Chapter 88: Confession: "I like you!"

The race on the winding track was still going on.

Rider number one, Qin Yichi, and rider number six were nearly neck and neck, locked in an exceptionally fierce and ruthless battle for the ultimate speed.

Through the last few turns, both leaned into the corners at the same time, skimming so close to the ground they seemed almost to fly.

Every bend tested a rider’s skill and nerve, and cornering was undoubtedly the most thrilling part of all.

“Aaaah!” The crowd erupted like a volcano. Spectators waved their little flags, the commentator’s voice rose to a fever pitch, and the atmosphere had reached its peak.

On the screen, rider number six was hugging the inside line, so low to the ground it seemed he might vanish into it.

Then, all at once, like a small boat battered by a stormy sea, he lost control and skidded sideways.

Rider number six was completely out of control, careening straight into Qin Yichi, who was riding alongside him on the outer line.

With a deafening crash, the collision tore through the air.

The two of them carved a blinding arc across the track, spinning and tumbling over and over in a spray of sparks before both were thrown off the course.

Metal shrieked against metal, smoke and sparks spilling outward.

Qin Yichi had crashed.

A crash was a fatal blow in a race, nearly eliminating any chance at a prize, and it could even leave a rider with an indelible fear.

The horrifying scene struck the eye like a blade, and the entire venue was suddenly pressed into silence, as if someone had hit pause.

In that instant, the whole world seemed to twist and deform, becoming a bottomless abyss that slowly swallowed the body.

Coldness and despair surrounded her. She could not move, could not speak.

Only a searing pain remained, as if countless silver needles were stabbing viciously into her heart, each nerve hammered by a storm of ice.

They had clearly promised each other he would be safe.

Why had he lied?

No...

"No!"

Qiao Zhen jolted awake, eyes flying open as she cried out and sat up abruptly from the sofa.

It was as if her whole body had been torn apart by a tremendous force. Her face was deathly pale, her body trembling uncontrollably, a thin sheen of sweat gathered on her forehead.

Her heart hurt.

It really hurt so much...

"Qiao Zhen, are you all right?" A familiar, anxious voice sounded beside her ear.

Qiao Zhen slowly came back to herself, a little late in reacting, and when she raised her eyes she was suddenly bewildered.

She was in an unfamiliar lounge.

And Qin Yichi was sitting right beside her, unharmed.

He was still dressed in that red-and-black racing suit, still as spirited and unruly as ever.

The only difference was the thing now hanging at his neck.

A gold medal.

"You..." Qiao Zhen’s nose prickled; emotion surged up so quickly that her eyes turned red at once.

Flustered, she instinctively grabbed Qin Yichi’s hand and choked out, "You’re okay?"

Holding her hand with one hand, Qin Yichi lifted the gleaming trophy beside him with the other and said, "Qiao Zhen, I won the championship."

The moment he stood on the podium, he kept thinking that Qiao Zhen must surely be watching him too.

But after receiving the trophy, he got word that Qiao Zhen had fainted, and he almost sprinted the whole way over.

At that instant, he felt like he was going mad. He had never been so nervous in his life, not even a thousand or ten thousand times less than this.

His heart was pounding so fiercely it seemed about to burst through his chest.

The on-site doctor found nothing wrong and said Qiao Zhen only needed some rest. Only then did he finally breathe again, carrying her princess-style all the way into the lounge.

When she passed out, she seemed to be in great pain and deep distress, and no matter how he called to her, she would not wake...

Qiao Zhen stared at the trophy for a long time, then tightened her grip on his hand and whispered, "I... want to watch the replay."

Her eyelashes trembled lightly; she was still trapped in a state of extreme fear.

Qin Yichi gave a soft "mm" and held his phone up in front of her, scrubbing through the timeline.

Qiao Zhen watched the screen without blinking.

At the critical moment on the final lap, rider number six beside Qin Yichi lost control and crashed off the track. Fortunately, Qin Yichi had been just that tiny bit faster and was not affected, surging straight across the finish line.

Afterward, he stood on the podium, tall and straight, holding the championship trophy. Half his face was lit, half in shadow, sweat beading on his features, his lips slightly parted with exertion, the air around him thick with masculine energy.

The entire venue cheered and roared.

Even the brilliant sunlight seemed to favor him, gathering around him like a golden waterfall, bathing the side of his face until he shone with dazzling brilliance.

The replay ended.

The tears Qiao Zhen had been holding back only grew more numerous. Her lips were pale as she said, "That number six... crashed."

Qin Yichi’s voice was steady. "Yes. He nearly knocked me down. Later, the medical staff also found he had taken banned substances, and he’ll probably be suspended by the authorities for three to five years."

Hearing this, Qiao Zhen’s nose grew even more sour, as if she had bitten into the most bitter orange in the world. The sting in her heart would not go away.

So the nightmares she had been having these days, and that terrifying fragment from just now, were all memories from a previous life.

Every time those memories surfaced, she would faint uncontrollably.

In her past life, Qin Yichi crashed in this race and was badly injured. It was also the first setback of his career.

But in this life, he was not only safe and sound, he had even won the championship.

They had both kept their promise: she had come to watch Qin Yichi race, and Qin Yichi had been safe and successful.

Neither of them had broken the vow they made last night with their linked little fingers, and neither of them would turn into a dog.

Qiao Zhen forced her eyes wide open and held back tears with all her might, telling herself over and over:

Be happy, smile, don’t cry!

It was clearly such a perfect, beautiful ending, and yet she still could not stop herself from hurting.

Hurting for Qin Yichi in that previous life.

