Chapter 37.2: Father’s Heart

Happy Valley was the venue for the Open Race. Normally, Interclass Races were held there as well, so all race records for horses from all major stables in Hong Kong were registered here.

Old Master Ye brought the expert team members along with his children and grandchildren. After arriving at Happy Valley, several members of the second generation of the Ye family, including Ye Lixuan and Ye Lizhen, were already waiting.

Earlier that morning, Old Master Ye had given instructions to hold a simple family horse racing meeting, requiring everyone to attend.

Upon seeing everyone arrive, Ye Lizhen immediately came over to accompany them to the conference room and said with a smile, “Dad, I heard the news—Black Rose performed incredibly well. Who would’ve thought she’d still perform like that while pregnant?”

Old Master Ye nodded. “At first, our expert team and the stable staff weren’t sure what to do. From a professional standpoint, they advised against using Black Rose and didn’t think highly of her. But only Tianhui believed in her. Her judgment was spot-on—Black Rose took first place, just as she predicted!”

As he spoke, he became a little emotional. “A champion horse is a champion horse—no matter the circumstance, it stands above the rest! Black Rose’s performance on the track was truly inspiring. You should all go watch it—that’s what a real champion horse looks like!”

Ye Lizhen nodded repeatedly. “There’s video footage of the race. Let’s watch the tape later and enjoy it together.”

Old Master Ye sighed. “I always thought I was getting old and nearing the end. But after seeing Black Rose—”

He burst out laughing. “I feel like I could live another five hundred years!”

His words naturally made everyone present laugh, and soon others began chiming in with flattering remarks, creating a lively atmosphere.

Old Master Ye said, “Come, let’s go check the upcoming Interclass Race schedule.”

With that, everyone understood—this was going to be Ye Tianhui’s chance to make her pick.

Exchanging glances, their expressions were subtly complicated.

Some were unconvinced but hadn’t had the chance to object. Some simply didn’t understand, and some were just uncomfortable with the situation.

After all, there were many people in the Ye family, and with different branches competing for interests, everyone wanted a shot at being in charge.

Ye Tianhui was just a grandchild and had only recently entered the family. Yet she was already being handed such an opportunity. No matter how you looked at it, it seemed Old Master Ye was playing favorites.

Who could truly accept that in their heart?

Naturally, Old Master Ye could see what everyone was thinking. He chuckled and said, “Black Rose was pregnant, and none of the professional doctors could tell. Only our Tianhui figured it out. Even while pregnant, Black Rose’s potential far surpassed that of ordinary horses. But the experts were uncertain—some said she could race, some said she couldn’t. Only Tianhui said, ‘Let Black Rose decide for herself.’”

As he spoke, he stopped smiling, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.

A man who had weathered countless storms, his gaze was sharp yet softened by wisdom and calm, radiating an elder’s quiet authority that was impossible to ignore, though not overbearing.

Old Master Ye said, “I believe Tianhui has some talent when it comes to horse racing. What do you all think?”

Since he had put it that way, who dared say otherwise? Everyone could only nod in agreement.

Old Master Ye continued, “Within our family, I’ve always believed in appointing people based on merit. Though Tianhui is young, she clearly has talent and ability in horse racing. The upcoming Open Race is crucial to our Ye family’s development in the Sha Tin area—I’m sure you’re all aware of the situation.”

Everyone listened with lowered heads, not eager to respond. Many were clearly still unconvinced.

At this moment, a young man in his twenties was the first to speak. “What Grandpa says naturally makes sense. As juniors, we can only listen.”

Ye Tianhui looked over. The one who spoke was Ye Wenyong, the eldest grandson of the Ye family and the eldest son of Ye Lizhen.

As soon as he spoke, the others all nodded in agreement. Naturally, no one dared to voice any opposition.

Thinking about it, based on the Old Master’s expectations back then—to correctly pick the winner three times in a row—was no easy feat.

In earlier years, horse racing results could still potentially be manipulated for profit, but in recent years, the authorities had carried out strict reforms of the racing industry, establishing regulations. Now, the racecourse followed a commission-based betting system, meaning that regardless of which horse won, the Jockey Club still took a cut. Therefore, the Jockey Club had no incentive to interfere with race outcomes. Coupled with the strong oversight from the Racing Commission, it could be said that racing in Hong Kong was now as fair and impartial as possible, with no shady dealings whatsoever.

