Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Gu Chengfeng had a knife at his throat—he had no choice but to charge forward.

He squeezed his legs around the horse's belly and galloped toward the racetrack, with Rong Yuan following behind. Meanwhile, Gu Shenhan and his group took an electric cart to see how the actual competition was playing out.

In the middle of the field, some people were already horse racing. Gu Chengzhi and a shareholder from Qianfeng Group were locked in a fierce battle, separated by only half a horse's head. Most of the crowd's attention was drawn to this tense and thrilling standoff, so few noticed the arrival of Rong Yuan and Gu Chengfeng.

It wasn't until Gu Shenhan got out of the cart and walked over to Rong Yuan's side that people noticed. Rong Yuan leaned down and asked, "Han Ge, who do you think will win?"

Without a second thought, Gu Shenhan replied, "Neither will lose."

The opponent was a close friend of the birthday boy, and Gu Chengzhi was shrewd enough not to let him lose on such an occasion, which would embarrass the host.

Rong Yuan watched for a while. Sure enough, the two horses crossed the finish line almost simultaneously. After dismounting, they shook hands and chatted briefly before parting. The bet seemed to be two watches, but no one won—they each took their watches back.

By then, the spectators finally realized someone else had come to race—and it was unexpected who.

"Isn't that the Third Young Master Gu? Who's the other one? Is that his new date?"

"Don't talk nonsense. Don't you see who's standing beside him? That long-haired one on the horse is a boy—it's Gu Shenhan's recently wedded male wife. I heard they've already gotten the marriage certificate. Now he's the legitimate Mrs. Gu."

"Oh, isn't that—?" said one person with a look of eager anticipation. "Isn't that going to be a race to the death?"

Everyone knew about the open and covert struggles between Gu Shenhan and the eldest branch of the Gu family. That was hardly news within the company.

Gu Chengzhi was still in his riding gear. Seeing his brother and Rong Yuan each on a horse, he rode over to ask his brother, "What's this about?"

Gu Chengfeng said, "This little sister-in-law of mine wants to race me. The loser has to do three things the winner says."

"You're going to compete?"

"Of course I am!" Gu Chengfeng replied, looking in Rong Yuan's direction. "If I don't make him call me Dad, I'll be damned if I keep the Gu name!"

Rong Yuan was currently familiarizing himself with the track and warming up his horse.

The area was enclosed by iron fencing. When he had asked Gu Shenhan about it earlier, Gu Shenhan told him it was an electric fence to keep outsiders and wild animals out. But since many horses were raised here, there was also an additional barrier inside the electric fence to protect them.

Their racetrack was within that inner barrier, further enclosed by a circle of wooden fencing. The entire track was circular, with many laps to run. Racing here required turning, which demanded more flexible control of the horse's speed and direction.

After Rong Yuan made his rounds and confirmed the layout, he looked at Gu Chengfeng. To prevent Gu Chengfeng from backing out, he shouted to Zheng Weiping, "Brother Zheng! And all you friends here! Please bear witness for me! Today, Gu Chengfeng and I will race horses. The loser must do three things the winner says!"

Before Zheng Weiping could respond, the other guests were already buzzing with excitement. When it came to fun, everyone loved a spectacle. Someone shouted, "Anything at all for those three things?"

Rong Yuan said, "As long as it's within my ability, not illegal, and not morally wrong—he has to agree! Gu Chengfeng, do you dare to race?"

Gritting his teeth, Gu Chengfeng said, "Why wouldn't I dare?! I'm warning you, don't come crying when you lose!"

"Whoever regrets it is a chicken!"

"Then under what identity are you competing?" someone asked Rong Yuan. "As Mrs. Gu, the CEO's wife? Or as yourself?"

"What's the difference? Either way, I'll win!"

"Big difference! If you compete as Mrs. Gu and then back out, we can go to Mr. Gu!" the man laughed. "We can even place bets!"

Rong Yuan hadn't thought of that. He looked at Gu Shenhan. "Honey, what do you think?"

Gu Shenhan said, "Just go all out. If anything happens, I'll handle it!"

Rong Yuan declared, "Then I'll compete in the name of Gu Shenhan's wife!"

The man who had asked said, "I'll bet on Third Young Master!" "I'll bet on Third Young Master too!" "I'll bet on Mrs. Gu!"...

Others also started placing bets with real money. In the end, more people bet on Gu Chengfeng.

