Chapter 3: “Cry Prettier in a While”

“Fuck!” Jiang Cheng cursed under his breath, having been inexplicably scolded. He watched Ji Shuyi flee, but didn’t bother chasing after her. It was as if he knew she wouldn’t dare to slip away completely, or perhaps he secretly hoped she would irresponsibly bolt. That way, he’d have an even better reason to ‘punish’ her next time they met.

Song Yu, who had been watching the drama unfold from the sidelines, sauntered over with a playful grin once Jiang Cheng was alone. “Yo, did our Young Master Jiang suddenly ditch my teammate because of this girl?” he asked.

Jiang Cheng leaned against the car door with his arms crossed, his gaze fixed on the direction Ji Shuyi’s car had gone. He merely glanced sideways at Song Yu’s voice, offering no reply.

Song Yu took the silence as confirmation and, his gossipy heart ablaze, excitedly edged closer. “So, that’s your type, huh? A dark little Lolita?” The smoky eye makeup did give her a hint of a dark edge when she snapped back at people.

However, as soon as those words left Song Yu’s mouth, Jiang Cheng promptly rejected the notion. “I’m not so indiscriminate that I’d like someone like her.”

“Oh… Hehehe…” Song Yu didn’t press the issue, only asking with a slightly worried chuckle, “But if you let her sit in the passenger seat, won’t this entire race scare the little girl into tears?”

Hearing this, a playful glint finally appeared on Jiang Cheng’s otherwise expressionless face. His voice dropped to a low, cunning murmur: “It’s precisely because I want to make her cry that this is fun.”

As he spoke, the pad of his left thumb gently rubbed the skin on his right wrist, where Ji Shuyi had bitten him earlier. The little girl’s sharp teeth had left a faint little teeth mark on his wrist – he was definitely holding onto that ‘grudge.’

Seeing Jiang Cheng’s sly, scheming expression, Song Yu laughed and patted him on the shoulder. “Take it easy. If there’s nothing else I’m needed for, I’ll go back inside and keep partying.”

Saying this, he turned to head back into the bar without waiting for Jiang Cheng to respond. After a few steps, he seemed to remember something and hurriedly turned back, calling out to Jiang Cheng, “Oh yeah, remember to pay me back for that bottle of wine!”

Jiang Cheng caught sight of Ji Shuyi walking over, having changed into her baseball uniform. He quickly waved Song Yu off. “I remember, now go!”

Having changed into a baseball uniform and sneakers, Ji Shuyi also casually tied her loose hair into a ponytail. Compared to before, she looked much more youthful and energetic.

“I need to send Yanyan a message, to let her know I’m with you,” Ji Shuyi warned Jiang Cheng as she got into the car, pulling out her phone to type. “Just in case you try to cheat me.”

Jiang Cheng glanced at her dismissively, not taking her seriously. “My sister doesn’t have time to bother with you right now.”

Then, he floored the accelerator, leaving Ji Shuyi’s sudden scream and the message she hadn’t managed to send as the only sounds in their ears.

“Ahhhh…”

“Jiang Cheng, are you crazy?!”

“Jiang bastard!”

However, the car’s speed didn’t decrease in the slightest. The sleek, black “Voice of the Night” sped passionately like a streak of light and shadow beneath the flashing neon of the night sky.

It was at this moment that Ji Shuyi felt she’d boarded someone’s pirate ship.

In a mixture of terror and annoyance, she hurled her phone at Jiang Cheng and gripped the seatbelt tightly.

The race was being held on a winding mountain road in a remote suburb.

Roadblocks had been set up along the sides, sealing off the section.

The car executed a beautiful drift, and as it came to a stop amidst the screech of tires against the pavement, it was immediately surrounded by the crowd who had come to watch the race.

They were all enthusiastic young men and women.

“Holy crap! I’m enlightened! I actually saw one of only a few ‘Voice of the Night’ in the entire world!”

“So cool!”

“A dream I wouldn’t even dare to dream!”

