Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"016"

Xiao Lancui fell behind right from the start, left in the dust by both cars.

But he didn't bother chasing after them.

The route details were laid out in the text, and Xiao Lancui patiently familiarized himself with the car's handling while mentally mapping out the winding mountain road from the description.

Panling Mountain Road had thirty-three bends—nine sets of linked switchbacks, most of them blind curves. The road was tight and the drop-offs sheer. Yesterday's blizzard had left dead leaves, broken branches, loose rocks, and slush puddles scattered across the asphalt. Even a pro racer would need at least forty minutes to run a clean lap.

The race would be decided in the last three minutes.

Aside from telling Xiao Anfeng to get in, Xiao Lancui hadn't said another word to him.

In the passenger seat, Xiao Anfeng's heart was hammering.

He was seriously nervous. He knew better than anyone: Xiao Lancui had zero clue how to drive!

Hearing Xiao Lancui had signed himself up for the race was shocking enough. But then Xiao Lancui asked him to ride along? That blew his mind.

A guy who couldn't drive was racing. Getting in that car would be suicide.

Xiao Anfeng was about to say no when Xiao Lancui smiled, just barely. "You don't want me telling Dad you let me race solo, right?"

It was a naked threat—and it worked.

Xiao Anfeng had zero doubt: if anything happened to Xiao Lancui tonight, Xiao Jingli would be furious enough to disown him.

Absurd, sure. But painfully true.

He was Xiao Jingli's blood son, yet he had to bow to the whims of an adopted one.

Xiao Anfeng shut his mouth and instinctively glanced at the back door. The passenger seat was a death trap. But a sideways glance caught Xiao Lancui's knowing smirk, and his fingers twitched. He gritted his teeth and climbed in anyway.

A thought hit him.

Was Xiao Lancui trying to pull a fast one?

Drag him into the car, fake-drive for a bit, then swap seats when nobody was looking.

Xiao Anfeng sneered inwardly at the cheap trick.

But the second he got in, he was floored.

Xiao Lancui actually knew how to drive.

And he hadn't even tried to make conversation.

Xiao Anfeng held out for a while, then finally spoke. "When'd you learn to drive?"

Xiao Lancui answered flatly, "Today."

Xiao Anfeng didn't buy it. He glanced at the sippy cup in the center console—the one Xiao Lancui had set there when he got in. It was see-through, with dark brown liquid inside. He figured it was some herbal medicine Xiao Lancui was drinking.

The medicine was more than half empty, but from the moment Xiao Lancui started driving, the liquid hadn't so much as rippled.

He'd learned to drive from Xiao Liqin back in middle school, and even he wasn't that steady.

Xiao Anfeng turned to stare out the window. "Fine. Keep your secrets."

The car went quiet again. Xiao Anfeng watched Xiao Lancui's reflection in the window. Actually, he'd heard it—

What Lu Siye had said to Xiao Lancui.

"If you lose, you're sleeping with me."

That got under Xiao Anfeng's skin.

No question—Lu Siye would win.

His best friend was obsessed with Lu Siye, so Xiao Anfeng had picked up plenty of Lu Siye's track record secondhand.

Like smoking several top pro racers in high school and taking racing titles overseas.

Was Xiao Lancui throwing the race on purpose?

He wanted to get Lu Siye into bed. He had a thing for Lu Siye?

Xiao Anfeng's eyelid twitched.

He knew. Lu Siye liked him. Or at least, he was interested.

Last time on the island, he'd noticed—Lu Siye never slept, just watched him all night.

That was why he'd been dodging him ever since they got back.

He was gay, sure, but he wasn't easy. And since Lu Siye was friends with Xiao Lancui, the whole thing disgusted him even more.

He hated everything and everyone tied to Xiao Lancui.

But if Xiao Lancui liked Lu Siye, that was a different story.

Xiao Anfeng's fingers trembled. If Xiao Lancui found out Lu Siye liked him—found out they were together—wouldn't he be wrecked? Crying until he blacked out?

