“Hunter… every time I look at you, my king is looking at me. You already rule everything of mine, so never doubt yourself because that means you’re doubting me too.” Winston’s voice was slow and steady but full of power.
Hunter looked at him and unknowingly smiled.
“Are you still nervous?” Winston asked.
“Not nervous anymore.” Hunter said, “But I’m excited! So excited I want to run in circles!”
Hunter ran around Winston once, then tilted his head to look at him. “Because I am your king! Just thinking about it makes me excited!”
After speaking, Hunter ran off, and Winston laughed softly, following him.
When they returned to the hotel room that night, Hunter still showed no signs of stopping.
He rummaged through the closet for a while, organizing his clothes, which was a rare sight, and then claimed that his suitcase was broken and dragged it around the room.
Winston walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, and Hunter finally calmed down for a moment, looking at Winston who was drying his wiping and blurting out, “Baby, you’re so handsome! I want to bite you all over!”
Winston frowned slightly, walked over, took the suitcase from Hunter’s hands, and said, “Go take a shower.”
Without thinking, Hunter hugged Winston and actually bit him on the shoulder before rushing into the bathroom.
“Hunter, you didn’t take any clothes,” Winston reminded him.
“I didn’t lock the door. Can you bring it in for me?” Hunter said through the bathroom door.
Winston sighed and found clothes for Hunter. As he opened the door, Hunter’s hand reached out and almost pulled his towel down.
The kid must have been hiding by the door for a while.
Winston grabbed Hunter’s wrist and pulled him into his arms, kissing Hunter until he was dizzy.
Hunter was kissed until he couldn’t think anymore. He retreated step by step, his lips and tongue entangled with Winston’s. His calves hit the edge of the bathtub, and he was pushed by Winston, falling into the water with a splash. Winston grabbed his wrist, keeping him suspended in mid-air with only his lower body submerged. This quick action prevented Hunter from hitting the back of his head as he fell backward.
“Now be a good boy and take a bath.”
Those ice-blue eyes gazed calmly at him as if the passion of their recent kiss was merely a figment of Hunter’s imagination.
“…Don’t you want to come in and play with me?” Hunter asked with a mischievous grin, tilting his head.
“No, because you’re nervous before the race and just want to mess around. If I really did join you, you wouldn’t have the possibility to fool around after thirty seconds.” Winston’s reply was calm and collected.
Disappointment flickered across Hunter’s face.
Winston bent down, and once he confirmed that Hunter was settled in the tub, he released his wrist.
Winston went back to the room, changed into pajamas, leaned against the headboard, and began reading the day’s English newspaper.
Hunter had been in the bath for less than five minutes when he burst out, wrapped in a towel, and threw himself at Winston. He impatiently pulled aside the quilt, only to find Winston already in pajamas, which immediately displeased him.
“Why do you still wear pajamas? Are you a kid?” Hunter yelled.
He completely disregarded his habit of wearing pajamas himself.
As Hunter spoke, he lay down on Winston, the towel around his waist coming loose. Just by moving the newspaper aside, Winston could see from Hunter’s calves to his waist.
The toned and youthful contours of the young man’s body.
Winston sighed deeply, replying expressionlessly, “If I don’t wear them, you’ll be scared again, won’t you?”
“I want to see it now!” Hunter was about to pull the blanket from Winston’s waist.
Winston held Hunter’s head down and pushed him aside. “Go play mobile games.”
“I don’t want to play matching games!”
As Hunter rolled off Winston, Winston pulled the quilt over Hunter and then got up to leave.
“Winston! Are you going to the bathroom? I can help you with that! Don’t be shy!” Hunter said, eyes wide.
But Winston pulled a pair of underwear from the drawer and threw it at Hunter’s face. “Put it on!”
Under pressure, Hunter quickly put on the underwear and sat motionless under the quilt.
“Don’t make trouble. I’ll play Apocalypse Bombing with you.”
Winston returned to the bed, placed the newspaper aside, and picked up his phone.
“…Alright… let’s play a game…”
Clearly, Hunter was in bad shape. Within a minute, Winston had won a round.
