That morning, Beidou's curiosity got the better of her. As she slowly cruised down Yougou Narukami Shopping Street, her gaze fell upon a familiar sight: the sign for Hearth's Tofu Shop. Her interest piqued, she reversed her car, bringing it closer to the shop's entrance. That's when she noticed something even more intriguing—a panda-colored AE86 parked in the driveway. Her heart skipped a beat, and she rolled down her window, leaning out for a closer inspection.
"No doubt about it," she muttered to herself with a grin. "That's an Eight-Six."
Her thoughts then drifted back to the conversation she had with Lyney the previous evening:
"Mark my words, Beidou. The fastest car on Mount Yougou is an Eight-Six that delivers tofu."
Beidou chuckled at the memory, shaking her head. "Yeah, right," she scoffed.
She parked her car and hopped out, eager to take a closer look at the AE86. As she circled the vehicle, her skepticism only deepened.
"This can't be the fastest car on Yougou," she scoffed again, inspecting the car's condition. "It's just a regular Eight-Six. Early model GT-APEX, completely stock except for the fog lamps and wheels. This relic's got nothing on the latest models, let alone the top-tier cars of its era."
She paused for a moment, her fingers brushing the hood of her car as she thought aloud, "What am I doing? Chasing urban myths like some chump."
Just then, as if on cue, Collei appeared, catching Beidou's attention.
"Hey, Beidou! What are you doing here?"
"Oh, hey, Collei!" Beidou replied, a little startled.
Collei tilted her head in curiosity. "You here sightseeing? Or buying tofu?"
"Tofu?" Beidou blinked, caught off guard. "Oh, you mean the... um…"
"The sign?" Collei finished, pointing at the shop's logo.
Moments later, the two of them were driving together towards Lyney's gas station. A comfortable silence hung between them for a while before Collei broke it.
"Hey, Beidou, do you spend a lot of time near my house?"
Beidou waved her hand dismissively, laughing. "No, no. Not at all. I didn't even know it was your place! I just happened to be in the area. Say, Collei... is this 'I don't know squat about cars' act for real?"
"Huh?" Collei looked genuinely confused.
They stopped at a red light, the hum of their cars filling the brief pause in conversation.
"Come on, Collei. Let's face it—you said you didn't know what an Eight-Six was, but there's one parked in your driveway."
Collei gave a defensive shrug. "Wait, wait, wait. Are you trying to play tricks on me, Beidou? That junker isn't an Eight-Six at all. Pretty sure the badges say GT-APEX Trueno."
Beidou sighed and shook her head with a small chuckle. "It is an Eight-Six, Collei. GT-APEX Levin or Trueno—they're both the same car with the same chassis. That's why they're all called Eight-Sixes."
Collei scratched her head, clearly perplexed by the explanation.
That afternoon, Beidou couldn't wait to tell March about her findings.
"WHAAAT?!" March shouted, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Collei OWNS an Eight-Six?!"
"I'm not kidding," Beidou replied, crossing her arms in amusement. "It's parked right in her driveway. That means it's hers."
March wasted no time storming over to Collei, who looked visibly startled.
"Collei, you jerk! Why didn't you tell me you had an Eight-Six?!"
"I didn't know I had one until today!" Collei exclaimed, backing away. "And if it were mine, it would have AE86 badges, not GT-APEX Trueno!"
March, with her fists clenched, looked like she was about to explode. But instead, her anger shifted to pleading.
"Can I borrow it? Just once? Please? We'll look so cool showing it off to Ningguang and Keqing!"
Collei shook her head firmly. "No can do. It's not even my car. It belongs to my father, Arlecchino."
Beidou blinked in realization. "So that's it. Your father owns it. I've been overthinking this."
March, however, dropped to her knees dramatically, her hands pressed together in a pleading gesture. "Please, Collei! Let me borrow it! Please!"
Just then, Lyney walked up, raising an eyebrow. "Hey, what's going on here? A gas station or a high school drama play? Come on, we've got customers!"
That evening, Keqing returned to Yougou Pass, her RX-7's rotary engine roaring defiantly through the mountain roads.
"Where are you, phantom?!" she shouted into the silence, her voice fierce and determined. "I won't leave Yougou until I face you again!"
Her car whipped through each corner and hairpin with flawless precision, the engine's growl resonating in the night air. With each corner, her speed and confidence increased.
Meanwhile, Beidou, Collei, and March were on their lunch break, watching an episode of HOT VERSION! as Keiichi Tsuchiya drifted his AE86 around a closed circuit. March could hardly contain her excitement.
"I have to tell you, Beidou—Keiichi Tsuchiya is the Drift King! No questions asked!" she gushed, eyes glued to the screen.
Beidou nodded knowingly. "He's controlling that drift merely with the throttle, you know that, right?"
March eagerly bumped Collei's shoulder. "Hey, Collei, are you seeing this? Don't tell me this doesn't make you wanna go out there and show them who's boss!"
Collei barely glanced at the screen, replying flatly, "Sure."
March, undeterred, tried again. "Look at him go! Those drifting techniques are sick!"
