No Word, No Disturbance

At eighteen, Bai Youyou was singing for spare change on the streets of Los Angeles when she met Lin Zhendong, a young racing driver fresh off a championship win. After hearing her sing, he said, “Be my girlfriend.” A week later, they registered their marriage. She thought being loved was enough; he thought racing with all his might would give her a future. But he was too young to understand that love isn’t a racetrack, and you can’t control it. When her father fell gravely ill, he was competing overseas. When she released her album, he missed the celebration. On the day they divorced, he said race cars never go in reverse. She told him neither did she.

Five years later, Bai Youyou had won three Golden Melody Awards as a singer-songwriter. Her album Passenger Seat was about the woman who had learned to take the wheel herself. Lin Zhendong had won six consecutive championships at the Bayinbuluke circuit, and his phone’s wallpaper was still a photo of the two of them from years ago.

At a gala, all three of them ended up in the same frame. When someone gave her a hard time, Lan Xuzhi, the gentle architect who had accompanied her on five years of concert tours, was the first to step in front of her. Lin Zhendong thought she had remarried and forced himself to stay calm as he said, “Long time no see.” He began writing apology emails, renting out entire concert venues, and playing the song she had sung at eighteen at the finish line. He stopped saying, “I’ll take care of you,” and instead asked, “May I stay by your side?”

When Lan Xuzhi saw the light in her eyes, he smiled and said, “I’ve been with you for five years. I know when it’s time to let go.”

In the end, she went to Bayinbuluke to watch him race. After he crossed the finish line, he told the cameras, “Bai Youyou, this song is for you.” She waited for him by the track. “I drive myself now. Would you like to ride in the passenger seat?”

From “I want to win” to “I’ll wait for you,” from the passenger seat to the driver’s seat, it took them five years to learn how to cherish each other.