Hunter couldn’t sit still. He rolled around in the blanket, sometimes on his side, sometimes face down, sometimes draping his legs over Winston, and sometimes breathing loudly.
After playing nearly a hundred rounds, with Hunter not winning a single one, he was about to throw the phone away. However, Winston suddenly grabbed his hand.
“Okay, close your eyes now.” Winston’s cold voice calmed Hunter’s restless thoughts.
It was already 11 PM, and Hunter should have been asleep by now.
But his palms and soles were hot, his heartbeat irregular and out of control. He knew he was tense and had no way to release it.
This wasn’t Hunter’s first race, but he wouldn’t fully grasp the challenges of the Sepang circuit until the free practice session. The dual pressure from Ciel and Owen was also making him inexplicably anxious.
He knew Winston would be watching him.
But because of that, he couldn’t afford to lose.
When Hunter closed his eyes, his legs still wanted to move aimlessly, but Winston grabbed his knees and spread them apart.
Hunter didn’t notice when Winston moved to the front, pressing his waist against him and fixing his eyes intently on Hunter.
“I’ll help you calm down. Be good.”
Winston’s voice was commanding yet gentle.
“Okay…” Hunter scrunched his nose.
For the next half hour, Hunter was so thoroughly done by Winston that he forgot everything else. He climaxed several times, initially stifling soft moans, then pleading with Winston not to be so rough. Eventually, Winston’s frustration reached its peak.
He flipped Hunter over and thrust with such intensity that Hunter almost believed Winston might actually penetrate him.
After toiling until midnight, Winston held Hunter in his arms, watching him drift off to sleep, and finally sighed.
“Winston…” Hunter called out softly with his eyes closed.
“Hmm, I’m right here.” Winston leaned down to kiss the tip of Hunter’s nose.
“Sorry…”
“Sorry for what?”
“I knew you’d have to endure… but I still bullied you…”
Two seconds later, Hunter let out a soft sigh. Winston turned off the bedside lamp and raised the corners of his lips in the darkness.
“It doesn’t matter… I will bully you back in the future.”
At 8 AM the next day, Hunter was scheduled for adaptation training, but Winston called his coach instead.
“Did he have trouble sleeping last night? What’s wrong? Is he uncomfortable because he’s not used to the Malaysian weather?” The coach was concerned.
“No, he was just nervous. It took him a long time to fall asleep,” Winston said, glancing at Hunter, who was sprawled across the bed with his head sticking out and occupying half of the double bed.
“Hunter gets nervous too? When he first started racing, he always had terrible results but acted like he didn’t care about anything. I can’t believe he’s nervous now.” The fitness coach seemed to have thought of something. “Could it be that he read some media reports suggesting he only won the Singapore race by luck, since both you and Owen dropped out?”
“He really wants to win the Malaysia race, but this time he has to face Ciel and Owen alone,” Winston replied.
“Ciel is quite broad-minded. When a reporter asked him if he thought Hunter’s win was due to luck, Ciel directly retorted, ‘Besides Winston and Owen, do you guys think I’m dead?’ This shows Ciel acknowledges Hunter’s capabilities.”
“Ciel is an open and honest driver.”
“Ah… thank you for listening to me ramble. I’ll leave Hunter in your capable hands… You’re heading over to the Ferrari team meeting, right?”
“Not yet. After the free practice session, I’ll be providing technical advice to the driver who’s replacing me.”
After ending the call, Winston went to the bathroom, wrung out a warm towel, and lifted a corner of Hunter’s quilt.
Hunter’s underwear had been hanging below his knees for a while as he tossed and turned in bed
Winston used the towel to wipe away the remnants from last night, but unexpectedly Hunter, as if sensing something, stirred and muttered. “…don’t wipe…”
Winston paused, then covered Hunter with the quilt and bent down to kiss his back through the blanket.
When Hunter woke up, he was in good spirits. After a nutritious breakfast, he no longer seemed as anxious as before.
Winston was finally able to attend the Ferrari team’s technical meeting with peace of mind.
