Chapter 20: Steeplechase
Falling Off the Horse
What a familiar voice. Lu Shengheng felt as if he had heard it somewhere before.
Soon, he remembered that the visitor’s voice was the exact same one he had heard during his phone call with Yuan An the other day.
At this thought, Lu Shengheng looked at Qin Sixing, his eyes narrowing slightly.
He could pick up on the subtle threat hidden in Qin Sixing’s words just now.
Qin Sixing walked slowly toward the group. His face, which had been completely expressionless, instantly bloomed into a gentle smile as he neared Yuan An.
His arrival made Yuan An feel the turbulent emotions in his own heart settle down slightly. Looking up, he returned an equally gentle smile.
The two stood together like that, looking as if even the wind blowing past them had become exceptionally tender.
Subsequently, Qin Sixing turned his gaze toward Lu Shengheng and said, “I just heard Chairman Chen mention that CEO Lu’s horsemanship is outstanding. I wonder if I might have the opportunity to witness it myself today.”
Was he challenging Lu Shengheng to a horse race?
The surrounding onlookers eating melons grew excited instantly. The glances they threw at Lu Shengheng were laced with nervousness and anticipation, as if deeply terrified he might refuse.
Yuan An, however, lightly tugged at Qin Sixing’s sleeve, asking with worry, “Brother Qin, your leg…”
Horse racing carried a definitive level of danger, and he was afraid that some accident might happen to Qin Sixing.
Qin Sixing clasped his hand, comforting him, “Rest assured.”
Looking at the two of them, Lu Shengheng vaguely heard Yuan An address Qin Sixing as “Brother”.
He knitted his brows slightly, suddenly realizing that Yuan An hadn’t called him “Older Brother” for several years. But if he were to think carefully about exactly when it had started, he didn’t have the slightest clue.
Lu Shengheng pressed his lips tightly together and said, “Sure. How does President Qin want to compete?”
“A steeplechase.”
Lu Shengheng nodded. “Fine.”
The surrounding crowd instantly let out a loud cheer. They were going to have a spectacular show to watch today.
They cleared the racecourse area, taking refuge in the resting lounge to watch the event.
Although the horse Lu Shengheng had successfully tamed today was fast, it hadn’t undergone specialized training for a steeplechase, so it couldn’t be brought onto the field.
Knowing that the two were going to compete in a steeplechase, the racecourse manager led them over to select other, more excellent horses.
Song Chucheng brought Yuan An along to secure the best viewing spot. Before long, they saw the two men leading their respective horses onto the track.
The distance between the resting lounge and the track was somewhat far. Qin Sixing and Lu Shengheng shared a similar height and build, and since they were currently wearing identical riding attire, it was impossible to distinguish exactly who was who.
“That black horse should belong to CEO Lu. Several of the horses he purchased at this racecourse are black.”
“That iron-gray horse looks incredibly majestic; it must belong to President Qin, right? It matches his aura perfectly.”
The crowd gossiped excitedly, with some even wanting to place bets on who would win.
Listening to the chatter around them, Song Chucheng said with pure pride, “Is that even a question? It’s definitely my big brother who’s going to win.”
Yuan An nodded with a faint smile, his worried gaze firmly locking onto one of the figures on the track.
Soon, the staff finished arranging the obstacles, and the two riders mounted their horses, arriving at the starting line to prepare.
The moment the referee gave the order, the two horses surged forward like the wind. In the blink of an eye, they reached the first obstacle and leaped over it smoothly.
One obstacle followed another in quick succession. During this period, the distance between the two horses remained tightly matched. It wasn’t until the first turn that the iron-gray horse gradually pulled ahead of the black horse, but the advantage wasn’t large, and the black horse steadily caught up again.
A few times when the horses cleared the timber hurdles, their hooves scraped past the top by a hair’s breadth, kicking up small clouds of dust. The spectators’ hearts leaped into their throats, and they gasped aloud at the sight.
Through the next few turns, the two horses maintained their fierce neck-and-neck duel. Occasionally, the iron-gray horse would surpass the black horse, but the black horse would quickly close the gap, leaving very little distance between them.
“I feel like the black horse’s momentum isn’t as strong as the iron-gray horse’s. In the end, the iron-gray horse should be able to fiercely break ahead.”
“It looks like the black horse is gradually running out of steam.”
The crowd chorused with pessimistic forecasts for the black horse. Yet right as they were about to reach the final turn, the black horse suddenly burst with explosive power, overtaking the iron-gray horse and throwing it heavily behind.
“Wow—” the crowd cried out in astonishment.
