The Butterfly Effect
The mare is in heat, without any warning.
The estrus cycle of a mare usually weakens between July and August. Excluding physiological factors, there is only one possibility: someone has drugged the mare.
Liu Xirou gradually calmed down and wiped her face with a tissue. "Thank you, Ayan. You found the culprit when I was poisoned last time, and you helped me this time too."
Her lips were bloodless, and Wen Yan felt a pang in her heart. "No need to thank me, we're friends."
“Yes, we are friends.” A smile appeared on Liu Xirou’s weak face.
They went to the stables to tell the staff that the horse was in heat. The man looked terrified, but after seeing that none of them were injured, he calmed down a bit, apologized, and quickly led the horse back and tied it up.
Wen Yan looked around and asked, "Are there any security cameras here?"
"The security camera here was smashed yesterday by a young master with a slingshot, and it's still not fixed." The man's fingers trembled slightly. With the camera broken, the stables would need someone to watch over them 24 hours a day. It was his turn for this shift, but he had an upset stomach and couldn't find anyone to relieve him, so he secretly left.
Wen Yan asked, "Young Master? Whose young master is he?"
Man: "It's from the Ji family."
If something really happens, he will definitely be the first to be held accountable. The people who come here are all rich and powerful, and he could lose his job with the slightest movement of his finger, or even more.
The man was almost in tears and confessed to them. Wen Yan knew immediately that he was just cannon fodder and told him not to worry, that they wouldn't make things difficult for him. Only then did the man calm down.
"Aren't there any security cameras outside?"
"No, the external surveillance camera was old and leaked electricity a few days ago after being rained on, so we removed it. We haven't had time to install the new one yet."
This person is really meticulous; they couldn't find a single clue even if they tried to follow the trail.
Ma was normal in the morning, but went into heat in the afternoon. That person must have drugged them during their lunch break, and even sabotaged the surveillance a day in advance to drug the staff, leaving no trace.
Another boss has appeared.
"Ayan, do you suspect someone drugged the horse?" Liu Xirou's eyes showed an unprecedented seriousness.
Wen Yan: "Yes. The horse was fine in the morning, but suddenly went into heat in the afternoon. Someone must have tampered with it."
"I was the only one riding that horse, so it must be coming for me." Liu Xirou tried her best to think about who she had offended, but she had no clue. Although she was disliked by some rich kids, they would not do anything to harm her.
Looking into her worried and helpless eyes, Wen Yan suddenly recalled the days when her adoptive parents passed away one after another—at that time, she, like Liu Xirou now, was forced to accept the vicissitudes of fate and suddenly fell from her originally happy life.
In the novel, Liu Xirou, as the female protagonist, possesses everything that others envy: a happy family, a loyal lover, and impeccable abilities and appearance. Even with such a perfect life, Liu Xirou must still navigate the uncertainties of fate according to a predetermined plot.
Wen Yan held her shoulders, her gaze firm, "Don't worry, I will protect you."
System: "OOC, deduct 5 points."
Liu Xirou's eyes reddened, and she was about to say something when Wen Yan's expression changed and she let go of her hand. "I misspoke. I meant that Achen will protect you."
Wen Yan's heart was bleeding. Damn system! You lose 5 points for every wrong word you say, and you only get 10 points for completing a task.
Just as they left the stables, they bumped into Long Chen and Su Jibai. Liu Xirou was downcast, her eyes red and swollen, while Wen Yan seemed perfectly normal. Long Chen lowered his head, "What's wrong, Xirou? Did Wen Yan bully you again?"
Wen Yan looked speechless, shrugged, and walked to Su Jibai's side.
Su Jibai frowned. "He's not that kind of person."
"Don't say that, it was Ayan who saved me." Liu Xirou looked at the horse farm, still shaken. "That horse had just gone into heat and lost control. If Ayan hadn't taught me how to calm it down, I would have fallen off."
“Ma was fine this morning, how could this be…” Long Chen frowned, looked at Liu Xirou, “Is she injured?”
"No." Liu Xirou shook her head and told them what had happened and Wen Yan's guess.
After thinking for a moment, Long Chen called his family's bodyguard company and asked them to investigate the matter. He also instructed several bodyguards to secretly protect Liu Xirou. However, Long Chen did not tell her about this, fearing that she would feel burdened and uncomfortable.
"What were you doing just now?" Wenyan asked. It was too much of a coincidence; they weren't there when Liu Xirou had her accident. That person deliberately lured Long Chen and Su Jibai away.
“A distant relative just returned from abroad and happened to come to the club. My dad asked me to go and say hello,” Su Jibai said.
Wen Yan asked in confusion, "Then why did you go along too, A-Chen?"
Su Jibai looked puzzled. "My grandfather's sister is A-Chen's grandmother. The person we went to see was A-Chen's grandmother's grandson, who is also my and A-Chen's cousin, Ji Weixuan. Wenyan, have you forgotten?"
Long Chen snorted coldly, "Idiot."
"Ah Chen, don't talk nonsense." Liu Xirou punched him, and Long Chen fell to the side from the blow.
His surname is Ji? Could it be related to the young master who broke the security camera?
Just as Wen Yan was about to ask more questions, the system suddenly popped up: "Aroused suspicion from the character, deduct 5 points."
Wenyan: !!!
Logically speaking, the Long, Su, and Wen families have business dealings and frequent interactions, almost like one big family. It is indeed abnormal that Wen Yan is unaware of their kinship.
