I sneered, "They're all fake teeth! That's why they're so white! Let me tell you, he's been in countless car accidents, and he still has several steel pins in his body! Most of his teeth have been knocked out!"
Ni Duoduo shuddered, her face contorted with disgust.
I chuckled deliberately, "What? Still want to race?"
The little girl subconsciously touched her white teeth, probably imagining what she would look like with a toothless, sunken mouth, and couldn't help but break out in a sweat.
I laughed and said, "Do you think becoming a master is so easy?"
Ni Duoduo sighed, a little dejected, and shook her head. "Forget it. I'll just watch the show... I need to save my teeth for ice cream!"
I checked the time and pulled Ni Duoduo to leave. Just then, Bald Xiao Si appeared out of nowhere, took out an envelope and shoved it into Mao Tou's hand. Mao Tou didn't even glance at it, stuffed it into his pocket, waved, and strode away, abandoning even the NR with its broken engine.
"Xiao Wu, shall we find a place to talk?" Xiao Si glanced at me sideways.
I shrugged: "What are we going to talk about? We don't have anything to talk about, do we?" Then I pulled Ni Duoduo and prepared to leave.
Xiao Si grinned. His smile was strange: "I recently heard that you're no longer with Huan Ge?"
I stopped and looked back at him: "You're very well-informed."
The guy gave a mocking sneer: "Old friend, of course I have to show more concern." He walked around to face me: "How about it? Come with me."
"With you?" I laughed. "Xiao Si, have you had too much to drink tonight?"
Xiao Si rubbed his bald head and snorted, "What? You look down on me? Xiao Wu, I told you, in those kinds of places, surrounded by women every day, you'd be ruined sooner or later! It's good that you're out now, come back and hang out with me! You saw what happened tonight! I'm making a fortune right now! Come work with me, and I guarantee we'll call it even. From now on, I'll live the high life, and you'll live the high life! How about it?"
I stopped and stared at him: "I don't race anymore. I haven't touched a motorcycle in years, and I've almost forgotten all my skills. Now, if you asked me to ride a bicycle, I couldn't even do it."
"Hmph, don't joke around." Xiao Si sneered.
"Go find Mao Tou, he's much better than me." I still didn't give him a friendly look.
Xiao Si shook his head: "He's no good... This guy's personality is even weirder than yours. He only comes to help me out occasionally when he's really short of money and has no other choice. After that, he disappears for ten days or half a month, and you can't find him anywhere." He sighed: "You know, Mao Tou is used to being the boss and he won't follow anyone else. If we weren't starving, he wouldn't even talk to me."
I shook my head again: "I won't do it."
Then I pulled Ni Duoduo and turned to leave. Suddenly, Xiao Si shouted loudly behind us, "Do you know what? My legs hurt when it's windy and rainy! Xiao Wu! Can tens of thousands of yuan buy a healthy leg?"
I stopped abruptly, took a deep breath, but didn't turn around. After a moment, I pulled Ni Duoduo away.
Ni Duoduo noticed my strange expression and didn't dare to say a word the whole way. Only when we got back to her house did she gently push me: "Hey, Chen Yang, don't look so sullen... What exactly is your relationship with Fourth Brother?"
The little girl's voice was noticeably soft as she looked at me cautiously.
I looked up at her and said, "Go on upstairs, get some sleep, and go to school properly tomorrow."
"Hey!" Ni Duoduo snapped, "Don't you even consider me a buddy? If you're upset, just say so! If you're unhappy, I'll go drinking with you!"
I chuckled and playfully pinched her delicate nose: "You're just a little kid, why are you drinking alcohol!"
Ni Duoduo tried to dodge but failed, and said unhappily, "What do you mean, 'little kid'! Please, I'm eighteen! I have an ID card! If this were America, I'd already be of legal marriage age!"
I thought for a moment: "You really want to know?"
"Really!" Nizi's eyes lit up with hope.
I sighed. "Okay, I told you, I broke his leg."
"Hmm, why did you break his leg?"
I smiled, pulled Ni Duoduo to a step to sit down, lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and felt the smoke swirl around in my lungs. The pungent sensation made me feel completely relaxed...
That was four or five years ago, right after I graduated from high school. My master passed away, and I returned to Nanjing. As my master had said, I was to live a good life.
Previously, I spent two peaceful years of student life in that small county in northern Jiangsu. However, after I returned to Nanjing, some of my former "friends" still came looking for me.
I'm young and a good fighter, and some of my underworld friends want to drag me into it.
Fortunately, I didn't forget my master's words. I lived an honest life, found a small job, and worked hard to support myself.
I used to love racing too. Back then, I was young, around Ni Duoduo's age, eighteen or nineteen, fearless and reckless. I was known for my reckless racing. I had a few friends back then, a total of four including myself. I was the youngest, the fifth oldest. Baldy was the fourth. Mao Tou was the second oldest. Besides that, there were also the eldest and third oldest, who were brothers.
