Chapter 23: The Most Dashing Racer

Li Youlan couldn’t tell if she’d lost her mind from anger or what. Ever since Chu Dong provoked her last time, just thinking about him left her fuming and irrational. With nowhere else to go today, she’d wandered into Tom Bear’s arcade, only to run into him again. What made her even angrier was that, this time, she hadn’t done anything to provoke him—it was he who started it with those cutting words.

After her outburst, quite a few people paused their games and looked over. Just imagine—a delicate beauty shouting that she’d spend the night with you. No matter the circumstances, there would always be someone reckless enough to jump at the chance.

“What are you all looking at? Haven’t you ever seen a beautiful woman before?” Li Youlan, both embarrassed and furious, snapped at the onlookers.

“Never!” someone shouted.

“We have—just never anyone this stunning!” a bold young man in the crowd called out.

Laughter erupted, the culprit lost among the crowd. Li Youlan’s cheeks flushed crimson, but she refused to back down, pressing Chu Dong further. “This is all your fault. If you’re so capable, win against me backwards and show me!”

“Hey, man, why not give it a shot?” someone encouraged. “Even if it’s just to make a beauty smile, it’d be worth it. Don’t worry—if you lose, you lose. No one will laugh at you.”

“Yeah, and if you do lose, you just have to spend a night with her, right? What’s the harm?” The same two voices chimed in as laughter filled the arcade. Chu Dong gave a roguish salute to the crowd.

“Brothers, it’s not that I’m backing down. This lady is my friend, just joking around. Go back to your games. Next time, let’s grab a drink together,” he said.

“Who’s your friend?” Li Youlan refused the olive branch. She couldn’t stand Chu Dong’s smugness, and he acted as if he didn’t owe her anything. She pointed at the motorcycle game model.

“Come on, man, just get on. If you don’t, we might have to step in for you! Don’t you see the line behind us?”

“Yeah! Give us a show—let’s see you stand up for us men!” someone else shouted.

“Brother-in-law,” Xiaoyu piped up softly, sensing things were getting out of hand. With so many people around, she didn’t dare climb down from the game. She called out to Chu Dong in a small voice.

“What is it?” Chu Dong came over to her.

“I… I want to get down.” Her cheeks were red. It was fine when no one was looking, but now, with dozens of eyes on her, the girl felt embarrassed.

Chu Dong stood beside her, waiting for her to steady herself on his shoulder and then, slipping a hand around her waist beneath her little skirt, lifted her down. Xiaoyu bent her legs and slid off as Chu Dong shifted his stance.

“So, are you going to race or not?” someone in the crowd pressed, unwilling to let the matter die.

“This is my wife,” Chu Dong announced, echoing one of the earlier jokes. “As that guy said, whether I win or lose, she’s still sleeping with me—what’s there to see? Go on, nothing more to watch.”

“Damn, I knew it—if even the sister-in-law is this pretty, the wife must be on another level! Turns out they’re just a young couple out for the day with her little sister,” someone muttered.

Li Youlan was so furious she stamped her feet. “Who’s his wife? Who in their right mind would ever fall for him?”

Xiaoyu’s big eyes widened at that. If not for Li Youlan’s earlier kindness, she would have jumped in already. Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she turned to Li Youlan and said sweetly, “Sister, I support you! I don’t believe brother-in-law can beat you either.”

Xiaoyu’s words made Li Youlan blush even deeper. With “sister” and “brother-in-law” flying left and right, anyone unaware of the truth would have thought the couple was having a lover’s spat.

“I—I…” She stammered for a moment, unable to find the words. Seeing Chu Dong grinning, her anger boiled over. She lashed out with a foot, her toes painted pink, sweeping in a lovely arc straight for Chu Dong’s groin.

“Spare me, darling! I’ll race you, no need for violence. I still have use for that!” Chu Dong dodged and caught her foot in his hand.

“Let go!” Her ankle was held in his iron grip. He wasn’t squeezing, but Li Youlan’s strength was nothing compared to his. She’d had terrible luck today—first running into Chu Dong, and now, even Xiaoyu, that sweet girl, had turned against her so nimbly.

“I’ll let go if you promise not to try that again.” Chu Dong, noticing her stubbornness, raised her leg a little.

Her shapely leg was stretched taut; Li Youlan had no choice but to nod.

He released her and quickly stepped aside. With so many people watching, she knew she couldn’t gain the upper hand. Worse, everyone now thought she was Chu Dong’s wife. The crowd had dispersed, and there were no “heroes” left to come to her rescue.

Rubbing her ankle, she glared at Chu Dong, wishing she could devour him whole. “If you’re really a man, win against me riding the bike backwards. Otherwise, I’ll hold up a huge photo of you in the city square, labeling you a pervert who abducts young girls.”

“That’s harsh,” Chu Dong muttered, wary of drawing attention again.

“It’s your own fault for being so cocky,” Li Youlan retorted, pleased to see him flustered.

“Same terms as before?” Chu Dong asked.

“Huh?” She hadn’t expected him to switch topics so suddenly, but she caught on at once. Curling her lip, she replied, “Fine, but if you lose, you have to hang a sign around your neck that says, ‘I’m a big pervert.’”

“Deal.”

Chu Dong reached out; Li Youlan slapped his hand a bit too hard, as if hitting a steel plate. She turned away, shaking her wrist until it felt better.

“Xiaoyu, you be the judge. Say ‘go’ and we’ll start.” He mounted the motorcycle game and waited for Li Youlan to climb on too. Then he turned to her again. “You’re all right with that? My sister won’t play favorites.”

Li Youlan, still a little sore about Xiaoyu’s earlier betrayal, said nothing, which counted as agreement. Both inserted their game coins. Since the machines weren’t linked, they chose the same track so that whoever reached the finish line first would be the winner.

“Ready, go!” Xiaoyu cried out gleefully, happy to see the world in chaos.

Turning his head to the screen, Chu Dong started the virtual race against Li Youlan, riding backwards. At first he was awkward, trailing behind as Li Youlan took the lead. He had to pull out every trick he knew just to keep from falling further behind. But as the race went on, his movements grew smoother, and slowly he overtook Li Youlan by more than half a bike length. In the end, he crossed the finish line less than two seconds ahead—a slim margin, but just enough for Li Youlan to see she’d lost by the narrowest of whiskers.