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Chapter 011 Good News
Xu Xizhou opened the box and was surprised to find that it was a brand-new F1 simulator. The forged carbon fiber steering wheel panel was expensive at first glance.
There was a note inside, and the writing on it was neat and beautiful.
——Xiaozhou, even if you leave the Lu family, I still regard you as a younger brother. I know your birthday has passed, but this gift might be a little late, I hope you like it.
Xu Xizhou looked at the note in a very complicated mood. Unexpectedly, Lu Rong didn’t even care about what he did at the coming-of-age ceremony and gave him gifts generously.
Or is it that Lu Rong thought he liked men and was certain that he was not posing any threat to him, so he simply gave him some small favors and let him relax his guard?
“Just accept what others give you, don’t think too much about it.”
Xu Xizhou didn’t rush to put use the simulator but looked at the lazy man sitting on the sofa.
“When did you
 come back? Was it last night?”
He wanted to know if those green eyes with concern were just his delusions.
“You’re confused with fever, I just come home this morning.”
“How do you know I have a fever?”
There was a trace of discomfort in Zhuang Jingchun’s green eyes, “Listen to your own voice, it’s so hoarse. Go eat something since you’re up, there is porridge in the pot.”
“Oh, did you cook it?” Xu Xizhou didn’t know if he was out of his mind as he blurted out that question.
Zhuang Jingchun seemed to be insulted by this sentence, his beautiful eyebrows furrowed tightly, “You live in my house and still expect me to cook for you?”
“I was joking, just asking casually.” Xu Xizhou scratched his head in embarrassment. He probably said this in a daze because the fever has not yet subsided.
Hoping Zhuang Jingchun would cook porridge for him? That’s like asking for the impossible, it was already good if he didn’t poison him.
“Pack up in these two days, you’re going to France with me on the weekend. By the way, your Schengen visa has not expired, right?”
Xu Xizhou had just finished drinking the porridge in the bowl, his eyes widened when he heard the man’s words, and he couldn’t believe it.
“My visa has not expired, and I still have more than half a year, but
why did I suddenly go to France? Is it about the team?”
“You’ll know when you get there, give me your passport.”
Looking at his expressionless face, Xu Xizhou had a guess in his heart, and unconsciously, his heart beat violently.
Was it really possibly what he thought?
On Saturday, Xu Xizhou took a leave of absence from the club and followed Zhuang Jingchun to board the plane to France carrying only a light backpack.
They had a layover in Paris and then flew to Lyon. It was sunset when they arrived there.
Christmas was just over, and the streets of Lyon are still full of joy, with Christmas trees decorated with lights and gift boxes in shop windows.
Xu Xizhou had been on the plane for more than ten hours and was so sleepy that he fell asleep almost as soon as he got into the taxi.
Half asleep, he seemed to hear Zhuang Jingchun speaking in French on the phone, but he didn’t understand a word.
Half an hour later, the taxi stopped in front of a baroque red-brick villa in the suburbs.
Xu Xizhou remembered that Zhuang Jingchun’s biological father was French. So, was he going to Zhuang Jingchun’s hometown?
Thinking of this, he suddenly lost the slightest trace of sleepiness and tried to cheer up, trying to make a good impression on Zhuang Jingchun’s father.
“Can you speak French?” Zhuang Jingchun loosened the collar of his shirt and asked Xu Xizhou before getting off the car.
Xu Xizhou shook his head in embarrassment.
“Later you just have to keep smiling if someone asks you.”
Xu Xizhou nodded and walked in with him in a daze. He was sleepy and hungry, his eyes suddenly lit up when he smelled the aroma of food as soon as he entered the villa.
However, the next moment, when he saw a few middle-aged white men with typical Caucasian faces sitting in the living room with high noses and deep eyes, he didn’t even dare to swallow his saliva.
Oh my god, there are so many white people, and there are three brown-haired people who are all about the same age. Who is Zhuang Jingchun’s father?
He remembered Zhuang Jingchun’s instructions, he did not dare to speak casually and paste a formal smile on his face. The white men were also very kind and nodded to him with a smile.
As the banquet started, and everyone else spoke French, Xu Xizhou who couldn’t understand anything just immersed himself in eating. When he looked up, the appetizers on other people’s plates hadn’t moved. Only his plate didn’t even have anything left, clean and shiny.
Being stared at by Zhuang Jingchun’s deep green eyes, Xu Xizhou finally felt a belated embarrassment, and subconsciously covered his plate with his hands.
“It seems that he is very hungry. Didn’t you eat on the way?” The silver-haired Joseph asked with a smile.
“The plane meal is not enough for him.” Zhuang Jingchun looked a little helpless.
Xu Xizhou didn’t understand what they were talking about, but he felt that the gray-haired uncle on the opposite side had been looking at him all the time.
Could this be Zhuang Jingchun’s father? But his eyes are not green, or is it that Zhuang Jingchun’s eyes are not inherited from his father?
The dinner party was over with all kinds of thoughts running through his mind. The Mexican maid was cleaning up the dishes, and the group went for a walk in the courtyard. Xu Xizhou sneaked up to the second floor while no one cared about him, found a sofa, and started to catch up on his sleep.
Just as he was almost asleep, he was woken up by someone.
Zhuang Jingchun sat in front of him, staring at him with the frustration of someone not meeting his expectation.
“Do you know who is sitting opposite you?”
Xu Xizhou thought to himself, It’s over, is it really Zhuang Jingchun’s father? If he had known, he would have pretended to be polite!
“The chairman of Lightning.”