With the rapid development of television broadcasting, even inter-class races could be watched through recorded footage or even live broadcasts. Under such scrutiny, who would dare tamper with the results?

Given that, the outcome of any horse race was virtually unpredictable. No one could say with absolute certainty which horse would win.

Take the renowned jockey Ke Zhiming—he had already achieved legendary status with just a 40% win rate. Even he couldn’t guarantee victory every time. So who else could?

Under these circumstances, how could a young woman like Ye Tianhui manage to correctly predict the winners of three inter-class races in a row?

Once everyone thought it through, they were more than happy to go along with the sentiment and nodded in agreement.

Seeing no further objections, Old Master Ye turned to the electronic display beside him. The black screen was filled with densely packed green characters—one of the most advanced information display systems in the world. It showed the upcoming inter-class race schedules.

He said to Ye Tianhui, “Now, choose an inter-class race.”

Ye Tianhui replied, “I’ve already chosen. No time like the present. I’ll go with tomorrow morning’s 10 a.m. inter-class race.”

Tomorrow at 10 a.m.?

Old Master Ye immediately had the staff pull up the information for that race. Everyone quickly browsed through it and saw that it was a Class 5 race, with a total of nine horses participating.

Watching from the side, Ye Wenyin glanced over the horse data and couldn’t help but feel puzzled.

It really was an unremarkable race. Class 5 races weren’t exciting to watch, and no one paid special attention to them.

So why had Ye Tianhui chosen this particular inter-class race? Had she noticed something?

She lifted her eyes to glance at Ye Lizhen, who was frowning as he stared at the green numbers on the screen. It was clear that he didn’t understand either.

Just as everyone was looking on in confusion, Ye Tianhui said, “I choose Horse No. 7.”

Everyone looked over. Horse No. 7 only had an English name—Life Legend. It was a two-year-old colt, and this was its debut race.

Everyone frowned at that.

It was well known that colts running their first inter-class race often struggled to perform well due to inexperience. That was precisely why experienced adult horses typically had to give weight allowances to horses under three years old. But even with those allowances, a two-year-old colt debuting still carried a high level of uncertainty.

Its performance might be decent, but winning the race outright? That would be extremely difficult.

Now, Ye Tianhui had actually chosen a debuting colt. While there was still a chance she could win her bet, that chance was slim.

And with that kind of choice style, to accurately pick the winner of three inter-class races in a row was nearly impossible.

Even the old Master Ye was clearly surprised. He looked at Ye Tianhui. “Are you sure?”

Ye Tianhui replied, “Yes, I’m sure. I’m choosing Life Legend. A ‘legend of life’—that name alone is a good omen.”

A good omen because of the name…

Everyone inwardly rolled their eyes. The assistant from the racing department on the side had nothing to say—weren’t all horse names meant to sound auspicious?

Could anyone really take that as a basis for a winning bet?

But Old Master Ye nodded. “Very well. If you’ve made your choice, then so be it. This horse will compete in tomorrow’s inter-class race. If it wins, you may proceed to place your next inter-class race bet.”

Ye Tianhui: “Alright.”

The racing assistant on the side found the situation increasingly amusing, but said nothing in the end.

In the corner, Ye Wenyin’s lips curved slightly upward when she heard this, but she quickly flattened the expression.

Her gaze subtly shifted toward Ye Lizhen beside her.

Ye Lizhen gave a slight nod, and his expression also showed a trace of relieved ease.

The Ye family’s Shatin estate and the horse racing business were entirely under his control. He had no desire to hand over the racing industry. If he lost the horse racing portfolio, then with the future large-scale development of Shatin, he might also lose control over those projects.

Although this daughter of Ye Lixuan’s came from the mainland and at first glance didn’t seem to know much, her elusive nature made it hard to see through her. Her repeated upsets in horse-related matters had already made the old master take notice and he began to feel a sense of threat.

He understood well that the old master had spent most of his early life immersed in the traditional clan ideologies of the Republican-era mainland. Deep down, he was conservative and placed great emphasis on legitimate heirs. If Ye Lixuan hadn’t been so devoted to scientific research, he might have already claimed a significant stake in the family enterprise, and his position would be extremely precarious.

Now that Ye Tianhui had appeared and quickly gained the old master’s favor…

On the surface, the old master still publicly supported Ye Wenyin and even put up some obstacles for Ye Tianhui, but in reality, he was subtly elevating her. As long as she showed even a bit of competence that could silence opposition, she would be lifted straight to the top.

