Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Nan Shuyi only released his grip after confirming he was fine. After letting go, he saw that he had indeed left his chin red, with two light red marks that stood out against his fair skin.

He chuckled and moved his hand away: "Sorry, it's red. Does it hurt?"

Jiang Yicen shook his head: "A little." He rubbed the tip of his chin with the back of his hand, where the warmth and pressure of Nan Shuyi's fingertips still lingered.

The scenery in the small grove was especially nice. They had unknowingly ridden up to a gentle slope, seeming to have left the club's racetrack area behind.

There was no path ahead, and they could hear the gurgling sound of a stream.

Nan Shuyi noticed he was still wearing thin clothes. Though dappled sunlight filtered through the trees, the sunlight didn't bring any warmth. In this season, it was warm in the sun and cold in the shade. He couldn't take off his jacket, since he was still on his horse.

"There's nothing much to see here. Let's go back."

Jiang Yicen nodded and patted YOYO: "YOYO, let's head back."

YOYO obeyed and took off at a run, leaving Nan Shuyi and Zhuoyue behind.

Nan Shuyi shouted from behind: "Slow down!" He didn't want the sand to blow into his eyes and hurt them again.

Jiang Yicen appeared obedient and gentle, always acting properly, but his actions were anything but reassuring. He had his own ideas, one after another, and knew his own mind.

This personality wasn't off-putting; instead, it made you want to dig deeper and find out how many unknown little secrets Jiang Yicen was hiding.

Up ahead, Jiang Yicen turned around and shouted back: "Nan Shuyi, let's race to see who gets to the red flag at the racecourse entrance first! The winner gets a prize!"

Wasn't this just dangling a carrot in front of a donkey? He wasn't falling for that.

But then again, what kind of prize?

Nan Shuyi dug his heels into his horse's flanks and chased after him: "Giddy up!"

Jiang Yicen was ahead, and YOYO was running hard, giving her all as a racehorse.

Behind him, Nan Shuyi on Zhuoyue was riding hard to catch up. Just when Jiang Yicen thought Nan Shuyi wouldn't make it, with about two hundred meters to go, YOYO heard a whistle from Nan Shuyi and suddenly slowed down.

Jiang Yicen asked YOYO: "Why did you stop?"

YOYO made a U-turn on her own and looked back toward Nan Shuyi. At that moment, Nan Shuyi overtook Jiang Yicen, tugging the reins and becoming the winner. Though it was a bit underhanded, he wanted to know what the prize was for winning.

Jiang Yicen laughed: "You cheated."

Nan Shuyi: "All's fair in war. Besides, you didn't say cheating wasn't allowed. You were still a few hundred meters ahead of me."

Jiang Yicen knew he was at fault: "Fine, I admit defeat. You win."

Nan Shuyi dismounted and reminded him: "Don't forget the prize you agreed to. I'll be waiting."

Jiang Yicen: "Alright." He had to follow through on his promise anyway. He had already agreed to give his first paycheck to Nan Shuyi, so an extra prize was no big deal.

Actually, he had thought he would win that time, but who knew Nan Shuyi was even more competitive, and quick-witted too. He accepted defeat gracefully.

But in the following race, Nan Shuyi didn't mess around with Jiang Yicen. They had a fair competition.

Most people weren't that skilled at horseback riding. Watching Jiang Yicen and Nan Shuyi gallop on their horses, a sense of gap arose, especially for Zhou Yi, who was at the very back. He even got lapped by Jiang Yicen.

"Damn it! If I'd known, I wouldn't have run with you two! So embarrassing!"

The rich young men who usually hung out with Zhou Yi were mocking him from the stands.

"Zhou Yi, come on!"

"At this speed, you'll finish a lap by dinner time!"

Someone even pointed at him and laughed outright.

Just as he finished speaking, a gust of wind rushed past him. His friend followed closely behind Jiang Yicen, and the two finished the laps, crossing the finish line one after the other.

Zhou Yi, being straightforward, simply stopped running. He dismounted and let the horse go by itself, then went to the viewing stand to rough up the young men who had been laughing at him.

Jiang Yicen had a great run and came in first this time. The staff stamped his booklet.

After he patted YOYO, Nan Shuyi had the horse trainer take the horses away.

Nan Shuyi asked him: "Want to keep playing?"

Jiang Yicen looked at his booklet. Just as he was about to speak, a voice cut in.

Lan Yan: "Daniel, let's go to the shooting range!"

Nan Shuyi remembered how Jiang Yicen had been startled by the salute cannon last time and refused for him: "He's not going."

Lan Yan looked at Nan Shuyi, then at Jiang Yicen, expecting them to suggest the next destination. The latter nodded: "I want to go archery."

Lan Yan, completely clueless, said: "Alright then, I'll go archery with you guys."

Nan Shuyi gave Lan Yan a cold glance without responding, just looked at Jiang Yicen: "Let's go."

Everyone moved to another area. Those with tact switched to other activities; those without, like Lan Yan, followed them to the archery range.

Zhou Yi and the others naturally went along too, this time bringing along He Mingshuo, the organizer of this week's event.

