Chapter 8: Where Are the Car Keys

You Chong called the track manager, and the staff quickly brought in a small sofa. Lin Tong, unwilling to sit opposite Lin Hexi, got up and swapped places with Yang Juan, making Yang Juan sit with Lin Hexi.

As You Chong had instructed, Lin Hexi sat on the sofa the entire morning, not going anywhere and not bothering You Chong again.

The qualifying race ended just before lunchtime, and everyone left the private room to eat at the track’s restaurant.

Calling it a restaurant was generous; it was more like a cafeteria. Everyone lined up to get trays like those in a college dining hall, then went to the self-service counters to get their food.

September was still hot, and midday was scorching. After lunch, no one was in a hurry to return to the room. Instead, they stayed in the restaurant to enjoy the air conditioning and borrowed a deck of cards from the owner to play games.

Naturally, Lin Hexi was excluded from their group. He played on his phone for a while, then noticed his battery was running low. He got up and asked the owner where he could charge his phone.

The owner shook his head and said, “We don’t have one here, but you can check outside. There should be people renting power banks near the stands.”

Lin Hexi thanked him and walked out of the restaurant.

There were only a few people in the stands, but the area behind them, where go-karts were available for the audience, was buzzing with activity.

He found a vendor renting power banks in the go-kart area, rented one, and stood under a sunshade near the track.

After about five minutes, Lin Hexi began to feel a bit interested in driving a go-kart himself. However, since the go-karts were all two-seaters, he felt a twinge of disappointment. Just then, he saw Yang Juan walking towards him from a distance.

Yang Juan had originally been in the restaurant. He didn’t play board games and was just watching You Chong and Zhou Xuan play.

Because of the hot weather and his tendency to sweat, wearing contact lenses for an extended period made his eyes uncomfortable. He had borrowed You Chong’s car keys to go to the parking lot to remove his contacts and switch to his glasses.

The parking area was right next to the go-kart track. When they arrived in the morning, the go-kart track wasn’t yet open to the public. Not wanting to take a longer route, Yang Juan still intended to cut straight through the middle of the go-kart track.

As he got closer, he realized there were cars running on the track. Yang Juan walked along the outer area of the track’s barrier, but his eyes became increasingly uncomfortable. So, he couldn’t resist rubbing his eyes.

Unfortunately, he accidentally rubbed his contact lens out of his eye, and his vision instantly turned blurry.

Yang Juan stood there in a daze. After he came to his senses, he began to bend down and feel around the ground based on where he remembered the contact lens falling.

Suddenly, the sound of tires skidding on the ground became alarmingly clear through the barrier, mingling with the urgent shouts from others in the distance.

Before Yang Juan could react, someone behind him grabbed the back of his shirt collar and pulled him aside.

The person in the kart quickly turned the steering wheel, regaining control of the almost out-of-control kart, and returned to the track.

The noise finally subsided, and Yang Juan slowly realized the danger he had just been in. Squinting with his moderate nearsightedness, he turned to thank the person who helped him, but vaguely recognized a familiar silhouette.

Unable to be certain, he stood there with his mouth open in shock, unable to speak.

Lin Hexi released his collar and smiled lazily, “Aren’t you going to thank me?”

Hearing his voice, Yang Juan immediately recognized him, his expression turning slightly awkward. “Thank you,” he said.

Lin Hexi chuckled softly again. “A verbal thank you isn’t enough. You need to show it with some action.”

Yang Juan couldn’t help but feel nervous.

With the negative image of Lin Hexi painted by others, various possibilities of threats and unreasonable demands flashed through his mind.

Not being able to clearly see Lin Hexi’s face and expression only made Yang Juan more nervous, and sweat quietly dripped down his temple. Finally, he managed to ask dryly, “What do you want me to do?”

Lin Hexi wanted to tease him, so he lowered his voice and asked confidently, “You’re You Chong’s roommate, right?”

Yang Juan was startled, then stammered, “I won’t help you do anything bad.”

Lin Hexi’s voice turned threateningly, “Then I’ll just leave you here. Without your glasses, you can’t see the way back, and you’re standing at the edge of the racetrack. I’d like to see how you plan to get back.”

Yang Juan’s tone weakened as he decided to stall, “What do you want me to do?”

Seeing the nervousness on his face, Lin Hexi finally couldn’t hold back his laughter. He placed a hand on Yang Juan’s shoulder, and gave it a couple of light pats, “I want you to ride go-karts with me.”

