Chapter 303: Chapter 301: The Horse Got Scared!
Ya Chen furrowed his brows in frustration. What now? Was this woman deliberately opposing him?!
He had just insulted her, but it was because she had a thick skin and a wicked heart, yet now she was not convinced?!
"Butler Pei, send the horse trainer up to pull that woman down!" Ya Chen ordered in a low voice.
Miss Jiayi noticed the anxiety on Ya Chen’s face, and it seemed like his attitude toward Chu Xinyue had changed from before.
The way Ya Chen addressed Chu Xinyue was—he referred to her as "that woman."
That was a rare sight indeed.
Just now, Chu Xinyue had gone to change clothes and lead the horse away, and Ya Chen had also left for a while, coming back later with a sullen expression on his face.
And then, Chu Xinyue suddenly lost her composure—
Could it be that they had met, and something had happened between them?
At this moment, following the Crown Prince’s instructions, the horse trainer had ridden up, trying to intercept Chu Xinyue.
Chu Xinyue made a quick turn, avoiding the horse trainer, and charged straight towards the stands, near the railing. She clamped her legs around the horse’s belly and let out a long "sigh!"
"Miss Chu, please come down. Take care of yourself," Butler Pei called out from behind the railing.
After all, she was the precious daughter of the Chu Family, and if anything really happened to her at the equestrian ground, it would be difficult to explain to the Chu Family.
Although Ya Chen could not see Chu Xinyue’s face at that moment, the heat of the wind rushing towards him allowed him to feel her speed, and his face fell, "Miss Chu, please don’t be so willful."
Chu Xinyue felt her heartbeat racing, panting heavily, not caring whether her body could withstand it.
Willful?
She had never been willful from the day she was born. So what if she was willful for once today?
She just wanted to show this man that she was not inferior to Jiayi!
Even if he could not see, she wanted to prove her prowess amidst the cheers of the crowd!
As if she didn’t hear Ya Chen and Butler Pei’s words, Chu Xinyue squeezed out a smile amidst her drenched face, lightly lifting her hand to brush away sweat, "Jiayi, are you interested in joining me for a race?"
Ya Chen’s expression turned cold, "If the second miss wants to be reckless, do it alone. Please don’t drag others into it."
Jiayi, Butler Pei, and the others were startled. Ya Chen seldom lost his temper like this, and besides, Chu Xinyue hadn’t said anything particularly aggravating, had she?
In just a short ten minutes or so, what exactly had happened between the two...?
Jiayi said, "I can’t, let’s not."
Chu Xinyue scoffed lightly, "How is it possible that you can’t? Have you forgotten? When you first came to the Chu Family, mom hired an equestrian teacher and taught you how to ride. Which child of a noble family doesn’t know how to ride a horse? My older sister loves beauty and fears the sun, and my body is not strong, so I can’t practice too long each time. Speaking of which, among the three Chu sisters, your horse riding skills are even better than mine and my older sister’s, aren’t you willing to show them off in front of the Crown Prince."
"But..."
"I have the courage to ride, are you not willing to do it?" Chu Xinyue’s tone softened somewhat, her eyes filled with hope.
With so many eyes looking on from the stands, Jiayi couldn’t say much else, "Alright then."
With so many pairs of eyes on them, it was just horse riding, after all; she could not refuse awkwardly.
Seeing Jiayi agree, and in front of so many people, Ya Chen couldn’t say much else either, and he gave his orders, "Take good care of Miss Jiayi."
Chu Xinyue’s smile momentarily froze, and it felt like her heart had been sliced with a knife again.
After changing into her riding outfit in the changing room, Jiayi stepped out.
With her hair all tied up behind her head and wearing an iron safety helmet, her tight velveteen riding gear paired with high riding boots transformed Jiayi into a different person, spirited and charming.
A horse trainer, knowing that Jiayi was the intended bride of the Crown Prince and worried about incidents, specially chose a very docile looking Australian mare for her.
Miss Jiayi felt a bit unfamiliar at first but, under the horse trainer’s guidance, holding the saddle and reins, she stepped into the stirrup and easily mounted the horse.
After a few laps, she felt quite proficient.
It seemed that she really had ridden horses before.
Horses are one of the most intelligent animals and can sense whether a rider knows how to ride or not.
If the rider’s skill is lacking, even the horse will bully them.
But this Australian horse was very obedient and tame, indicating that it could sense its current rider was skilled with horses.
Even the coach, who was protecting her, sincerely complimented, "Miss Chu’s riding is very skilled; it looks like she must have practiced for a few years."
Just then, the sound of hooves clopped closer from a distance.
Chu Xinyue sat in the saddle and rode over, "You seem ready. How about we race first? "
Seeing that Miss Jiayi was in such good spirits today, she didn’t fuss much. Bending down, she caressed the horse’s long mane lovingly and started to ride slowly along the hoof-shaped track of the riding arena with Chu Xinyue.
Their speed gradually picked up, from a casual stroll to picking up the pace, and then to galloping.
The two graceful figures maintained a relaxed but tight distance between them.
At times one was ahead, then the other, racing on the red gravel track, kicking up a breeze!
In the stands, the attendees of the horse race knew the two fleeting figures were the second and third Misses of the Chu Family and couldn’t help but stand up excitedly, cheering on:
"Come on——"
"Come on——"
The butler Pei couldn’t help but smile and say, "How exciting. It seems Miss Jiayi really knows how to ride. Although the second Miss’s health isn’t good, her riding skills aren’t bad either, the two are evenly matched!"
Ya Chen’s expression, however, was not very good-looking, perhaps because of what had just happened in the stable. He kept feeling that something might go wrong, his slender fingers slowly curling and tightening.
On the racetrack, there was a small turn near the finish line.
With such turns, the smaller the radius, the more difficult it is to navigate successfully—if the speed is too fast, one might fall off the horse.
People with lesser skills usually slow down at such corners.
When the two of them reached this point, the speed remained neck and neck, almost side by side.
Chu Xinyue seemed to be using all her strength, determined to win this round today.
Although Jiayi was wary of Chu Xinyue, she also didn’t want Chu Xinyue to get into an accident while racing with her.
If something happened to Chu Xinyue, who knew how Xuan Yu would resent her or even harm her mother.
Amid the whistling wind, she subtly pulled back on the reins, slowing down a beat, intending to let Chu Xinyue win after all.
However, Jiayi’s slight movement was seen by Chu Xinyue.
Her eyes tightened, coldness spreading across her face—Jiayi was letting her win.
Did Chu Xinyue really fail so much in life that everyone obstructed her, everyone looked down on her?
Chu Xinyue’s forehead heated up with a rush of emotion, and she subtly squeezed the horse’s sides, deliberately slowing down. As Jiayi’s Australian horse brushed past her, she pulled on the reins, causing her own horse to flick its tail.
Jiayi felt her horse as if it had been kicked harshly by Chu Xinyue’s steed!
Startled, the Australian horse reared up, standing on its hind legs and neighing loudly toward the sky—
In the stands, everyone stood up and exclaimed, "Oh no, the horse is spooked!"
