TF01 23

Ying Ming was woken up by Kou Jing’s call.

The combination of vibration and ringtone was especially jarring inside the car. He struggled for a long while before finally opening his eyes, groggily scanning his surroundings. It took him another moment to fish out his phone.

“Hello.”

His voice was thick with drowsiness.

“Mingzi! Where the hell did you two go?”

“Took the car out for a drive. The competition’s still on, isn’t it?”

He scratched his head, trying to sit up. The low blood pressure from waking up made him feel sluggish, so he leaned his head against the car window. “What’s wrong?”

“The people from Weisai still want to talk to you, but you and Shi Yi both disappeared. I called you three times before you finally picked up.”

Ying Ming pulled the phone away from his ear to check his call log. Sure enough, there were two missed calls before this one.

He rubbed his temples. “Probably slept too soundly.”

“Is Shi Yi with you?”

“Yeah.”

Just as he answered, Shi Yi stirred beside him, looking like he was about to wake up.

Kou Jing let out a sigh of relief. “As long as you two are fine. Driving through the night takes some guts.”

“Shi Yi was the one driving,” Ying Ming replied.

Shi Yi sat up slowly, glanced at him, and whispered, “Kou Jing?”

With the phone in hand, Ying Ming only nodded.

On the other end, Kou Jing was still going on. “When are you stopping at the next rest station? We’ll come find you.”

By “we,” he obviously meant the people from Weisai too. Ying Ming frowned. “No need. Even if you come over, we’ll still have to wait around. Let’s talk after the event’s over.”

The people from Weisai were really persistent.

Getting a call like this first thing in the morning was annoying as hell. Ying Ming yawned, frowning. “I already told you, talk to me after everyone else has signed. There’s nothing to discuss right now.”

“The CEO already signed.”

Kou Jing’s words made Ying Ming pause for a second, but he quickly shook his head.

Not surprising.

Kou Jing was still talking, but he had no patience to listen anymore and hung up directly. Then, he turned to Shi Yi. “That CEO who helped us save Dong Xiao the other day already signed the confidentiality agreement.”

Shi Yi gave a small nod, acknowledging it.

Last night, when Shi Yi had dinner with them, he already figured that guy would probably sign. Not just him, but the medical staff too.

After all, no one would go out of their way to cross a major company like Weisai, especially when it had nothing to do with them.

While Shi Yi was still thinking about this, Ying Ming climbed into the back seat and started digging through his bag, pulling out a cup, a toothbrush, and other toiletries. Shi Yi looked at him in surprise.

“Damn, are you moving house? Why the hell do you carry so much stuff?”

Ying Ming grabbed two bottles of mineral water, hopped out of the car, and quickly set up a makeshift wash station. He called Shi Yi over and handed him a cup.

“I travel alone a lot, so I always prepare for stuff like this. Just a habit.”

“If I use this, what about you?”

Shi Yi glanced at the cup in his hand. It had a Hello Kitty pattern on it.

Never would have guessed Ying Ming used something like this.

Ying Ming noticed his stare, looked over as well, and raised an eyebrow.

“I just grabbed this from a convenience store at the entrance. I didn’t even check what was on it.”

Shi Yi chuckled. “No need to explain. As they say, explaining is just covering up. Don’t worry, I won’t judge you.”

Rolling up his sleeves, he walked to the other side of the car to brush his teeth. Ying Ming took out a bottle of mouthwash. They each washed up on their own side before getting back in.

Sitting in the driver’s seat, Young Master Shi glanced at Ying Ming fixing his hair in the rearview mirror and couldn’t help blurting out, “This feels like we’re living together.”

He had barely ever slept and woken up next to another guy. Even when traveling for work, he always got a single room. The only people he had ever washed up with in the morning like this were his family.

Ying Ming raised an eyebrow and turned to look at him.

“How am I supposed to take that?”

The more time he spent with Shi Yi, the more he realized this guy would occasionally say weird things. There was no real point to it, just a strange vibe.

Shi Yi saw his reaction and knew his words had been a bit off. He waved it off.

“Forget it.”

Mornings really did mess with the brain. Even his thoughts were a little weird.

Since Shi Yi had driven through the night, it was Ying Ming’s turn to take over during the day. The hardest stretch of the road seemed to be behind them, so after an hour of driving, Ying Ming felt the route was smooth. He gradually picked up speed. After checking the GPS, they calculated the distance.

“If we don’t stop in between, we can head straight to the next rest stop for lunch.”

The fuel tank had been filled the night before, so there was more than enough gas.

Ke Jing’s call earlier made it clear that Weisai’s people weren’t giving up, so both Ying Ming and Shi Yi agreed not to stop at the first rest area and instead drive straight to the next one.

Once Ying Ming really got going, his speed was no joke.

At first, Shi Yi was unfazed and even joked about it, but soon he couldn’t help reminding him to pay attention to the road. Not many people would push an off-road vehicle like this. It was only because the car had solid performance that it could handle the abuse.

“Ying Ming, you… this isn’t… some kind of revenge, is it?”

