Chapter 1

On the first day of a new year, after Darling successfully defended her championship title in the year's first race.

Excited to finally reveal myself as the team's elusive mystery coach, I approached the lounge only to overhear her and Gunner's blush-inducing pants from outside the door.

"Melody, you little temptress, you're going to drain me dry!"

"It's not my fault you're out of shape."

"Oh, by the way, my husband's coming to celebrate with me soon. You can't leave any marks on me."

Just as those words fell, I received a text from Melody.

Every word expressed her love for me.

Each letter pierced my heart like a dagger.

I didn't reply. Instead, I opened a chat with a profile totally black.

[I accept your previous invitation, but I can't afford a plane ticket right now.]

The reply came swiftly: [Don't worry about that. I'll send someone to pick you up.]

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The sounds of heavy breathing coming from Melody and Gunner in the rest area grew louder and louder. They weren't the least bit concerned about being overheard by others.

Fair enough.

Everyone on the racing team had long since discovered what was going on between Melody and Gunner. It had become an open secret.

When I was remotely coaching Melody as the mysterious trainer who never showed his face, I would often hear other team members teasing the two of them sitting in the race car cockpit over the radio communications.

"Melody, does brother-in-law know how insatiable you are?"

"Why don't you bring your precious navigator back home? Two men servicing you at once would be even more satisfying!"

In the past, when I heard these comments over the radio, I thought the team members were just talking nonsense and never took it seriously.

I never imagined that every single word they said would turn out to be true.

Gunner officially became Melody's race car navigator at the beginning of last year.

When they first partnered up, their chemistry wasn't great and they often lost races due to small mistakes.

Melody had a lot of issues with him because of this, and would frequently complain about him to me when she got home. A month later, everything changed when Melody, out shopping alone, encountered a drunken Gunner and took the initiative to escort him home.

That night, Melody didn't come home.

I tried calling her, but couldn't get through.

The next day, she explained to me that her phone had died and she'd stayed the night at a friend's place nearby.

I noticed a red mark on her chest, and just as I was about to ask if she was hurt, she cut me off: "Honey, I didn't sleep well last night."

"I have training this afternoon, so I'm going to rest now," she said, pushing me out of the bedroom as she spoke.

That very afternoon, as Melody's mysterious racing coach, I unexpectedly witnessed through real-time computer footage a sudden, surprising synchronicity between Melody and Gunner in the driver's seat.

From then on, they won multiple rally racing competitions.

Only now do I understand how this synchronicity truly formed.

When Melody returned home, it was already dark outside.

She quietly opened the bathroom door and held me tightly from behind as I was showering.

The moment our skin touched, I instinctively pushed Melody away forcefully. I felt nauseous just thinking about her affair with Gunner in the break room.

Seeing the surprised look on her face, I quickly hid my disgust and pretend nothing happened as I help her up. "Sorry, did I hurt you?"

Melody stood up with my assistance, wrapping her arms around my neck playfully. "Honey, didn't you say you'd pick me up from the track this afternoon to celebrate? How come I didn't see you even after dark?"

I made up an excuse on the spot. "Something suddenly came up."

She placed my hand on her clothes, signaling with her eyes for me to unbutton them.

"Honey, you stood me up today. Don't you think you should be punished?"

Melody gazed at me with desire in her eyes, hinting at something.

When her warm breath hit my face, I couldn't take it anymore. I pushed her out of the bathroom and locked the door.

I hugged the toilet and vomited uncontrollably.

Melody banged on the door, shouting, "Honey, what's wrong? Are you feeling sick?"

Only after I had emptied the contents of my stomach did I open the bathroom door.

Looking into Melody's confused eyes, I said, "I might have eaten something bad outside today." Melody worriedly said to me, "You had me so worried sick! I consider you more important than myself. If anything happened to you, I wouldn't want to live anymore!"

I gently patted her hand to comfort her, "Don't worry, nothing will happen to me."

Then I casually changed the subject to probe, "Don't you have a car race six days later?"

Upon hearing me mention this topic, Melody guiltily replied, "There's an international race then."

"I'm sorry, honey. I can't be by your side like a normal wife during the holiday."

I smiled faintly, "It's okay, don't worry about it. I'll prepare a huge surprise for you that day."

Melody looked at me with joy, "Really, honey?"

"You'll find it quite unforgettable when you see it."

With these words, Melody threw herself tightly into my arms.

I silently looked at my unfaithful wife in my embrace and thought to myself, "I wonder if the signed divorce papers will be a surprise to you?"

...