Wu Zhenlin suspected his son had understood Louise's words, but how was that possible?
Even though the boy had attended a bilingual school since he was little, the curriculum in kindergarten and elementary school wouldn't have been enough for him to understand anything more than simple English.
He could only gloss over it, saying gently, "Louise wants to go-karting with you for fun."
Wu Shi's mood faltered. He realized he was overreacting. 'Why am I getting so worked up over a little kid?'
It was only 2007, and foreigners' attitudes toward Chinese people were generally not very good.
Even in his past life, after his homeland had grown prosperous and strong, a considerable number of foreigners remained as arrogant as ever.
This was why he had been so driven to compete, to the point that it had become a kind of obsession.
But he had already given his life for it. Reacting like this now only proved he was still trapped in those 58 laps.
'Perhaps it's just as Dad said. I need to get out more and see the world. There are so many beautiful sights and wonderful things. Why get so hung up on this?'
He smiled, a sense of relief washing over him. He had been too fixated on it.
"Hm? What's wrong?"
Wu Zhenlin was completely bewildered to see his son suddenly start smiling.
"It's nothing."
Wu Shi turned to look at the racetrack. Standing on the sidelines, it felt as if the shadow in his heart had finally been pierced by a ray of light.
'I was too hung up on it, way too hung up.'
It wasn't like he'd never had a serious crash in his career—it was just that the last time, he'd died.
A smile bloomed on his face at the dark humor of the thought.
"Want to give it a try?"
Wu Zhenlin stepped forward. On the track, a few go-karts whizzed by every so often.
"You've never been one to smile much, and you're too mature for your age. Dad worries you'll close yourself off. So, whatever's on your mind, you can always talk to me about it."
Hearing his father's words, Wu Shi finally realized just how much pain his wallowing in the past had caused the people around him.
'Maybe... maybe Mom leaving had something to do with me, too.'
Wu Shi's heart was still in turmoil, both because of his death in his past life and because of his family in this one.
But now that he'd had this breakthrough, there was no need to stay trapped in it.
The best time for a change was in the past, and the next best time is now.
So, it was time to start over.
Wu Shi turned his head and smiled at Wu Zhenlin. "Thanks, Dad."
"There's no need for 'thank yous' between us. I just hope you can grow up safe and sound, and be a little happier each day." Wu Zhenlin ruffled his son's hair.
"Hey! Uncle Wu Zhenlin, is he going to race? I saw him nod!" Little Louise bounced over.
"Want to give it a shot?" Wu Zhenlin leaned down, raising an eyebrow.
"Sure, why not." Wu Shi nodded.
Since Wu Zhenlin was here to discuss business with the circuit in the first place, he had already been in touch with the track's operator, Boss Chen, a few times. Arranging karts and racing suits for the two kids wasn't difficult.
"First time, kid?" a staff member asked.
"You could say that," Wu Shi nodded.
"Oh, be careful then. Don't go too fast," the staff member reminded him.
Wu Zhenlin walked over and said, "Right foot is the gas, left is the brake. I'll have an instructor take you for a couple of laps first."
"I know how to drive," Wu Shi said.
"No. Try it on the small track first," Wu Zhenlin insisted.
Wu Shi sighed but complied, getting into a mini-kart with just a 97cc engine. In the back lot, he demonstrated that he did, in fact, know how to drive.
But his father was still worried, which left Wu Shi speechless. 'If he was this concerned, why didn't he just turn down that little foreign girl, Louise, in the first place?'
The delay was making him lose interest, but then Boss Chen made a grand gesture, clearing the track so the two kids could have a lap for fun.
Wu Shi blinked. 'Oh, right. My family seems to be pretty well-off, and that foreign lady looks like she's someone important too.'
"Hmph! It's your first time, isn't it? I'll go easy on you!"
Little Louise had to stomp over and boast before putting on her helmet.
"Thank you," Wu Shi said with a smiling nod.
Seeing how agreeable he was, Little Louise actually felt a twinge of guilt, as if she were picking on an honest kid for the sake of her own ego. So, she switched to a friendly smile.
"Hee hee, after we finish, I can teach you how to drive a go-kart! I'm a prodigy, you know!"
Wu Shi pretended not to understand the kind of statement that would definitely become an embarrassing memory later in life, and helped the staff push his kart to the starting grid.
"What's this about?! Two people getting to race just for fun is taking up our time!" a kid complained.
"Yeah! Pfft, I heard they're two newbies. They only cleared the track for safety," an older person chimed in.
But the two on the track paid no attention to any of this.
"Son, take it slow. Louise has competed in a lot of races back in Italy. You could even call her a semi-pro," Wu Zhenlin said, patting his son's shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm just taking it out for a casual spin," Wu Shi nodded.
On the other side, Martina said to Louise, "Be careful."
"Don't worry, Mom! I'll definitely be five seconds ahead of him—no, ten seconds!"
"Being competitive is a good thing, but I can't believe you have the nerve to compete against a kid who's never driven a go-kart before."
Martina rolled her eyes. She knew her daughter's personality all too well.
"Hee hee~"
Louise put on her helmet. 'It's not my fault the competition in Italy is full of freaks. I want to know what it feels like to have an easy lead for once!'
