Chapter 5
1738 Words
Highway No. 5 winds around the mountains, steep and full of curves. There's a large plaza along the road, seemingly built specifically for young racing enthusiasts, funded by the Xie family group.
During major events, this place is packed with people, bustling with activity.
Like tonight.
Lin Yiwei is squeezed among the crowd, with Su Andi close by, her face painted with a sweet yet edgy devilish makeup.
Among the youthful and vibrant crowd, such makeup isn’t overly extravagant.
Compared to the trendy boys and girls around, Lin Yiwei’s everyday light makeup is practically non-existent.
Not only are their makeup looks exaggerated, but they also sport various English letter stickers on their faces, with the "DS" logo being the most common.
Su Andi explains that this is the logo of the racing club, and DS is the most awarded and strongest club, followed by West.
“DS is the club where Xie Bo is. DS stands for 'Desty.' Xie Bo is not only the top racer in the club but also a shareholder. It’s said that he founded this club himself.”
Su Andi introduces Lin Yiwei with enthusiasm, “Because Xie Bo loves racing, many rich young men in Qinggang City have started getting into it. He’s particularly skilled and has won several major international racing awards in the past year or two.”
Lin Yiwei, having no interest in Su Andi’s idol, listens to her ramble without responding.
As the music pulses from the DJ stage, the young people sway to the beat, immersed in the exhilarating open-air dance wave.
With a whoosh, several flashy sports cars speed in from the end of the road.
A few young men in colorful racing suits step out, waving in response to the crowd's cheers.
“Is the one you like, Xie, inside?”
“Clearly not!”
Su Andi looks at them disdainfully, “You’ll know when Xie Bo arrives.”
“I haven’t seen him.”
“But you’ll know.”
Su Andi smiles and says, “He has such a strong presence that you can't ignore him. That’s charm, I guess.”
“Are you sure it’s not ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’?”
“Trust me, it’s definitely not. Xie Bo’s handsomeness is universally recognized.”
Lin Yiwei looks at the young men who just arrived.
The generations of gene improvement in wealthy families have made these young men and women all exceptionally good-looking, almost impossible to pick out any unattractive ones.
She doesn't think anyone could be more handsome than the ones she’s seen—at most, they are just average. Seeing many faces often leads to aesthetic fatigue.
“Look, West has arrived.”
Su Andi points to the white-themed car team and tells Lin Yiwei, “That’s Xie Bo’s team. The first car’s driver is Yun Hui, Xie Bo’s sidekick. He’s the one who created that 'Kayan' group.”
She adds contemptuously, “Their team is DS’s archenemy.”
Lin Yiwei can’t help but ask, “Where is Pi Xicheng?”
Su Andi grins and says, “So you really want to meet him, huh? Seems like you two hit it off well.”
In the past few days, Lin Yiwei has indeed been chatting with Pi Xicheng. She crafted a persona of a cold beauty for herself, neither too enthusiastic nor too aloof, maintaining a balanced approach.
For a playboy like Pi Xicheng, surrounded by sycophantic women, showing too much eagerness would make him lose interest.
At the same time, she rarely mentions her own background—school, age, work… keeping a sense of mystery.
As Eileen Chang said, a man who knows you too well won’t love you.
Lin Yiwei doesn’t know where she learned these dating strategies.
Perhaps, it’s instinctive.
For others, it might be a romantic game, but for Lin Yiwei, it’s about survival.
She noticed that Pi Xicheng isn’t a particularly intelligent man; he is as foolish as many men, but wealthy.
More importantly, he is Pi Xiyu’s brother.
Su Andi is oblivious to Lin Yiwei’s thoughts and continues to chatter, “Pi Xicheng doesn’t race, but he’s an investor in the West team. Some say he just maintains the team to compete with Xie Bo.”
“On the surface, they seem harmonious, like friends, but there’s actually a lot of underlying tension.”
Lin Yiwei asks, “Is the name of the West team derived from his name?”
“Exactly. The team’s full name is ‘Westfall,’ taken from his name.
It’s said he spent a lot to support the team, bringing in many international champions to compete with Xie Bo.”
Su Andi constantly brings the conversation back to her favorite person, intentionally or not.
Soon, a strikingly silver modified sports car arrives, accompanied by sharp braking sounds as the car drifts elegantly around the corner.
The high-quality silver-gray windows roll down, and the crowd screams. Su Andi’s shouting almost bursts Lin Yiwei’s eardrums!
“Ahhh!
Xie Bo!”
“So handsome!”
“Xie Bo, Xie Bo!”
The flash of cameras makes the scene more attention-grabbing than a celebrity outing.
Lin Yiwei looks at the car and sees the man inside.
