Chapter 102 - 32: After the Race

Chapter 102: Chapter 32: After the Race

After the interview, Wu Shi had just finished packing his luggage with Louise when he received a call from his father.

"Hey, Dad."

"Congratulations on the championship! I happen to have a trip to Europe coming up before the May Day holiday. We’ll find a place to celebrate then!"

Wu Zhenlin had originally planned to visit his son during the May Day holiday, but then he remembered his son had a race around that time, so he changed his itinerary.

"Great! Louise took me to a restaurant last time that was pretty good. It’d be perfect for us to go together." Wu Shi didn’t have many hobbies; besides racing, eating was one of them.

"OK. By the way, do you remember Reporter Zhi?"

"Reporter Zhi?" Wu Shi thought for a moment. "Oh! I remember. She was the one who always interviewed us back when we were racing karts in China."

Unwittingly, seven years had passed since 2007. Some memories would likely fade away if never brought up.

"She just contacted me. She said she’s already at Silverstone Circuit, but she couldn’t get press credentials, so she can’t access the track. She asked me to see if you’re free. She wants to chat with you."

"Oh! Of course, that’s no problem. But Sid isn’t here, so it might be difficult to discuss business-related matters."

"It’s fine. She just wants a preliminary chat."

After settling the matter, the father and son talked for a while longer before hanging up.

Wu Shi found the team leader and told him that something had come up and he would be delayed for an hour or so.

The team leader looked at his watch and said, "No problem. I’ll have Alan stay behind. You guys can just take a later flight."

"Okay! Thanks, Team Leader."

"Don’t mention it. We’re going to head back now. You only have one day off, so remember to report in the day after tomorrow."

"Don’t worry, I won’t be late."

After sorting things out with the team, Wu Shi took Louise to the public area outside the Paddock. As soon as they reached the main entrance, he saw Zhi Shiwei and her crew.

After all, it was easy to spot his fellow countrymen in a crowd of foreigners.

They weren’t just standing around; they were surrounded by a group of overseas students.

Wu Shi walked over to them.

Seeing all the strangers, Louise quietly took Wu Shi’s arm and followed him.

"Hey! Reporter Zhi!" Wu Shi called out from outside the crowd.

"Whoa!! It’s Wu Shi!"

"We finally get to see Wu Shi without his helmet on!"

"Can we get a picture with you?!"

Zhi Shiwei’s response was drowned out as the crowd of students erupted in excitement.

"No problem."

Wu Shi didn’t put on airs for his enthusiastic countrymen; he wasn’t the arrogant type.

"In that case, how about we just take a group photo!"

Naturally, no one disagreed with this suggestion. Someone stepped up to organize everyone, and after getting them into position, they flagged down a foreigner in a baseball cap to help take the picture.

"I’m making a group chat! Everyone join, and I’ll drop the photo in there!" the organizer shouted.

But for some, the group photo wasn’t enough. They pushed their way forward to snag a selfie with Wu Shi.

After finally managing the enthusiastic fans, Wu Shi was at last free to greet Zhi Shiwei, who had been standing to the side, smiling as she watched him and Louise.

"Hello, Reporter Zhi."

"So formal now? That’s not what you used to call me," Zhi Shiwei said teasingly, extending her hand.

"Heh," Wu Shi chuckled, shaking her hand. "Sister Shiwei."

"That’s more like it!" Zhi Shiwei said, smiling happily. "Is now a good time for a short interview?"

"Of course," Wu Shi nodded.

The truth was, Zhi Shiwei hadn’t come primarily for an interview. So, after asking a few token questions, she had the cameraman turn off the camera and said:

"I don’t know if you’ll have any free time soon, but we’d like to do an exclusive feature on you."

"An exclusive interview?"

"Yes. You probably don’t know this, but the media back home has started reporting on you a lot more."

"Oh, I wasn’t really aware of that. After all, I’m just a race car driver," Wu Shi said with a smile.

The racing culture in China wasn’t very strong. Even when Zhou Guanyu later won the F3 championship, it was just a passing mention. It barely made a dent in the trending topics and never broke into the mainstream.

This just went to show that the racing community was pretty content in its own bubble and didn’t generate much buzz online.

"Haha, to be fair, it’s mostly within the racing community. But that’s why we’re here for this feature—to help you break out of that bubble, and also to talk about some potential collaborations," Zhi Shiwei said.

"Breaking into the mainstream isn’t necessary. I don’t really like being the center of too much attention; it’s easy to get swayed or trapped by public opinion. As for a collaboration, though, I’m very interested. But I’ll need my agent to be involved. I don’t really understand these things, and since I’m still a minor, I can’t make the final call," Wu Shi said.

Zhi Shiwei was a little surprised. With the internet booming back home and the emergence of the term "influencer" in the past couple of years, tons of young people were chasing online fame and traffic.

She hadn’t expected Wu Shi to be so level-headed about online fame, to the point of flatly rejecting her offer to help him break into the mainstream.

’It’s just like I remembered. The way this kid sees things is far beyond his years.’

"That can all be discussed. We’ll talk details later! You probably have to head back to Europe with your team soon, so we won’t keep you," Zhi Shiwei said.

"You guys could have just called my dad about this. I didn’t expect you to come all the way out here."

"Haha, it’s a gesture of our sincerity. That’s why we had to come," Zhi Shiwei said with a laugh, patting Wu Shi’s head.

"You’ve gotten taller than me now. Time really flies! Back then, I had to crouch down to interview you! If I hadn’t been quick, you would’ve slipped away during our very first interview."

"Hahaha..." Wu Shi burst out laughing at the memory. Back then, Zeng Tianyi had been emotionally distraught, and he and Ling Kang were rushing off to find him.

Zhi Shiwei then turned to Louise and said, "Look at Louise, all grown up! You’ve gone from a little doll to a big one. And you two are still as close as ever!"

Louise stayed close to Wu Shi, blinking. Unsure of how to reply, she just kept smiling and said, "Thank you."

"Hahaha, she’s gotten so shy. You weren’t this timid when you were little," Zhi Shiwei laughed, switching back to Chinese.

After chatting for a while longer, Wu Shi took Louise to the parking lot, where Alan was waiting for them.

"What was that last thing she said? I didn’t understand." Seven years had gone by. You couldn’t say Louise hadn’t *completely* learned Chinese—it was more like she hadn’t learned any at all.

"She said you’re becoming more and more quiet and cute," Wu Shi said.

Louise only half-understood, but since it was a compliment, she accepted it gladly. There was even a new spring in her step.

After Wu Shi left, Zhi Shiwei and her group also prepared to head back.

"Chief Editor Zhi, why didn’t we just do the exclusive interview right then and there? The sooner we file the report, the better for us!" Yuan Xuanyu, the lead reporter for the feature, asked impatiently.

"He didn’t have time. I told you, our purpose today was to meet him, gauge his attitude, and re-establish our connection," Zhi Shiwei said, the smile she wore for Wu Shi vanishing. She glanced at Yuan Xuanyu.

Back in China, they were a top media company, and many of their journalists had developed "big-shot reporter syndrome"—thinking that being interviewed by them was an honor for the subject.

This attitude had subtly influenced many of the reporters. After all, whenever a major outlet sent a team out for a story, they were always greeted with the utmost courtesy. This led the reporters to believe their reception was due to their own merit, when in reality, it was the power of their platform.

"The initial sponsorship feedback from headquarters has come in," the business assistant spoke up.

"Let’s book our tickets to Holland first. We’ll talk about this later," Zhi Shiwei said, leading the group away.