"Cough, O'Deen, you should say less."
Luca, who was driving in front, glared at the loose-lipped O'Deen through the rearview mirror, then apologized to Xiao He: "Sorry, O'Deen previously had a rather poor impression of Chinese celebrities, so some of the things he said before and now might be quite harsh, but his intention wasn't to target you specifically or China. He actually holds you in very high regard and has mentioned you to us several times before."
O'Deen also belatedly offered an awkward apology: "Sorry, I said the wrong thing again."
Xiao He didn't mind, but he was somewhat curious.
O'Deen naturally had a bias against Chinese actors.
No wonder his attitude was so poor during their first meeting, with such terrible tone, like a firecracker that made people confused.
But who exactly gave O'Deen such a bad impression? And it almost affected him too.
"Has the racing team had contact with other Chinese actors before?"
"Not exactly contact, just didn't like the other party's behavior."
O'Deen didn't continue with details, instead pointing out the window scenery to Xiao He: "Speaking of which, is this your first time in Italy? This is still the urban area currently, we'll be heading to the suburbs soon where there are very few shops. Do you want to look around and buy some snacks first?"
Xiao He could only turn his gaze to the car window.
Mengla was considered a small city near Milan, usually accommodating some tourists from there. The surrounding street scenes featured architecture with distinctive Italian characteristics, mixed with some ancient buildings from historical periods.
Especially their churches here - the exterior walls were made of very classic Gothic black and white striped marble, looking majestic and solemn. Xiao He could even see some well-dressed people standing outside the church, already devoutly pressing their palms together toward the church direction and bowing their heads in prayer.
The religious traditions here were particularly strong. Although Xiao He didn't believe in any of it, he respected them, so he just glanced briefly before quickly looking away.
O'Deen was American and didn't believe in these things himself. However, during their quiet conversation, he secretly told Xiao He that some local race car drivers here would specifically come to these churches to pray before competitions.
The Mengla circuit itself was located in an area with particularly strong religious atmosphere, surrounded by several historically significant churches. The nearest famous church was only a few kilometers from the racetrack - drivers could even hear the church bells ringing next door during races.
So in previous years' competitions, it was common for race car drivers to stop by a church on their way to the race to offer prayers.
This could be considered some unique local customs abroad.
Before anyone could say anything more, intense sports car engine roars suddenly came from the adjacent road.
"Vroom—"
The noisy engine sounds instantly brushed past their slowly moving vehicle, heading toward the direction of the racetrack ahead.
Everyone's ears even went momentarily deaf.
Xiao Chen pressed against the car window, watching the two luxury sports cars speed away, clicking his tongue lightly: "Wow, this is still considered a neighborhood area, right? Can they already race here?"
Speaking of which, isn't street racing illegal abroad too?
Luca, who was driving, cursed several times in English.
O'Deen also frowned tightly, responding to Luca in English: "We encounter these rude guys every year!"
"Yeah, they'll know they're wrong when those people come after them later."
Luca complained while continuing to drive slowly forward.
Xiao He quickly asked O'Deen: "What's the reason for this?"
"That section we just passed was church area." O'Deen pointed to the position they had just driven past. "Although people may not have faith, they voluntarily reduce their speed and noise, but those guys are so impolite."
Disturbing God's tranquility.
Xiao He instantly understood.
This was like street racing in front of a temple entrance.
Although not illegal, it was very taboo.
"Wow, won't they get beaten up for that?"
Xiao Chen was also quite surprised.
"They've already run off, what can we say? It depends if any believers take it seriously." O'Deen shrugged. "But as you know, there are mafia here."
Italy's mafia was globally famous. Many people had the impression they were very fierce, dealing in prohibited items, running black market industries, etc. But actually, they often positioned themselves as "local order maintainers," taking their territory very seriously, even actively maintaining local order and safety, and often deeply intertwined with the local religious faith.
If those troublemakers from earlier got noticed by the mafia, they would probably attract lots of trouble.
After hearing O'Deen's words, Xiao He sighed: "So it's better to avoid causing trouble outside as much as possible..."
These matters might not be taken seriously by domestic citizens, but people abroad particularly value these cultural and religious aspects.
If you accidentally provoke the local powers, that's when real troubles begin...
The group slowly arrived at the racetrack entrance.
The venue was located in a royal park, belonging to a plain area with relatively flat terrain without obvious mountainous undulations. However, the surrounding vegetation and landscaping were quite well done, with the track surrounded by lush trees and relatively smooth asphalt road surface. Behind those trees stood quietly ancient luxurious royal villas, and in the distance, the architectural tops of churches could be vaguely seen.
Luca drove the car to the parking lot, while O'Deen brought Xiao He and Xiao Chen to wait at the main entrance of the racetrack.
Since tomorrow was the official competition, there were particularly many people at the racetrack today. Just standing there for a while, Xiao He had already seen several racing team members passing by this entrance one after another.
Some people recognized O'Deen and came over to greet him proactively.
"I'll go chat with them, you can look around here casually."
O'Deen said hello to Xiao He, then gathered with several familiar race car drivers to catch up.
Only Xiao He and Xiao Chen remained in place.
Xiao Chen was recording with his phone: "Sister Liu, we've arrived at the venue. Look, Brother Xiao and I are both fine."
Then he turned the camera toward Xiao He.
Meanwhile, Xiao He was looking with great interest at the notice board at the entrance, studying the advertisements and competition notices posted there.
But just at that moment, a burly tall figure blocked in front of Xiao Chen, snatched away his phone, and loudly questioned in English: "Yellow-skinned brats, were you two the ones racing earlier?"
Xiao Chen, having his phone snatched, originally wanted to angrily demand the other party return his phone. But seeing the other's tall, muscular build and fully tattooed arms, his courage instantly weakened.
"Sorry, sorry!"
Xiao Chen's English wasn't very good. Although he didn't know why this foreigner snatched his phone, seeing the other's angry expression, he instinctively thought photography wasn't allowed at this entrance, so he immediately apologized sincerely.
However, Xiao Chen's unknowing apology was tantamount to admission in the tattooed man's eyes, making him even angrier. He immediately said to several other equally muscular, fierce-looking men standing nearby: "It's them!"
Instantly, four burly strong men stood in front of Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen: ???
Xiao Chen was almost scared to death.
"What are you doing?"
Xiao He, hearing the commotion nearby, immediately alertly squeezed through the crowd, pulling Xiao Chen behind him. He stared coldly and fiercely at the four foreign strong men in front of him while spreading his hands and saying in English: "Return my friend's phone."
"Fuck!"
The tattooed strong man, hearing Xiao He's confident and justified words, immediately became furious and reached out to grab Xiao He's collar.
Xiao He was tall with long legs. Even standing next to the burly tattooed strong man, his presence wasn't diminished in the slightest. Instead, he proactively stepped forward, brushing aside the other's reaching hand. His icy gaze directly met the other's eyes, unleashing the dangerous killer aura of a criminal, coldly shouting:
"If you have something to say, then say it clearly. Do you dare try to lay a hand on me?"