The Devil's Teacher

"He's responding! Quick, Aria, keep playing!" Elton's monitor was fluctuating wildly.

Aria hit the play button again, and this time Ethan and Aria could see clearly—there was a pregnant woman's belly on the screen, with a baby moving inside. The video continued with a conversation between the woman and a doctor.

"The baby is doing just fine. From what I can see, you're four months along, Miss Lisa. Congratulations," the doctor said. Ethan and Aria realized this was Elton's ex-wife, Lisa, and the baby in the video must be Elton's child! Ethan's suspicions were confirmed. He brought the player closer to Elton and put it on repeat.

Elton's fingers twitched slightly. As Ethan noticed this tiny movement, he called out Elton's name, once, twice… Aria joined in, calling out Elton's name too. Elton's eyelids flickered as he slowly adjusted to the light, like a newborn baby. After such a long sleep, his eyelids were stuck together. Aria gently wiped his eyes with a moist towelette.

"Where am I? Am I alive or dead? Is this heaven?" Elton asked in a hoarse voice.

"Heh heh heh, old man, you're very much alive. Sorry to disappoint you, but you didn't make it to heaven," Ethan said with a teasing tone, and Aria laughed along.

"That's too bad. I still have to see you, you little brat. Wait, what's the date…" Elton asked, still with a teasing tone, suddenly remembering something.

"September 27, 2041," Ethan answered.

"No way, I've been asleep for over a year…" Elton said, eyes wide in surprise.

"Not quite, it's 2040. Ethan's pulling your leg," Aria clarified.

"You little rascal." Elton tossed an empty water bottle at Ethan.

Laughter filled the room, making it feel like a family gathering. Elton was someone who valued emotions deeply. When Lisa was pregnant, Elton was thrilled and had already started preparing to be a father. Unfortunately, Lisa had an affair with the doctor and, keeping it from him, aborted the baby. This was Elton's deep pain. He glanced at the player's screen, fell into thought for a while, then started chatting casually with Ethan and Aria. The three chose not to mention the video again.

In the afternoon, Elton, citing high hospital costs, requested to be discharged, even though he clearly needed more observation. Ethan couldn't argue with the old man. After bringing Elton home, he quickly regained his usual energy, but still carried the serious demeanor that Ethan feared.

"Ethan, the competition is in three days. I want to see how you've trained while I was out. Next, I'm going to test you. And if it's not up to par, no dinner for you tonight," Elton said, standing in the yard with his hands behind his back, his expression serious.

"Ah, isn't that punishment a bit harsh?" Ethan looked at Aria, who was preparing his favorite dinner—steak, tomato soup, and toasted bread slices. She was making a celebratory meal for Elton's recovery.

Ethan gazed longingly at the food. Before he could snap out of it, Elton dragged him over to the car, holding a cup of water.

"I'm going to place this cup on the car. Your challenge is to complete one lap of the winding road in under 7 minutes and 57 seconds, which is the world record time." Elton quickly sat in the passenger seat and placed the cup in the empty spot on the seat.

"Elton's a real devil," Ethan muttered as Elton walked back to the driver's seat, glancing at Aria.

The timer started. Elton pressed the stopwatch. After all the hard training over the past days, Ethan's skills had improved rapidly. Elton was pleased with Ethan's progress, but he kept a straight face to prevent Ethan from becoming arrogant.

As Ethan approached the final bend, the time was already over 7 minutes. Elton's stopwatch beeped. Ethan's anxiety grew as he tried to control the car, but Elton noticed his distress. Pretending to cough, Ethan oversteered slightly at the bend. The cup slid to Ethan's side and spilled all over his pants. It was quite embarrassing.

At the finish line, Elton stopped the stopwatch. "8 minutes and 1 second. Ethan, looks like someone's missing out on tomato soup tonight."

Feeling frustrated, Ethan returned home with a long face. Aria had finished dinner and noticed Ethan's soaked pants, laughing when she saw him.

"Ethan, your pants… did you have an accident?" Aria teased.

"There's a little kid here who got scared and wet his pants," Elton said, mocking Ethan as he sat down at the table and picked up a piece of toasted bread.

"Mm—delicious," Elton said loudly, making sure Ethan heard.

Aria invited Ethan to join the meal. Seeing his dejected face, she realized that Elton's punishment was because Ethan hadn't passed the test.

Ethan grabbed a bucket of water and a cloth, silently heading to his car to clean it. He spent the next two hours polishing his car, venting his frustration.

His stomach rumbled from hunger. Just then, a pair of wrinkled hands brought a bowl of tomato soup to him. Looking up, Ethan saw Elton. Without a word, Ethan took the soup and gulped it down.

"Ethan, little buddy, didn't pass the test and still whining. Such a crybaby," Elton said, making a face as he sat on the steps.

Ethan drank the soup while patting his head, not saying a word.

"Ethan, with the way you're driving now, you won't hit 7 minutes and 57 seconds. To achieve that time, traditional driving methods just won't cut it," Elton said firmly, pulling out a half-pack of cigarettes he had previously found, and lighting one up. The smoke curled up into the air, clearly visible in the moonlight.

After finishing his soup, Ethan set the bowl down gently and moved closer to Elton, sitting beside him. Under the moonlight, their shadows stretched out on the ground, resembling a father and son deep in conversation.

"Give me one, old man," Ethan said with a smirk, reaching for a cigarette.

"Kids shouldn't smoke," Elton deftly avoided Ethan's hand and slipped the pack back into his pocket. Ethan watched this with a hint of frustration, quietly holding his empty bowl with a look of mild disappointment.

"Ethan, the list of drivers I gave you—they're all Joseph's people. You need to pay close attention to each of their strengths and weaknesses. By the way, did you get their car numbers?" Elton took a drag from his cigarette, exhaling the white smoke away from Ethan, his eyes showing concern.

"I got them while you were asleep, when I picked up the race registration. I also met each one of them. But there's one driver, Rosberg Stewart, about whom there's no information. Vanka, the salesman, said he's very dangerous," Ethan said, his voice tinged with urgency and worry.

"Vanka's right. From what I know about Joseph, he's probably set everything up in advance to ensure Stewart wins this year—likely some behind-the-scenes manipulation," Elton continued to smoke, his expression showing deeper concern.

"So what should I do, old man?" Ethan asked, his voice filled with anxiety, his brows furrowed in deep worry.

"Just stick to your normal training and don't worry about anything else," Elton's words were meant to be reassuring, his voice calm and steady, as if to dissolve all the worries with a simple piece of advice. His gaze softened, aiming to comfort Ethan's inner turmoil.

"And you wanted to know how to hit 7 minutes and 57 seconds, right? The secret is inertial drifting skills," Elton said, his tone becoming serious and focused. He stood up, moved to the car, and demonstrated the drifting technique with smooth, practiced movements. Every action was precise and showed his deep expertise. He bent down next to the car, pointing to the wheels and explaining, "When taking a high-speed corner, you need to use inertia to control the car's slide. This allows you to navigate the turn without losing speed."Aria said.

Ethan watched Elton as he gestured and demonstrated, silently noting each movement. He tried to understand every complex detail, and Elton explained everything with great patience.

"Ethan, do you see? Tomorrow we will continue on to the Panhandle to practice our inertial drifting skills in the field."