The moment the callback connected, Yu Chen’s anxious voice came through, “Where are you?”

Yu Yan reported the name of the club, “Ge, is something wrong?”

“Stay there, and don’t even think about racing!”

A sharp “beep” followed as the call was abruptly disconnected.

This was the first time Yu Chen had ever hung up on him so decisively.

What on earth was going on?

“Damn—”

Yu Yan instinctively glanced sideways. “What happened?”

He Zhiyu held his phone, looking distressed. “Your brother called my dad to tattle, saying I took you racing. My card just got frozen again.”

No wonder he seemed so frantic. Yu Yan suddenly understood.

Back when they were home, Yu Chen had mentioned once about him getting a driver’s license. After that, he didn’t bring it up again but arranged for a driver to take him everywhere—or even drove him himself.

So Yu Chen had probably guessed that his reluctance to drive stemmed from the accident?

Yu Chen arrived quickly—less than an hour after hanging up.

Yu Yan and He Zhiyu stood at the entrance of the club, watching as two cars pulled up and a group of ten or so people got out.

“Ge—I…”

He had barely taken two steps forward before he was yanked back. He Zhiyu’s arm hooked around his neck, stopping him.

“Are you trying to strangle me?” Yu Yan struggled to speak.

He Zhiyu loosened his grip slightly and lowered his voice. “Your brother looks really mad and brought so many people. Is he going to beat me up?”

“If you don’t let go, I’ll beat you up first,” Yu Yan growled through gritted teeth.

“What’s going on here? Let go already!” Yu Chen shot a disapproving glance at He Zhiyu before turning his gaze to Yu Yan. Seeing that Yu Yan wasn’t hurt or visibly scared, he finally let out a small sigh of relief.

“Ge, why did you all come together?”

Though he was addressing Yu Chen, Yu Yan’s gaze flickered over to the people behind him—eventually landing on Shen Yuchen.

Standing behind Shen Yuchen, Fang Chi leaned forward and said, “It’s all your brother. He saw something on Weibo and went nuts. I figured it couldn’t be that serious, right?”

“Exactly, my driving skills are top-notch,” He Zhiyu nodded enthusiastically.

“Really? Then how about we go a couple of rounds?” Yu Chen’s face darkened, his tone icy and menacing.

Yu Yan’s lips parted slightly, ready to object, but one look from Yu Chen silenced him. The words hovered on the tip of his tongue before he swallowed them back down.

It had been a long time since he’d seen his brother this angry.

Still oblivious to the gravity of the situation, He Zhiyu’s eyes lit up at Yu Chen’s words. “Ge, are you going to race with me?”

“Yeah.”

“Great! Let’s go change first. There’s an empty track halfway up the hill. I know the owner here—I’ll have him reserve the track for us.”

“Ge, how long have you been racing? What’s your skill level? Have you competed in any tournaments?”

“I took first place in a championship a few years ago. We’ll compete fair and square. Don’t expect me to go easy on you just because you’re Xiao Yan’s brother.”

Yu Yan: “…”

Something about this development felt… off.

Absentmindedly rubbing his chin, Yu Yan nudged Shen Yuchen beside him with his shoulder. “Chen-ge, does my brother know how to race?”

Before Shen Yuchen could answer, Fang Chi squeezed between them.

“Does he know how? He shattered an international championship record at sixteen. You can still find his photos online—so cool!” Fang Chi’s tone was brimming with admiration.

“Wait, sixteen? Isn’t that illegal driving?” Yu Yan frowned.

“What are you thinking? He got his license at sixteen abroad,” Fang Chi said, giving Yu Yan a light smack on the shoulder. “But when it comes to racing, no one can beat Shen Yuchen.”

Yu Yan slowly turned his head to look at Shen Yuchen, who had been walking half a step behind them. “Chen-ge, you race too?”

The racetrack was located on a hillside, accessible only by a shuttle.

Fang Chi slung an arm around Yu Yan’s shoulders as they walked. “He’s into everything—smokes, drinks, and lives for extremes. Racing, skydiving, wingsuits, skiing—if it’s extreme, he’s tried it.”

Skydiving, wingsuit flying, and skiing are all extremely dangerous extreme sports.

It was hard to imagine anyone enjoying so many extreme activities. Yu Yan didn’t even dare to try a roller coaster at an amusement park.

“Does he still do them now?”

Shen Yuchen always seemed hard to figure out, as if wrapped in a layer of mystery. When Yu Yan tried to pry into that outer shell, it would suddenly crack open just a little, revealing only the parts Shen Yuchen wanted others to see.

Yu Yan considered himself a friend of Shen Yuchen, but Shen Yuchen never voluntarily shared much about himself. The few conversations they’d had about Shen Yuchen’s family were mostly things Yu Yan overheard by accident.

Looking back, nearly all their conversations were controlled by Shen Yuchen. He always steered the topics and set the pace.

What was odd was that Yu Yan didn’t dislike this dynamic. Maybe it was because Shen Yuchen had helped him several times, or maybe it was simply because Shen Yuchen was a good person.

Fang Chi chuckled twice. “Nah, maybe his rebellious phase is over. Or maybe he’s too old now, his body can’t handle it, and he’s running out of stamina. Let me tell you, back then—”

“Fang Chi—”

“I… I didn’t say anything! What a beautiful day, huh? Heh.” Fang Chi hummed a tune and visibly slowed his pace, moving to talk to someone behind them.

“Talking bad about me?” Shen Yuchen raised an eyebrow slightly, his dark eyes glinting faintly.