Gu Chengzhi knew there was no way to make his brother back down now. But he had been riding longer than his brother, and he could tell that Rong Yuan wouldn't be easy to beat. Both Rong Yuan and his brother had chosen Ili horses—the best of the lot. Since the horses were evenly matched, it came down to the riders. Rong Yuan was clearly light, and judging by his mindset and his riding position, he was no amateur.

He couldn't help but warn his brother, "You'd better take this seriously."

Gu Chengfeng said, "I know!"

The stable worker, also serving as the temporary referee, shouted, "Please take your positions and prepare! Look at that red triangular flag over there! Whoever completes two laps and grabs the flag first wins! I'll fire the colored smoke gun to signal the start!"

Gu Chengfeng looked at Rong Yuan, and Rong Yuan looked back. There was defiance in both their eyes.

Then the referee raised a flag to signal them to get ready. The race was about to begin.

Rong Yuan held the reins. Then, with a "bang," both Rong Yuan's and Gu Chengfeng's horses shot forward like arrows.

Those who had placed bets and those who hadn't all stood up, shouting wildly: "Go, Third Young Master!" "Damn, Third Young Master Gu is really fast!" "Faster!" "Mrs. Gu, you too, hurry!" "Pass him!"...

The shouts came in waves. Gu Shenhan and Gu Chengzhi each stood at opposite ends of the spectator stand. Gu Shenhan was on the left; he didn't shout or scream, but his fists clenched in his pockets as he stared intently at the riders galloping across the field.

Rong Yuan didn't rush at the start. Instead, he kept a steady pace, following closely behind Gu Chengfeng's horse. His long hair flowed in the wind, looking bold and passionate. Though he was far away, Gu Shenhan felt as if he could see Rong Yuan's expression.

Rong Yuan wasn't anxious. Now it seemed Gu Shenhan was more anxious than Rong Yuan.

*Faster, faster!*

Gu Chengfeng was initially nervous as he ran, but seeing that Rong Yuan wasn't outpacing him, he relaxed a little. Still, he kept urging his horse to widen the gap.

They stayed within less than three meters of each other. Rong Yuan was consistently controlling his speed. He raised his body slightly to reduce the burden on his horse without tiring himself out too much.

There was no dust flying on the grass, so everyone could see clearly. They rounded the first turn—this was an opportunity!

Yet Rong Yuan maintained his original pace.

It wasn't until the second lap that those who had bet on him grew anxious: "Mrs. Gu, hurry up! Catch up to Third Young Master Gu!" "Only one lap left!"

Gradually, Gu Chengfeng began to feel confident of victory. He spurred his horse to accelerate, and this was already the second half of the second lap!

Rong Yuan had kept his speed constant during the first half of the second lap, but once they entered the second half, he suddenly raised his center of gravity, leaned forward drastically, and lowered his head as much as possible to reduce wind resistance and help his horse run more smoothly!

His horse's speed clearly increased. The spectators went wild: "Go!" "Hurry, pass him!" "Damn it, Third Young Master Gu, faster!" "He passed him! He passed him!" "Aaaaaah!"

In the last ten meters, Rong Yuan overtook Gu Chengfeng, snatched the flag, and charged to the finish line!

At that moment, Gu Shenhan finally couldn't hold back and shouted, "Rong Yuan! Beautiful!"

Rong Yuan returned to the starting point and waved the flag at Gu Shenhan.

The referee announced, "Mrs. Gu wins!"

The arena erupted in noise, as if the roof of the grandstand might blow off. Someone yelled at Gu Chengfeng, "Third Young Master Gu, you're something! Haven't you been riding for years?"

Gu Chengfeng's face was ashen—"ugly" didn't even begin to describe it.

He had never heard that Rong Yuan knew how to ride! To ride like that took serious practice, but what kind of person was Rong Yuan? The Rong family said he was very introverted, and most people at school said the same. This was introverted? Introverted, my foot!

Gu Shenhan had already come down from the stands. Seeing Rong Yuan sweating, with tiny beads of sweat on his nose and his face flushed like the sunset, he smiled and said, “Not a bad run.”

Rong Yuan said, “What do you mean? I haven’t even given it my all yet.”

He’d even ridden warhorses—much wilder and harder to handle—but he’d still managed to break them in. Every child in his family was skilled at horse riding and archery; even his twelve-year-old sister could ride with ease.

Moreover, he was light frame, which gave him some advantage.

