“Do you want to argue until we finish work?”

“Even in a wheelchair, you still want to buy a fuel-powered car? Not even a hybrid?” Zhong Suo smiled, teasing Xia Qianshen.

Xia Qianshen got out of the Taycan’s driver’s seat, closed the door, and admitted, “No choice, I can’t afford gas, so I’m using my mom’s car to run a few days as a ride-hailing driver.”

This was something Zhong Suo hadn’t expected. The weekend was a rest day for the team, and Xia Qianshen had actually gone to drive for a ride-hailing service.

Wait, Zhong Suo put down the high-pressure water gun and walked over to block Xia Qianshen, “May I ask, are you earning money for your race car’s gas, or for my breach of contract fee?”

Initially, Xia Qianshen had no particular issue with Zhong Suo, but now that he had said so much and explained everything, Zhong Suo was still insisting on being his navigator. This was a bit too stubborn.

So his tone was cold, “For gas, and then to drive the Koenigsegg in the Jingjiang Circuit Race. The championship prize will be your breach of contract fee.”

After saying this, Xia Qianshen gave a forced smile and patted Zhong Suo’s shoulder, “You’ll have to wait a bit longer.”

Zhong Suo knew the Jingjiang Circuit Race, an annual speed competition held in City A, also known as the “City A Luxury Supercar Show.” Because there were no displacement limits, many car owners were willing to participate to show off their prized cars.

Also, due to the speed limits in the city, there were few opportunities to fully enjoy the thrill of flooring the gas pedal.

Zhong Suo sighed; indeed, Xia Qianshen was a stubborn kid. After some thought, he followed Xia Qianshen into the warehouse office and closed the door.

“What are you doing?” Xia Qianshen asked, taking a cup of water.

“Don’t go for the circuit race, the prize money won’t even cover your car damage.”

Xia Qianshen sat down with his cup of water, “Do you think my driving skills will cause car damage?”

“Either you hit someone, or someone hits you,” Zhong Suo explained.

“So what if I crash? I can fix it myself. Who doesn’t know how to fix their car?”

“That car’s carbon fiber rear wing alone costs over a hundred thousand. How will you fix it if it cracks?” Zhong Suo asked.

Xia Qianshen thought, “Why do you care how I fix it? I’ll find a similar rear wing in the warehouse and install it. It will still reduce drag.”

“How will you explain it to the mechanics? Their race car driver has fallen to this level?”

Xia Qianshen frowned, “Are you trying to argue until we finish work? Just say what you want to say.”

“Run the Dahuang Mountain Rally with me,” Zhong Suo said. “Since I’m your navigator now, I should share your burdens. The championship prize for Dahuang Mountain is higher than the circuit race, right?”

Xia Qianshen sat up straight, “Leaving the team is sharing my burden.”

“I can’t afford the breach of contract fee, and you can’t either. So we should race together, and consider it for my early departure,” Zhong Suo said in a calm and soothing tone, his words clear and his voice pleasant, which Xia Qianshen actually liked.

Zhong Suo spoke to him as if he were a rebellious teenager, guiding him step by step, making him feel understood.

Clearly, this approach worked well with Xia Qianshen.

“I don’t care about your motives, but I do need to earn money right now,” Xia Qianshen said, then smiled suddenly, “Since you’re so eager to help, show me your sincerity, Zhong Suo?”

Xia Qianshen had a pair of dark eyebrows, a heroic young man, but his eyes were fox-like. When he smiled like this, it made one want to check if there was a fox’s tail wagging behind him.

“Go ahead,” Zhong Suo maintained a polite smile.

Xia Qianshen took out the Taycan’s keys, “Speed up my earnings. We’ll take turns driving the ride-hailing car. Your earnings will be split 30-70, with me taking 30 and you 70.”

“No problem,” Zhong Suo walked over and took the keys, “Then you need to add me on WeChat and register me as a driver for this car.”

Faced with Xia Qianshen’s straightforward words, Zhong Suo showed no resistance, took out his phone, and showed the QR code.

After Zhong Suo was added as a driver for the Porsche Taycan, he saw Xia Qianshen’s orders from the weekend.