Shi Yi’s words came out choppy, his face looking worse by the second as he glared at the driver beside him. But Ying Ming kept his eyes on the road, barely twitching a muscle. The only response was a slight curve at the corner of his mouth. No matter what Shi Yi said, he ignored him completely.

His foot stayed firmly on the gas for two straight hours.

By the time they finally sped past the rest area and Ying Ming paused for a drink, Shi Yi felt like his stomach had turned into a raging tide.

He gritted his teeth and shot a glare at Ying Ming.

“Fuck you and your whole damn family.”

Then, looking utterly miserable, he rolled down the window and leaned against the edge, maintaining a blank expression, refusing to say another word.

Ying Ming couldn’t hold back a chuckle.

Passengers always had it worse than drivers when it came to motion sickness.

Even someone like Shi Yi, after getting tossed around for hours, was bound to crack.

After all, last night, Young Master Shi had tormented him for hours. It was only fair he got a little payback. Otherwise, wouldn’t that be a loss?

Throughout the break, Shi Yi neither drank a sip of water nor ate a single bite. When Ying Ming called him back to the car, Shi Yi shoved him aside without hesitation.

“I’m driving. You sit.”

He didn’t even bother waiting for a response before sliding into the driver’s seat.

Ying Ming only raised an eyebrow, not arguing. He walked around to the back seat, lay down across it, and got comfortable.

Shi Yi adjusted the rearview mirror and blinked.

“You’re seriously going to sleep back there?”

“Just drive.”

The man who had already sprawled out simply waved a hand, motioning him to get moving.

Before they even realized it, the distance and formality between them had faded. Maybe it was just the nature of this kind of environment, there was no room for keeping track of boundaries. The usual restraint Ying Ming carried had started to blur after two days and nights together.

Normally he would never talk to Shi Yi like this.

And Shi Yi had never been ordered around like this before.

But instead of snapping back at Ying Ming’s words, Shi Yi just frowned and let out a cold chuckle. Then he slammed the gas pedal, sending the car shooting forward.

He did it on purpose.

With driving skills better than Ying Ming’s and the road ahead relatively easy to handle, Shi Yi deliberately aimed for every bump and dip he could find, tossing the car around like a toy. Every now and then he glanced at the rearview mirror to see Ying Ming’s reaction, only to find that aside from an occasional grunt when they hit a particularly rough patch, he barely reacted.

“Fuck this, I don’t buy it.”

Unless Ying Ming was part gecko, there was no way he could stay put without getting thrown off the seat.

Turns out Ying Ming had one foot braced against the back of Shi Yi’s seat.

So no matter how wild the ride got, he barely moved.

At most it made him a little dizzy.

This dumbass competition went on until they finally reached the rest stop. By the time they got out, both of their stomachs were a mess. Shi Yi had pushed it too far and it backfired. As soon as they stepped into the cafeteria entrance, he turned right back around.

He waved a hand at Ying Ming.

“Forget it, eat by yourself. I’m gonna go smoke.”

Ying Ming watched his slumped figure walking away, lips curving up slightly. He shook his head.

After dinner, Ying Ming went to the front desk to ask for Shi Yi’s room number and brought him a bowl of porridge.

When Shi Yi opened the door, his face was full of irritation.

It was obvious his bad mood came from not feeling well. He had a cigarette between his lips, his hair was a complete mess, and he looked like he had just woken up.

Ying Ming lifted the bowl in his hand. “If you can’t eat, at least have some porridge. It’ll help.”

Shi Yi stepped back to let him in, then lazily wandered back inside and flopped onto the bed. He took a couple of drags from his cigarette. “No appetite.”

“You don’t need an appetite for porridge.” Ying Ming simply placed the bowl on the nightstand and stood there. “I made it myself. At least give me some face, Young Master Shi.”

Shi Yi barely turned his head to squint at him. “You made this?”

His tone was full of doubt.

“Did you see any porridge at the rest stop?”

And it was midday too. What kind of restaurant would serve something like this?

Shi Yi sat up straight away. He looked at the porridge, then at Ying Ming, still skeptical. In the end, he picked up the bowl and took a sip. “You really made this?”

“Yeah.”

Ying Ming lit a cigarette and leaned against the wall, watching as Shi Yi slowly finished the entire bowl. There was a slight smile at the corner of his lips, and a trace of emotion in his eyes even he hadn’t noticed before.

They rested for about an hour.

Just as they were getting ready to leave, Shi Yi glanced outside and hesitated. “Hey, you think it’s gonna rain?”

The sky looked a little overcast. It wasn’t dark enough for a storm, but it didn’t look good either.

Ying Ming leaned over to take a look. “Yeah… not looking great.”

In a place like this, the weather could change in an instant. It could rain even when the sky was clear, let alone when the clouds were already rolling in.

They had both noticed something was off during the drive. Yesterday, the sun had been glaring, but today, the sky felt stifling.

“Maybe we should wait. Better to leave after the rain.”

The next rest stop probably wouldn’t have rooms. If they got caught in the rain, they’d have to sleep in the car again.

The seats were too stiff. Sleeping in them for a night would leave them sore all over.

Ying Ming stared at the sky a little longer before finally nodding. “Alright, we’ll wait then.”

Neither of them expected the rain to keep falling all the way into the night.