Ahhh! KAI!
Screams, shouts, and chaos blurred into a single, overwhelming mass of noise, continuously assaulting the eardrums.
The surging crowd rolled like a tide. Thousands of phones were held high, all pointed in the same direction. Cameras flashing, videos recording. The crowd swarmed like bees around a queen, snowballing into a massive, impenetrable blockade.
Immobile. Gridlocked.
Kai watched, jaw dropped.
Compared to the Shanghai Grand Prix, this was even crazier. He had never realized a crowd could unleash such terrifying energy.
He started to worry about Song Bo.
But he couldn't afford to hesitate.
If the crowd discovered the truth and turned back toward him, Song Bo's sacrifice would be in vain. The congestion could turn into a stampede. Worst of all, if they blocked the school entrance, causing a mass lateness event for the other students... that would be a true tragedy.
And the blame would fall squarely on Kai's head. No excuses.
So, he had to be decisive. Leave now.
Compared to the flashy Song Bo, Kai looked very... ordinary. White T-shirt, jeans, glasses. No hat, no mask.
He looked exactly like a normal high school senior.
Song Yan and Zhang Qiaomu protected Kai like any other anxious parents, guiding him around the edge of the mob toward the gate.
As the entrance loomed, Zhang Qiaomu handed him his exam admission ticket and stationery pouch, patting him on the back.
"Xiao Zhou, go easy. Auntie believes in you." Her eyes shone with encouragement.
Kai smiled brilliantly. "Tsinghua or Peking University, take my pick, right?"
Making a small joke, Kai turned to leave. Looking back, he saw Song Yan and Zhang Qiaomu standing there watching him go, just like his real parents, Jiang Mo and Lu Cheng, would have.
Song Yan waved his hand, signaling him to go in and not worry.
Kai exhaled softly, showed his ticket, and slipped into the stream of students. In the crush, he bumped into a shoulder.
"Sorry." Kai apologized instinctively.
"Sorry." The girl apologized too.
Turning around, Li Miaomiao froze. She looked up into those bright, familiar eyes. She hadn't expected—
Wait, wasn't Kai in that mob over there?
"Class Monitor, good morning!" Kai smiled, greeting her first.
Li Miaomiao opened her mouth to respond, but her heart skipped a beat.
Before she could speak, Kai stepped closer, lowering his voice. "We shouldn't block the path."
Li Miaomiao felt herself enveloped in Kai's shadow. She forced herself to look around, finally noticing the chaos nearby.
In that brief moment, scattered gazes were turning toward them. Despite Kai's low profile, his tall, athletic build stood out effortlessly. And that handsome face... it was plastered on every phone screen in the country. There was no hiding it.
It took only a split second for Li Miaomiao to realize what was happening.
What should she do?
She looked up at him and grinned. "Now I finally know what a 'troublemaker' looks like."
Kai: ?
Before he could react, Li Miaomiao stepped aside, pointed in the opposite direction, and screamed, "KAI!"
Then she sprinted toward where she pointed.
The attention of the surrounding crowd snapped instantly. One by one, impulsively, they chased after her, leaving the space around Kai suddenly empty.
Kai watched as the crowd swallowed Li Miaomiao, chasing a phantom.
He stood alone for a moment, laughing dumbly. But he didn't linger. Not wasting her kindness, he walked quickly toward the exam hall.
Moments later, he found his seat, sat down obediently, and listened to the distant noise outside.
Because they couldn't find him, and with the teachers and security dispersing the crowd, the chaos didn't last long. Order was restored.
When Song Bo finally entered the exam hall, Kai almost laughed out loud.
He looked like a homeless person. Hair like a bird's nest, face dripping with sweat, clothes disheveled. It was clear he had been through a war.
But Song Bo was grinning from ear to ear, high-fiving students he knew and didn't know, acting like he was the one who had just stood on the Monaco podium.
Kai made a quiet monkey noise. "Hoo hoo hoo!"
The exam hall erupted in giggles. The tension dissolved.
Then, Kai saw Li Miaomiao in the corridor outside. Sweaty, but smiling brightly.
She saw him too. She was thinking of what to say, but then saw Kai mouth a word.
"Jiayou! (Fighting!)"
Li Miaomiao's spirits soared. She pumped her fist at him. "Jiayou!"
Turning away, she walked to her own exam room. Though she was out of breath, her steps were light, her chest filled with sunshine.
Everything went as expected, yet far exceeded expectations.
All eyes were on him!
