That day, Coach Wu stormed out of the room and headed straight to the car garage to inspect Yi Ming's wrecked race car.
As expected, after a thorough inspection by Coach Wu, it was clear that the car had been tampered with, and there was an issue with the brakes.
Coach Wu emerged from the garage with a dark cloud over his face, his anger threatening to burst from his chest. The fact that his most prized student had been deliberately harmed was an outrage he could not swallow.
Just as Coach Wu was about to investigate the mastermind behind this incident, Chen Zeyi and Liu Xiaoyun received some news on their end as well.
The two of them had cornered Fang An, who had intentionally rammed Yi Ming's car several times during the race. Under intense questioning, they discovered that Fang An was merely a "scapegoat" for someone else.
Someone had instigated Fang An's hatred towards Yi Ming.
At that moment, Fang An was leaning against the wall, looking indifferent. "You keep asking and asking, it's so annoying. I already told the Competition Committee people that I didn't hit Yi Ming, I never even touched him."
"Then why did you do it?" Liu Xiaoyun challenged him.
"What did I do?"
Fang An rolled his eyes.
"Don't play dumb."
Chen Zeyi glared at him. "Just because you didn't physically hit Yi Ming doesn't mean you're not responsible. There are rules in racing, and you violated them repeatedly, all to target Yi Ming. Why did you do that?"
"I just don't like him, is that not allowed?"
Fang An seemed to have finally grown tired of the questions.
For the past few days, people had been constantly interrogating him about Yi Ming's accident, and Fang An was utterly fed up.
Although he had committed several rule violations by ramming other cars, his vehicle had never actually made contact with Yi Ming's. As for why Yi Ming had suddenly crashed, Fang An was genuinely clueless.
"Someone probably tampered with his car, you know. I'm not the only one who has a grudge against him, right?" Fang An shrugged and muttered.
Fang An's words left Liu Xiaoyun and Chen Zeyi in shock.
Despite Yi Ming's somewhat stubborn and uncompromising personality, he was a kind-hearted person who loved to laugh and treated others gently. How could he have aroused such intense hatred from so many people?
"Who are these 'others' you're talking about?" Liu Xiaoyun probed cautiously.
"No one else, just me, alright?"
Fang An suddenly didn't want to discuss it anymore, feeling increasingly irritated.
"But you and Yi Ming don't even know each other. Why do you dislike him?"
"Because he said I'm incompetent, that I don't have what it takes. He said it's a joke for me to participate in the competition. Who does Yi Ming think he is? Just because he has a little talent, he looks down on everyone else?"
"Where did you hear all of this?"
Liu Xiaoyun froze in disbelief.
It was impossible.
Yi Ming had been with them these past few days, and those words could never have come from his mouth.
"None of your business."
Fang An waved his hand dismissively, cutting off any further questioning, and walked away.
Fang An's unintentional remark left Chen Zeyi and Liu Xiaoyun puzzled. Upon careful consideration, it became clear that Fang An must have heard those words through 'hearsay' during the pre-race preparation days, with someone deliberately feeding him such lies.
Liu Xiaoyun and Chen Zeyi informed Coach Wu of this matter. After some thought, Coach Wu utilized his connections and contacted a few fellow coaches who were also present at the venue. After some inquiries, they discovered who Fang An had been in contact with recently.
It was Gray Tiger.
Gray Tiger and Fang An had no prior acquaintance until they met at the training camp. However, in the past few days, their encounters had become suspiciously frequent.
"I strongly suspect that Gray Tiger is behind the attack on Yi Ming," Liu Xiaoyun told Coach Wu. "Gray Tiger has an extremely strong desire to win, and in the recent competitions he's participated in, he has never failed to take the championship. But in this race, Yi Ming was his opponent. If Yi Ming were to win, it would be a devastating blow to Gray Tiger's pride, which his character simply couldn't tolerate."
"I agree, this incident must be related to Gray Tiger," Coach Wu nodded.
After a brief discussion, the three of them decided to inform Yi Ming about this matter once he was discharged from the hospital, and then they would figure out their next steps together.
