Chapter 38.1: He actually hid a woman away!

Ye Tianhui knew that no one had high hopes for that horse named Life Legend, but the decision she made was the result of careful research. She hadn’t just studied the horses in the various inter-school races; she had also analyzed the jockeys’ past performances and even examined the participants in several previous inter-school races. After weighing all these factors, she chose this seemingly unremarkable inter-school race to place her bet—and bet on that two-year-old colt.

There were two main reasons.

The first was the people. Although the colt’s trainer and jockey hadn’t achieved any notable results so far, they had both once studied under the renowned American trainer Kane Greenberg. Horses trained by Kane Greenberg had achieved quite a few impressive results in U.S. championships.

So naturally, this trainer must have consulted with his mentor during the training process and likely absorbed a great deal of experience and lessons.

The second reason was the horse itself. The colt’s sire was a British stallion named White Caviar, and his dam was an Argentinian mare named Chibola. Both of his parents had performed exceptionally on the track, with his mother even competing at Ascot at just two years old, frequently standing out in group races.

The third factor was timing. She had thoroughly studied the other eight horses in the race and created a detailed chart of their race schedules. Four of the horses had to concede weight to the two-year-old colt, three would be racing in a sprint and a hurdle before this one, and the remaining two had average performance and posed no threat to the colt.

Now that the open race season was approaching, there were several inter-school races held daily. The fact that she had chosen this one out of so many meant that she had put in a great deal of thought and had considered every possible factor. Based on her calculations, the colt had a more than 90% chance of winning.

Of course, she wasn’t about to explain all this. Let them think whatever they wanted—she only needed to wait for the result.

She couldn’t be bothered to explain anything to her Ye family peers and got up to find the racecourse manager. She wanted to speak again about Teng Yunwu. Her status was now different, and the racecourse manager naturally treated her with more respect, even revealing more insider information than before.

The owner of Teng Yunwu was a mysterious wealthy businessman who currently had six or seven racehorses housed at the racecourse. Teng Yunwu was actually the most inconspicuous among them.

As Ye Tianhui listened, hope naturally rose in her heart. She once again sincerely expressed her desire to purchase Teng Yunwu.

She said earnestly, “If the owner is willing to part with him, I’m willing to accept any price.”

In normal business dealings, this would be a poor approach—she was clearly showing how much she wanted Teng Yunwu. But she also knew that she had already inquired twice, and her intentions were blatantly obvious by now. There was no point hiding it.

Besides, since the owner was a wealthy businessman with considerable means, and already owned seven or eight horses, Teng Yunwu likely wasn’t anything special to him. Maybe he’d be willing to let it go.

However, the racecourse manager looked helpless. “Miss Ye, I’m afraid the owner is unlikely to agree to sell Teng Yunwu.”

Ye Tianhui wasn’t about to give up so easily. She tried again with persuasive words and pleaded with him to contact the Malaysian tycoon once more.

The racecourse manager had no choice but to agree to try.

Ye Tianhui didn’t leave. She waited there for the outcome.

The manager returned to his office and made the call.

Ye Tianhui stayed in the reception room outside.

About ten minutes later, the manager came out, looking rather apologetic. “Miss Ye, you’re quite lucky—the gentleman has just returned from the UK. I was able to reach him and spoke to him directly. But he made it clear that he has no intention of selling Teng Yunwu.”

Ye Tianhui asked, “Did he give a reason?”

The manager replied, “No, he just politely declined. I hope you understand. There’s not much more I can do—it would be inappropriate to press him further.”

Ye Tianhui had nothing else to say.

Clearly, the owner had some background as well. After all, anyone who could keep several horses at this racecourse clearly wasn’t ordinary. He wouldn’t sell his horse just for a bit of money—there was no need.

With a phone call and someone else relaying the message, she had no way of persuading him face to face. Saying more might just make him even less inclined to sell.

She sighed and dropped the subject, deciding to go and take a look at Teng Yunwu.

The racecourse manager said at once, “That’s fine—I’ll arrange for someone to take you.”

After thanking him, Ye Tianhui was escorted to the stables by a racecourse staff member.

As she walked past the lush green lawns and looked at the rows of stables in the distance, she couldn’t help but recall her first visit.

Back then, she had snuck in, terrified of her identity being exposed. Gu Zhiqi scolded her with disdain, and Ye Wenyin had shown her a bit of kindness. In everyone’s eyes, she was just a pitiful girl from the mainland, here to make a living.

Now that she had entered the Ye family, everything was different. Even just going to see Teng Yunwu could be done openly, with someone accompanying her.

