God Of Racing

"Well... uh... this is just being economical, that's all," Liu Tang stammered.

Damn, what a lame excuse. Zhuifeng couldn't stand it anymore and turned to leave.

"Why are you following us?" Zhuifeng finally found a secluded spot and glared at Liu Tang.

"Hey boss, he's a teacher. Be more polite," Ma Ji reminded him quietly.

"Is that so?"

"Boss," Ma Ji said helplessly, "You just told us that in the cafeteria, remember?"

Zhuifeng looked at Liu Tang and said harshly, "Alright then, Mr. Liu. What exactly do you want from us?"

"Now, now, don't be like that!" Liu Tang's face, which had maintained a bit of teacherly dignity until now, quickly broke into an ingratiating smile. "Boss, don't be angry. You never actually asked me what I do, right?"

"Boss?" Ma Ji's jaw dropped.

"Hey..." Zhuifeng, unable to stop him in time, crouched down in defeat. "Damn it, Liu Tang. If you have a death wish, just say so!"

"Boss, is he really a teacher?" Ma Ji's belief was shaken once again.

"As real as it gets! You can ask any upperclassman at Chongqing University," Liu Tang said, patting his chest while avoiding Zhuifeng's gaze.

"Then why are you calling our boss 'boss'? We're students, you know."

"Well, that's because the boss and I..."

"Liu Tang, do you really want to die?" Zhuifeng was about to explode.

"Ahem... well, haven't you heard the saying 'Among three people walking, I will find a teacher'?"

Ma Ji looked at them both, puzzled. "Does that mean... Mr. Liu, you're into music too?"

"What do you mean?" Liu Tang was confused.

"Don't you know that Ling Cheng, who's now known as a musical genius, also calls our boss 'boss'?"

"Really?" Liu Tang turned to look at Zhuifeng with wide eyes. "Boss, you're into music too?"

Zhuifeng was at a loss for words. He shook his head in frustration. "Liu Tang, what subject are you teaching now? You're not here to guide us freshmen, are you?"

"Wow, boss really is the boss! You've figured it out. I'm impressed!"

"So which class are you teaching?" Zhuifeng asked, looking at him pitifully.

"Well, how should I put this? It seems I'll be teaching all the freshmen."

Zhuifeng felt dizzy. "Don't tell me you're teaching English?"

"Bingo! You got it right, but no prize."

Zhuifeng's last hope was shattered. He felt his vision blur and almost fainted.

"Actually, boss, you should be happy about this," Liu Tang grinned. "After all, I'm your English teacher. Think about all the extra help you could get, right?"

Well, he had a point. "Liu Tang! You better keep your word. If you stand me up, well... you know what'll happen."

"Leave it to me!" Liu Tang patted his chest confidently.

"By the way, where have you been these past few days?"

"Boss, that's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about..."

Zhuifeng glanced to the side. "Number two, you guys go ahead. I need to talk to Mr. Liu about something."

Ma Ji looked curiously at the two who seemed neither like teacher nor student. He was about to say something when Zheng He grabbed him and practically dragged him away.

Liu Tang watched them leave with confusion. "Boss, this isn't anything bad. Why are you...?"

"I don't want to become a public figure for the whole school," Zhuifeng said, glancing at him. "And you can't go around showing off on my behalf either. What's this all about? Spill it."

"Well, it's like this. Now that you've taken my place as the street racing king of Chongqing..."

"Hold on! Speaking of that, I've been meaning to ask you. That 'Wind God' thing refers to me, right? Who came up with that?"

"Well... don't you think it sounds cool?"

Damn! A man in his twenties putting on such an innocent act made Zhuifeng want to vomit.

"It's mainly to save you trouble. Unless you want your real name to become famous? If so, I can call Huang Mao right away."

"Are you messing with me? Damn it! Fine, fine! Go on with what you were saying."

"Well, there's not much to it. You know how the street racers in Chongqing are divided into several groups, right? Even though I lost to you and you became the king, those guys aren't convinced. For the past month or so, people have been coming to our headquarters every day, wanting to challenge you. I could handle most of it, but the day before yesterday, Shorty received a call. Someone specifically asked to race you, saying that you were just someone we made up..."

"Cut it out! I don't care about that. It's just a provocation tactic. You can understand that, right?"

"Of course I know it's provocation! But, but he's not from Chongqing!" Liu Tang repeated the 'but' twice for emphasis.

"Geez! Looks like your promotion has been quite successful if even people from other provinces know about me now," Zhuifeng chuckled helplessly. "Can't you handle it?"

"I don't know," Liu Tang paused. "He's not just from another province. He's a foreigner!"

"What?" Zhuifeng was startled. "Did you guys put an ad on TV or something? How else would foreigners know about this? I'm baffled!"

"And... and..."

"Just spit it out! No more 'ands'!"

"And he's Japanese! So I thought about it, and I think it would be better if you handled this, boss! This concerns the honor of China's underground racing scene. We can't lose!" Liu Tang grabbed Zhuifeng's hand. "Will you do it, boss?"

"Mr. Liu Tang, what do you think my current status is?"

Without much thought, Liu Tang blurted out, "A student, of course."

"Well, there's your answer."

As Zhuifeng's figure disappeared in the distance, Liu Tang's mouth hung open for a long time. If it were anyone else wearing the 'Wind God' title, they would have been bragging about it all over the world by now. And if a Chinese person knew their opponent was Japanese, they would surely be furious and swear to crush them. But him... he just walked away so calmly! Boss, who are you really?

...

"Damn, I finally found you!" After asking seventy or eighty people, Zhuifeng finally found the Chongqing University Art Department. "Studying art is really different. The campus looks more appealing no matter how I look at it. Impressive!"

He had to show his student ID to the guard to enter the school. "What's the deal? They actually need to check IDs!"

Before he could take a closer look at the school, Ling Cheng came down to meet him. "Boss, why did it take you so long to come?"

"Nothing much, just some small matter. But hey, something's not right, Little Ling. The more I look at this campus, the more feminine it seems. Look at the decorations, the courtyard design, and these creamy white wall tiles?"

"Boss, don't tell me you didn't know?"

"Know what?" Zhuifeng was puzzled.

"In all these art schools, there are always way more girls than boys, often more than double. So it's understandable that the campus has a feminine touch."

"Is that so?" Zhuifeng suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked at Ling Cheng seriously. "Little Ling, be honest with me. Did you apply to our Chongqing University Art Department because of me?"

Ling Cheng fell silent.

"So that's it? With your current status, I'm sure you could have gotten into a professional art school. Alright, Little Ling, now that you've seen me, I think you can go to another school with peace of mind, right?"

"Actually, Boss, although you were a major factor in my coming here, I considered other things too. Even though the Art Department seems like an appendage to Chongqing University, its teaching quality isn't inferior to those specialized academies. When the teaching levels are similar, it depends on if the student wants to learn. If you don't want to learn, what's the point of being in Peking University or Tsinghua University? On the other hand, if you're determined to learn, you can succeed anywhere. So, I'm not leaving."

"Ling Cheng..."