Back then, I genuinely considered them friends, though in a more general sense, we were just fair-weather friends.
After I returned to Nanjing, my eldest and third brothers had opened a car repair shop, making a living by repairing cars. Like me, they had decided to quit racing and live honest lives.
Mao Tou has stopped driving the bus and has gone to work at the boss's brother's car dealership, while only Bald Xiao Si is still speeding.
He was already doing quite well at the time and wanted to recruit some experts to open a gambling den. He approached me, but I refused. Then he went to the eldest brother, the third brother, and Mao Tou. Xiao Si said that he wanted to open a gambling den, but a big brother in the circle was suppressing him. Xiao Si's driving skills were average, and he couldn't outrun the big brother, so he wanted to ask the eldest brother, the third brother, and Mao Tou for help.
Mao Tou had just been in a car accident and broke his leg, so he couldn't participate. Out of loyalty to their friend, the eldest and third brothers agreed to help.
As a result, the other party brought in a foreign player, a professional expert from Macau...
"Amateurs will never be able to outrun professionals." I said calmly, "Don't be fooled by how fantastical the stories in movies are. Even if you ride a motorcycle in the city your whole life, you still can't outrun someone who drives a professional track! Racing isn't just about being fearless; it's about having the skills that come from professional training. Someone who comes from a self-taught background might be able to dominate on the roadside for a while, but if they encounter a professional, they're definitely doomed."
I looked at Ni Duoduo and said the words above.
Racing? Most young people are just looking for thrills because they're young, wanting to experience the exhilarating feeling of high speed. It's exhilarating... but so what?
The eldest and third brothers helped Baldy Xiao Si compete that night, but they encountered a professional player from the other side. Despite their best efforts, they could only follow behind and get caught in the taillights!
"The next morning, I saw the newspaper... On the Xinzhuang overpass, two motorcycles fell off the bridge and were completely destroyed on the spot! One rider died on the spot, and the other died after being taken to the hospital..." I said slowly in a calm tone, with a hidden pain in my voice.
Ni Duoduo sat down next to me, leaning against me cautiously, and stole a glance at the expression on my face: "Are they the eldest and the third brother?"
"Yeah." I nodded. "They risked their lives, and they really did lose their lives."
I remember it very clearly. After I got the newspaper that day, my first reaction was to rush out the door and run to Baldy's house, but he wasn't there. I then rushed to the hospital and, sure enough, found Xiao Si outside the morgue.
I went berserk and beat him up. I even took a wooden stick and broke one of his legs on the spot!
"You broke his leg like that?" Ni Duoduo exclaimed in surprise.
“If it weren’t for his pleading, the eldest and third brothers wouldn’t have shown up,” I said coldly. “They had already left the industry, but the fourth brother dragged them back.”
"Then... what happened next?"
"Then...then I broke his leg, and he was still heavily in debt from gambling!" I smiled weakly. "Actually, I didn't mean to break his leg, it was just an accident...After he really broke his leg, I regretted it...Later, I found out that he was being chased for gambling debts, so I sold my house to pay off his debts, and from then on, I treated him as a friend."
I know that Xiao Si has always hated me. Although I helped him pay off his gambling debts, I also broke his leg, leaving him with a limp for the rest of his life. In his eyes, his feelings for me must have been more hatred than brotherly affection.
What he said tonight made me feel a little uncomfortable.
A gambling debt of over 100,000 yuan... Yes, but can over 100,000 yuan buy back a healthy leg?
Ni Duoduo was silent for a while before sighing, "Damn... that's too much... your story could practically be made into an extreme racing movie!" But after I gave her a cold look, Ni Duoduo quickly shut up, then giggled, "I didn't mean to say that... I just think your story is really too convoluted..."
I sneered: "Twisted? Two lives lost, one person permanently disabled... Do you think that's complicated? Think about it again in a few years... Do you think it was all worth it?"
Hmph, racing? Racing enthusiasts love to brag: racing at 100 mph, how exhilarating and thrilling it feels...
Damn it, they're risking their lives! Is it worth it?
Is it worth it?!
I stood up and patted Ni Duoduo on the shoulder: "Remember that bet from earlier? You lost, so you have to promise me one thing."
"Alright, go ahead and tell me," Ni Duoduo sighed helplessly.
I stared into her eyes: "From today onwards, before you graduate and go to America, you have to promise me that you will behave well, live a good life, and not get involved in those messy social circles anymore. Can you do that?"
Ni Duoduo looked miserable: "No way? You don't want me to be one of those bookworms who just memorizes everything, do you?"
I laughed and couldn't help but flick her nose again: "No, I just want you to think carefully before you do anything, to remember that there are still people in this world who care about you! As for the rest, I promise you, I will come to see you often and take you out to play."