He wears goggles, and his prominent brow bones and sharp profile are faintly visible.
His left hand casually rests on the window, with clearly defined knuckles, long and beautiful, pale skin, and a tattoo on his wrist.
A black, thin snake, flicking its tongue, in an S-shape.
Lin Yiwei’s heart freezes, and she takes a few seconds to steady her breathing.
It’s him!
Without needing to see him remove the goggles, Lin Yiwei recognizes him instantly.
Those hands with the snake tattoo have touched every inch of her skin, exploring her inner depths…
Lin Yiwei cannot not recognize him.
“Isn’t he handsome?”
Su Andi excitedly shakes Lin Yiwei’s slender shoulder, “I wasn’t lying, right? He’s really handsome!”
There’s no denying it, Su Andi’s previous comments were not exaggerated.
Indeed, Xie Bo’s aura is unique. As soon as he appears, the surrounding young men and women in flashy racing suits become mere backgrounds.
Sitting in the car, he is nothing like the elegant and refined young man Lin Yiwei met that day, wearing moonlight silver frameless glasses.
He is like a blazing flame, untamed and flamboyant.
Strangely, Lin Yiwei’s mind flashes back to the night when he was underneath her, watching her with that restrained, enduring gaze…
She always thought of him as an inexperienced, obedient younger brother, who would comply with whatever she wanted.
If she didn’t want something, he wouldn’t pursue it.
She thought he was someone she could control.
Lin Yiwei was wrong.
Over the years, from Su Andi’s fervent admiration, she has heard a lot about Xie Bo.
The third young master of a wealthy family, appearing elegant and refined, but actually ruthless and cold-hearted.
The consensus among the elite circles of Qinggang City is to avoid offending Xie Bo, even if it means offending a thousand Pi Xichengs.
Recalling that night… Lin Yiwei’s palms sweat coldly.
Such a person is someone she cannot provoke and must avoid at all costs.
Regret is too late now, but fortunately, she moved out after that night, and they haven’t been in touch since.
Although they left each other on WeChat… Lin Yiwei quickly takes out her phone, finds the WeChat account named “TH,” and deletes it without hesitation.
TH, for Bo.
She now understands the meaning behind this WeChat name.
Xie Bo doesn’t get out of the car. With the window half-open, he reveals his face amidst the cheers of the young crowd. He drives the sports car to the starting line, forming a semi-circle with the surrounding cars.
A sexy girl in a hot short skirt and tank top walks gracefully on the starting line, waving flags and tossing streamers.
As the streamers flutter down, the roar of engines erupts, and several modified sports cars shoot out like arrows.
Just then, Su Andi is called away by some friends, and Lin Yiwei seizes the opportunity to slip away.
She can’t go to the party tonight, so since the mistake has been made, she can only avoid risks and not run into Xie Bo.
Losing the lead on Pi Xicheng is unfortunate, but she can’t worry about that now.
Her real target is only one person: Pi Xiyu.
She is the one most directly related to Lin Xie’s disappearance.
Lin Yiwei deletes Pi Xicheng’s contact, walks out of the suburban road, and after walking several kilometers, finally finds a bus stop and heads home.
……
At the White Yin Club, in a luxurious, opulent private room, Pi Xicheng, feeling disinterested, pushes away a girl who had approached him, takes out his phone, and messages Lin Yiwei to ask if she has arrived.
The reply he gets is a red dot—
“Not a friend of yours; needs a friend request.”
She actually deleted him?!
Pi Xicheng is enraged, his anger unprecedented. He grabs a drink, finishes it in one gulp, and throws the glass forcefully.
The room falls silent instantly, with everyone stopping their activities and looking at Pi Xicheng in bewilderment.
His sidekick, Yun Hui, immediately says, “It’s okay, I was just messing with City Brother. Everyone, continue.”
Once the atmosphere settles, Yun Hui cautiously approaches Pi Xicheng, “City Brother, what happened?”
Pi Xicheng rudely questions, “Who did you let into the group? Are you messing with me?”
This accusation is serious; who would dare mess with Pi Xicheng.
Yun Hui steps out of the private room and talks to his subordinates. He learns that the girl with the nickname “**” (Micro Breeze) has left, but her friend is still in the adjacent room.
She can’t escape.
Yun Hui immediately goes to the room, grabs Su Andi by the hair, and drags her out in front of everyone, pulling her into another room at the end of the hallway.
“Who the hell!”
The pain in her scalp makes Su Andi struggle desperately, yelling, “What’s going on!”
Yun Hui throws her in front of Pi Xicheng.
Since Xie Bo didn’t show up, Su Andi had lost interest in the party and was even thinking of leaving.
She’s now dragged in front of Pi Xicheng.
- Writer
