Chapter 14: Why Did You Save Me?
Squinting his eyes, Li Qi glanced at Chen Jiamu. The boy on the horse was like the sun, his black helmet unable to hide his happiness and excitement, like a child who had just received candy.
His smile was full of hope and longing.
So nice…
Looking away, Li Qi calmed himself, focusing intently on the little mare in front of him. Lifting his foot, then his leg, using his hands, the mounting action was smooth and fluid.
Perhaps his earlier threat had worked; the mare didn’t struggle.
Adjusting his posture, Li Qi let out a long sigh of relief. Once he was steady, the instructor led his horse slowly forward.
“Wow, Li Qi, you’re amazing!”
“You’re so steady for your first time riding, that’s incredible!”
“I took a lot of falls my first time riding.”
“This leg, my right leg, even broke. I was in bed for three months.”
Walking side-by-side, Chen Jiamu launched into his talkative mode. His compliments were ineffective against Li Qi, but Chen Jiamu wasn’t discouraged, continuing to tell him embarrassing stories from his childhood.
The wind gently brushed his face, Chen Jiamu’s chatter filling his ears. The sun above was still scorching; his forehead was drenched in sweat, and the air he breathed was thick with heat.
Yet Li Qi felt an unprecedented peace at that moment, his heart unusually relaxed.
Someone was actually sharing with him, even if it was trivial things.
The feeling was strange, full of uncertainty…
Chen Jiamu had been talking for a long time without getting a response from Li Qi. He instinctively turned his head, only to find Li Qi staring blankly at him. For a moment, he felt a chill run down his spine.
Noticing Chen Jiamu’s gaze, Li Qi slowly rolled his eyes, giving him a slow, languid eye-roll, “Boring.”
Chen Jiamu didn’t mind his reaction, taking it as a grumble.
Noticing sweat on his forehead, he looked up at the sky and said, “Let’s rest under the tree.”
“Get out of the sun.”
No one objected. Under the tree, Chen Jiamu dismounted first, then ran to Li Qi and offered him his hand.
Li Qi’s eyes darkened slightly. The moment their palms touched, Chen Jiamu felt his palm become warmer.
Before, it had been icy cold…
Buzz buzz buzz…
Just as Li Qi was about to dismount, Chen Jiamu’s phone rang from his pocket. Thinking it was Chen Cheng, he answered without looking.
“Why aren’t you here yet?”
“Mr. Chen, I’m Zhao Hu…”
Hearing Zhao Hu’s voice, Chen Jiamu immediately changed his tone, becoming impatient, “Why are you calling me!”
“It’s like this, some people in the class are having a dinner, and I’m asking if you want to go.”
“Talk later, I’m busy now.”
Hearing it was a boring gathering, Chen Jiamu frowned, annoyed enough to hang up immediately.
“Ah, okay.”
Zhao Hu didn’t dare say more and carefully shut up. Chen Jiamu was annoyed by such an unappealing gathering, and hung up, about to put his phone back in his pocket.
But his hand accidentally brushed against the mare’s eye. The mare instantly went wild, struggling violently, its front hooves kicking wildly.
Li Qi didn’t manage to hold on, and fell straight from the horse’s back.
“Li Qi!”
No one expected this. Seeing Li Qi lose his balance, Chen Jiamu forgot about his phone and reached out to catch him.
The instructor next to him was too worried to let go of the reins, but the horse was terrifying when it went wild. Chen Jiamu just managed to grab Li Qi’s arm, but due to inertia, both of them fell to the ground.
Seeing the mare’s hoof about to land on Li Qi’s leg, Chen Jiamu’s eyes widened. Gritting his teeth, he threw himself on top of Li Qi.
The mare’s hoof landed heavily on Chen Jiamu’s lower leg. There was a crisp sound, and excruciating pain shot through his leg…
“Ugh…”
The pain of the fracture made Chen Jiamu sweat profusely, but considering Li Qi, he forcibly endured the yell…
Li Qi was stunned by his actions. He stared blankly at the top of Chen Jiamu’s head, his mind blank.
So… Chen Jiamu saved him?
Chen Jiamu buried his face in Li Qi’s shoulder, sweat constantly dripping from his forehead…
“Chen Jiamu…”
Li Qi’s voice trembled, and he put his hand on Chen Jiamu’s shoulder. He stared blankly as the stable staff carefully moved him away.
Li Qi’s glasses had been knocked off; with trembling eyes, he turned to look at Chen Jiamu.
Both of them were covered in mud and looked rather disheveled. The first thing Chen Jiamu did after being moved was to check on Li Qi.
Seeing that he only had some scratches on his face and nothing else was wrong, his heart finally settled.
“Damn it, it’s good you’re okay.”
Despite being pale with pain, Chen Jiamu managed to force a smile at Li Qi.
Without his glasses, Li Qi was like a sword sheathed, his cold exterior no longer sharp.
“Why did you save me?”
“Wouldn’t it have been better if it had trampled on me?”
Li Qi’s eyes were dull. The two sentences squeezed from his throat left Chen Jiamu confused.
Shouldn’t someone being saved feel grateful?
Why would he say that?
“Why would you think that?”
“Saving you was my choice. I accidentally touched its eye, so it got scared, causing you to fall. It’s my fault.”
“Besides, I brought you out, and if you got hurt, I wouldn’t have enough skin to be flayed.”
That wasn’t false. Chen Jiamu’s first reaction was indeed that.
He could at most be scolded by Chen Cheng for his injury, but if it was Li Qi, it would be hard to explain to his parents.
Part of the reason was an instinctive feeling of pity for Li Qi. At such a young age, he had suffered so much and developed autism.
That’s why he had acted without hesitation to save him…
If it had been someone else, he wouldn’t have bothered.
After Chen Jiamu finished speaking, Li Qi clenched his fists, biting his lip and searching for his glasses.
But upon seeing the broken pieces of his glasses, he gave up on putting them back on.
After moving Chen Jiamu, the stable staff called for an ambulance. The mare was also led away.
The accompanying instructor stood beside them, pale. He hadn’t expected Chen Jiamu to get hurt…
He thought it would be fine if it had stepped on someone else; they could just pay some compensation, but it was Chen Jiamu…
How was he going to explain this to the Chen family…?
The ambulance arrived quickly, and Chen Jiamu was carefully lifted onto the stretcher. Li Qi, having fallen heavily, felt pain throughout his body with the slightest movement.
Yet he insisted on getting up himself, slowly getting onto the stretcher, refusing to let the paramedics touch him.
The arriving doctors and nurses, upon seeing Li Qi, felt their heads grow large. Had this ancestor decided to torture himself out in public…?