Did you cheat, you little rascal

Su Yang stopped looking at Chu Qiunan, rolling up the car window as he turned his gaze forward.

The road ahead was wide open—an eight-lane highway, straight and long, with two cars parked in the middle lanes.

With such ideal conditions, both cars were bound to floor it the moment the light turned green. Su Yang glanced up at the red light on the traffic signal.

The countdown read 10 seconds. At five seconds, he prepared—disabling the traction control, pressing the brake hard with his left foot, and resting his right foot lightly on the accelerator.

When the timer hit three seconds, Su Yang tapped the gas pedal repeatedly. On the final second, he stomped down, revving the engine to a roaring 5,500 RPM.

The RS7 erupted with a furious growl.

Vroom! Vroom! Vroom!

Of course, the Aston Martin DBS beside him was even louder, its 12-cylinder engine nearly drowning out the RS7’s sound.

As the two cars roared, the red light faded, and green illuminated.

Su Yang instantly released the brake and slammed the accelerator, launching the RS7 forward with a violent lurch.

VROOM!!

The sudden acceleration pinned Pan Ning hard against her seat.

But she was all too familiar with this sensation, showing no reaction.

Beside them, the DBS kept pace, the gap between the two cars barely noticeable.

Su Yang held a slight lead—half a car length ahead.

Meanwhile, Chu Qiunan glared at the RS7, muttering, "Damn, he’s quick off the line. Did this guy mod his ride? How the hell does my extra four cylinders lose to him?"

Xiaoxiao, gripping the door handle nervously, said, "Slow down, Nan-ge!"

"Not a chance!"

"We’ve got over ten kilometers to Qianxiang Mall. Winning the start doesn’t mean anything!"

"Tch, losing the launch pisses me off. I’m overtaking him today, no matter what!"

Chu Qiunan eased off the gas momentarily before stomping it again.

Though his V12 had more horsepower, torque, and a lighter body, factors like drivetrain efficiency, tuning, and—most crucially—the DBS’s rear-wheel drive versus the RS7’s all-wheel drive gave Su Yang the edge in acceleration.

Add in driver skill, and Chu Qiunan found it hard to close the gap.

Su Yang checked the rearview mirror and lifted off the gas, lightly braking as another traffic light approached.

The moment he eased up, the DBS surged past—only to brake hard as well.

Soon, the two cars were side by side again at the intersection.

Chu Qiunan rolled down his passenger window and motioned for Su Yang to do the same.

With a smirk, Su Yang lowered his window and taunted, "Not bad for a four-million-kuai stallion, huh? Still can’t beat my ‘piece-of-crap Audi.’"

Chu Qiunan scoffed. "You must’ve tuned it."

"Can’t win, so you cry foul? Feel free to inspect it—I’ve got nothing to hide."

Ignoring the jab, Chu Qiunan shot back, "Even if you did tune it, you’re barely keeping up. The race isn’t over yet."

"I’m not worried."

"Then let’s go again!"

"Bring it." Su Yang grinned, rolling his window up.

The same routine played out—green light, two cars blasting off, leaving a bewildered white SUV in their wake.

Once more, Su Yang pulled ahead by half a car length. He knew his car’s strengths and weaknesses: quick off the line, but at a disadvantage in a long, uninterrupted stretch where the DBS’s extra 100 horsepower would dominate.

After a stretch, Su Yang voluntarily backed off.

Chu Qiunan shot past, but Su Yang didn’t give chase. There was still plenty of road ahead.

Pan Ning, no longer watching, closed her eyes and murmured, "Wake me when we get there."

"Got it."

As they crossed from Feiyun District into Yonghe District, traffic thickened.

It was past 5 PM—rush hour. The closer they got to downtown, the more congested the roads became.

Now, it wasn’t just about horsepower; driver skill took center stage.

Su Yang, with professional racing experience, weaved through traffic effortlessly, overtaking cars with precision. Unless the road was gridlocked, these conditions played to his advantage.

Before long, Chu Qiunan—who had led for kilometers—was overtaken.

Some gaps Su Yang dared to exploit, Chu Qiunan didn’t.

Within minutes, Su Yang stretched his lead.

"Damn it!!" Chu Qiunan smacked the steering wheel as the RS7 nearly vanished from sight.

With less than five kilometers to Qianxiang Mall, losing sight of his rival meant certain defeat.

Xiaoxiao tried to soothe him. "Nan-ge, don’t panic. There’s still time!"

"That guy’s got skills. That last gap was insane—he’s got a death wish!"

"Safety first, okay? Winning doesn’t matter if we crash."

But Chu Qiunan, pride wounded and frustration boiling, wasn’t listening.

If he couldn’t even catch Su Yang, what did that say about his so-called "masterful" driving?

Gritting his teeth, he focused and accelerated.

Xiaoxiao could only cling to the door handle, white-knuckled. She’d never been in a ride this wild—holding back nausea was a feat in itself.

Almost immediately, a black SUV blocked their path. The road had two lanes, the right one ending, leaving only the left to pass.

But a white sedan tailgated closely behind. The left lane ahead was clear—if he could just slip in.

The problem? The white car was practically glued to his bumper.

Stuck behind the sluggish SUV, Chu Qiunan’s window to overtake was shrinking fast.

Another minute like this, and the race was over.

Cursing, he slammed the horn.

BEEP BEEP BEEP!!!

The SUV had a 150-meter gap ahead but cruised at a maddening 50 km/h, refusing to speed up or move aside.

Seeing no change, Chu Qiunan’s temper flared.

Screw it.

He gunned the engine, closing in on the SUV’s bumper. At the last second, he checked his mirror, judged the white sedan’s distance, and yanked the wheel left—cutting in with inches to spare.

The white car’s brakes screeched, narrowly avoiding a collision.

"Damn it, finally made it past! What the hell are these idiots doing? Speed limit's eighty and they're crawling at forty or fifty—learn how to drive, morons!"

Chu Qiunan cursed under his breath before slamming the accelerator, overtaking the SUV ahead and merging back into smoother traffic.

But by then, Su Yang was long gone.