“Vehicle god?” Gu Lizhou finally had the chance to plant his long legs back on the ground and immediately switched to ruthless mockery. “Your driving skills are worse than mine. You took out all the streetlights on this road.”
“Shut up!” Zhong Weishi was furious, annoyed, and burning up.
The nearby flatbread-guy had just been sent flying by a sudden motorcycle crash. While waiting for it to reset, he glanced over and happened to notice that the one who had been bragging about showcasing his skills earlier now had a tense expression, his face flushed red all the way to his neck, giving it his all to steer toward a building.
He was still cursing under his breath. “fvck, this damn machine is broken! It’s not responsive at all!”
“You can pull back.” Gu Lizhou propped one hand on his thigh while keeping a tight grip around Zhong Weishi’s waist. “You nearly shook the shrimp wontons out of my stomach just now.”
Zhong Weishi couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing.
Gu Lizhou tilted his head slightly to glance at the screen, his warm breath brushing against Zhong Weishi’s neck.
Zhong Weishi shrank his neck, feeling like his head was placed on a sizzling grill, smoking away.
His movements gradually slowed, but whether it was his imagination or not, the arm wrapped around his waist didn’t loosen. Instead, the grip seemed to tighten even more.
Ah, ah, ah—
Charge ah!—
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t shift his focus away from that arm around his waist.
Their two-player motorcycle race ended without suspense.
Dead last.
It was a complete disaster—they fell two full laps behind the first-place finisher, got flung off four times, and crashed into countless buildings.
Because Zhong Weishi had crashed into Duan Yi twice, Duan Yi turned his head with a face like thunder. But rules were rules—players were allowed to attack each other mid-race. He had been in first place from the very start, using nitro boosts freely, leaving everyone else in the dust. Victory was practically in his grasp—until Zhong Weishi sent him flying in the second lap.
This time, Qiangzi took first place, looking absolutely radiant. “Shi-ge, congratulations, congratulations! For a first-time run, this was already pretty damn good.”
Duan Yi snorted.
The burning sensation on Zhong Weishi’s face had finally faded. Refocusing on the race, he stiffly salvaged his reputation as a vehicle god. “That round was just a test. Next one’s the real deal.”
To ensure fairness, the group revised the rules.
The new map was set to Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay. Players could only pick one type of upgrade—choosing nitro boosts meant giving up speed enhancements, opting for stability improvements meant sacrificing all other buffs…
Mid-race collisions were still allowed, and each player could choose a navigator to assist them.
Gu Lizhou let go of Zhong Weishi’s waist and stepped aside. “I’ll help you navigate the map.”
Zhong Weishi finally took a deep breath, feeling the oxygen revive every cell in his body. He nodded firmly.
At first, Qiangzi had thought Duan Yi brought such a large group for a brawl, but since this was Wild Moto, there was no need for so many people. He personally picked Da Fei as his navigator.
Duan Yi’s expression was grim.
“All right. So you don’t say we’re ganging up on you—we’ll split into four teams: me and Da Fei, Xiao Tian and Wei-ge, and two teams from your side. That makes it fair, four bikes in total.”
Qiangzi said, flexing his rose-tattooed arm with an air of dominance. “Whoever wins gets to call the shots. If we win, the moment you step out of this arcade, you stay the hell away from Dafei—no more contact, and don’t harass him on any live broadcast platforms either.”
“Deal.” Duan Yi smirked, licking the corner of his lips before turning to look at Da Fei. “No problem.”
Da Fei averted his eyes in embarrassment.
After listening to the proposal, Zhong Weishi found it fair and nodded in agreement. But then, a serious issue came to mind. “Hey, Qiangzi, what about our team?”
Qiangzi hadn’t expected Shi-ge to make such an unreasonable request at such a crucial moment.
With how disastrous his last run was—was that even worth watching!?
This was a battle concerning Da Fei’s future!
It wasn’t a child’s play!
But he couldn’t just say that outright. Furrowing his brows, he tactfully replied, “Shi-ge, here’s the thing—this round is an official match. Next time, I’ll play with you as much as you want.”
Zhong Weishi: “…”
Just then, Gu Lizhou returned from the cashier and placed a small basket of freshly exchanged game tokens in front of Zhong Weishi. “Go ahead and play. It’s on me.” Then, he handed ten tokens to the flat-bread face. “The extra ones are interest.”
Flatbread: “Thank you.”
“No problem. Just go easy on me later.” Gu Lizhou patted Zhong Weishi’s shoulder with a smile. “It’s a kid’s first time playing and he got so worked up after losing one round that his forehead was practically smoking.”
