The Heiress's Driver Rules the Underworld

Chapter 8 — Ms. Luan Rides Shotgun Tonight

At 11:18 p.m., the black executive van left Twilight Harbor.

Shen Kaiyue drove.

Luan Zhaowan sat in the front passenger seat.

Luan Xiaoman had tried to squeeze in too, but her sister sent her to Zheng Kailu’s old pickup with one sentence: “Your car still hasn’t passed inspection.”

Xue Hongfei drove her own car at the rear of the small convoy.

The van remained quiet for a while.

Shen spoke first. “What you said back there could be misunderstood.”

“Which part?”

“Picking up another woman.”

“Is there a problem?”

Luan Zhaowan continued reading the salvage-yard documents without looking up.

“Company vehicles may not be used for unauthorized purposes. That is asset management.”

“So you were supervising the car.”

“What else?”

“I thought you were supervising the driver.”

She closed the file and turned toward him.

“Shen Kaiyue.”

“Mm?”

“Watch the road.”

“I could drive this route with my eyes closed.”

“Try it.”

“Not with my boss in the car.”

She returned to the file, though the line of her mouth was no longer as tight.

South Embankment Salvage Yard stood beside a bend in the river. It had once served as a vehicle transfer lot. Three rows of aging warehouses surrounded a concrete yard, and stacked shipping containers created several narrow passages.

Cars already filled the perimeter when they arrived.

Every set of headlights faced the center, turning the night as bright as day.

Qiu Dongye leaned against his dark-green SUV with the thirty-six crews behind him. Meng Kuoshan and Cui Chongshan had arrived even earlier and were drinking tea outside a warehouse.

Shen parked the van.

Luan Zhaowan did not get out immediately.

She held out her hand. “The contract.”

Her assistant passed a folder forward.

“What contract?” Shen asked.

“The stakes.”

“You need a written agreement for an underworld wager?”

“They don’t. You do.”

She stepped down, and the lawyer followed her to the center of the yard.

Qiu Dongye laughed when he saw the group. “Ms. Luan even brought a lawyer. Afraid we’ll refuse to pay?”

“Not afraid,” she said. “Certain.”

Low voices spread through the crowd.

Qiu’s face tightened. “The terms were clear yesterday. If we lose, the shop belongs to Xiaoman. If you lose, you return it.”

“The shop already became hers last night.”

“Then what else do you want?”

Luan Zhaowan handed the folder to her lawyer.

He read the terms aloud.

First, the former owners of the custom shop would pay all debts incurred before the transfer: RMB 231,600.

Second, all three pieces of equipment removed the previous night would be returned.

Third, the remaining year on the lease for South Embankment Salvage Yard would transfer at no cost, and the property owner would negotiate a separate five-year lease with the new operator.

Qiu laughed when he heard the third condition.

“Why would the owner listen to you?”

“Because this property is mortgaged to the Luan Group.”

She produced another stamped document.

“The company holding your lease owes us RMB 4.7 million. If it fails to pay by nine tomorrow morning, the Luan Group will lawfully take control of the rental income. Did you ask before offering our collateral as your wager?”

Qiu’s smile disappeared.

Shen stood beside her and lowered his voice. “This was the old debt you mentioned?”

“Yes.”

“You had it prepared already?”

“I found it this afternoon.”

“Efficient.”

“A little more efficient than solving everything with your fists.”

Qiu spoke quietly with several men, then raised his head. “If we accept those terms, what are you putting up?”

“The shop’s operating rights, Shen Kaiyue’s eighteen-percent stake, and RMB 1 million as a performance guarantee.”

Luan Xiaoman had just arrived at the table. She nearly jumped.

“Sister, where did that million come from?”

“Me.”

“You said you wouldn’t fill the shop’s financial holes.”

“This is a loan at eight percent annual interest. If you lose, the two of you repay it together.”

Luan Xiaoman immediately stopped talking.

Shen asked, “I have to repay it too?”

“You’re a shareholder.”

“Fair.”

“Don’t you want to read the contract?”

“You wouldn’t cheat me out of a million.”

“You trust me that much?”

“Mostly, I know I can win it back.”

Luan Zhaowan studied him for two seconds before handing him the pen.

Both sides signed.

Qiu tossed his car key onto the table. “Round one is a route race. We leave from here, pass through three container gates, circle the outside lane, and return. You drive the van. I drive my own SUV. Ms. Luan rides with you so no one can complain about the timing after losing.”

