Chapter 46: Sochi Counterattack
Xu Xizhou returned to the apartment and was surprised to find that his messy room had been cleaned up, and even the sheets had been changed.
"Xiaozhou, my mother didn't find your new bed sheet, you can make it yourself." Shu Yue's voice came from outside the door.
Xu Xizhou responded, opened the closet and searched for a long time, only to find a new sheet in the innermost.
As soon as he took out the sheets, Xu Xizhou was slightly taken aback when he saw the document bag below. After signing the agreement with Zhuang Jingchun half a year ago, he never turned over the file bag again.
On the day he moved to London, he also threw the agreement in the closet. Anyway, he lives alone, and he is not afraid of being seen by others.
Thinking that Shu Yue had entered his room just now, he suddenly had some lingering fears.
Fortunately, Shu Yue didn't change the sheets for herself, otherwise, if the mother saw this document, the consequences would be disastrous.
Xu Xizhou thought for a while, took out the file bag, put it in the bottom drawer cabinet, and locked it with a key.
He stared at the chest of drawers and suddenly thought that there were less than three months left until the end of this contract.
In other words, when he finishes this season, he won't have to be Zhuang Jingchun's contract boyfriend, and the two will never have any relationship.
Xu Xizhou couldn't tell what he felt in his heart, he fell on the bed, stared at the ceiling above his head, and sighed deeply.
Zhuang Jingchun stayed in London for two days before returning to France. Shu Yue wanted to prepare for a domestic art exhibition, so she didn't stay any longer. Therefore, a week later, Xu Xizhou, as usual, dragged his suitcase and got on the plane to Sochi, Russia alone.
The Sochi circuit is built next to the vast and magnificent Black Sea, not far from the rolling Caucasus Mountains. The hotel booked by the team is near the seaside and has a whole piece of floor-to-ceiling glass windows. When you open the window and walk to the terrace, you can smell the salty and humid sea breeze, which makes people feel relaxed and happy.
Xu Xizhou rested in the hotel for a long time and went to the fitness room for training in the afternoon.
The accident at Monza inevitably took a toll on his body, and he was visibly aware of a drop in his reflexes during training.
"Xu, why don't we take a rest first, I don't think you're in good shape." After the neck strength training, the physical trainer looked at him with some worry.
Xu Xizhou pressed his forehead and frowned slightly. Just now, he experienced the dizziness that only occurs after a car accident, and a certain nerve in his brain seemed to be aching.
"It's okay, just another fifteen minutes."
Xu Xizhou is very aware of where his limits are. The rest of the day has made his body function slack a lot. He must step up exercise before the game to improve his physical fitness.
"Okay, if you feel uncomfortable, remember to tell me."
Friday, qualifying.
The team manager looked worried when Xu Xizhou put on his helmet and got into the car.
He handed the steering wheel to Xu Xizhou, and pinched his shoulder uneasy.
"Xu, if something is wrong with your body during the competition, you must tell us not to be brave, okay?"
Xu Xizhou installed the steering wheel, put down the goggles of his helmet, and gave him an OK gesture.
Five minutes later, qualifying officially began.
The Sochi circuit is a fairly modern circuit in the Formula One circuit. It is most famous for its unique, 750-meter-long left-hand turn. This corner is a test of the mechanical grip of the car, and it also has very high requirements on the judgement of the racer.
Xu Xizhou started skillfully, came to Turn 1 through the straight, passed the full throttle, and then followed a long straight. Xu Xizhou stared straight ahead, and when he entered the second turn, the huge centripetal force pressed against his neck, causing suffocating pain.
He frowned slightly, and he was so distracted for half a second that he made a misjudgment when exiting the corner and almost rushed into the buffer zone.
In this qualifying match, he had an unprecedentedly difficult drive. He clearly realized that his body had not yet adapted to the rhythm of the track. When speeding on the straight, his hands and feet seemed to be imprisoned and he could not let go.
When the qualifying results came out, he did not enter Q3 and could only start in tenth place. It was his worst qualifying performance all season.