Since everyone except Louise saw this as just a fun little lap, there was no talk of warm-up or formation laps.
As he settled back into the seat and faced the track, Wu Shi felt his mouth go a little dry.
'As I thought. Even though I was afraid, deep down, I still longed for this.'
Like a bird that, even after falling to its death, would still yearn for the sky upon being reborn.
The two of them got into position. The race began!
VROOM!
The engines roared and the karts shot forward.
On the Great Straight, they were nearly neck and neck.
Louise glanced over instinctively. 'Being fast on the straights means nothing; being fast in the corners is what counts. Just wait until we get to Turn 1!'
As the vehicle accelerated, a strange sensation came over Wu Shi. It was as if he and the kart had become one, the wheels his own hands and feet.
This bizarre feeling had been intensely clear during the final turn of his previous life. When the tire blew, he had even felt it as if his own hand had exploded.
He didn't know why he had this sensation, but... it wasn't bad.
Approaching the right-hand Turn 1, he didn't squeeze Louise on his left toward the edge of the track. After all, this was just for fun between kids; a move like that could easily cause an unnecessary accident.
But even without using the full width of the track, his vehicle control allowed him to take the corner while barely losing any speed, lightly kissing the curb.
WHOOSH!
The right turn was immediately followed by another. He only needed a slight steering correction to navigate it smoothly.
After that came a left turn into an S-curve. At this speed, every one of Wu Shi's steering inputs was so precise that he didn't need to make any corrections.
"That racing line is so smooth!" Boss Chen exclaimed in surprise, looking at Wu Zhenlin. "Is Young Master Wu really driving a go-kart for the first time?"
"Uh, yes," Wu Zhenlin replied, equally shocked.
"Wu, are you sure he's never driven a go-kart? No, I mean, has he never driven on *this track* before?!"
Martina pushed up her sunglasses, her expression turning serious. To her, it seemed this little guy wasn't being honest. He must have driven a kart before and practiced on this track.
As everyone knows, in racing, you first need to familiarize yourself with the track and the vehicle. Otherwise, it's impossible to precisely nail the braking points, corner entry angles, and so on.
But Wu Shi's performance was as smooth as silk, like a veteran driver who had been lapping here for years.
"So smooth!" a kid said, rubbing his eyes.
"No way, how is he so fast in the corners? Isn't he afraid of sliding out?" another kid asked in disbelief.
"Pfft, he's in a lower-class kart. Of course it's easier to control. It's slower, after all..."
Someone was still sneering, unhappy that Wu Shi and Louise were monopolizing the track.
WHOOSH WHOOSH!
The wind howled past. Every turn brought a few Gs of force, a feeling that Wu Shi found refreshingly pleasant after such a long time.
He paid no mind to Louise, who had been left in his dust, and simply drove on, thoroughly enjoying the experience.
The friction between the wheels and the ground—the lateral grip from sliding and the traction on corner exit—made Wu Shi's perception of the kart even clearer.
This marvelous sensation made him subconsciously probe the limits—could he enter the corner faster, brake later, get on the throttle earlier?
But the Peng City Extreme Speed Racing Circuit wasn't very long, so before he could truly test things, his kart had already crossed the finish line.
It was only when he saw Boss Chen waving the checkered flag that he snapped out of it, slowed down, and drove a cool-down lap back to the pits.
On the way back, the intense feeling was still there. But because he was going slow, he didn't need to pay attention to the tires, which allowed his focus to shift to the engine.
'I can feel this too?'
Wu Shi was shocked. 'This is beyond the scope of just having a 'feel' for the car, isn't it?'
He was more sensitive than the kart's own diagnostic equipment; it was as if all the data was being fed directly into his brain.
'If I could run tens or even hundreds of laps to get completely familiar with this kart and track, I could probably set a terrifyingly fast lap time.'
When the kart came to a stop, Wu Shi hadn't yet recovered from his incredible reverie when Wu Zhenlin trotted over and asked urgently:
"Son! Have you really never driven a go-kart before? Not even in a computer game?"
Taking off his helmet, Wu Shi realized he might have accidentally gone a bit too fast. He blinked. "Does *Crazyracing Kartrider* count?"
"What's *Crazyracing Kartrider*?" Wu Zhenlin asked, confused.
"It's a game that just came out last year. But it's an arcade-style racing game, nothing like the real thing."
Boss Chen walked over, sized up Wu Shi, and then said, "Kid, do you want to be a racer?"
After watching that one lap, Boss Chen had only one thought in his mind: 'This kid is a genius! An absolute genius!'
Martina was also exceptionally shocked. She glanced hastily at her stopwatch: 45.101 seconds. And that was a lap time from a standing start!
In a qualifying session with a flying lap, he would easily break into the 44-second range!
She gave Wu Zhenlin a skeptical look. She didn't believe for a second that Wu Shi had never driven a go-kart.
Even in Europe, she had never seen a child with this kind of talent.
How could someone who had never touched a kart, never driven this track, perform like that?!
However, she couldn't talk to this phenomenally gifted child at the moment. She felt it was a perfect opportunity to teach her own daughter a lesson.