Since there are things that can't be understood, don't waste time thinking about them—this is Chen Xiangbei's life motto.
What's more, he still has more important things to handle, like the arrangement with Liang Chi yesterday to meet at the repair shop after school tonight to see how he would solve the racing car dilemma.
To save time, Chen Xiangbei hailed a motorcycle taxi on the roadside. With the motorcycle ban order in effect, there are fewer and fewer motorcycles in Guangshen, and prices have risen accordingly.
Sitting in the back seat, Chen Xiangbei pondered whether he should get an "electric chicken" (an electric scooter) to ride for commuting to save some money.
By the time he reached the repair shop, it was almost ten o'clock. Liang Chi was lounging on a chair at the entrance, lazily swinging his slippers. Seeing Chen Xiangbei, he teased, "Were you held back at school today? School ends at nine, and you're here at ten?"
"Where's the car?"
Chen Xiangbei knew Liang Chi's habit of fooling around well, so he got straight to the point without any small talk.
"Parked in the back storage room."
With that, Liang Chi tossed a set of keys from his pocket.
Chen Xiangbei had been working part-time at the repair shop for almost six months and had never seen the back storage room open. He always thought it was just an abandoned warehouse.
Curious, Chen Xiangbei took the keys to the storage room and opened it. When he pushed up the rolling door, he sensed something amiss. A long-abandoned warehouse should have doors rusted shut, but this one opened smoothly.
This meant that Liang Chi often opened the storage room, he just didn't know about it.
As the rolling door rose, light from the yard shone in, revealing to Chen Xiangbei a blue Subaru Impreza, nicknamed the "tear-eye" eighth generation.
To be precise, it's a Subaru Impreza WRX STI.
The Subaru Impreza refers to the civilian model, adding WRX means it's a racing model, and adding STI represents a high-performance racing version of the Subaru Impreza!
Using popular models to describe type differences, it's akin to the difference between a Volkswagen Polo, Volkswagen Polo GTI, and Volkswagen Polo R.
Within the realm of Japanese performance cars, the Subaru Impreza deserves the prestigious reputation. It was once known alongside the Mitsubishi EVO as the rally race twin stars, battling in the WRC events for nearly twenty years.
But for the average person in the country, compared to the well-known Japanese models like the AE86 or GTR, the Subaru Impreza is much less famous, or rather, the entire Subaru brand lags far behind its Japanese counterparts in the country.
On one hand, Subaru has never completed local production, making its imported car status result in higher prices and limited parts, putting it naturally at a market disadvantage.
On the other hand, Subaru's car-making philosophy is stubborn, overly pursuing off-road and racing sports, while most ordinary families require fuel economy and comfort, which are fundamentally at odds.
Yet, the not-so-popular Subaru Impreza of this era became hot after its complete withdrawal from the Chinese market. Many limited edition models were sold for prices higher than their original cost, and those in excellent condition are even more in demand.
"Uncle Liang, you actually have a Subaru Impreza?"
Chen Xiangbei was surprised—knowing that the Subaru Impreza STI is very niche domestically, plus Liang Chi's model introduced in 2003 wasn't formally available in China, making it quite challenging to acquire.
Not to mention, just the components and equipment of Liang Chi's shabby repair shop might not hold a candle to the cost of that Subaru Impreza.
"So what, isn't it allowed?"
Liang Chi leaned against the door frame and leisurely lit a cigarette for himself.
"Uncle Liang, you wouldn't happen to be a professional racer, would you?"
Chen Xiangbei asked tentatively. The CFR2000 formula race car model on Liang Chi's desk almost confirmed his link to the racing industry, otherwise, an ordinary person couldn't possibly get such a design model.
Additionally, during this half year of part-time work, Chen Xiangbei heard him occasionally use professional terminology that would only appear in auto racing, a definite reflex formed from habit.
Especially this old-timer, knowing that sometimes he would take the opportunity to test drive cars for a thrill, Liang Chi didn't stop or punish him like a regular boss, instead he encouraged him to race, a sure sign something's amiss!
But Chen Xiangbei himself had secrets, how could he willingly steer topics in that direction? The two of them maintained a tacit understanding over the months.
Now, Chen Xiangbei finally broke the veil of secrecy.
"Pro my ass, do I look like a professional driver?"
Liang Chi immediately rebutted, even shooting out an old phlegm.
Seeing his scruffy appearance, Chen Xiangbei agreed it didn't seem likely.
But then again, going solely by feeling isn't reliable; just like how Fujimura Bunta was an outsider seen as a tofu-selling drunk, who would have known he was once the legendary car god of Qiuming Mountain twenty years ago?
"Then why do you collect a Subaru Impreza?"
"Can't a man reminisce about his youth when he's older?"
"What youth?"
Having come this far in the conversation, Chen Xiangbei naturally pressed on for the details.
"The youth of a racing engineer."
Liang Chi raised his head high, at this point, there should be a tear trickling from the corner of his eye, enhancing the sense of time's passage.
In the end, he failed to squeeze out any tears, so he let it go.
Had it been any peer uttering these words, Chen Xiangbei would mockingly retort—you think you can be a racing engineer with that look?
Yet, despite his mischievousness, Liang Chi is still an elder, so Chen Xiangbei could only respond with a face full of helplessness: "Which professional team's racing engineer are you?"
"Not a professional team."
"Then what?"
"Huasi Sports."
"Did you really make that CFR2000?"
Chen Xiangbei was dumbfounded, even if Liang Chi built a Ferrari, he wouldn't be surprised, but constructing a formula race car was truly unexpected.
After all, this was virtually uncharted territory in China, rarely any automotive engineer ventures into it, calling it a rarity isn't an exaggeration.
"Kind of, it's an unsuccessful shell."
A bitter smile appeared on Liang Chi's face, CFR2000 is his pride, and equally, his eternal sorrow.
Seeing this expression on Liang Chi's face, Chen Xiangbei immediately understood.
Others might be unaware of this history, but having been a formula racer in a previous life, how could he not know the growing pains of China's formula racing development?
In fact, China had a wave of formula racing development, marked by the successful 2004 F1 Chinese Grand Prix at the East Sea International Circuit, drawing attention and investments from various parties, including Geely Racing and Huasi Sports.
Huasi Sports' founder, Zhang Zhicong, was a passionate motorsport enthusiast and an investment bank manager. Feeling the F1 Chinese Grand Prix fever, he aspired to create a Chinese driver, event, and even a formula race car!
With this goal, he initiated the CFR2000 development plan, securing sponsorship, and setting up a factory in East Sea in 2005.
However, the difficulty of developing formula racing exceeded their previous expectations. Even though they procured Ford engines to lower difficulty, challenges with the chassis, suspension, sequential gearbox, aerodynamic shape, and more remained insurmountable barriers.
After three years, only two prototype CFR2000s were made, far behind schedule, leading to investor doubts, financial shortfalls, and internal disagreements within Huasi.
To restore confidence, Huasi decided to showcase CFR2000 in a demo run at the 2008 F1 Chinese Grand Prix, hoping to gain massive attention and exposure.
Yet, who could have foreseen this being the final nail in the coffin for Huasi and CFR2000? During the demo-run at the East Sea International Circuit, a CFR2000 lost a wheel, shattering investor confidence directly.
The debut thus became the swan song!