Outside the car, the rain kept falling.
The Mini broke through the layers of night and headed up the mountain road.
A few minutes later, at a sharp curve, it brushed past the Aston Martin speeding down the mountain.
Yvonne Zhu felt a chill; rainwater had gotten into the car, but her mind was mostly on Evan Lin beside her.
The dragon just now, and the glimpse of Butcher Tu vanishing in an instant—everything made Yvonne more certain than ever that the Lin Yi beside her was Master Lin from Seacrest.
No doubt about it.
Even if she still didn’t understand why the legendary Master Lin was so fiery in person.
“Is this really only your second time driving?”
In the passenger seat, Yvonne watched the endless winding curves ahead. At every turn, the Mini drifted at insane speed—smooth and precise, never sloppy.
Even without leaping those two long cliff gaps, he could probably beat the Aston Martin just by taking the corners.
“Second time.”
Evan nodded, his expression utterly calm.
Yvonne was at a loss for words, suddenly realizing that maybe some people were just born geniuses.
The climb up the mountain road was much quieter now, with far less chasing than before.
With the Aston Martin several minutes behind, there was no hope of catching up.
When the Mini sped unhindered from below and reached the summit again—
Everyone, including Victor Zhu, fell silent.
“He took just six minutes and twenty seconds going downhill, and only another eight minutes or so to come back up—even in this rain...”
“How does he drive like that? Keene No. 2 runs this track every week trying to break Henry He’s 10:05 record! And this is Evan’s first time here, right?”
Faces in the crowd showed every kind of emotion.
The time data from the foot of the mountain had already shocked everyone.
Now, seeing the Mini cut through the last curve and head straight for the finish line, people were even more baffled.
In the curtain of rain, the Mini came to a quiet stop before the crowd.
Raindrops kept falling, drumming against the car’s body.
“Faye, this guy is weird. Isn’t he from Whitewood County? How can he drive like this? Is he secretly a pro racer?” Leo Li looked skeptical.
“Who knows what’s going on!” Faye Zheng’s face was ugly.
Her original plan was for Evan Lin to lose, drive up to the summit, get humiliated by Keene No. 2 in front of everyone, and then run into Master Yan on the way down—who’d give him a beating.
That way, Evan could keep his life, and Faye Zheng would finally vent her anger.
But now, looking at the Mini parked in the rain, radiating a kind of arrogant confidence, Faye’s feelings were all tangled up.
“What the hell is this? How did he win?” Gavin Guan stared blankly, then looked toward the end of the road.
But looking that way, Keene No. 2’s Aston Martin was nowhere to be seen.
If it weren’t for the timers stationed at the bottom of the mountain, they’d probably suspect Evan Lin had turned around halfway and skipped half the course.
“He’s just the kind of guy who creates miracles. He really is impressive.”
Selina Shi spoke softly, a smile on her face. "But I doubt the whole run was as smooth as it looked."
“On the first curve, he basically jumped the cliff like a suicide move. To finish in such a short time, he must’ve pulled crazy stunts all the way up.”
“Anyone willing to bet their life—if heaven has any sense of fairness—won’t lose that easily.”
Selina’s words made Gavin Guan clench his fists, his heart burning with jealousy toward Evan.
He kept glancing at the mountain road, then checked his phone again. But all he saw was a single 'OK' text from Butcher Tu sent earlier.
“By rights, he should be here by now.”
Gavin frowned, full of confusion.
As long as Butcher Tu showed up here, all the questions and doubts would be resolved.
But he still hadn’t arrived.
A few more minutes passed.
From the mountain road came the roar of an engine.
The Aston Martin came tearing up, drifting almost perfectly through the last curve, slicing through the rain and charging to the finish line.
But the cheers and screams that should have welcomed it were drowned in silence.
Especially now—the Aston Martin, worth a fortune and heavily modified, looked like nothing more than a fallen hero.
The Aston Martin rolled to a stop at the finish.
Yvonne Zhu took a transparent umbrella from under the Mini’s seat, opened the door, got out, and went to stand beside Evan Lin. In front of everyone, she held the umbrella over his head, shielding him from the rain.
Seeing this, Victor Zhu and Henry Zhu’s faces were so dark they could drip water.
This was Yvonne making her stance clear—declaring her choice without saying a word!
When had anyone from the Zhu family ever held an umbrella for someone else?
Let alone Yvonne Zhu—the Zhu family’s precious daughter—doing it for an unknown outsider like Evan Lin!
Evan didn’t even glance at Yvonne, as if it was only natural.
Keene No. 2 pushed open the Aston Martin’s door and got out.
His face was grim. Seeing Evan Lin by the Mini, with Yvonne personally holding the umbrella for him, his eyes filled with humiliation.
“I lost.”
Keene No. 2’s expression was cold as he stared at Evan, then glanced at Yvonne. "Yvonne, sorry for making a fool of myself tonight."
“But his win was just luck—he was reckless, cutting corners and risking your life too. People like him are dangerous.”
With that, he turned to get back in the car.
"Wait."
Keene No. 2 had just grabbed the car door when he heard a cold voice behind him and froze.
He turned and glared at Evan, eyes even colder. "What, I honored the deal—I lost, so I’m leaving. What else do you want to say?"
"Kid, let me tell you, you’d better watch yourself. This is Oceanport!"
Rain beat down on Keene No. 2, his voice full of frustration and anger.
Evan stepped forward, Yvonne quietly following.
Evan stood before Keene No. 2 and spoke slowly.
"The agreement was: the loser rolls down the mountain."
"Not drive or walk down."
"Roll."
"Roll down."