“Go, iron-gray horse!”
“Good job, black horse!”
The two horses arrived at the final few obstacles one after the other, clearing them flawlessly one by one.
Just as the black horse cleared the final hurdle and was about to dash toward the finish line, an accident occurred with the iron-gray horse behind it.
When crossing the final timber hurdle, perhaps due to an error in the rider’s estimation of the take-off point, the iron-gray horse failed to clear the obstacle. The rider on its back was thrown violently to the ground, and during the fall, the iron-gray horse’s hoof accidentally trampled onto the rider’s leg.
“Who was riding the iron-gray horse? Was it President Qin or CEO Lu?”
“Never mind who it is, get the medical staff over there quickly!”
“That person isn’t moving at all, should we call an ambulance?!”
The crowd erupted into a panic. Even the previously confident Song Chucheng lost his composure, wanting to rush over to see if the person who had fallen was his cousin.
Yuan An quickly held him back, saying, “Don’t be anxious, the person who fell isn’t Brother Qin.”
Even though his own palms were sweating profusely from anxiety and his body was trembling gently just a moment ago.
Song Chucheng was still bewildered as to how Yuan An could see so clearly from such a long distance.
The next second, he saw the rider of the victorious black horse turn back to call for the medical team. After dismounting, the rider removed his helmet.
Who else could it be but Qin Sixing?
Seeing this, Song Chucheng let out a massive sigh of relief.
The two quickly left the lounge area, running toward Qin Sixing’s direction.
“Brother Qin! Are you alright?” Yuan An, who had calmly comforted Song Chucheng just a moment ago, couldn’t restrain his worried inquiry even before he reached Qin Sixing’s side.
Hearing Yuan An’an’s voice, Qin Sixing turned his head to look.
“I’m fine, don’t run too fast.”
Yuan An had undergone surgery not long ago and couldn’t engage in strenuous exercise yet.
Terrified that Yuan An wouldn’t listen to his warning, Qin Sixing hurriedly stepped forward to meet him, completely caught off guard when Yuan An threw his arms tightly around him in a hug.
“It’s good that you’re fine.” Perhaps because he had run too fast or for some other reason, Yuan An’an’s voice carried a slight tremble.
Qin Sixing’s legs were injured. During a steeplechase, a rider needed to place a great deal of weight on the stirrups, which meant the legs had to exert serious force. Combined with the long periods of jolting on horseback, it placed a substantial burden on someone with a leg injury.
That was why Yuan An had been gripped by continuous worry, deeply terrified that during the process, Qin Sixing might fall from horseback because of his leg injury.
Qin Sixing tightened his arms around Yuan An. Burying his face against the top of Yuan An’an’s head, he took a deep breath and comforted, “Rest assured, rest assured, nothing will happen to me.”
Yuan An nodded, pulling back from his embrace.
Looking at Qin Sixing’s slightly messy hair, Yuan An recalled his magnificent appearance on horseback just now, even though he hadn’t been able to see his face clearly.
Even so, he could still feel his high-spirited pride and unbridled confidence through his movements. Once again, he felt his own heart rate quickening beyond control.
He couldn’t help but think in his heart that perhaps this gentle and steady person before him had been just like any ordinary young man in the past—sunny, handsome, and full of vibrant energy.
Qin Sixing looked at Yuan An, who was staring fixedly at him, and let out a soft smile, reaching up to gently ruffle his hair.
He could see that inside Yuan An’an’s eyes, there was only him alone.
The atmosphere between the two was perfect, but right at that moment, Song Chucheng spoke up to interrupt, “Um, Yuan An, are you going to take a look at your brother?”
Yuan An snapped out of his thoughts, looking a short distance away at Lu Shengheng, who was lying on a stretcher while the medical staff applied a simple bandage to his leg.
“No need.” It was his characteristic, familiar, flat response.
Lying on the stretcher, Lu Shengheng kept his eyes tightly shut due to the intense pain in his leg, though he hadn’t lost consciousness.
He had clearly heard the cry of “Brother Qin” when Yuan An ran over just now, as well as this final phrase, “No need”.
This suddenly brought back a memory from his high school days, when he had first learned how to ride a horse.
They had been in the courtyard of the Lu family villa back then. He had been thrown violently from horseback, terrifying everyone present. Yuan An, who wasn’t even as tall as the horse’s back at the time, was the very first to rush forward, asking with a tearful voice:
“Older Brother! Older Brother, does it hurt?”
Only at that time, he had used a tone filled with disgust and rejection to snap: “Get lost! I don’t need your concern!”
As always.
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