Chapter 359: This Car Is Yours
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"When will you be back? You have already missed the pre-season training. And now the opener! I'm going to cut your salary for your absenteeism!" Yunan Xiao said on the phone.
"Helheim is almost recovered. I will be home next week," Dai Li apologized.
Dai Li had been in Europe for more than three months, from the end of December to the middle of March, during which time, Dai Li returned to China only once for the Spring Festival.
He was especially busy during the last one month. The magical recovery of Duke Gale had made Dai Li famous as an expert on rehabilitation among British nobles. As a result, he got two more patients that month: a French tycoon, who had his spine injured while skydiving, and a British-born equestrian athlete, who needed a rehabilitation training.
Dai Li could get more clients as long as he wanted. The chatty Duke Gale was a perfect free advertisement for Dai Li everywhere. However, Dai Li did not plan to develop his practice in Europe. His family and sweetheart were all in China. So, he decided to return to China as soon as Helheim was fully recovered.
"Will you be back next week?" Yunan Xiao asked excitedly, "That's just in time for my birthday, where I could introduce you to everyone."
"Everyone? You mean your friends?" asked Dai Li, puzzled by her words.
Xiao hesitated a little, then said, "My dad is going to hold a birthday party for me, and he has invited a lot of people."
"It's a big occasion, then I have to dress formally. I met a British tailor the other day, who makes suits for British aristocrats. I asked him to make a suit for me," said Dai Li, grinning.
"I mean that my father has invited a lot of young men, who were born with a silver spoon in their mouths, who come from families of entrepreneurs. They are all promising youngsters from his point of view," Yunan Xiao explained somewhat reluctantly.
Dai Li was stunned, and then understood, "Your father is giving you a dating show in real life! Then I must attend, and you will choose me!"
"Screw you! I will weed you out in the first round!" Yunan Xiao replied teasingly, and then she sighed, "In fact, I don't know what my dad wants to do exactly. I almost know every one of those so-called 'promising youngsters'. He needn't hold such a party, if he just wants to arrange a blind date for me. I'm thinking about introducing you to the public at the party."
"Is there any possibility that my future father-in-law is to hold this party for you and me intentionally?" Dai Li said.
Yunan Xiao protested coquettishly, "Who is your future father-in-law? I never said I will marry you..."
The sweet chat between the two lasted for a while and then they ended the call. Dai Li had just put down his mobile phone, when he saw that Helheim came in after knocking on the door.
At that time, Helheim had almost recovered. Although he still didn't get back his former strength as a racing driver, he was just like an ordinary healthy man.
The reason for this was also because his physical condition was better than the average before his accident. He was a professional racing driver. An ordinary person would never have recovered so fast
.
Helheim asked, "Coach Li, are you interested in visiting my garage?"
"It's a great honor!" said Dai Li without hesitation.
As the best racing driver, Helheim had enough automobiles in his collection to run a museum. His collection included many special editions or customized editions of automobiles and even original models of some classic automobiles.
What Dai Li saw was obviously not a disappointment to him, when he entered the garage with Helheim. In the garage were parked dozens of automobiles orderly, most of which were sports cars. Several of them were Formula One cars.
"In Switzerland, a lot of people like to collect old cars, but I am different, I like these sports cars. You know, I am a racing driver. It is difficult for those slow old cars to meet my driving requirements," said Helheim.
"I remember you once took part in an old car race," said Dai Li with a smile.
"You mean that one," Helheim said immediately, pointing. "I happened to be on vacation at that time in a small town, and the town held an old car race. My nature, being a professional race driver, drove me to join the game with a pseudonym and a car temporarily borrowed from someone," Helheim said.
He now was pointing to a blue Formula One car and continued, "It's the car that helped me win my first Formula One world championship. A Benetton B194 with a Ford-Cosworth V8 engine of 800 horsepower, and it can be shifted by a pedal. It was not the fastest at that time. The fastest car that year was the car of Renault and Ferrari, which approximately equaled us in competitive power."
"Lucky you are the fastest racing driver," said Dai Li with a smile.
"Yes. The fastest racing driver," said Helheim, recalling his past.
"Did each of these Formula One cars here help you to win?" Dai Li said, pointing to other Formula One cars in the garage.
Helheim nodded and then said, "Right, every time I win a race, I will collect the car I used in the race. Formula One rules change every year, and teams design new cars every year to meet the rules. Those old racing cars are useless. Some of them will stay in the team, wasted, while most of them will be sold at auction."
Helheim's introduction about his racing cars ended, and then he talked about his sports car, "Over half of the cars in my sports car collection were free. This Bugatti EB110 is the only production car of Bugatti. It was given to me as a gift. The company wanted it to be free advertisement for them."
"And this is my favorite, a Shelby - Cobra - Daytona 427 sports car, which is also the most expensive one I ever bought," said Helheim, pointing to a dark blue coupe.
"This car has a number. Is this a racing car?" asked Li.
"You are right. It was developed for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. But its quantity of production was less than 100 for the model, therefore, it didn't qualify for the Le Mans. This car has a top speed of more than 340 kilometers per hour, and I really enjoy its maneuverability! I don't know how many its quantity of production was exactly. But almost all cars of its type in the market now were fakes," said Helheim.
