"Ferrari Academy?!"
"Ahhhhh, Kai! From this day on, you are my brother! My real brother! I knew you could do it! As expected of the idol of me, Dr. Song!"
"Ferrari! That's Ferrari!"
"How is it? Did you see the drivers? Vettel? Räikkönen? Schumacher? Oh, oh, oh, I forgot, the King is still in the hospital…"
"But! But! Fer! Ra! Ri!"
Song Bo's ecstatic, incoherent rambling echoed from the bathroom, but through the receiver, Kai could clearly hear the roar of the lioness from the other room.
"Song Bo! What are you doing in that bathroom?!"
Song Bo instantly clammed up. But on reflex, he still tried to cover for his friend. "No, nothing! I just fell asleep, I was dreaming!"
Kai rolled his eyes. What a ridiculous excuse. He really made terrible friends.
Song Bo hunched his shoulders, curling into a ball on the toilet, and dropped his voice to a whisper again. "I have a very, very, very serious question, and I need you to answer me honestly."
"Go ahead," Kai said.
Song Bo cleared his throat. "So, can you drive Ferraris for free now? Or, like, do you get a discount if you buy one?"
Kai was speechless. Song Bo said it as if they were planning to buy a few in bulk.
But he knew his friend. He had to let him daydream. "I'll ask for you. I'll take some pictures of the garage tomorrow, and you can show them to the junior high girls and tell them it's your garage."
"Hehe," Song Bo drooled, but he didn't stay on that topic for long. "Who's going to the school to get your excused absence? Your dad or your mom?"
"Wait, don't tell me your mom knows everything? Including the part about me covering for you?"
This time, Kai had no good news to share.
After hearing Kai's confirmation, Song Bo let out a mournful wail. "I'm dead. My mom is definitely going to tan my hide tonight."
Without needing any comfort, he was already putting on a full performance, sniffling and wailing. "But, for my brother! For the great and heroic Kai... Hey, Kai, you didn't hang up, did you? Hello? Bro? You just abandoned me?"
"No way... It's true what they say, when heaven is about to confer a great responsibility on any man, he must first... uh, what comes next?"
On the other end of the line, in Maranello, Kai had curled up on the sofa and, without even realizing it, fallen fast asleep.
One night and one morning. In just twelve short hours, his entire world had been turned upside down, the dramatic events completely altering the trajectory of his life. Although he had slept in the back of the car on the drive from Rome, the cramped seat of the Mini Cooper was impossible to stretch out in, and the sleep quality was nonexistent. Now that his nerves had finally relaxed, he was gone in an instant.
Leclerc's footsteps climbed the stairs. He paused at the fork in the hallway, about to turn left toward his own apartment, but he stopped.
His gaze shifted to the right, a flicker of hesitation in his eyes.
After a moment, his feet reluctantly carried him to the right. Each apartment door had a nameplate. The one that was still blank must belong to today's uninvited guest.
Kai Zhizhou.
All day, Leclerc had been thinking about, and studying, some of Kai's unconventional lines.
Theoretically, those lines were counter-intuitive. They should have resulted in a complete loss of control. But Kai was always able to manage the car. And it wasn't a coincidence or luck; he was able to find similar flashes of inspiration in different corners, on different laps. It had truly opened a new door in Leclerc's mind.
It was worth noting that after the day's training was over, the academy drivers had all gathered, one after another, to try and beat Kai's record.
Led by Alesi, they were convinced the record was nothing special. It only looked fast because none of them ever bothered to grind out laps in F4. The moment they got serious, the record would be theirs for the taking. These "chosen sons" were all rubbing their hands together, eager to put Kai in his place and show him just how far down the totem pole he was.
However, Alesi failed. He tried again and again, without success, his eyes turning green with frustration.
And that's when things really heated up.
A rare sight unfolded: one by one, the entire academy began grinding laps in F4 mode. Even the drivers who were usually calm and level-headed joined in. Fuoco, Zhou Guanyu... all of them.
But as night fell, no one had broken the record.
Now, Alesi and the others were still at it, red-eyed, refusing to give up.
Surprisingly, Monfardini hadn't kicked them out. He had apparently gone to the canteen for dinner and just... never came back, leaving the group of sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds to their obsessive, hot-blooded mission.
Leclerc was the only exception.
It wasn't because he was arrogant. It was because he was rational.
He had also tried for fifteen laps to beat the record. Then, he'd tried for another ten laps to copy Kai's lines.
It was precisely because he had tried and failed that he understood just how brilliant Kai's performance had been. And that's when he realized the entire exercise was pointless.
Kai, a total outsider, in his first-ever simulator session, had figured out the lines, built his own model, and set the all-time record in less than an hour. Meanwhile, they, the "professional drivers" with hundreds or even thousands of hours in that same simulator, had been at it for hours and still couldn't do it.
Even if they finally did manage to beat the record, it wouldn't be anything to celebrate.
Leclerc couldn't help but wonder how Kai saw the track. Based on their brief meeting that morning, he seemed perfectly willing to talk about it.
But he was hesitant.
Alesi and the others were all united, of one mind, to alienate and isolate the outsider, to draw a clear line in the sand. Leclerc's personality wasn't one to stir up trouble. He couldn't stand Alesi's attitude, but he didn't want to be the one to start a fight.
And besides all that, Leclerc was just bad at socializing. He didn't like to be the one to initiate friendships. It wasn't his strong suit.
He paced, hesitating. He stood in front of the door for a long time, but couldn't summon the courage to knock.
He turned to leave, but felt a pang of regret.
Just then, he heard footsteps in the stairwell. It startled him, and for no good reason, he felt a sudden pang of guilt.
Before his brain could even process, he was already turning to run back to his apartment, only to see Rosana already coming up the stairs.
He slammed on the brakes, spun back around, looked left and right, and in a panic, stuffed himself into a dark corner. He pressed his head, shoulders, butt, and heels flat against the wall, doing everything in his power to hide, even holding his breath.
But wait, he thought. Why is Rosana here at this hour?
~~----------------------
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