Chapter 11: Nothing wrong with pastries.

Ye Tianhui pretended not to hear.  

Gu Zhixin suddenly restrained his smile and commanded, “Mainland girl, come here!”  

After these two shouts, everyone turned to look at her.  

Actually, according to Ye Tianhui’s plan, she naturally intended to find a way to acknowledge her biological father, and to do so, she must enter the Ye family.  

But entering the Ye family definitely wasn’t supposed to happen in this way.  

However, with his shouting, all the staff at the racetrack turned their attention to her. She was impersonating someone, and if she behaved strangely, she could easily be exposed.  

The Gu Shizhang she had just met wasn’t here now, and there were no other options. To avoid arousing suspicion, she had no choice but to walk over.  

Gu Zhixin had his hands in his pockets, squinting as he disdainfully scrutinized her. “From the mainland?”  

Ye Tianhui nodded. “Yes, I’m from the mainland, working here.”  

The men and women nearby exclaimed, “Wow!” in amazement and praised Gu Zhixin admiringly, “Your eyes are really sharp!”  

Gu Zhixin smiled and said confidently, “There are too many from the mainland these days, like a flood. I can recognize them at a glance.”  

He arrogantly tilted his chin upward, looking down at Ye Tianhui. “From afar, you look like a yam. Up close, still a yam. But you know how to pick a handsome guy, huh? Kept staring at me because you think I’m handsome?”  

As soon as he said this, everyone burst into laughter.  

The original phrase meant “from afar, looks like a princess, up close, like a yam,” but now he was saying she looked like a yam no matter what—how insulting!  

Ye Tianhui listened and understood that he was mocking her.  

A yam, after all, comes from the dirt and is covered in soil.  

She didn’t care much about being called rustic or mocked with such words, but she was puzzled—she was clearly wearing the local work uniform, so how could she be recognized instantly? Was it because her hair hadn’t been permed, or was it some innate “mainland” vibe?  

Her gaze swept over the girls present, and indeed, they seemed quite different from her.  

While everyone was laughing, Ye Wenyin wasn’t.  

She frowned slightly and stared at Ye Tianhui, examining her features and expression.  

She kept looking at her, finally probing, “What’s your job? Do you feed the horses?”  

Ye Tianhui naturally noticed Ye Wenyin’s peculiar reaction.  

She maintained her composure, still lowering her gaze. “I’m responsible for cleaning the stables.”  

A young man in a blue shirt nearby impatiently said, “Don’t bother with her. Let’s go see the horses!”  

Gu Zhixin echoed, “Let’s go.”  

Ye Wenyin, however, continued staring at Ye Tianhui and said, “You guys don’t be so hasty. She’s from the mainland, seems clueless about everything—quite pitiful.”  

Then she smiled at Ye Tianhui. “Go on with your work. Don’t be too scared.” 

Ye Tianhui listened and felt that Ye Wenyin’s voice sounded very gentle.  

However, her tone, perhaps because the Ye family originally came from Beijing, lacked the Cantonese feel commonly found in Hong Kong and instead carried a hint of old Beijing flavor, somewhat resembling that “mother” from the mainland.  

She didn’t like “mother.”  

Ye Tianhui, possessing memories from her past life as a female general who fought on the battlefield, cutting through thorns and obstacles, naturally wouldn’t allow herself to be wronged by something as trivial as the word “mother” or develop any bad habits.  

But Ye Tianhui understood that if she didn’t have the memories from her past life, if she were an ordinary little child, she would have likely grown up in the shadows.  

Because of this, she didn’t like the sound of Ye Wenyin’s voice. It made her feel that she was indeed the biological daughter of that woman, so she instinctively felt a sense of rejection and disgust.  

This rejection and disgust had nothing to do with what kind of person Ye Wenyin was; it was just her personal preference, like how some people dislike the color blue and others dislike red.  

At this moment, Ye Wenyin spoke again, “By the way, didn’t I just give you all some dim sum? You didn’t like them, huh? Ah Yun, take them out and give them to this northern girl to eat. She looks pitiful.”  

The young man in the blue shirt nearby shook his head and said to Gu Zhixin, “Look, Wenyin has always had a good temper, she’s so kind.”  

Gu Zhixin frowned and said to Ye Wenyin, “There’s no need to be so kind to this northern girl.”  

Ye Wenyin smiled gently and said, “I saw a news report a few days ago. They’re really pitiful. Let’s do a good deed.”  

The maid, Ah Yun, came over and took out a portion of dim sum she had been carrying with her and handed them directly to Ye Tianhui.  

Ye Tianhui took them and softly said, “Thank you.”  

