Chapter 45: Nervous?

A moment later, she withdrew her gaze and turned to Feng Yuxiao. “Your team is heading to the Modu Circuit next week, right?”

Feng Yuxiao nodded. “Yes, we’re leaving next Wednesday.”

“Mm.”

Xiong Yibai acknowledged him, then said, “In that case, I’ll head out first. I won’t disturb your training anymore. I have something to take care of.”

Feng Yuxiao quickly replied, “Let me walk you out.”

“No need,” Xiong Yibai waved him off. “You all keep focusing on your work. I can see myself out.”

With that, she gave Feng Yuxiao a slight nod and turned to walk back the way she had come.

Feng Yuxiao watched her back until it disappeared through the base entrance, then turned and dove back into work.

Xiong Yibai slid into her car but didn’t start the engine.

She pulled out her phone, found her father’s number, and dialed it.

The call connected instantly. “Hello, Xiaobai? What’s up?”

Xiong Yibai got straight to the point. “Dad, I’m going to Modu Central Hospital for advanced training next week.”

There was a clear pause on the other end before Xiong Daichuan’s voice rang out in surprise. “Modu Central Hospital? What made you change your mind all of a sudden? I’ve mentioned it to you a few times before—they wanted to invite you to their cutting-edge research group on systemic infection control after severe trauma for an exchange and study session, but you said you weren’t considering it yet. You wanted to focus on work at your current hospital first. Did something happen?”

“No,” Xiong Yibai’s tone remained even. “I just decided to go. I remember the training period is ten days, right?”

“Yes, it’s their short-term specialized program, mainly for research exchanges and observing some special case treatments.”

Xiong Daichuan confirmed, then did some quick mental math on the timing. “If you’re set on going next week, you’ll need to report there on Monday for the opening ceremony and prep work.”

“It’s a bit tight on time. Should I have the office contact them right away to coordinate and arrange your lodging and transport?”

“Mm, sure. Thanks.” Xiong Yibai replied.

After hanging up, Xiong Yibai’s gaze drifted back toward the training base.

Feng Miwan had just finished another set of high-intensity timed laps and pulled her race car to a steady stop in the pit area.

She removed her heavy helmet, sweat already soaking the strands of hair on her forehead. As she wiped it away with a towel, she listened to Feng Yuxiao analyze her latest training data.

“You can shave another 0.4 seconds off your exit speed at that corner. Time your late braking more precisely…”

Feng Yuxiao said, pointing at the data curves on his tablet.

Feng Miwan nodded seriously. Suddenly, Feng Yuxiao seemed to remember something and added casually, “Oh, right—Doctor Xiong stopped by earlier.”

“What?!”

Feng Miwan froze mid-wipe, her eyes widening.

“Yibai? She was here? When? Where?”

She craned her neck, frantically scanning the pit area and stands.

Feng Yuxiao watched his sister’s eyes light up instantly. He found it amusing but kept a straight face. “She was here for a bit. Stood over there and watched you train for a while. But she didn’t stay long—said she had something to do and left.”

“Ah? She left?”

Disappointment flooded Feng Miwan’s face, her shoulders slumping.

“Why didn’t she call me… Bro! Give me my phone quick!”

She held out her hand.

Feng Yuxiao handed it over and couldn’t help chuckling at her expression. “Alright, no need to look like you’ve lost your soul. We’ve gone through most of the data analysis. We can review the rest later.”

“Go find her. You need a break anyway.”

“Ever since we got back from Yong City, you’ve been like a wound-up toy. You haven’t even touched your favorite games. You’re always buried in training—you should take a breather.”

Feng Miwan took the phone, swiftly unlocked the screen, and tapped the WeChat icon while saying, “It’s because I want to shatter that ‘rain-only racer’ label at the Modu Circuit…”

She found Xiong Yibai’s chat and fired off a quick message:

“Yibai! My bro said you came to the training base earlier? Why’d you leave without saying hi! (´;ω;`)”

The message went through, and soon her phone buzzed with a reply.

Xiong Yibai: “Mm, saw you were deep in training, so I didn’t want to interrupt.”

Feng Miwan: “You should’ve waited! Training’s over now! Where are you? I’ll come hang out! My bro even approved my break! (★ ω ★)”

Xiong Yibai: “You’ve got the Modu race next week. This is your key training phase—focus on prep. We can hang out later.”

Feng Miwan stared at the screen, her lips pursing slightly, but she kept typing: “But I wanna see you… Can’t it be just for a little bit? I promise it won’t cut into training!”

Xiong Yibai: “The race is more important. After you finish and get a good result, we’ll celebrate. We can hang out as long as you want.”

Feng Miwan felt a twinge of disappointment, but those words “as long as you want” made her heart leap.

Feng Miwan: “Deal! After the race, when I bring home the trophy, you’re gonna hang out with me to my heart’s content! Promise! (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧”

Xiong Yibai: “Mm, promise. Good luck with training.”

Seeing that reply wiped the disappointment from Feng Miwan’s face. She shoved the phone back to Feng Yuxiao, grabbed her helmet again. “Bro! One more set!”

Feng Yuxiao looked at his suddenly revitalized sister and shook his head with a smile. “Fine, as you wish. Data recording ready—”

Time slipped by amid the intensive training and preparations. Before they knew it, the day arrived for the Maple Grove Racing Team to head to Modu.

On Wednesday, the team arrived in Modu and checked into the event’s official partner hotel.

Thursday was media day. Feng Miwan posed for promo photos and gave interviews, and that evening, the team held an internal tactical meeting to analyze opponents and track strategies.

It wasn’t until after nine at night that Feng Miwan dragged her slightly fatigued body back to her room.

Her body was exhausted, but her mind raced with tomorrow’s free practice session—data points and corner lines swirling in her head, stirring waves of tension.

She flopped onto the sofa and scrolled through her phone, trying to distract herself.

Just then, a WeChat notification pinged—a message popup from Xiong Yibai.

Xiong Yibai: “Nervous?”

Feng Miwan’s eyes lit up at the name. She tapped to reply.

Feng Miwan: “Nervous! Super nervous! The pressure is insane! Feels even worse than my first official race! (˃ ⌑ ˂ഃ )”

She hit send, tossed the phone aside, hugged a sofa cushion, and rolled half a turn to ease the jittery feeling.

A few seconds later, the phone buzzed again. She snatched it up.

Xiong Yibai: “Room number?”

Feng Miwan blinked, caught off guard.

Feng Miwan: “???”

Right after, the next message from Xiong Yibai came through.

Xiong Yibai: “Ordered you some stuff. Delivery. Give me the room number.”