Chapter 43

Mid-July. Summer break.
Beijing was sweltering at 40 degrees Celsius. Step into the sun and it felt like getting stabbed with needles, instantly sweating through your shirt.
On the day vacation started, all four girls from Du Ruo's dorm went out to eat together, then split up right there.
The other three headed home for the holidays.
Du Ruo, on the other hand, flew out the next day with the entire Prime team to Shenzhen for the inaugural Global Intercollegiate Autonomous Racing Championship.
Shenzhen was just as unbearably hot.
Not only was it scorching, but the humidity was lethal. If Beijing was an oven, then Shenzhen was a steam room. The moment you stepped outside, your skin turned tacky and slick, impossible to tell if it was the heat or just sheets of sweat clinging to you.
This was Du Ruo’s first time flying, and she was already uncomfortable. Then the shuttle to the hotel kept all the windows shut tight, AC blasting, the whole ride made her head spin and her chest ache.
She slumped against the seat, looking half-dead, eyes barely open to a narrow slit. All she could see out the window were endless wild swathes of tropical trees, glistening in the sunlight as if glazed with oil.
"If you feel sick, just close your eyes and rest," Jing Ming said, reaching over to pull the curtain shut. The cool blue glow wrapped them in a small cocoon. "We'll be there soon."
"Mm." She adjusted herself to a comfier position in the seat and drifted off.
When the bus stopped, she woke up to the scent of cologne on a guy’s shirt. Opening her eyes, she found herself sleeping on Jing Ming’s shoulder.
Startled, she sat straight up and ran a hand through her hair.
The rest of the team was already making their way down the aisle, getting off the bus!
"Feeling better?" His tone was casual.
"Oh, yeah." After a nap, she was wide awake.
"Let's go." He stood and handed her a wet wipe. "Wipe your face."
She steadied her heartbeat, tore open the packet, cleaned her face, and joined the group checking in to the hotel.
It was a five-star seaside hotel, the lobby decked out in pure gold luxury. Du Ruo looked up and saw her reflection, and that of her teammates, shimmering on the towering golden ceiling above.
The AC was gloriously cold, the air scented with clean, subtle perfume, flowers and greenery everywhere. In the nearby café and afternoon tea room, impeccably dressed elites sipped bone-china cups, heads bent in hushed conversation.
The race logo and an eye-catching display board for the inaugural World Autonomous Racing Championship took center stage in the lobby, stylish and bold.
Off to one side, the organizing committee had set up a special check-in counter. Plenty of blond, blue-eyed foreigners were registering, and the press was snapping photos and doing interviews.
The event really was a big deal, all eyes on them.
Once everyone finished registration, the team headed to the front desk for room keys.
There were 11 people, so they booked 6 double rooms. Jing Ming glanced over the keys and handed Du Ruo the one for a middle room.
Then it was up the elevator, everyone to their rooms.
Once inside, Du Ruo tossed her suitcase down and took in her surroundings, giddy, she’d never stayed anywhere so lavish!
The bathroom had three walls of sparkling glass; the two beds were huge and spotless; there was a TV, sofa, coffee table, fruit tray; even a dedicated workspace with a desk, computer, and stationery.
Best of all, there was a balcony outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, with a lamp and a rocking chair, and a sweeping view of the sea not too far away.
Leaning over the railing, she looked down at the swimming pool, the outdoor restaurant, and the café, all tucked into dense, towering greenery below.
It felt like the whole world was just ocean and sky.
She was already smitten with this city. It was clearly urban, but the trees, so tall and lush, like her hometown, made it feel like she was living in a forest.
Standing on the balcony in the hot wind, she heard voices on the balcony next door. "Heading out now?" That was Li Wei.
The sound of a zipper on a suitcase,
Jing Ming: "Let me shower first. Damn, this southern heat is killer."
Li Wei: "Alright, I'll wait for you." He stepped onto the balcony, glanced over, and grinned. "Hey, Du Ruo!"
Du Ruo wandered over, leaning against the railing between them. "Where are you guys going?"
"Prime No.1 got here this morning. We're going to pick her up."
Prime No.1 had arrived by train the day before.
"Wanna come along?" Li Wei asked.
Before she could answer, Jing Ming’s voice sounded from inside: "She should stay. It’s way too hot and far, she’d just get exhausted. Let her nap this afternoon."
Li Wei nodded. "He’s right. After a morning of planes, buses, cars, just get some rest in the hotel."
"Okay." Du Ruo agreed.
Jing Ming had gone into the bathroom; she heard the door close.
