Chapter 124: A Notorious Reputation

Che Peiqing was destined to have a sleepless night.

It was nearly dawn by the time he returned to his rented warehouse after leading his followers to the traffic department to handle the situation involving Jia Wenle. This warehouse served as the base of operations for the "Speed Club" and functioned as their workshop for modifying motorcycles. After all, many members of the club took great pleasure in buying parts and customizing their own bikes.

At this moment, the warehouse was ablaze with light, with all the members of the Speed Club gathered inside.

"Boss," said Mu Liren, who served as the vice president of the club, "there is something I’m not sure if I should bring up."

Che Peiqing looked at him, brow furrowed, and snapped, "What kind of annoying habit is that? 'Should I or shouldn't I?' Just spit it out!"

"I saw Young Master Qiu there today!"

"Which Young Master Qiu?" Che Peiqing asked.

"Qiu Jinghao from the Qiu Group," Mu Liren replied.

"So he showed up. What does that have to do with me?" Che Peiqing countered.

His retort nearly choked the rest of the words out of Mu Liren. He had hoped to persuade Che Peiqing to reach out and build a connection with Qiu Jinghao; after all, as motorcycle enthusiasts, they were eager to get on good terms with "second-generation rich" figures like him.

"If we had sponsorship from a wealthy heir like Young Master Qiu, the losses from having our bikes confiscated today would be negligible," Mu Liren persisted, voicing his thoughts.

"I might be able to tolerate others, but not Qiu Jinghao!" Che Peiqing declared.

"Why?" Mu Liren was baffled. They were both wealthy heirs; other than Qiu Jinghao having even more money than the rest, what was the problem?

"His reputation is abysmal! If it weren't for his filthy money, his reputation would be worse than that bunch of losers over at the Jiang Family Martial Arts Hall!" Che Peiqing said with a look of disdain.

"But he really is rich!" Mu Liren tried to argue.

"No matter how rich he is, it has nothing to do with me!" Che Peiqing cut him off, refusing to discuss Qiu Jinghao any further.

Mu Liren curled his lip in silent resentment; he thought his boss was an idiot for turning away easy money. However, given Che Peiqing’s status in the club, he kept those thoughts to himself, not daring to speak them aloud.

"By the way, does Tian Li know about my past in car racing?" Che Peiqing asked, shifting the focus to his main concern.

Mu Liren was one of the few veterans in the club who had followed him from his racing days into the motorcycle scene, and Che Peiqing trusted them with many things.

"Tian Li joined the club late and hasn't been here long, so she shouldn't know about that," Mu Liren thought for a moment before answering. He then turned to the other senior members who had also made the transition from cars to bikes: "Have any of you told Tian Li that the Boss used to be a race car driver?"

"No! None of us have!" they all shook their heads, denying it.

"That's good!" Che Peiqing rubbed his hands with excitement. He was terrified that Hua Tianyu would discover his history as a professional racer and change his mind about the upcoming competition. If that happened, he would lose his chance to stage a comeback and redeem his reputation.

"Right, Xiao Mu, we need to put some effort into tuning that old Honda racer of ours this week. We’re going to compete against Hua Tianyu!" Che Peiqing ordered.

"Boss, we need to find a way to get the brothers' motorcycles back first. Those are their livelihoods!" Seeing that Che Peiqing was solely focused on racing, Mu Liren was displeased. All of their bikes had been confiscated, and only a few, like the Boss, had racing cars to fall back on. A Speed Club without motorcycles was like a tiger without its teeth.

"Yeah, Boss, let’s get someone to help us retrieve our bikes!"

"Boss, that’s my only bike. If it’s gone, am I supposed to walk everywhere?"

Provoked by Mu Liren’s words, the rest of the club members chimed in immediately. Without their bikes, they were effectively sidelined.

"Exactly, we should ask Young Master Qiu!" someone particularly close to Mu Liren suggested.

"Yes! People like him have ways to get our bikes out!" Once the suggestion was made, others quickly voiced their support.

"Boss, asking Young Master Qiu to help with the bikes is a great idea!" Mu Liren once again placed the option of Qiu Jinghao in front of Che Peiqing, hoping he would reconsider.

"Ah... the motorcycle issue..." Che Peiqing felt a headache coming on, but his top priority remained defeating Hua Tianyu. "After I beat Hua Tianyu next week, I’ll help you figure something out!" he told the group.

"And what about Young Master Qiu..." Mu Liren asked.

"Don't mention that Qiu Jinghao again. I don't care for him!" Che Peiqing rejected the proposal once more.

Mu Liren let out a long sigh and fell silent, but a spark of anger and dissatisfaction took root in his heart. The lights in the Speed Club warehouse remained on until dawn, as the Swan International Building welcomed the morning rush hour.

After the black Mercedes safely dropped Wei Xueying off at the main entrance, Hua Tianyu parked the car in the garage and strolled leisurely toward the security department.

Following his usual routine of making a quick round through the department, Hua Tianyu noticed that Cui Quan, who was usually early, was absent. He checked the post at the entrance, but Cheng Feng was not there either.

Cui Quan’s absence wasn't a huge deal—it wasn't quite time to clock in yet, and it was normal for him to be late occasionally. But Cheng Feng was supposed to be at his post early, so his absence was suspicious.

After asking around, he found that some of the early shift workers had seen Cheng Feng arrive, but no one knew where he had gone. Hua Tianyu nodded to himself, having a hunch.

Having finished his rounds at the security department, Hua Tianyu went to the Human Resources department for his daily morning "spiritual exchange" with Wang Hong, taking the opportunity to needle Liang Hui.

"Morning, Liang Hui! Starting the day off with hard work instead of a little chat?" Hua Tianyu greeted her with a grin.

Liang Hui: "..."

After greeting her, and under her hostile gaze, Hua Tianyu had just stepped into the HR office when his phone rang.

"Brother Tian, it’s me, Cui Quan!"

"What’s up?"

"Brother Tian, are you at the Swan Building?"

"I’m at the Human Resources department."

"Got it, Brother Tian. I'm coming up to find you!"

Two minutes later, Hua Tianyu met a visibly nervous Cui Quan.

The moment Cui Quan saw him, he pulled him aside. Noticing Liang Hui staring at them, he gave her an awkward smile and dragged Hua Tianyu into a corner where they were out of sight.

"What’s with all the mystery?" Hua Tianyu asked, observing Cui Quan’s behavior.

"Brother Tian, that Cheng Feng... he today..." Cui Quan had actually arrived early that day. Acting on Hua Tianyu’s instruction to keep a close eye on Cheng Feng, he had unexpectedly spotted the man acting suspiciously and followed him as he left the Swan Building.

As soon as he returned, he had called Hua Tianyu immediately...