F1: The Making of a Racing God

Interlude in Chapter 213
Since we're back to make up for the disappointments of Christmas, we certainly can't come empty-handed.

Not only his girlfriend, but he also prepared gifts for other family members. Some were in his suitcase, and some were still on their way.

The steering wheel I gave my dad was the Red Bull one he used this year; I specifically asked the racing team for it before I left.

These expired steering wheels aren't actually anything particularly important or confidential. For example, when Shulong and Magnussen left Haas last year, Haas gave each of them a steering wheel they used during the season.

Of course, that one is also in Shu Xiong's hands; it feels like this thing is becoming an annual fixed event.

Next year's rules will be drastically changed, and much of the software will need to be remade. Not to mention, this thing has already been tested by the team's engineers before we even got it, so it can basically be used as a simulator steering wheel.

The main reason is that his father doesn't have any particular hobbies besides cars, and this is the best gift that Shulong can come up with every year.

As for giving away cars, Shu Long's own collection of cars doesn't even amount to a fraction of what his father owns. He usually has to ask Shu Xiong to help him check the specifications when buying a car.

However, I've always felt that my dad's favorite steering wheel was the Haas one from last year.

It's not that Haas's steering wheel has a story; the one in Bahrain was burned long ago, and its wreckage is also in Shulong.

Instead, Haas's steering wheel is based on the one Kimi used at Ferrari, and it even has Kimi's name and car number on the back.

Chacha Shu Xiong also really, really likes Kimi.
So the gift Shulong is preparing for next year is the helmet he and Lao Laitou traded in Abu Dhabi. His father will probably be much more envious of it than the steering wheel.

As for the steering wheel, it will still be from Red Bull next year, and the design will not be much different from this year's. There would be no point in giving away another one that is exactly the same.

I brought my mom a set of Lancôme skincare products.

Although I've always felt that my mom doesn't look that old, I hear her muttering about getting older from time to time. Whether it's a waste of money or not, it's not bad to have some placebo effect.

As the eldest grandson, Shu Long also prepared a tea set for his grandfather, which he had found in an antique shop abroad.

The owner himself wasn't sure if it was from the Ming or Qing dynasty. Shu Long himself didn't know either; he just occasionally saw antique appraisal shows talking about things like "the texture is lustrous" and so on. He bought it for about 20,000 euros, and it seemed to be about right.

Whether it's true or not is another matter, but the old lady likes to study tea art, mainly to make the old man happy.

You really have to put some thought into dealing with your future father-in-law's family.

They were uncles and aunts who had known each other since childhood. When the two families used to get together to play when they were young, Shu Long was never polite. But now that he has an additional relationship with them, he has become more reserved.

When Shu Long returned to China for the first season, he followed the formula and brought a bottle of wine. His timid appearance made Gan Mengning's parents uncomfortable. Afterwards, they made an excuse to take Shu Long to play a couple of rounds of golf.

got it?
Last year's situation was a bit special, so we didn't make any special preparations. Anyway, this year Shulong specially ordered a pole and sent it to China.

As for Gan Mengning's mother, she is on the same level as Shu Long's own mother, so it's likely that women of similar age have similar worries.

It's for my girlfriend.
Shu Long slapped his forehead with a "smack," his expression so annoyed it was almost exaggerated.

"Oh dear! I forgot!"

"You forgot?! I even prepared this for you during my study breaks!"

The gift box in Gan Mengning's hand instantly wrinkled, and something crystal clear seemed about to roll down her wide almond-shaped eyes, which startled Shu Long so much that he quickly rubbed it back into her hand with two fingers.

"Yes, yes, yes! Oh dear, my Santa Claus fate, how come you've become so easily teased?"

The complete set of cosmetics they collected likely covered three or four brands, all recommended by the makeup artist who usually does their on-screen makeup for the Shulong team.

Although he always felt that his girlfriend didn't seem to need makeup to enhance her appearance, Shu Long still remembered the embarrassment Gan Mengning had when she was chatting with Gasley's girlfriend, oh, now ex-girlfriend.

It's like this: you might not need it, but you can't be without it. The more you learn about it, the more you'll need it someday.