If he was hurt, she would be sad too...

Qiao Zhen lowered her head, her eyes red-rimmed, emotions surging out of control and flooding over her.

The next second, Qin Yichi removed the gold medal and put it around her neck, then reached out to pinch her cheek, coaxing her gently and indulgently:

"Good girl, I’ll give you the gold medal. Don’t cry, okay?"

As he spoke, the tear mole beneath his eye seemed to sway with him, affectionate and seductive, as if it concealed a hidden hook.

Qiao Zhen had already been forcing back her tears, but after Qin Yichi’s gentle coaxing, she finally could not hold on and they spilled out with a soft plop.

Crystal tears burst from her eyes one after another, rushing out in front of each other.

People were always like this: when facing storms, they would try their hardest to hold back, and even if they had suffered the greatest grievance, they would grit their teeth and endure. But once they heard words of comfort, it became easy for emotions to surge and for tears to flow.

The more Qin Yichi comforted her and coaxed her, the more tears Qiao Zhen shed.

Watching her cry with such restraint, Qin Yichi did not know why she was so upset, but a wave of tenderness gradually rose in his heart, and even his chest seemed to clench in little spasms.

He leaned down toward Qiao Zhen, lightly brushing her soft cheek with his fingertips as he wiped away her tears.

After thinking carefully for a moment, Qin Yichi asked seriously, "Did those guys bully you? Or did they say something to you?"

Qiao Zhen lowered her head, rubbing her eyes, her sobs broken and uneven. "No... they’re very nice. No one bullied me."

Suddenly, the lounge door was flung open.

Niu Yifeng, Zhang Yu... a crowd of boys crowded in, staring dumbfounded at Qiao Zhen as she wiped her tears.

Niu Yifeng blurted out, "Damn it! Brother Chi, why are you bullying Qiao girl?"

Zhang Yu smacked him hard on the backside and lowered his voice. "Shut up, you idiot. Can’t you see he’s comforting her?"

Niu Yifeng immediately caught on, set the white backpack in his hands on the chair beside him, and said, "Th-this is Qiao girl’s bag. We’ll head off now, okay? Go for it~"

As soon as he finished speaking, the group hurried out again, not forgetting to close the door behind them.

They went to a nearby open space, squatted down, and while playing cards, spoke to each other in worried tones:

"Do you think Brother Chi’s confession will work today? Will our Qiao girl agree to him?"

"She’s crying that badly. Could it be she already rejected him just now?"

"No way! Absolutely no way! If they fail, then I’ll never believe in love again, and I’ll run naked around the school track field!"

Inside the quiet lounge.

Qin Yichi picked up the bag and placed it beside Qiao Zhen, casually asking, "It’s a bit heavy. What’s inside?"

Qiao Zhen immediately reached out and clutched the backpack tightly, looking wronged and stubbornly refusing to tell him.

Qin Yichi did not press further. He sat beside her and, as usual, ruffled her hair.

"Qiao Zhen, if something’s wrong, can you tell me?"

He wanted to help shoulder some of it for her.

Sadness, grievance, pain, bitterness... any kind of feeling was fine.

Qiao Zhen rubbed her eyes, glanced at him carefully, and said with a trembling sob, "I just... had a dream."

She was still organizing her thoughts, trying to figure out how to explain it, when Qin Yichi immediately got it.

He coaxed her softly, "A nightmare, right? You dreamed I crashed? Or that I was hit and killed—"

Qiao Zhen hurriedly covered his mouth, panicked. "Don’t say it out loud, it’s bad luck!"

So he had guessed correctly.

Qin Yichi moved her hand aside and took out a safety charm, saying earnestly, "Don’t be afraid. Look, I’m still alive and well, aren’t I?"

"Just now, when you fainted, I even had someone find your roommate’s contact information."

"Your roommate said you’ve been having nightmares lately and haven’t been sleeping well. She also said that yesterday you went climbing Mount Baiwu, and halfway up it started pouring rain. Everyone else came back one by one, but you still gritted your teeth and kept climbing."

"One thousand three hundred and fourteen steps—you asked for this charm for me."

Qin Yichi held up the safety charm, his own eyes gradually染ed red, staring unblinking at her.

"Just now, I really came that close to being hit. So when I got out of the car, I kept thinking: did it protect me?"

The moment he finished speaking, the emotions Qiao Zhen had just barely steadied came surging back wildly.

Her mind went blank. She forgot everything and only clung desperately to Qin Yichi’s waist, burying her face in his chest, her tears soaking his racing suit.

"But that dream was so real, so real..."

It was his previous life.

In that previous life, he crashed, and he must have been very sad, must have felt desperate.

Those real pains hit Qiao Zhen’s heart with perfect precision.

It hurt so much.

The grievance and unease she had carried for so many days finally seemed to find an outlet.

Burying her head, Qiao Zhen sobbed harder, tears falling one after another.

"Qin Yichi, I’m so scared... scared you’ll crash, scared something will happen to you."

"I really don’t want you to be sad."

"Qin Yichi, I, I’ll wa..."

Qiao Zhen’s voice grew smaller and smaller, broken and indistinct, and the last sentence was impossible to hear clearly.

"Hm? Wash what?" Qin Yichi reached out and gently patted her back, holding her tight in his arms as if soothing a little child.

He was still thinking about how to comfort her, how to coax the little rabbit in his arms and make her a little happier.

Who would have thought that in the next second, Qiao Zhen suddenly lifted her head, tears still streaming with grievance, and summoned every ounce of courage she had to say:

"I like you!!!"