The free practice session arrived quickly.
Hunter was getting acquainted with the features of the Sepang International Circuit for the first time, and his lap times were improving with each lap. Despite his pre-race nerves, which also made Marcus anxious, Hunter’s performance was flawless.
By the end of the third free practice session, Hunter had become well-versed with the track.
The weather was slightly hot. Shen Xi stood by the track, chewing on a chocolate-flavored lollipop with a smile.
As the crew cleaned up after the session, Shen Xi crouched down and placed her hand on the track, as if trying to feel something.
Hunter stood beside her, observing her concentration, and reached out to shield her from the sunlight. “Next time, wear a sun hat.”
“Hmm,” Shen Xi replied softly, and Hunter didn’t think she had heard him.
As they stood up, Hunter noticed a black-haired man in a Lotus team racing suit strolling slowly across the track. Hunter had never seen him before. There were few Asian drivers in Formula 1.
Hunter suddenly realized—this must be Chen Mobai, the guy Winston had warned to watch out for.
Chen Mobai had a tall, slender build, with more pronounced features than the typical Asians. His deep-set eyes carried a lazy yet enigmatic quality.
He curled the corners of his mouth and gave Hunter a small smile.
Hunter nodded reflexively.
Suddenly, the smile in Chen Mobai’s eyes grew more pronounced.
Hunter became irritated. Is this guy trying to provoke me?
When Hunter met Winston, who was talking with his team members in the corridor, he couldn’t wait to say, “Winston! I just saw that Chen Mobai you mentioned! He provoked me!”
“Provoked you? He wouldn’t do something like that,” Winston replied.
This made Hunter even more annoyed.
Do you know him so well? How can you be so sure he wouldn’t provoke me?
Winston seemed to read Hunter’s mind. “What did he do that made you feel provoked?”
“I was watching the track with Little Xi. He was on the other side, and he smiled at me like this.” Hunter twisted his mouth, pulling the corners of his lips, and smiled as ugly as he could.
Winston patted his shoulder. “You’re overthinking it. He wasn’t smiling at you.”
“Then who was he smiling at? There were only the two of us on the other side. No one else!”
“He was smiling at Little Xi.”
“Huh?”
“Alright, don’t dwell on it. Focus on securing a good position in the qualifying round.”
“Of course!”
That afternoon, the qualifying session kicked off.
Hunter listened to the final instructions from the technical officer. The mechanics said to him, “Hey, let us show off in front of the big teams one more time!”
Hunter rubbed the tip of his nose and smiled, but Shen Chuan could tell he was nervous because he kept fidgeting with his feet.
Shen Chuan opened his arms to hug Hunter and patted him on the back. “Hunter, remember that every honor you’ve earned is not just luck but skill. It will happen again and again.”
“Thank you.” Hunter closed his eyes as if he could see all the days and nights of Shen Chuan and the engineering team, every fine adjustment of the car, and every person who had slumped over the table at night.
All the chaotic thoughts suddenly calmed.
Even without Winston by his side or leading the way, Hunter felt confident he wouldn’t lose his direction.
He raced on the track, feeling each twist and turn with his heart.
From the start, Hunter maintained his position in the top three. The competition was unusually fierce. Ciel and Owen alternated in securing the pole position, but Hunter held steady in third place.
“I don’t know if it’s because that brat keeps following you, but now his driving mentality seems to be more like yours—like he’s waiting for a chance to break free,” said Miller, the Ferrari team manager.
“But it’s not just him following me… I’m worried about being surpassed by him.” Winston’s eyes were glued to the screen, watching the constantly changing positions.
Miller had never seen Winston make this kind of expression before. It was as if Hunter wasn’t just a competitor he respected but also all his expectations and hopes.
The second qualifying round was a fierce battle for survival. Ciel held his breath as his lap time outpaced Owen and secured the top spot. Hunter, driving increasingly well, showed his prowess in the middle of the second qualifying round, overtaking Owen and challenging Ciel.
“This kid is scary fast… I’m always worried he might blow up our engine…” Marcus took a deep breath.