Putting everything else aside, makeup skills are absolutely crucial in cosplay, right?
"I remember your roommate is pretty good at cosplay, right? If you really can't figure it out, why don't you ask her for advice?"

"Oh~ so you're waiting here, huh? Which character do you want to see this time?"

"Let me think about it."

"You really want to?! No way!"

A warm, fuzzy stocking bounced off his face. Shu Long chuckled, not caring at all, and began to unpack the gift his girlfriend had prepared for him.

Uh-huh!
A box, a very beautifully packaged cardboard box.

It's true that you can't sleep in the same bed with two different kinds of people.
Shu Long quickly realized that, along with those pitiful tears from earlier, it was probably just him being teased.

That's amazing acting! Even he was fooled. How much has he improved just by doing voice-over?

"It's so unique that I couldn't even tell what it was for at first glance. Was it for carrying new socks when we went out to a competition?"

"Are you serious?"

"Of course, I love it! From now on, I can leave nothing in my suitcase except this cardboard box!"

Gan Mengning was a little confused. Shouldn't the script have been to ask her where the real gift was?

Why aren't you playing by the rules?
Seeing that Shu Long actually put the box away with such care, she felt a mix of amusement and pity, as well as a pang of guilt.

Should we be honest about this?
If Shu Long was teasing her, then wouldn't this confession be exactly what she wanted?

Otherwise, it would be even more serious. You'd feel really guilty for lying to a complete idiot!

But it really was just a cardboard box used for pranks.
As it turned out, Shu Long really didn't care at all. He spent the next few days accompanying his girlfriend to experience university life, and even sneaked out one night to find an internet cafe and stay up all night.

This is an essential part of university life, and it's actually quite an experience.

The last time I experienced campus life was when IG won the S-series championship. This time, the domestic clubs have won the championship again after returning to campus. It seems that this year it is EDG.

During the finals, Shu Long was busy participating in the Mexico Grand Prix and didn't pay much attention, only knowing that this was trending on Bilibili for quite some time.

Looking at it this way, this guy is actually a lucky charm. It just so happens that Gan Mengning got into the graduate program at this university. Maybe he should come to the school every year from now on, and maybe he can lead the domestic club to victory every year.
cough!
It is precisely for this reason that the popularity of League of Legends in universities has once again reached its peak.

Even though the school had stricter control over students during this special period, when Shu Long entered the internet cafe, it was still packed with people, with no seats available in the private rooms and he had to sit in the main hall.

So, don't you guys need to prepare for final exams?
Anyway, Teng Weifeng doesn't need to worry about the final exam.

He's the typical academic high-achiever who just coasts along; the only thing he really prepared for seriously was the postgraduate entrance exam. I heard he did pretty well on it this time, and I think he should have no problem passing.

As for the other subjects, I just need to pass them. I basically use the "one week of review before the exam" method, and surprisingly, my scores are always pretty good.

The reason Shu Long thought of coming to the internet cafe was because they happened to chat about League of Legends, and Teng Weifeng directly sent a message: "Want to come?"

Then let's go!

In contrast, Gan Mengning takes exams much more seriously. Although most courses have already ended, she has been studying on her own and cramming at the last minute.

Because she had focused most of her energy on the postgraduate entrance exam this semester, she had no choice but to adopt the "one week before the exam" study method.

In addition, he also needs to start preparing the proposal for his graduation thesis next semester, and he also needs to prepare for the postgraduate entrance examination in advance. The schedule is so full that Shu Long feels tired just hearing about it.

These are all fine. Gan Mengning said that she has already contacted her supervisor, who seems to be her father's former classmate.

So even though she was busy with her studies, she still managed to find time to spend with her boyfriend, like watching the New Year's Eve gala on Bilibili together.

On the evening of the 31st, Gan Mengning had an elective class. Shu Long, who went out to pick up two hamburgers, didn't meet her until after 7:40 pm. They went to the cafeteria together, found a corner seat, squeezed together, and ate while watching Gan Mengning's tablet.

This was Shu Long's idea.

Gan Mengning has a roommate in her apartment who acts as a third wheel, so she feels it's more interesting to experience how her peers celebrate the New Year at school. Of course, Shu Long also has his own little selfish reasons.

