Goodbye to You

Su Yang followed behind, flashing an playful grin. His laps from yesterday weren't just about getting familiar with the track.

He'd run a few laps and committed every curve of the racetrack to memory, knowing them like the back of his hand.

The main track of the Shanghai International Circuit had a total of 16 turns—7 left turns and 9 right turns—each with a different radius. The overall layout of the racetrack was intricate, making it extremely challenging.

Right after the starting line came the continuous compound bends consisting of right, left, and left turns, which were Turns 1, 2, and 3.

These three bends formed a spiral-like constriction, with the radius dropping sharply from 93.9 meters to 31.8 meters. After his laps yesterday, Su Yang realized that these initial bends weren't suited for drifting.

To be precise, most bends on the entire track weren't ideal for drifting; normal cornering would be faster.

So Su Yang didn't opt for drifting; instead, he went straight into the corners at high speed.

The powerful downforce of the GT3 RS kept the car glued to the track.

Although Su Yang entered corners from behind, he quickly overtook He Peng, who was still drifting, after exiting Turn 2.

He Peng was caught off guard for a moment, then snickered with a dismissive grin: "Oh? Not bad. Let him get ahead a bit, no big deal."

Once a GT3 RS took the lead on a track, it was nearly impossible for other cars to catch up, unless the drivers' skills were worlds apart or the person being overtaken was a professional Formula 1 driver in an F1 car.

But He Peng didn't seem to realize this yet.

By the time he finished speaking, Su Yang had already reached Turn 4.

Turn 4 was fairly gentle, so he sailed through it easily. Between Turns 4 and 5 stretched a straight section.

Su Yang quickly shifted gears, flooring the accelerator to instantly push the speed to 200 kilometers per hour.

But He Peng was a professional after all, so he kept a tight pursuit.

The two cars exited Turn 5 almost simultaneously, then hit another straightaway.

As they approached Turn 6, He Peng decelerated early again to prepare for drifting, because Turn 6 was sharp, almost like a U-turn. In the subconscious of a rally driver, such corners often called for drifting.

He Peng hit the brakes instinctively. Though he had started with go-karts and formula racing, he'd been participating in rally races for the last five or six years, making it a muscle memory.

Su Yang spotted He Peng's move through the rearview mirror and smirked: "Bye-bye now."

He still didn't drift; he only applied the brakes lightly.

The GT3 RS was incredibly stable, sailing effortlessly out of Turn 6.

Out of the corner, he immediately accelerated toward the upcoming high-speed Turns 7 and 8.

He Peng still hadn't realized how serious the situation was. With every curve he entered, Su Yang would edge a little further ahead.

Although He Peng's car had two more cylinders and greater horsepower, on a circuit, the advantage of its larger engine could only be unleashed on the long straight stretch between Turns 13 and 14. Elsewhere, it was hard to make use of it—no sooner had speeds climbed than braking was needed again.

So, back and forth like this, Su Yang had already built a decent lead.

By now, in the grandstand, Qin Su was flushed with excitement, her heart racing wildly.

From the bleachers, she could watch both cars on the big screen. Ever since Su Yang overtook He Peng, she had been on tenterhooks, terrified that He Peng might reclaim the lead.

Vroom, vroom!

The GT3 RS let out a ear-splitting roar as it left Turn 13.

The section between Turns 13 and 14 stretched 1,175 meters, the longest straight on the Shanghai International Circuit. Su Yang tugged on the paddle shifters to shift gears, quickly pushing the speed to 320 kilometers per hour.

The GT3 RS shot forward like a wild beast.

He Peng behind him had also exited Turn 13 and was flooring it in a desperate attempt to overtake Su Yang here.

But it wasn't that easy. Su Yang had already built up a significant gap through the earlier corners.

The 1,175-meter section ended quickly. Turn 14 was the sharpest corner on the entire track.

With a radius of just 10.07 meters, drivers had to reduce speed from over 300 kilometers per hour down to 88 km/h within 129 meters to safely take the turn. This demanded an incredibly high level of skill and braking precision from both driver and car.

However, Su Yang didn't brake down to 88 km/h. For this turn, he planned to drift through—it was the only bend where he thought drifting would actually be faster.

Dropping the speed to 95 km/h, Su Yang steered left, swiveling the car, then immediately cranked the steering wheel sharply to the right, executing a pendulum-style drift into the corner. As he entered, he quickly counter-steered.

