Facing the brand-new title of "South Cloud Mountain Car God," Chen Xiangbei smiled it off.
Ever since the movie "Initial D" beca popular in the country, every little hill’s Tom, Dick, and Harry have been self-proclaiming themselves as "so mountain car god," making this title’s value plumt.
Of course, Liang Chi was just joking around. He quickly changed the subject, "Hey, pretty boy, little Qin just transferred thirty thousand to you. Ti to pay the repair fee, isn’t it?"
Chen Xiangbei knew that whenever Old Deng sang praises, nothing good would follow.
But being called a pretty boy was still better than being called a loser by those obnoxious guys.
"How much?"
"Thirty thousand."
"How much?"
Chen Xiangbei feared he hadn’t heard it right and asked for confirmation.
"Thirty thousand."
"Damn, why don’t you just go rob a bank?"
"Didn’t you say the employee price would be twenty percent off and just one or two thousand? How did it double now?"
Chen Xiangbei was imdiately frustrated. Winning a race only to end up with a thirty-thousand debt, Liang Chi intended to leave him with nothing.
"Kid, repairing the Corolla would have been just one or two thousand, but those custom carbon fiber parts for the Subaru Impreza cost eighteen thousand. You didn’t plan to pay for that?"
"The problem is, the Subaru Impreza isn’t even mine. You’re charging for all the modification costs for just a year’s usage, isn’t that a bit unfair?"
"Whoever drives it pays for it. That’s what fairness is about."
Liang Chi crossed his legs and with a shake of his head added, "Kid, if we calculate further, the one-year usage should convert to rent too."
This statent left Chen Xiangbei speechless. He hadn’t expected that in his past life, he lacked sponsorship and couldn’t make it to F1; in this life, he couldn’t even afford street racing.
What’s the point of racing without money!
"Fine, you win."
After saying this, Chen Xiangbei directly took his bank card out of his wallet and handed it over.
Liang Chi accepted the card with a smile and nodded, acknowledging, "Not bad, you spend generously."
"Since that’s the case, I’ll give you a big package deal. I’ll have the entire chassis and power system of the Subaru Impreza modified again."
Big package deal?
"Uncle Liang, didn’t you say that running mountain roads doesn’t need such high power?"
"Who told you it’s for mountain roads? If you don’t overhaul it, how do you expect this car to beat Han Han’s Volkswagen 222 Team’s racing car at the Haizhu International Circuit?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Xiangbei instantly realized that Liang Chi was planning to help him modify the car for a race with Han Han.
"Uncle Liang, I apologize for my prejudice. You truly are a great person!"
If it wasn’t for Old Deng’s wrinkled face, Chen Xiangbei might have even given him a heartfelt hug.
"Don’t get too happy just yet. Little Fatty ntioned you plan to race with a classmate, and there’s a five-thousand-dollar appearance fee, right?"
Saying this, Liang Chi’s face revealed a smug smile, adding, "Just have it transferred to this card when the ti cos."
So that’s how it is...
While Liang Chi laughed gleefully, Chen Xiangbei felt like crying without tears.
The joys and sorrows between people are not shared!
"If there’s nothing else, I’ll head ho first."
With clenched teeth, Chen Xiangbei replied.
"Don’t rush. I knew talking about money would hurt our relationship, let’s talk about sothing that won’t."
At this mont, Chen Xiangbei was highly alert, only uttering a single word: "Speak!"
"When the modification parts arrive, you’ll need to co over and lend a hand, and it’s not the kind that earns you part-ti pay."
"No way, you’re even taking advantage of trivial favors like this?"
"Even tiny morsels make a al."
Liang Chi replied with a hearty laugh. He was currently putting all his finances into the hands of Technician No. 38 next door, and he still needed to rely on past favors to get the modification parts on credit.
Of course, asking Chen Xiangbei to help with the modifications was more about using this opportunity to enhance Chen Xiangbei’s understanding of automotive chanics, thereby improving his future skills in race car tuning.
It’s understood that the more top-tier the competition is, the higher the comprehensive skill requirents are for the driver.
At the F1 race level, many drivers are no longer just capable of driving but need to be proficient in automotive engineering, even aerodynamics, directly going to the factory to participate in the developnt of the next generation of race cars.
Even if one’s academic level isn’t that high and lacks the skill to develop, to truly achieve "oneness with the car," one must at least master the basic skills of "feedback" and "tuning."
Because every racetrack’s layout, temperature, climate, downforce, etc., varies, a driver must sense the subtle differences and report back for targeted adjustnts on the race car.
If the race car engineer can’t achieve mind-to-mind understanding, the driver must personally fine-tune the car to strive for one hundred percent compatibility.
Racing has never been just about sitting in the cockpit and turning the wheel a bit. If Chen Xiangbei wants to race in F1, he’ll have to put in much more effort than regular drivers to reach the pinnacle of this pyramid.
Otherwise, if every driver who reaches the F1 paddock is a genius, why should Chen Xiangbei be the one to cross the threshold and sit in that highly coveted cockpit?
To outshine all others, there must be no shortcomings whatsoever!
"Got it, I’ll co over when the parts arrive. If there’s nothing else, I’m heading ho."
Chen Xiangbei replied, then reluctantly turned and headed ho.
Watching Chen Xiangbei’s departing figure, a smile appeared on Liang Chi’s lips.
This boy had a quality he really liked, which was that even though he complained, he got things done seriously without slacking.
Next, Liang Chi scrolled through his phone contacts and found a familiar na before making the call.
After a few rings, a hoarse voice ca from the other end of the line.
"Old Liang, calling at this ti, are you here to see make a fool of myself?"
"CFR2000 isn’t just yours; it’s also mine. Would I make fun of it?"
Liang Chi replied with a self-deprecating tone.
"So what do you want to talk about?"
"Han Han will be in Yuedong Province next month. Help arrange a race with him."
"With whom?"
"A high school student nad Chen Xiangbei from the school he’ll be giving a lecture at."
"A high school student?"
Hearing this identity, the person on the other end was clearly surprised. It seed unlikely Liang Chi would call at this ti to joke around.
"Oh, and if you have ti, co to the Haizhu International Circuit to check it out. This high school student is strong."
"How strong could he be?"
"Possibly stronger than the young drivers who were tried out before."
With that said, Liang Chi quickly hung up the call.
He believed this kind of subtle temptation would be enough to entice the old friend on the other end to co and watch. By then, Chen Xiangbei would have to rely on his track performance to open the path to formula racing.
...
Returning ho, the living room lights were off. His mother, Zhao Yui, had previously ntioned she would be working overti at the company tonight, sparing Chen Xiangbei from a bout of nagging.
After showering and changing clothes, Chen Xiangbei turned on his desk lamp and sat at the desk to work on the two test papers assigned by the class teacher.
If soone asked what the most painful part about his rebirth was, for Chen Xiangbei, it was definitely the study-heavy high school life!
The professional training he underwent in the past life led to a weak academic foundation, and whatever he learned was mostly race-related knowledge.
After the college entrance exams, he had long returned the textbook content to the teacher. Now having to relearn it all over again, it felt worse than death.
Even though among his peers, Chen Xiangbei might deserve the description "exceptionally perseverant," he still struggled under the test of "five-year college entrance exam, three-year simulation."
It was only after feeling dizzy and faint that he managed to complete two test papers, noting the clock on the desk showing 2:30 in the morning.
With no choice but to leave one paper for the next day, Chen Xiangbei lay down on his bed and fell asleep imdiately.
To the point that at night, in his dreams, all he could think of was the unfinished paper. This high school life felt more torturous than his professional career...
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