CYNTM CHAPTER 57

“Someone pinch me. Am I dreaming?” Marcus asked.

“You’re not dreaming.” Shen Chuan calmly clapped his hands. “Let’s gather the data!”

“Dr. Shen, stop pretending to be so calm! I saw you smile just now!” Amanda, the engineering assistant, suddenly shouted.

The whole team burst into laughter.

Shen Chuan turned his face and grinned, “Alright, I’ll let everyone celebrate first.”

Hunter had crossed the finish line but was still panting, his heart still pounding with unspent energy. It felt like time was moving backward. He saw Winston in a red Ferrari seemingly reaching out and gesturing “Follow me.”

Hunter knew very well that Winston wasn’t doing that gesture to his Ferrari teammates, nor Owen behind him, but to him.

I’ve finally gotten closer to your territory, haven’t I?

The entire process of stepping onto the podium was a blur for Hunter. He didn’t hear what people were saying around him and wasn’t even sure if he was smiling. He only knew that Winston was hugging his shoulders tightly, so tightly it didn’t feel real. The sound of cameras clicking was incessant. Hunter saw the media’s enthusiasm surge like a tidal wave.

The post-race interviews were like an explosion, nearly overwhelming Marcus. Live shows followed one after another, along with advertising endorsement offers for Hunter.

After recent races, the media painted Hunter as a resilient figure overcoming adversity. Moreover, he was still young and full of vitality, making many female fans find his smile contagious.

Shen Xi and her brother stood in front of the TV screen, watching the on-site interview.

“Brother… Do you think Hunter’s smile is contagious?” Shen Xi asked, curiosity in her eyes.

“Being contagious is just a subjective feeling,” Shen Chuan replied.

“No wonder… I just find it silly.” Shen Xi sighed.

While walking down the corridor, Owen draped an arm over Hunter’s shoulders and whispered, “Kid, you did it. You took down the Great White Shark.”

“Huh? What?” Hunter turned to face Owen, whose eyes were filled with gloating glee.

“Come to my room tonight, and I’ll help you again.” Owen winked, releasing Hunter’s shoulder and walking ahead.

Hunter exhaled. Although he didn’t win the race, he still felt like he was walking on air, everything feeling surreal.

He instinctively searched for Winston, only to find Winston confirming something with the Ferrari PR manager while his eyes remained fixed on Hunter.

At this moment, Winston gestured to the PR manager to wait a moment and walked over to Hunter.

Hunter expected Winston to say a few words of acknowledgment or encouragement, or even an awkward joke, just to let him know that all of this was real. But the first thing Winston said to him was, “When did you get so close with Lawrence Owen?”

“Huh? Owen?” Hunter remembered that he had just been “arm in arm” with Owen.

“You’re not afraid of being tricked by him anymore, huh? Or is it because he’s pretty?”

This question was completely beyond Hunter’s expectations. At that exact moment, Hunter’s phone chimed, and Winston immediately took it from his hand. The text message showed that the sender was Owen, but Winston didn’t open it.

“When we were in Dubai, who were you texting every day?” Winston asked, looking intently into Hunter’s eyes.

These questions were nothing like what Hunter had imagined. Shouldn’t they be popping champagne to celebrate right now? And… Winston had already figured it out… Owen just put his arm around his shoulder, and Winston could deduce that the person he was texting was Owen?

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Winston leaned forward.

Hunter stepped back, but his shoulder was pressed firmly.

Calm down, Hunter. Texting Owen isn’t a crime.

“Because Owen mocked me… I said I would crush him or Ciel… I succeeded, so he just said a few words to me and sent a congratulatory message… I’m not close with him…”

This was indeed the truth. He wasn’t lying.

“Alright.” Winston shoved the phone into Hunter’s chest and turned to leave.

Hunter sighed. Why was Winston always so aloof?

He opened Owen’s message: Tonight, Hotel Hanjue, room 1826. Be there or be square.

Even “be there or be square”!

Hunter began to suspect that this guy had deliberately put his arm around his shoulder in front of Winston!

The post-race interviews dragged on, and the more excited the reporters were, the more Hunter got a headache. When asked about his feelings on the race, Hunter consistently replied, “It doesn’t feel real,” coupled with his unpretentious and sincere expression, earning him favor from the media. When asked about his goal for the next race, he replied, “I want to catch up with Winston.” This offhand reply made everyone laugh. The laughter wasn’t because they thought he was childish, but rather like the laughter of people watching a child grow up step by step, always pursuing a dream without ever giving up.