Zhong Weishi turned his head, opened his mouth, and pretended to bite Gu Lizhou’s arm. Gu Lizhou swiftly retracted his hand, dodging it.
Recalling their earlier performance, Duan Yi curled his lips into a smirk. “Doesn’t matter. You guys can team up.”
Qiangzi, being prideful, initially wanted to refuse, but before he could speak, Zhong Weishi immediately latched onto the opportunity. “You said it yourself ah!”
Duan Yi shrugged indifferently. “Yeah, I said it. Not like you’d win even with a one-lap head start.”
Zhong Weishi nodded. “Great, then go ahead and let us ah.”
Duan Yi: “…” Shameless!
Qiangzi: “…” His big bro was still his big bro—this move of slipping through the cracks was legendary.
The flatbread guy thought to himself—these two so-called “vehicle gods” had no shame when it came to saving face. Their personalities were practically identical.
To ensure everyone could connect to the game, Qiangzi gave the command, and everyone inserted their tokens at the same time.
“Clank, clank.” Two game tokens dropped into the machine.
After everyone finished selecting their car colors, map, and upgrade package, the sound of tokens dropping continued—“Clank, clank, clank.”
Something wasn’t right.
Everyone turned their gaze toward the back.
There, they saw Gu Lizhou hunched over, aggressively feeding tokens into the machine.
Ever since the last race ended, Zhong Weishi had kept his head down, ignoring him completely. Seeing his gloomy expression, Gu Lizhou figured the kid was probably sulking over his loss.
As a loving father, he naturally had to help his child reclaim victory and restore his reputation as the legendary racer of Akina Mountain.
Rules? Who cared about rules? Making sure the child was happy was the priority.
Besides, they weren’t technically part of the official teams anyway, right?
Thus, the game interface lit up—Nitro Boost +15, 100 km/h acceleration in 2.6s, Top Speed: 400 km/h, Stability +8…
And the numbers kept climbing.
“Hey! What the hell are you guys doing?!” Duan Yi jumped off his bike and pointed at Gu Lizhou, yelling, “We agreed on only one upgrade package!”
Gu Lizhou remained unnervingly calm. “We’re cheating. Didn’t you say you’d give us a lap head start? No need for that anymore.”
Duan Yi: “…” Shameless!
Even as he spoke, Gu Lizhou’s hand kept shoving more tokens into the machine.
Zhong Weishi was starting to feel a little embarrassed. He nudged Gu Lizhou’s shoulder. “Okay, okay, that’s enough, that’s enough.”
“Enough?” Gu Lizhou glanced at the screen and let out a casual “Oh yo.” “Yeah, looks like it’s enough.”
In the end, Duan Yi and his team had no choice but to admit defeat and start purchasing a ton of upgrades themselves.
The game paused and was fed with dozens of tokens. This kind of RMB playstyle was simply unheard of. A large group of uniformed staff stopped to watch, pointing, and discussing.
Even passing bystanders got involved, setting up side bets on who would win.
The arcade was instantly heated.
As an RMB player in this game, Zhong Weishi unlocked advanced options, granting him the ability to select an SSS-tier motorcycle.
The bike’s sleek silver-and-black body gleamed under the lights, and even the helmet had a lightning emblem printed on it. The entire aesthetic was ridiculously cool.
Duan Yi sneered. “Flower Peac0ck, just don’t fall two laps behind again.”
Zhong Weishi ignored him. Instead, he lifted his head and locked eyes with Gu Lizhou. For a brief moment, they both felt as if they had read something profound in each other’s heated, sincere gazes. Without words, they communicated their thoughts through their eyes.
Gu Lizhou: The key is to participate. Don’t take it too seriously. If we’re about to lose, just fake a leg cramp—Dad will definitely help you cover it up.
Zhong Weishi: Okay. Thanks for believing in me. We’re winning this round for sure.
The “START” sign suddenly lit up.
Zhong Weishi twisted the throttle and simultaneously pressed the function button on the bike’s console. The fifth-place motorcycle instantly shot forward with a nitro boost, streaking across the track like a silver-white lightning bolt, leaving the other four bikes in the dust.
“Woah—”
As the special effects burst onto the screen, the surrounding spectators let out a wave of astonished exclamations.
Qiangzi seized the opportunity, smirking as he forced Duan Yi into a corner.
Duan Yi’s eyes were locked onto the screen. He let out a frustrated “fvck.”