Back at the stables again, the place was as quiet as ever. The horses lowered their heads peacefully, occasionally swishing their tails. The air was filled with the scent of hay—a feeling of warmth and abundance.

Through the wooden lattice window of the stable, Ye Tianhui looked at the horse called Teng Yunwu in this lifetime.

To its left was a glossy, shiny-coated chestnut Arabian horse, and to its right was a tall and robust black English Thoroughbred. Whether on the left or the right, both looked strong and well-proportioned, exuding the beauty and power of fine steeds.

But sandwiched between the two, Teng Yunwu really looked too lacking. Its build was slightly thin and weak, its spirit not at all vigorous, even its eyes seemed to carry a trace of laziness and nonchalance.

Even the way it lowered its head to eat grass was slow.

Ye Tianhui watched the way it ate. First, it used its nose to nudge around in the fluffy hay, picking and choosing for quite a while before finally selecting a small tuft.

—This made Ye Tianhui feel like someone trying to pick out a single shred of meat from yuxiang shredded pork.

And after this horse picked out a piece, it held it in its mouth, chewing slowly and thoroughly.

As it chewed, its cheeks moved up and down slowly, but with an expression of enjoyment, even closing its eyes slightly in comfort, as if savoring the most supreme delicacy.

Ye Tianhui looked at Teng Yunwu through the lattice, just like that, and once again confirmed—this was her Chi Yan.

Back then, the Lord of Dayuan, in order to please the Sage, had selected layer upon layer from the finest steeds of Dayuan before choosing a batch of top-grade horses. They then traveled across vast distances, passing through the Western Regions, finally arriving at Dazhao’s capital, Yanjing, and delivering them before the Sage.

Afterward, the royal stables carefully selected another batch, which were praised by the Sage as heavenly horses.

Her Chi Yan was the most outstanding of those heavenly horses, bestowed upon her by the Sage, thus forging the bond that lasted for the next three years.

Chi Yan had accompanied her under the vast sky, listening to the honking of wild geese, traversed the lush Yin Mountains on green grass and under white sun, and had once listened to the roaring waves of the Yellow River beneath the Great Qing Mountains.

In the end, it accompanied her through that calamity in her life, and gave its final flesh and bones.

Ye Tianhui recalled these past events and finally understood—although everything from before had passed, in truth, she had never forgotten. Though she had reincarnated as a human, in her bones, she was still that female general who refused to die with her eyes closed.

How could she resign herself?

It was just a pity that the dynasty of those days had long turned to ashes, not even leaving a trace in the history books.

Where would she go now to restore order and turn the tide?

She looked at the reincarnated Chi Yan for a long time before finally stepping forward.

She reached out, tentatively stroking Teng Yunwu.

At that moment, Teng Yunwu raised its eyes from the feed and looked at her.

She didn’t know if it was her imagination, but she felt Teng Yunwu recognized her.

Not the familiarity of a master from a past life, but a vague sense of recognition in this life.

It seemed this horse had a very good memory—it remembered she had come to see it last time.

Ye Tianhui smiled: “The Sage said you’re a heavenly horse. You really are extraordinary—such a good memory.”

She recalled how, when she was young and scavenging for trash, she once found some old books. Among the yellowed pages of a storybook was the tale of the Little Mermaid.

The story said only humans could possess eternal, undying souls.

Ye Tianhui stroked its mane: “Look, you also have a soul that can reincarnate. That’s why we were fated to meet again.”

Teng Yunwu tilted its head, looking at her curiously.

After a while, it lowered its head and resumed eating grass.

Ye Tianhui saw a feeding manual and log nearby. She picked it up. It was the stable staff’s record—documenting Teng Yunwu’s feeding and training conditions, along with the results of its past three inter-class competitions.

As expected, its results were still poor—one time it even came in dead last.

Ye Tianhui sighed: “Look at you, coming in last… but that might be a good thing. Maybe your current owner will give up on you someday, and then he’ll sell you to me. Let me tell you—back then I was a scruffy thief sneaking over walls, but now my identity is different. I’m the precious young lady of the Ye family. I have money now—”

At this point, she thought about it and figured her allowance probably wouldn’t be enough to buy Teng Yunwu. But that was okay—she could save up or ask Ye Lixuan to lend her some money.

So she continued, “Anyway, you don’t have to worry about the money. I’ll definitely find a way to buy you someday. Once I do, I’ll raise you myself. It’s fine if you eat well and slack off—if you don’t want to race, then don’t race. We’ll just lie around every day.”

