I’m the Only Bike Queen

"Adrian!" I gripped the motorcycle's handlebars with all my strength and shouted his name. But all I heard through the earpiece was static. My palms were drenched in sweat. Even the inside of my gloves was soaked. I was already going five hundred miles per hour. Even if I let off the throttle right now, there was no way I could slow down immediately. The thick fog completely obscured my visor. The tires screeched as they rolled over the slick asphalt. "Soulreaper," the most dangerous corner on the MotoGP circuit, was just ahead. The track there was extremely narrow, barely wide enough for two motorcycles to ride side by side. And just beyond the outside edge of the track was a cliff covered in jagged rocks. Over the past seven years, six riders had gone over the edge there. Three had been permanently paralyzed, and two had never gotten back on their feet again. And yet Adrian had just told me my life wouldn't be in danger? Four years ago, when I raced on this track for the first time, Adrian had secretly laid out safety sandbags along the outside of Soulreaper before the qualifiers. But even then, I had been so nervous that my rear wheel slipped as I entered the corner. In the end, both my bike and I went flying off the track. Adrian had been standing beside the barrier in the pit area and saw everything clearly. Before the track signal lights even came on, he vaulted over the barrier and rushed straight onto the track. He didn't even have time to take off his helmet before diving into the sand pile and digging me out. A huge patch of blisters had formed on his leg where the motorcycle's exhaust pipe had burned him. But he didn't even check his own injury first. He just held my face in his hands and checked me over again and again. "Are you hurt anywhere? Talk to me, Sophie!" Seeing how anxious he was, I shook my head, my face pale. Only after making sure I was truly all right did he finally breathe a sigh of relief. Then he pulled me tightly into his arms and comforted me. "Don't be afraid anymore. I'll remember every turn-in point on this track and exactly when you need to brake. I'm going to make you the best female rider on this circuit." From that day on, I trained relentlessly every single day. Lap after lap, I practiced on that track. I only wanted to prove that Adrian had been right. That I really could become the best female rider. It took me two full years before I finally won the first championship trophy of my career. That day, I stood on the podium and popped the champagne. Everyone there was guessing what condition I would ask the organizers for. More sponsorship money? Or better endorsement deals? But when I picked up the microphone, I made only one request. "From now on, I hope the rule requiring navigators to enter the track with riders for course inspections can be abolished." Because Adrian was the person I loved most. All I wanted was for him to stand safely outside the track. I never wanted him to be put in danger because of me. A high-speed left followed by a right hairpin. So the moment Adrian gave me the wrong route just now, I knew he was lying to me. But by then, my motorcycle had already charged into the corner. I was going too fast, and the momentum was enormous. In the thick fog, I couldn't see anything that could help me determine my direction. Even though the entire track map was firmly engraved in my mind, all that memory was useless if I couldn't figure out exactly where I was. Just then, Adrian's fake cry for help suddenly came through my earpiece. "Rescue team! Rider Number Seven, Sophie, has crashed at Soulreaper! Get over there now! Whatever happens, don't let anything happen to her!" My heart instantly turned cold. I squeezed the brake lever as hard as I could. So Adrian had been certain from the very beginning that I would crash here today.