"Okay!" Ni Duoduo agreed somewhat reluctantly: "Starting today, no more nightclubs, no more racing, no more smoking and drinking... Is there anything else? Can I hook up with rich guys?"
I glared at her, and she quickly changed her tune: "Okay, okay! If you don't want to hang me, then you don't!"
Then she made a face at me, stuck out her tongue, and said, "So fussy, like an old woman! Humph!" With that, she skipped upstairs.
Part One: In the Martial World, Unable to Control One's Own Fate, Chapter Seventy-Five: Mistakenly Accused of Being an Adulterer
The next morning, I first called Ni Duoduo to confirm that she had gone to school obediently, which put my mind at ease. Then I headed to the company to report for duty.
As I stepped out of the elevator and into the company building, the incredibly hot receptionist greeted me in a very sweet voice, calling me "Manager Chen" repeatedly, which made me feel a little flattered. But thinking about it, in this rather effeminate company, being the only male there must seem like a very fortunate thing to others.
Upon entering the office of the Business Activities Department II, I was surprised to find someone slumped over the desk at the far end.
Ning Yan was slumped over the desk, seemingly asleep, her hair loose over her shoulders. In front of her were scattered documents, some folders had fallen to the ground, and the computer screen was on, but it had turned into some screensaver animations.
I looked at the office light that was on... Had she worked all night at the company?
As I approached, I could hear her soft, even breathing; she seemed to be fast asleep. I casually picked up a document in front of me—a display plan for a bus station, including detailed information on celebrity endorsements, pricing and comparisons from car show modeling agencies, and much more.
I felt a little guilty. Although I didn't plan to stay as manager for long, seeing my subordinates working so hard, I, as their leader, took a day off yesterday to go out and have fun with that little girl, Ni Duoduo... Looking at it this way, I really felt ashamed.
I checked the time. It was almost time to start work. Although I felt a little embarrassed, I still gently tapped the table.
Ning Yan was startled and looked up. She looked sleepy, her eyes a little red and swollen, probably from lack of sleep. She glanced at me, paused for a moment, and then asked, "Mr. Chen, is that you?" She looked at the clock on the wall, sighed, and yawned, "It's dawn already?"
I sighed: "You stayed up all night?"
"Hmm." Ning Yan picked up the cup on the table; there were still some tea froths left. She drank it all in one gulp. Then she smacked her lips. "The car show project is coming through soon, and I've already gathered some detailed information. The planning department sent over some preliminary plans yesterday. Since you weren't here, I had to come up with a few proposals first, so I can submit them for review at today's meeting... There are also quotes from modeling agencies. There aren't any professional car models in Nanjing, so I mean we should look for some from Shanghai... In addition, there are some extra requirements from the car dealers..."
I waved my hand, signaling her not to rush into talking about these things. I went to the side and poured her a glass of water: "Have some water first. Don't drink tea or coffee on an empty stomach in the morning; it's bad for your stomach. Let's go out for breakfast later and talk slowly then."
Ning Yan smiled, took the cup and took a sip of water: "I didn't realize you were so knowledgeable about health and wellness."
I shook my head: "I don't know how; my girlfriend taught me."
I'm telling the truth. Since Yandi came into our family, my life has become much more structured. Yandi is a very attentive caregiver. She even taught me to drink a glass of water first thing every morning... supposedly it's very good for your health.
"Is our department going to organize a car show?" I picked up the document. "Is this a new project?"
"No, this is a big business deal that the whole company is working on; our department is only responsible for a part of it. The auto show is next month. The company assigned some specific tasks yesterday, and since you weren't here, I had to take care of them myself." Ning Yan deliberately sighed and laughed, "As the manager, you have to pay me overtime!"
I immediately smiled and said, "Let's go, I'll treat you to breakfast."
Ning Yan shook her head: "Not now. I need to organize these documents. We're going out in a bit. This morning we're going to the International Convention Center to check out the venue, and at noon we're going to pick up a client from the airport... Sigh, I'll just grab something to eat on the way."
"This woman is truly remarkable!" I sighed inwardly. Ning Yan is definitely a talented individual with the potential to become a powerful businesswoman; it seems she is the perfect candidate to lead this department.
I knew it was difficult to persuade her, so I nodded and went into my office to pack my things.
After a while, when almost everyone in the company had arrived and the other four girls in the department had already started work, Ning Yan walked into my office.
It was obvious that she had washed her face with cold water, looking completely bare-faced. Her hair was neatly tied up, giving her a very capable appearance. Her business attire was tidied up, and she looked very refreshed. However, although her eyes were bright, they couldn't hide the fatigue in them.
She was holding something in her hand and handed it over: "These are the things you need to sign when you weren't here yesterday."
I glanced at it casually, picked up the pen, quickly signed it, and handed it back to her.