The group of people continued chatting and laughing as they went to the stables. Ye Tianhui listened to their conversation and learned that the young man she had just met was named Wen Jing. Since his name contained the character “Wen,” she guessed he was likely a member of the Ye family, probably a cousin of Ye Wenyin.  

As they moved farther away, she quickly ducked to the side.  

Ye Wenyin and the others naturally didn’t know her background. She could still manage to bluff her way through, but if any real staff from the racetrack came by and questioned her, she would be exposed immediately.  

She thought of Gu Shizhang and wondered whether she should wait for him to return.  

He had gone to the VIP room to get some dim sum and hadn’t come back yet. If she left now, it would be as if he made the trip for nothing, and it would appear as though she had broken her word. But if he didn’t come back and she stayed here waiting, what if she was discovered? That would be a problem.  

Moreover, she didn’t want to run into Ye Wenyin and her group again. None of them were good people.  

And that Gu Zhixin—he was really too good-looking, but his temperament was terrible. If it were in the past, she wouldn’t have even looked at him.  

She hesitated for a moment, then looked down at the package of dim sum Ye Wenyin had given her. It was obviously quite expensive and large enough to last her until tomorrow. This saved her a meal or two.  

She wasn’t one to be picky about “food given by others.” Since she had already been pretending to be foolish, it didn’t matter whether they meant to insult her. She had already taken the snacks, so why not eat them? Pride couldn’t be eaten after all.  

She grabbed the dim sum and was about to leave.  

But as she was sneaking around to the back of the stables, she heard a voice say, “Why didn’t you wait for me?”  

Ye Tianhui turned around and saw Gu Shizhang.  

He was holding a food box, and the packaging was quite delicate.  

She said, “I did wait for you, but you didn’t come back after a long time. Then a group of people came over and interrogated me, laughing at me! I got scared. What if they caught me? So I decided to leave quickly.”  

Gu Shizhang frowned when he heard this. “Laugh at you? Who laughed at you?”  

Ye Tianhui: “It’s nothing. Just met a few donkey droppings.”  

Gu Shizhang: “Donkey droppings?”

Ye Tianhui blinked: “The donkey droppings are shiny on the outside!”

Gu Shizhang chuckled, slightly taken aback: “I brought you some food. Come on, I’ll take you to eat somewhere. I think you’ll like it.”

As he spoke, he lifted the food box in his hand: “Look, there’s so much.”

Ye Tianhui replied, “The people just now also gave me some food.”

Gu Shizhang had already noticed the box she was holding, which had the same packaging as his: “The guests here? Why did they give you food?”

When he said this, his tone was slightly questioning, cold and firm, carrying an implicit pressure.

This feeling was familiar to Ye Tianhui.

She silently observed him without speaking.

Gu Shizhang sensed her unease and realized his previous mistake. He quickly softened his voice and explained, “I was just curious. They should be guests here, and there are a lot of VIPs today, so I wanted to ask.”

Ye Tianhui: “They were a few young people, all dressed quite well. One of them…”

Gu Shizhang: “Hmm?”

Ye Tianhui: “One of them happened to share the same last name as you—Gu. He was quite good-looking.”

Gu Shizhang looked at her, furrowing his brow: “Good-looking?”

Under his scrutinizing gaze, Ye Tianhui smiled: “But sadly, as the saying goes, ‘beautiful on the outside, but rotten on the inside.’ His temperament… is awful.”

Gu Shizhang: “Then why did they give you the snacks?”

Ye Tianhui: “It was probably out of kindness. They didn’t want them, didn’t like them, so they gave them to me, seeing that I looked pitiful. I suppose they thought of it as charity.”

Gu Shizhang took the snacks from her hand directly: “Give them to me.”

Ye Tianhui quickly protected the box: “Why?”

Gu Shizhang: “Didn’t I get you food? Why do you still want theirs?”

Ye Tianhui refused to let go: “I know they gave them to me with a bit of a superior attitude, but I don’t mind that. Maybe I don’t like them, but I like the snacks. Anyway, the snacks weren’t made by them, they were made by the chef, and they’ve been sealed in the box the whole time. It’s not like they’ve been touched, so what’s wrong with the snacks?”

Gu Shizhang hadn’t expected this.

He raised an eyebrow, silently watching her, and then suddenly smiled: “What you said makes so much sense.”

People may not be likable, but the snacks are delicious.

Ye Tianhui felt somewhat justified: “Because it’s true.”

Gu Shizhang smiled at her: “Let’s go, I’ll take you out of the racetrack.”

Gu Shizhang led Ye Tianhui out through a side gate, which was for staff only. When they exited, they were still required to show their identification, but Ye Tianhui naturally didn’t have any.