Just like he had as a kid, helplessly watching his father walk off with Xiao Lancui in his arms.

Xiao Anfeng's blood ran hot as a vicious thought took root and wouldn't let go—

He'd get back at Xiao Lancui! He'd steal Lu Siye away and make Xiao Lancui feel what it was like to have the person he loved most ripped from him!

He wanted to see Xiao Lancui cry—really cry, harder and bitterer than he ever had.

Men were all slaves to their dicks. If Lu Siye and Xiao Lancui clicked in bed, taking Lu Siye away would be way harder.

Xiao Anfeng started scheming. Lu Siye had to lose tonight. Best case: Sun Mai wins and takes Xiao Lancui off his hands.

Xiao Anfeng picked his words carefully. "You're a rookie. How about I drive for you?" He added, "If you lose, Dad's gonna blame me for not stepping in."

Xiao Lancui shot back, "Can you guarantee a win?"

Xiao Anfeng was stuck. After a beat, he said coldly, "At least I've got a better shot than you."

Xiao Lancui said evenly, "I'm going to win."

Xiao Anfeng hadn't expected Xiao Lancui to say that. He stared at Xiao Lancui, and that unsettling feeling of wrongness crept back up.

Xiao Lancui had changed a lot since falling into the sea and losing his memory.

He'd privately consulted doctors—amnesia could indeed cause shifts in personality and behavior patterns—but the way Xiao Lancui felt to him was too off. It wasn't like amnesia; it was more like he'd become a completely different person.

He'd even entertained the absurd thought that the person they'd pulled from the sea was merely someone else who looked exactly like Xiao Lancui.

But it was too ridiculous, and even he found it laughable.

Besides, Xiao Lancui had remained consistent, still just as utterly detestable to him as ever, and that feeling of wrongness had gradually faded.

Now it surfaced again. Looking at Xiao Lancui, he found himself half-believing that Xiao Lancui might actually win.

But even if he did win, it would only be to get Lu Siye's attention—win or lose, it worked in Xiao Lancui's favor.

Xiao Anfeng's mind raced as he asked, "Last time you went out to sea, why did you fall in?"

He'd only just thought of it now, and regretted it the moment the words left his mouth—Xiao Lancui had lost his memory, so of course he wouldn't remember.

But Xiao Lancui suddenly got all mysterious. "I'll only tell you this. Don't tell anyone else."

Without giving Xiao Anfeng time to react, Xiao Lancui continued, "I was pushed into the sea."

Xiao Anfeng's mouth dropped open. "What!?"

Xiao Lancui repeated, patient as ever, "I was pushed into the sea."

Xiao Anfeng was stunned. "You got your memory back? No—who pushed you in?"

Just then, they hit the first of five consecutive hairpin turns, and headlights flickered ahead and behind along the mountainside.

Xiao Lancui kept his speed even. "Let me answer your second question first—I don't know."

Xiao Anfeng froze, and Xiao Lancui went on, "Now, your first question: I haven't gotten my memory back. It's just that recently, I've been getting flashes of falling into the sea—I saw a silhouette push me in."

It was a lot to take in, and Xiao Anfeng needed a few seconds to process it before he could speak. "Could your memory be playing tricks on you? You've never had enemies before..."

Xiao Anfeng's heart pounded. One person came to mind.

His mother, Xie Jingfang.

He'd occasionally caught Xie Jingfang and Yungu talking, and overheard Xiao Lancui's name. When he walked over, they'd switched topics.

Xiao Anfeng's heart raced as another thought hit him—that night of the banquet on the sea, Xie Jingfang had felt unwell after dinner and gone back to her room alone, skipping the dance.

And Xiao Lancui had fallen into the sea while the dance was going on.

Xiao Lancui had been plagued by various illnesses since childhood—frail and slight of build. Even as a grown man, Xie Jingfang could easily push him overboard if she caught him off guard.