Parking the car back to the safe area, Xu Xizhou got out of the car without taking off his helmet, and went straight to the lounge.
The team manager followed uneasy. When he arrived at the door of the lounge, he was hesitating whether to knock on the door to comfort him when a low voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Let me do it."
The team manager turned his head and saw Zhuang Jingchun appear, his eyes suddenly lit up. He is not a fool either. He has long seen that the relationship between Zhuang Jingchun and Xu Xizhou is obviously not a simple relationship between investors and racing drivers.
With Zhuang Jingchun around, Xu Xizhou might be in a different state.
"Boss, I thought you wouldn't come to the Sochi game." After all, Zhuang Jingchun is still busy with the company, and it is impossible to stay in the team every day.
"I will watch the remaining three games." Zhuang Jingchun nodded at him and pushed open the door of the lounge.
There was no light in the room, and a bulge on the bed could be vaguely seen. On the bedside table was Xu Xizhou's helmet, and the two blue numbers on it were particularly conspicuous. Zhuang Jingchun walked over slowly, put her finger on the number eighteen, and gently rubbed it, as gentle as she was stroking her lover's face.
"I heard the results of qualifying, you have to get up for dinner no matter what."
Hearing this sound, the lump on the bed moved, and the boy's muffled voice came from the quilt.
"How did you come to qualifying?"
He didn't want Zhuang Jingchun to see such a bad performance at all.
"I took an annual leave. I'm free for the next two weeks."
Xu Xizhou snorted, slowly got out of the quilt, and sat down on the bedside dejected.
"You are so busy that you also have time to spare." He teased, but there was no smile in his eyes.
"Xu Xizhou." Zhuang Jingchun suddenly called out his name.
"When the game in Sochi is over, I'll give you a week off, and you can play as you want."
Xu Xizhou snorted softly, and finally had some expression on his face.
There was a month between the race in Sochi and the second-to-last race in Saudi Arabia. This time was neither too long nor too short. It was usually a time for teams to hurry up their training. He never thought about it. Zhuang Jingchun would give him a holiday so generously.
"What if my performance in the race tomorrow is poor? What if I don't even get points..."
"It's okay, your fake photo is on."
Xu Xizhou nodded solemnly, thought of something, and looked up at him.
"Are you... are you wooing me with sugar-coated cannonballs now?"
Zhuang Jingchun raised her eyebrows slightly, "Then do you accept wooing?"
"I think about it..." Xu Xizhou blinked and stared at him suddenly, with a hint of anticipation and eagerness in his eyes.
"There is a small condition. You are also on vacation, or we can make do with it, how about a two-person tour?"
"Okay."
Xu Xizhou did not expect that he would agree so readily, his chest was filled with joy, and his whole body suddenly felt a little fluttering.
"Are you in the mood for dinner now?" Zhuang Jingchun asked again.
Xu Xizhou raised the corner of his mouth and nodded with a smile.
The mood that was originally shrouded in haze, after Zhuang Jingchun appeared, seemed to instantly shine into the sun. Even poor qualifying results are no longer unbearable.
This kind of experience, even Xu Xizhou himself felt novel.
Saturday, race day.
Russia has become very cold in October, with a biting northerly wind. The weather today is not as good as it was yesterday, with large grey lead clouds strewn across the sky, and it seems that there is a tendency to rain at any time.
Before the start of the race, the team held a technical analysis meeting to discuss what kind of tires to use. Zhuang Jingchun, who has always been silent, made a rare comment.
"We don't need a conservative strategy, we can take a risk and stop for rain tires when it rains."
The team's engineer in charge of pit stop strategy was a little surprised. Usually, they chose the most conservative tire plan. didn't expect Zhuang Jingchun to be so aggressive today.
"If it rains lightly, or if the rain stops halfway through, changing the rain tires will affect the performance, right?"
"I've read the weather forecasts in Russia over the years. Once it rains, it won't stop for a while, so I use rain tires."