The arcade’s simulated road conditions were impressively realistic. For the first time, Zhong Weishi experienced what it was like to play a racing game with cheat-level enhancements. His lips curled up, and his heart pounded violently in his chest.
He was both nervous and thrilled.
Gu Lizhou was as focused as he was.
“Slow down, slow down. Sharp left turn ahead.”
“Take the left fork up ahead.”
“Lean to the right, lean to the right. There’s a small road!”
No one was familiar with the new map. The sounds of discussions and collisions echoed nonstop, and everyone’s attention was highly focused.
Among the roaring of the accelerating motorcycles, Zhong Weishi focused intently, trying to pick out and follow Gu Lizhou’s deep, steady voice.
Probably due to his poor eyesight, Gu Lizhou had leaned in closer to the screen, one hand braced against the table, eyes locked onto the mini-map in the top-right corner.
By the third lap, Zhong Weishi accidentally missed a shortcut. Duan Yi and Qiangzi’s motorcycle icons suddenly appeared on the mini-map.
They were catching up.
Gu Lizhou furrowed his brows. “Slow down, don’t rush.”
Zhong Weishi took a deep breath, then executed a high-speed left drift, his knee nearly scraping the ground.
The tires skimmed past an obstacle.
A perfect dodge.
Behind him, Duan Yi crashed into a railing, letting out a string of curses.
The race ended. The first-place finisher, a flamboyant-looking man on screen, took off his helmet and tucked it under his arm, curling his lips into a smirk.
Zhong Weishi ranked first with a time of 2 minutes and 32 seconds. He raised his hand and exchanged a high five with Gu Lizhou.
Duan Yi finished with a time of 2 minutes 33 seconds, ranking second. Qiangzi, lagging behind by 0.12 seconds, placed third—so furious that he was pounding his chest and stomping his feet.
“We won ah,” Zhong Weishi turned his head and said, “so stop harassing Da Fei.”
“Bullshit!” Duan Yi was annoyed. “You guys cheated! Would you have won without all those speed boosters?”
“Didn’t you just say you’d give us a full lap head start?” Qiangzi countered righteously.
“You!” Duan Yi choked on his words. “This round doesn’t count! Rematch!”
Zhong Weishi frowned, straddling his seat again. “Fine, let’s go again.”
This time, it was a brand-new map, and the rule was clear: no purchasing upgrades, no navigators giving directions.
“Hey, you flashy peac0ck,” Duan Yi turned to Zhong Weishi, “why don’t you bet something too? Otherwise, there’s no thrill if you lose.”
“Bet on what?”
“If you lose, you have to stand in the hallway outside and shout ‘I really like men!’ at the top of your lungs.” He then turned to Huangfu Qiang. “You too.”
Qiangzi’s face twisted in disgust. “I fvck, you’re a fvcking pervert.”
Da Fei, anxious, tried to intervene. “Forget it, let’s not do this.”
But Zhong Weishi simply tossed in two tokens. “Deal.”
Ten minutes later.
A row of men—except for Gu Lizhou—stood neatly in the hallway outside the arcade.
Qiangzi’s old face was burning red. He opened his mouth several times but couldn’t bring himself to say something so humiliating.
Unfortunately, today happened to be the day a car accessories company was hosting a promotional event. The ground floor was packed with people, and passersby were starting to cast curious glances their way.
“Shout ah,” Duan Yi smirked, arms crossed over his chest, looking insufferably smug. “A man’s word is his bond—I already agreed to leave Da Fei alone.”
Qiangzi struggled to turn his head, desperately seeking outside help. The first person he looked for was the thickest-skinned among them. “Hey, Shi-ge, look, we grew up together, right? Back when we swore brotherhood, didn’t we promise to share blessings and difficulties…”
“No, no, no! Stop!” Zhong Weishi backed away repeatedly. “When the hell did I ever swear brotherhood with you?”
Why not!” Qiangzi clung to him. “How about this—I won’t force you, let’s just split the sentence in half?”
Zhong Weishi immediately latched onto Gu Lizhou, who was leaning against the wall, enjoying the show, and roared, “I refuse! If you keep this up, I’m cutting ties with you ah!”
Duan Yi: “…”
Gu Lizhou watched the drama as if it were nothing, “Just imagine the entire floor is a vast melon field, and you’re just shouting out your innermost desires to the melons.”
Qiangzi took a few minutes to gather his emotions. Then, in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s, he muttered, “I-I-I really like…”
As he watched the customers around him gather more and more, he suddenly felt like his throat had been blocked, unable to force out another word.