After Hunter finally escaped the press conference, he received an enthusiastic call from Donald, “Hey! Bro! Got plans for tonight?”

Hunter instinctively replied, “Are you planning a party?”

“Party? Has your brain been fried by parties? After this exhausting race, of course we need to let loose! My teammates and I just found an amazing pizza place! Owen and Ciel are in! You should invite Winston too!”

“Hah? Owen and Ciel are going? And you want me to invite Winston? Do you think racing on the track wasn’t enough, and now we need to battle over pizza too?”

“Look, Owen and Ciel are at odds 90% of the time, but the remaining 10%, they’re so in sync it’s infuriating. Actually, it was Owen who suggested inviting you and Winston! Come join us!”

“Alright, I’ll ask him.”

Despite saying this, he felt a bit nervous inside. After all… after the award ceremony, Winston seemed upset about him being with Owen! But Hunter was curious about how Owen and Ciel would look eating pizza together at the same table.

“Hello, Winston? Donald invited me for pizza, and Owen and Ciel are going too… Do you want to join?”

“I have an interview at the press center at 8 PM.” Winston’s voice was calm, with no discernible emotion, making Hunter feel even more disappointed.

“Oh… forget it. I’ll send you the address. If you can, drop by for a bit.”

“Mm.”

After hanging up, Hunter rubbed his nose and sighed. Alright… maybe he really should fold a thousand paper roses to coax him?

Hunter went alone to the pizza place Donald had mentioned. Though the restaurant wasn’t big, it was filled with the mouth-watering aroma of cheese and toppings. The table was set for six. As soon as Donald saw Hunter, he looked as if he had seen a savior, “You’re finally here! Winston isn’t coming?”

“He has an interview at eight.”

“Really… what a waste of my effort to teach you some ‘under-the-table’ tactics,” Owen sighed and shook his head.

Hunter immediately remembered that Owen had once told him that if they were sitting across from each other and he brushed his foot against Winston’s leg without Winston pulling away, it would mean Winston had accepted his signal.

But Winston didn’t come…

“What are ‘under-the-table’ tactics?” Ciel, who was sitting next to Owen, suddenly looked up and asked, “Are you trying to trick the kid again?”

Owen immediately put on a serious face, “Trick the kid? Am I that kind of person?”

“Heh.” Ciel bowed his head, continuing to play with his phone, using his laughter to express his doubt about Owen’s character.

Donald, his teammates, and Hunter all remained silent: Yes, you are exactly that kind of person!

Not long after, the pizza arrived, along with various snacks and beers. Everyone toasted each other, except Hunter, who had Coke in front of him…

Ciel burst into laughter, “You’ve still got some growing up to do, kid!”

“Didn’t need to grow up to beat you!” Hunter retorted, unable to resist.

“You wanna die! Is winning once a big deal? I’ve beaten you more times than I can count!”

Despite Ciel’s usual arrogant and obnoxious demeanor, Hunter could sense that he was actually quite genuine. He believed in himself and was confident because of his strength, not needing to cater to anyone.

Hunter clinked his Coke with Ciel’s drink. Ciel laughed, “I wonder if I’ll still be in F1 by the time you’re old enough to drink.”

“Not in F1 anymore? I doubt any woman could put up with you then,” Owen gloated, swirling his beer glass.

Ciel ruthlessly kicked Owen under the table, but Owen dodged it perfectly. Then Owen pretended to pour beer, spilling it in front of Ciel.

“Oops, sorry!”

“You did it on purpose, what are you apologizing for!”

Sure enough, these two were at odds more than 90% of the time. And pizza time definitely fell into that 90%.

Just then, someone approached their table and pulled out the chair opposite Hunter.

It was Winston in a suit!

“Oh! Winston! You actually came for pizza? It doesn’t suit your gentlemanly style!” Ciel raised his beer.

The others immediately welcomed him. Winston only gave a slight nod.

“Pizza tastes best when eaten with your hands!” Ciel held a slice of pizza and stuffed it into his mouth, seemingly mocking Winston for being uptight.

But Winston unbuttoned his shirt cuffs and rolled them up, then took a slice of pizza and placed it on his plate before picking it up with his hands to eat. The cheese stretched into a long, thin strand between his lips. Hunter, sitting opposite, was so captivated that he stared blankly.