He has a tough attitude, and the other engineers are not good at saying anything. Coupled with the fact that none of the drivers have objected, they have nothing to say.
After the meeting came out, Xu Xizhou pulled Zhuang Jingchun aside and looked at him curiously.
"You ran the Sochi race before, why are you so sure it will rain?"
"Does your wrist still hurt?"
Zhuang Jingchun didn't answer his question, just stared at his right hand.
Xu Xizhou rubbed his right wrist subconsciously, "Yesterday was fine, but today it suddenly hurts a bit."
"It's caused by the high humidity in the air. The possibility of rain on the track today is very high."
After Zhuang Jingchun finished speaking, he stretched out his hand to hold his right wrist, his thumb pressed on the place where Xu Xizhou had been injured, and suddenly he took out a white thing from his pocket.
Seeing Zhuang Jingchun stick a piece of plaster on her wrist, Xu Xizhou laughed dumbly.
"No, you still believe this?"
"It's not bad to try it. This plaster has a warming effect and will make you feel more comfortable."
Zhuang Jingchun's fingers were slender and fair, and looking at the way the other party was holding her wrist seriously, Xu Xizhou's heartstrings seemed to be moved by something.
The place touched by the man brought strange heat, Xu Xizhou was shocked, and subconsciously withdrew his hand.
"I'm going to change my clothes." He turned around hastily, almost running away.
The five red lights went out and the game officially started.
Although he started in 10th place, Xu Xizhou had a very bright start and had already overtaken two cars when he passed the first corner.
Entering the second corner, this is the best overtaking point in the whole race, and it is also a corner that all drivers are fiercely competing for. Five minutes into the race, there was an accident at turn two. Several racing cars collided in a series, and Xu Xizhou was involved in it, and passed by a crooked racing car in a thrilling manner.
He dashed out of the chaotic curve with a near miss, scraped by debris, but it was not a big problem. Next, he entered the most iconic turn 3 of the Sochi circuit, an ultra-long arc, which tested the driver's choice of route. Xu Xizhou stared at the front with all his attention, not daring to relax any vigilance.
In the first section of the track, he drove fairly smoothly, and in the second section it was a series of medium and high-speed corners. The icy cold wind whizzed past, and even through the helmet, he could feel the coldness of the north wind.
Every time he braked, braked, refueled, his nerves were highly tense. There was another familiar pain in the wrist, but after the pain, there was another layer of warmth.
The scene where Zhuang Jingchun lowered his head and put plaster on him flashed through his mind like a movie. There was a heat flow in the depths of the heart, and in the roaring engine sound, a strong desire to surpass was clamoring in the blood. He knew that the man was watching him from the stands, like every time before.
He wanted to prove to him that he deserved his attention.
The wind whistled in his ears, and the sound of tires rubbing against the ground was sharp and harsh, but Xu Xizhou's heart became extraordinarily calm. The pain in his wrist disappeared, and the aching nerve deep in his brain seemed to temporarily relieve his torment.
Entering the third stage, while pressing the brakes heavily, it is necessary to complete the difficult steering. The car in front of him had locked tires here and nearly skidded off the track.
He took this opportunity to run the line smoothly, cut to the outside, and passed the car in front smoothly.
The next fourteenth and sixteenth turns are very difficult to drive, and a 0.01 second error will send the car into the buffer zone. Xu Xizhou did not dare to relax for a moment, controlled the car precisely, and smoothly entered the next right-angle turn.
In the studio, the two commentators watched in disbelief as the silver-blue car started from tenth place, then overtook it all the way, and successfully counterattacked to fifth place.
"God, it's shocking, we all know that Xu had a tragic accident at Monza last time. It's not easy for him to get back on the track. I didn't expect such a brilliant performance!"
"Yeah, Sochi is arguably one of the hardest tracks to overtake all season, but Xu managed to do it. It is no exaggeration to say that he is the best driver of all F2 drivers who can match Edward's shoulders. , his perseverance, courage and patience are not to be underestimated!"