“Uh…” Zhong Suo chose his words carefully, “You… you’ve had it tough, but you didn’t argue with these passengers in the comments.”

Originally, he wanted to say he hadn’t seen a ride-hailing driver with so many negative reviews, but he held back and chose a more acceptable way to say it.

“That’s right! I, the Nürburgring circuit champion, the Sichuan-Tibet North Line champion, and one of the top rally drivers in the country, was driving for them, and they still complained?!”

Good, stroking his ego worked immediately.

Zhong Suo nodded, “But for the sake of the money, try to drive more steadily next time, okay?”

“Alright,” Xia Qianshen said.

After all, once a negative review was confirmed, half of the fare would be refunded to the passenger by the platform.

“Let’s go and scout the route,” Zhong Suo walked to the door, “I’ve been twice already, and I’ll take you through it again.”

A dedicated navigator, going out to scout the route without a driver.

Xia Qianshen was slightly moved, “You went by yourself?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Did Nana send you in a race car?” After all, the Dahuang Mountain section was difficult for ordinary sedans and SUVs.

“Mountain motorcycle,” Zhong Suo said, “It’s good for running the route.”

So this person had ridden a mountain motorcycle twice through the Dahuang Mountain section, which was deep in the mountains, requiring at least forty minutes of riding on mountain roads.

Xia Qianshen said, “I’ll take the Impreza, and you can feel the power.”

“I don’t get carsick,” Zhong Suo opened the door for him, “Go ahead and show me.”

The Subaru Impreza Xia Qianshen was a four-wheel-drive driver, and this Impreza was all-wheel-drive. The all-wheel-drive system was longitudinally connected to the horizontally opposed engine, creating a perfect weight balance. This year, it was Xia Qianshen’s most satisfactory car.

The mechanics were modifying another car, and Nana was helping. Seeing them come out together, she asked, “Where are you going?”

“Scout the route,” Xia Qianshen said.

Nana raised an eyebrow and looked at Zhong Suo, who just smiled without responding.

“Over three million in modifications,” Xia Qianshen patted the hood, “Preparing for the Tour of Tibet.”

“Are you crazy, driving a race car on the road? Use a Land Rover,” Nana interjected.

Xia Qianshen had originally thought about calling a tow truck to take the race car there, but considering his current savings, he said, “Oh…”

Zhong Suo, seeing his disappointment, couldn’t help but smile, “It’s fine, I’d like to feel the power of the Land Rover too.”

The team’s warehouse was full of cars. Zhong Suo followed him through rows of modified race cars, like a car show, to the Land Rover Nana mentioned.

Xia Qianshen got into the driver’s seat, and Zhong Suo followed into the passenger seat.

They fastened their seatbelts in sync. Xia Qianshen adjusted the rearview mirror and asked, “If you get carsick from my driving, does that mean we have no future together?”

“If you can make me sick, I’ll pay the breach of contract fee myself,” Zhong Suo fasten his seatbelt, turned his head, and smiled.

This smile was different from the polite and refined ones before; it had a hint of “teach me.”

Xia Qianshen started the engine and, while waiting for it to warm up, leaned forward to open the glove compartment, took out a white sick bag, and slapped it into Zhong Suo’s lap.

He smiled in a way that begged for a punch.

—

The Dahuang Mountain Rally, 60 kilometers long, was deep in the mountains on the outskirts of City A.

60 kilometers of natural roads, with multiple “S” turns, one side being a rocky cliff, the other a steep slope that could roll for three minutes without stopping.

Rally racing is like this. Even with the Hans head and neck protection system, a roll cage, six-point harness, fire-resistant racing suits, and carbon fiber helmets, anything can happen when racing at an average speed of 200 km/h on bumpy mountain roads.

These expensive racing equipment cannot guarantee the safety of the driver and navigator. For the navigator, it’s like entrusting their life to the driver.

The Land Rover’s off-road performance was already excellent among passenger cars, but it was still a step behind modified race cars on mountain roads.