"Mercedes SLS-AMG. This car should be very common, and I once endorsed it. And that is Ferrari F50, the flagship sports car released for the 50th anniversary of the founding of Ferrari. A big one, full of power. It's a gift from the boss of the Ferrari team, for when I joined Ferrari. And this one is a Ferrari ENZO, a legendary with a perfect aerodynamic design."
"It's also a gift from Ferrari?" asked Li.
"Yes!" Helheim pointed around and added, "Every Ferrari car here is free for me."
He stopped at a black sports car, while still speaking.
It seemed that the car came from a science fiction movie. It looked different, with its low body and small lights and pure black paint. A number "30" was on its hood and it had doors at both sides.
"The prototype of Ferrari FXX. Only 30 cars of this kind were produced. Well, 29 exactly, plus this prototype. And I took part in the design of this car. It uses a V12 engine of 6262CC and a gearbox for F1 cars, which means its shift can reach the level of F1 racing cars. Its speed is up to 390 km/h with the 0-100km/h sprint completed in less than 3 seconds. What's more, it follows the aerodynamic design of the F1 racing car. I'm sure that it is the supercar closest to the F1 racing car in the world!"
Helheim talked about statistics, and Dai Li found it very compelling, although he didn't understand it all very well.
"Have a try?" Helheim pointed to the Ferrari FXX, and then said, "In all of the sports cars I've collected, this is the fastest."
"May I?" Dai Li asked with surprise.
"Sure, I'll take you for a ride!" Helheim could not wait to get in the driver's seat.
It was a rare opportunity for one to take a joyride with the best racing driver. Dai Li then sat in the passenger seat and put on the safety belt. He was filled with excitement with the vibration of the car, as the engine roared.
"By the way, I forgot to tell you that this car can only be driven on the road in Switzerland," said Helheim.
"What do you mean?" Dai Li was puzzled.
"Ferrari FXX is so fast that, in other countries, it is considered a racing car, so it is only allowed to run on the track. But there is no professional racing driver in Switzerland, therefore, FXX is allowed on the roads there," explained Helheim.
Dai Li involuntarily reached for the armrest, hearing Helheim's explanation.
Helheim continued calmly, "One can never get an FXX, if all he has to offer is enough money. There are further requirements of driving ability for FXX owners set by Ferrari. You cannot buy it if you are not good enough at driving. Oh, mine is different, though, because it is the prototype. It is faster than the other 29!"
After Helheim said this, he stepped on the gas. The black sports car bulleted out of the garage.
…
Finally, Dai Li knew the feeling of a racing driver.
The area Helheim lived in was not so densely populated. Helheim's villa accounted for a dozen acres of land, just like his neighbors'. Therefore, there were few residences in the area. Roads were open, without passengers or cars.
Helheim accelerated the car to more than 300 km/h. Such a speed was the limit to some of those good sports cars, but for this prototype of Ferrari FXX, it just got the engine to work efficiently.
Dai Li found it hard to describe how he felt in a car with a speed higher than 300 km/h. He often took the high-speed railway train in China, and the speed of the train was always higher than 300 km/h, but the feeling on the train was totally different from that of a car running more than 300 kilometers per hour.
The front of the FXX was a curved windshield, and there was no driving blind area around on both sides of the front windshield, which made the scenery ahead panoramic. But sitting in the passenger seat, Dai Li was frightened. He felt his heart was about to jump out from his throat.
Li Dai was even scared to close his eyes, not being able to see the scene while the car was running the fastest. But Helheim enjoyed the joyride very much. It seemed that he wanted a longer ride, as he drove back to the villa.
"I will never get in your car!" Dai Li got out of the car with quaking legs. He would have fallen on the ground if he hadn't been holding onto the car.
"A powerful car, isn't it?" Helheim patted the pure black Ferrari FXX and then said, "From today on, this car is yours!"
Pardon?" Dai Li questioned in surprise.
"Take it, Li. It's my gift for you," Helheim repeated.
"No, it's too expensive! I can't accept it," Dai Li refused, shaking his head.
Helheim smiled, "Coach Li, I would have never recovered without you. But for your help, I would have lay on my bed, groaning, or have been in the wheelchair for my lifetime. It's impossible for me to get back in the car without you."
"You've already paid me for the treatment," said Dai Li.
"That's different," Helheim shook his head and added, "You have shown me the miracle. You have shown me that there's always hope if I don't give up, and you've made me know how important my family is to me..."
Helheim continued saying these things seriously, "I was once headstrong. I did things only following my own thoughts. Some of the things I did were very dangerous. But lying on the bed in the hospital, I regretted all I had done before. I even chose to give up."
"But then you woke me up. The most important thing in my life is not myself, but my family, the people who loved me. They are the most important people in my life. I should not live for myself only, it is my family that makes my life meaningful. Thank you, Coach Li. You healed me, and you let me know the meaning of life. You've given me a second life! So, I'm going to give you this car."
"In fact, after my injury, I had planned to sell the car, and I think I will not drive it again. Fortunately, you are here to save me," touching the black FXX, Helheim added, "This car was a gift from Ferrari when I retired. A unique supercar in the world."
"Then I have more reasons to refuse. it's a valuable souvenir to you," Dai Li, who shook his head.
"You are right. It stands for my past and my previous glories! But I know it's time for me to say goodbye to my past," Helheim smiled, "Therefore, I want to give it to you, the man who gave me a rebirth! Keep it, please!"