Chapter 59: When Driven, the Horse Won’t Jump (Part 2)

Yang Wuxu has been in a honeymoon phase with Fei Qing recently; their feelings are as sweet as if they were mixed with honey. Meanwhile, Su Ziceng, unable to seek help from Hang Yishao and not even considering asking Chang Chi, had no choice but to turn to a teacher when encountering difficulties. "There’s even an exam for this?" Su Ziceng didn’t care about her image anymore, her butt perched on the horse’s back, on the verge of tears. Pello left the group of girls and patted the horse under Su Ziceng. The horse that had been holding its head high soon bowed it down. Su Ziceng asserted that this must be a mare, and a mare that loved being flattered at that. Seeing the horse lick Pello again, she gave it another definition: a lecherous mare that loved flattery. Pello patted the horse’s back, and the mare’s eyes twinkled, Under the sun, Su Ziceng saw Hang Yishao and Deng Jiani laughing and talking, her heart felt like it was pounding with drums and gongs, infuriated to the point of having her scalp tighten, "How can I ride like her?" "Stop making a fool of yourself," Chang Chi rode past, showing off alongside her and didn’t forget to throw an insult her way as he went, even though Chang Chi also wished he could kick Deng Jiani off the horse. "Think of something," Su Ziceng couldn’t stop making eye gestures at Pello. Pello helplessly shrugged his shoulders. Su Ziceng glanced at the blinking horse eyes and then at Pello, who had an expression similar to the horse, pouting her mouth. Su Ziceng and Pello stared at each other, but the mare grew impatient, kicking up the lawn with its hooves. Su Ziceng suspected that if she were careless for a moment, she would be thrown off by the mare. "Consider it as a return gift for yesterday’s delicacies," Pello produced a sugar cube in his hand, slipped it into the horse’s mouth, and patted Su Ziceng’s ha, the mare, as if receiving a command, swished its tail. A dizzy feeling swirling in her head, Su Ziceng felt the tension of being on horseback disappear. With the sound of the wind in her ears, her dark blue jockey suit transformed into an angel with wings, flying far away under the sunset. "Haha, look at Su Ziceng’s expression." Fei Qing touched his chin, quite envious of Pello’s skill. Su Ziceng’s startled expression just now should have been captured; it was truly priceless. On the side, Hang Yishao turned his head, watching Pello, who was gazing after Su Ziceng as she rode away, a flash of displeasure crossing his eyes. Whether it was because of the sugar cube reward or because it had had its fill of grass earlier, Su Ziceng’s horse was very brave during the subsequent rounds of horse-walking. It stood out among the girls. After finishing, the mare carried Su Ziceng back to Pello, seemingly not having enough as it licked his palm. Then it was the boys’ turn. Pello’s requirements for the boys were stricter; he had set up wooden barriers about half a man’s height in the riding arena. Each person had to make five rounds, jumping over five barriers. Su Ziceng got some sugar cubes from Pello to treat the mare, holding them to its mouth, but it was unappreciative until Pello found the right moment to come over, then the mare reluctantly took one. Behind her, there was a burst of cheers. The male students were not like the female students, trotting slowly around; they were whipping their horses to go faster, eager to show off in front of everyone. Hang Yishao and Fei Qing had taken to horse riding and betting on horses since they learned to ride, and with their hearts set on someone present, a competition was inevitable. The horses of the two riders grew faster and faster. Riding a horse shared a similar exhilarating sensation to driving a car, except it was even more thrilling. Although the speed of a horse couldn’t match that of a racing car, its superior maneuverability was its winning feature. Hang Yishao had a strong desire to control, and being on horseback, looking down upon everyone, made his heartbeat race even more. As the hooves galloped past, they approached the wooden barrier. With a firm nudge from his legs against the sturdy belly of the horse, they became one with the leap. The surrounding gasps rang out, and Deng Jiani was so frightened that she covered her eyes. Turning to look back, Su Ziceng saw Fei Qing falling behind. Her eyes showed a hint of helplessness. That was just Hang Yishao’s temperament; wherever he went, he had to best others. On the racetrack, Hang Yishao indeed was the first to thunder back to the finish line, with Fei Qing coming in second. Though dissatisfied, losing to Hang Yishao—who had always been slightly better than him since childhood—meant the frustration had to be swallowed. Yan Wuxu immediately went to console Fei Qing, but he was not receptive, rejecting even the water in her hand with a scowl of anger. Deng Jiani then assumed an arrogant pose, like a proud peacock, not deigning to compliment Hang Yishao. Instead, she waited for him to come to her, beaming with joy. Deng Jiani somewhat looked down upon Yan Wuxu. They were both being pursued by Hang Yishao and Fei Qing at the same time. She heard that last week—when she was feeling under the weather and turned down Hang Yishao’s invitation to go out to sea—Yan Wuxu became Fei Qing’s consolation prize. What a foolish woman. Men shouldn’t be fed too sweet a morsel all at once. How could you give them everything at the first go? Deng Jiani was more ambitious. Coming from a family of moderate means and having used many connections to get into Daquan University, she was determined to become the young mistress of the Su Family. After waiting a bit, Hang Yishao still didn’t come over to Deng Jiani. She felt somewhat irritated but carefully masked her emotion in front of the circle of Hang Yishao’s female admirers. The twittering of these women around him left Hang Yishao feeling quite pleased, yet he sensed something was missing. The distant Deng Jiani? He scanned the crowd and eventually found the source of the lacking feeling. Having seen the situation on the other side of the racetrack, Hang Yishao’s previous joy evaporated instantly. He clenched the riding crop in his hand tightly, his gaze sharp as a knife just drawn from its sheath. On the other side of the racetrack, Pello and Su Ziceng were together, whispering intimately, an undeniable closeness between them. "Horses are very spiritual animals; they don’t normally take food from stranger.," Pello took the sugar cubes from her hand and led her right hand under the horse’s nose. The warm breath from the horse’s nostrils caused Su Ziceng’s hand to itch, making her giggle. She knew Pello was helping the horse to identify her scent, to eliminate any hostility. After a few sugar cubes, the mare had lost her initial aggressive demeanor, and her large eyes gathered a gentle mist, reflecting the faces of both Su Ziceng and Pello. "Teacher Pello," Hang Yishao stepped out of the crowd and called out, "I’d like to race with you."