Xu Feiyan originally appeared heroic and dashing, showing off quite a bit of flair, but unexpectedly, due to a momentary carelessness, he was tackled to the ground by Liu Man, falling face-first and losing all dignity.

That was bad enough, but when Liu Man shouted out loud, it truly made Xu Feiyan lose all face.

Sure enough, the classmates all remembered how Xu Feiyan had been beaten twice by Xie Ran before, and it seemed to have left quite a psychological shadow on Liu Man.

… How hard did Xie Ran hit him back then?

The former school bully being reflexively beaten by his past bullying victim was indeed very comical.

Seeing Xu Feiyan and Liu Man looking so miserable, someone couldn’t help but burst out laughing on the spot.

Xie Ran also looked down at Xu Feiyan with a half-smile. He wore a perfectly neat riding outfit, and his high and mighty gaze made Xu Feiyan, who tried to show off in front of him, feel extremely embarrassed.

“Get lost!” Xu Feiyan angrily kicked Liu Man away, forced himself to stand up calmly, and still unwillingly looked toward Xie Ran: “Xie Ran, I…”

Before he could finish, a series of “clop clop clop” horse hoof sounds came from the riding ground. A familiar voice shouted: “Brother Ran, you came to class too!”

Guan Heng skillfully rode a horse from afar. When he got close to where Xie Ran and the others stood, he pulled the horse to a stop with a “whoosh” sound, then jumped off and jogged over to Xie Ran, casually flipping his bangs: “So, how’s it? Handsome, right?”

“…” Xie Ran ignored his question and asked back: “Don’t you have to go back to class?”

Guan Heng’s PE class was one period earlier than Xie Ran’s, so theoretically, he should have been done and heading back to the teaching building by now.

“Of course I’m skipping class,” Guan Heng replied matter-of-factly: “Class isn’t as fun as riding horses! Plus, next period is deadly math class, there’s no way I won’t skip…”

Xie Ran understood: “No wonder you’re so bad at gaming.”

Guan Heng choked on that, retorting with a “tch!” in disbelief: “But Lawyer Meng is good at games too. Is that because his math is good?”

Lawyers are mostly liberal arts majors, he didn’t believe Meng’s math was good enough to mess around with models like Xie Ran.

In the earphone, Meng Feixuan grunted: “This quantum computer doesn’t bother arguing with high schoolers.”

Xie Ran said “Hmm,” then thought for a moment and honestly told Guan Heng: “His math is probably better than yours.”

Guan Heng: “…” Damn, why hadn’t he heard Xie Ran insult people so well before?!

How did Liu Man and the others bully Xie Ran? They’d probably die from the anger!

Guan Heng decided to avoid the math topic and switched to his expertise. He casually looked up and down at Xie Ran, genuinely impressed, raising an eyebrow: “Brother Ran, you look really handsome today, almost a match for me. Speaking of which, you probably haven’t ridden horses before, right? This thing is a bit difficult, but don’t worry…”

He patted his chest and said: “Today, I’m not going to math class, I’ll personally teach you and make sure you learn!”

Meng Feixuan said: “Sir, don’t be fooled. I suspect he just wants to pass the blame for skipping math class onto you.”

Xie Ran deeply agreed: “… No need.”

“Don’t be polite!” Guan Heng said as he tried to casually put his arm around Xie Ran’s shoulder: “I’ve been learning horsemanship for years. Did you see my heroic look? The teacher said I’m the best rider among the Qixing students…”

But his hand only stretched halfway when suddenly his wrist was grabbed and pulled away.

Guan Heng turned to see Xu Feiyan looking serious: “Guan Heng, how about we have a competition?”

Guan Heng was momentarily puzzled: “What?”

“You’ve learned horsemanship for years, right?” Xu Feiyan raised his chin, his eyes full of provocation: “If you want to teach Xie Ran, then compete with me. Let me see if you’re qualified to teach, or are you… scared?”

High schoolers were naturally competitive, especially someone like Guan Heng, who was always praised. He couldn’t stand Xu Feiyan’s deliberate provocation and immediately raised his chin: “Who said I’m scared? Let’s compete!”

