Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Step aside."

Sheng Jinyu offered no further explanation, simply waiting for compliance.

Su He's carefully prepared words scattered in his mind. He instinctively glanced around, realizing he was standing beside the horse's hindquarters, where a jet-black tail lashed irritably back and forth.

This usually signaled an anxious or tense horse, prone to aggressive behavior.

He immediately stepped aside, putting more distance between himself and Sheng Jinyu.

Su He stole glances at the man who might one day decide his fate, holding his breath as he awaited the next move. But Sheng Jinyu never looked his way again.

As time passed, Su He relaxed slightly, edging closer to peek at what Sheng Jinyu was doing.

The horse's hooves were neatly shaped, clearly well-maintained, but the rot caused by disease was severe, nearly covering half the hoof. The pus oozed with a stench, attracting clouds of flies.

When Sheng Jinyu paused to examine it closely, the farrier beside him explained that all the horses in the stable were regularly trimmed and checked—such recurring issues shouldn't arise.

Su He crouched to inspect the rotting hoof and volunteered,

"If regular checks can't find the cause, something might be lodged deep inside the hoof, hidden from view. I once raised a foal like this—the trainer's carelessness left it crippled."

Sheng Jinyu's hand stilled.

He finally turned his head to look at Su He, getting his first proper look.

Dressed in beige leisurewear, his slightly long hair tucked softly behind his ears, his face was ethereally pretty. But his pupils, nearly the same shade as his eyebrows, were a deep brown, like ink bleeding into rose petals.

Was this the face of someone who plotted against him, setting traps before ultimately betraying him at the critical moment?

Sheng Jinyu sneered.

Days ago, after the car accident left him unconscious, he'd had a long, vivid dream. Upon waking, vague concepts lingered in his mind—he seemed to be the protagonist of a business rivalry novel.

And this mole sent by his father would, as per the predetermined plot, betray him in the future!

And cost him everything by abusing his position!

He looked him over and snorted coldly.

Unaware of this, Su He noticed the icy stare in Sheng Jinyu's gaze, as if disagreeing with his suggestion.

So he cautiously added, "Just... a suggestion."

Unfortunately, Sheng Jinyu didn’t appreciate it. Instead, his mouth quirked slightly before he turned and said something to the farrier.

The latter paled, shooting Su He a panicked glance before gesturing wildly and stammering explanations to Sheng Jinyu.

Su He had minored in French in college and caught fragments of the exchange—Sheng Jinyu was accusing the farrier of negligence in his duties, and the farrier, terrified of angering his boss, was desperately defending himself.

!!!

Talk about unfair blame!

Su He quickly reassured the farrier in halting French that he hadn’t meant it that way. The farrier, still shaken, eyed him skeptically.

Sheng Jinyu finally addressed him, his tone dripping with mockery. "Understood?"

"Ah, that wasn’t my intention. You misunderstood." Su He sighed, nodding earnestly.

Not wanting to cost someone their job, he spoke gently to Sheng Jinyu. "Aren’t we trying to solve the problem? If your goal is to fix the hoof, just try it. I won’t charge you if it works."

His expression was sincere, wide eyes fluttering, gaze clear as spring water. A vivid red mole perched on the tip of his nose, stark against his fair skin, like a drop of blood on petals.

It tempted fingers to touch, as if expecting blood-red blossoms to bloom.

After staring at the mole for a long moment, Sheng Jinyu jerked out of his thoughts. He did not speak, but his face, already cold, seemed to turn glacial.

Secretary Chen, however, was astonished. In the past, Sheng Jinyu’s sharp tongue spared no one—he himself had been a victim countless times. Yet here was someone who’d rendered Sheng Jinyu speechless.

This Mr. Su really had something to him!

Even Su He sensed that Sheng Jinyu seemed to have some grievance against him—but they’d only just met.

Had the original body's owner offended him before?

But Su He had been right. Sheng Jinyu discovered a nailhead embedded deep in the hoof—likely lodged there since the horse was a foal. The foreign object had caused constant friction and decay, worsening over time.

Watching the nail being extracted, Su He was sincerely happy for the horse—it could live properly now.

But when he turned, he accidentally met Sheng Jinyu’s scrutinizing gaze.

Su He beamed, eyes crinkling, as if to say, *See? I was right!*

To Sheng Jinyu, that smile was nothing but poison disguised as honey. With a disgusted flick, he discarded the hoof knife, leaving the rest to the farrier, then moved to the front of the horse. He wrapped an arm around its neck, tucking its head to his shoulder.

The nail had embedded deep, fused with flesh—removing it would be excruciating.

The farrier worked swiftly, wrenching it free in one motion. The horse, in agony, bucked wildly—but Sheng Jinyu, prepared, held it firmly in place.

As the horse screamed in pain, he stroked its mane in what seemed like comfort. Yet his expression remained completely impassive, making the gesture unsettling.

Su He realized Sheng Jinyu was a walking contradiction—he personally tended to the hoof, soothed the panicked horse, yet his indifference suggested he cared nothing for living things.

