After getting on the horse, He Ying thoroughly enjoyed herself with it.
When she finally tired out and dismounted, she saw Chi Jingsheng smiling at her from nearby and suddenly realized she hadn’t completed her main task yet.
Oh no.
But He Ying couldn’t do something that would ruin her financial prospects just for a task.
Reputation was a minor issue—how could the System compensate for the regular points lost because of this task? It’s just a piece of scrap metal; could it even afford to compensate?
He Ying chose the thirteen trillion without hesitation, but she still intended to salvage this task a bit.
He Ying directly ran to the equestrian instructor to borrow a pen and a piece of paper.
Because of He Ying’s impressive performance on the field earlier, the instructor looked at her with a delighted smile—the young lady ran so beautifully, come more often, love to watch.
He Ying took the paper and pen and ran back to where Chi Jingsheng had been, but Chi Jingsheng had already entered the arena, so she had to wait outside first.
However, He Ying underestimated the attention she was attracting. After people discovered that the person she was waiting for was Chi Jingsheng, Chi Jingsheng quickly received the news even while inside the arena and came to He Ying’s side.
Chi Jingsheng was still smiling, but He Ying noticed his smile now was clearly more strained than usual, probably uncomfortable because he had been forcibly interrupted from what he was doing.
He Ying pretended not to notice and said to him with the paper and pen, “Chi Jingsheng, I want to ride a horse with you.”
Upon hearing this request, even Chi Jingsheng, who was accustomed to fake smiles, nearly couldn’t maintain his smile.
Equestrianism and horseback riding are not the same.
Horseback riding involves a person controlling the horse, setting goals and directions, with the horse merely serving as a tool, just like driving a car—whether one person sits in the car or two, it’s still driving.
But equestrianism is different. Equestrianism is a collaboration between person and horse; neither the person nor the horse is solely in control. When to hand control to the horse, when the horse returns control to the person—all require thought and extremely high concentration.
Equestrianism is an art.
In equestrianism, the horse originally cannot be fully controlled; the person can only act as the horse’s partner to collaborate with it.
But if He Ying and Chi Jingsheng were to ride the same horse, then the horse would only become a tool, except in artistic performance situations.
And He Ying and Chi Jingsheng clearly did not meet the conditions for a performance.
Chi Jingsheng thought for a moment, slightly toned down his smile, and confirmed with He Ying again, “Are you sure?”
He Ying nodded, “I’m sure.”
Chi Jingsheng helplessly did not refuse.
The other party was He Ying; he couldn’t refuse.
There was another reason: he dared not refuse.
Not only dared not refuse He Ying, he actually dared not refuse many people.
Chi Jingsheng had already prepared to face being discussed together with He Ying, but then he saw He Ying write something on the paper after he nodded and then leave.
Chi Jingsheng: ?
Not knowing what medicine the young lady was selling in her gourd, Chi Jingsheng followed her.
He saw He Ying tear off a small piece of the earlier paper, tape it onto the saddle, then turn around and look at him seriously, saying, “Chi Jingsheng, I’m going to ride a horse with you.”
After saying this, He Ying took her paper Chi Jingsheng and ran a few more laps around the field.
The equestrian teacher who had lent out the pen and paper earlier overheard the entire exchange and found He Ying’s whimsical idea utterly endearing. She later often mentioned it to her colleagues, leading many teachers to see He Ying as an incredibly adorable girl, inadvertently earning her a following among the faculty.
In truth, at that moment, Chi Jingsheng also thought He Ying, laughing boldly on the horseback with a note bearing his name, was quite charming.
After the club activity ended that day, the video of He Ying at the equestrian field quickly spread online.
On horseback, He Ying exuded elegance, both in her demeanor and the horse’s movements.
However, soon an even more explosive piece of news stirred up a wave among the students.
“I heard the young lady carved Chi Jingsheng’s name on the saddle—she’s totally in love!”
“I declare it! Shangguan Mingyu is a thing of the past. The person the young lady holds dear now is Chi Jingsheng!”
“I approve of this match!”
These rumors quickly reached He Ying’s ears, with Ding Yunyun acting as the messenger.
Since bonding over sharing jianbing guozi in the mornings, He Ying and Ding Yunyun had developed a much stronger rapport.
For instance, as soon as He Ying returned to the dorm that evening and saw Ding Yunyun’s excited little eyes, she knew there must be some new gossip.
“Spill it. What’s the story?”
Ding Yunyun adjusted her glasses, trying to appear calm. “When did you carve Chi Jingsheng’s name on the saddle?”
He Ying promptly debunked the rumor: “I didn’t carve it on the saddle. I just wrote his name on a piece of paper and stuck it on.”
“So, do you really like Chi Jingsheng?”
He Ying stuck to her usual line: “The school doesn’t allow early dating.”
Ding Yunyun felt she understood.
She began probing openly: “After Chi Jingsheng was targeted last time and you didn’t step in, it seems those people are planning to escalate things.”
He Ying suddenly said, “If I spoke up, would those people dare to continue?”
Ding Yunyun was taken aback for a moment before nodding.
He Ying didn’t say anything more and went to freshen up.
Meanwhile, Ding Yunyun had a sudden realization. Recalling the widely discussed incident at school where He Ying was accused of bullying Xia Shuyue, she felt she had uncovered the truth.
The frustration of discovering such a shocking secret but having no one to share it with was unbearable for Ding Yunyun.
She could only open her chat window with Ding Xuanxuan again.
“I’ve uncovered a huge secret! Remember how Shangguan Mingyu caused several scenes with the young lady over Xia Shuyue? Now the young lady suspects it was all orchestrated by Shangguan Mingyu himself! The ones bullying Xia Shuyue were his people!”
As soon as Ding Yunyun sent the message, she received an immediate reply.
“Holy crap! That scumbag! I always said he had a shady look about him!”
“It’s just a suspicion for now, so don’t tell anyone else.”
“No need to doubt it! Today, Ying Ying mentioned in the group chat that the young lady helped Xia Shuyue, and she couldn’t understand why. But with what you just said, it all makes sense now!”
Ding Yunyun was stunned—He Ying had helped Xia Shuyue? The two quickly exchanged information, piecing together fragments of the truth.
School life was dull, and the only entertainment was watching the love and hate dramas of the rich. Sigh.
“So, when will the young lady notice me? I want to be her devoted admirer,” Ding Xuanxuan sighed again after discussing He Ying’s equestrian video edit with her sister.
Ding Yunyun sneered and launched a precise counterattack.
“As far as I know, you’re acting like a dog for a lot of people. What if I tell Dad and you lose your inheritance rights?”
Ding Xuanxuan didn’t seem to care: “Go ahead and tell him. The inheritance is already Big Brother’s anyway. I have to find another way to survive, don’t I?”
“You should stop thinking about it too. Just let go of yourself like I did—nothing is more important than that. There’s a saying: Lick one person and you’re a dog; lick ten thousand and you’re a king!”
“I! Am the king of kings!”
lick lick.jpg
Ding Yunyun: “You’re insane. Blocked.”
After finishing the gossip, Ding Yunyun stared at her phone, but her mind couldn’t help wandering back to what Ding Xuanxuan had just said.
Should she give up?