How can there be such a perfect person in the world.
"Being your boyfriend can save time, so by being my friend, he could at least wait two minutes less," Kiyono Lin said, glancing at Dubian Che.
Jiutiao Meiji hummed noncommittally: "Let’s start."
"Then I’ll start a minute later and let you go first. Soon, you’ll know what despair is," Dubian Che said.
"There’s no need for baseless prattle. Just say ’start’," Kiyono Lin’s voice was as colorless as the snow-covered ground.
Both of their graceful and supple bodies leaned slightly back as the off-road vehicles shot forward.
Left standing, Dubian Che lifted his left wrist and lightly tapped his neatly-trimmed right index fingernail against the watch face.
Although Kiyono Lin was not physically strong, her athletic reflexes were outstanding, and she reacted quickly;
No need to mention Jiutiao Meiji, who was no less capable. She had the slight upper hand thanks to her greater daring.
The two continued without speaking, like arrows fitted with autopilot, weaving through the forested race track toward the finish line.
Kiyono Lin was in no rush about Jiutiao Meiji being ahead.
The track was long, she had plenty of patience, excellent ability, and the confidence that she would surely win.
She just needed one opportunity.
The opportunity came quickly when a fork appeared ahead.
Both paths were viable, but the sign at the intersection read "This road is bumpy; beginners please take the other."
The problem was, the sign had fallen to the ground, bearing obvious tire tracks. It must have been a careless boy who knocked it over while rushing to catch up with a friend and didn’t notice.
Being in front, Jiutiao Meiji was the first to encounter this predicament.
The tire tracks were indiscernible, both paths were traveled by off-road vehicles.
Jiutiao Meiji’s cool gaze flickered left and right.
She sneered. No matter how rough or rugged the road, as long as there was a path, she could win.
Jiutiao Meiji chose the left.
Kiyono Lin, who had been trailing her, had already decided — she would take the other path.
Following Jiutiao Meiji would keep the status quo, allowing her to look for a chance to overtake, but it wasn’t in her nature to see an opportunity and not seize it.
Kiyono Lin chose the right.
Not far apart, they could still see each other, yet the road conditions were worlds apart: one was a smooth route for beginners, the other a challenging terrain for veterans.
A minute after splitting, the road conditions showed a significant change.
Unluckily for Kiyono Lin...
The road featured steep dirt slopes and large potholes.
With her delicate and slender frame, Kiyono Lin simply couldn’t control the off-road vehicle under such conditions.
Not long into the drive, due to an intentionally icy, ultra-slippery stretch of road, she lost control. The vehicle was half-stuck in a pit.
Pressing the accelerator, the wheels spun in the air, stuck.
Kiyono Lin watched Jiutiao Meiji pull away, sighing inwardly.
She wouldn’t regret what had happened, only learn from the experience, vowing not to make the same mistake again.
She had been too hasty; there was still a long way to go, no need to decide the winner here.
"It seems your luck isn’t great," came Jiutiao Meiji’s haughty voice, accompanied by the sound of her approaching off-road vehicle’s engine.
She leisurely drove through the woods between the two paths, coming their way.
"You’ve won," Kiyono Lin conceded.
Luck, along with other elusive and uncontrollable factors, wasn’t within her scope of reflection. She chose the road, she lost, that was that.
"Let’s just say I temporarily won. After all, a victory based on luck - surely, you’ll find another chance to race," Jiutiao Meiji said.
Kiyono Lin didn’t argue.
"What about the car now?" she asked.
"Wait for Dubian," Jiutiao Meiji provided the answer.
Kiyono Lin glanced at her, frowning slightly — Jiutiao Meiji still sat in her off-road vehicle, looking down at her.
But it was fine, consider it a punishment for her impatience.
Neither spoke again, and they waited in silence for half a minute until Dubian Che, who had set off late, arrived.
"Rush like a wild boar! Rush like a wild boar!"
"Charge with me, Voyager!"
With an impassioned shout, the black off-road vehicle kicked up a spray of snow, charging forward unreasonably.
He hadn’t chosen either path but deliberately took the most challenging route through the middle woods.
The barely passable forest trail still couldn’t slow him down.
Under Dubian Che’s control, the cumbersome off-road vehicle was lighter than the lightest bicycle, weaving through the fir trees like a serpent.
"Rush like a wild boar! Rush like a...eh?"
As Dubian Che spotted them, the off-road vehicle’s front wheels were lifted deliberately, physically altering its direction, driving toward them.
"What happened?" Dubian Che stopped the off-road vehicle and asked.
"Wanting a race was your own amusement, right? Bored with our leisurely pace?" Jiutiao Meiji scrutinized him.
"Not at all," Dubian Che denied, "Stuck?"
"Yeah, I made a mistake," Kiyono Lin admitted with a nod.
"So Meiji won this time?" Dubian Che pulled out the stuck vehicle.
"She won this time," Kiyono Lin noted his casual tone, "In half a year’s time, can you really build up such strength?"
"What’s this? In our Frieza clan, four months is enough to defeat a Super Saiyan Blue."
Kiyono Lin had no idea what Dubian Che was on about.
But he was definitely spouting nonsense again, and she looked at him with displeasure.
Annoyed by her reproachful gaze, Dubian Che responded, "What are you worried about? No matter how strong I am, I would never hurt you."