Chapter 33
The scene suddenly fell silent. Even the hoof spirit, which had been howling just moments before, stopped barking. He Yan, still quite embarrassed, shook hands with Lu Mingxiao, and after a long while, finally managed a forced smile: "Haha~ Look at the mess this has made..."
His father told him to maintain a relationship with Jiang Huaiyu, but he didn't tell him to take sides in the "battle for the crown prince." Now look what's happened; he's offended this real young master to death.
“It’s alright, what you said makes sense.” Lu Mingxiao let go of his hand, stretched out his long arm, and put it on Jiang Huaiyu’s shoulder: “Our Jiang Xiaoyu is just that outstanding.”
He Yan: "Huh?"
Jiang Huaiyu coughed and pulled Lu Mingxiao's arm down: "He Yan, I brought... my brother here to play today. We can have a proper chat another day. Let's go see 'Hoshino' first."
elder brother……
He Yan never expected that the two of them would have such a good relationship. He immediately felt that his flattery had backfired, and he was so embarrassed that his scalp tingled. But he still forced himself to say, "Well... Huaiyu, and that young master Zhen, it's my birthday this weekend. Come to my house for a celebration!"
Jiang Huaiyu didn't turn around. With her back straight, she raised her hand and waved, indicating that she had heard and would go.
Seeing that he wasn't angry, He Yan breathed a sigh of relief. But when he turned around and saw the pig's trotter spirit, he was immediately furious.
"You, you!" He put his hands on his hips and stopped Fatty Jiang from slipping away. "Go and clean the stables!"
Fatty Jiang pointed to his nose: "Me?"
"Otherwise what!" He Yan looked at the group of followers behind him: "Who can guarantee that their life will always be smooth sailing?! Watch closely! This is what happens to those who kick someone when they're down!"
...
Once outside the locker room, Lu Mingxiao finally couldn't resist moving closer to Jiang Huaiyu: "Say it again."
Jiang Huaiyu glanced at him with her narrow eyes and asked, "What's your name?"
Lu Mingxiao: "Brother!"
Jiang Huaiyu chuckled and agreed, "Good girl."
"Tsk, Jiang Xiaoyu, you're taking advantage of me. You clearly called out just now..." Lu Mingxiao persisted, reaching out to pull on Jiang Huaiyu's belt: "Call out again."
Jiang Huaiyu was pulled on the belt and stepped back twice, but found that he really couldn't move. Helplessly, he gave up: "How childish of you! We were born on the same day."
"So what? I'm two minutes older than you."
It seems this guy won't give up until he gets what he wants today...
Jiang Huaiyu simply turned around, took a step forward, pressed Lu Mingxiao's shoulder, and tiptoed closer to his ear: "You really want to be my brother that badly?"
"elder brother……"
A warm breeze brushed past his ears, and Lu Mingxiao suddenly stiffened into a towering telephone pole. However, just as the little fish was about to slip away again, he reached out and pressed on Jiang Huaiyu's lower back.
The grass is so fine.
Jiang Huaiyu froze, staring blankly at Lu Mingxiao.
The roles reversed. Lu Mingxiao lowered his head, and just as he was about to kiss Jiang Huaiyu's slightly parted lips due to surprise, he suddenly turned his head and pressed his lips to Jiang Huaiyu's ear.
“I don’t want to be your brother.” Lu Mingxiao said, “Young Master Jiang, being called ‘brother’ is a special hobby for many people. You’re still a minor, so I won’t explain it to you. Wait until you’re an adult…”
He pinched Jiang Huaiyu's waist, chuckled, released her, and walked forward first.
Jiang Huaiyu's ears were burning red. She pinched them a couple of times with her slightly cool fingertips and felt a little better. She turned her head and saw that the "effortless" young master Lu was heading straight for the infirmary with his hands and feet in disarray.
Jiang Huaiyu: "...The stables are over here."
...
Hoshino is a thoroughbred with racehorse blood. The reason the Jiang family bought it and gave it to Jiang Huaiyu was because its temperament was too stable and it lacked the sensitivity and competitiveness required for a racehorse. This was exactly what Song Jingliang saw and bought it as a gift for Jiang Huaiyu to celebrate his elementary school graduation.
"Back then, it was just a little pony, about my height. I took care of it for the whole summer vacation, spending about ten to twenty days with it every holiday..." Jiang Huaiyu said to Lu Mingxiao while brushing Xingye's fur, "You can try riding it in a bit. It has a great personality. Pet it and get to know it..."
Lu Mingxiao stared at the large, black horse with its long, strong limbs and glossy black coat. He saw a subtle hostility in the horse's large, equally dark brown eyes.
This doesn't make sense; it's the first time he's met Brother Ma.
He reached out in confusion, wanting to touch Hoshino's horse-like face, but Hoshino snorted unceremoniously, indicating that he was not welcome.
Lu Mingxiao: ...
No? This face has a good temper?
He immediately adopted a high-pitched, aggrieved tone: "Jiang Xiaoyu~ Look at it~~"
Jiang Huaiyu: ? ? ?
What's that noise?
Upon hearing Jiang Huaiyu's footsteps, Hoshino immediately lowered his head and placed his horse-like face in Lu Mingxiao's hand, even rubbing against it obediently...
Lu Mingxiao: ...
That damn scheming womanizer, does he now have to guard against not only people but also horses?!
The weather was perfect today, a bright and sunny day with only a slight chill in the air. Jiang Huaiyu rode Xingye around twice to warm it up.