She went back to her own room, took a proper shower and washed her hair. After blow-drying, feeling fresh, she chugged a big glass of water, ate a banana and an apple, and collapsed onto the bed. With the AC on and the softness of that snowy-white bed, she was asleep in no time.
She only woke up when the sun was setting, half past six already.
Outside, the last light of dusk bathed the forest and the sea. The sky blazed with clouds, painting the ocean crimson.
Du Ruo checked her phone for messages in the team group: dinner at seven, hotel’s western buffet on the second floor, East Wing.
She splashed her face and headed out at 6:50.
Next door, the door opened, Jing Ming stepped out too. Looked like he’d showered again, his hair was still a bit damp in places.
"Back already?" Du Ruo asked.
"Yeah. Just got in. Did you rest up?"
"Mm-hmm. I slept right up until now, face is still puffy," she joked, squishing her cheeks.
He glanced at her, a little amused, her face was all pink and glowing, looking much better than earlier. Clearly, the nap had helped.
At the elevator, he held the door so she could step in first, then pressed the button for the second floor.
The soft elevator light bathed them, their shadows reflected in the golden walls all around.
She glanced at him. Even after a day of running around in this unbearable weather, now he was all clean and fresh, leaning against the wall, every now and then rubbing his eyes.
"Tired?" she asked.
"Hm?" He dropped his hand and looked over. "Not really, just not used to this climate." After a pause, he looked at her. "But you’re handling it well."
"Yeah. I actually like it here. It’s kind of like home, so it feels familiar."
Just then, the elevator doors slid open and two hotel guests came in, carrying a giant picture frame.
Jing Ming lightly tugged Du Ruo to the side.
The elevator space was tight. The two with the frame shuffled in, turning the thing sideways to fit, which squeezed Du Ruo and Jing Ming even closer together.
She was facing him now, her chest almost touching his.
His breathing deepened, warm against her forehead, making her skin tingle.
She grew uneasy, wanting to turn away.
But as she tried, her head bumped the frame. The person holding it lost grip, the whole thing tilted straight at the back of her head.
Jing Ming reacted faster than thought. He shot his hand out to shield her, taking the hit on his palm. The board knocked into his hand instead of her skull, landing softly against her with only the pressure of his hand in between.
Du Ruo froze, stunned.
The other person apologized, "Sorry about that!"
Jing Ming didn’t look happy, definitely annoyed, but he didn’t say anything. He let go of her head, but kept his hand wedged between her and the wooden frame, guarding her.
The way he held her, it almost felt like an embrace.
She could see the rise and fall of his chest, right there in front of her, separated only by a thin T-shirt, way, way too close.
She looked away, flustered, but there was no dodging his clean, fresh scent, his presence was everywhere.
This damn humid summer!
Her breath caught. She decided to break the weird tension: "So, where’s the racecar now?"
"At the racetrack." He looked down at her as he answered.
She couldn’t meet his eyes, but not looking felt awkward too: "You dropped it off and came straight back?"
"No, we tried out the track a bit."
That made her perk up, eyes bright. "How did she do?"
"Stellar." A slow, proud smile spread across his lips.
In that tiny, crowded space, so close,
He looked down at her,
She gazed up at him.
She was starting to get flustered again.
Ding! Second floor. She immediately darted her gaze elsewhere.
He withdrew his hand from the back of her head, his eyes glancing over her cheek before he looked to the open doors.
The hotel buffet was massive, floor-to-ceiling windows lining two sides, pressed up against a jungle of green.
The sea breeze rustled broad leaves right up against the glass.
On the other side, the room stretched out to a massive terrace, tree shadows swaying. Not far away, the crashing of waves could be heard.
The night breeze rolled in, making the terrace deliciously cool.
The restaurant’s menu was incredible: fresh everything, from fruit and desserts to sushi, seafood, Chinese, and Western dishes. It was a sensory overload.
Du Ruo piled her plates high and brought back not one, but two heaping servings.
Wan Zi'ang laughed, "That’s a lot, are you sure you can finish?"
She nodded. "All of it! I napped hard, I’m starving."
Sitting across, Jing Ming only had a steak, a fillet of cod, and some salad. Clearly, the heat had ruined his appetite.
Everyone was chatting and eating when Li Wei nudged Jing Ming's arm and jerked his chin at a table some distance away, "Look over there."
Through the big windows, a square table sat Yi Kun and a few others. Not the whole group, just three or four.
Their presence wasn’t exactly shocking.
A month or two ago, that car company Pengcheng had approached Prime to partner on an autonomous car project but got shut down.
