Chapter 105: I Really Want to Be with Them
With Purple Lightning fully recovered, Stella briefly explained everything that had happened. The two groups then gathered around the coffee table.
Purple Lightning sat across from Derek Su and Stella.
Zane, Lingwind, Xavier Young, and Lumina took the side seats in the middle, quietly watching the scene unfold.
“I’m sorry… I even had to trouble you to pay for my treatment.”
Purple Lightning looked full of guilt as she stood up and bowed deeply to Derek Su and Stella.
She then took out a bank card and pushed it toward Derek Su.
“There’s exactly 350,000 on it. The extra 50,000 is my way of repaying you for saving my life.”
How could Derek Su possibly accept her money?
This girl had already gone to great lengths just to pay off her breach-of-contract penalties. To her, 350,000 might represent the blood and sweat from one—or even two—brutal matches.
He quickly pushed the card back.
“I can’t take this. Back on the underground track, you helped Stella and me as well. Let’s call it even.”
Purple Lightning stared at the card that had been pushed back.
She pressed her lips together and nervously pinched her fingers.
…It would be better if it weren’t even, she muttered to herself.
To stop her from pushing the card back and forth again, Derek Su quickly changed the subject.
“Uh, Purple Lightning… you didn’t come to the Foxfire Club today just to do this, right?”
“Yes.” Purple Lightning nodded. With one finger, she quietly slid the card under the fruit platter. Her expression turned serious as she said, “I saw on TV that you and Stella participated in the Blade Path Training Match. During the race, you had a conflict with Chloe Qin…”
“Chloe Qin was my former driver—the ace racer of the BSC Club.”
“So what you’re saying is?” Derek Su asked calmly.
He also extended a finger and slid the bank card back out from under the fruit platter.
“I came to warn you and Stella. Chloe Qin is someone who stops at nothing. To win the provincial championship, she won’t just improve herself—she’ll do everything she can to eliminate anyone in her way. That means she, and possibly the entire BSC Club, may target you. Of course, any drivers or Mecha Girls who threaten her position could be targeted as well.”
“Targeted by the Queen of the Track, huh?”
Derek Su let out a soft scoff.
In his previous life as a racer, what kind of dirty tactics hadn’t he seen?
Some clubs had even gone as far as suicide-style attacks.
The reason he had died and ended up in this world was because someone had tampered with his race car. There had definitely been a mole in his modification team—otherwise, the brakes wouldn’t have failed.
But that kind of thing didn’t exist in this world.
No one could tamper with a Mecha Girl. At most, they could pull tricks on the track.
And track tricks didn’t scare Derek Su in the slightest.
At his level, he could handle all kinds of sudden situations. Provincial races didn’t even have Techmasters participating. The only variables were club drivers, track conditions, and Mecha Girl abilities. The first two barely mattered to him. As for Mecha Girl abilities—they were unpredictable, yes, but didn’t Stella also have the [Sovereign Engine]?
“Although the BSC Club isn’t a top-500 organization, they’re very well-funded. With money on the line, some racers may take desperate risks. So in the upcoming advancement races, if you and Stella encounter any BSC racers—or anyone who shows inexplicable hostility—you must stay on guard.”
“Got it. Thanks for the warning.”
Derek Su looked Purple Lightning over as she sat there obediently, a hint of interest flickering in his eyes.
What a great Mecha Girl. Just from watching TV, she had come all this way to warn him and Stella.
He glanced at Stella beside him. Stella was blinking frantically, sending obvious signals.
It was clear—the Pineapple King really wanted Purple Lightning as a sword-bearing attendant.
Well then, as the Pineapple Grand King, he might as well shamelessly press on.
Taking a deep breath, Derek Su asked tentatively, “Purple Lightning, have you ever considered changing drivers? I know you owe a lot in penalties, but there’s no rush. We can figure something out together.”
Purple Lightning stared blankly at Derek Su and Stella, her lips trembling.
“B-but… do you know how much I owe?”
“Thirty million, I think.”
“Yes… thirty million.” Purple Lightning lowered her head, staring at her toes. Her bangs hid her eyes as her hands clenched together, knuckles turning white. “Even knowing I owe thirty million… you’re still willing to help me?”
Derek Su interlaced his fingers, resting his elbows on the coffee table as he spoke seriously.
“Thirty million isn’t a small amount. I definitely can’t come up with that much in the short term, but Stella and I can find a way to raise it.”
Purple Lightning bit her lip. Though she tried hard not to cry, tears still streamed down her face.
If only the first driver she had ever met had been Derek Su…
If only she could have become Stella’s secondary Mecha Girl from the very beginning…
“Thank you.”
She clutched the hem of her clothes, biting down hard on her red lips.
She wanted to agree so badly.
She wanted to be with them so badly.
Emotions surged violently in her heart, but her reason was stretched tight like a taut red thread.
She shook her head fiercely.
It was precisely because she cherished Derek Su and Stella’s kindness that she couldn’t accept their help. If becoming their partner meant burdening them with more than ten million in debt, she would rather be scrapped in the gladiator arena.
Chloe Qin had treated her badly, yet she had never gone out of her way to cause him trouble.
And now Derek Su and Stella were willing to accept someone as weak and useless as her.
How could she possibly drag them down?
“I’m sorry… please don’t bring this up again,” Purple Lightning said as she wiped away her tears and looked up. Her eyes were still wet, and a fragile smile curved her lips. “At least… not until I’ve paid off the penalty. If—if on the day I finish repaying it, you still need a secondary Mecha Girl, and you don’t mind… I’d be willing to serve you. To become your partner, and Stella’s.”
With that, Purple Lightning stood up and fled the Foxfire Club in a fluster.
Stella and Lumina called after her, but no matter how they shouted, she didn’t stop.
“Ah… Purple Lightning’s pride is just too strong.” Stella slumped back down beside Derek Su, propping her chin on her hands and puffing out her cheeks. “She took the illegally modified modules. She’s definitely going back to underground matches to earn money.”
Derek Su rubbed his temples and glanced at the bank card that had somehow ended up hidden under a pineapple shell.
That stubborn little mule really was impossible to deal with.
She even insisted on repaying just 300,000 in medical fees.
Handing her money directly to pay off the penalty was clearly impossible. Judging by her personality, that might only hurt her instead.
But he couldn’t just sit by and watch her get injured in the arena either.
“Mr. Xavier, I’ve taken a liking to Purple Lightning as a Mecha Girl,” Derek Su said, scratching his head as he spoke apologetically to Xavier Young. “The arena is your business. Could you, as the owner, give her some support with post-match treatment? At the very least, make sure her recovery and maintenance are properly handled—and that her food and living conditions aren’t too miserable.”
“You call that a problem?” Xavier Young was delighted to finally be of help to Derek Su.
He immediately agreed. “Don’t worry, Derek. Leave it to me.”
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