Leclerc's head was full of questions. He couldn't understand why Kai had hurried away. But he realized immediately that he was angry, and that he shouldn't be talking to Kai right now. So he swallowed his confusion, refused to speak, and followed silently a few steps behind.
Kai noticed. "Charles," he said helplessly, "I'm hungry..."
Leclerc didn't look up.
On his last visit home, his father had been even weaker. Bedridden, drifting in and out of consciousness, as if he might swallow his last breath at any moment. Death felt unprecedentedly real.
He hated that feeling of powerlessness.
And when Kai had disappeared into the water, that same terror had gripped his heart. Leclerc just wanted to turn and run to the ends of the earth.
Kai sighed softly. He had to try again. "The situation was critical. I had to act. But before I jumped, I checked the surface, and when I hit the water, I felt for currents. If anything had felt wrong, I would have turned back immediately. I'm not trying to be a hero."
"Charles, I'm not Alesi, and I'm not Verstappen."
That line finally broke him. Leclerc snorted with laughter, though he still rolled his eyes. "I thought you didn't know Max."
Kai shrugged. "I didn't before. But he came knocking on my door. If I still didn't know him after that, it wouldn't be arrogance, it would be stupidity."
Leclerc shot him a exasperated look. "So you admit you're stupid?"
Kai raised his hands in surrender. "Charles, please don't tell my mom. Or she'll never let me race again."
Leclerc wanted to make a snarky comeback, but he couldn't help it; the corners of his mouth turned up.
He paused, his curiosity finally overcoming his anger. "Why did we just leave like that? This is Monaco. Everyone here is either rich or powerful. You saved his life, but you want to be the nameless hero?"
"No..." Kai drew out the word, his face serious. "No, no, no, Charles. I'm not a good person. I'm not that kind."
"Did you notice?"
"That suit he was wearing. Probably custom-made, Italian tailoring. At least eight thousand euros, likely more."
"Also, he was fit. You could tell he hits the gym regularly. He's not one of those pot-bellied billionaires."
"That means he's probably not the top dog calling the shots, but a high-level executive working for them. Maybe a CEO. Someone who cares about image and privacy."
"People like that need to keep climbing. They care about negative press. And what did we see? Not just a drunken fall into the sea, but him covered in vomit, with no one on the boat even noticing he was gone. He probably wants to keep this a secret."
"Sure, we could have stayed and gotten a thank you. He might have even given me a big gift. But that gift would have been hush money. A one-time transaction. After that, there would be nothing. He might even avoid us in the future."
"But by walking away, we proved something. Not only are we not looking for credit, but more importantly, we proved we can keep a secret. We won't meddle."
"If he truly wants to thank us, he'll find us. And when he does, the dynamic will be different. He might even spin a story, telling everyone we're his saviors, opening a door for us into high society."
As he spoke, Kai realized Leclerc wasn't responding.
The joke fell flat.
"Charles, I'm kidding. It's a joke, don't take it so seriously. I honestly just thought he wouldn't want anyone to see him like that."
Leclerc finally snapped out of it. Even though Kai said it was a joke, the logic made sense. "But what if he wants to thank you but can't find you?"
Kai smiled. "Where's my team hat?"
Leclerc looked. Kai's ART baseball cap was gone. He gasped, his eyes wide, speechless.
Seeing Leclerc's expression, Kai doubled over with laughter. Why did it always feel like he was bullying an honest person?
In reality, the hat had been lost in the sea, not left on the dock as a clue. But Leclerc actually believed him.
Leclerc thought for a moment. "What if he doesn't come looking?"
Kai shrugged lightly. "Then we forget about it. After all, we didn't jump in to get a thank you, did we?"
"I just thought... watching a living person struggle right in front of me... I should help if I can, right?"
Leclerc froze, stopping in his tracks.
Kai kept walking, then turned back to look at him, a smile on his face. "Charles, in the face of life and death, we are all very small. We're helpless. But at the very least, we should do everything we can, so we have no regrets, right?"
"Seize every day we have. Sing, dance, live. Turn every moment we control into happiness and joy to fill the moments that follow. That's the only thing we can do, and it's what we should do."
"Good luck this weekend. You're not racing alone."
Leclerc felt a stinging in his nose. He turned his head away awkwardly, rubbing his face, and clumsily changed the subject. "Let's hurry back. You're soaking wet. If you catch a cold, Blasco will torture you."
Kai heard the emotion in his voice but didn't point it out. He just turned and continued walking, his bright laughter carried back on the wind.
Leclerc quickened his pace, catching up to walk side-by-side with Kai. "Ha, right here... I used to ride my bike here and try to look cool. Once, I crashed so hard right on this spot. Hahaha..."
The night deepened. Their laughter swirled in the sea breeze, dissipating into the humid, hot air.
After the unexpected event, his energy depleted, Kai returned to the hotel, showered, and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. He woke up the next morning refreshed.
However, Lorenzo was distracted. The appointment with Richard Mille had been canceled. Although they said it was rescheduled for the afternoon, the sudden change was suspicious. Lorenzo's left eyelid wouldn't stop twitching. He was so worried things were going off the rails that he couldn't even focus on the spectacular qualifying session.
Kai was different. The cancellation wasn't good news, but it was out of their control, so he relaxed and stayed patient.
He watched F2 qualifying with total focus, up close. It was extraordinary.
Leclerc lived up to expectations, beating Alexander Albon to take pole position.
Kai believed that Mr. Leclerc must be watching, too. He would be happy.
Lorenzo had been worried Richard Mille would stand them up, but in the end, they didn't. Thirty minutes before F1 qualifying, the meeting Lorenzo had been longing for finally happened. They were invited to the VIP lounge next to the pit lane to meet the Richard Mille representative.
Lorenzo pushed open the door. Before he could even say hello, the man inside gasped.
"It's you!"
Lorenzo froze, following the man's gaze... which landed squarely on Kai.
Kai: ?
~~----------------------
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