"It's fine! Ah... Now that I'm older, I can only enjoy this speed... Little Zhang, overtake him."
"Alright, Director, hold on tight!"
Shifting to fourth gear and signaling, Zhang moved the car to the left.
"Overtake me? Dream on!" Zhuifeng also steered left.
"Damn it!" Zhang Song hadn't expected the taxi to block him. He hadn't considered this a race, so he had signaled properly. He quickly hit the brakes.
"You think this is a race? Blocking me like that, unbelievable!" Zhang Song was speechless.
"Haha, Little Zhang, then treat it like a race," the Director's face was as excited as a child's.
"But... but this is on a public road, not a racetrack. If we're caught, I'll lose my license!" Zhang Song hesitated.
"If he's not afraid, why are you? Go on, I'll take responsibility... Don't you trust me?"
Boss, I'm not worried about losing this license, but my racing license, Zhang thought. Seeing the Director's flushed face, he sighed, "Fine..."
As a professional Chinese race car driver, Zhang Song quickly got into the zone. He checked all the instruments, tightened his seatbelt, and thought, I can't believe I'm street racing. Annoyed, he said, "Alright, Director, ready?"
"Charge!" The Director raised his hand as if commanding an army. Zhang Song could only shake his head at the usually dignified Director now acting like a child.
In a split second, Zhang executed a perfect gear change sequence.
"Huh? Why isn't he chasing?" Zhuifeng wondered, when suddenly the Audi A8 lunged forward without warning.
"Holy crap, what's that car on?" Zhuifeng was startled. "Sister, hold on tight. Hey... why aren't you saying anything?"
The woman barely had the strength to roll her eyes, clutching the handle for dear life. Perhaps this meant she was ready, but anyone else might not have interpreted it that way. Unfortunately for her, she was stuck with Zhuifeng.
Zhang Song had caught up, leaving Zhuifeng no time to worry about his passenger. He quickly moved to block: "Why isn't he signaling this time? So rude!"
If Zhang Song had heard this, he would've been furious. This was a race now, at least in his mind.
This time, Zhang Song didn't curse at being blocked. He focused entirely on the taxi ahead, looking for an opening.
The opportunity came when Zhang saw a road sign. 'S' curve ahead!
Zhuifeng saw it too. "Damn!" He glanced at his nearly paralyzed passenger, then at the rearview mirror. "He just has a better car. He probably can't drift."
Slowly applying the brakes, Zhuifeng entered the first curve at 50 km/h (those familiar with the Lingyang know its chassis was extremely light, making high-speed turns dangerous). He took the outer lane and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the Audi do the same.
"So you really can't drift!" Zhang Song's smile grew as they exited the curve. He floored it, bringing his car right up to the taxi's rear.
"What are you trying to do?" Zhuifeng tensed. "You wouldn't... but I..." He glanced at his semi-conscious passenger. "He won't. If he could, he would've overtaken me earlier!" Zhuifeng was incredibly frustrated. He finally had a chance to race someone, but he had a passenger who couldn't handle it. Annoyed, he stuck to the outer lane for the turn.
This was exactly what Zhang Song was waiting for.
Zhang Song's smile widened as he floored it, bringing his car level with the taxi in an instant.
"It's over. Damn it! Why didn't he pass me earlier? Playing games with me? Fine, I'll give it my all!"
But even if Zhuifeng wanted to compete, he'd have to wait until after this turn. Now, he could only watch as the Audi performed a perfect drift beside him.
Zhang Song smiled at the taxi driver, pulled the handbrake to lock the rear wheels, turned the steering wheel outward, then quickly steered inward. The car's rear swung out due to inertia, nearly touching the taxi. As Zhang completed the drift perfectly, the Audi shot past the taxi on the inside lane.
"This..." If not for his job, Zhuifeng would've stopped to admire that move. "Who is he? How can he drift so perfectly? Is he part of a racing gang? But isn't that punk the best in Chongqing? ... Whatever, you looked down on me earlier, I'll definitely get my revenge!"
"Phew... Director, we've passed him. Can we go back now?" Zhang Song found racing against the taxi quite boring.
The Director was puzzled. Based on the taxi driver's evasive skills earlier, he shouldn't be this easy to beat. He glanced in the rearview mirror and chuckled. "Not giving up? Come on then!" he said to Zhang. "Well, I don't think you can go back yet. Look behind us."
Zhang looked: "He's not giving up? But Director, weren't you in a hurry to get back to the company?"
"It's fine! Remember, our racing team is short on people right now. We've just set up in Chongqing, so if we could recruit a local driver, it would greatly help our team's reputation here."
"What?" Zhang had thought the Director just wanted to relive the thrill of racing. "You don't mean to recruit him, do you?" he asked, eyeing the rearview mirror.
"That's right!"
"But Director, I'm still only a second-tier driver in our team. He can't even beat me! How could you think..."
"I know! But Zhang Song, are you really just second-tier in our team? Also, don't forget, this guy is driving a taxi!"
"Hehe... but my experience just isn't as much as theirs. I admit his car is terrible, but he can't even drift. Is he really capable? And we don't even know his age yet. What if he's an old man? Wouldn't that be a waste of time?"
"You're right. But let's just have some fun with him. Zhang, he's catching up!"
Under full throttle, Zhuifeng seemed to be racing the Audi for his life. He no longer looked at his passenger, silently focused on driving. He didn't even wonder why the Audi A8 hadn't stopped to demand compensation and instead raced ahead.
"No way! He wants to overtake me?" Zhang Song wanted to laugh, but being a professional race car driver, he maintained his focus despite his advantage.
Zhuifeng was determined. As soon as they hit a straight, he accelerated hard. Forced into second gear, the engine revved to the red line at 6500 rpm! The car picked up speed thrillingly, but the engine noise was awful, best described as brutal!
"Damn, are you trying to take advantage of my inferior car? Let's see who's really determined!"
He immediately shifted to the limit of fifth gear, the engine now practically screaming.
The car's violent shaking woke the woman from her fake unconsciousness. "Please... slow down a bit? ... I... I don't mind being late anymore... Please..." She was on the verge of tears.
Zhuifeng was speechless. "Don't worry, trust me. Trust your brother's big brother!"
"... What does my brother have to do with this?"
"Doesn't your brother call me 'boss'? If he trusts me enough to let me drive you, you should relax!" He continued to accelerate...
Left with no choice, the woman gripped the handle even tighter.
Due to the car's limitations, it shook more and more violently. Zhuifeng now focused all his attention on controlling the steering wheel, not daring to blink.
"He's actually catching up!" Zhang Song was surprised. He was about to shift gears when he noticed the Director's face looking unwell. Considering his health, Zhang kept the speed between 160-170 km/h. After observing for a while, he thought, "Well, this seems to be his limit. Alright, I won't bully you. I'll maintain this speed and see how you try to overtake me!"
"Finally caught up with you, phew..." Zhuifeng let out a sigh of relief.
Now less than a car length apart, Zhuifeng stuck close to the Audi, not letting up for a moment.
Glancing in the rearview mirror, Zhang thought, "Oh, you really want to overtake, huh? But..." He caught sight of a road sign flashing by. "But you can't drift, hehe, so you'll have to stay behind me."