Duan Yi sneered, “Louder. Who can hear you with this commotion?”
And just like that, a mere 0.05-second difference cost a champion eater his dignity in the middle of Wanda shopping mall.
Da Fei originally wanted to take this opportunity to return the several thousand yuan Duan Yi had given him, but Duan Yi flat-out refused to accept it. Da Fei grabbed his phone, trying to check his Alipay account.
Right outside the arcade, the two ended up reenacting a classic New Year’s scene—where an elder tries to give a red envelope and the younger one adamantly refuses to take it.
“Keep it, buy yourself some new clothes. I’ll still continue to follow your singing—you sing really well. I’m your little fan-ge”
Duan Yi reached out, trying to pat Da Fei’s shoulder, but Dafei dodged. “I won’t spend your money. If you ever regret this, you can always take it back. But making friends is impossible. No chance. I don’t like men.”
Duan Yi didn’t say anything. He just left behind a meaningful smile before turning and walking away.
“Don’t harass him again ah!” Qiangzi shouted at Duan Yi’s retreating figure.
Zhong Weishi watched the scene unfold, clicking his tongue several times in mock admiration. “If I had such a devoted fan, life would be so much easier. I’d never have to worry about food or clothes again.”
Gu Lizhou: “If you ever decide to do a cross-dressing live broadcast, make sure to invite me. Dad will help you achieve your dream of getting rich.”
Zhong Weishi smirked, pressing his lips together. “Didn’t you say you hate seeing men in women’s clothes?”
Gu Lizhou: “You’re different ah.”
“Where is it different?” Zhong Wei Shi asked.
“Everywhere is different.”
Zhong Weishi huffed smugly. “Trying to butter me up ah? Not falling for it. Give up already.”
Gu Lizhou chuckled as he caught up to him. “By the way, what was that show you mentioned last time—the one where the palace maid feeds gr4p3s to Emperor Shunzhi?”
“Bleh, bleh, bleh… not telling you.”
With everything settled, and Da Fei even walking away with a small fortune from his crazy fan-ge everyone’s mood was pretty great—Except for Qiangzi.
“Did that bastard Duan record everything just now?” He suddenly had a horrifying realization.
Zhong Weishi said, “He didn’t record it, I did. Do you want to see it?”
Gu Lizhou beckoned with a finger, “Come on, show me.”
“…” Qiangzi’s face darkened instantly. The urge to cut ties forever had never been stronger.
Lunch was on Da Fei at a well-known porridge shop in the mall. The food was good, the portions were big.
Of course, the most important thing was that the price wasn’t expensive.
A huge pot of seafood porridge cost 32 yuan and came with unlimited refills—perfect for a big appetite king like Qiangzi.
It was peak lunch hour, and seats were scarce. After a quick trip to the restroom, Zhong Weishi and Gu Lizhou returned to find that only two corner seats were left.
While waiting for their porridge, Gu Lizhou scrolled through the news. Zhong Weishi, whose phone was dead, idly glanced around, taking in the shop’s decor. His gaze eventually landed on Gu Lizhou’s wrist—and the conspicuous red string tied around it.
“Ai,” Zhong Weishi knocked on the table. “Where’d you get that? I don’t remember seeing you wear it before.”
“Huh?” Gu Lizhou looked up. “What?”
Zhong Weishi gestured at it. “That red string. Looks like cheap street stall stuff—totally doesn’t match your rich guy aesthetic.”
Gu Lizhou glanced at his wrist bone, where the string rested. “I bought some books the other day and ran into this little girl collecting donations for a welfare center. I donated some, and she gave me this.”
“You’re such a caring person.” Zhong Weishi propped his chin on his hand, laughing. “It looks quite good, kinda tacky with a bit of sexiness and cuteness.”
Gu Lizhou’s eyes curved with amusement. “She said wearing it brings good luck. I have another one in my wallet. Want it?”
“Pfft, how old are you ah? Still falling for this kind of…” Zhong Weishi’s tone was dripping with disdain.
Gu Lizhou’s fingers paused mid-motion. Just as he was about to say not to pull it down, he saw the other person whose eyes filled with disdain and was condescending, never believing in this kind of bullshit boy, hooked his finger at him. “Hand it over. Let’s see if it actually works ah. If not, I’ll march into that welfare center and demand a refund.”
Gu Lizhou laughed so hard that his shoulders shook.
“Damn, why’s it so tight ah? How the hell did you even get this on ah, fvck. Too tight”
“Idiot. Give me your hand. I’ll put it on for you.”
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