Chapter 54: Chapter 54: Is It That I Don’t Show Off Because I Can’t?
"Let me outline our schedule for this time. We’ll start with the top cars worth over ten million leading the way, followed by the rest. We’ll take a lap around the city while the journalists follow and film. I’ve already coordinated with the traffic department, and the route is planned. It’s fine to show off a bit, but let’s try not to disrupt traffic before we head back to the racetrack. If you’re interested in participating in the exhibition race, let me know, and I’ll arrange it."
Tian Shu, having just completed a press conference, stood before the group introducing the first part of the event.
"OK, OK, you’re the president, whatever you say goes."
Qin Fen stood upfront, replying with a bored expression.
Some familiar faces also laughed along with him.
Tian Shu sighed, feigning helplessness, then said to Gu Bai, standing beside Li Zhun, "Old Gu, how about you take the second row this time, just follow behind Brother Qin’s car. It won’t take much time."
Gu Bai nodded indifferently.
"Come on, it’s just a lousy Lamborghini. Second row? Those who don’t know might think we hardly have any members in our club. Brother Tian, isn’t this a bit of a joke?"
Suddenly, a discordant voice came, drawing everyone’s attention.
The speaker was a young man about 30 years old, not very tall, chubby, with an oily demeanor, speaking with a sarcastic look directed at Gu Bai.
Unable to resist scrutinizing him briefly, Gu Bai realized he didn’t recognize this person and likely hadn’t offended him before.
Still, he wasn’t the type to take insults silently. Just as he squinted, ready to respond, Li Zhun beside him pulled him back.
"That’s Lu Jinghou, known for being petty in the circle. Don’t bother with him. Previously, he wanted to take your car for 12 million from me, but I ignored him. He probably found out you bought it and is picking a fight. He’s a small fry, just ignore him."
Hearing Li Zhun’s words, Gu Bai chuckled.
Though he’s heard of all sorts of people, this was a first.
Someone who can’t afford to buy something holds a grudge against the buyer?
Since Li Zhun held him back, Gu Bai gave him a reassuring look, smiled, and let it go. After all, it was Tian Shu’s turf, and it wasn’t a big deal anyway; it was just as well to give Tian Shu some face.
Seeing Gu Bai didn’t retaliate, Tian Shu first gave Gu Bai an appreciative smile, then said, "Lu Jinghou, if you’re uncomfortable, then get lost. Participate if you want. I didn’t force you to come."
Gu Bai held back for the sake of face, so he had to respect that. After all, in his heart, Gu Bai’s weight far surpassed that of Lu Jinghou. Not to mention Gu Bai could easily produce billions in capital; just their recent interactions had him fully accepted into their small circle. What was Lu Jinghou to him?
Probably due to his temperament, Lu Jinghou had offended many people, and the other second-generation figures present just watched the scene without a word to support him.
Used to being thick-skinned, Lu Jinghou shrugged, "Just joking, why take it so seriously?"
After speaking, he shut his mouth, and no one knew what he was thinking.
"Alright, if there are no issues, let’s head out."
With that, the large group moved to the racetrack’s entrance and started off according to their assigned positions. Regardless of the car, each had the SSCC logo plastered on it.
Qin Fen’s Ferrari LaFerrari, Principal Wang’s Porsche 918, and Tian Shu’s McLaren P1 led the charge. These three supercars cleared the path, heading along the planned route. Being a city cruise for show, there was no need to drive fast.
The following vehicles formed a procession of nearly a hundred sports cars, creating a luxurious automotive dragon. It’s no exaggeration to say the total value could be worth a few small targets.
Accompanying was a media convoy, relentlessly chasing, and some streamers with channel resources live-streaming the spectacle. Cai Lolita, a contracted influencer under Xingnai Media, was among them.
"Viewers, did you see this clearly? So many supercars! I’ve never seen such a sight in my life!"
The audience in Cai Lolita’s live stream furiously started typing comments.
"Poverty limits my imagination. Even if given these cars, I couldn’t afford to drive them. With my 3,000-yuan monthly salary, all I’m fit for is to look at them through a screen."
"Someone with a 2,500 monthly salary wouldn’t even dare to speak, afraid their drool might damage the phone, and they can’t afford repairs."
"With a 1,800 monthly salary, who dares compete in misery?"
"All of you are big shots. Just a few tens of thousands in loans make me shiver."
The conversation veered off-topic.
In the car, Qi Man laughed and said to Gu Bai, "I thought you were going to give that guy a proper face-smacking earlier."
Rolling his eyes, Gu Bai teased, "Do you think this is some warrior returns novel? Do I need to smack faces with every word? If debating with him counts as smacking faces, I would love to command an army of ten thousand returnees to scare him to death, but where do I find ten thousand soldiers?"
At those words, Qi Man covered her mouth and laughed.