The car hugged the inside line smoothly out of the turn.

He Peng saw all of Su Yang's actions from behind.

His eyes widened involuntarily, full of disbelief.

It was only then that he realized something was off. He suddenly started to get anxious.

Shaken mentally, he was a bit slow approaching Turn 14. His timing was off, the corner entry was jerky, costing him more time.

By now, Su Yang had already reached the last turn. He took the corner normally, exited it, then accelerated toward the finish line.

Watching Su Yang emerge first from Turn 16, Qin Su in the grandstand jumped up in excitement. Leaning against the railing, she shouted at the oncoming Su Yang: "Su Yang!!! Go!!!"

Boom!

As Qin Su's voice faded, Su Yang blasted across the finish line, completing the first lap in 1 minute, 34.566 seconds.

"Holy crap!?"

At seeing that time, everyone was stunned. The fastest lap for an F1 driver on this track was only 1 minute, 30.849 seconds.

For Su Yang to achieve that time in a production sports car was absolutely terrifying.

He Peng behind him also saw the time displayed on the big screen.

He was utterly dumbfounded. What the hell was going on? How could Su Yang drive so fast? Was he driving an F1?

When he crossed the finish line, his time showed 1 minute, 37.679 seconds—over three full seconds slower than Su Yang. Who was the professional driver here?

"Holy moly, Su Yang is this strong?" Hong Ran said, stunned.

"Haha, Su Yang is incredible! He's leading He Peng by over three seconds!"

"What was the time you said he ran yesterday?" Hong Ran asked.

"The fastest lap was about 1 minute, 37 seconds or so."

"Haha, so he was holding back after all. Nice. I don't think we need to keep watching—there's no chance He Peng can catch up." Hong Ran pulled out his phone and started playing around.

"Really?" Qin Su asked excitedly.

"A three-second lead is extremely hard to overcome. Unless Su Yang makes a mistake, it's almost impossible."

"But the race isn't over yet."

Hong Ran smiled: "Just watch—every lap from now on, Su Yang will only pull further ahead."

......

Meanwhile, on the track, both cars had already started the second lap. Su Yang was at the high-speed Turns 7 and 8, while He Peng was only just reaching Turn 6.

Slap!!

After chasing without gaining any ground, He Peng smacked the steering wheel hard and cursed: "Damn it!! How is this idiot so fast?! Screw this!!"

He realized that no matter how hard he pushed, he couldn’t close the gap—in fact, he was falling further behind, soon about to lose sight of the GT3 RS’s taillights ahead.

Luckily, it was only a five-lap race. If it had been ten laps, Su Yang could have easily lapped He Peng.

If that happened, He Peng would probably be furious. Being lapped by an amateur player Qin Su had casually picked up, in the very field where he was most proud and confident—if news of that got out, he’d be a laughingstock among his peers for sure.

With that thought, He Peng’s eyes narrowed. He threw everything he had into chasing Su Yang ahead.

Even if he wasn’t going to get lapped, losing was still humiliating! After all the taunting he’d just done, the thought of Su Yang’s smug expression later made him boil with rage.

“Calm down! Calm down! I’m a professional. No way I lose. It’s only the second lap—there’s still a chance!”

He Peng gave himself a mental pep talk and focused entirely on his driving.

The second lap quickly ended, and Su Yang had widened his lead by another two seconds, now ahead by more than five seconds.

As the third lap began, Su Yang grew more and more relaxed, reaching a state of near-perfect harmony with his car.

The skills of a professional racing driver were truly terrifying. At this point, without exaggeration, he could’ve closed his eyes and still known the exact distance of every straight and the precise angle of every turn.

The entire track map was etched clearly into his mind.

He drove faster and faster. By the end of the third lap, he had clocked a lap time of 1 minute 33.288 seconds—over a second quicker than his first lap.

Earlier, every time He Peng passed beneath the grandstand, his friends would stand up to cheer and shout encouragement.

But now, seeing Su Yang’s third-lap time, they couldn’t be bothered to move anymore.

As He Peng barely crossed the finish line for the third lap, Su Yang had already started his fourth lap and was approaching Turn Three.

What followed was an inevitable outcome: Su Yang effortlessly completed the final two laps, crushing He Peng—a professional driver—and winning the race.

“We won!!!” Qin Su bolted down from the grandstand the moment Su Yang exited Turn 16.

......