Even like this, Winston exuded a discreet sexiness.

“Why… did you come?”

“I saw that I had some extra time, so I decided to stop by. After all, Owen is here,” Winston replied indifferently.

“Owen…”

“It’s because he was worried Owen might bully you,” Ciel explained directly.

Donald and his teammates burst into laughter. The atmosphere was great. Although Winston was a man of few words, Donald and Ciel kept everyone entertained.

Hunter told himself that this was his chance. He had to give Winston a “signal”! If Winston avoided it, he would immediately apologize. If Winston didn’t avoid it, then… that meant he had a good chance!

Hunter squinted and smiled at Ciel, pretending to listen to him talk about embarrassing stories with his ex-wife. But under the table, he stretched out his leg, his shoe tip inching towards Winston’s direction.

Did he just brush against Winston’s calf?

Hunter’s heartbeat spiked, and he felt extremely nervous.

Gently, gently… Owen had said it should be subtle, not seeming deliberate.

Stay calm, Hunter… Gradually, little by little…

Winston across from him seemed to have no reaction and just quietly ate pizza, occasionally nodding to someone’s words.

He didn’t avoid it…

Did he feel it? Hunter carefully applied a bit more pressure, hoping Winston would remain silent.

“Hey! Donald, you’ve been rubbing against my calf, do you have a thing for me?” Owen suddenly joked from across the table.

“Hey! I wasn’t rubbing your leg!” Donald immediately raised both hands, almost wanting to raise both feet too.

Hunter froze.

Quickly put your foot down, you idiot!

He hadn’t rubbed Winston’s leg but Owen’s instead! No wonder Winston hadn’t reacted!

Just as he retracted his leg, he bumped into Winston’s leg, causing Winston to look up at him. In other words… Winston knew it was him who had rubbed Owen’s leg just now.

Ah! How embarrassing!

A few seconds later, Owen seemed to catch on to what had happened. He waved his hand and continued to slander Donald, “Forget it, too many people want to rub against me. You’re not the only one.”

“I don’t want to rub against you at all…” Donald was almost doubting himself.

“I’m done eating, but I’m a bit pressed for time. You all take your time.” Winston stood up and nodded apologetically to everyone.

“Oh, it’s already seven o’clock. You should head to the press center!” Donald replied understandingly.

“Next time, it’s on me.” After saying that, Winston left without even glancing at Hunter.

“Winston said he’ll treat us next time! That wasn’t just a polite remark, right?”

“Winston is never just polite! After the next race, we definitely need to take advantage of that!”

But at this moment, Hunter felt incredibly disheartened. It seemed like Winston was even angrier. Though he appeared polite when leaving, he was quite cold.

Winston already disliked Hunter’s interactions with Owen, and now Hunter had ended up rubbing Owen’s leg under the table. Would Winston think he was interested in Owen? Why did Owen succeed in flirting with everyone, while Hunter faced so many difficulties?

Hunter’s phone buzzed. It was a text Owen sent to him under the table: I didn’t expect you to be so slick! I only taught you how to seduce Winston, yet you also figured out how to flirt with me in front of Winston to make him jealous!

Hunter inwardly cried: Where did you see him being jealous?

The pizza party ended in frustration for Hunter.

As they were leaving the restaurant, Owen didn’t forget to wink at Hunter, reminding him of their appointment that evening. Hunter returned to his room and debated whether he should meet Owen. After all, Winston was already suspicious, right?

He might get tricked by Owen again… But Owen did say he would help him… It should be true, right?

Even though most of Owen’s tactics had been useless with Winston, that didn’t mean they would be ineffective with others… What if the next strategy was successful? Owen did have extensive experience in romance… Anyway, being fooled one more time wouldn’t make things worse.

Hunter made up his mind and left his room, heading to Hanjue Hotel with a determined attitude. As he entered the elevator, he was still uneasy, but when the elevator doors opened, he felt that nothing mattered anymore. He knocked on the door of room 1826. After taking a deep breath, he saw Owen, who stood smirking in nothing but a towel, his hair still damp from a shower.

“Ah, Little Hunter, I’ve been waiting for you for a long time!” Owen’s last word was drawn out. He placed a hand on Hunter’s nape and led him into the room.

Hunter was completely dumbfounded, his body stiff as a board. Owen leaned in close, his beautiful green eyes filled with playfulness. Hunter somehow managed to step over the threshold, only snapping back to reality when he heard the door click shut behind him.