“What?” Xu Xizhou didn’t turn around, but soon he realized something, his eyes have eager anticipation and joy.
“Is it the Lightning team of F2? Is it for real? Does he want to sign me?”
Zhuang Jingchun didn’t speak, his expression said it all. Xu Xizhou yelled, jumped up with joy, and jumped on the floor a few times, he couldn’t help the joy and excitement overflowing in his chest, and opened his arms to hug Zhuang Jingchun.
Zhuang Jingchun pushed him away with one finger in disgust.
“Thank you so much! You are super handsome today!” Xu Xizhou was so excited that he even blew rainbow farts[1] at the man.
“Don’t get too excited, Lightning will conduct winter testing at Silverstone Circuit next month to tune the performance of the new car. If you don’t perform well during the test drive, I can’t guarantee that you can keep your spot.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t embarrass you!”
“It’s none of my business if you embarrass yourself.”
Zhuang Jingchun turned around impatiently and walked to the bedroom, but after entering the door, in a place that Xu Xizhou could not see, the corner of his mouth curled slightly.
Early the next morning, Lightning’s official account updated the news of the newly signed driver on Twitter, and the F2 event organization and the FIA[2] also forwarded it, and the news soon spread back to China.
There are not many people who know Xu Xizhou outside the Great Firewall of China, and F2 does not have the same level of attention as F1, but it is different in China. Everyone knows about the matter of the real and fake young master of the Lu family as it has been reported in the media. Xu Xizhou’s return to F2 was directly on Weibo hot search.
Although there were not many people who understand racing, the comment under the news announced by the FIA was almost flooded with scolding.
“The spot is bought with money, right? Don’t bring shame when you drive abroad.”
“How much did Lightning charge? Anyway, in F2, it is also considered to be an upper-middle team, how can it treat itself badly?”
“Did someone forget how bad they drive last season? Don’t embarrass our country!”
Wang Miao made an international call to him immediately.
“Damn it, that person surnamed Zhuang is quite capable, it’s done so quickly! Don’t look at the hot searches online, those people are cursing you so badly. Ignore them, they’re just a bunch of keyboard warriors!”
“Actually, they are not wrong.”
Xu Xizhou didn’t mind at all. Racing is a world where speed is the king. Money can play a role in a short period of time, but the final result still depends on the driver’s own ability and talent.
“The harder they scold now, the more exciting the reversal will be, isn’t it?”
“I admire your way of thinking.”
After chatting with Wang Miao, Xu Xizhou received several calls, all congratulating him on his return to the track.
After he was expelled from the Lu family in his previous life, he has been participating in some inconspicuous small rally races and commercial events in China, and even deliberately let the second place surpass him several times for money. He never thought he would be able to return to F2 one day.
He opened the window and took a deep breath in the bright sunshine of southern France.
The official signing with lightning was in the afternoon of the next day. Everything went well. Joseph also took him and Zhuang Jingchun around Lightning’s workshop.
When he walked out of the office building, Xu Xizhou suddenly remembered something.
“Is your father not in France? I seem to not have seen him.”
“He is at the headquarters in Paris and should be back in two days.”
Xu Xizhou remembered that the Zhuang family also had a factory in Lyon. In his previous life, apart from driving, he didn’t care about the manufacture of racing cars. However, in this life, he suddenly felt that he couldn’t be limited to the track. In order to better control the performance of racing cars, he had to learn more things.
“Can I visit the Zhuang family’s factory?”
Those obsidian-like eyes stared straight at Zhuang Jingchun, full of anticipation. Zhuang Jingchun found it difficult to refuse those eyes.
“All right, it just so happens that I’m also going there for an inspection.”
Zhuang’s factory covers an area larger than Xu Xizhou imagined. The office building is all-glass and built next to a beautiful lake. The white factory building is built around the hillside, and the whole building has a post-modern smoothness.
Xu Xizhou took advantage of Zhuang Jingchun’s time in the meeting, took his work permit, and went to the workshop alone.
He visited several laboratories. Because he speaks English fluently and can speak some German, after knowing that he is a racing driver, several engineers talked to him very happily.
“What is the innermost room for?”
“That is a wind tunnel laboratory under construction, which can then be used to test the performance of airplanes or racing cars.”
Xu Xizhou immediately showed his admiration. Most boys were probably interested in these kinds of things deep in their hearts. He was leaning on the glass door, looking at the huge spiral structure inside, marveling at the gorgeous texture of the metal machinery.
“She is beautiful, isn’t she?”
A gentle voice speaking fluent English suddenly sounded next to him.
Xu Xizhou turned his head, only to find that it was a tall and thin white man with silver hair and an elegant appearance.
Xu Xizhou glanced at the work permit he was carrying, and smiled, “Yes, are you also an engineer here?”
“I used to be, but not anymore.”
When Xu Xizhou asked, he was surprised to find that the man was in his sixties.
“You can retire and have grandchildren at your age in China, why are you still working?”
“Who said I don’t want to? I want to hold my grandson, but it’s a pity that my son is not living up to the expectation, and he is still single now.” The old man sighed lightly.
“You must have been handsome when you were young, and your son must be handsome too. How can he be single?”
Was it a certain aspect that was not working?
The old man smiled slightly and was about to say something when a surprised voice suddenly sounded behind him.
“Dad?”
Rilise: I practically doubled over when Xiaozhou thought a certain someone was impotent.
<table>References <th>↑1</th> Flattery <th>↑2</th> FĂ©dĂ©ration Internationale de l’Automobile, the Paris-based governing body for worldwide motorsport which regulates and controls the World Rally Championship.</tbody></table>