Participants

So Ke Yueyi tried a different question. "Did you know we were coming?"

Jimo answered honestly, "I heard your voices while I was inside."

In fact, he had known even earlier. Jimo deeply regretted it. If he had known Ke Yueyi and the others had their own private grounds, he should have stayed at the outdoor riding ground with Jiang Wangshu. Then they wouldn't have run into them.

"Don't do that again. It's dangerous."

Jimo thought Ke Yueyi was warning him that there wouldn't be a next time, so he hurriedly nodded. "Okay, ge."

Afraid Ke Yueyi would linger on the subject, Jimo asked, "Are Young Master He and the others coming over to play later too?"

As soon as he finished speaking, He Zhenglin's high-pitched shout came from the distance. He sounded excited.

"Yi, come over here!"

Jimo paused. "Ge, should we go over?"

Ke Yueyi didn't even turn his head. "No need," he said coolly.

A while later, a staff member rode up to them and said deferentially, "Young Master Ke, Young Master He asked you to come play a game."

Ke Yueyi frowned. Knowing how crazy He Zhenglin could get, he must have found something thrilling to play again.

Jimo had been worried about Jiang Wangshu for a while now, so he ventured, "Ge, why don't we go back and take a look? I can't learn to ride this horse anyway."

Ke Yueyi looked at him for a moment. "All right."

When the two returned to the rest station, they found one more person at the racecourse.

He Zhenglin sat sprawled on the sofa with his arms spread wide, while Huang Zhenghao stood beside him.

When they appeared, He Zhenglin waved at them. "Yi, come over here!"

Jimo's arms tensed. Why was Huang Zhenghao here?

He glanced around again, but Jiang Wangshu was nowhere in sight.

Jimo's heart sank.

At the rest station, a staff member came to meet them. Ke Yueyi dismounted deftly, pulled off his leather gloves, and casually placed them in the staff member's hands.

He took a few steps, then suddenly remembered something. Turning around, he saw Jimo still sitting blankly on the horse.

Ke Yueyi raised an eyebrow. "You don't know how to get down?"

Jimo came to his senses. "I do. I'll do it myself."

How would he dare ask Ke Yueyi to help him?

The staff member was perceptive enough to notice Jimo's inexperience and guided him down slowly.

By the time Jimo dismounted, Ke Yueyi was already sitting on the sofa, talking to He Zhenglin.

Jimo felt a hostile gaze fixed on him from the left and looked over.

It came from Huang Zhenghao.

Huang Zhenghao seemed just as surprised to see Jimo here as Jimo was to see him. Jimo noticed that his gaze was far from friendly.

The last time they had met was at the opening ceremony, and Huang Zhenghao didn't know what he had done behind the scenes.

Surely I didn't give anything away?

Jimo couldn't be bothered to dwell on it. He looked back and nodded to Huang Zhenghao in greeting, then didn't bother checking his reaction.

He then walked toward the sofa and planted himself right in front of the two men as they talked. His conspicuous behavior did indeed make them stop.

Both men raised their eyes to look at Jimo.

Jimo greeted him with a smile. "Young Master He, have you seen Jiang Wangshu?"

"Him?" He Zhenglin smiled, taking no offense at Jimo's rudeness. "Your friend will be here soon."

Before Jimo could speak, He Zhenglin turned to Huang Zhenghao and said, "You can go get ready first."

Huang Zhenghao gave Jimo a contemptuous look and left.

Seeing his reaction, Jimo felt even more uncertain.

Something must have happened to Jiang Wangshu.

He was about to follow Huang Zhenghao when someone grabbed his arm.

The person who grabbed him was actually He Zhenglin.

Ke Yueyi looked over.

He Zhenglin noticed his friend's gaze and narrowed his eyes slightly, deliberately keeping his grip. "Don't rush. He'll be here in a moment."

He Zhenglin studied him with interest, as though trying to find some redeeming feature in his currently unremarkable looks.

