"Wooooo~"
"Wuuuuu~"
It was said that a wound could hurt, but never more than when it was pressed on again, when the knife was being twisted in, especially by irrelevant people.
The one called Kris, dark-haired with pale blue eyes, pale skin, and a slim, sportive form, turned an ugly face to glare at Lance and Tyler. His eyes flashed with a fierce look, before he ignored the mockery and turned back to Alex:
"I am not rebellious, unlike you, elder cousin. So, until Aunt Grace says anything, I can only continue calling her aunt."
"Not rebellious, huh?"
Alex asked with a smile that did not reach his eyes, as his eyes went over Kris' group. Its members were not in rags, but maybe that would have been for the best, as with their appearances, no one would be surprised should they be said to belong to a gang of thugs, just a little less barbaric, but delinquents just as much.
Alex said nothing more, but his eyes said it all, almost like his mother's calm eyes that were able to say more than should be possible.
It seemed that he rarely showed it, but he did inherit some traits from his mother.
Kris' eye flashed with a sharp hint of darkness, before he smiled and changed the subject as he turned to the connected screens:
"Anyway, the pilot of your choice is struggling. If you are still confident, why not bet big? A few hundred thousand? A million?"
The numbers lightly flowed out, without any regard for the value they represented. And that was just the younger generation of the Lenner family, not the older one which had more means, more accumulations. And no one seemed surprised around.
Alex didn't even turn to the screen. The calm in his eyes got mixed with disdain, not enough to be glaring, but obvious enough to more skilfully hit the depth of the target's heart. And it hit Kris, before he opened his mouth to give a reply:
"I don't need to bet to feed myself, so why should I bet big like a gambling addict?"
"Pfft!"
Lance tried, but he failed to hold back his laughter, before he returned to crossing his arms while leaning against the dark SUV.
Tyler turned his head to look away, bringing up a drink he got somewhere at some point to hide his face.
The fearless ones around, like Lance, tried to stifle their laughter. But those afraid of being retaliated against later lowered their head or looked away, trying to minimize their presence.
Society might be governed by laws, but more importantly, by people. And some people, some families, if it was possible to avoid offending them, it was a good way to have a smoother path in life.
Kris Lenner gave his elder cousin a good look, then took a deep breath, before turning to the screens with a smile:
"Look, your next conquest is having troubles. She is about to lose all her chances."
Alex raised an eyebrow because of the way Kris addressed the blonde in the Audi sports car. He looked at the others around who also took it for granted, glanced at Kris, then simply smiled and turned to the live feed of the race.
His eyes also held a smile, and a look, not of desire, like a playboy looking forward to an in-depth communication with someone, but of interest, not quite as dangerous as curiosity, but still, it was there, faint but present.
At that moment, far in the distance, the red tip of the Audi and the dark tip of the Corvette contended fiercely against each other, before with a drift to pass through the second to last lap on the circuit, the dark tip took the lead, along with the Corvette, and Ron, its owner.
The organizer knew how to make the race more dramatic, as he switched to showing the two drivers in the competition.
Ron had a victorious smirk on his lips, while behind the blonde followed, tightly biting into the Corvette's butt with a calm but tense face.
"Heh!"
Kris let out an audible sneer, and glanced at Alex. But the latter only kept a calm look on the feed.
Soon, the two cars got to the last bend, and the Corvette put a few more meters between it and the Audi. Victory seemed all but assured. But Alex's smile actually deepened, surprising Lance who glanced at him.
Having gotten used to competing in skill, and depth of transformation of racing cars, most seemed to have forgotten the basic performance level of the cars in the race. Or maybe it was because the Audi model R8 V10 in the race was more than a decade old.
As if he felt Lance's gaze, Alex spoke, his voice breaking the tense silence that had taken the place of the cheers that should have been resounding because of his cousin and him:
"Tyler."
The one who had been called out had his attention pulled away from the race:
"Hm?"
Alex's quiet voice got the attention of the ears around him:
"Tell Lance what you learned about the Audi R8 V10 while cramming up knowledge on cars to impress your crush."
Tyler blushed slightly, though the artificial lights didn't make that too obvious.
His eyes flickered as he looked at the screen where the two cars had now come neck to neck in the last straight line. His eyes flickered, and he took a breath to regain his composure.
"Audi R8 V10, from 2010, middle to high range performance, maximum speed, between 314 and 401 kmph. Easy to normal handling, and acceleration between 2.7 seconds and 3.6 seconds to go from zero to one hundred."
As Tyler spoke, many already caught on the point Alex was raising, making their eyes shine as they looked at the two cars who did not have any more distance between them while closing in on the finish line.
He did stop, and immediately went on with the information about the other car, this time speaking faster under the rush of the excitement induced by the suspenseful end part of the race:
"As for the Corvette, before modification, its max speed ranges from 317 to 386 kmph, with an acceleration between 3.7 and 4.4 seconds."
Tyler finished his rapid fire of information at the same time as the two cars crossed the line, and all the eyes turned to the corner of the screen where the result of the laser detector at the finish line was being displayed to confirm the winner.