Fortunately, Gu Shizhang had his, so he smoothly led her out.

After they left the racetrack, Gu Shizhang asked where Ye Tianhui was staying. She gave him a general idea but deliberately avoided giving a clear answer when it came to the area.

Gu Shizhang: “Is it a bit chaotic over there?”

Ye Tianhui: “It’s fine. The rent is very cheap.”

Gu Shizhang: “Well, that’s good. How are you getting back?”

Ye Tianhui: “I’ll take a bus. I have to change twice; it’s a bit of a hassle.”

Gu Shizhang nodded, not saying much, then handed the food box to Ye Tianhui: “What you said makes sense. The snacks were made by the chef, so there’s nothing wrong with them. Take these with you.”

After they exited the racetrack, Ye Tianhui felt relieved, her body relaxing, and her guard against Gu Shizhang eased.

She smiled: “Alright, thank you. And thanks for showing me around the racetrack today. I learned a lot that I didn’t know.”

She had to admit that if she had wandered around by herself, she wouldn’t have understood many of the rules and details. After he explained it, she had a much better understanding of the racetrack’s operations, the horses, and the race conditions.

This was far more useful than reading the “Racing Journal.”

Gu Shizhang pursed his lips, smiling warmly: “No need to thank me. Go ahead and head back. Did you remember the phone number I gave you? If you need anything, feel free to call me.”

Ye Tianhui nodded repeatedly: “Mm-hmm, I remembered!”

They said their goodbyes, and Ye Tianhui went off to catch her bus.

She found a seat on the bus, sat down, and looked out the window. She saw that Gu Shizhang had already walked down the street. He had said he lived nearby, and the rent was cheap.

As for Gu Shizhang, Ye Tianhui felt grateful, but she still harbored some doubts.

She seemed carefree, but she was naturally suspicious and not someone who easily trusted others.

As for Gu Shizhang, although he looked like the Sage, she still couldn’t let her guard down and needed to observe him further. As for what phone number to give him, that could be decided later.

She sat on the bus, admiring the scenery outside. The area had become quite prosperous, with stylish and fancy shops lining the streets. Large signs for “White Horse Whiskey” and “Golden Dragon Cigarettes” were particularly eye-catching, and the pedestrians were quite varied.

Unlike the uniform gray-blue-black of Beijing, the clothing here was incredibly fashionable—some wore suits and leather shoes, while others wore hot pants and platform shoes. Many men and women had thick hair gel on their heads, making it seem like they were wearing exaggerated wigs.

In addition to these, there were a few nuns dressed in Catholic robes hurrying past.

On the street, she also saw some non-Chinese faces. In addition to the British white police officers, there were some Southeast Asians. Their dark complexions and slightly curly hair suggested that they likely worked in lower-end jobs.

Ye Tianhui thought about the history of Hong Kong and guessed that these people were probably descendants of Indian constables, or perhaps Nepalese?

She continued her bus ride, changing three times before finally returning to her neighborhood.

After seeing the prosperity of Happy Valley, looking at her own area felt quite shabby. This was what people called the slums.

Ye Tianhui increasingly felt that she had to work hard, striving to become someone important in this colorful Hong Kong. Living in poverty was absolutely not an option.

She stopped by a nearby newspaper stand to ask if they had any old magazines. She wanted to read gossip about the rich and powerful families. The old man at the stall looked at her for a moment, then went inside and pulled out a stack of magazines covered in dust. Ye Tianhui flipped through them—mostly about the various feuds and disputes among the prominent families in Hong Kong, with stories about property battles and family drama.

She quickly bought all of them.

Even if they weren’t about the Ye family, the more she read and understood, the more familiar she would become with their world. It would certainly be beneficial.

After buying the magazines, she happened to notice a betting station nearby. To promote Hong Kong’s horse racing and increase fan enthusiasm, many betting stations had been set up throughout Hong Kong, just as convenient as buying magazines.

After buying a race schedule, Ye Tianhui went straight home.

With the inter-class races’ schedule being tight, bets could be placed every day, and in a couple of months, the annual open races would begin. It was clear that everyone was talking about horse racing on the streets. Even the landlady’s living room had the news on TV, broadcasting horse racing reports. Because the weather wasn’t too hot, a group of old men with palm fans stood in the corridor, discussing the races.

Ye Tianhui brought in the snacks, magazines, and race schedule, just in time for one of the old men to see her.

The old man said, “Do you like horse racing, little girl?”

The author has something to say:

Well, the guided tour of the horse racing scene by Gu Shizhang was over, and now Xiao Ye has to go home and place her bets.