The red Ferrari drove onto the elevated highway in the darkness. Nono held the wheel with one hand, her other resting casually on the window frame, her long red hair streaming freely in the evening breeze.
She glanced at Lu Mingfei in the passenger seat, who was staring blankly out the window.
"Lu Mingfei, do you know what the school has paid to recruit you?"
"A full scholarship, top-tier S-rank treatment, and now a beautiful girl to keep you entertained, with all expenses covered."
There was a teasing edge to her voice. "Do you have any idea how high and mighty you're acting, Lu Mingfei?"
Lu Mingfei turned away from the window and lounged against his seat. "You're still on probation. I'll decide once I get to Hakone."
At this outrageous remark, Nono nearly mistook the accelerator for the brake.
"On probation?" Nono almost laughed in exasperation. "You're interviewing us? Putting us to the test? Lu Mingfei, how are you this ridiculous?"
"Can't help it. Once bitten, twice shy."
"Is there something wrong with your head?" she asked through gritted teeth. "You've got this completely backward. Anything else you need? Should I drive you home, tuck you in, and read you a bedtime story?"
"No need to go home," Lu Mingfei said. "If we can leave now, let's just go."
Nono looked a little surprised. "Just like that?"
Lu Mingfei shrugged.
"I've washed all the dishes at my aunt's place, my cousin's homework isn't my problem, my crush is in the past, and my entire net worth is eighty yuan." He paused. "Might as well go."
"What happened? Suddenly achieved enlightenment?" Nono asked, pressing down on the accelerator.
The speedometer needle swept past a hundred, a hundred and ten, a hundred and twenty.
Lu Mingfei felt the familiar pressure against his back, the vibration of the seat, the roar of the engine, the friction of tires on asphalt. He had heard those sounds countless times in Misato's Renault.
He frowned. "Take it easy."
Nono defiantly stepped on the accelerator. "Scared?"
"No." Lu Mingfei glanced at the dashboard. "The tank's almost empty. Make it last until we reach a gas station."
Nono looked down. The needle had already sunk into the blank space below the red line.
"Shit! Why didn't you say something sooner?"
"You were busy racing. Didn't want to interrupt."
"..."
"Don't worry." Lu Mingfei watched the road signs flashing past outside. "I'd say we've got another five kilometers. We can make it to a gas station."
"How come you're so good at this?" Nono gave him a suspicious look.
A blue sports car sat in the middle of the road, white smoke rising from its hood.
"Shinji, are you a man or not? Put some muscle into it!"
"Lu Mingfei! Are you here to look after us or just stand around? Couldn't you even check the fuel gauge? Don't you have any common sense?"
Asuka's words hammered into them like machine-gun fire. Her red hair flew in the night wind, both hands braced against the rear of the car, her face full of anger and impatience.
"Asuka, stop yelling. We'll push the car, all right..."
"Misato, shut up! Why did you buy a French car? French cars are all garbage! You should've bought a German car. A Porsche is ten thousand times better than this crappy Renault!"
"Asuka, a Porsche and a Renault aren't in the same price range..."
"Then that's even more reason to buy a Porsche! NERV pays for it anyway!"
"NERV doesn't reimburse private cars... I haven't even paid off the loan on this one..."
Misato's voice grew quieter and quieter. Shinji kept his head down without a word, and Lu Mingfei said nothing either. The two of them silently braced their hands against the Renault's damned trunk lid and pushed with all their strength.
It was the third time Misato's wreck of a car had broken down on the road.
French cars. The electrical systems were always acting up, and the fuel gauges weren't accurate either. The three of them had pushed the car nearly two kilometers along the dark mountain road before they found a downhill stretch.
Asuka's complaints echoed through the mountains. Shinji and Lu Mingfei exchanged a glance, each seeing the same thing in the other's eyes: Don't talk. Just push.
"...I just don't want to have to push a car again and get yelled at by you on top of it," Lu Mingfei said quietly.
Nono's eyebrows shot up.
"Am I really that unreasonable? If I yell at anyone, it'll be the guy who lent me this car!"
Lu Mingfei glanced at her. "I thought it was yours."
"Where would I get the money for a Ferrari?" Nono rolled her eyes. "It belongs to some rich kid. I just commandeered it for a while."
"Very impressive," Lu Mingfei said offhandedly.
Nono snorted and said nothing more.
The Ferrari turned into a gas station. Nono casually pulled out a hundred-yuan note and handed it to the attendant. "Put some gas in."
The man in blue work clothes paused. He looked at the red Ferrari, then at Nono's face, then at the unremarkable young man in the passenger seat.
A beautiful girl driving a sports car, a beautiful girl paying for the gas, and in the passenger seat... hmm...
The attendant said nothing and quietly filled the tank.
Lu Mingfei unbuckled his seat belt and said to Nono, "Come browse the convenience store with me."
"What for?"
"To buy some beer and snacks."
"...You've got eighty yuan!"
"Might not be enough."
Nono took a deep breath, pulled another hundred-yuan note from her wallet, and slapped it into his palm.
"Go buy it yourself. Get out of my sight."
"Thanks, boss."
"Don't call me boss. I can't afford to keep Your Highness."
The gas station's shelves were stocked with all kinds of snacks and drinks. Lu Mingfei picked up a basket and took a few cans of beer, a few bottles of drinks, two bags of chips, a box of chocolate sticks, and several packs of beef jerky. The total came to exactly ninety-seven yuan.
He carried the plastic bag back to the car, cracked open a beer, and tilted his head back for a long gulp.
"Ah-" He let out a long breath, his whole body relaxing as he sank against the seat.
Nono started the car and gave him a disdainful glance. "When did you get so gross? You're like some middle-aged guy."
"Life's stressful. Haven't had many chances to enjoy myself."
Nono rolled her eyes and drove onto the main road. The night wind rushed into the car, making her red hair dance like flames.
"My original plan," she said, watching the road ahead, "was to rescue you, the poor loser, at the movie theater, give you some life advice, and help you leave the past behind in style so you could get your life on track. A classic hot-blooded hero story. Like it?"
"Love it."
"And what happened instead? You sold out for ten thousand yuan. Zhao Menghua told you to be the letter i, and the first thing out of your mouth was asking him for money. I had no idea what to do with that."
Lu Mingfei took another sip of beer.
"You actually already saved me."
Nono froze for a moment.
"That ten thousand yuan was supposed to fund my trip to Japan. If it weren't for you, I'd be selling blood right now to scrape the money together."
The wind rushed into the car, scattering some of Lu Mingfei's words. He leaned back in his seat and tipped his head up to look at the night sky. There were no stars visible in the city, only an orange glow reflected off the clouds.
"Then stop making trouble," Nono said abruptly. "We're at the airport."
The Ferrari turned into the parking lot. In the distance, the terminal was brightly lit.
Nono shut off the engine and turned to him. "Three hours by plane, two by car. We can reach Hakone around midnight. I've sorted out your visa. Lu Mingfei, have you made up your mind?"
Lu Mingfei put the beer can back in the plastic bag and pushed open the door.
The night wind blew toward him, carrying that peculiar airport scent, a mixture of fuel and farewells.
On the distant apron, the outline of a private plane rested quietly in the darkness, the emblem on its fuselage gleaming under the lights.
He looked at that emblem, the World Tree, half flourishing and half withered.
Whatever else, Cassell was always more generous than NERV next door.