“No… that won’t happen…” Shen Chuan reassured him.
Before the second qualifying round ended, Hunter passed Ciel and took the lead for the first time in qualifying.
At this moment, Winston furrowed his brow slightly and rubbed his chin, speaking in a voice only he could hear, “Don’t rush, Hunter. Just stay steady.”
Hunter entered the third round in this leading position.
Cars roared past one after another, and the heat waves seemed to distort the track.
Owen refused to stay behind and increased his lap speed. He overtook Ciel midway through the third round and began closing in on Hunter, who was in pole position.
He could feel Hunter’s mind gradually dominating the track. Once Hunter’s confidence grew, it became a driving force, allowing him to perform at his best. No one could touch his wings.
Owen gritted his teeth and raced without reservation, leveraging his exceptional cornering skills to ultimately surpass Hunter and claim pole position.
This qualifying session excited the spectators to the highest degree.
Hunter’s grip on the steering wheel remained firm, unrelenting for a long time.
Owen took pole position, Hunter was second, Ciel was third, followed by Duchovny from McLaren and Penny from Renault. Chen Mobai, making his Formula 1 debut, secured sixth position.
Upon returning to the team, Hunter was met with applause from Marcus, who said, “Well done, Hunter! This is your best qualifying session since joining Formula 1!”
Hunter sighed, “Sorry for not getting pole position.”
“Don’t be too hard on yourself. Even Ciel and Owen can’t guarantee pole position every time.” The technical officer patted Hunter’s shoulder.
Hunter took a drink, tilting his head back to gulp it down.
Marcus and the technical officer could tell that Hunter hadn’t shaken off his nervousness.
“Actually, Hunter, compared to starting from pole position and worrying about being chased, you might be better suited to being the one who topples the leader,” Shen Chuan said, standing next to Hunter.
“Thanks.”
Hunter finally showed a smile.
“I’m going to have a smoke.”
“Go ahead.”
With the actual race about to start in a few hours, Hunter had limited time to focus.
He sat in a corner, head tilted back, the deafening roar of engines and the winding track still echoing in his ears.
“Do you want to smoke or kiss?”
The sound of Winston’s voice was faint and gentle, carrying a coolness that calmed his mind.
Hunter turned to answer without hesitation, “Kiss.”
The man before him revealed his usual mature and sexy smile, slowly leaning in and brushing Hunter’s lips with a light kiss.
Hunter, eyes closed in anticipation, leaned in for the kiss, but Winston turned his face away.
“Hey!” Hunter’s expression turned angry.
“Wait until the race is over, and I’ll kiss you until you pass out. But not now.” Winston supported Hunter’s head against his shoulder and said softly, “Close your eyes, slow your mind, and let your tense emotions relax.”
“But I’m afraid that once I relax, I won’t be able to get nervous again.”
“Hunter, don’t chase perfection for my sake. It’s precisely the cracks where light shines through… We’re not pursuing the fastest speed, but control. Don’t let speed control you, but enjoy it. When you stop forcing yourself, every corner will be there for you.”
At this moment, Hunter realized the generosity of this man. He had never been chasing the so-called championship.
The humid and hot temperature seemed to cool down, and Hunter fell asleep leaning on Winston’s shoulder.
He wasn’t sure how long he had been asleep when someone gently tapped his shoulder. “Hunter, Hunter… Wake up.”
“Hmm…” Hunter opened his eyes, realizing something.
The humid air clung to his nose and skin, and the roar of the racetrack grew louder. It felt as if he had returned to reality from Winston’s realm.
“Did I actually fall asleep?” Hunter couldn’t believe it.
Despite keeping Winston awake the night before the race and being unable to sit still before the qualifying round, he had somehow managed to fall asleep so easily.
Winston continued to hold him, gently stroking his cheek with his knuckles.
“Is sleeping a problem? When you stop obsessing over the championship, you’ll get closer to it.”
Hunter looked into Winston’s eyes and suddenly understood something.
He reached out to embrace Winston’s neck and whispered in his ear, “I want to lean on your shoulder like this for the rest of my life.”
