Let Me Race

Julian could still hear the screeching tires from the cars, but he knew they were not near where he sat. He sighed as he swung his bag to his shoulder and walked down the uphill trail, down to the spot where he could see all the people lining up and their cars being taken care of.

"Ah, so this is where the race starts."

The young racer secured his bag filled with his drag clothes as he looked towards the competitor's team for tonight. Some of them were about the age of thirty, but most of them were young to even do racing.

But Julian never cared about those things since he also started young. The young racer gasped to himself when he saw a familiar man among the crowd of girls flocking around him.

<What the hell? Why is he here?!>

Julian grabbed his hoodie as he moved towards the sea of people, expecting for the winner of tonight's race. The younger was trying to blend in with the people so the familiar man won't spot him.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the rail, a man in his 20s was waiting for his teammate to win this race. He was having fun at the local club when his cousin called him over to be part of the race. Even if he refused to even come, his cousin gave him an ultimatum before dropping the call.

With a pissed off expression, he walked out of the club and went inside his fancy car. He drove toward the Oakford Mountain as he stepped on the gas pedal vigorously. On a normal day, he would care about the traffic lights and the signals from other cars.

But tonight, he was not having any of that.

He passed down the traffic lights, into the alleyway and out of the bridge that connected the city and the entrance of the mountain. He was not in the mood to stop, for his cousin already spoiled his fun.

"Useless prick! I was having a great time!"

His other cousin, who was flirting with the girls, heard him and chuckled.

"Did you find a new toy to have such a tantrum tonight?"

The man looked at his cousin with a glare as the other guy snickered a tiny laugh. It was true that the man was having a huge tantrum, but maybe this new toy that he found was quite special to see him like this.

"Was he an excellent singer? Dancer? Or good in bed?"

The man, with an intense glare, scoffed away as he remembered the man who was flirting with him through his dance. The smirk and the intense stares that he got from the other man was exhilarating to where he wanted to pay their boss more money to have him alone… in a dark room.

"He was, huh? For you to show that kind of expression. I want to meet him. What club does he work for?"

The man was the one who chuckled this time. He pushed the girls away from him as he slowly stripped off his suit and grabbed the extra shirt that his cousins have, getting himself ready for the race.

"He worked for the devil. So if you want to see him, go to hell."

His cousin laughed his butt off as the girls looked at him with longing eyes and pouting lips. The man never cared about them. All he cared about was his pride and his pleasure, nothing more.

But after meeting that one dancer at the club, suddenly he wanted to take him to be a lover. He even scoffed to himself as he realized what his mind was trying to show to him.

Him? A lover? What a joke. His attitude would never fit a lover who would have someone to love for the rest of his lives and he already knew that the moment he met the person he thought would care for him.

It was an illusion.

After dressing up, he went in front of the rail as he looked around the other team. The next race will be his turn. He was edging to win, since the prize would be a great one for his part.

A brand new car from his loving older cousin.

"You sure is pumped up."

The man scoffed at his cousin.

"Go to hell and rot there, Jiang Zhui."

His cousin laughed at him as they waited for the cars to arrive. Whoever is the winner of this race would have the advantage to take over the next race until the final winner will be decided. Three races in a two course regime.

Either of the teams should win at least two races to get the grand prize of a brand new car. And that's what the man was aiming for. A new car to add to his collection.

Julian was humming at the other side as his ears were already hearing the engine's full throttle and the screams of the people surfaced.

"They are near."

As Julian said those words, two cars emerged from the darkness of the mountain—one is red and orange while the other was in white. The one in white was leading by a few inches from the other car and they already knew who was the winner.

The people from the other side of the rail, where the familiar man, were celebrating, indicating that their team owned the white car. What a loss for the team where Julian was. They looked very excited to get that grand prize.

"The next race will be the last one. If we didn't win that, Xiao Meng's win would be for nothing."

Julian overheard the conversation and looked around to see who were they talking about. In a distance, the latter saw a middle-aged man with light brown hair and a sharp feature. He looked like those CEOs in some movies that were with a cold exterior but a soft heart, or just cold.

"What should we do, Brother Ying? Should we just throw the towel?"

Xiao Meng heard what the man said and stomped his way towards him. The man was about to attack the other guy when Julian jumped in between them with a smile on his face.

"Let me do the next race."

Xiao Meng stopped when he heard what the latter had just said. He looked at the man in front of him. Pointy nose, sharp jawline, yet his features were soft. If the man didn't speak out, Xiao Meng would've thought that he was a woman.

"And who are you?"

The sudden question took Julian aback. He never thought of a name that could resemble his real name. He could give his real name, but that could put him and his family in grave danger in the future, since drag racing was still an illegal race.

"Yang Shin."

Xiao Meng lifted a brow as he looked at Julian from his head down to his toe. The man didn't even look like he could race. But upon seeing the determination in the youngster's eyes, Xiao Meng knew that the kid had a plan.

"Very well, then. I don't know who you really are, but if you could win this race and prove that you are a racer, I will erase any doubt in my mind."

Julian nodded as he dropped his duffle bag to the corner and prepared himself for the race. Xiao Meng's team let him choose which car he would use and the latter was so happy to see his favorite car sitting in the corner near the "fastest car" in their team.

A stock car with a brand unit of Mitsu LEX. The car that he was using in the race before he died. He looked at Xiao Meng and pointed at the stock car before earning a huge laughter by the man.

"That? You will use that to this race?"

Xiao Meng said those words in between his laughter as Julian nodded as an affirmation to his claims. The man stopped from laughing and looked straight into Julian's eyes.

"I don't know what you were thinking of why you wanted to use that stock car, but I could already tell you, you would lose this race."

Julian looked at him straight in the eyes. If only Xiao Meng knew how fast this car was, he would change this arrogant attitude that he had towards LEX cars.

"Don't finish that sentence unless the race ends. I will use this car and win the race. You could have the grand prize after it, but you will let me use this car."

Xiao Meng didn't know what power that the man holds but he could feel a deadly aura from him. The man nodded as he told his friends to prepare the stock LEX as the race was about to begin.

"Keep you promise, kid. Or it will be your head."

Julian chuckled at the sudden threatening remarks and shook his head.

"Don't worry, Master Meng. I got this."