In the stands, all the spectators stared at the silver-blue racing car. The cold wind was howling, the dark clouds were low, and raindrops gradually fell, and water began to accumulate on the track.
Zhuang Jingchun wore headphones and stared at the silver-blue racing car on the screen without blinking. When he saw puddles appearing on the track, he quickly called an engineer.
"Let Xu Xizhou find a chance to pit, hurry up."
The engineer's voice came over the radio.
"Xu, it's starting to rain, pit stop next lap."
It didn't rain much, and the track got slippery in some places, but mostly dry. Many drivers did not choose to pit in order to keep their positions, but Xu Xizhou chose to trust Zhuang Jingchun, and he made a decisive pit stop on the next lap.
After leaving the station, the rain became heavier. In front of him was Chris from the unique team. The opponent did not change the wet tires, but continued to run on dry tires. Soon his dry tires couldn't adapt to the increasingly slippery track, and he slipped out during a turn.
Xu Xizhou easily surpassed Chris, and before he knew it, his ranking had risen to fourth, and he was within reach of the podium.
In front is Andrew of the Trey team. Compared to Blake's sharp and impetuous driving style, Andrew appears methodical. He knew that Xu Xizhou wanted to overtake him, and he always held the center line firmly and did not give him any opportunity.
The Trey team also chose the strategy of changing the wet tires at the pit stop this time, so the number of tire laps remaining between the two was actually similar. Xu Xizhou knew very well that it would be very difficult to surpass Andrew.
The cold raindrops swept across the helmet, and the vision ahead became extremely blurred. It was almost impossible to recognize the figure of the racing car in front. It was only possible to drive by feel. In a trance, Xu Xizhou seemed to have returned to the rainy battle at Silverstone.
It's just that the rain in Russia is colder than the rain in the UK, and he can't surpass Andrew all the time. Every time he felt he had a chance, Andrew would throw him off the straights again.
Xu Xizhou is very clear that the more he is like this, the less anxious he can be, and he can only keep following Andrew, looking for any opportunity to surpass.
There are only five laps left in the race.
Once again, it enters the exaggerated turn three, where the driver's body will be under pressure of nearly four Gs. The rain screen made everything blurry. Xu Xizhou could not tell whether there was Andrew in front of him or not. He just chose the best route based on his intuition. bending heart.
Something flashed in the field of vision, and then, the engineer's disbelieving voice came from the radio station.
"Xu, you have surpassed Andrew. He exits the corner 0.2 seconds slower than you!"
"Xu, keep moving forward, don't let Andrew overtake you!"
At the moment of surpassing Andrew, Xu Xizhou seemed to really regain his rhythm on the track. He no longer listened to the voice on the radio, but just stared at the front with concentration, the adrenaline in his body was surging.
Fuel up, steer, brake. Into the last lap, Andrew still held on to him tightly, and even took advantage of DRS until he almost passed him again.
The moment the black and white checkered flag waved, the two cars crossed the line almost simultaneously. All the spectators in the stands could not help but stand up, nervously looking at the direction of the finish line.
Zhuang Jingchun frowned tightly, staring at the two racing cars on the screen at the same time. Beside him, the team manager couldn't bear to look at the track, but folded his hands and kept praying in a low voice.
"Unbelievable! Xu Xizhou defended his position in the last lap! He crossed the line 0.3 seconds faster than Andrew! Xu Xizhou of Lightning team, once again on the podium!" The commentator stood up excitedly.
The moment they heard the results, everyone in the lightning team cheered excitedly and rushed to the fence.
Xu Xizhou parked the car back to the waiting area, got out of the car, and a group of people rushed up to surround him. Xu Xizhou raised his hands high, and excitedly applauded and celebrated with everyone.
He was wearing a helmet full of rain, and he couldn't tell who was who. He just hugged them one by one. Suddenly, a pair of hands wrapped tightly around his waist and hugged him whole.
The author has something to say:
I did the seventh round of nucleic acid today... I'm numb...