The cafeteria was quite crowded. Some people were simply there to eat, while others were couples huddled together, using studying as an excuse to date. After all, it would be a little embarrassing to be all lovey-dovey in a classroom where everyone is focused on studying, but there was no such concern in the cafeteria.

Those who stayed at school are considered to be behaving well; Shu Long knows all too well how difficult it has been to book hotels nearby lately.

Of course, most people have the same goal as Shu Long and his friends: to wait and watch the New Year's Eve gala live broadcast starting at 20:30 PM. This has almost become a new regular activity for this generation of young people.

In addition to EDG's championship win, the League of Legends community has also done something particularly noteworthy recently: they invested heavily in producing a hand-drawn animated series called "Battle of Two Cities," which has gained them considerable fame.

Shu Long and Gan Mengning hadn't had much time to watch it, so they were watching this anime on their tablets right now.

It's somewhat sad to say that League of Legends is so popular among young people that even Formula 1 racing pales in comparison.

Shu Long has been wandering around the campus quite a bit these past few days, but the only people who recognized him were a few engineering graduate students.

In exchange for their permission to keep quiet, Shu Long paid a price including, but not limited to, signing autographs, taking photos, and playing basketball together. He also took the opportunity to have a chat with them.

The answer is that while the number of new viewers paying attention to F1 has indeed been increasing recently, it is still too thin when diluted across so many universities across the country.

They were even led astray by their tutor, because Shulong was used as a storytelling example in class, but it was indeed a bit difficult to find like-minded people in ordinary times.

There are probably quite a few people who pay attention to and know about F1, but because they can't find common ground with their classmates, they gradually stop discussing it.

After all, for most students, games are the cheapest and most accessible way to stay up-to-date with current events, and following trends is the easiest way for them to expand their social circles.

Red Bull's idea of ​​rapidly expanding its influence by leveraging the collaboration between Shu Long and Bilibili's New Year's Eve Gala sounds great, but frankly, Shu Long himself is unsure how effective it will be. This is a good opportunity to gauge the reaction.

Thinking of this, Shu Long couldn't help but nuzzle his girlfriend, who was dressed in a light cotton-padded coat.

"Hey, hey, do you know I have another performance planned for this New Year's Eve?"

Well, his motives weren't entirely innocent either.

He's only 21 years old, which would be about the third year of university. He doesn't have many opportunities to meet people his age, but he still occasionally has the urge to show off a little.

Gan Mengning's lips curled slightly as she took a sip of her cola, feigning composure, and put on an expression that clearly showed disbelief.

"Really? Isn't the New Year's Eve gala broadcast live? How come you have time to sit here?"

"I don't know the specifics of how it was done, but I don't think all programs are broadcast live, right? I spent several days filming in Milton Keynes!"

"I have no idea. Your name wasn't on the program list that was released in advance. Could it have been cancelled?"

"what?!"

Gan Mengning felt as if her boyfriend beside her had suddenly turned ashen, and she bit her lower lip hard, afraid that she would burst out laughing.

Finally, he simply put his arm around Shulong's firm waist, leaned his head up and covered his face with Shulong's shoulder, and after holding back for a long time, he gently shook him twice as if to comfort him.

"Okay~ You're not missing out on any more of your glorious deeds, so it's okay if they're gone."

"But, but"

Shu Long, unconvinced, flipped through the program list that Bilibili had released in advance. He couldn't see any program that was strongly related to him. Most of them seemed to be song and dance programs, which was in line with Bilibili's characteristics.

Could it be that he was canceled because he didn't sing?
It's a bit much to make things difficult for drivers who can only drive!

"By the way, what does this 'magical time and space' mean?"

"Oh, I heard it's a new idea that Bilibili came up with for this year's New Year's Eve Gala. During the live stream, there will be two streams presenting different program effects."

What does that mean? Could it be that my item has been added to the hidden menu?

Thinking about this possibility, Shu Long's depression dissipated considerably, and the Red Bull sponsorship logo after the gala started made him feel reassured.

Red Bull is the show's main sponsor, so even if the production team is ruthless, they shouldn't cut projects sponsored by a major sponsor, right?

