angle, making the dial unreadable. Beside the prominent wrist bone, a thin red string had somehow appeared—cheap street vendor stuff. Against Gu Lizhou’s fair skin and defined knuckles, it stood out strikingly…
A strange, indescribable feeling surfaced.
“Watch out, watch out!” The slender fingers suddenly gripped his side.
Zhong Weishi’s breath hitched, his entire body going rigid—then he crashed straight into an oncoming truck.
Boom—
His heartbeat and the sound of the motorcycle exploding overlapped perfectly.