And he’d thrown others under the bus without hesitation...

What a jerk!

Once finished, Sheng Jinyu removed his gloves and glanced at Secretary Chen.

"Go report to your master. Tell him I’ll take the man." His tone was cool, laced with mockery, making Secretary Chen sound like some palace attendant.

What? Just like that?

Su He looked around, opening and closing his mouth repeatedly, speechless.

Secretary Chen took the hint immediately. Whether Sheng Jinyu meant it or not, his own task was complete—getting Sheng Jinyu to accept Su He.

With a meaningful glance at Su He, he turned and left.

Su He frowned, watching Secretary Chen’s retreating back helplessly, resentful but not daring to protest this done deal.

Their wordless communication went unnoticed by neither. Sheng Jinyu’s gaze flicked between them before he scoffed. How shameless—they didn’t even bother hiding their schemes anymore.

Shoving the affectionate horse aside, he looked down at Su He and spoke coldly:

"Assistant Su."

At first, Su He didn’t realize the call was for him. Only when Sheng Jinyu kept staring at him did he remember he was now the assistant of the man before him, so he looked over.

“My father thinks highly of you, so you must be quite capable.”

Sheng Jinyu spoke tersely, standing alone in front of Su He, almost blocking out the setting sun entirely, making Su He feel like a trapped animal.

Up close, Su He caught a whiff of bitter medicine on him, so pungent it made him step back, his heart pounding nervously.

As a liberal arts graduate, he was clueless about business management. If he were really asked to review financial reports or plans, wouldn’t that blow his cover?

Then Sheng Jinyu continued, “It’s just a shame I don’t lack assistants at the company. What I actually need is someone for the house. Can you handle that?”

Sheng Jinyu had already investigated Su He’s background—a business master’s graduate from the prestigious S University, a man who prized status and face above all else.

Denying him real work and relegating him to household chores would probably be worse than killing him.

Sheng Jinyu’s mouth quirked slightly, his half-smile carrying a hint of intimidation.

But Su He’s eyes lit up. Household duties were way easier than corporate work, and as long as he didn’t do anything to harm Sheng Jinyu, he probably wouldn’t meet a tragic end.

He beamed and nodded, “Of course! No problem at all!”

Sheng Jinyu was taken aback.

He hadn’t expected Su He to agree so readily, his brow twitched imperceptibly.

Worried Sheng Jinyu would see through him and impulsively decide to dismember him on the spot, Su He quickly added, “I’m great at taking care of people. I can do laundry, cook, even some acupuncture and massage. I’ve also cared for patients before, so you don’t need to worry.”

This oddly reminded Sheng Jinyu of the excuse he’d given Secretary Chen the day before. Originally, the ‘warm my bed’ remark had just been a barb, but this person seemed genuinely interested in being part of his private life.

This wasn’t part of the script he’d expected. Sheng Jinyu narrowed his eyes.

Huh. His rival had even upped his game to keep up with the times. Things were getting interesting.

“Fine.”

He nonchalantly dialed his assistant’s number, dispensing with pleasantries and getting straight to the point: “Fang Cheng, come pick someone up at the stables… Who?”

Su He stood there obediently as Sheng Jinyu glanced at him, a wicked glint in his eyes, before coldly stating, “Someone to warm my bed.”

After hanging up, Sheng Jinyu tossed out a “Wait here,” then took his horse away, brushing past Su He without a backward glance as he headed inside with the farrier.

Stranded, Su He glared at the man’s retreating figure, paused for two seconds, then clenched his fist and swung it in frustration through the air, as if he could knock Sheng Jinyu’s head flying with the motion.

Then, under his breath, he grumbled, “You’re overthinking it. I don’t warm anyone’s bed.”

Too scared to wander off in case the person sent to fetch him couldn’t find him, he found a chair to sit in. Before anyone arrived, though, his phone rang.

The caller ID showed just a single character: “Jing.” Probably Lin Jing, still seething from yesterday’s humiliation, was calling to argue. Su He didn’t want to answer, but he knew he needed to settle things with this person once and for all.

When the call connected, Lin Jing’s initial accusations were restrained, but his anger quickly escalated. The ex, who prided himself on being cultured, now couldn’t maintain the act, his voice so loud Su He had to hold the phone far away just to endure the barrage of accusations and threats.

Su He tuned out, waiting for the rant to finish, idly tapping his fingers here and there.

Only when the other end finally fell silent did he seize the moment to interject, “Mr. Lin, let’s break up. Don’t call me again.”

Without waiting for a response, he hung up and blocked the number in one swift motion, his fingers flying across the screen.

After all that ranting, this was the only reply he got. Lin Jing, predictably, exploded, launching a barrage of voice messages into Su He’s WeChat.

Su He didn’t even bother listening. He speedily blocked Lin Jing on everything, his movements lightning-fast.

After a while, his phone finally fell silent. Su He let out a slow sigh of relief.

Shedding his gold-digging family and trash ex, his life could finally start anew… right?