To be fair, the quality of the gala was truly impressive. With the introductions from hosts Chen Ming and Xie Nan, he quickly understood the mechanism behind the so-called magical time and space.

There is a small interactive button on the screen that allows you to switch to a so-called parallel world when a specific "Magic Time" program appears, and see another set of live streams.

The rap group started by portraying the inner worlds of Patrick Star and Squidward respectively, and the song "Misplaced Time and Space," which truly showcased the theme of time and space intersection, was a real surprise to Shulong.

Gradually, he forgot about his own part and chatted idly with Gan Mengning, feeling that time passed both slowly and quickly.

After a brief segment of sponsor-announced advertisements, this year's New Year's Eve gala finally entered its third chapter, which, following the tradition of the previous two years, should also be the final chapter of the event.

Gan Mengning suddenly remembered something, leaned against Shu Long, and looked up slightly to ask, "Your program should be in this part, right? Otherwise, there won't be any more."

"I think so."

To be honest, Shu Long really had no confidence. He had already made all those boasts, and if he didn't deliver, wouldn't that be incredibly embarrassing?

At this moment, a line of large characters appeared on the screen: "Salute to every passion, dedicated to every lone warrior fighting on the battlefield."

A lone hero?
This seemed to be getting to the point, but then it just showed the backs of several League of Legends players, and tapping the time-space toggle button on the screen didn't change anything. So, it turns out he's still not really involved.
However, "Lone Warrior" was originally a League of Legends theme song that was released together with "Battle of Two Cities," so it's not surprising that its content is related to the League of Legends.

The format of the show itself is quite interesting. The song is performed by Bilibili UP masters and League of Legends professional players. In the blink of an eye, Shu Long also saw the faces of Wang Jieke and Tim.

The video also included many of the players' personal monologues and highlights from the competition, giving it a truly lone-wolf feel.

But the next scene, featuring a large face on the screen, left Shulong Bengbu speechless.

The reason is simple: anyone who sees Teng Weifeng solemnly declaring, "War? Go ahead and fight!" can hardly contain their utter inhumanity.

That bastard played games with me all night just two days ago, but he won't admit it when we're on TV, right?

However, it's not surprising that Teng Weifeng was chosen to sing this song, since he started out making funny videos about League of Legends and later gradually expanded his content to include single-player game guides, gameplay videos, and lifestyle content.

Shu Long just didn't expect Teng Weifeng to have such a big reputation. So many well-known UPs could only share a frame with others, but this kid got to have an entire shot all to himself.

How come a few fans are so impressive?

However, if Teng Weifeng's appearance only surprised Shu Long slightly, then the next guest performer was someone he never expected.

A girl, a girl who never wanted to appear in front of a camera, held the microphone and shouted the last two lines of the song with an emotion that Shulong had never seen before:
"To the sobs and roars in the darkness, who says only those standing in the light are heroes?"

Although she was wearing a plush mask that covered the upper half of her face, and it still looked like her white-haired chibi-style image, he could recognize who this girl was just from her familiar delicate jawline, even without the "@DouKe" label next to her!
"You went too?!"

and many more!

Shu Long finally realized something.

He knew that Gan Mengning used to enjoy uploading cover songs in her early years, but this year, due to the need to prepare for the postgraduate entrance examination, the live broadcast and update frequency of Dou Ke's account has been extremely low.

While most music content creators were jumping on the bandwagon and covering the song, Gan Mengning didn't have time to join in the fun, not to mention that her usual light and cute singing style was completely out of sync with the song's main theme.

There was at least a plausible reason for Teng Weifeng being invited, but Gan Mengning, who usually prefers shooting games and has absolutely nothing to do with League of Legends, was also invited.
Having seen "The Fast and the Furious" and "The Movie Storm" before, Shu Long could only think of one common point: they were both related to him in some way.

Gan Mengning did not give a direct response, but simply told Shu Long to continue watching.

Suddenly, the live stream went black, but then a roar of an F1 car engine rang out, followed by a short clip of a TR video that Shu Long still remembers vividly:

"I will do what I said before the game, believe me."

"Go and create miracles, buddy!"

(End of this chapter)