Owen tilted his head, cupping a hand to his ear next to Hunter, “Did you learn it?”

“Learn… learn what?”

“Like that just now. Wasn’t I clear enough?”

Owen tapped the back of his hand against Hunter’s chest, then turned to sit on the edge of the bed. Hunter felt embarrassed, “Did you call me over just to show me… this?” He was on the verge of breaking down.

Owen’s actions were effortlessly natural, but Hunter couldn’t imagine himself answering the door in just a towel. This wasn’t something that fit his usual habits!

“Didn’t learn it?” Owen picked up a bottle of mineral water. Hunter thought he was going to offer it to him, but instead, Owen opened it and drank it himself. “There’s a gift for you on the table.”

“A gift?”

“Yeah, I had it made especially for you. If you lost to Ciel today, I was going to say it’s to console you for losing to him again. Since you won, it’s a gift to celebrate making Ciel grind his teeth in frustration. Watch out in the next race!”

Hunter unwrapped the colorful wrapping paper and opened the box, then froze, “Why… why would you give me something like this!”

Inside the box were four brightly colored lollipops, but most importantly, they were shaped exactly like a certain body part! Except for the rainbow swirl colors, the shape was so lifelike that Hunter’s hands almost trembled as he saw them.

“Just consider them a gift from a fan,” Owen laughed, nodding.

“I don’t need them! You can give them to your female fans! Or to Ciel!”

“If I did that, I might not be able to race anymore.” Owen shrugged and picked up one of the lollipops, “Aaa—”

Hunter quickly turned away, “I want to hit you!”

“Can you be more generous? Your strongest weapon isn’t the so-called charm of a mature man—that’s Winston’s specialty. What you have is a kind of innocent sex appeal, so we need to make it more obvious, creating a visual impact for Winston.”

“It sounds reasonable… but I don’t want to understand any of it…”

Hunter felt foolish for coming here. As he was about to leave, Owen called out to him.

“You don’t really like Winston all that much, do you?”

“How could I not like him?” Hunter turned back.

“Then why don’t you dare give him a clearer signal?” Owen raised his chin, eyeing Hunter with obvious disdain, “If I loved someone and wanted them to be crazy about me, I’d use every trick in the book, throw away all naivety, and make them thirsty for me and only me.”

Hunter was overwhelmed by Owen’s intensity.

That’s right… If things continued like this, he and Winston would always be stuck in the same place. Winston would always be good to him, but it would never go beyond that.

“But your ridiculous lollipop gift will only make Winston think it’s vulgar, won’t it? You want me to give them to him?”

Owen was taken aback, then angrily grabbed a pillow and whacked it into Hunter’s face, “Who said anything about giving the lollipops to Winston? Do you expect him to eat it in front of you!”

“Huh? Then what’s the point of keeping it myself!”

“Get on the bed and sit up against the pillow for me!” Owen looked as if he were ready to knock Hunter’s head off. Hunter scrambled to obey, sitting up straight with his back against the pillow, ready and attentive.

“Cross your legs! Rest your left arm on the pillow! Smile a bit! It’s not like you’re going to a funeral!”

Owen held a lollipop to Hunter’s lips, “Put it in your mouth!”

“What! I don’t want…” Hunter hadn’t finished his words when Owen stuffed the lollipop into his mouth.

“Remember the feeling of eating lollipops as a kid. Be happy! Don’t look like you have some deep-seated grudge!”

I never ate a lollipop this big when I was a kid!

Owen grabbed Hunter’s phone and pointed it at him, “Imagine Winston standing in front of you. You want him to know you really like this lollipop!”

Hunter couldn’t bring himself to smile.

“Never mind! Don’t suck on it! Lick it with your tongue!”

“Like this?” Hunter instinctively stuck out his tongue and licked.

Even though the shape was what it was, the sweet and sour lollipop with a rich milk flavor was surprisingly tasty.

“Perfect! Just like that! Now take a bite!”

“Ah?” Hunter looked down at the lollipop, contemplating the best way to take a bite.

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The author has something to say:

Hunter: Don’t be mad at me! I meant to nudge you, not Owen!

Winston: I was sitting so close to you and you still got it wrong?

Hunter: I’m sorry! On my knees begging for forgiveness!

Winston: Sit at the table.

Hunter: Huh? Not facing the wall to reflect?

Winston: Do it ten thousand more times. Let’s see if you get it wrong again.