Yu Yan immediately denied it three times in a row. “I didn’t! It was all Fang Ge talking.”

“You’re not cool, Yu Yan! Selling me out like that!”

Fang Chi’s voice came from behind them, but Yu Yan kept his eyes down, pretending not to hear anything.

“Do you call everyone ‘ge’?”

Shen Yuchen’s deep voice was calm and slow, unhurried yet ambiguous.

That was his usual style—never speaking directly, always leaving his words open to interpretation.

Under normal circumstances, Yu Yan could usually guess what Shen Yuchen meant, but this situation was clearly an exception.

The topic had been about Shen Yuchen’s extreme sports, so why had it suddenly turned into a question about who he called “ge”?

“Ge, what do you mean?”

“Nothing.”

The sightseeing vehicle stopped at the viewing platform. Shen Yuchen had already gotten off and walked ahead.

Yu Yan stared at his retreating figure for a while until Fang Chi urged him to hurry, prompting him to get off the vehicle leisurely.

On the racetrack, two modified sports cars—one red and one white—stood out strikingly. He Zhiyu had changed back into his racing suit. It seemed he wanted to chat with Yu Chen, but Yu Chen didn’t acknowledge him.

The LED screen on the mountaintop, which had been playing highlight reels of exciting races, briefly went black for a few seconds. When it lit up again, it switched to a live feed of their race.

For a moment, Yu Yan felt like he was hallucinating. He could even hear cheers and applause from the spectators down at the viewing stands below the mountain.

This unofficial race had drawn quite a crowd. The LED screen showed the audience’s reactions clearly, their excitement palpable.

Yu Yan always felt like he had overlooked something. He wanted to ask Shen Yuchan beside him, but recalling the ambiguous conversation from earlier, he hesitated and turned to Fang Chi.

“Brother Fang, did they place a bet or something? Why are there so many people watching?”

Fang Chi had just parted his lips to answer when he caught a glance of Shen Yuming looking over at him. He cursed inwardly, waved his hand dismissively, and said, “I don’t know, ask your Chen-ge.”

Yu Yan subconsciously glanced sideways, just as he locked eyes with Shen Yuchan. Their gazes entangled, neither of them spoke.

A sudden burst of intense screams interrupted his thoughts.

The race had already started. The two cars shot out like arrows from a bow, the red car trailing half a car length behind after the first turn, but it was closely chasing.

It seemed that He Zhiyu hadn’t lied to him; the two laps he had driven earlier were indeed not fast.

The race required two laps, and after the first lap, the white car firmly blocked the red car ahead.

Yu Chen seemed to anticipate He Zhiyu’s moves. Every time He Zhiyu tried to overtake from the left or right, Yu Chen would always turn just ahead, blocking He Zhiyu’s path.

The two cars were driving in a strange, wave-like pattern on the track, not slow at all. Just watching it, Yu Yan already felt a little carsick.

Normally, it wouldn’t be surprising for He Zhiyu to do something reckless like this, but why was his brother also bickering with He Zhiyu?

Although his brother was a good driver, with speeds like this, if anything went wrong…

Yu Yan held his breath, frustrated with himself for not stopping it earlier. He had thought that the two laps Yu Chen mentioned would be at a low-speed track.

“Don’t worry, his driving skills are great. Nothing will happen.”

Shen Yuchan’s voice suddenly came from beside him. Yu Yan lightly pressed his lips together and nodded.

In the last turn, the white car drifted, gently applying the brakes to slow down, forcing the red car behind it to follow suit.

Then the white car slammed the accelerator and flew past the finish line, pulling almost twenty meters ahead of the red car.

The race ended, and Yu Yan’s tense heart finally relaxed.

Five minutes later, Yu Yan had a pendant hanging from his neck, so heavy it made it difficult for him to walk.

He Zhiyu, still dizzy, muttered, “Your brother… ugh… drives so recklessly, why didn’t you… ugh… tell me earlier? Ugh…”

That last lap had made He Zhiyu dizzy, and his stomach churned painfully. After dry-heaving for a while, nothing came up.

Yu Yan opened a bottle of ice water and handed it over, silently mourning for He Zhiyu for three seconds in his heart.

“He even threw me off my car, that’s so unfair.”

Hearing him badmouth Yu Chen, Yu Yan almost blurted out, “Why don’t you blame your own driving skills?”

“My driving skills aren’t bad? Next time, I’ll take you—”

Yu Chen shot him a glance, “Next time, take my brother for what?”

He Zhiyu hung limply on Yu Yan’s neck, speaking weakly, “Next time, give him my race video.”

Yu Yan seemed to understand Yu Chen’s intentions with this whole act…

It’s just a pity for He Zhiyu, who would probably have a trauma to racing from now on.

Yu Yan asked, “How are you feeling? Should we go to the hospital?”

“No need, I’ll be fine after resting a bit.”

It would be so embarrassing for a legendary driver to faint and go to the hospital after losing a race!

“Still dizzy? How about I get you an ice pack to put on?”

“Sure.”

With He Zhiyu’s permission, Yu Yan asked a staff member for an ice pack and placed it on him, with a towel in between so it wouldn’t be too cold.

Yu Yan’s movements were gentle, seemingly very experienced in taking care of others, while He Zhiyu became even more exaggerated, firmly hanging on his shoulder, pulling Yu Yan’s clothes to one side.

Today, Yu Yan was wearing clothes that Shen Yuming had sent him when he stayed at his house earlier, the same series as Shen Yuchan’s.

This scene was somewhat glaring in Shen Yuming’s eyes.