Yang Juan, who had been mentally prepared for something that would test his moral limits, was stunned. After a moment, he found his voice again, muttering in shock, “Go-karts?”

Lin Hexi led the nearly blind Yang Juan to You Chong’s car to get his glasses. Unable to see the license plate, Yang Juan handed over the car keys to Lin Hexi, who unlocked You Chong’s car for him.

Yang Juan opened the trunk, retrieved his backpack, and crouched down to rummage for his glasses.

Watching him, Lin Hexi thought about the bulging backpack Lin Tong had in the morning and vaguely understood the situation. Still, he calmly asked, “Are you guys staying here overnight?”

“Yes,” Yang Juan nodded, puzzled, “Didn’t you know?”

After asking, he recalled seeing Lin Hexi get into the car empty-handed, seemingly unaware of the overnight stay.

Yang Juan, though honest and mild-mannered, was not naive. He quickly realized that Lin Tong must have deliberately not told Lin Hexi.

Forgetting about being in solidarity with his roommates, Yang Juan put on his black-framed glasses and looked at Lin Hexi with a hint of sympathy. “So what are you going to do tonight?”

Lin Hexi smiled, his expression unchanged, and tossed You Chong’s car keys into the air, not answering Yang Juan’s question.

Yang Juan put his backpack back, closed the trunk, and Lin Hexi locked the car, casually slipping the keys into his own pocket.

Seeing that Lin Hexi had no intention of returning the keys, Yang Juan hesitated several times, wanting to ask for them. Just as he was about to speak, Lin Hexi changed the subject and urged, “Come on, let’s go ride the go-karts.”

Yang Juan nodded blankly, forgetting his principle of not getting too close to Lin Hexi. With Lin Hexi’s arm around his shoulder, he was led away from the parking area, quickly putting the car key issue out of his mind.

The go-kart track also had small competitions. Teams of two could compete, and the winning pair would receive a mysterious prize.

Lin Hexi raised his eyebrows slightly, and was determined to win the team competition. He turned to Yang Juan and asked, “Do you get car sick?”

Unaware of the underlying meaning in Lin Hexi’s question, Yang Juan shook his head in confusion, “No, I don’t. I was fine in the car this morning.”

Lin Hexi nodded in satisfaction, and raised his hand to pat Yang Juan’s shoulder in a casual yet meaningful manner, “That’s good.”

A moment later, both of them put on their helmets and got into the go-kart.

The kart had two steering wheels. Lin Hexi lightly rested his foot on the brake pedal and turned to Yang Juan, “When you turn the wheel, follow my commands. If you can’t react in time or get scared, just don’t move.”

Yang Juan nodded blankly.

In hindsight, Lin Hexi’s words proved to be prescient.

When the starting gun went off above the track, the go-kart instantly accelerated, shooting straight ahead. The ride was far less smooth than sitting in You Chong’s car.

Before Yang Juan could even remember how to turn the wheel, his face turned pale with fright. He clutched the safety belt tightly, with his lips trembling in the rushing wind.

Their kart was the first to cross the finish line.

With the help of the staff, Yang Juan struggled to unbuckle his safety belt and get up. He felt dizzy and even accidentally bumped his head hard against the steering wheel.

Lin Hexi, already out of the kart, couldn’t help but laugh as he walked around to Yang Juan’s side. He lifted him from the steering wheel and helped him remove the heavy, stuffy helmet.

Probably due to spending most of his time indoors, Yang Juan had very fair skin. Although it was the helmet that took the brunt of the fall, his pale cheeks still showed small red marks from the impact.

Coupled with his short hair sticking up wildly from being compressed by the helmet, he looked as if he had just been roughed up by some bullies.

This led to a rather awkward scene when, nearly an hour later, Yang Juan returned to the restaurant, still pale and empty-handed, clearly shaken by the go-kart’s speed. Seeing the increasingly visible red marks on his face and his messy short hair, everyone was shocked and started asking, “Weren’t you going to change your glasses? Why do you look like you’ve been beaten up?”

Yang Juan pressed his dry lips together, about to explain, but was interrupted by You Chong’s question, “Where are the car keys?”

His face showed a moment of confusion before he remembered with frustration, “The car keys are with Lin Hexi.”

Before he finished speaking, Zhou Xuan slammed the table in anger, he said with a dangerous tone and already assuming the worst, “Did Lin Hexi hit you and then snatch the car keys from you?”