Xiao Anfeng immediately brushed it off. "You barely leave the house and don't have many connections. Unless you got into some private beef with someone on the day you boarded that we didn't know about, no one would have any reason to hurt you."

Xiao Lancui chuckled. "Maybe. Anyway, don't go spreading uncertain stuff around—especially to Dad. I don't want him worrying."

"Mm." Xiao Anfeng's thoughts were a mess, and he went quiet. When he snapped back to attention, a familiar car had overtaken them outside the window.

At some point, Xiao Lancui had actually overtaken one of the cars!

Xiao Anfeng had just been in that car—he recognized it at a glance as Sun Mai's.

Xiao Anfeng was stunned. He turned to check the dashboard, but his gaze first swept past the cup of herbal medicine.

The liquid's still surface was now boiling, spinning rapidly and evenly at high speed. Xiao Anfeng could clearly sense that Xiao Lancui's driving had gotten even better.

Could he really have only learned to drive today?

That realization sent a wave of unprecedented crisis through Xiao Anfeng.

The only area where he'd ever beaten Xiao Lancui in Xiao Jingli's eyes was learning ability.

From childhood to now, he'd crushed Xiao Lancui underfoot in every single exam, and only in those moments would Xiao Jingli pat his head and praise him: "Good job."

And he didn't even have to work for it. Xiao Lancui had inherited the mediocre genes of his real parents—an adopted son was just an adopted son. No matter how favored by their father, what flowed through his veins wasn't Xiao blood. A fool.

Xiao Anfeng's head began to ache—from the memories flashing back in Xiao Lancui, from the threat Xiao Lancui now posed to him.

In his daze, he saw headlights up ahead.

They'd caught up with Lu Siye!

The final three minutes had arrived.

And they were approaching the spot where Xiao Anfeng had flipped his car.

Xiao Lancui's mind was racing too. The reason he'd forced Xiao Anfeng into the car was to make sure Xiao Anfeng absolutely wouldn't end up in the hospital with severe bleeding.

But the known plot dictated that someone had to end up in the hospital.

After being overtaken, Sun Mai had already ditched his car and was cursing by the roadside. Now only he and Lu Siye were left on the mountain road—either him or Lu Siye.

Xiao Lancui's gaze flickered.

So tonight, the one getting into an accident could only be Lu Siye.

He pressed down on the accelerator, speeding up as Lu Siye braked through the final turn, whipping his tail around and passing nearly scraping against Lu Siye's door.

Just then, a thunderous roar tore through the air from behind, chasing after him. Xiao Lancui glanced at the rearview mirror.

A deep-blue sports car shot toward him like an arrow loosed from a bow, howling in pursuit.

Xiao Lancui's eyelid twitched.

Could it be him—Huo Shenan?

Bang!

A deafening crash sounded simultaneously. Huo Shenan's car couldn't brake in time and slammed into the guardrail. He threw the door open and jumped out instantly.

The sports car burst through the railing and plunged off the cliff. Huo Shenan tumbled several times across the pavement before stopping. The pain was nothing compared to the world blurred red before his eyes. Just before losing consciousness, he spat out one last curse.

"Xiao Lancui, you're fucking insane..."

Overtaking a Shelby on a curve like that...

"Shit!" Lu Siye killed his engine the moment he saw Huo Shenan crash, staring red-eyed at the taillights vanishing down the mountain road.

He slammed his fist against the steering wheel, then got out and ran toward Huo Shenan.

Meanwhile, Xiao Lancui drove out of Panling Mountain. Nearing the highway entrance and seeing other vehicles, he pulled over to the side of the road.

Xiao Anfeng finally recovered from his terror, whipping his head around. "You're insane—"

The car keys flew toward him, and he caught them on instinct.

Xiao Lancui unbuckled his seatbelt, grabbed the sippy cup and his backpack, and got out. "I'm heading off. The car's yours."