Chapter 61: Mountain Road Racing

Three people stood beside an Audi SUV—two young men and a girl. One of the men wore sunglasses, looking about twenty-three years old. The other two appeared to be high school students.

They were waiting for Zara Remar.

"Zara, finally! We've been waiting for almost half an hour!" Wendy Shelby called out impatiently.

"Sorry, Wendy. We had lunch a bit late today," Zara replied apologetically.

Wendy, spotting Zara first, ran over and clasped her hand like they were the closest of friends.

"This is Jonathan, Kley's older brother. He's coming with us. The SUV is his," Wendy introduced the man in sunglasses to Zara.

"Hello, Jonathan," Zara greeted politely.

"Hi."

Jonathan Sinclaire flashed a confident smile and gave her a nod. Behind his dark shades, his eyes lingered on Zara's legs beneath her pleated skirt, admiring her youthful beauty.

What a pure and delicious little high school girl, he thought, a trace of desire glinting in his gaze. Thankfully, no one noticed—his sunglasses shielded his expression well.

Standing beside him, Kley Sinclaire said excitedly, "Brother, everyone's here now. Let's get going! I can't wait to hear the Yellow-Eyebrow Immortal chant his sutras."

With that, the four of them piled into the SUV and set off.

As Kley drove, he asked curiously, "Is that Yellow-Eyebrow Immortal you mentioned really as amazing as you say?"

"Absolutely," Wendy replied, animated. "We went there last week. When he started chanting, it was like a spell washed over us. We felt totally at peace—no stress, no worries. It was unreal."

She continued chatting excitedly, but soon noticed that Zara kept glancing out the rear window. Curious, she asked, "Zara, what are you looking at?"

"Um… nothing," Zara said quickly.

But the truth was obvious—she was checking to see if John Lopez was following them.

Logically, there was no way he could keep up. He was on a bicycle, and they were in an SUV—on a mountain road, no less. It should've been impossible.

Yet something gnawed at Zara. A strange feeling.

It felt like John Lopez was following them. That he hadn't given up.

As the car wound along the rugged mountain road and emerged onto a relatively flat stretch, Zara turned again and couldn't help but cry out.

"Ah!"

"What's wrong?" Wendy asked, startled.

Zara pointed behind them, her voice breathless. "Look at that bike…"

Wendy turned and peered through the rear window. Her eyes widened with disbelief.

"No way!"

Their SUV was being tailed closely by a bicycle. And it wasn't falling behind—its speed matched theirs, effortlessly.

The rider?

None other than John Lopez.

Zara covered her mouth, astonished. "Is Mr. Lopez… a professional cyclist?"

"You know that guy?" Wendy asked, her voice full of amazement.

"Yeah," Zara nodded. "He had lunch at my house today. I don't even know his full name… just that he's Mr. Lopez."

Wendy was practically gaping. "This is insane!"

The road to Skyline Mountain was mostly unpaved forest tracks, and Jonathan had been careful not to drive too fast—forty to fifty miles per hour. But the fact that a man on a bike could keep up? That was insane.

He wasn't just cool—he was the kind of mysterious, untouchable guy high school girls swooned over.

Wendy suddenly felt a deep curiosity about this strange cyclist trailing behind them.

However…

Up in the driver's seat, Jonathan Sinclaire's expression had darkened.

It's him again.

He gritted his teeth.

I finally get a chance to pick up a couple girls, and this guy shows up again to ruin it? He must be doing this on purpose!

Jonathan had recognized John Lopez in the rearview mirror the moment he showed up.

He hadn't forgotten the embarrassment from that night at the Night Rose Bar. He'd tried to impress Queenie Yeats with some Dream of Stars wine, only for John Lopez to barge in and humiliate him.

Jonathan had been furious, but he'd held back because of the Night Rose's reputation.

And now, of all times, this guy showed up again? And the girls in the back seat were already enchanted?

Jonathan's jealousy flared.

Suddenly—boom! He slammed on the gas pedal.

The SUV surged forward, hitting 80 miles per hour. John Lopez quickly disappeared from view in the rearview mirror.

Kley, alarmed, leaned forward. "Bro, slow down! This is a forest road. We're not in that much of a hurry to see the Yellow-Eyebrow Immortal."

"Relax. I've been to Skyline Mountain plenty of times," Jonathan said confidently. "This stretch is smooth, and the curves aren't too sharp."

Only when he was sure he'd left John Lopez behind did Jonathan ease off the accelerator.

But not even a minute later…

In the rearview mirror—again—the bicycle appeared, calm and steady, just twenty meters behind.

Kley screamed, "What the hell is going on?!"

Zara stared wide-eyed and couldn't help but blurt out, "Mr. Lopez is unbelievable! I should've taken his bike instead!"

The moment she said that, Jonathan's jealousy erupted again.

He floored the gas pedal.

Boom! Boom!

The SUV rocketed forward.

The others screamed in terror.

"Jo—Jonathan! Slow down! We're scared!"

But Jonathan was beyond reasoning. His eyes were bloodshot now, and he pushed the speed to 120 miles per hour.

On a winding mountain road, it was sheer madness. The car jolted and skidded, and everyone held on for dear life.

But to Jonathan's utter disbelief, he still couldn't shake the bike.

Worse—John Lopez suddenly caught up, right beside the car's front bumper, and casually gave him a thumbs up.

Arrogant bastard!

Jonathan was nearly foaming with rage. He'd never seen someone so smug on a bicycle.

Grinding his teeth, he pushed the car to the limit again.

But this time—it was over.

John Lopez shot past him like a rocket, leaving the Audi SUV far behind.

Everyone in the vehicle was stunned speechless.

Even Wendy, who had been shrieking moments ago, was slack-jawed. "God… damn…"

Zara, her voice trembling, suddenly remembered something and cried out in horror:

"Wait! Isn't… isn't that Death Bend up ahead?!"