Wen Yan roared in her mind, "Why are you deducting points from me? First, this isn't the original owner's personality setting, so it's not out of character. Second, there are countless relatives, and I don't have their family tree, so how would I know if they have any common relatives?"
The system paused for a moment, then crackled with mechanical electrical activity. "After evaluation, the host's appeal was successful, and the deduction has been cancelled."
yeah!
Wen Yan's expression shifted between anger and joy. Su Jibai asked, "Are you alright?"
When he came to his senses, Su Jibai's face was only ten centimeters away from him. He jumped back and said, "I'm fine!"
After this incident, the club owner personally came to apologize to them, waived today's fees, and gave Liu Xirou a three-year riding pass. The owner then called over the people on duty today to inquire, but they found nothing.
They couldn't find any clues even if they stayed at the club, so they left. Long Chen took Liu Xirou home, while Wen Yan had a driver this time and didn't need Su Jibai to take her.
He didn't want to be alone with Su Jibai anymore; Su Jibai was truly unfathomable to him.
System: "Task successful. Deducting the points deducted for today's host's OOC behavior, add 5 points. The host's points are now 25."
Wenyan: Haha, after all that hard work, he only got this few points. If he gets more of these kinds of tasks, he'll probably shorten his lifespan.
Wenyan asked, "System, how did this part of the plot go in the original novel? The original owner shouldn't have intervened to save the female lead, right? If that's the case, why wasn't I marked as out of character (OOC)?"
System: "Since the host is an outsider, the plot will change depending on the host's actions. In the original story, Wen Yan sneaked into the horse farm by relying on his family's power. After the male protagonist learned of this, he immediately rushed back to the horse farm and happened to save the female protagonist."
It turns out to be the butterfly effect.
Wen Yan's previous actions made Long Chen lower his guard, and since Wen Yan and Liu Xirou were not alone in the room at the time, Long Chen felt at ease and left, thus the plot of rescuing the female lead fell to him.
System: "As long as the protagonist's survival is involved, the host can eliminate all factors to rescue the protagonist. If the protagonist dies, the entire world will disappear, and the main quest will cease to exist."
Wen Yan understood that her primary task was to protect the protagonist's life, and only secondarily to complete the tasks assigned by the system.
With three kilometers to go, Wenyan told the driver to go back first, and prepared to run back himself. He tightened his shoelaces, took a breath, and hurried back.
...
When he arrived home, he was drenched in sweat, breathless, and the taste of blood in his throat returned. He used all his strength to open the door and collapsed onto the soft carpet.
The butler was supervising the gardener pruning the flowers and plants in the back garden when he heard a strange noise coming from inside the house, so he quickly went back inside.
Upon seeing Wen Yan collapse on the carpet, he was greatly alarmed and rushed over to check on him, "Young Master! What happened to you, Young Master!"
Wen Yan, panting, said, "It's nothing, I'm just tired."
The butler's face twitched. "You scared me to death."
The housekeeper moved him to the sofa, poured him a glass of warm water, and brought him a damp towel to wipe his sweat.
"Young Master, didn't you go horseback riding? Why are you so tired?" In the past, when Wen Yan went horseback riding, he always came back refreshed, but this time it seems like he ran a marathon.
Wen Yan recovered and said, "I just went to exercise."
He never expected his body to be so weak; running 3,000 meters felt like he was about to ascend to heaven. When Wen Yan was in high school, he was as strong as an ox, and winning first place in the 5,000-meter race at the sports meet was a piece of cake. This time, he truly understood what those athletic failures felt like.
If he's so badly injured while running, how can he possibly protect the protagonist? The protagonist might not even get to see him before the villain kicks him to death.
Wenyan opened her phone and found a boxing organization near her home to sign up for.
"Oh, exercise is good for your health." The housekeeper had long thought that Wen Yan was too thin, didn't like to exercise, had a poor constitution, and always got sick when the seasons changed.
Under the glaring light of the incandescent bulb, the young boxer, his hands wrapped in bandages, struck the swaying sandbag with all his might. The heavy sandbag made a dull thud, its surface covered with mottled marks.
Wen Yan looked around but couldn't find anyone else. He stepped forward and asked, "Are you Coach Zhong Qihui?"
The man stopped, turned around, and was handsome with sharp eyes. His short-sleeved shirt was almost soaked with sweat, revealing his well-defined muscles that rose and fell with his breath.
He paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Yes."
Does he look so young? Is it because he's naturally beautiful or because he works out a lot? Wen Yan glanced at the information displayed on her phone: thirty-two years old. Looking at the fair, handsome face in front of her, without a single wrinkle, she was filled with doubt.
"Wait a moment, I'll go change my clothes." Zhong Qihui gave an apologetic smile.
"It's alright." Wen Yan looked around. The environment was quite nice, but there were far too few students.
A pair of red boxing gloves were tossed into his arms. Wen Yan quickly hugged them. Zhong Qihui had already changed his clothes and wiped away his sweat. "Put them on and let me see how you do it."
Wen Yan put on the boxing gloves and said timidly, "I have no experience, Coach Zhong, please don't laugh at me."
Zhong Qihui laughed even harder, "No way."
Wenyan: ...You'd be even more convincing if you didn't smile.
Climbing onto the boxing ring, Wen Yan recalled Zhong Qihui's boxing stance and tried to imitate it, punching the sandbag a few times. The sandbag left a few shallow dents, but not the dull sound he had expected.
Zhong Qihui chuckled at the haphazard boxing and came over to adjust his posture.
Question: Haha, I knew I couldn't trust him.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