"Sure," Collei responded again, her attention clearly elsewhere.
March raised an eyebrow. "Yo, is that a phone?"
Collei glanced up, caught off guard. "Uh, yeah," she said, startled.
March narrowed her eyes, smirking. "Aha! You weren't even watching, Miss 'Sure!' Do you even know what a drift is?"
Collei nodded, though she seemed unsure. "Of course. Everyone knows what it is."
March, skeptical, pressed further. "Okay, Miss 'Sure,' then tell me and Beidou—how do you drift?"
Collei explained briefly, her tone confident but slightly unsure. "Well, in a corner, you make the front tires slide so the car isn't facing the inside when you're turning. Otherwise, you're toast," she said, mimicking the motion of holding a steering wheel and turning it sharply.
March and Beidou exchanged a glance, their lips twitching as they tried to suppress their laughter. It was a losing battle. A moment later, they both burst out laughing.
"You're a funny one, Collei!" March managed between giggles, clutching her sides.
Beidou, still chuckling, shook her head. "Making your front tires slide in a corner? That's understeer, kid. And that usually means you're about to kiss a guardrail." Her attempt to keep a straight face failed, and she dissolved into laughter again.
March wiped away a tear as she continued, "For a drift, Collei, you use the rear wheels! Not the front. Seriously, you're hilarious!"
Collei scratched the back of her head, her confusion evident.
As March and Beidou laugh harder. Lyney appears from behind standing quiet. He speaks in his mind.
"Sorry, fellas, but you're wrong. In the middle of a drift, the car is essentially understeering. Collei's answer, though? That's what you'd expect from someone who's mastered the Four-Wheel Drift. I'm impressed, kid. Very impressed."
Suddenly, a car horn blared, and Lyney snapped back to reality.
"Customers, folks. Go earn your keep," he called out.
Beidou, Collei, and March rushed outside to greet the customer. As Beidou came out last, she immediately recognized the car that had just pulled up: a midnight purple RX-7 FD.
"Is that Keqing's RX-7?" Beidou muttered to herself under her breath.
Collei approached the driver's side window, a friendly smile on her face. "How can I help you, Miss?"
Keqing rolled down her window. "Fill her up. High-octane, please."
Collei nodded and began fueling Keqing's RX-7. Beidou, wiping the windshield, caught Keqing's eye.
"Hey, Beidou, right?" Keqing said, her tone casual but sharp. "Thought I recognized you. Say, do you know anyone in Yougou who drives around in a panda Eight-Six Trueno? You know, your 'junker' type?"
Beidou paused for a moment, processing the question before replying. "Sorry, but I don't know anyone around here who races in an Eight-Six," she said, folding the towel she had been using to clean the windshield.
As Collei finished fueling the RX-7, Keqing paid with a card. Before she left, she looked over at Beidou and gave her a cryptic smile.
"I see how it is. If it's your secret weapon for Saturday's race, tell them I'll be waiting," Keqing said with a wink, before rolling up her window and speeding off.
Beidou stood there, stunned. "Keqing lost a race on Yougou… beaten by an Eight-Six?" she muttered to herself.
As she pondered the shocking revelation, she heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Collei walking past, giving her a puzzled look.
"Now I get it," Beidou whispered under her breath. "The Eight-Six I saw at Collei's place the other day… that was a Trueno."
Her eyes widened in realization. "Lyney was right all along. That car still belongs to the fastest racer in Yougou."
The next morning, Collei's alarm blared at 4:00 AM, jolting her out of a restless sleep. With half-lidded eyes, she groggily swung her legs off the bed and dragged herself to the bathroom. After splashing cold water on her face, she dressed quickly in her usual attire, grabbed the keys to the AE86, and made her way outside. The air was crisp, the streets eerily quiet, save for the soft hum of distant traffic. She slid into the driver's seat of the AE86, the familiar smell of leather and gasoline greeting her like an old friend. The car roared to life as she turned the key, its iconic pop-up headlights springing to life and slicing through the darkness of the driveway.
Arlecchino stood in the shadows of the garage, a paper cup in her hand, which she offered without a word.
"Time to kick things up a notch," Arlecchino muttered with a sly smile, her voice barely more than a whisper.
She walked up to Collei's window, slipping the cup into her hands. Collei glanced at it curiously.
"More water than usual?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and eyeing the cup skeptically. The liquid inside sloshed slightly, making Collei's brow furrow.
"Maybe. But the same rules still apply," Arlecchino replied cryptically, her eyes gleaming in the dim light.
Collei sighed, resigned but not deterred. "Yeah, yeah," she murmured, placing the cup carefully into the holder beside her. Without another word, she shifted the AE86 into gear and slowly pulled out of the driveway.
Arlecchino stood still, watching as the familiar silhouette of the Eight-Six vanished into the predawn darkness. The sound of the car's engine faded into the distance, leaving only the soft rustling of the wind behind.
Collei took a deep breath as she neared the base of the uphill climb. She exhaled slowly, clearing her mind, mentally preparing for what lay ahead. With a small mutter to herself, she gripped the steering wheel tighter.
