Chapter 822: Love Starting from a Breakup 11

Qiao Xu's eyes, which had been still just a moment ago, suddenly gained a sparkle.

But the next second, she saw Shen Ling quickly walking toward Jin Chen.

His steps forward froze in place, he clenched the cup in his hand, and his lips pressed into a straight line.

"Jin Chen, long time no see."

Shen Ling was dressed like a flower butterfly today, and upon seeing Jin Chen, she immediately went over to greet him.

Out of politeness, Jin Chen nodded and clinked cups with him.

As he tilted his head back to drink, his gaze met those beautiful eyes.

Yet at that moment, they held a hint of grievance.

The two locked eyes for a few seconds.

Afterwards, Jin Chen was the first to look away, walking inside side by side with Huo Chen.

Brushing past Qiao Xu.

Walking to the stage surrounded by blooming flowers, the symphony's sound stopped instantly.

Everyone turned to look, gazing at Huo Chen, whom they hadn't seen in a long time or were seeing for the first time.

"Long time no see, everyone."

Huo Chen smiled at the crowd below, his tone polite but not overly familiar.

"After being abroad for a few years, there seem to be many new faces; it looks like everyone has changed quite a bit over these years."

"Today, the front courtyard of the manor and the entire back mountain of the garden are open to everyone; there will be a banquet tonight, I hope you all have fun, and welcome to come find me to catch up."

After chatting a few more words with several familiar faces, Huo Chen dropped the formalities, handed the microphone to the waiter, signaled the symphony to continue, and walked over to Jin Chen's side.

At this moment, his smile appeared much more genuine, even tinged with teasing.

"I'm saying, you really don't know how obvious that gaze just was, do you?"

"You're practically begging the young master to know that you still have lingering feelings for him, right?"

Jin Chen glanced at him and said, "You talk a lot."

"Hey you heartless one, this banquet event was specially arranged for your plan—are you burning the bridge after crossing the river?"

"Alright, don't look so glum—go play polo." Huo Chen shook his head.

"Mm."

The two had just turned around when Shen Ling, noticing the movement, came over; upon learning they were going to play polo, she immediately said she wanted to join.

Huo Chen has always been the type who enjoys a lively scene and doesn't mind things getting big.

Seeing this, Eyeball turned, held a sly smile, and walked slowly toward Qiao Xu.

"Long time no see, Qiao Xu; we're planning to play polo—do you want to join?"

He especially emphasized the two words "we".

Qiao Xu followed his gaze, feeling a bit awkward, but still agreed.

"Sure."

He forced a smile.

With that agreement, Gu He and Qi Zhan, who had been paying close attention to him, couldn't help but follow along.

Seeing this, Huo Chen simply called out a few more familiar faces.

Since there's a good show to watch, why not call more people! Form a little troupe, so some people can start acting.

Zhuang Yuan's back mountain polo field.

Qiao Xu received the protective gear and helmet from the polo field attendant.

He put them on skillfully, yet seemed somewhat absent-minded.

His gaze continually drifted toward Jin Chen not far away, and the lively Shen Ling beside him.

Inside, he felt a gloom and sorrow he couldn't even understand himself.

If he had known earlier, he wouldn't have come.

Qiao Xu thought, he was needlessly giving himself aggravation.

Lost in his own thoughts, he didn't notice the small movements of Gu He behind him.

On the other side, Shen Ling's nonstop chatter annoyed Jin Chen a bit, so he mounted up and began a solo polo hit contest with Huo Chen.

His posture was agile, his swing fast and accurate.

Even after being rejected again, Shen Ling wasn't annoyed.

Consoling himself that everything is hard at the start, he turned to look for Qiao Xu, who had already mounted, and walked over.

"Qiao Xu!"

Shen Ling waved and greeted him, his tone rather provocative.

"Let's also compete in polo; whoever loses gives up the competition—how about that?"

"Competition?"

Qiao Xu raised his brows in doubt, "Compete over what?"

"Obviously Jin Chen—what else could it be?"

Competing with others over Jin Chen.

However Qiao Xu thought about it, it seemed strange.

He let out a hum.

"I'm not interested in competing with you—move aside."

Qiao Xu clamped his legs around the horse, pulled the reins, and left.

"Hey? What do you mean!"

Shen Ling was furious behind.

What does 'not caring about competition' mean? Do you still think Jin Chen belongs to him?

An inexplicable competitive urge surged up.

Shen Ling made a funny face at the horse's rear.

Then I'll just take the person over! I'll make you furious!

Seeing Qiao Xu not agreeing to compete with Shen Ling, Gu He breathed a sigh of relief and signaled to Qi Zhan.

Just as he was about to speak, he saw Qi Zhan already galloping up to catch up with Qiao Xu.

He seemed somewhat impatient.

Gu He clenched his fists, forcing himself to ignore the subtle feeling.

Qi Zhan was surely just doing it for their plan.

He had personally said before that he disliked Qiao Xu being too pretentious, which didn't match his aesthetic at all.

The show began.

Several young nobles began placing bets.

"What do you think Qi Zhan is following Qiao Xu for?"

"I remember Qiao Xu's horsemanship was also learned from childhood; he shouldn't fall off just from one lap. Could it be that Qi Zhan faked a fall to stage a beauty-saving-the-hero scene?"

"No way, with Young Master Qiao's temperament—he didn't even give face when serving wine earlier—I bet even if Qi Zhan fell right in front of him, Qiao Xu wouldn't blink."

They'll later go check Jin Chen's horse race and shout 'good'.

Soon they'll also want to see what scheme Qi Zhan is up to.

A pair of eyes were busily delighted.

Just then.

Qiao Xu's horse suddenly seemed startled, neighed and lifted its forelegs, the whole horse rearing up.

"Qiao Xu!!"

Those preparing to watch the show never expected it to turn out like this.

This clearly shows the horse was provoked, it was deliberate!

After a gasp, the entire racecourse's gaze gathered on Qiao Xu.

He barely held the reins, shocked, his body jerking with the horse's leap, as if he would fall any second.

Extremely dangerous.

The horse trainers rushed over there.

The opportunity finally came.

Qi Zhan's eyes lit up, he flicked the reins, and made his horse speed up toward Qiao Xu.

But the next second his vision blurred.

An extremely fast black horse overtook him, and in an instant got ahead of the startled horse.

Jin Chen never expected Qi Zhan to act in front of everyone.

He had no time to think, rushing toward Qiao Xu at top speed.

But the distance was too great; he couldn't stop the white horse in time, Qiao Xu had already been thrown off, unable to hold the reins and about to fall.

Everyone stared intently at the scene.

Qiao Xu was thrown from the white horse, his body uncontrollably falling, his eyes instinctively shut.

But he didn't feel the pain of landing.

He was caught by Jin Chen, who leaned sideways and with one arm wrapped around his waist, lifting him to sit in front.

Jin Chen quickly grabbed the reins, buffering the black horse's extreme speed.

His left hand still tightly held the frightened young master in his arms, bringing ultimate safety.

Everyone let out a huge sigh of relief.

Those horse trainers' legs went weak.

If anything happened to the Qiao family's young master, these horse keepers would be the first to blame!