"And then they pulled me in and insisted that I join their Ferrari Driver Academy, wouldn’t let me leave until I agreed."
Qin Miao showed a proud smile at this point: "I couldn’t refuse such hospitality, so I went ahead and joined the Ferrari Driver Academy. If nothing unexpected happens, I’ll soon officially start my racing career.
Maybe next season you and I can meet on the track, and we’ll wreak havoc, showing those silly foreigners the prowess of Chinese drivers."
Seeing Qin Miao’s confident demeanor, Zhou Guanyu couldn’t help but pour cold water on him: "With Ferrari’s way, if you really have the capability, they’d typically have you start racing in F3 first. Only if your results in F3 are impressive would they consider promoting you to F2.
So, if you want to compete with me, it might not be until 2021."
Qin Miao’s confidence, originally high, froze upon hearing Zhou Guanyu’s words, then he tentatively asked: "Are you joking?"
Zhou Guanyu pointed to his serious expression: "What do you think?"
Qin Miao took a sharp breath, and after a while, he hesitantly asked: "If I have enough skills during testing, is it possible to go straight to F2 in the first year?"
Zhou Guanyu chuckled: "Do you think Ferrari is Red Bull? Just having the skills will get you through.
Ferrari’s internal management style is somewhat like those old Italian mafia families, they value your seniority over your capabilities.
So after joining Ferrari’s youth training, don’t think about anything else, strengthen yourself while slowly accumulating seniority."
Qin Miao’s joy from securing a contract with Ferrari Driver Academy immediately dropped.
"Damn it, why does Ferrari have such heavy bureaucracy?"
Zhou Guanyu heard Qin Miao’s mutterings and just smiled.
Handing his dumbbell plate to Qin Miao, he said: "Alright, stop complaining. Even if you have to wait out seniority, you need enough skill to endure inside Ferrari. Let’s train."
Qin Miao sighed deeply, accepting the dumbbell plate from Zhou Guanyu.
Given today’s time wasn’t very ample, and Zhou Guanyu was indeed exhausted from a race earlier, their training volume wasn’t full, just half of usual.
So, after an hour, they showered and left the gym.
"What should we do? Any entertainment recommendations?" Qin Miao asked after they came out.
Having engaged in vigorous exercise, it’s not suitable to eat right now. They should rest for a while, then have a late-night snack.
Zhou Guanyu, having settled in Britain long ago, is quite familiar with British entertainment venues. But seeing Qin Miao’s young face, he opted not to take him to inappropriate places for kids and instead asked: "How about a movie?"
Qin Miao rolled his eyes: "Dude, I’m an adult now. Adults should enjoy adult activities at night! What’s with watching a movie?"
Zhou Guanyu was surprised: "From what you say, you have an idea?"
Qin Miao smiled: "That’s right, come on, I’ll show you around."
Zhou Guanyu thought to himself: I’ve been in Britain since I was 14, nearly 6 years now; what haven’t I seen?
Twenty minutes later, Zhou Guanyu smirked at the sign in front of him.
The shop’s name was Cyberia.
Many might not understand the meaning of Cyberia. Directly translated, it means the internet world.
Local translation: Internet café.
"This is what adults are supposed to play?" Zhou Guanyu questioned Qin Miao with a stunned face.
Qin Miao looked perfectly justified: "Yeah, back home you couldn’t go online at an internet café unless you were an adult, let alone overnight stays.
Now I’m an adult and abroad with no one watching me. I want to experience what my classmates described as overnight stays in an internet café."
Zhou Guanyu felt momentarily speechless.
What on earth have these youngsters in China been through in recent years? Why do I feel like I can’t keep up with their train of thought?
But before he could say anything else, Qin Miao was already impatiently pushing open the door.
Due to the lack of ID requirement in the UK, they didn’t need to show any ID to go online, just pay the fees.
In this regard, Qin Miao was quite generous, directly renting two machines for an overnight session and even bought Zhou Guanyu a bottle of coffee, since money was no issue for Qin Miao now.
Zhou Guanyu, with a face full of amusement, followed Qin Miao inside the internet café.
The two casually found seats and powered up the computers.
Actually, Zhou Guanyu plays games regularly; due to having fewer friends abroad, his main form of entertainment is video games.
That’s why when Qin Miao brought him to the internet café, he didn’t choose to leave, but instead followed him in.
Although most of the computer’s text was incomprehensible to Qin Miao, the café computers used Microsoft’s operating system, so the general interface was the same, making it easy for Qin Miao to operate.
"What games do you usually play?" Qin Miao asked while choosing a game.
Being abroad, Qin Miao figured Zhou Guanyu wouldn’t like the same games he used to play back home, so he asked.
Zhou Guanyu opened Steam and said: "Usually Assetto Corsa, F1 2019, and now mainly CSGO."
Qin Miao raised his eyebrows: "You play CSGO too? Our game libraries overlap quite a bit; I often play these three as well.
Though the café’s not equipped for Assetto Corsa, shall we go with GO?"
Zhou Guanyu was agreeable.
Honestly, it’s a bit embarrassing to admit, but this was Zhou Guanyu’s first time sitting side by side with a friend in real life at an internet café playing games.
Once in the game, Qin Miao marveled at the extremely expensive items in Zhou Guanyu’s inventory.
"How much did you spend on these?" Qin Miao curiously asked.
"Not much, three or four thousand." Zhou Guanyu responded casually.
Qin Miao was about to exclaim how wealthy his friend was, when he suddenly remembered he had over 900,000 in his bank account now...
So Qin Miao kept quiet.
Once in the game, the two started wreaking havoc.
Both being professional racers, which like esports, requires quick reflexes. They’re fast, and frequent gamers, their targeting skills are on point.
So climbing ranks, the pair slaughtered their way through, playing so joyously they soon lost track of time.
After all, they’re young — one is 18 and just an adult, the other 20 — still kids in a sense, in their prime playful age.
They discovered their gaming tastes almost completely aligned, and plus, this was the first time someone sat with Zhou in an internet café to play games.
In-game, he’d plant while I cover, he’d rush while I throw flashes, you run out of money I’d cue weapons, you mess up I’d follow, you fail I’d mock, you won I’d cheer, and between rounds, we’d fist bump like pros.
In little time, their friendship grew rapidly; male bonding can be simple and straightforward.
By the time they realized it again, more than five hours had passed.
These five hours covering nearly ten games also quickly drew them closer, enough for them to change each other’s nicknames.
Qin Miao called Zhou Guanyu "Old Zhou," and Zhou Guanyu called Qin Miao "Old Qin." Google seaʀᴄh novèlfire.net
Though there’s some age difference, they agreed to count it individually.
They snapped out of their gaming spree not from exhaustion but because Qin Miao’s phone rang.
Picking it up, he saw Qimeng was calling.
Only then did Qin Miao and Zhou Guanyu realize it was already past 1 AM.
Not until seeing Qimeng’s call did Qin Miao remember he hadn’t informed her of his all-nighter plan.
He didn’t expect the time to pass so quickly once they got immersed in the game together.
"Old Zhou, cover for me; I’ll take this call." Pampering Zhou Guanyu’s shoulder, Qin Miao went AFK.