Dragon Raja 2; Chapter 2: A Dark Rainy Night (2)

Dragon Raja 2

By the third pass, a deep honk came from outside. Chu Zihang turned his head, and through the rain outside the window, the xenon headlights cut two bright beams that were blinding.

It was a jet-black car, with two “M”s overlapping in a triangular frame at the front. A Maybach 62.

Maybach, a top car from Mercedes, several times more expensive than the S500 his “father” drove. Chu Zihang wasn’t particularly interested in cars; this was all just what the man in the car had bragged about to him.

The windshield wipers swung left and right like a mad metronome, scraping away layers of rain from the glass. The middle-aged man inside the car waved at Chu Zihang, his face beaming with a smile. Chu Zihang didn’t understand how he could always smile so cheerfully, as if he had no worries at all. Chu Zihang slung the Hermes bag his “father” bought for him in London over his shoulder, locked the classroom door, checked everything, and walked to the eaves, hesitating for a moment in the pouring rain. The man in the car quickly pushed the door open, holding up a large black umbrella, hurrying to greet him, just as attentive as Liu Miaomiao’s driver. Chu Zihang didn’t even glance at him, pushed the umbrella aside, and walked through the rain to the car, opening the rear door himself and getting in.

The man’s enthusiasm went unreciprocated. He hesitated, then turned back, climbed into the driver’s seat, stored the umbrella, and handed it to Chu Zihang in the back: “Put it in the car door; there’s a slot for it.”

“I know, you’ve told me before.” Chu Zihang casually put the umbrella in place and turned to look out the window. “Let’s go.”

“Did your clothes get wet? Want me to turn on the seat heater in the back? It’s amazingly comfortable—once you try it, you won’t want to stop!” the man began boasting about his car again.

“No need, I’ll change clothes at home.”

“Oh, oh.” The man cleared his throat and said to the control console, “Start!”

The screen lit up, and a cold blue light flashed across the dashboard. The ferocious V12 turbocharged engine began its self-check, and there was no vibration in the car at all. The engine’s deep growl was also isolated outside.

“A nine-million-yuan car with voice control, no keys needed—it starts with just a shout! Only three people in the world can command it: one is me, the other is the boss, and can you guess the third?” The man boasted smugly.

“Not interested,” Chu Zihang said, expressionless.

The man’s enthusiasm was met with indifference once again, but he wasn’t discouraged. He swiftly shifted gears and pressed the gas. The Maybach roared, speeding across the field, carving a large arc through the rain and heading straight out of Shilan Middle School’s gate. The security guard at the booth stood at attention, puffing out his chest in respect for this ultra-luxury car and the wealth it symbolized.

Chu Zihang didn’t understand what there was to respect. On a rainy day like this, all you needed was a car to pick you up and someone who remembered to come for you. Whether it was a Maybach, a Mercedes S500, or a QQ didn’t matter.

“Such heavy rain, and your mom didn’t think to pick you up.”

“Good thing I didn’t wash my car this morning—contactless car wash, eighty yuan per wash—it would’ve been a waste.”

“The guard at your school gate wouldn’t let me drive in at first. I told him I was here to pick up my son after school, and if he got wet in this rain, what would he do then? Took a lot of talking. In the end, I told him this car cost nine million, and nobody at city hall stops me, so what’s with Shilan Middle School’s rules? He backed off right away, haha.”

The man chattered away while casually playing with the steering wheel.

Chu Zihang hadn’t said a word to him since getting in the car. He turned on the radio, preferring the broadcaster’s voice to the man’s.

“Now broadcasting an emergency typhoon alert and traffic update. According to the city’s meteorological station, the typhoon made landfall on the southeastern coast of the city this afternoon, bringing heavy rain and force-ten winds. All units are advised to take preventive measures. Due to the heavy rainfall, provincial and national highways passing through the city will be closed in two hours. Wind speeds are high, and visibility is less than thirty meters on the elevated roads. Drivers still on the road are advised to take detours.”

He looked out the window—the visibility was indeed terrible. Beyond fifty meters, everything was a white blur. The rain was so heavy that it seemed to shatter in the air, leaving splashes on the ground. The sky was as black as ink, with occasional lightning bolts striking the ground. There were few cars on the road, all with their headlights on, cautiously moving forward. When passing each other, drivers pressed their horns loudly, like beasts meeting in the forest, growling warily.

The car slowed down, moving forward with the other cars one by one. Horns blared from the cars ahead, like a boiling kettle, and countless brake lights pierced through the rain—traffic had come to a halt.

“Expect me to crawl along with a V12 engine car?” The man muttered, sharply turning the steering wheel and forcing his way into the emergency lane.

It was a perfect maneuver, like a sharp knife slicing through water, cutting off the flow of cars behind them. The Audi driver behind had to slam on the brakes, the locked tires skidding on the road. If he hadn’t braked, the Audi would have crashed into the Maybach, and in a rear-end collision, it would have been the Audi’s fault. Repairing the Maybach would cost as much as an entire Audi. That sudden braking created a brief gap in the traffic, which the man used to squeeze in.

“You moron! Are you in a hurry to die or something?!”

The man winked at Chu Zihang smugly, completely ignoring the Audi driver’s loud curses behind them. The six-meter-long car handled like a steel catfish in his hands, slipping effortlessly through the traffic. Countless drivers lowered their windows to curse after being overtaken, and there was a cacophony of honks behind them. But those drivers couldn’t do anything about it. They were being passed by a car that performed like a sports car, driven by someone who was clearly a good driver.

The man grinned widely.

Chu Zihang didn’t understand what he found so amusing. Would it kill him to follow traffic? He just had to show off his car and his skills. The man was just a chauffeur—being a good driver was part of the job.

“Damn, it’s really blocked!” The man cursed.

Ahead, two cars had collided, and the drivers were under umbrellas, arguing heatedly. In such terrible weather, traffic police couldn’t arrive immediately, and both drivers insisted it was the other’s fault. This blocked dozens of cars, and a few drivers got out to ask the arguing pair to move their cars, but it only led to more disputes, with people pushing each other. Others were honking their horns impatiently.