Chapter 20: Can You Teach Me How to Chase Someone?

Liu Lingfeng felt like today was just cursed.

Work wasn’t going well. He’d hit a wall with Zhouyu. He was there on behalf of Shine, negotiating a photo shoot collaboration with a new magazine under the same company. He’d hoped to borrow some outfits, but Zhouyu had laid into him the moment he showed up, leaving Liu Lingfeng thoroughly pissed off.

Then, on his way out, he ran into Xu Yan, that female demon head.

He’d planned to grab dinner with a model that evening, then hit up some spot to party and nurse his wounded ego. But no—in the underground garage, he’d gotten into a car accident.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t exactly an accident. At worst, his car had been scraped to hell.

He’d heard the roar of the other engine from a mile away. A quick glance in the rearview mirror told him it was someone he couldn’t afford to mess with. Liu Lingfeng just wanted to get the hell out of there fast. When the other car kept tailing him relentlessly, he veered into an open spot on the side to let them pass.

That was a mistake.

The other driver didn’t slow down at all—in fact, she seemed to floor it. Instead of taking the wide-open lane, she squeezed right up against Liu Lingfeng’s car. He froze in terror. The supercar sped by, leaving behind a trail of invisible exhaust and the shrill screech of something tearing.

Liu Lingfeng’s first thought was that he’d scratched their car. He couldn’t afford that—though both sides had insurance, he didn’t want to shell out the cash. Then he realized that didn’t feel right. On instinct, he got out to check. He slammed the door shut, bent down, and there it was: a perfect straight-line gash running the entire length of his car’s left side.

His brain short-circuited. Blood rushed to his head. His throat screamed, but no sound came out.

The other car pulled to a stop. The driver stepped out—a stunning beauty. One look at her, and Liu Lingfeng knew she was loaded. As a photographer, he’d seen all types: the ones born with silver spoons, and the ones faking it. Clearly, she was the former.

“Oops, why were you so careless?” Su Dai said right off the bat.

Liu Lingfeng was speechless. “Me? Careless?”

Su Dai shot back, “Who told you to park like that? Taking up three spots sideways like a lunatic. You got a death wish or what?”

Liu Lingfeng had never met a woman this unreasonable in his life. He laughed out of sheer rage. “Listen, sis—big sis—I was trying to get out of your way.”

Su Dai: “Did I ask you to?”

Liu Lingfeng: “Fuck!”

His blood boiled toward his brain, and the alcohol he’d had earlier was quietly amplifying everything.

He was this close to throwing a punch.

Liu Lingfeng hauled camera gear for a living. He was decent-looking with a bit of muscle. As he started to raise his hand, Su Dai just grinned. “Wanna throw down?”

“There’s someone in my car,” she added.

Liu Lingfeng glanced over. He couldn’t make out who it was, but they were holding something that looked seriously bad news.

“Pay up,” he demanded.

Su Dai smiled. “Sure. Let’s call the cops first.”

Liu Lingfeng agreed. He pulled out his phone to dial. The model in his passenger seat scrambled out and whispered a reminder. Suddenly, he couldn’t make the call. Things got awkward fast.

“I’ll call if you won’t,” Su Dai said.

Liu Lingfeng: “Don’t.”

He gritted his teeth. “Forget it. We’re done here today.”

Su Dai hadn’t expected the guy to back down so quick. As she got back in the car, she told Chen Yi about it. Chen Yi sensed something off.

“He’s that guilty?” Chen Yi gripped the electric baton in her hand. It was a real one—Chen Yi had gotten it for her and stashed it in the car ages ago. Not something just anyone could buy, though similar knockoffs were on Taobao, nicknamed pig driving sticks.

Not many people dared mess with Su Dai on the road anyway. Even if she hogged the center lane, smart drivers steered clear from eight miles away, terrified of a scrape that could bankrupt them.

But better safe than sorry.

It might come in handy at a pinch.

She just never figured she’d be the one holding it from the passenger seat someday.

Chen Yi had gotten the handle specially wrapped in soft leather—grippy and easy on the hands. Her thumb brushed the material as she glanced in the rearview at Liu Lingfeng’s car. Her eyes darkened. “Something’s fishy.”

Su Dai: “What now?”

Chen Yi: “Wanna ask Big Auntie if there’s a drunk driving checkpoint going down today?”

Su Dai got it and grinned wolfishly. “Serving the people—how could we not?”

After they drove off, Liu Lingfeng took forever to calm down. He cursed up a storm before finally hitting the road.

“What a madwoman,” he muttered while driving.

“Liu-ge, th-that—” The petite model beside him was shaking like a leaf.

“Spit it out.”

“Th-there are cops!”

Liu Lingfeng looked where she pointed.

Holy shit!

A row of uniformed officers stood roadside, pulling cars over for breathalyzers. Worst of all, SWAT was on guard duty nearby.

“What do we do?” The model was sweating bullets.

What else? Run!

Liu Lingfeng yanked the wheel to bolt, but reversing on a major road was suicide. The moment he moved, the waiting SWAT piled into their vehicle and gave chase. The boulevard turned into a damn action movie. When the SWAT drew their guns, Liu Lingfeng’s bravado melted. He surrendered without a fight.

Not long after, Chen Yi and Su Dai got the update from up ahead.

Liu Lingfeng wasn’t just drunk driving—he had drugs stashed in his car.