Archery was no challenge for them. Those who didn't know how could learn quickly with a coach there; the only difference was whether they could hit the target.

The coach brought them new protective gear. Nan Shuyi took it and asked Jiang Yicen: "Do you know how to put it on?"

Jiang Yicen naturally shook his head. Horse riding and archery had been standard for them back in the day, but he hadn't used the new-style protective gear before. To avoid putting it on wrong, he proactively reached out his hand to Nan Shuyi.

"No, could you help me put it on, Brother Shuyi?"

Nan Shuyi teased him: "Is it a tradition in the Jiang family to call someone by their full name when you need something, and 'brother' when you don't?"

Jiang Yicen smiled: "Brother Shuyi, please put it on quickly."

Nan Shuyi's lips curved up slightly. He carefully put on the arm guard for him, then held his hand to put on the finger tab.

He also added some caring attention: "Is it too tight?"

Jiang Yicen flexed his fingers. The fit was just right: "Not tight. It's perfect. Thank you, Brother Shuyi." He noticed that Nan Shuyi liked being called "brother."

Nan Shuyi couldn't handle him calling him that repeatedly: "You're taking advantage and still acting innocent."

Jiang Yicen chuckled: "Okay, Brother Shuyi."

Nan Shuyi: "..." He really knew how to push it.

Zhou Yi, seeing his brother in a good mood today, casually shoved his protective gear toward him: "Help me put it on too."

Nan Shuyi turned around to pick a suitable bow for Jiang Yicen, as if he hadn't seen Zhou Yi's outstretched hand, pretending not to see it.

Zhou Yi thought he hadn't heard and repeated, "Help me put mine on too!"

Nan Shuyi glanced at him and said to the nearby coach, "You'll help him put it on later."

The coach felt honored, having heard that Mr. Nan was quite aloof and rarely interacted with staff: "Okay, Mr. Nan."

Zhou Yi: "..."

Nan Shuyi picked a bow he deemed suitable and handed it to Jiang Yicen: "Try this one. Know how to use it?"

"Probably." As long as modern people hadn't modified the bow, he should be fine.

Nan Shuyi had stopped believing his overly modest response, so he stood aside watching him stand with his feet apart, draw the string to his jaw.

Jiang Yicen drew the bow, aimed at the bullseye, and shot the first arrow.

Thud. Smack.

Zhou Yi laughed out loud behind him: "Pfft!"

Nan Shuyi and Jiang Yicen both turned to look at him.

Zhou Yi couldn't help it: "Haha, Yicen, your aim is way off! Let me show you how it's done!"

Jiang Yicen smiled: "Yeah, I'm not that good. I can't even aim properly."

He hadn't touched a bow in ages and felt nostalgic. His original eyesight was good, but this body's vision was slightly worse, so his initial accuracy wasn't great. He didn't expect his first arrow to miss the target entirely. He used to have a small crossbow for self-defense, but it was only effective against petty thieves, not much use against soldiers with firearms.

Zhou Yi got into position, ready to impress Jiang Yicen!

But just as he was about to release his fingers, Nan Shuyi, passing by, bumped his elbow, and he watched helplessly as his arrow veered off and landed into the adjacent target.

Jiang Yicen consoled him: "Right in the bullseye, impressive."

Zhou Yi: "... Nan Shuyi, did you just bump into me?"

Nan Shuyi handed Jiang Yicen his second arrow and said to Zhou Yi, "Why would I bump into you?"

Zhou Yi stared suspiciously at Nan Shuyi, who kept a straight face and showed no guilt. He wondered, was it just his imagination?

After three practice arrows, Jiang Yicen finally found his rhythm in archery. Nan Shuyi put on his own protective gear and stood next to Jiang Yicen.

Manager: "Everyone just needs to hit their corresponding target. Only points from the rings count."

Zhou Yi, eager to redeem himself, fired off arrows furiously. He quickly used up his ten arrows. Looking at his results: two tens, three nines, four eights, one seven!

Then he looked at the two next to him, where someone was calling out their scores.

"Daniel—ten rings!"

"Mr. Nan—ten rings!"

"Daniel—ten rings!"

"Mr. Nan—ten rings!"

"Daniel—ten rings!"

"Mr. Nan—ten rings!"

This went on until all that was left were gasps of amazement.

However, on the third-to-last arrow, Nan Shuyi missed slightly—nine rings. In the end, Jiang Yicen got the highest score with all ten rings.

He put down his bow and looked at Nan Shuyi: "Did you let me win?"

Nan Shuyi shrugged: "Why would I let you win? I haven't practiced in a while, just one mistake. Don't worry about it."

Jiang Yicen gave a light laugh and was unsure if he believed it or not. Nan Shuyi knew he was clever and probably didn't buy it, but that didn't matter. He didn't want to be first anyway; he was just letting the kid win. Of course, he also enjoyed the feeling of meeting his match—it was a subtle, gratifying thrill.

