Chapter 32, Second to Last Stop
The Grand Prix ended, much like the closing of a grand gathering.
All good things must come to an end, and the return to normal life after the revelry always carries a sense of monotony and emptiness.
This is how Wu Shi felt sitting in the classroom; people only feel this way when they are bored or after indulging in self-indulgence.
On the night of the Grand Prix, reports about Zhi Shiwei had already been published.
The article uses phrases such as "a once-in-a-century genius in China," "F1 drivers highly praise him," and "he is expected to become China's first F1 driver."
Thankfully, Hamilton isn't a seven-time champion yet, otherwise the wording in this report would probably be even more exaggerated.
Of course, because of the niche racing culture, none of his classmates saw this news article.
Wu Shi remained the quietest student in the class, and the weekend arrived quickly as he pondered philosophical thoughts.
He's flying to Shanghai again to participate in the CKC Shanghai station.
This event, held after the F1 Grand Prix, has surprisingly attracted a lot of attention.
As soon as Wu Shi entered the hunting grounds, several sixteen or seventeen-year-old boys surrounded him, startling Louise who was traveling with him.
"Wu Shi?"
"Holy crap, you're so lucky! You actually got to go to the pit lane and shake hands with an F1 driver!"
"I was on the field at the time, so why didn't I go down?"
"Stop making this up. Didn't you force your way in and get dragged out?"
The scene was somewhat chaotic. Louise, frightened, squeezed closer to Wu Shi, trying to pull him away quickly.
"Make way, everyone!" the technician shouted as he came out.
Among these people were several people wearing racing uniforms, who appeared to be athletes from the higher age groups. Naturally, they wouldn't cause any trouble here. Realizing that it was inappropriate to surround a child like this, they pulled away a bit.
However, while some were well-mannered, others were not. Although they didn't block his way, they still swarmed around him and continued to contribute.
"Wu Shi, how old are you? You speak English so fluently."
"Kid, when you said you wanted to become an F1 driver, weren't you afraid of making too much of a promise?"
"It's easier to win in the lower groups, but it's not so easy to win in the higher groups."
There were curious, sarcastic, and pessimistic people, but Wu Shi ignored them completely, putting his hands in his pockets and walking forward. He didn't care if these people were blocking his way.
"They're so noisy," Louise said, holding Wu Shi's hand in annoyance.
"I think so too, but there's nothing we can do about it," Wu Shi shook his head.
"Can we win this?" Louise asked.
"If the car is fine, then there's no problem," Wu Shi said.
The season has progressed to this point, and the result is already quite clear. Whether it's raining or starting from the back of the grid, he has fully demonstrated his ability to win the championship. It's just a matter of how much he leads the second-place team.
After completing the inspection, Wu Shi drove his go-kart to the track for a few laps, then returned to the maintenance area to discuss with the mechanics some adjustments to the vehicle's lean angle. After the adjustments, he also checked whether they complied with the racing rules to avoid winning the race but losing by violating the rules.
After making adjustments, he will go back to the track for a test drive until the car is perfectly matched to the track.
In this standardized race, Wu Shi's talent for tuning the car undoubtedly gave him a huge advantage.
Neither of the adults came to today's game.
Martina has an important cooperation meeting in Shenzhen, while Wu Zhenlin went to Beijing after the F1 Shanghai Grand Prix and has been there for more than a week.
It is said that he has been talking with several department heads in the group recently, and he may go through a round of board interviews next month. His promotion is basically a done deal, but there is still no news about the position.
Louise stood by the glass of the second-floor viewing hall, holding Wu Shi's water cup, watching the drivers run lap after lap on the track.
She also loves go-karting, but unfortunately she's not very talented at it, and there's not much room for women to develop in this type of competition, so she can only keep it as a hobby.
However, she was content just to hear the engines humming and watch the race cars whizzing by. Most importantly, Wu Shi was among them.
But as the expected trip to Europe drew closer, she felt increasingly uneasy.
Compared to karting in China, karting events in Europe are much more mature.
A mature system means more participants and more talented individuals being selected.
She didn't know if Wu Shi could achieve the same results after going to Europe.
If he faces failure, how can I comfort and encourage him?
If he can't keep running and has to return to China, should I come back with him or stay in Europe?
Because my mother had a lot of business trips this year, her studies were interrupted. This situation cannot be maintained for long. Next year, my mother will apply to her supervisor for a more suitable position, and she probably won't have the opportunity to travel to China for business again.
Rustle!
The race car sped past, shattering the blurry image, and Louise felt a pang of disappointment.
"Hello, foreign lady." A sweet, childlike voice came from beside me.
Louise looked at her and saw a little girl who was a head shorter than her, with delicate features and extremely cute.
If her skin was as cold and white as the frosty moon, then this girl's skin was like warm snow. Her fair skin had a perfect rosy hue, making her look like the rising sun or a new bud, full of warmth and hope.
"Hello." Louise smiled to make it more friendly.
"Hey, this young lady can speak Chinese!" Ye Ningning's eyes widened.
"Of course," Louise said proudly, her ahoge (cowlick) trembling as if in sync with her quickened heartbeat.
"Miss, what's your relationship with the boss?" Ye Ningning asked.
"Boss? BOSS?" Louise frowned, not understanding.
Ye Ningning scratched her little face and said, "Our boss, Wu Shi."
"Why is he your leader?" Louise was dumbfounded.
"He runs fast! Faster than anyone else! Whoever is the strongest is the boss!" Ye Ningning snorted.
"Oh~!" Louise seemed to understand but not quite, but she knew that this was a compliment to Wu Shi, and she felt very happy!
"Miss, you haven't answered my question yet. What's your relationship with the boss?" Ye Ningning asked persistently.
"Wu Shi, is…" The two "shi" sounds almost made Louise's tongue tie. After mentally complaining about how difficult Chinese was, she blurted out, almost unconsciously, "He's my brother!"
"Huh!???" Ye Ningning was shocked. How come the boss's sister is a foreigner? Is the boss mixed race? But she doesn't look like it.
While the two girls were still pondering their own thoughts, today's untimed practice match was almost over.
Wu Shi had already adjusted the car and returned to the repair area ahead of time.
Not seeing Louise downstairs, he frowned slightly and asked the technician, "Uncle Li, where's Louise?"
"Oh, she said she wanted to go upstairs to take a look," the technician said.
"I'll go find her first. She doesn't speak much Chinese, and it wouldn't be good if something happened to her up there alone," Wu Shi said.
"Oh dear! I shouldn't have let her go up there by herself." The technician slapped his forehead. The arena wasn't entirely safe; in fact, it was quite chaotic.
After Wu Shi realized that his words had drawn Li Shu's attention, he greeted him again and went upstairs first.
As soon as he arrived, he saw the two girls staring at each other.
Wu Shi looked at his father, wondering what was going ono"It was a reporter from Zhi who called. They've qualified for PIT and are asking if you're interested, as they can write an article about it," Wu Zhenlin sasai"Go!" Wu Shi nonodde"I want to go too!" Louise didn't understand what Uncle Wu was saying, but if Wu Shi was going, she wanted to go with hihi