And what a look it was. He Zhenglin's gaze shifted slightly.

Few people received such special treatment from Yi, so He Zhenglin naturally thought of the photograph, even though he had only glimpsed it briefly that day.

But if he ignored the stiff-looking accessories, the overall shape and contours of the face were simply those of the same person.

At this point, He Zhenglin was almost certain this was the person on Yi's phone.

There were only a few of them in the pavilion, and He Zhenglin showed no intention of letting him go. However Jimo looked at it, that smiling gaze was unsettling.

So Jimo turned to look at Ke Yueyi.

As soon as he turned, he met Ke Yueyi's gaze, as though Ke Yueyi had been waiting for him to look over.

Ke Yueyi paused. "Come here."

Just as I thought...

Having gotten the reaction he wanted, He Zhenglin curved his lips upward. "Yi? There's no need to be so nervous, is there? It's not like I'm going to eat him."

Jimo rolled his eyes inwardly. Which of He Zhenglin's eyes saw Ke Yueyi being nervous?

Ke Yueyi gave him a warning look.

"All right, all right." He Zhenglin released his grip. "Is it enough if I let him go?"

Jimo breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to go over to Ke Yueyi, he caught sight of He Zhenglin springing to his feet and raising an arm to take off his glasses.

Before Jimo even had time to think, his body moved. He reacted swiftly, holding onto the arm and dodging away the instant He Zhenglin touched him.

He Zhenglin gave an unconcerned "Oh?" "You look skinny and weak. I didn't expect you to be so agile."

Pale-faced, Jimo hurried over to Ke Yueyi.

Ke Yueyi noticed how pale he was and thought Jimo had been frightened. He said to He Zhenglin, "Enough. Sit down."

Only then did Jimo breathe a quiet sigh of relief. He stood beside the sofa, silently playing the part of a background prop.

No one knew that he had nearly grabbed He Zhenglin and thrown him over his shoulder.

Dodging, blocking, and counterattacking.

Long training had made them instinctive to Jimo. Even in a different body, the will he had trained was hard to change.

Fortunately, he had managed to force down his instincts and hold back at the last moment.

Otherwise, if he had actually thrown He Zhenglin, the man's personality was such that he would have smiled while biting him to death, refusing to let go.

Jimo probably wouldn't even have been able to stay in Yisite. He didn't think his current relationship with Ke Yueyi alone would let the man help him much.

But...

Jimo looked at his hands. Whether his current body could even handle He Zhenglin was another question.

For the second time that day, Jimo swore to get himself into shape.

Before he could think further, a commotion came from the entrance.

Led by Huang Zhenghao, dozens of people in riding outfits filed in like well-trained soldiers and stood neatly in a row on the riding ground.

Jimo glanced over them. Several faces were familiar; they were all student council members. But where was Jiang Wangshu?

At some point, more staff members had appeared. They carried props in and out, decorating the outdoor lawn.

The sky gradually darkened, and the scene before him grew hazy.

Jimo frowned. He didn't think this was a suitable time to hold a horse race here.

Jimo glanced uneasily at the sofa. Ke Yueyi wore his usual cool expression, with no change of emotion visible on his face.

He shifted his gaze to He Zhenglin, who suddenly jumped barefoot onto the sofa and picked up a microphone from a tray.

"Ta-da! A warm welcome to everyone at Defen Racecourse! An exciting race will be held here tonight." He Zhenglin's voice was full of excitement.

"Now, let me introduce the participants. On the left is the red team, made up of ten student council members."

As He Zhenglin introduced them, the lights on the left snapped on, and the dozens of red team members smiled and greeted the audience.

He Zhenglin paused, his voice full of anticipation. "And their opponent... is our dear special-class student, Jiang Wangshu! He'll be competing for the blue team. Let's welcome him!"

As the lights on the right came on, Jimo's heart skipped a beat, and he looked over.