Zhou Yi snickered as well. Nan Shuyi losing to Jiang Yicen? Once in a blue moon. Could it be an act? He'd known Nan Shuyi since middle school and knew he had to be number one in everything—uncomfortable unless he came in first in any competition. He must have really messed up.

He taunted Nan Shuyi: "You actually lost? How does it feel? How does it feel?"

Nan Shuyi replied earnestly: "I'm not in top form today. He outskilled me. No big deal. I'll win next time. Beating Jiang Yicen is a piece of cake, isn't it?"

Zhou Yi chuckled: "Come on, next event! While you're out of form, let me win a couple games too."

Nan Shuyi checked the time and declined Zhou Yi's suggestion for another activity.

"Time for lunch. I'm hungry. Yicen, are you hungry?"

"A little." Jiang Yicen was indeed feeling his stomach empty. He had to admit, Nan Shuyi really was like a godsend—always there when he needed him most, as if he had a surveillance camera inside him, knowing exactly what he was thinking. He felt comfortable and at ease with Nan Shuyi, never needing to hold back. It was as if, in his presence, he could just be himself.

Nan Shuyi once again played the club guide: "The food here is decent. They have all eight major cuisines. What do you feel like eating?"

At the mention of food, Zhou Yi also felt hungry, his stomach growling: "Seafood, seafood. Their seafood is excellent."

Though Lin City wasn't near the sea, Jiang Yicen had certainly eaten plenty of seafood. Restaurants did serve expensive seafood like crab and abalone, but mostly on festive occasions when the diners were mainly high officials and nobles.

Since arriving in the modern era, he had eaten some, including the takeout Nan Shuyi had ordered for him last time.

Seafood was the cuisine he was least adept at judging.

He said, "Shall we give it a try?"

Food was inseparable from his life. He had been dealing with cuisine all these years; if he couldn't appreciate flavors, he wouldn't have continued running the Yongjiang Restaurant. In truth, he wasn't the best at tasting seafood in his family—that honor went to his mother.

During holidays, whenever seafood was served, his mother would personally supervise in the kitchen. On those days, the seafood dishes became the favorites among the Jiang brothers, filled with the taste of mother and home.

As Jiang Yicen watched plate after plate of seafood being served, smelling the familiar local dishes of Lin City, regardless of how they would taste, he knew he was starting to miss his mother.

No matter how the food tasted, Jiang Yicen made no comment on the seafood. He just focused on eating. Nan Shuyi was a bit disappointed that he hadn't commented on the dishes today. Why was he suddenly not being picky?

Just as Jiang Yicen was enjoying the modern seafood feast, someone knocked on their private room door.

Zhou Yi thought it was a waiter and called out, "Come in."

Instead, a young man Jiang Yicen had never seen entered with a smile on his face.

"You're eating here without calling me?"

He was He Mingshuo, the sponsor of today's event.

Zhou Yi looked at him: "Aren't you eating with the others next door?"

In Jiang Yicen's eyes, they seemed quite close.

He Mingshuo: "The folks next door want to drink, and I came over here to escape the noise. Aren't you going to introduce me?"

Nan Shuyi introduced Jiang Yicen, saying: "This is He Mingshuo, today's sponsor."

Jiang Yicen: "Hello, I'm Jiang Yicen."

He Mingshuo smiled: "Too bad I couldn't make it to Lincheng for your wedding to congratulate you in person."

Zhou Yi interjected: "As long as you sent a gift, that's all that matters."

Jiang Yicen just smiled; he always takes his time observing when meeting new people.

Zhou Yi gets along with everyone and makes friends easily—he's the type who has tons of friends. Jiang Yicen needed to see how Nan Shuyi felt about He Mingshuo.

He Mingshuo grabbed a seat, right across from Jiang Yicen and Nan Shuyi.

"By the way, Nan, I heard you're still looking for a chef?"

Jiang Yicen hadn't heard Nan Shuyi mention any trouble finding a chef since their conversation on the wedding day.

Nan Shuyi just hummed in acknowledgment.

He Mingshuo: "So you went to Ningzhou yesterday to find Chef Liu, but no luck?"

Nan Shuyi raised an eyebrow. His trip yesterday was last-minute, and hardly anyone knew about it; he hadn't even told Jiang Yicen.

Zhou Yi's mouth worked faster than his brain: "How do you know he went to Ningzhou yesterday?"

He Mingshuo: "One of his apprentices works for me—he mentioned it when I saw him last night. I was just surprised you could still make it to the club today."

Jiang Yicen asked: "Ningzhou? How long does it take to drive back from there?"

Zhou Yi: "At least four hours back from Ningzhou. Round trip's seven or eight, even longer with traffic."

That was way shorter than Jiang Yicen had thought. With highways now, it's way better than in his day. He looked at Nan Shuyi but didn't say anything.

Nan Shuyi changed the subject: "Let's not talk about work during meals."

He didn't want Jiang Yicen to know he'd given up sleep to take him out, so he wouldn't feel guilty. He shot He Mingshuo a cold glance.

He Mingshuo deliberately undermined his image in front of Jiang Yicen, really good at stirring up trouble.