"Let's do this."
Without hesitation, she downshifted from fourth to second and slammed her foot onto the accelerator. The AE86, despite its modest power, responded eagerly, its lightweight frame navigating each hairpin turn with surgical precision. The car's tires gripped the road as though it had been born for these twists and curves. Every corner was an art form—smooth, calculated, and executed with flawless timing. The water in the cup barely stirred, a testament to her perfect control as she took the final hairpin of the five consecutive turns.
The water danced on the rim, threatening to spill, but not a drop was lost. As Collei exited the turn, the liquid settled back into the cup. She glanced at it, the corner of her mouth curling downward in slight displeasure. But it didn't affect her. Without missing a beat, she accelerated harder, pushing the AE86 up the final stretch.
To Collei, this wasn't a race. It wasn't anything extraordinary. This was just another part of her morning routine, a ritual that brought her peace. Before long, the delivery run was complete, and she coasted to a stop, content but already thinking ahead to the next task.
The following morning, Beidou made her way to Hearth's Tofu Shop, her footsteps echoing against the quiet streets of Yougou. She had something on her mind—something she hoped Arlecchino might help her with. As soon as she stepped through the door, the familiar chime of the bell sounded, and Arlecchino appeared from behind a door with a casual air.
Beidou paused, her eyes lingering on Arlecchino as she took in the sight of the fastest downhill racer in Yougou. The rumors were true—the AE86, her legendary car, had even beaten Keqing's FD in a race. The thought of it sent a shiver down Beidou's spine.
"This is the fastest street racer in Yougou. Her AE86 beat Keqing's FD?" Beidou muttered to herself, still in disbelief.
Arlecchino, noticing the stare, gave a nonchalant shrug, snapping her fingers beside her ear. "Hey, kid, you here for tofu or just gawking?"
Beidou snapped out of her trance. "Oh! Um... fried tofu, please!" she stammered, trying to regain composure.
Arlecchino nodded, unfazed, and walked away to prepare the tofu. As Beidou waited, her thoughts raced. Gathering her courage, she spoke again.
"By the way," she began, "I'm Beidou. I run a team called the Yougou Speedsuns. I was wondering if I could ask a favor of you?"
Arlecchino placed the freshly prepared tofu on the counter with a soft clink. "Alright, what's on your mind, kid?"
Beidou squared her shoulders, the weight of her request hanging in the air. "Would you be willing to race for my team on Saturday? On our behalf?"
Arlecchino chuckled dryly, crossing her arms as she leaned back against the counter. "Sorry, kid. I can't do that. Someone my age racing with your youth? Doesn't sit right with me. You need someone closer to your age group. Besides, I'm past my prime in Yougou."
She gave Beidou a knowing look, her tone softening just slightly. "But hey, I wish you luck. This is your time now."
Beidou hesitated but understood. She paid for the tofu, her mind racing with what she could do next. "I'll be back tomorrow, just in case you change your mind," she said, her voice a little quieter than before. She left the shop and climbed into her R32, watching Arlecchino from the corner of her eye as she drove away.
As the black R32 disappeared into the distance, Arlecchino muttered under her breath, "Hopefully, I wasn't too harsh. But maybe... this is Collei's chance to shine."
That night, Beidou returned to Yougou, determination burning in her chest. She'd been pushing herself harder with each run, but no matter what she did, her times were still far from where they needed to be. The more she raced, the more frustrated she became. Every downhill run felt like a failure, the clock taunting her with every second that ticked by.
At the summit of Yougou, she pulled over, exhausted. She sat beside her R32, letting the soft hum of the engine echo through the night air, her breath visible in the chilly atmosphere. Her fingers drummed restlessly on the car's hood as she stared out at the endless road ahead.
"Dammit, this is hopeless," she muttered to herself, her voice tinged with frustration. "I can't improve my times... not even a miracle could save me now. Is this really all my technique can give me?"
A moment of silence passed, and Beidou took a deep breath. With a determined exhale, she resolved to give it one more shot. One more downhill run.
And this time, something clicked. As she raced down the mountain, her times gradually started improving. The stopwatch beeped as her splits edged closer to the target. She glanced down at it, a flicker of satisfaction crossing her face.
"Whatever I'm doing, it's working! If I keep this up, we might actually have a chance!"
But just as the words left her lips, something went wrong. The car's engine sputtered, its power waning as if it had run out of steam. Beidou's grip tightened on the steering wheel, her eyes scanning the dashboard in disbelief. Then, just before the five consecutive hairpins, disaster struck.
A deafening BANG echoed through the pass, followed by a shower of oil and smoke as the engine gave out. Beidou's heart sank as she wrestled the car to a stop, the sound of metal grinding against metal filling her ears. She pulled the hood lever and climbed out of the car, her stomach sinking as she saw the damage.
The engine, once the heart of her R32, now sat smoking and battered. Oil dripped steadily from underneath. She stared at it in stunned silence, her mind racing as she took in the sight of her beloved RB26DETT in ruins.
"Fuck!" she muttered under her breath, her voice hollow. "This is hopeless..."