The opening ceremony of the racing competition was held in the Birmingham suburbs on the day before Christmas Eve. All racing teams would arrive at the official race venue following the opening ceremony The day before the opening ceremony began, Alicia received the tickets Matthew had sent her. She was so happy that she kept begging Tammy to go with her. Tammy was drowsy the entire way because they had an early start in the morning. She grumbled, âWhatâs the big deal about this? It is only an opening ceremony, not a race. Do you realize this will be over once everyone has brought their cars in? I donât think itâll even last half an hour. I canât believe Iâm waking up so early for that.â
Alicia said, âIâm not interested in the official game! Iâm only here to take a photo with Kevin.â
âWhoâs Kevin?â
âA very cute racer. He was on a variety show last year and is now very famous.â
âHow cute can he be? Is he as cute as Scott?â Tammy asked mockingly Alicia flipped through the brochure, looking for a picture of Kevin âThey are not the same type. Here! This is Kevin.â
Tammy frowned and asked, âAre you sure? Heâs a reserve player for my companyâs team. Heâs not even a regular on the team.
Why do you find him attractive?â
âWhat? Heâs a backup player?!â Alicia went completely still. She wouldnât have known it if Tammy hadnât pointed it out. On the brochure, Kevinâs name had a yellow line next to it, indicating that he was a substitute âHow did that happen?â With her eyes widened in shock, Alicia asked Tammy yawned and appeared to be about to fall asleep. She looked around and froze when she noticed someone âAlicia.â
âYeah?â
âLook!â
Alicia turned to face the front row, following Tammyâs gaze. She asked after seeing the man, âIsnât that Dominic? What id he doing here?â
Tammy frowned when she noticed the logo of Brisco Group on the small flag Dominic was holding. Brisco Group was Carousel Groupâs biggest competitor âDominic seems to be on your opponentâs team.â Nudging Tammy, Alicia said with a sly smile Tammy mockingly looked at Alicia and said, âOf course I noticed that! I hate him!â
âYou donât have to judge him that way, Tammy. Itâs just a game, and everyone is playing fair.â
âBrisco doesnât care about fairness or even morals.â Tammy snorted after she said so âWhatâs the matter?â
âThis happened a few years ago. Back then, the real estate industry wasnât so heavily regulated. So, the Brisco group demolished many old buildings with bulldozers and even killed some residents. From then on, they are known for their tough demolition practices.â
âReally?â Alicia asked, surprised âTheyâve also done a lot of dirty deeds.â Tammy didnât want to bring up these heinous details again. She cast a glance at Dominic and then frowned âThatâs Kevin! Tammy. Iâm going to ask him for an autograph. Wait for me here!â Alicia then quickly ran away /t seems you did come here just to see Kevin. Then why did you ask me to come here with you? Tammy thought At that point, the opening ceremony had already begun. As the teams of each brand entered the field, the host introduced them to the audience At the same time, the audience could hear the roaring engines and see the floating smoke While most of the audience were cheering like crazy, Tammy remained silent as she had no interest in racing at all. She waited for Alicia for a long time before deciding to go looking for her. Absentminded and bored, Tammy followed the signâs instructions and walked to the lounge Looking at the Brisco brand logo on the lounge door, Tammy sighed She thought to herself, Whatâs going on with me, today? Why on earth would I go to the lounge for the Brisco group? Urgh!