The young man deftly mounted his horse with a flick of his wrist. Once seated, he gently tugged at the reins and glanced down at Lu Mingxiao: "I'll go for a lap and be back in five or six minutes. You can sit here for a while. Help yourself to the juice, fruit, and snacks. There's also a main course if you get hungry."
Lu Mingxiao looked up at him, a glimmer of starlight in his deep eyes: "Am I a glutton? I ate breakfast this morning and I'm still eating now? Go ahead, I'll wait for you here."
Jiang Huaiyu smiled, gently spurred the horse's belly, and Xingye spread its hooves and started trotting on the riding field, then gradually accelerated.
"Are you sure you want to ride the Hoshino?" He Yan suddenly appeared out of nowhere, this time alone, without his large entourage. He slowly sat down opposite Lu Mingxiao, crossed his arms, and sized him up: "The Hoshino is actually quite wild, but it's very docile towards Huaiyu. I've never ridden it before. I heard from my coach that you even refused his instruction and asked Huaiyu to instruct you? Young master, this is horseback riding, not bicycle riding. If you fall, it won't be a joke."
Lu Mingxiao drank most of a glass of watermelon juice before slowly putting down the glass: "Young Master He, right? I was just talking about you with my brother. As for me, I can actually ride horses. Riding horses doesn't necessarily require a horse farm, the important thing is to have a horse. A few years ago, I rode a horse at my friend's second uncle's house. I rode it without a saddle, so I should have some experience. So... thank you for your veiled concern?"
He Yan was speechless, finding it difficult to back down.
Lu Mingxiao smiled nonchalantly: "You're so hostile towards me because you want to protect Xiaoyu, right? You're good to Xiaoyu because you genuinely value the loyalty between you two, not just because of what your dad said about it being for personal gain. Buddy, you're a man of principle."
He Yan came up to argue, but was praised instead, and felt a little embarrassed: "Brother, if you put it that way, I'll accept you as a friend. I just can't stand some of the things your maternal grandfather does. It's so inconsiderate. Blood ties are important, of course, but to give up more than ten years of friendship like that is really disheartening. Actually, many of us in this circle who are about the same age feel the same way. That fat guy who flatters the powerful and belittles the weak is a minority. Nobody is so ill-mannered as to humiliate someone to their face. It's so damn degrading."
Lu Mingxiao laughed: "What a coincidence, I also can't stand Grandpa Jiang's attitude. Besides, my name is Lu Mingxiao, and I have no intention of changing it."
The statement about not changing the name is quite subtle, clearly indicating that he does not intend to be manipulated by Old Master Jiang. In this way, the Jiang family will indeed still only have one "Young Master Jiang".
He Yan laughed heartily: "Lu Mingxiao, I don't think I can be as insightful as you. I admire you a little."
When Jiang Huaiyu returned after riding two laps on horseback, Lu Mingxiao was showing off a freshly baked pizza in his mouth and chatting happily with He Yan, who was already calling him "Brother Xiao" all the time.
Jiang Huaiyu: ...
The social terrorist has begun his invincible diplomacy once again.
Seeing Jiang Huaiyu return, Lu Mingxiao quickly finished his pizza and handed her a tissue, saying, "You're sweating from running around? I must say, Shanghai is really amazing. It's seventeen or eighteen degrees Celsius in the dead of winter. Wipe your sweat so you don't catch a cold."
He Yan: ...
Brother, it's fine if you don't want to be a young master, but judging from this, do you want to be a head maid?
Jiang Huaiyu took the tissue to wipe his sweat and nodded slightly to He Yan: "Ayan, didn't your uncle drag you to the company today?"
"Oh my god, don't even mention it..." He Yan began to complain incessantly.
Lu Mingxiao's attention was focused on that affectionate nickname.
Ouch, my teeth hurt. They're childhood friends, but he never called Li Rui "Arui".
But since they were childhood friends, Lu Mingxiao could only secretly feel jealous and couldn't say anything. When he saw that the two had finished chatting, he reached out and hooked his arm around Jiang Huaiyu's shoulder, heading towards the horse farm.
"Alright, Ayan~" he called out deliberately, "Brother Xiao wants to ride a couple more laps today, you and Xiaoyu can talk about it another day~"
He Yan got goosebumps all over and muttered, "Brother Xiao, there's something weird about how you call me that, ugh~~"
After taking two steps, Jiang Huaiyu chuckled, "What kind of pizza did you just eat? A tropical fruit pizza? The oranges in it must have been very sour."
"I ate a Mexican chicken pizza..." Lu Mingxiao realized, "It wasn't sour."
Jiang Huaiyu turned around: "Ayan, I suddenly remembered..."
"No, no!" Lu Mingxiao grabbed him: "Horse riding, take me horse riding!"
...
Lu Mingxiao's athletic talent is indeed very high. After successfully mounting the horse, he was able to relax his muscles naturally instead of being tense with fear. Jiang Huaiyu led the horse around twice to confirm that Lu Mingxiao could ride on his own before letting go of the reins.
Lu Mingxiao laughed and said, "I told you I've ridden one before, and it was quite good. My second uncle's horse was even more spirited than this kid's..."
Hoshino snorted.
Jiang Huaiyu patted Xingye's head, and Xingye lowered his head. Jiang Huaiyu leaned in and kissed Xingye affectionately, whispering his instructions:
"The person on your back is very important to me. Don't be temperamental and don't hurt him, or I will be sad."
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