Chapter 34: A Wagered Duel That Slays the Body and Shatters the Spirit!

"What do you know!"

After a flicker of changing expressions, Ji Yangyang finally regained his composure and sneered, "You have never raced, so how could you possibly understand that racing relies far more on natural talent than academics? It is not simply a matter of having money to enter races and win prizes, as you imagine. Your words, dripping with envy and jealousy, are nothing more than a peasant fantasizing about an emperor eating white flour buns with a golden hoe—it is all baseless, wild speculation! Racing is not at all what you think it is!"

"Do you want to make a bet?" He Chen asked, eyeing the suddenly cool and aloof Ji Yangyang with amusement.

"What shall we bet?" Ji Yangyang’s expression shifted slightly, and he responded immediately, his attitude clearly saying that if He Chen dared to name it, he would dare to accept it.

"Let’s bet on a race," He Chen said with a smile. "Just as you said, not only have I never trained for racing, I don’t even know what a racetrack looks like; I have never had any contact with it. Since you claim racing is a profound discipline that requires great talent and is far from the low-level activity I imagine, then let’s put it to the test. We’ll go to the track and see, won't we? If you can’t even beat a novice who is touching a car for the first time, do you still have the face to boast about 'high standards,' 'talent,' and 'dreams'?"

"Impossible!" Ji Yangyang scoffed. "You could never beat me!"

He was joking! He had his heart set on following in the footsteps of Han Han to become a professional race car driver. He treated his uncle’s racetrack like a classroom, and if he didn't spend hours driving every day, he felt uneasy. He might not be on par with professional racers yet, but among amateurs, he was a top-tier expert. To be challenged by someone who had never even touched a race car—and to have that person act as if victory were already in their pocket—felt both ridiculous and insulting.

"We won't know until we race," He Chen taunted. "Don't tell me you're even afraid of that?"

"Afraid?" Ji Yangyang sneered. "I just don't care to bully a novice. But if you insist on looking for a beating, I’ll be happy to oblige! You name the time, the place, and the stakes!"

"Since you’re skipping evening study hall, I assume you’re going to your uncle’s racetrack? Let’s go right now!" He Chen smiled slightly. "Once the race is done, I have to go home to practice. I’m not trying to imitate Guan Yu killing Hua Xiong while the wine is still warm; I truly don’t have time to waste on you! It’s not worth it. As for the stakes: if you lose, you must stand at the morning assembly in front of everyone and shout three times, 'I am a race car driver!'"

"You!" Ji Yangyang was infuriated all over again. The bet seemed trivial, but it was incredibly nauseating. It was no different from the character Lu Xiucai in *My Own Swordsman* being forced to shout "I am a scholar" in public after losing a bet. Lu took great pride in being a scholar, and to be forced to shout it as a penalty would have been a grave insult to the sanctity of his identity. Now that Ji was obsessed with becoming a racer, if he were to lose and be forced to declare it as a humiliation…

"And what if you lose?"

"Anything you want!"

"Then I want you to go up at the morning assembly, stand in front of everyone, and shout three times, 'I am a complete moron!'" Ji Yangyang sneered.

"This..." Deng Xiaoqi, listening from the side, couldn't bear to watch. Compared to He Chen’s subtle and implicit tone, Ji Yangyang was being excessively rude.

"It’s a deal!" He Chen didn't care at all. This made Deng Xiaoqi anxious, and she leaned over to warn him repeatedly that this was no joke.

Ji Yangyang began to feel a mix of suspicion and unease. He Chen was simply too confident. To be willing to risk such a humiliating penalty—was he really that sure of himself? Could it be that He Chen wasn't actually a first-timer? Had he trained before and possessed a high level of skill?

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Ji Yangyang dismissed it. Racing was a small, tight-knit circle; if there were a peer capable of beating him, he would have known. Moreover, although he hated to admit it, racing required money, time, and energy to reach a high level. Without the funds to spend hours at the track, how could one hone the technique? Everyone knew the situation of He Chen’s family, the school’s heartthrob; they simply didn't have the means.

Then there was the hardware. His kart had been specially tuned by his uncle, who managed the track, and it was the perfect machine for his skill set. With so many advantages on his side, even if He Chen wasn't a total beginner, he couldn't possibly win. If he lost despite all that, he would have no face left.

Still, seeing He Chen’s unwavering confidence, Ji Yangyang couldn't help but feel a lingering sense of apprehension. That was until he heard He Chen console a worried Deng Xiaoqi: "Don't worry. If it were about academics or math, and he were a fanatical student of Olympiad math, I might not dare to compete with him for fear of embarrassing myself. But racing? What kind of technical depth could it possibly have? It’s just a steering wheel, an accelerator, and a brake. Don't talk to me about talent! Without the barrier of entry that requires spending money, who wouldn't be able to do it? Isn't everyone a natural-born driver?"

"The ignorance of the fearless!" Hearing these words, Ji Yangyang felt completely relieved, looking with disdain at He Chen, who clearly believed that "I can do it too."

"Don't waste time. Do you want to bet or not?" He Chen was impatient. He still had training to do later.

"Don't think I'm afraid of you!" Ji Yangyang sneered and gave him the address of his uncle’s track. He told He Chen to head over on his own before leaving, planning to have his uncle clear the track so he could prepare the stage for crushing this amateur.

Seeing that He Chen was serious, Deng Xiaoqi didn't even bother with her specialized classes. Gritting her teeth, she followed him to the track. Such an exciting match would be an unforgettable memory. If word got out now, people like her best friend Lin Miaomayu would probably skip evening study to watch, even at the risk of a reprimand. Since she had the fortune to witness it firsthand, why bother with class?

At the track, when they arrived, the course was already cleared. Ji Yangyang’s uncle examined He Chen, asking, "You are He Chen?"

"I am," He Chen nodded.

"Young man, don't be too arrogant," his uncle warned calmly.

"What’s a young man without a bit of arrogance?" He Chen replied, then turned to Ji Yangyang: "Tell me how to drive a kart and what I should watch out for!"

"You really don't know anything?" The uncle was highly skeptical, convinced He Chen was acting.

"Is go-karting some kind of mass-participation event?" He Chen retorted, then ignored him, listening to Ji Yangyang’s reluctant explanation before getting into the kart they had arranged for him and running a trial lap.

As he drove, both Ji Yangyang and his uncle breathed a sigh of relief. Having spent years at the track, they could tell a novice at a glance. Every movement He Chen made was unmistakably that of a greenhorn. Since he was truly a rookie, they didn't believe for a second that he had any chance of winning. They had already won.