So they’d cobbled together a team of their own, brought in people for sensors, controls, and actuator systems. Mash together a few off-the-shelf parts and boom, instant racecar.
Yi Kun was the supplier behind the vehicle control system.
“This is just ridiculous,” Tu Zhiyuan said. “Did they even finish the shakedown before jumping into the competition?”
“Way too impatient,” Li Wei added. “Pengcheng’s treating this race as their company’s big debut, a real shot. If they actually win, they'll be a household name in China’s autonomous driving scene. With the right hype, a couple rounds of fundraising, they’ll be ready to go public and make bank.”
Jing Ming commented, “What a shame.”
“Huh?” Du Ruo asked, “Shame about what?”
He smirked. “Because I’m here.”
Everyone at the table burst out laughing.
Du Ruo grinned too, chewing a bite of grilled eel. Mm, so good.
She really did polish off two huge plates of food, down to the last bite, and then headed off for fruit.
As she was scooping watermelon onto her plate, someone next to her reached for some dragonfruit.
Du Ruo glanced over, turns out, it was Yi Kun.
“Senior?”
Yi Kun glanced at her, his expression flat. “How have you been?”
“I’m doing well,” she replied. “How about you?”
“Great,” he said. And left it at that.
Du Ruo set her tongs down, then thought for a second and added, “Good luck in your race tomorrow.”
This time, he looked at her again. “If we get a good result, what about you?”
“...” She blinked, then said with a smile, “We’ll do even better.”
Yi Kun shot her a frosty look and ignored her. After a few seconds, he finally muttered, “Well, good luck, I don’t really care.”
“Huh?”
“We’re just Pengcheng’s supplier, not Orbit’s competitor. For us, the race is just a shot at picking up more clients.”
Orbit’s goal was crystal clear: make the best braking system, build partnerships with the biggest companies, supply product, make money.
Du Ruo smiled, “Then here’s to making a ton of money.”
“...”
Yi Kun said nothing more and walked away.
Du Ruo took her plate of fruit back to the team and popped a few more pieces of watermelon.
After dinner, everyone gathered to review the next day’s race schedule.
Twenty-four teams, from fifteen countries, ready to face off.
Three teams per group, eight groups in total. Top two from each group move to knockouts. Then first from Group A races second from Group B, and vice versa, the two winners face off by run time, with the faster one racing against the longer-timed team from Groups C and D, and so on, until the winners from Groups ABCD and EFGH each emerge, to face off in the grand final.
Tomorrow, from dawn to dusk: round robins, knockouts, semis, finals, the schedule was packed.
The track: 10 kilometers per race.
Cars fly at 200 to 300 km/h, a full race takes only minutes. So, even with 24 teams, the whole competition fit into a single day.
Add to that the blazing heat and punishing pace. Machine cooling would be the ultimate test.
But Prime’s crew brimmed with confidence. They’d planned for every possible snag, way back in R&D.
Now, all that was left was for tomorrow to prove them right.
Riding the elevator back up, a hush fell; each young face was buoyed by anticipation, hope shimmering for tomorrow.
Out of nowhere, Zhu Tao piped up: “Have you actually thought about it? If we win tomorrow, Prime’s going global.”
The narrow elevator was jammed with eleven of them.
No one spoke, but everyone was grinning. Excitement radiated off them in waves, barely contained.
Jing Ming snorted softly. “Not ‘if’. When.”
Suddenly, those quiet smiles broke into outright laughter. Longing, nerves, excitement, turned wild confidence, brashness, audacious belief,
“Hell yeah, we’re taking this! We are number one!”
He Wang chimed in, “Honestly, going global is old news for Jing Ming. He’s already famous.”
Jing Ming shook his head once.
“This time, it’s Prime’s turn. Our Prime.”
Jing Ming looked up, elevator lights glinting in his eyes like tiny stars. “Tomorrow is the day we set sail. Our careers, our dreams, our future, it all begins then.”
“Because tomorrow, we’re going to win.”
Du Ruo’s eyes were sparkling, too. “Let’s do a cheer, for tomorrow!”
She stretched her right hand out determinedly.
Jing Ming paused, and so did the rest.
None of them had ever done this before.
“God, are you serious?” Jing Ming burst out laughing, but lazily stacked his hand on top of hers anyway.
Then Li Wei, He Wang, Wan Zi’ang, Tu Zhiyuan, Zhu Tao, they all piled their right hands in, eleven in total, pressing down as one,
“Prime GO!”
“Let’s do this!”