She was about to leave when she heard a man talking inside the lounge. âThe only thing you have to do at the opening ceremony is to wreck the Carousel Groupâs car. You should kick their racer out of the official competition.â
Tammy froze, unable to believe what she was hearing. All of a sudden, Alicia came up behind her and asked, âWhat are you doing here? Iâve been looking for you for a long time. I just came back from getting you some coffee.â Alicia winked at Tammy while holding two cups of coffee Then conversation in the lounge came to a halt. Sensing that something was off, Tammy grabbed Aliciaâs arm and shouted, âRun!â
âMy coffee!â
The two girls ran down the wall in a frenzy. Immediately after that, two men walked out of the lounge and began running after them, shouting, âStop!â
Aliciaâs face became pale with fear. âWho did you piss off again?â she asked Tammy as she ran âStop asking! I donât have time to explain it right now.â
âAh! I canât run anymore!â Alicia had used up all of her energy. And the two men were getting closer and closer to them at that moment. In the blink of an eye, Tammy shoved Alicia behind a trash can at the intersection. While panting, she whispered to Alicia, âStay here. Donât move until they leave.â
Then Tammy slowed down on purpose. And she started to run quickly after the two men behind her had caught up âStop!â The men shouted again After she left the venue, Tammy noticed tall grass in front of her. Just as she was about to say something, a hand reached out from the grass, covered her mouth, and yanked her in âAh!!!â Panicked, Tammy nearly screamed her lungs out âShhh!â The person who just yanked her quickly covered her mouth Both scared and curious, Tammy wanted to turn around and see who the person was. And when she was going to do so, she heard the footsteps of the two men who went after her, and they sounded like they were right beside her. So, she perished the thought and decided to stay still and J silent âWhere has she gone?â One of the men asked âYou tell me! Didnât she just walk over here?â The other man asked me âIs it possible that she ran into the woods?â
âMaybe. Letâs go find her there!â They then ran past Tammy and eventually disappeared into the woods After a long time, Dominic finally let go of Tammy. âYou could have been in real danger if you had just run into the woods,â he said The moment she heard his voice, Tammy went completely still. She was surprised to see Dominic when she looked up. She wanted to say something to thank him, but she didnât âYou! What the hell are you doing here?!â She immediately stood up and asked, surprised âI just saved your life! You should thank me, Amber.â
âIâm not going to thank you, scumbag! I donât even need you to save me!â Tammy said âWhatâs wrong? Why are you calling me a scumbag?â Dominic asked in surprise âYouâre as cruel as Brisco! You even wanted to...â Tammy clenched her teeth. She hesitated for a moment and decided it was better to keep her mouth shut âWhat? What do you think I want to do?â
âStop talking to me!â Tammy yelled angrily before turning around and walking away âWait a minute!â Dominic said. He held out his hand, trying to get her to stop âAh!â Tammy accidentally stepped into a pit. She screamed and then fell straight down on the grass âI just wanted to remind you that there are pits all over this place. Are you all right?â Dominic asked, reaching out his hand to her Tammy remained on the ground. âIâm not okay!â she exclaimed angrily âCome on. Theyâll probably go back here if they canât find you in the woods. Weâll both be screwed if they find us.â
âIâll be the only one who gets screwed!â
âYou donât have to be so hostile. I mean no harm.â
Tammy rolled her eyes and grumbled, âShut up, okay? Iâm not talking to you!â She stood up, clutching a nearby tree. At the moment, her black down jacket was soiled with grass and mud, giving her a wretched appearance. However, she didinât care about it at all. All she ever wanted at that moment was to tell Matthew the news she had just heard as soon as possible Though Tammy was already hurt, she insisted on walking alone. She stumbled as she walked and appeared to be about to trip again. As Dominic couldnât bear to watch her like that anymore, he held Tammyâs arm after he dropped the branch in his hand âWhat are you doing? I can walk on my own!â Tammy was already on Dominicâs back before she could react âShh.â Dominic carried her to the venue on his back Tammy appeared hesitant. On the one hand, she didnât want Dominic to carry her like that. On the other hand, however, the pain in her ankle was so unbearable that she couldnât walk on her own. So, she had no choice but to let Dominic carry her like that âWhat gives you the impression that Iâm one of them?â While walking, Dominic turned his head and asked Tammy, who was on his back âYou were holding their flag. Arenât you a fan of their racing team?â
âHuh? Someone just handed out flags like that to everyone at the entrance. Didnât they hand one to you?â
Hearing that, Tammy went completely still. Then she analyzed secretly, Right. Employees from many brands, including the Carousel Group, have just handed out banners and small flags to the audience at the venueâs entrance. So, Dominic might not have anything to do with the Brisco group. Gosh... This is so embarrassing âYouâre not one of them?â Tammy asked in shock âOf course not!â
âSo, why did you hold their flag?â
âI was too embarrassed to throw it away in front of them.â
Tammy believed he had a valid point. She was sorry for saying that about him earlier. After several minutes, they arrived at the venue a little later than expected âTammy!â Alicia yelled as soon as she saw them When Tammy looked up, the first person she saw was Matthew. She tapped Dominic on the shoulder and said, âThank you very much. You may now put me down.â
Matthew approached Tammy and asked anxiously, âWhat happened? Did you get hurt ?â âIâm fine. Actually, I accidentally sprained my ankle.â
Tammyâs hand remained on Dominicâs shoulder as she spoke. At the same time, Matthew gave Dominic a wary look âPleasure to meet you. Iâm Dominic,â Dominic said, extending his hand to Matthew âMatthew.â
Looking at the two young boys, who were exchanging hostile glances, Alicia trembled in fear