“30 meters ahead, right 3, followed by a straight right,” Zhong Suo read from the road book in the passenger seat.

The number after the direction, such as right 1, indicates a sharp turn, with higher numbers indicating gentler turns.

The road book was written by Zhong Suo during his two previous scouting trips, detailing the 60 kilometers, all turns, all road conditions, and all slopes.

The Land Rover, though an off-road vehicle, was not as easy to handle or as thrilling as a race car.

Zhong Suo continued to read the road, “Straight right, gentle slope for 200 meters, followed by left 4.”

“Left 4, followed by gravel,” Zhong Suo said, “Floor the gas.”

No race car driver can resist a navigator’s command to floor the gas.

The Land Rover floored the gas on the gravel, and despite its excellent shock absorbers, it was still no match for a modified race car. It felt like driving a Land Rover with square wheels.

Zhong Suo continued, “60 meters ahead, right 3, followed by left 2, exit the turn and go straight for 80 meters, then a jump.”

A jump is simple—

Floor the gas up the hill, and if it’s a front-wheel-drive car, quickly brake just before the jump, then floor the gas again to fly up the hill.

Landing from a jump is also simple—

Lightly tap the gas in the air to shift the car’s center of gravity back, ensuring a horizontal landing.

Of course, this is based on a modified race car.

So Xia Qianshen, holding the steering wheel, said, “Want to jump? I’ll take you for one. We’ll say you drove it back to the team, and if Nana doesn’t rip your head off, I’ll take you to the Tour of Tibet.”

Zhong Suo thought for a moment, “Then let’s jump.”

The damping of a passenger car’s shock absorbers couldn’t withstand the impact of a jump. It would likely break the axle. This Land Rover was Nana’s personal car, and if it broke, neither of them would survive.

“Damn, you really want to go to the Tour of Tibet with me, why?” Xia Qianshen didn’t choose to jump but slowed down and carefully drove up the hill.

Zhong Suo continued to read the road.

By the time they finished the route, it was already twilight.

Winter nights come early, and it wasn’t even 5 PM yet, but a new moon was already visible in the sky.

Honestly, driving with Zhong Suo was very comfortable. Zhong Suo had no accent, didn’t shout or gesture frantically like some navigators, and didn’t cause any irritation.

It was very pleasant, with a good voice. He was quiet when needed and read the road like a human GPS, without any complaints during heavy bumps.

A good navigator allows the driver to take risks and confidently take high-speed turns because the navigator tells them what to expect after the turn, allowing them to floor the gas into and out of the turn.

—If only he wasn’t the champion of the Tour of Tibet, Xia Qianshen thought.

The forest was dark, illuminated only by the moon and the Land Rover’s headlights.

Xia Qianshen switched to high beams and took a different route down the mountain.

The way down was not the same as the way up but led directly from the end of the race section to another road down the mountain.

“Actually, you’re not worried about finding a job, right? Why do you insist on being my navigator?” Xia Qianshen asked.

They were adults, not new to the world. This was a direct question, but Zhong Suo, a few years older, knew how to navigate and maintain boundaries.

He also knew that Xia Qianshen detested insincerity and ambiguity. Instead of saying a bunch of flattering words about his potential or the glory of the track, it was better to be straightforward, which would win favor.

So he was straightforward, “They offered too much.”

Xia Qianshen chuckled, “Damn, just because… shit!”

Distracted, Xia Qianshen forgot the car’s performance and, with the unfamiliar road and dark conditions, the outer wheel hit a hole. As the car began to tip to the right, Xia Qianshen quickly and decisively steered to save it.

The all-wheel-drive system successfully corrected the Land Rover, but the mountain road was complex, and there was another shallow hole on the left. Xia Qianshen applied heavy braking in the opposite direction. For a top-tier rally driver, this level of car rescue was second nature.

However… After the dramatic heavy braking in the opposite direction, the entire body would lurch to the left, an instinctive move to protect the passenger, shifting the danger to the left driver’s side.

But there was no expected hard collision with the left window.

Zhong Suo had somehow unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned over, and Xia Qianshen’s head hit Zhong Suo’s palm.