Xie Ran, having the original owner’s memory, knew Xu Feiyan’s horsemanship skills were quite good and saw Guan Heng had fallen for the provocation, speechless for a moment.

He was considering whether to politely advise them when Guan Heng turned to him and gave him a thumbs-up: “Brother Ran, watch carefully. Though my grades aren’t as good as yours, I’m good at other things. This is called different talents, each with their strengths. Don’t always tease me about math.”

Xie Ran silently stopped trying to persuade: “… Fine.”

Young people should endure some social beatings.

Xu Feiyan and Guan Heng were both celebrities at Qixing and usually didn’t interfere with each other. This sudden competition instantly attracted the attention of the classmates.

Since it was class time, the horsemanship teacher came over, ready to start class, but was pulled to be the judge.

The horsemanship class at Qixing was newly established, and many students hadn’t experienced it before. The teacher didn’t expect a competition but became interested and wanted to see their skills. After some thought, he agreed as it wouldn’t take much time.

Though called a competition, it wasn’t on a real track, and neither was a professional rider, so it wasn’t very formal. They settled on only competing in the obstacle course.

As the name suggested, the obstacle course required riders to jump over obstacles in a set route and order. Penalties were given for knocking down obstacles, riding time, horse refusals, or falls.

Guan Heng couldn’t hold back his impatience. Seeing classmates rush to the riding ground to watch, he felt he had to show his momentum. He immediately took the lead, climbed onto his horse, and raised his whip: “Watch me.”

It had to be said, Guan Heng had good athletic talent. His riding posture was very stable, and he flexibly adjusted his body posture effectively, running smoothly and dashing.

The watching classmates couldn’t help but praise.

“Guan Heng rides so well, looks so handsome!”

“That’s for sure. Don’t forget what kind of family Guan Heng comes from. They started learning riding very early.”

“Cried. My family only signed me up for piano lessons!”

“Hey, no way around it, raising horses isn’t easy.”

While everyone discussed, Guan Heng finished a lap. He only knocked down two obstacles, performed well in other aspects, and most importantly, looked cool to beginners.

“Not bad, not bad.” The teacher led applause. Guan Heng didn’t perform brilliantly, but horsemanship wasn’t a regular PE class. Qixing had just started this class, and having a student with such a good foundation was a pleasant surprise.

Guan Heng got off the horse amidst applause and proudly looked at Xu Feiyan: “Your turn.”

Xu Feiyan snorted lightly, not giving Guan Heng any chance to show off. Under everyone’s eyes, he stepped into the stirrup and jumped up, already sitting astride his horse with a single move showing neatness and skill that caught everyone’s attention.

Soon, Xu Feiyan firmly captured everyone’s gaze.

Obstacle jumping was a high-explosive power event. When approaching obstacles, riders needed great confidence and courage. Without long training, hesitation would occur on the spot.

Though Guan Heng had learned for years, it was mostly for leisure, so he hesitated during jumps and didn’t look smooth or natural.

Xu Feiyan’s technique was clearly more mature and bold. Every jump was extremely neat. The horse lifted its front hooves high, and Xu Feiyan skillfully shortened the stirrups and leaned forward — very professional techniques.

Before finishing the lap, the teacher couldn’t help but clap loudly and cheer, and classmates also exclaimed “Wow” in surprise, buzzing with talk.

“Wow, Xu Feiyan is amazing!”

“He rides too well. Did he also start learning riding as a kid?”

“Never heard… but since Qixing started the riding class, and he’s from the Xu family, it’s not strange he learned early.”

“He must have learned earlier than us, but practicing this well isn’t easy.”

“That’s true. Is it his own skill or the Xu family’s coaching?”

“Probably both. The Xu family is impressive.”

Guan Heng was still holding his horse, standing away from others, but he could hear the discussion.

He had been basking in his moment but now his face darkened. He found Xie Ran in the crowd, waved him over, and angrily cursed: “Damn it, I got tricked! I wondered why Xu Feiyan suddenly picked a fight. Turns out he had a big act ready to show off!”

Xie Ran glanced at him: “Hmm.”

