Chapter 9: Just Say the Word If You Want Me Locked Up Tonight

She watched as Feng Miwan picked up her helmet, so she opened WeChat and sent her a message:

“Be careful on the road.”

Feng Miwan was just about to ride off when she suddenly remembered she still needed to settle the score with Zhao Shutong. She set the helmet down and headed toward the bookstore.

She pushed open the door, and the wind chimes tinkled lightly.

The shop’s lights were bright, but there wasn’t a single customer inside.

Zhao Shutong was sitting behind the front counter. Hearing the noise, she looked up and saw her come in.

“You’re finally back!”

She stood up and hurried over, pulling Feng Miwan to the seat beside her and making her sit down.

“I’ve been waiting for you! Come on, come on!”

Zhao Shutong grabbed a cup from the counter and poured in some canned mystery beverage that was impossible to identify.

She shoved it into Feng Miwan’s hand.

“Here, have some?”

Feng Miwan took the cup and eyed the liquid inside suspiciously. She looked utterly wary:

“…Just say the word if you want me locked up tonight? I’ve still got to ride home later.”

Zhao Shutong rolled her eyes at her:

“I’m kidding! It’s sparkling water mixed with juice, not booze! Would I really mess with you?”

She urged her on: “So? What do you think? What do you think?”

Feng Miwan took a sip and nodded: “Uh, it tastes pretty good? Super refreshing.”

Seeing how slow on the uptake she was, Zhao Shutong nearly couldn’t hold back from smacking her:

“Who asked about that? I’m asking about that glamorous doctor lady! How’d it go?”

“How’d what go?”

Feng Miwan looked utterly baffled, then caught on and laughed helplessly.

“What else? Just like that.”

Zhao Shutong: “…Can your nonsense poetry get any more profound?”

“Give me details! What’d you talk about? How’d it feel? Was there any of that… heart-fluttering vibe?”

Feng Miwan’s scalp tingled from the questions, and she quickly set the cup down:

“Oh come on, my dear Shutong, stop with the hopeless romantic brain. Everything looks like pink bubbles to you.”

“I really don’t want to end up like you, swapping partners every few days with all those hit-and-run flings.”

“I get that lots of people go for that kind of dating these days, and I respect your choices, but it’s not for me.”

“Dr. Xiong has solid character and top-notch skills. Just making a friend like her is already amazing!”

She stood up and slipped toward the door:

“Plus, I really don’t want to date right now—it’s the key period of the season, sis!”

“I’ve got early training with the team tomorrow morning. I’m out!”

Zhao Shutong watched her retreating back, arms crossed, and huffed:

“…Feng Miwan, you better be.”

Feng Miwan let out a sigh of relief only after leaving the bookstore.

She pulled out her bike keys and was about to put on her helmet when something occurred to her. She took out her phone and glanced at it.

The screen lit up, showing a new message.

From “Dr. Xiong.”

“Be careful on the road.”

Simple words.

Feng Miwan’s lips curved up unconsciously. She typed back:

“Got it~ Got it~”

After sending it, she pocketed the phone, donned her helmet, and straddled the motorcycle.

The engine roared to life, and the bike soon vanished around the corner.

At the other end of the city, in a simply furnished apartment.

Xiong Yibai was soaking in the bathtub amid swirling steam.

The phone on the rack by the tub suddenly lit up with a vibration.

She reached out, wiped the steam from the screen, and looked.

The screen showed a message preview.

From the contact saved as “Honey.”

“Got it~ Got it~”

Followed by a cheeky wavy tilde.

Xiong Yibai’s lips curved upward. She didn’t reply, just turned off the screen, set the phone back, and closed her eyes.

But a few minutes later, she suddenly opened them.

She sat up in the tub, dried her hands, grabbed the phone nearby, unlocked it, and opened the browser.

Her fingertip hovered over the search bar for a few seconds, as if hesitating, but she finally typed three characters:

“Feng Miwan”

The search results page popped up.

The first things to catch her eye were sports news headlines and related images.

“Dark Horse Rises! ‘Rain Battle Goddess’ Feng Miwan Conquers Pearl City Circuit, Claims First Win of the Season!”

“Exclusive Interview: Maple Grove Racing Team’s Rising Star Feng Miwan—The Adventurer of the Track, 22-Year-Old Prodigy Racer.”

“China Super Car Championship Points Standings Updated: Feng Miwan Takes the Lead, Stuns the Field!”

In the news photos, she wore a cool racing suit, either spraying champagne from the champion podium;

or leaning against her Maple Leaf Red racecar for an interview;

or speeding through a rain-misted track, the car kicking up massive sprays of water.

Xiong Yibai scrolled through more info and images.

Her gaze lingered extra long on the shots showing her face.

“Rain Battle Goddess… prodigy racer…”

She murmured to herself, her eyes gleaming with keen interest.

“No wonder she drives so fast…”

She exited the browser and switched back to WeChat.

Ren Queyue’s message was still there.

Xiong Yibai replied: “Handled.”

She scrolled up through her chat with Ren Queyue and found the message about the patients.

She screenshotted it, then edited to crop out the timestamp and other info, leaving just the text:

“All stabilized! What a relief! Especially that heart attack uncle—lucky we got him there fast. Ten or twenty more minutes, and it would’ve been disastrous! Gotta thank that flying ace sister! Godspeed!”

She exited the chat with Ren Queyue, opened the “Honey” contact, and sent the cropped screenshot.

No extra text.

The next second, the phone vibrated.

“Honey”: “That’s great! (^▽^)”

Followed by a chubby, starry-eyed cartoon emoji bursting with joy.

Xiong Yibai looked at the cute, adorable contrast to the Rain Battle Goddess’s badass image.

The stark difference made her chuckle softly again.

Her finger lingered on the screen for a moment, but she ultimately didn’t reply. She just turned off the screen and set the phone back.

The next morning at dawn, Feng Miwan arrived at the Maple Grove Racing Team’s suburban training base.

The pit area beside the track—the zone for race pit stops, tire changes, and repairs—was already bustling.

“Morning, Sister Wan!”

“Sister Wan, you’re here!”

“Little Wan, how’s your condition today?”

The team members greeted her warmly.

Feng Miwan high-fived them all in response and strode briskly toward her racecar.

It was a deeply modified machine.

The body was in the team’s signature Maple Leaf Red, accented with sleek, speed-evoking bright orange stripes.