Chapter 13: Learning to Ride
Chen Cheng felt embarrassed, so she quickly finished the shopping. She chose the clothes, paid, and had them delivered home.
“I’m done, do you want me to buy you a few outfits?”
Exiting the store, Chen Cheng kindly asked Chen Jiamu, but he clearly wasn’t interested in buying clothes. He immediately shook his head and waved his hands, “No.”
“Buying clothes for me is less appealing than buying me a horse. I want…”
“I’ll take you to a riding stable another day, stop it.”
Chen Cheng was really fed up with him. Considering that there were others present, her tone was somewhat helpless.
“Not another day, today!”
Hearing about horses, Chen Jiamu immediately became excited. Catching sight of Li Qi, he quickly changed his words, “Let’s take Li Qi with us!”
“He probably hasn’t ridden a horse!”
Li Qi, who had been watching the fun, didn’t expect Chen Jiamu to drag him into this. His eyes widened, and he raised his hand to refuse.
But Song Jin pressed down on his hand, looking at him earnestly, “It’s good to go out for some air with Jiamu. Don’t stay cooped up at home all the time.”
“He’s around your age, make some friends.”
The words of refusal stuck in his throat, Li Qi’s face pale. But not wanting to disappoint Song Jin, he quietly shut his mouth.
Since Song Jin said so, Chen Cheng also felt that if Li Qi hung out with Chen Jiamu, it might straighten the brat out.
And it would save her from getting angry every day.
“Then today, let’s go, I’ll take you to the riding stable!”
“Aunt Song, you should come too. They can ride horses, and we can have tea.”
“No, Xiao Qi can go with you. I’m a little tired and want to go back and rest.”
Song Jin felt that if she went with Li Qi, he might be too restrained, so she let him go out with Chen Jiamu.
After all, in Li Qi’s heart, she might still be a bad person…
Chen Cheng turned to Chen Jiamu, “You two go first, I’ll be there later.”
She took a postcard out of her bag, “Go to the address on this. I’ll be there later.”
“I’ll contact them for you beforehand, just go directly.”
Chen Cheng was very thoughtful, and Chen Jiamu nodded repeatedly. Without further ado, he grabbed Li Qi’s hand and rushed out of the mall.
Out of the mall, Li Qi forcefully pulled his wrist away, his lips pursed, his expression calm as he looked at Chen Jiamu. Chen Jiamu didn’t notice these details.
His mind was full of going to the riding stable, and he directly told the driver to take them to the place Chen Cheng mentioned.
In the car, Chen Jiamu started to tell Li Qi about his past.
“I went to a riding stable when I was a kid, but after I got kicked by a horse, my family wouldn’t let me go anymore.”
“I really want to see what a horse’s hoof looks like today.”
“So, your brain got damaged then?” Li Qi leaned against the car window, tilting his head to stare at him.
…
Chen Jiamu was speechless. Are people with autism this sharp-tongued?
“You go get kicked and you’ll find out.” Chen Jiamu took a deep breath, not wanting to argue with him about this.
Li Qi didn’t speak, but turned his head, gazing out the window at the scenery in a daze.
“By the way, can you ride a horse?”
Chen Jiamu took out his phone and discussed with Chen Cheng what kind of horse to get for Li Qi, and then remembered that he didn’t know if he could ride.
Speaking of riding, Li Qi’s eyes suddenly dimmed, and his fingertips nervously gripped the car window.
He had never ridden a horse; he had been ridden like a horse…
Zhang Yongmei’s boyfriend had forced him, and they all enjoyed bullying him…
After a long while, Li Qi said in a hoarse voice, “No.”
Unable to see his expression, and with the window open and the wind strong, Chen Jiamu didn’t notice his emotional distress.
“You can’t ride? No problem, I’ll call an instructor for you.”
“Riding is easy to learn, just fall a few times.”
Chen Jiamu acted experienced, patting Li Qi on the shoulder, as if he were a veteran.
Li Qi composed himself, glancing at him from the corner of his eye, a slight sneer on his lips.
Along the way, Li Qi spoke very little. No matter what Chen Jiamu said, his response was indifferent.
Chen Jiamu only stopped talking when they reached the riding stable, and Li Qi finally breathed a sigh of relief. Rubbing his tired eyes, before he could even see anyone, Chen Jiamu jumped out of the car and ran straight into the stable.
Two people were standing at the entrance, presumably the managers of the stable. Seeing Chen Jiamu approaching, they quickly went over.
“Li Qi! Come on!”
In the sunlight, the boy in white smiled, raising his hand and waving vigorously at him, his eyes full of anticipation and excitement for the riding stable.
His voice echoed through the entrance of the riding stable. At that moment, ripples spread across Li Qi’s calm heart…
Squinting his eyes, Li Qi walked towards Chen Jiamu. He stopped a few steps away, and their shadows overlapped…
“My sister said we should choose horses!”
“I want a white one!”
“You?”
“Whatever.”
The stable managers led them to the lounge, where tea and snacks were already laid out on the table.
“Mr. Chen, these are the horses at our stable. Take a look and choose which one you want.”
“We’ve also made notes about the horses’ personalities here, you can take a look.”
The manager handed a tablet to Chen Jiamu. The tablet showed photos of various horses, their personalities, breeds, and details.
Chen Jiamu glanced at it, but still firmly chose a white horse. He also casually chose a brown one for Li Qi, “I’ll take the white one. Get him a docile one, he can’t ride, and get an instructor to teach him.”
Li Qi didn’t say a word about Chen Jiamu’s arrangements. From entering to choosing the horses, he remained quiet.
“Okay.”
After changing clothes, they went to the center of the riding stable, and Chen Jiamu saw his beloved white horse.
His was a white stallion, and Li Qi’s was a docile brown mare.
Because he still retained some riding skills, Chen Jiamu’s mounting process wasn’t too difficult. On the other hand, Li Qi, having never ridden a horse before, and with some fear of horses,
tried several times but couldn’t succeed. Li Qi took a deep breath, suppressing his discomfort and calmly saying, “You go ride, I’ll rest for a while.”
“Okay, I’ll go for a ride first.”
Chen Jiamu didn’t think much of it, squeezed the horse’s belly, and rode off into the distance.
Li Qi put down his gloves and, with a wooden expression, walked to the side, adjusting his emotions.
After making sure he was stable, he went back to the mare. Their eyes met, Li Qi reached out and stroked its face, his voice light, “If I can’t get on, I’ll kill you.”
The mare’s eyes widened instantly, and its four hooves began to move restlessly.
Li Qi’s expression was calm, his glasses making him look very refined, completely unmatching the ferocity of his words.
The instructor was talking to someone else while putting on gloves, and didn’t hear Li Qi’s voice.
Seeing him reach out to stroke the mare, he exclaimed, “Wow, this guy is brave! This mare is docile, but she doesn’t like people touching her face.”
“I didn’t expect her to let you touch her.”
Chen Jiamu happened to be returning from his ride, and hearing them talking, immediately added to the instructor’s words, “Maybe she likes handsome guys.”
“Li Qi, try mounting again, I’ll take you to see the scenery!”