When Kai confirmed in Monaco that he would return for the Gaokao (National College Entrance Exam), it sparked heated debate.
He was an F1 driver, a millionaire, a celebrity. Why take a high school exam? The diploma seemed meaningless.
Many accused him of creating a persona. A PR stunt.
But soon, netizens dug up the truth. For the past two years, Kai had consistently taken exams, often ranking first in his grade despite missing school. Long before he was famous, he was a legend at his school.
The Gaokao wasn't a stunt. It was a commitment.
Besides, if it were a stunt, he wouldn't do it between back-to-back races in Monaco and Canada.
Then came the Monaco win. The spotlight intensified.
Everyone expected his appearance at the exam to be big news. But the reality of the frenzied crowd stunned even the prepared.
In less than six months, Kai had become a cultural phenomenon.
...
Scritch-scratch. The sound of pens on paper filled the hot air.
Li Yang stood on the podium, watching the classroom.
He hadn't expected to be proctoring him.
Kai. The most talked-about person in the country right now.
Li Yang was curious. Was this racing prodigy just a hype job? Was this exam just marketing?
He watched Kai closely. He had proctored enough exams to know the types. The ones scratching their heads, the ones looking around nervously, the ones giving up.
Kai?
Focused. Calm. Confident. His problem-solving flow was smooth.
Not omnipotent—when he hit a snag, he marked it and moved on, maintaining rhythm. Smart strategy, like playing Go.
After finishing the essay, he checked everything, corrected mistakes, then tackled the hard problems.
Switching gears seemed to open his mind. He found new angles.
Without warning, Kai started packing up. Li Yang realized he was staring and looked away.
Next second, Kai stood up to hand in his paper.
The room rustled. Li Yang spoke quickly, "Quiet. Focus on your exam." Then to Kai: "Just leave it face down on the desk. I'll collect it."
Kai nodded slightly, turned, and left.
Li Yang felt an urge to call out to him.
Autograph?
Professionalism held him back. He watched Kai leave, then walked to the desk.
For a moment, he wondered: Did he just scribble nonsense? Was the media image of the "Student Driver" a lie?
He picked up the paper.
Good handwriting. Elegant, flowing, pleasing to the eye.
A quick glance dispelled his doubts. Kai hadn't messed around. He had answered seriously, with 100% sincerity.
And looking closely... the answers seemed good. Especially the essay.
Li Yang found himself reading it a second time.
Looking out at the bright sunlight, he felt a pang of regret. Maybe I should have asked for that autograph.
The morning exam ended. The crowd surged again, hoping to catch Kai.
But they were disappointed. He was already gone.
Li Yang realized: That's why he left early. Not arrogance. Consideration. To avoid chaos and let the others finish in peace.
For the rest of the exams, Kai kept a low profile. Arriving quietly, leaving early.
Two days flew by. Before he could truly feel the hardship of the exam, it was over.
For the final subject, Kai handed in his paper 20 minutes early again. While others sprinted to the finish, he walked briskly through the corridors, bypassing the main gate for the secluded side exit.
News had spread online. Parents joined the students at the gates, hoping to catch him.
The main gate was a sea of people. CCTV and sports channels had live crews waiting.
It was terrifying.
So Kai took the side door.
It was deserted due to traffic control.
He walked quickly, escaping the siege effortlessly. Or so he thought.
"Kai!"
He turned instinctively. Too late.
A young girl stood there, backlit by the sun, hair flying in the wind.
He froze. She froze.
She held up her phone. Her brain stopped working, but her thumb pressed the button.
Click!
By the time she snapped out of it, he was gone.
Not long after, a candid photo appeared on Weibo. No filters, no edits. Just Kai, bathed in sunlight, radiating youthful energy.
Handsome. Bright. Heart-stopping.
The moment frozen in time.
In less than two hours, likes exceeded 500,000. Retweets and comments exploded.
"Who is this?!"
"Is this an art student taking the acting exam?"
Unexpectedly, while dominating the trending search for racing, Kai broke the internet in the most quintessentially "idol" way possible.
A candid photo.
Hashtags surged: #KaiGaokao, #KaiCandid, #ISawKai, #TakingGaokaoWithKai, #F1DriverKai, #MonacoGPChampion.
F1 is niche. But this... this was mainstream.
For six months, Kai and Ferrari had raised F1's profile in Asia. But nothing compared to this.
First, the relatability of the Gaokao. Everyone takes it. He's just like us.
Second, the visual impact. The photo sent people scrambling to find out who this "handsome student" was.
