Chapter 104: I Still Have Some Lingering Fear

Everything happened too fast, so fast that the vast majority of people lost the ability to react.

Qi Jing dropped his teacup and chased after them, but he did not expect a figure beside him to be even faster.

The man and woman riding horses not far away, upon seeing the man with a livid face and cold, stern aura approaching, climbed down from their horses in unison, trembling with fear.

Sheng Yu did not even glance at them, nimbly leaping onto a horse, pulling the reins, and without a moment's hesitation, kicked the horse's flank.

That kick was completely reckless.

The startled horse let out a neigh and galloped away like a bolt of lightning!

Seeing Sheng Yu's death-defying approach, Qi Jing had no time to wonder why Sheng Yu was even more anxious about Qi Qi than he was; his mind went blank, wanting only to chase after his daughter, and he followed by mounting a horse himself.

"Giddyup!"

The horse trainers at the Horse Racing Track and Situ mounted their horses and followed one after another.

Dong Shu, seeing Sheng Yu chasing after them regardless of the consequences, had a cold, grim expression; she pushed a horse trainer off, vaulted onto a horse, grabbed the reins, and gave chase as well.

The horses ridden by Qi Qi and Zhu Yuan had already run far away, and the group of people behind them on horseback were clearly unable to catch up due to the time difference.

Only one brown horse was moving at an increasingly rapid speed; the person on its back seemed to disregard their own safety, leaving those behind far in the dust, closing in directly on Zhu Yuan's horse!

Qi Qi's horse ran into the woods, and Zhu Yuan pulled the reins to follow closely behind.

The child's crying and the sound of galloping hooves were mixed together.

Sheng Yu's taut face was exceptionally cold and grim; he stared fixedly at the woman in the red riding outfit ahead.

Not only a dog's temper, but also dog's guts!

But many people did not know that Zhu Yuan not only knew how to ride, she rode quite well.

She had no professional training; it was all experience gained from being naughty as a child and falling off horses countless times.

It had just been a long time since she had ridden, but once she was on, her muscle memory instantly awakened, and she became more proficient the longer she rode.

Zhu Yuan quickly caught up to Qi Qi's horse; when the two horses were galloping in parallel, Zhu Yuan let go with one hand and leaned her body over, struggling to reach for the other horse's reins.

The horse was galloping wildly, and the cold wind scraped against her face like sharp arrows.

Qi Qi was already pale with fright, her small hands gripping the iron ring in front of the saddle tightly; Zhu Yuan knew she could not hold on much longer.

But her palms were sweating, and just as she touched the reins, they slipped away. She gritted her teeth fiercely and tilted her body, with almost half of her torso hanging off the horse's back.

Sheng Yu, who had caught up from behind, saw this scene, and the blood in his entire body instantly rushed back to his heart; his whole chest felt numb.

Finally grabbing the reins again, Zhu Yuan pulled hard, steadying the crazed horse, and brought her own horse to a stop as well.

She quickly vaulted off the horse and lifted the terrified Qi Qi down from the saddle.

Qi Qi was so scared that her body was beyond the control of her brain; her hands were still gripping the iron ring in front of the saddle tightly.

"Good child, let go."

It was only after hearing the gentle voice that Qi Qi gradually came back to her senses; she was pulled into Zhu Yuan's embrace and burst into tears.

A high-pitched, drawn-out neigh sounded from behind.

Sheng Yu caught up almost the moment he dismounted; after he got off, the horse knelt on the ground, panting heavily, as if the entire gallop had been sustained by a single breath.

Sheng Yu's face was cold as he gripped Zhu Yuan's wrist tightly.

And the moment Qi Qi saw him, she threw herself into his arms.

The man's warm embrace soothed Qi Qi's fear; Sheng Yu held Qi Qi with one arm and gripped Zhu Yuan tightly with the other, refusing to let go.

As their eyes met, Zhu Yuan felt the man's fingertips trembling.

Before she could realize what it meant.

The sound of hooves approaching one after another came from behind.

"Baby!" Qi Jing dismounted and rushed over, checking Qi Qi from head to toe.

Sheng Yu handed Qi Qi over to Qi Jing, then pulled Zhu Yuan onto a horse, grabbed the reins, and rode away.

Dong Shu, who had caught up not far away, watched the direction in which Sheng Yu took Zhu Yuan and was about to follow.

Suddenly, a black horse blocked her path.

"Miss Dong, please stay back." Situ was expressionless.

"I want to see if Zhu Yuan is hurt, move!"

Situ did not budge an inch. "Young Master Yu will take care of her."

Dong Shu endured her anger as she looked at him, wrapped the reins around her hand a few times, and turned to look at Qi Qi.

Qi Jing was soothing Qi Qi's emotions; Qi Qi had been terrified at first, but she was gradually calming down now.

Qi Jing looked up, wanting to thank Zhu Yuan, but Sheng Yu had already taken her and left.

Watching the direction in which Sheng Yu rode away, Qi Jing was lost in thought, and suddenly understood something.

So that was it.

No wonder some things that seemed bizarre to him had happened before, which he could never explain.

Now, it all made perfect sense.

Because he knew that before Lu Huaizhan passed away, he had entrusted Zhu Yuan to Sheng Yu; he just never thought Sheng Yu would...

Thinking of how Yuan Fengye used to call Zhu Yuan "little sister-in-law" to Sheng Yu's face, it was a miracle he was still alive.

The white horse entered the depths of the woods.

The further in they went, the quieter it became, so quiet that only the clip-clop of the horse's hooves could be heard.

A handsome man and a beautiful woman on horseback—if one ignored the man's cold, grim expression, the scene would be absolutely picturesque.

The man did not say a word, gripping the reins with one hand while the other arm held the woman's slender waist tightly.

The horse's speed slowed, walking slowly through the woods.

Zhu Yuan's back was pressed tightly against the man's chest.

It was both warm and solid.

A powerful heartbeat pressed against hers, making her begin to feel uneasy.

She had her back to Sheng Yu and could not see his expression, but he did not say a word, so he must be angry.

This was a critical period for her brother's patent application, and she could not afford to make Sheng Yu angry.

But she could not just take the initiative to show affection and kiss him in broad daylight out here, could she?

"I'm sorry."

Accompanied by the apology, the woman's soft hand covered the hand Sheng Yu was using to grip the reins.

Sheng Yu's hand paused, then he backhanded her hand away.

Zhu Yuan grabbed it again, only to be shaken off once more.

Zhu Yuan persisted and grabbed it again; fearing he would shake her off, she shamelessly interlaced her fingers with his and held on tight, "Listen to me."

Sheng Yu tugged on the reins, and the horse came to a stop.

He looked at the hand Zhu Yuan was holding, neither shaking it off nor saying a word.

Seeing this, Zhu Yuan softened her voice and said, "I'm still a little shaken."

The man suddenly clenched his back teeth.

"Trying to make me go soft again, aren't you?" Sheng Yu said with cold fury, "Aren't you very capable? You, Zhu Yuan, fear nothing in heaven or on earth, and you're telling me you're shaken? A drone just happened to pass by overhead; do you want me to play the video of your heroic performance for you to see?"

Zhu Yuan shook her head and explained, "I was scared, I was truly scared to death. But if Qiqi hadn't swapped horses with me, it likely would have been me who had the accident. It was only natural for me to save her, and besides, I didn't think that much at the time. It's just like when I drove your beat-up car at the Hot Spring Villa... no, I mean, when I drove that car of yours, and it broke down on the road, forcing me to jump into the sea. Didn't you also jump into the sea without hesitation to save me?"

"The logic is the same."

Sheng Yu's face darkened further, "The logic is the same?"