Winston smiled.
“Didn’t you say that every part of me belongs to you? My shoulder is no exception.”
Hunter stood up and stretched.
His true goal wasn’t to conquer Owen or Ciel, nor was it about winning a so-called throne, but Winston’s world.
“I’m leaving now. Remember to keep an eye on me.”
Hunter lowered his head to look at Winston, who was still sitting in the same spot. Winston gently lifted his hand and lowered his head to kiss the back of it.
From this angle, Hunter could see Winston’s lowered and courteous eyelashes as if they brushed against his heart.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Hunter felt that this time, he was destined to soar.
Aside from the race, he wanted to see this man lose control and go crazy in another place.
He bent down to kiss the top of Winston’s head.
“If I win this race, you must treat me like a king.”
Without waiting for a response, Hunter straightened up and walked away.
At this moment, his heart was filled with a burning desire to fight.
This initial nervousness was completely different. Eager to try, he had a strong premonition in his heart that he would surpass everything, charge into Vann Winston’s domain, and control the direction of that man.
As Hunter walked back, he happened to see Ciel approaching with his racing suit tied around his waist.
Ciel tilted his chin slightly and made a throat-slitting gesture at him, exuding the “cool and arrogant” demeanor he was known for.
Hunter gave a faint smile, raised three fingers, and brushed past him.
Two seconds later, Ciel came to his senses and turned red with anger.
—This will be the third time I beat you.
“Fuck, this kid really needs to be taught a lesson!”
This wasn’t Hunter’s first main race, but it was his highest qualifying position. At the same time, it was the only race where Winston wasn’t participating.
Hunter gripped the steering wheel, his eyes cold, watching Owen ahead.
Meanwhile, Marcus glanced at the screen and said to Shen Chuan beside him, “You know, every time Hunter races, I get nervous. In the past, it was because he lacked experience or couldn’t give it his all… Later, it was because he was too good, breaking into the ranks of top drivers but seeming like he could self-destruct at any moment due to excessive speed…”
“And now?” Shen Chuan asked, turning to face him.
Marcus shook his head and said, “This time, I’m not nervous at all. It feels like since he’s already won a championship… I no longer have such a big fantasy about it?”
“No, it’s because you trust Hunter more each time. Since his race at Silverstone, he hasn’t made a mistake.”
When Shen Chuan said that, Marcus lowered his head and laughed.
“Yeah… it does seem like a miracle when I think about it.”
When the five lights went out, all of Hunter’s chaotic thoughts flowed out of his mind. As Owen surged ahead, Hunter’s heart tightened. He launched off sharply like a blade, speeding down the straight.
His speed reached 310 km/h in sixth gear, and the spectators’ eyes followed the curve. The fierce battle was about to begin.
Hunter and Ciel put immense pressure on Owen, who was leading. Hunter’s attempts to overtake in the corners forced Owen to drive defensively. Owen knew well that Hunter was much calmer than he appeared. In countless races, this brat had been biting at his opponents’ heels and overtaking them in the final lap. This pressure made Owen relentless. On the fifth lap, he set the highest lap speed on the Sepang Circuit for the year.
It wasn’t until the sixth lap, when Hunter was tailing Owen closely at the end of the straight, that he suddenly slowed down through the first corner and then, with a clever maneuver, overtook Owen in the next left-hand turn.
The audience gasped in amazement, and even the Ferrari team’s technical officer couldn’t help but exclaim, “What a kid—”
Hunter and Owen drove side by side into the apex of the corner, but Owen emerged slightly ahead as they exited.
“What a shame!” Ferrari’s team manager Mr. Miller sighed.
Winston, standing beside him, spoke calmly, “He’s just probing and calculating.”
The author has something to say:
Hunter: Royal treatment—kisses, hugs, and being lifted high!
Winston: That’s not royal treatment. That’s treatment for a little kid.
Hunter: = = Then what is royal treatment?
Winston: Whip, handcuffs, Italian chandelier.
Hunter: …I choose the little kid treatment…