Nicolas Todt was right. Just like David Beckham brought non-football fans to the sport, Kai was bringing mass traffic to F1.
Curiosity is the first step.
When they learned about his legendary six months—from rookie to Monaco winner—the awe was universal. The F1 community in China saw an unprecedented influx of new fans.
Even the Shanghai GP hadn't had this impact.
The FIA was stunned. It works like that?
Teams were shocked. Especially Ferrari.
They spent millions on marketing. And a candid photo did this?
Arrivabene's jaw hit the floor. They had done so much PR in Shanghai.
Is this why Marchionne insisted he take the exam?
The Ferrari board, preparing to grill Marchionne for letting Kai skip race prep, fell silent as the stock price climbed.
Is this... logical?
Inside Mercedes, rumor had it Toto Wolff stared at a wall for thirty seconds.
The paddock was in disbelief. At the Canadian GP press conference, Wolff couldn't help but be snarky.
"Maurizio is good at time management. Between back-to-back races, he still finds time for his driver to go to Shanghai for marketing activities."
Arrivabene fired back with a fake smile. "Kai never forgot his identity as a student. I admire his professionalism. I don't have Toto's wisdom to turn everything into a commercial idea."
Tit for tat.
But Wolff wasn't done. "It seems Ferrari is confident for Montreal. They brought upgrades and aren't worried about the schedule or external distractions."
"We'll see on Sunday."
The subtext was clear: He went back for an exam. If he performs badly in Canada, Ferrari will look like idiots.
Wolff pushed the pressure onto Kai.
In the paddock, pressure is a weapon.
Horner joined in, playing the good cop to Wolff's bad cop.
"No, I'm not worried at all."
When asked if the exam would affect Kai, Horner used his "praise to kill" tactic.
"I believe he can handle it. I believe Maurizio and Sergio trust this young man. He has proven himself repeatedly. He has the support of the whole pit lane, including Seb."
Blah blah blah. Horner painted Kai as a god who could do no wrong, setting the bar impossibly high.
Mixed doubles. Wolff and Horner pushed Kai to the edge of the cliff.
The result?
Not optimistic. At least, not for Ferrari.
In Montreal, both Mercedes and Ferrari struggled. Red Bull continued their Monaco momentum.
Bottas took pole and the win—his first of the season.
Verstappen took P2—his first podium of the year, finally waking up.
Ricciardo took P3.
Double podium for Red Bull. Horner was the big winner.
He hugged everyone, especially Max, like a father welcoming home a prodigal son. Ricciardo watched, feeling the chill.
Vettel was 4th. Hamilton 5th. Kai was 6th.
The trolls pounced.
They saw a wolf in sheep's clothing who had gotten arrogant. A little success, and his tail wagged too high. Now, finishing last among the top three teams? Exposed.
The Times (UK): "Kai's Dilemma: Arrogance and Complacency—The Path Every Genius Must Walk."
They wrote a scathing editorial.
The "Exam" wasn't the problem. The problem was misplaced priorities.
Wolff's bait had worked. The media frenzy began.
"An F1 driver must be 100% focused. Kai's decision to fly across the world for a meaningless exam shows arrogance."
They compared him to Hamilton's rookie season—disciplined, professional, historical.
And then, the real weapon:
"If we are looking for the next Hamilton, it isn't Verstappen, and it isn't Kai. It should be George Russell."
Boom!
The British media's true agenda. Using Kai to elevate their own hope, George Russell, who was dominating F2.
But the trolls didn't care about Russell. They just wanted to attack Kai.
Sports is simple. Winner takes all.
If you party and win, you're a maverick genius. If you party and lose, you're unprofessional trash.
If you study and win, you're a grounded role model. If you study and lose, you're distracted and arrogant.
Kai finished 6th. So the exam was a "fatal mistake."
"He forgot the pain once the scar healed."
"Two DNFs weren't enough lesson?"
"One lucky win and he gets cocky. Ricciardo was robbed in Monaco."
"Not fit to carry Max's shoes."
"Give the seat to Leclerc."
The hate, silenced for a week, erupted stronger than ever.
Wolff and Horner's plan worked. Pressure.
Relentless, suffocating pressure. From inside the paddock to outside. From fans to team bosses.
They wanted to break him.
Turning a genius into a superstar is hard. Destroying one is easy.
Unfortunately for Wolff and Horner, if they looked at the Ferrari garage... they would be disappointed.
This time, the Tifosi refused to join the hate train. They stood firmly behind Kai, fists clenched, ready to fight back.
It was time for the Tifosi to roar!