Chapter 56: The Race Driver Who Collected Taxi Fares

A deep gray McLaren Artura sped along the Gyeongbu Expressway from Seoul to Daejeon Metropolitan City. Its classic plunging front end and boomerang-shaped headlights made the Artura stand out amid the dense traffic on the highway.

Utilizing the hybrid technology from the P1, the car weighed less than 1.35 tons, crafted from carbon fiber and aluminum panels. It combined a 95-horsepower electric motor with a 585-horsepower engine, delivering a peak torque of 720 Newton-meters, accelerating from zero to one hundred kilometers per hour in just 3.3 seconds.

The girl skillfully operated the paddle shifters. After overtaking the Toyota sedan ahead, she pressed down on the accelerator, and the roaring V6 twin-turbo engine lifted the corners of her mouth into an uncontrollable smile.

Seated in the driver's seat, Shin Youna had swapped her sporty jacket for a black leather coat borrowed from Xia Xing’s wardrobe, worn over a white tank top. Her lower half was clad in studded cargo pants.

She was the embodiment of a rebellious racing girl.

“I never thought you’d be into sports cars,” Xia Xing remarked, resting his right arm casually on the passenger window, occasionally observing the road for Shin Youna and then glancing at his excited little girlfriend.

“Come on, who wouldn’t like a $600,000 sports car?” she replied.

Though Shin Youna was accustomed to driving automatic electric cars and hadn’t handled a manual in a long time, her innate driving talent, coupled with Xia Xing’s brief training, quickly brought her up to speed with coordinating the paddle shifters and clutch.

Occasionally, she let out a soft “woo~,” savoring the thrill of speeding on the highway.

Her identities—athlete, idol, racing girl, and adorable girlfriend—combined to make her utterly endearing.

“I guess I had some stereotypes,” Xia Xing smiled. “But aren’t you worried about fans spotting you driving such a flashy car?”

“That’s why we’re heading to Daejeon.”

A spark lit in the girl’s eyes—not just from the control of the steering wheel, but because this spontaneous change of date location was to a place where Xia Xing had lived for several years as a child.

Seoul, situated in the northwest of South Korea, and Daejeon, located centrally, seemed like a journey across half the country, but the actual distance was only about 158 kilometers.

In some parts of the mainland, that might not even be considered leaving the city.

At least in Xia Xing’s memory, that stretch was barely enough to drive from Qiandao Lake to Xiaoshan International Airport...

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Speaking of which, those days living on the mainland now felt distant and somewhat blurred.

Had it not been for the upheaval when he was eight, what path might his life have taken?

Would he have lived a lavish yet strained life with his high-spending but low-earning parents?

Perhaps, like other ordinary children, he would have followed a conventional path—entering a decent high school and university, then scrambling to find a job or preparing for government exams?

Though he harbored some resentment toward the old man who took him away from his parents, looking at the swiftly racing McLaren Artura, Xia Xing couldn’t let that bitterness grow.

After all... that man had granted him a life so affluent it was beyond his wildest dreams.

“Why did you live in Daejeon before?” Shin Youna asked.

“Until I was in the third year of middle school, my family’s business was mainly in food. Daejeon was where we started and had the largest factory in South Korea, so my family never moved to Seoul,” Xia Xing explained, recalling his days living with Park Seomin in Daejeon.

Two children, both lacking parental attention, sometimes fought fiercely over trivial matters just to win some adult notice.

Of course, Park Seomin never won.

On one hand, Xia Xing outperformed him in academics, maturity, and even appearance.

On the other, since Xia Xing was away from his parents, the family tended to look after him more.

Even though his unmarried aunt, Xia Hyunji, tried her best to be fair to both nephews, she inevitably favored Xia Xing.

“So your family’s real estate, finance, and entertainment ventures developed later?”

Shin Youna glanced at Xia Xing with some surprise. Her father had his own business, so she was somewhat aware of the recent commercial landscape.

In a sluggish economy, just maintaining the family business was an achievement, let alone expanding it.

“Real estate was spun off from the food business. When acquiring land for factories, our patriarch held several valuable plots as financial investments.”

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“In recent years, with soaring property prices, real estate was highly profitable, so we established Peninsula Real Estate separately. After going public, it helped support the less profitable food sector.”

“Peninsula Entertainment was gradually built up by my aunt using her personal trust income and my grandfather’s strategic investments. Although it seems huge to outsiders, it’s actually small compared to food and real estate.”

“As for Peninsula Finance... it’s more my eldest aunt Xia Minji’s company with other shareholders than strictly ours.”

Though these explanations were for Shin Youna’s benefit, they also conveyed Xia Xing’s reflections on the current situation.

He withheld some thoughts that would only confuse her further.

Since 2023, with the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes affecting Japan and South Korea, corporate foreign debt pressures surged. Coupled with a wave of social crises like mass rental defaults and declining birthrates, South Korea’s housing prices fell over 20%, and transaction volumes nearly halved.

This was nearly catastrophic for Peninsula Real Estate. Aunt Xia Minji, by introducing foreign capital, took a large bite out of Peninsula Real Estate during its weakest phase.

To outsiders, it merely appeared as if the Xia family, through Peninsula Finance, was rescuing Peninsula Real Estate by buying its stocks and prime assets, but the reality was far more complex.

This was one reason the old man, Xia Xuhe, disliked Aunt Xia Minji so much. Another was his enduring belief that finance was a tool for great powers to exploit the small.

In such a small country, where even exchange rates were influenced by a Western nation, those playing in finance had no control over their fate.

Feeling the family’s internal strife reaching a boiling point, Xia Xing’s mood darkened.

Could the Xia family no longer coexist harmoniously as before?

Just as he furrowed his brow, contemplating the situation, the speeding McLaren Artura exited the highway and reached their destination.

“Dear passenger, we have arrived at Daejeon Metropolitan City. Please pay your fare.”

“Fare: one fragrant kiss.”