It’s already 7102, where do you find so many face-smacking situations? Anyway, he’s just someone without any social connections, so why make things difficult for Tian Shu over such a person.
Over half an hour later, the convoy officially drove into the city center, and upon seeing such a grand setup, many onlookers began taking pictures with their phones.
"What’s going on? Over a hundred supercars parading through the streets?"
"Rich people sure know how to have fun."
Someone who knew about the racing festival explained, "Isn’t the SSCC supercar club hosting a racing festival? It’s probably an event from that festival."
"A bunch of rich second generations with nothing better to do."
Some people were envious, naturally, some were jealous. Speaking of supercars, most people would probably associate it with rich second generations, and in Hua Country, the term "rich second generation" is definitely not a term of praise.
The people in the cars couldn’t hear the discussions outside, but even if they could, no one would care.
The world is already so unfair, why not let people vent a little, indulge themselves?
The street racing activity was almost over, and everyone started to head back.
Once they reached the suburbs, there were fewer cars on the road, and the once orderly convoy started to let loose, overtaking, racing, completely unleashing the nature of the supercars.
Feeling the waves of sonic booms crashing beside him, Gu Bai couldn’t help but press harder on the accelerator; after all, he was still a young man with passion.
As they were about to reach the entrance of the racetrack, Gu Bai was planning to slow down when suddenly, a Ferrari 488 overtook him from the side, forcing him directly to the roadside.
Gu Bai wasn’t an experienced driver, and the sudden change made him slam on the brakes, swerving left, the tires screeching against the pavement.
"Ah!"
Qi Man beside him didn’t expect this either and exclaimed as she tightly grasped the door handle.
Fortunately, the supercar’s emergency braking was effective, and they didn’t crash into the gate beside them, but Gu Bai’s mind went blank for several seconds.
In such a situation earlier, a true veteran driver wouldn’t have braked so hastily. Even if he had really crashed into the 488, at most, they would just scrape the car and stop. But Gu Bai, even if he lived two lifetimes, was still a novice driver; his instinctive reaction was to turn the wheel and brake, nearly causing his own downfall. If he had really hit the gate, never mind a concussion, he’d definitely have a huge bump.
After cutting off the car, the driver of the 488 pulled over and got out. When Gu Bai saw him, his originally pale face from shock turned stern, his eyes slightly narrowed.
The sudden incident surprised the crowd around, and seeing it was Gu Bai’s car, Li Zhun and Tian Shu hurriedly got out and rushed over.
"Old Gu, you okay?"
This racing festival was something Tian Shu invited Gu Bai to, and if anything happened, Tian Shu would feel guilty.
Gu Bai’s face gradually became rosy again, and he gently shook his head, "I’m fine."
Li Zhun and Tian Shu saw the situation clearly and, looking at Lu Jinghou smoking by the car, couldn’t help but explode in anger.
"That b****rd."
Gu Bai didn’t join the cursing but instead calmly said to the still-shaken Qi Man beside him, "Qi Man, get out of the car first."
"Ah? Okay."
Hearing Gu Bai’s words, Qi Man didn’t hesitate and opened the car door to get out.
Li Zhun seemed to have guessed what Gu Bai wanted to do and hurriedly grabbed Gu Bai through the car window, "Old Gu, don’t be impulsive, let Tian Shu handle it."
Yet Tian Shu directly pulled Li Zhun’s hand back.
"Let him go, if this b****rd doesn’t get his comeuppance, he’ll really think he can do whatever he wants in Shanghai."
Gu Bai had already ignored Lu Jinghou previously for the sake of face, but he didn’t expect the guy to push it this far. What he did was not only offending Gu Bai but also Tian Shu, the host.
They were all a bunch of young people who knew no limits, who could swallow their pride?
After seeing Qi Man get out of the car, Gu Bai fastened his seatbelt, closed the window, and floored the accelerator towards where Lu Jinghou’s 488 was parked. The 0-100 km/h in 2.9 seconds was no joke; within the blink of an eye, the distance was covered.
Seeing the bull charging towards him, Lu Jinghou’s pupils contracted, and he rolled to the side without a second thought.
The person could run, but the car couldn’t, and with a loud bang, half of the 488’s body was deformed. Still feeling unsatisfied, Gu Bai reversed and repeated his actions. After several hits, not only was the 488 wrecked into a C-shape, but even his Night Shadow’s front was almost half destroyed.
Opening the car door, Gu Bai got out, shook his slightly dazed head, and glanced at Lu Jinghou, who was squatting to the side.
"Sorry, the brakes failed."
It wasn’t until these words were out that Gu Bai’s pent-up anger was finally vented.
Since his rebirth, Gu Bai had always tried to restrain the inflated feeling brought by sudden riches, always being humble and courteous to everyone, but that didn’t mean he lacked the arrogance of a young man.
If I’m not a spendthrift once, can I still be called the Divine Rich?
Is it that I don’t show off because I can’t?