Gu Chengzhi also came over and smiled, “Congratulations, Xiao An.”

Rong Yuan nodded slightly, “Thank you, eldest cousin.”

Gu Chengzhi asked, “What three things do you want from Gu Chengfeng?”

Rong Yuan hadn’t thought about it yet. He looked at Gu Shenhan, who said, “You won, so it’s up to you.”

Just then, Gu Chengfeng was not far from them. With so many people around, he couldn’t bring himself to leave the table publicly in defeat. But he felt deeply uncomfortable. Moreover, recalling the terms he had set for Rong Yuan earlier, he feared Rong Yuan would demand the same from him.

Having him kneel to serve Rong Yuan lunch would be worse than death!

Rong Yuan thought for a moment and said, “First, from now on, when you meet Han Ge and me, you must speak politely. Don’t you know about respect your elders? Han Ge and I are older than you!”

“Older what? You’re younger than me!”

“I’m younger than you, but Han Ge is older than you! So that makes me older than you, too! Can you do it or not? Don’t be a sore loser. There are so many people here. If you don’t agree, I’ll get everyone here to weigh in.”

“Fine, fine, next one.”

“Next, can you grill meat?”

“What did you say?”

“I said, can you grill meat? You’ll grill meat for Han Ge and me. You have to be sincere and do a good job. If you don’t know how, you can learn from the chef.”

“You might as well ask me to buy you two cows!”

Two cows? That sounded more expensive.

Rong Yuan did a quick mental calculation and hesitated.

Gu Shenhan saw right through him and knew he was calculating how many steamed buns a cow could buy, so he quickly stopped him: “Even a hundred cows—we can afford that.”

Rong Yuan said to Gu Chengfeng, “Then you’d better go grill the meat properly!”

Gu Chengfeng gritted his teeth, “Fine, grill meat, is it? Just wait and see!”

Rong Yuan: “Don’t be a sore loser. Grill it well, or it won’t count! As for the third thing, I haven’t thought of it yet. I’ll save it and tell you later.”

Gu Chengfeng, upon hearing this, decided to leave before he exploded from anger. He felt if he kept looking at that face, he would blow up!

Gu Chengzhi then asked, “Xiao An, who taught you to ride?”

Rong Yuan said, “I don’t remember, big brother.”

Gu Chengzhi couldn’t make someone remember something they didn’t, but he felt that this Rong Yuan was vastly different from the Rong Yuan he had known before.

Previously, he had heard that Rong Yuan was a man of few words with few friends. But the Rong Yuan in front of him was quite lively, with a determined glint in his eyes.

He even wondered if it was because of Gu Shenhan’s influence – how else could a person change so drastically?

Gu Shenhan didn’t bother to chat with Gu Chengzhi. He asked Rong Yuan, “You want to stay here and watch more, or go see how your defeated opponent is grilling meat?”

Rong Yuan said, “The latter sounds more interesting.”

Gu Chengzhi then said, “Second brother, now I finally understand why you decided to marry Xiao An again. He can write calligraphy and ride horses—perfect for buttering up Grandmother and making you look good. You really are still that calculating. But doing this… isn't that a bit unfair to Xiao An?”

Gu Shenhan's face slowly hardened into sharp lines: “Gu Chengzhi, don’t think that because I call you eldest brother, you can cross the line.”

Gu Chengzhi smiled amiably, “I’m just casually chatting. Why so angry? Look, you've scared Xiao An so much he can't even smile.”

Gu Shenhan turned to look at Rong Yuan.

Rong Yuan looked at Gu Chengzhi and said, “Eldest brother, you’re mistaken. I'm not smiling because I'm scared of Han Ge; it's because I'm scared of you. I thought you were different from Gu Chengfeng, but you’re even worse than him.”

“What did you say?”

“I said you’re even worse than Gu Chengfeng,” Rong Yuan said. “At least he’s openly bad. But you? You’re so hypocritical. Honey, let’s go. There’s bad vibes here.”

Rong Yuan tugged at Gu Shenhan’s clothes, urging him to leave.

Gu Shenhan looked at him pulling his clothes, then simply grabbed his hand: “Why are you pulling at my clothes? You’ll wrinkle them if you keep it up.”

His tone was complaining, but the corner of his mouth curled up.

Rong Yuan thought for a moment between shaking him off and not. With so many people around, he decided to save face for Gu Shenhan. Having such a bad brother, he was pitiful enough; how could he argue with a pitiful guy?