Chapter 94: Want a Club or Not?

Derek Su had barely gotten home, his seat still warm, when Mr. Xavier arrived with a beaming smile, Lumina in tow.

The moment he opened his mouth, he said,
“Derek Su, do you want a club or not?”

Derek Su was completely dumbfounded.

What was this supposed to mean?
If he said yes, could Mr. Xavier just conjure a club out of thin air?

Mr. Xavier didn’t bother with suspense and went straight to the point.
“A few days ago, Zane and I talked things over. We knew you wanted to start your own club, so we kept an eye on that market. We joined a shop transfer group, and there’s a club owner in there who’s quitting and retiring. He’s transferring the entire club—storefront and facilities included.”

Derek Su’s heart skipped a beat.

Buying an existing club shell was far more convenient than purchasing a store and renovating it himself. The facilities that came with a club were incredibly expensive, and they weren’t easy to obtain through normal channels.

But…

“That kind of club won’t be cheap, right? I only have four million, and I still need to set some aside for Stella…”

“Hey, Derek Su, I know all that,” Xavier Young said. He pulled over a stool and sat down with Lumina, his tone turning conciliatory. “The owner doesn’t really need money. He just has a small request. It depends on whether you’re willing to agree to it.”

“What kind of request?”
Derek Su frowned. “Tell me first.”

Xavier Young might call it a small request, but there was no such thing as a free lunch. The conditions were probably anything but minor.

If it involved his Mecha Girl, then even ten clubs wouldn’t be enough to make him agree.

And it wasn’t impossible. Stella had already built up a bit of a reputation.

“Here’s how it is. The Silverstone Advancement Race is in two weeks,” Xavier Young explained. “That club owner has never won a provincial-level advancement race in his life. He wants you to compete under his club’s name, win the championship, and then give him the trophy.”

“Uh…”
Derek Su’s mouth twitched.

What kind of bizarre condition was that?

Trading a club for a symbolic trophy?

“That doesn’t violate the rules?” he asked cautiously.

Xavier Young nodded. “It would be illegal for a provincial-level circuit, but advancement races are fine. Those competitions focus mainly on individual honor. As long as you place in the top ten in three out of five advancement races, you qualify for the provincial race. The club affiliation barely matters. At most, the club name gets engraved on the trophy.”

“So the officials don’t care?”

“Not for advancement races.”

Xavier Young spoke with certainty. “This kind of thing is very common. Some club owners just like collecting trophies. During the Greenfield Advancement Race, didn’t you notice how many independent racers had club names printed on their suits and on their Mecha Girls? Same idea.”

If it followed the rules, then it was acceptable.

Derek Su’s main concern was someone trying to stir up trouble later.

He nodded.
“One last question. Why is that owner disbanding his club?”

Xavier Young and Lumina exchanged glances, then sighed, sympathy showing on their faces.

“The club owner’s Mecha Girl was in an accident during a race. She protected him, so he survived—but she was critically damaged and had to be sent back for recycling. After that, he dismissed all the racers and shut down the club. The club was called Rolling Stone, and his Mecha Girl was also named Rolling Stone. No matter which advancement race it is, he wants his Mecha Girl’s name engraved on a championship trophy—even if it’s followed by the word ‘club.’”

“Sorry,” Derek Su said softly, rubbing his nose.

That owner was clearly a man of strong emotions. There was no possibility of deception here—Mecha Girls being critically damaged or scrapped during races was a major incident. Anyone in the local racing circles could easily confirm it.

The man was obviously heartbroken and would never race again.

He just wanted something to remember her by.

Winning a championship must have been Rolling Stone’s wish before she was sent back for recycling.

“Stella, what do you think?”
Derek Su turned to the girl swinging her legs on the chair.

But when he looked, he saw tears filling Stella’s deep blue eyes.

“Wuuu… that’s so touching…”

Derek Su: “…”

Alright. No need to ask anymore.

Stella didn’t care about trophies.

And trophies didn’t mean much to him either.

They looked shiny and golden, but they weren’t even made of real gold—just brass. Not worth much at all.

Their only value was symbolic. Even if the trophy was lost or given away, it wouldn’t affect the official records of his and Stella’s achievements.

This trophy could be given up.

Trading the Silverstone Advancement Race championship trophy for a club shell was absolutely worth it.

So Derek Su said to Mr. Xavier,
“I’ll agree to it. Do I need to meet that owner?”

Xavier Young scratched his head, picturing a middle-aged man with tears and snot streaming down his face.
“If you don’t mind seeing him while he’s emotionally broken, you can meet him,” he said helplessly. “But whatever you do, don’t bring Stella.”

He glanced at Derek Su and Stella holding hands and cleared his throat twice.
“Especially don’t let him see a Mecha Girl and her driver holding hands. I’m afraid he wouldn’t be able to take that kind of shock.”

Stella and Derek Su exchanged a glance, faces turning red as they hurriedly let go.

Derek Su awkwardly stared up at the ceiling.

Stella turned her head away shyly, her fingers nervously twisting the hem of her clothes.

Only Lumina’s gaze darted back and forth between them as she covered her mouth and giggled.

...

After sitting for a while, Xavier Young and Lumina left.

Derek Su began thinking seriously about the club.

Since he had decided to take it over, the Silverstone Advancement Race had to be absolutely foolproof.

“Even if, on paper, I’ve already secured wins against Leon Li and Snowpeak, it never hurts to prepare more.”

Muttering to himself, Derek Su pulled out his phone and searched through recent racing communities.

He quickly found an upcoming training race—three days from now, in Tianyuan City.

What’s more, it was a straight-line acceleration race, perfectly suited to Stella. Winning a race like that would be effortless for her.

“Fifteen MP points secured! Hehehe~”

Derek Su grinned smugly.

“Master, what did you just say? ‘Admiration butt’?”
Stella quietly sidled up to him, her big eyes fixed on her driver without blinking.

“Nothing. I said your butt feels really nice.”

Stella’s face turned bright red. She stomped her foot and ran back to her room, pouting.

“Master, you’re sleeping alone tonight! I definitely won’t come!”

“Don’t do this, Stella, it’s cold at night…”

“This is your punishment!!!”

...

BSC Club.

Purple Lightning coldly pushed a leather case across the table toward the woman sitting opposite her.

“Here’s five million. I still owe you eighteen million in breach-of-contract fees.”

The woman before her—elegant, imposing, and immaculately dressed—was her former master, Chloe Qin. The once-naive girl had long since shed her immaturity. As BSC Club’s ace racer, many drivers and Mecha Girls now had to read her expression before acting. Over time, that authority had only made her more arrogant.

“Purple Lightning, there’s no rush with the penalty,” Chloe Qin said, smiling falsely. “You can earn it back slowly.”

She reached out to grab Purple Lightning’s hand, but Purple Lightning recoiled as if struck by electricity.

The smile froze on Chloe Qin’s face.

Leaning back against the leather sofa, she looked at Purple Lightning with a mocking gaze and spoke leisurely.
“Purple Lightning, until you finish paying off the penalty, you’re still my secondary Mecha Girl. There’s a training race in three days. I was planning to take Blazing Wind for a run, but since you’re here today… if you beg me properly, I’ll let you compete.”

She smiled thinly.
“Though with your speed, you’ll probably place near the bottom in that kind of straight-line acceleration race.”

Purple Lightning lifted her head, lips pressed tightly together, saying nothing.

Under her bangs, her eyes flickered uncertainly.

“Well?”
Chloe Qin crossed her legs, enunciating each word slowly and clearly:

“Just. Beg. Me. Properly.”