As Jiang Cheng opened the car door, he heard the endless stream of excited chatter. Everyone stared at the car with envy, practically drooling. Most of the guys were looking at the car, while most of the girls were looking at him. Some girls couldn’t help but exclaim in awe,

“So handsome!”

“The car and the man are a perfect match!”

At this point, Ji Shuyi was still feeling dizzy from the speed of the drive. She leaned back in the passenger seat, not wanting to move an inch, trying to recover. In her mind, she cursed that someone, Jiang Cheng, ninety-nine times eighty-one times! (a Chinese expression for cursing someone an uncountable number of times)

“Cheng-ge, you finally came!” Chen Xingyi, who had been waiting anxiously for a savior, squeezed through the crowd and put his arm on the car door. He said to Jiang Cheng, “I was so anxious! If I can’t redeem my car, my old man will beat me to death. I can’t afford to lose face like that.”

Jiang Cheng raised his eyelids to look at him. “I can’t afford to lose face either. Don’t say you’re from my team in the future.”

“No, no, no, it was just carelessness,” Chen Xingyi said with a smiling face, “I guarantee it won’t happen again.”

Jiang Cheng glanced at Ji Shuyi, who was rubbing her temples trying to recover, and said directly to Chen Xingyi, “Alright, I’m in a hurry. Where’s the guy who beat you? Let’s start the race already.”

Chen Xingyi looked at Jiang Cheng’s expression and figured this guy was too lazy to even get out of the car. He pointed directly at the red Ferrari sports car across the road and said to Jiang Cheng, “It’s that one over there, an American bastard.”

Jiang Cheng followed the direction Chen Xingyi pointed. The man in the red convertible supercar was passionately kissing the person in the passenger seat. Disgusted, he urged Chen Xingyi:

“Go tell him the race is starting. Also, warn him not to use any of those habitually dirty and treacherous tactics that people from his country like to use. Otherwise, if I see him do anything against the rules during the race, I won’t just take back the car you lost, I’ll smash his car too.”

He didn’t have a good impression of people from the States. Treachery, insidiousness, and a complete lack of contractual spirit were Jiang Cheng’s perceptions of Americans.

Hearing this, Chen Xingyi immediately perked up and leaned closer to Jiang Cheng’s ear, whispering, “Don’t even mention it, I felt like he was cheating during the race where I lost my car, but I didn’t have any proof. You have to be careful.”

Before Chen Xingyi turned to leave, Jiang Cheng reminded him, “Remember to record a video as evidence while you’re talking.”

Chen Xingyi gave him an ‘OK’ sign as he walked away.

The race rules were explained clearly to both sides. The black and red supercars stood side-by-side at the starting line, waiting for the signal.

The two sides were surrounded by a sea of passionate young men and women, their cheers rising and falling in waves.

“Every time I run into you, nothing good ever comes of it! After this is over, I never want to see you again!” Ji Shuyi, who had finally recovered, had a pale face and glared resentfully at Jiang Cheng. “Also, your driving skills are terrible!”

Jiang Cheng casually turned his head to look at the resentful and indignant girl in the passenger seat. A flash of a smile suddenly flickered in his deep, cold eyes. He called out in an arrogant tone, “Ji Shuyi.”

Ji Shuyi: “Huh?”

Jiang Cheng: “I suddenly realized that you’re quite pretty, you know.”

Ji Shuyi immediately lifted her chin and replied proudly, “You’re only realizing that now? Were you blind before?”

Hearing this, Jiang Cheng chuckled softly. His gaze was profound and cunning. “Hmm… then you’ll probably be even prettier when you cry.”

As he spoke, the boy suddenly leaned his entire upper body towards the passenger seat. The sudden closeness startled Ji Shuyi, causing her to widen her eyes, grip the seatbelt tightly, and try to escape towards the car door.

Jiang Cheng’s aura was cold, fierce, and wicked. The close proximity caused Ji Shuyi’s heart to skip a beat in surprise. In her shock, a clear, smiling voice entered her ears: “Cry prettier in a while.”