“He won’t see daylight for years,” Big Auntie said. “How’d you two know?”

Su Dai looked at Chen Yi. Chen Yi shrugged and said into the phone, “Big Auntie, just a lucky guess. Didn’t think he’d be that reckless.”

Big Auntie chuckled. “Little Yi, with observation skills like that, you could work at the station.”

Su Dai chimed in, “Big Auntie, you know how she honed them? All from gaming.”

“Alright, alright. You two stay safe. Call if anything comes up.”

Big Auntie hung up.

Su Dai wagged her head smugly. “Chen Yi, not bad for what I pulled off today, huh?”

Chen Yi: “One word: Top-tier.”

Su Dai: “Duo queue tonight?”

Chen Yi: “Deal.”

Su Dai let out a happy squeal and wriggled in her seat. She drove Chen Yi home, too lazy to head back herself, so she crashed there. Chen Yi’s place had plenty of spare rooms anyway.

First thing once home, Chen Yi called her mom.

Her mom picked up: “Out with it. What do you need?”

Chen Yi cut straight to it. “Heard of Liu Lingfeng? He got nabbed today—courtesy of Su Dai’s Big Auntie. Word is he’s tight with some celeb. Can you pass the news along?”

Her mom: “That’s new.”

“Since when do you meddle like this?”

Chen Yi: “That was then. This is pervert territory now.”

Her mom laughed. “Such a smartass.”

“Consider it handled. How’s work?”

Chen Yi thought, work? Same old misery. Who actually enjoyed the grind? She didn’t buy it.

Come to think of it, she’d targeted Liu Lingfeng over work stuff. Total bullshit—if not for that creep, Xu Yan might never have misunderstood her from the start. All his fault. And this loser thought he could keep slinking around the fashion world? Chen Yi couldn’t stomach it.

“Why the silence?”

Chen Yi: “Same old.”

Her mom: “Come home this weekend. Grandma Leng’s birthday—we’ll go together.”

Leng Yuanzhi was Chen Yi’s grandma’s friend who’d watched her grow up. They were close.

“Sure,” Chen Yi said. “Head back after work tomorrow?”

Her mom: “Nah, Saturday. I don’t want your grumpy mug right after Friday’s shift.”

Chen Yi: “…”

“You’re a real mom, alright.” She ground her teeth.

Her mom: “Tell me about it.”

Click. Liu Lingfeng was toast.

Relief washed over Chen Yi. She pulled out her phone, logged into Miracle, saw Fade wasn’t online, logged right back out, then asked Su Dai what she wanted to play. She’d carry her—and throw in a stream for kicks.

Su Dai was trash at games but addicted, with a hit rate under 1 percent. The girl shook like a leaf shooting baddies, yet she craved FPS.

For helping out today, Chen Yi shouldered the whole team, carrying Su Dai to win after win.

The chat exploded with envy.

【When’s Vegetable Sister gonna carry me!!】

【Holy crap, last time Vegetable Sister carried anyone was ages ago… Who’s this VIP? She’s got insane patience!】

【OMG! Is that her girlfriend?!】

Su Dai spotted it: “Someone says I’m your girlfriend.”

Chen Yi shuddered. “People spout nonsense, not gospel.”

Su Dai pouted. “What? Not good enough?”

Chen Yi: “You think you’re good enough for me?”

Su Dai shook her head fast.

“I’m straight.”

Chen Yi: “My condolences.”

Su Dai: “???”

She tailed Chen Yi’s character in-game while asking in that nosy bestie tone, “Any updates lately?”

Chen Yi: “You think I’m like you? Falling hard every two weeks, drama every three months.”

Su Dai huffed. “Mine’s called having a rich emotional life! Not like you, game addict! Never seen you crush on anyone your whole life!”

【What? Vegetable Sister’s a lifelong singleton?】

【Solo queen~~ solo queen~~】

【Nice, another thing me and Vegetable Sister have in common: chronic single.】

The live chat comments hadn’t even gotten around to much teasing when Chen Yi replied airily, “Who says there isn’t?”

The moment Su Dai heard that, she dropped her game entirely and grabbed Chen Yi’s arm. “Spill it! Who’s the one?”

Chen Yi yelped, “Holy crap! Friend! I’m in the middle of a match! What are you doing?!”

“Tell me or else!”

“I’m in the middle of a shooter game!”

Su Dai lunged for the network cable to yank it out.

“I’ll tell! I’ll tell!!!”

Throwing caution to the wind, Chen Yi confessed, “It’s a netizen! Happy now?!”

The live chat exploded.

【Vegetable Sister, look at you go! Online romance already?!】

【Holy crap, is it some male streamer?!】

“Not male in the slightest,” Chen Yi said with a chuckle. “Stop guessing. None of you know them.”

Su Dai blinked her eyes. “What about me? Can I get to know them?”

Chen Yi shouted at her to scram.

Su Dai had scrammed halfway when Chen Yi called her back.

Now off-stream, she sat in the computer chair, her expression troubled and her body language radiating unease. After a moment’s hesitation, Chen Yi asked, “Can you teach me how to chase someone?”

In that instant, Su Dai felt the long-suppressed bloodline of her gaming and academic dominance awaken.

She threw her head back and laughed triumphantly toward the heavens.

“Chen Yi, so your day has finally come.”

“And wait—are you blushing?”

How had her ears turned so bright red?