Guan Heng: “… Can’t you comfort me a bit?”

Xie Ran showed a troubled expression.

Guan Heng shut down.

While they were talking, Xu Feiyan had already finished and returned, not knocking down a single obstacle and taking less time than Guan Heng. Actually, even without scores, just watching their performances made it obvious who won.

The teacher’s face turned red with excitement, nearly running up to greet him, repeatedly saying: “Great, really great.”

Xu Feiyan was the nephew of the principal of Qixing, a young member of the Xu family. His excellent equestrian skills would certainly bring honor to Qixing, and as a teacher, the instructor would naturally benefit as well.

Everyone’s reaction was exactly what Xu Feiyan expected. After this class, he would definitely become the topic among students. The teacher would surely exaggerate his performance in reports, and Qixing’s equestrian class would take off because of him, bringing more opportunities.

But these were things for the future. At this moment, there was only one person Xu Feiyan cared about.

He rode back, scanning Xie Ran’s direction, wanting to see if he looked at him with the same surprise and admiration as others.

But the result disappointed him greatly. Xie Ran was instead talking to Guan Heng with his head turned, not even glancing at him.

Xu Feiyan’s anger flared instantly, coldness flashing in his eyes. He sharply squeezed the horse’s belly, making the horse, which had already slowed down, neigh and bolt again, charging straight at Guan Heng.

Guan Heng was withdrawn when he suddenly heard the sound of hurried hoofbeats. The nearby students shouted: “Guan Heng, danger!”

His heart jumped. Looking up, he saw Xu Feiyan’s horse galloping wildly toward him.

“Shit!” Guan Heng shouted. Getting hit by a horse was no joke. He quickly pushed Xie Ran hard and tried to dodge to the side using momentum. But the situation came too suddenly. Xu Feiyan charged fiercely again, and Guan Heng, nervous, tripped and fell to the ground.

The horse was dangerously close.

“Damn it!!!” Guan Heng’s eyes widened, as if his life’s memories were flashing before him.

Ah, his life was so short!

Then came a “huff” sound. At the last moment, Xu Feiyan sharply pulled the reins. The horse’s hooves lifted high, its back almost standing upright, and it turned in midair.

There was a dull thud as the hooves hit the ground, raising a cloud of dust in the sand, barely missing Guan Heng.

Guan Heng narrowly escaped death, his face pale and speechless.

Xu Feiyan still sat on the horse, looking down at him with a hint of contempt, insincerely saying: “Sorry, I lost control for a moment. Scared you?”

“F**k you—” Guan Heng was so angry he wanted to fight him physically, but his legs were still weak. He only managed to stand up with the teacher’s help after running over.

His momentum was pretty weak.

The teacher was also shocked and didn’t dare to scold Xu Feiyan harshly, only hurriedly reassuring Guan Heng: “It was just an accident, it’s okay, it’s okay…”

“Bullshit!” Guan Heng pushed the teacher aside: “This isn’t over!”

Xu Feiyan didn’t care. In his eyes, Guan Heng was still an underperforming student. Conflicts among students were easy to brush off as long as nothing serious happened.

He rode his horse to Xie Ran, still sitting high on the horse, looking down at Xie Ran, and said in a deep voice: “Xie Ran.”

Xie Ran had just been pushed by Guan Heng. In his earphones, Meng Feixuan anxiously asked: “The gentleman showed an abnormal path, an emergency push movement. Are you okay?”

Xie Ran’s face darkened slightly: “I’m fine.”

Meng Feixuan finally relaxed: “Was it caused by that bastard?”

Xie Ran: “Yes.”

Meng Feixuan angrily shouted with noise in his voice: “He’s dead, he’s dead, he’s dead!”

Xie Ran: “…Mute noise.”

Meng Feixuan finally calmed down a bit. Xu Feiyan rode over to him again.

Xu Feiyan’s action caught everyone’s attention again. Seeing his posture, the students immediately tensed up. Was Xu Feiyan going to mess with Xie Ran again?

