The Favored Heiress
Chapter 368: International Racetrack

Chapter 368: Chapter 368: International Racetrack

"It has nothing to do with her, it was me who wanted to see you." Li Qiao sat across from him, slightly tilting her chin up, and pushed a few sheets of paper towards him, "Can you understand what’s on these?"

Guan Mingchen took them into his hands, feeling dazzled, his complexion showing embarrassment, he shook his head, "I, I dropped out of middle school, so... I don’t understand English."

Li Qiao shook her head indifferently, "That’s not English, it’s an encryption method for transmitting information. Have a look at the contents of the third page, can you understand it?"

Guan Mingchen turned to the third page as instructed. There were arrangements of numbers and letters with a brief explanation below.

After a brief glance, his eyes lit up as he raised his head, "Miss Li, I understand this, it’s binary to decimal conversion."

Li Qiao raised her eyebrows, her tone carrying a hint of probing, she asked, "Can you do it in your head?"

Guan Mingchen pursed his lips, not daring to make rash claims, he humbly scratched his head, "I can try."

Li Qiao leaned back in her chair, slowly crossing her legs, "Mhm, then calculate for me, what is the binary 11001 in decimal, begin now."

Seeing this, Guan Mingchen, although unsure of her intentions, still started calculating out of trust in Li Qiao.

The conference room was very quiet, with only the sound of fingers lightly tapping on the table.

It was an unconscious gesture from Guan Mingchen.

He held the papers in one hand, while the fingers of his other hand tapped on the table with no rhythm.

Li Qiao didn’t interrupt him and waited patiently for the result.

Less than three minutes had passed and a fine sweat had appeared on Guan Mingchen’s forehead.

Soon, his fingers stopped moving, and he looked up nervously with the number, "25?"

Li Qiao watched Guan Mingchen with a calm expression, and after a moment, the corners of her lips slightly lifted, "Not bad."

Although the speed was not close to a powerful mental arithmetic ability, it was already excellent for the unpracticed Guan Mingchen.

Guan Mingchen, seeing the faint smile on Li Qiao’s face, also relaxed his tense mood instantly.

Li Qiao looked at his naive expression, a strong man with a well-built body, and yet he grinned foolishly non-stop because of a single affirmation.

She shook her head helplessly, pondered for a few seconds, then asked, "You’re not working at the construction site, do you have any other income now?"

The smile on Guan Mingchen’s face stiffened for a moment, and he shook his head awkwardly, "I, I was thinking of waiting until my sister finishes the drug trial, then find another construction site to work at."

His mind was simple, and he was uneducated. Aside from the construction sites where he could sell his labor, nowhere else would take him.

Li Qiao tugged at the corner of her mouth, her voice low and slow, "If I can arrange for you to undergo professional mental arithmetic training, would you want to go?"

Guan Mingchen was clearly taken aback, somewhat at a loss, "Can I do it?"

"Why not?" Li Qiao leaned forward slightly, resting her arms on the edge of the table, looking directly at the obviously insecure Guan Mingchen, she said, "I need someone proficient in high-level mental arithmetic to help me with my work, and you just so happen to have the skills.

But the mental arithmetic I need is not just simple number play, it’s..."

Li Qiao paused, nodding towards the papers in Guan Mingchen’s hands, "to be able to quickly solve all encrypted files with mental arithmetic."

Guan Mingchen looked down at the intricate characters on the paper, his fingers gradually tensing, "I..."

He seemed hesitant, and Li Qiao didn’t force him, "You don’t have to answer me right away, you can take those papers to study.

If you’re willing, I will pay you a monthly salary, as a reward for working for me."

Guan Mingchen looked at Li Qiao dazedly, his mind spinning.

Never before had he felt as useful as he did at this moment.

He floated out of the conference room like a lost soul, clutching the papers, completely bewildered.

Could it be that he and his sister had stumbled upon a stroke of good fortune?

...

As dusk fell, Li Qiao lazily made her way back to her dorm.

After closing the door, the room felt empty and desolate, inexplicably lonely and isolated.

She didn’t turn on the light, slowly walking to the armchair by the window to sit down.

Today, Shang Yu must have been very busy, and so was she.

Thus, neither of them had been in contact throughout the day.

Since returning from Parma, it seemed like they had both resumed their normal lives.

In the same city, but each occupied with their own busyness, they experienced a kind of long-distance relationship yearning.

Li Qiao sat alone by the window, gazing at the neon-lit night, feeling inevitably a bit wistful.

She wondered what Shang Yu was doing.

With that thought, Li Qiao’s body reacted first, unlocking her phone screen; the cold white light fell on her face, casting ambiguous shadows tinged with a touch of haziness.

Li Qiao opened her contacts and was about to press the call button when suddenly, Luoyu’s call came in.

Her eyelid twitched, and her finger just happened to touch the answer button.

Li Qiao brought the phone to her ear, and Luoyu’s voice was stiff yet respectful, "Miss Li, have you finished your tasks?"

"Yeah, I’m in the dorm, what’s up?" Li Qiao replied casually.

"The boss has sent me to pick you up; I’m already downstairs."

Li Qiao gave an ’oh’, told him to wait a moment, and then hung up.

...

Less than ten minutes later, Li Qiao walked out of the dormitory building.

She was dressed in wide-leg pants and a snug turtleneck short-sleeve, her hair tied up in a comfortable bun as she went downstairs.

In the car, Li Qiao leaned against the backrest, her expression faint as she watched the cityscape flitting by outside the window, "Where is he?"

Luoyu glanced at the rear-view mirror, "The boss is over at South Port."

Li Qiao arched her eyebrows looking toward Luoyu, her mouth twitching; this answer was as good as none.

South Port was a famous car park, occupying a large area with rich surrounding facilities.

She couldn’t figure out what Shang Yu would be doing there so late at night.

Buying a car?

In less than half an hour, the sign for South Port Car Park loomed before them.

As the car ventured further down the street, Li Qiao lazily arched an eyebrow.

This driving direction... seemed to be toward the South Port International Racetrack.

Li Qiao instinctively straightened her back, and after five more minutes, the car stopped at the entrance of the racetrack.

It really was the racetrack!

"Miss Li, we’ve arrived," Luoyu unbuckled his seatbelt and turned back to remind her.

She hurriedly got out of the car, and as Li Qiao stepped out, looking at the brightly lit racetrack ahead, she asked in surprise, "Is there a race recently?"

South Port was one of the rare domestic racetracks that could host Formula 1 events. Moreover, it only opened to the public for rally races or carnival festivals, and even then, buying tickets only granted access to the premium car exhibition area.

Luoyu shook his head, closed the car door, and signaled to Li Qiao, "The boss is waiting for you inside."

Li Qiao, suspicious in her heart, nonetheless followed him into the racetrack through the entrance area.

Soon, they bypassed the spectator stands of the racetrack.

As she walked, Li Qiao lifted her eyes and saw ahead near the fence, Shang Yu in black clothes leaning against the back of the grandstand. His handsome face was against the light, his legs crossed elegantly and nobly in front of him.

And at the starting point of the track, there were seven RX7 racing cars parked.