So deep down, Ye Lizhen had been uneasy.

But now, seeing Ye Tianhui’s choice, he was finally at ease.

It seemed they had indeed overestimated Ye Tianhui—or rather, that this girl from the mainland was just overconfident and underestimated the challenge.

Maybe she knew horses, but clearly, she didn’t understand horse racing.

Ye Lizhen withdrew his gaze, his expression visibly relaxed. Ye Wenyin also looked away, lowered her eyes slightly, and casually flipped through the documents in front of her, as if she didn’t care at all.

At the side, Ye Lixuan lifted his eyes and gave Ye Wenyin a light glance.

But he didn’t say anything.

The family meeting soon ended, and everyone began to disperse. The more senior members of the Ye family gathered around the Old Master, ready to leave. A few younger members were instructed to stay behind and be accompanied by the stable manager to learn about the upcoming racing season’s schedule.

Ye Tianhui had other plans. She wanted to ask the racetrack manager about Teng Yunwu’s situation, so she left first.

Soon, only a few juniors remained in the conference room. Ye Wenjing suddenly remembered something and quietly said to the cousin beside him, “I just remembered—Wenyin and I ran into Tianhui at the racetrack once.”

The seventh cousin sitting beside him immediately perked up with curiosity. “Really? How did that happen?”

Ye Wenjing roughly explained the situation: “You’d never guess. Zhixin has sharp eyes—he recognized right away that she was a mainland girl. And Wenyin, being kind-hearted, even gave her a box of pastries!”

Everyone grew curious and asked more questions, but Ye Wenyin wasn’t keen to talk about it.

She had already harbored doubts about Ye Tianhui at the time. She had wanted to drive her away, but in the end, she had been timid and soft-hearted, unable to go through with it—and, admittedly, holding onto a sliver of wishful thinking.

Now, with Ye Tianhui accepted into the Ye family and even Ye Lizhen starting to be wary of her, it was far too late for regrets.

Had she known things would turn out like this, she would have sought Ye Lizhen’s help much earlier and had him deal with Ye Tianhui ruthlessly. Why hadn’t they managed to drive a single Ye Tianhui out of Hong Kong?

But now several of the family’s younger members were curious, asking questions here and there. Feeling bored, Ye Wenyin tried to stand up.

Just as she was about to rise, someone walked over.

It was Ye Lixuan.

Ye Wenyin was slightly surprised, and her expression immediately changed.

Ye Lixuan looked at her, his gaze cold.

Ye Wenyin was at a loss and could only murmur, “Daddy…”

But she didn’t know what to say and had no way to defend herself.

The others were all startled as well. What had started as a bit of gossip had unexpectedly been overheard by Ye Lixuan. The Ye family was very traditional, with strict hierarchy between generations. The younger ones realized they had just been speaking about his daughter, and all suddenly felt uneasy. They looked at each other in silence, unsure what to do.

Ye Lixuan had returned because he realized Tianhui didn’t have her own car and wasn’t familiar with the others. He had wanted to give her a ride.

But he had unexpectedly overheard this conversation.

Even though the younger generation had spoken somewhat restrainedly, their tone clearly carried the detached amusement of onlookers. And when he thought of how Ye Wenjing and Ye Wenyin had treated Tianhui—patronizing and condescending—it made him, as her father, all the more upset.

He spoke coolly, “In the Ye family, I don’t want to hear this kind of talk.”

His gaze swept over the group of nieces and nephews. “Otherwise, I can’t guarantee what will happen.”

His voice was calm and cold, but everyone felt a chill run down their spines.

They weren’t necessarily afraid of Ye Lixuan himself, but the Ye family had a rigid hierarchy. Ye Lixuan was the son of the Old Master’s legitimate wife, and his full sister, after marrying out, now held power in her husband’s household.

In this respect, even if Ye Lixuan didn’t hold any actual authority within the Ye family, his status alone meant no one dared act out of line in front of him.

What’s more, if their words were to spread and reach the Old Master, the consequences would be even worse. The Old Master wouldn’t care about who was right or wrong—he would simply punish them.

With that in mind, everyone quickly and cautiously said, “Third Uncle, we were just joking around. We… we didn’t say anything serious…”

Ye Lixuan cast a chilly glance at them.

Everyone immediately tensed up.

But he said nothing more. Under the guilty gazes of his nieces and nephews, he turned and headed straight for the stables to find Ye Tianhui.