Since entering high school, Xu Feiyan and Liu Man’s group had been bullying Xie Ran, especially during PE. Because Xie Ran didn’t know much about many sports classes like tennis and fencing, and couldn’t afford the right gear, he was often publicly mocked by Liu Man and others.

Xie Ran had hit Xu Feiyan twice this semester. Xu Feiyan would definitely bear a grudge and probably wanted to get double revenge.

Thinking about what Xu Feiyan had just done to Guan Heng, everyone’s hearts jumped.

Someone quickly tried to calm the situation: “Feiyan, we’re all classmates, don’t make things too hard for Xie Ran…”

Liu Man and the others were excited, egging him on: “Brother Xu, don’t be polite to him!”

Guan Heng’s expression also changed as he was about to step forward.

Suddenly, Xu Feiyan bent down, reached out to Xie Ran, and said: “…I’ll teach you to ride.”

The students: ?

What was going on? What did Xu Feiyan mean?

“If you want to learn to ride, let me teach you. You saw just now, I ride better than Guan Heng, right? Not just riding, also tennis, fencing—anything you want to learn, I can teach you.” Xu Feiyan stared at Xie Ran. His eyes were dark and unclear, and his deep voice strangely carried a trace of sadness and sincerity, not fake at all: “Don’t hang out with Guan Heng anymore, don’t play games either. You should have a better life and future. If you want it, I can help you.”

The handsome and proud young man stood straight at the edge of the riding field. Before him was a tall fine horse. Xu Feiyan bent down from the horse, reached out his hand, inviting Xie Ran to get on.

This scene shocked everyone unexpectedly, and Xu Feiyan’s words dropped everyone’s jaws.

For a moment, the classmates looked at each other, seeing disbelief and shock in each other’s eyes.

Was Xu Feiyan trying to be friendly to Xie Ran?!

He actually offered to teach Xie Ran to ride, and other things?!

He could help Xie Ran if he wanted?!?

Someone was confused on the spot: “What’s going on? It’s sophomore year, right? Sophomore? I didn’t mess up the timeline, did I? Or is it actually senior year? Did I miss a year of the plot?”

Others were also stunned: “It’s definitely sophomore year, but the plot doesn’t connect.”

“Oh my god, Xu Feiyan stopped bullying Xie Ran? Xie Ran hit him a few days ago and he wasn’t angry? He wants to teach Xie Ran to ride?”

“I feel like… Xu Feiyan might be a little weird about Xie Ran?”

Amid the shock, some felt envy.

“Awesome. If Xu Feiyan really protects Xie Ran, then Xie Ran is lucky.”

“Yeah, at Qixing, who’s more powerful than Xu Feiyan?”

Xu Feiyan’s influence and resources at Qixing were unmatched. Just this equestrian class alone—other students could only take PE or optional classes, but Xu Feiyan could bring Xie Ran anytime and even offered to personally teach him. Everyone had just seen how skilled Xu Feiyan was.

Someone teased bitterly: “If Xie Ran agrees, maybe he’ll become the best equestrian in our class.”

Once the poor kid who couldn’t even afford sports gear now gained favor from both Guan Heng and Xu Feiyan. Maybe he could really enter the upper circle in the future. Who wouldn’t envy that?

Xu Feiyan’s heart was full of strong feelings. The sixteen-year-old Xie Ran stood before him, more dazzling than in his memory.

He recalled the times they spent together. He truly liked Xie Ran and wanted to start over with him.

He had made mistakes before, back when he was young and ignorant. He was willing to make up for them.

Xu Feiyan felt he had lowered himself enough, even showing goodwill to Xie Ran in front of so many people. This time, surely Xie Ran wouldn’t misunderstand him.

Since Xie Ran wanted to join the upper class, he gave him this chance. Equestrian was just the beginning, if Xie Ran wanted more, he could give it.

No matter what Xie Ran became, he was willing to be patient and accompany him as he grew.

Would Xie Ran understand his sincere intentions?

Of course not. Xie Ran’s ears were filled with Meng Feixuan’s curses: “What bullshit is that bastard saying!”

Xie Ran could barely hear what Xu Feiyan was saying.

After a while, Meng Feixuan got even angrier: “Damn it, my swear word filter broke from anger!”

