Kai didn't like hospitals. He never had.
He still remembered that year, when he was six or seven. An ambulance pulled up to their house in the dead of night. Chaos erupted. He had stumbled out of bed, standing in the dark, watching the flashing red and blue lights illuminate his mother's sweating, pained face and his father's panicked, terrified silhouette. The noise and confusion swallowed them like a tidal wave.
His father had scooped him up with one arm and followed the ambulance to the hospital.
Even now, he didn't know exactly what had happened to Jiang Mo that night. He only remembered the doctor in the hallway, still shaken, saying, "It's lucky you were on time. Five minutes later, and it would have been too late."
That night, he had curled up on a chair in the hospital corridor, drifting in and out of sleep. The memories were blurred, just a haze of acrid smells, cold air, and exhausted, fearful faces that would occasionally trigger deep, hidden pain.
Maybe for some, a hospital was a place of healing. But for Kai, it was always the place where he almost lost his mother.
Standing here, he felt helpless. It was the helplessness of a child under the shadow of the Reaper.
With all his heart, Kai hoped Hervé would leave here healthy.
Not long after, the other two Leclerc boys came out. They stood across the hall, awkwardly making eye contact with Kai but saying nothing.
The circumstances were so unusual that they hadn't had a chance to properly introduce themselves.
Kai thought for a moment, then broke the silence. "I'm Kai Zhizhou. Charles's friend from the academy."
The messy-haired, long-faced boy looked over. His eyes were full of stubborn defiance. He glanced at Kai once, then looked away. "I know you. Double winner at the Spanish GP. But Charles is better than you."
Kai chuckled. The boy's face was even longer and thinner than Charles's, his forehead dotted with prominent acne. "I'm guessing you're Arthur."
There were three Leclerc brothers: Lorenzo, Charles, and Arthur. Kai remembered Charles saying they had all raced karts, but the oldest had quit, while the youngest was still at it.
Beside him, Lorenzo Leclerc ruffled Arthur's hair. Arthur dodged irritably, grumbling about his hairstyle. Lorenzo looked Kai in the eye. "Sorry, ignore him. He thinks Charles is the best in the world."
Kai smiled at Arthur. "I also think Charles is very, very good. Very."
Arthur turned his head away, ignoring him.
Kai was about to speak again when the door opened. A nurse and Pascale came out, followed by Hervé's excited voice from inside.
"...Pole position? Haha, I knew it! Charles, you can do it. One day, you'll be in F1, and you'll win the Monaco Grand Prix."
The joy didn't last long. His tone shifted, his voice dropping low.
"But I don't know if I'll live to see that day."
The air froze. Pascale stopped in her tracks, looking back at the room, wanting to say something but stopping herself.
Then, Charles's voice came from inside. "Dad, I've already signed with an F1 team. The contract is drawn up. Nicolas is reviewing it. I'll sign it next week at the latest."
Pascale froze.
It wasn't just her. The other two brothers froze, too. Lorenzo instinctively looked at Kai, but Kai didn't know how to respond. The silence hung heavy, broken only by Hervé's joyful voice, his happiness uncontrollable despite his efforts to suppress it.
"Really, Charles?"
"Pascale, did you hear that?"
"Oh God, thank God! Charles, you did it! I knew you could, my boy. This is wonderful! You're going to be an F1 driver!"
As he spoke, Hervé began to cough violently, laughing through the coughing fit. Even his failing body couldn't stop his happiness.
Pascale couldn't take it anymore. She turned back into the room. "Hervé, you need to rest. You scared us all to death today."
Not long after, Pascale and Charles left the room together, returning to the hallway.
Pascale looked at Charles quietly. She looked at Kai, then at her other sons. She controlled herself, tears shimmering in her eyes. Finally, she gave Kai an apologetic smile and a nod, then grabbed Charles and pulled him toward the stairwell. Through the swinging door, her scolding voice drifted back.
"...Charles Leclerc, you shouldn't have lied..."
"But, Mom..."
"No buts. I understand... I know... but lying is wrong. Do you know what you're doing? You're sacrificing your honesty... No one can guarantee an F1 seat... no one... You shouldn't promise something you can't deliver..."
Her trembling voice was mixed with too many emotions, like a sandcastle battered by the tide, barely holding together. Then Charles's voice faded, leaving only Pascale's stern tones echoing faintly.
Silence fell in the hallway.
Arthur shot a stubborn glance at Kai, only to find Kai with his head down, a heavy, complex expression on his face. Arthur froze.
Then, Pascale and Charles reappeared. Both looked grim. Pascale's eyes were slightly puffy.
Kai didn't wait. He stepped forward to break the silence, giving them an out to defuse the tension, and said he should be going.
This time, Pascale didn't try to keep him. After thanking him repeatedly, she told Charles to walk him out.
But she refused to look Charles in the eye.
Charles wanted to say something, but seeing his mother avert her gaze, he turned angrily and stormed off. Kai, left behind, had to jog to catch up.
The two young men left the hospital in silence. Neither spoke.
Outside, the humid air, mixed with the smell of sea salt and burnt rubber, hit them. The noise and joy of the crowd were everywhere. The party was still going, a stark contrast to the heavy atmosphere of the hospital. The scene reminded them that the climax of the Monaco weekend was still far away.
But they weren't sure if they could enjoy it anymore.
Kai looked at Charles, intending to tell him to go back surely he wanted to spend more time with his father.
Charles kept his head down, silent. The wind carried the sound of suppressed sobs. Kai couldn't imagine the pressure he was carrying.
But how could he comfort him?
Charles wiped his face roughly with the back of his hand. He looked up at Kai, a stubborn glint in his eyes, and straightened his back. "Do you think I was wrong, too?"
In the howling wind, Charles looked at Kai relentlessly, waiting for an answer.
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