“Why me?” Luan Zhaowan asked.

“Aren’t you the witness?”

“Fine.”

Shen turned toward her. “You’re sure?”

“I told you this afternoon. The front has a better view of the road.”

“Don’t give instructions once we start.”

“Try not to crash first.”

They returned to the van.

Before starting the engine, Shen moved Luan Zhaowan’s seat half a notch backward.

“What are you doing?”

“The body will lean. Don’t let your knees hit the console. Tighten the belt. Don’t brace your left hand on the window.”

She did as he said, then looked at his right hand. The scrape had scabbed, but a faint red line was still visible around the steering wheel.

“Will your hand interfere?”

“Are you asking about your driver or the eighteen-percent collateral?”

“I’m asking about the million-yuan guarantee.”

“Relax. The money is safer than the people.”

“I’m worried you’ll show off and deliver the money, the van, and both of us into a shipping container.”

He glanced over. “Ms. Luan, was there finally a person in that sentence?”

She reached over and pressed the mirror-folding button for him.

“You may speak less before the race.”

“Nervous?”

“Annoyed.”

Shen laughed and started the engine. The instrument panel lit up. Luan Zhaowan’s right hand had already closed around the door handle, but she never asked to leave.

At the starting line, Zheng Kailu tapped the window until Shen lowered it slightly.

“The second gate is only 2.25 meters wide. The mirrors won’t fit.”

“The body is 2.04.”

“With mirrors it’s 2.28.”

“Then we fold them.”

“The third gate has two consecutive right angles. The rear will sweep the container corner.”

“I know.”

Zheng looked at him. “This van hasn’t been modified.”

“I never said I needed modifications.”

Qiu’s dark-green SUV had pulled alongside them. He lowered the window and gestured.

The flag fell.

Both vehicles launched.

The SUV had more power and immediately gained half a length. The first gate was broad. Qiu cut tightly inside, leaving white tire smoke behind him.

Shen did not chase. He even lifted off the accelerator early.

Luan Zhaowan watched the road. “Yielding again?”

“Letting him enter the narrow gate first.”

The second gate was directly ahead.

Two containers left barely enough room for a single vehicle. The SUV entered too quickly and braked late. Its rear swayed, and the left mirror struck the steel wall with a crack and folded inward.

Qiu corrected instinctively.

His SUV turned sideways just enough to block the passage completely.

Luan Zhaowan frowned. “There’s no road.”

“Who said we had to use the gate?”

Shen turned right and drove around the outside of the containers.

A loading ramp about fifteen centimeters high ran there. A normal sedan would not risk it, but the van had enough clearance. When its right wheels climbed the slope, the body leaned visibly. Luan Zhaowan pressed one hand against the door and caught Shen’s arm with the other.

“Sit steady.”

“I am steady.”

“Your hand disagrees.”

She released him immediately. “Drive.”

The van passed the gate and dropped back onto the concrete.

By the time Qiu squeezed out of the narrow passage, he was a full car length behind.

The third gate formed two consecutive right angles.

Shen swung wide before the first turn and waited until the van’s long body cleared the container corner. The nose came within centimeters of the opposite steel wall. Without stopping, he reversed once, then cut through the second turn.

The entire van seemed to step sideways through a narrow alley.

One clean passage.

Qiu’s SUV was shorter, but he rushed to catch up and struck a concrete stop with his right rear wheel. The vehicle bounced and lost its remaining speed.

The outer loop was no longer a contest.

The black van crossed the finish first.

After it stopped, Luan Zhaowan remained in the passenger seat without releasing her belt.

Shen looked at her. “Carsick?”

“No.”

“Your palm is sweating.”

“It’s hot inside.”

“The air conditioning is set to twenty-two Celsius.”

She unfastened the belt and opened the door.

“No reimbursement for car washes this month.”

Shen laughed and followed her out.

No one at the edge of the course spoke.

Qiu’s SUV returned more than ten seconds later with a flat right rear tire.

He did not make excuses. He simply threw his key back onto the table.

“I lost the race.”

The lawyer immediately stamped the race result into the agreement.

Meng Kuoshan set down his teacup and finally stood.

“You drive well.”

He removed his coat, revealing a faded gray training uniform beneath it.

“Now let’s see how well you fight.”