Xie Ran: “…”

Seeing Xie Ran remain silent, Xu Feiyan thought his sudden goodwill scared him.

To prove his sincerity, Xu Feiyan lowered his posture more and added undisguised tenderness to his voice, solemnly repeating: “Xie Ran, I can be your backing.”

Seeing the once-arrogant school bully show such earnest goodwill, some students were moved.

This time, Xie Ran finally responded—but completely different from what Xu Feiyan expected.

Xie Ran smirked: “You? Seriously?”

Xu Feiyan: ?

Others: ??

The next moment, Xie Ran suddenly grabbed the reins of Guan Heng’s horse nearby, stepped onto the stirrup, and swiftly leapt onto the horse.

Xu Feiyan hadn’t even reacted yet when Xie Ran skillfully turned the horse’s head and spurred it forward, charging straight at him.

Xu Feiyan’s eyes suddenly widened: “What are you doing?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Xie Ran brushed past him unexpectedly, twisted his body sideways, swung his whip at Xu Feiyan’s horse, and then, as fast as lightning, snatched the reins from him.

Xu Feiyan’s horse let out a sharp neigh and started galloping wildly under Xie Ran’s control.

Xu Feiyan was caught off guard, almost fell off his horse, and turned pale with fright. Almost instinctively, he tightly grabbed the saddle beneath him with one hand and forcefully pulled the remaining reins with the other, trying to stop the horse.

But his horse was already completely under Xie Ran’s control.

Xie Ran held his own reins with one hand and controlled Xu Feiyan’s horse with the other. Occasionally, he loosened the reins to crack the whip, then quickly switched hands to grab the reins again. He rode and controlled two horses simultaneously with ease, perfectly managing the rhythm without any sign of panic.

The entire riding arena fell silent, with only the sound of two horses galloping and Xu Feiyan’s panicked shouting: “Xie Ran! Stop right now!”

Xie Ran ignored Xu Feiyan’s cries and, without hesitation, guided both horses toward the obstacle—he was actually preparing to jump the obstacle with both horses at the same time?!

The watching students immediately widened their eyes: “What is he trying to do?!”

The teacher shouted repeatedly in alarm: “Stop! Stop immediately!!”

It should be known that even jumping an obstacle alone requires great skill, even professional athletes sometimes fail.

Although the obstacles at Qixing Riding Arena weren’t as tall or complex as professional courses, they were still quite challenging for students.

How dared Xie Ran control two horses to jump the obstacle simultaneously?!

Xu Feiyan’s face turned deathly pale as he shouted: “Xie Ran, are you crazy?!”

As he shouted, the first obstacle was very close. Xie Ran loosened the reins of Xu Feiyan’s horse, skillfully shortened his stirrups, leaned his body slightly forward, and tightened the strap around his horse’s neck.

His eyes kept looking straight ahead, his expression remained unchanged, without a hint of hesitation.

Jumping obstacles was the ultimate display of explosive power, requiring a rider’s strong confidence and decisiveness, the horse would naturally sense the rider’s confidence.

The horse neighed sharply. Xie Ran’s horse leapt high and flew over the obstacle without hesitation.

Following closely behind was Xu Feiyan’s horse, already completely under Xie Ran’s control, unaffected by Xu Feiyan’s emotions, jumping over the obstacle right after Xie Ran.

Both horses landed one after another, the second horse no longer needed reins to be controlled by Xie Ran but instinctively followed the first horse, continuously running, jumping, and clearing the obstacles.

Xu Feiyan lost all control over his horse, only able to hold the reins tightly, fearing that any mistake would cause him to fall immediately.

Until that moment, everyone by the sidelines was utterly stunned.

In the silent atmosphere, a low sob broke the tension.

Guan Heng’s eyes glistened with tears: “Why?! Brother Ran is so good at math, why is he also good at sports?!”

“Didn’t they say everyone has their own talents and strengths? Why is Brother Ran good at everything?!”

Author’s note: Guan Heng said: “Brother Ran is just so good at everything.”

Mark said: “Nonsense, I am better.”

Guan Heng: ??

Xie Ran: “……”