Whether or not Teng Yunwu understood her words, it gently rubbed its head against Ye Tianhui’s arm.

Ye Tianhui smiled: “If your owner doesn’t want to let you go, that’s fine too. I’ll visit you often. If he dares mistreat you, I’ll stand up for you. From now on, I’ll be your family!”

Teng Yunwu clearly also liked it a bit, making snorting sounds from its nose. Ye Tianhui then spoke to it in a low voice—whether it understood or not, she talked to it first to build some rapport and draw it in emotionally.

As she was speaking, Ye Tianhui felt a gaze.

She turned around and saw Ye Lixuan standing outside the door.

Today, Ye Lixuan was wearing a well-tailored suit, paired with an immaculate white cotton shirt and a blue tie. He looked intellectual and refined, but also carried a certain detached and cool air.

He was a rather strange person.

When he appeared alone, he was a striking presence, with an aloof, noble temperament reminiscent of a Wei-Jin scholar—elegant and graceful. But when he appeared at the Ye family, he was like a chameleon, blending in completely, as if no one would notice his existence.

So much so that Ye Tianhui had to think back to remember that he had, in fact, attended the Ye family’s racehorse family meeting earlier.

He probably hadn’t followed Old Master Ye back. After hearing from the ranch manager that she came here, he must’ve come looking for her.

So she asked, “Daddy, how come you’re here?”

Only then did Ye Lixuan walk in and say, “I figured you didn’t have a car, so I came to give you a ride back later.”

Ye Tianhui said, “I wanted to check out this horse, so I came over. If I had known, I would’ve told you.”

Ye Lixuan gave a slight nod, and stood with Ye Tianhui in front of the stall, looking at Teng Yunwu.

He watched for a while, then asked, “You like this horse?”

Ye Tianhui: “I do. I want to buy it, but unfortunately the owner won’t part with it.”

Ye Lixuan: “Oh? Is there something special about this horse? I can’t judge horses, can’t really see anything exceptional about it.”

Ye Tianhui laughed, “It’s not exceptional, and there’s nothing particularly special about it. But the moment I saw it, I felt an instant affinity.”

Ye Lixuan studied the horse. He could also tell there was something off. Unlike the other spirited horses, this one looked rather lazy, as if even if someone kicked it, it would still stare blankly ahead with no reaction.

After that, he heard Ye Tianhui say, “What you like doesn’t have to be the best.”

Ye Lixuan was silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement, “Right. Liking something is an emotion in itself. It doesn’t need to be rational or require a reason.”

Ye Tianhui tilted her head to look at Ye Lixuan: “Why does that sound so philosophical, Daddy? You clearly studied physics!”

Ye Lixuan laughed. He rarely laughed, and when he did, his eyes actually held a bit of warmth—this warmth broke through his usual aloofness.

He said with a smile, “We who study physics, after enough time, eventually drift into philosophy. Different paths lead to the same destination.”

Ye Tianhui was curious: “Is there something similar between physics and philosophy?”

Ye Lixuan: “You’ve studied physics, right?”

Ye Tianhui nodded: “Yeah. Stuff like the movement of small spheres, electromagnetic circuits, things like that. I was average at it.”

Ye Lixuan smiled and said, “Actually, both physics and philosophy explore the logic of things. Macro-level existence has macro-level logic, and micro-level existence has micro-level logic. Consciousness itself is a form of material existence without rest mass.”

He looked at her with a smile: “So broadly speaking, physics and philosophy are essentially one and the same.”

Ye Tianhui thought about it: “I didn’t get it, but it does sound kind of reasonable.”

That’s why Dad is Dad—he’s just not the same as her.

She reincarnated into this life and didn’t want to think about such profound things—it gave her a headache just hearing them.

Ye Lixuan laughed.

Ye Tianhui: “Let’s go. I’ve pretty much seen all I wanted to see with the horse.”

Ye Lixuan nodded. Ye Tianhui said goodbye to Teng Yunwu, telling it she’d come back to see it again, and then left while chatting.

Maybe because she was in an especially good mood today, or maybe because of that card Ye Lixuan gave her, Ye Tianhui felt a little more affectionate toward him, and became more talkative.

Ye Tianhui: “By the way, when we go back later, there’s one more important thing I have to do.”

Ye Lixuan: “Oh? What is it?”

Ye Tianhui: “Find a horse race betting station. I want to place a bet.”

Ye Lixuan was puzzled.

Ye Tianhui: “I’ve already picked that horse, Life Legend. Of course I need to take the chance to place a bet. That way I gain a reputation with Grandpa, and I also make some money outside. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

Ye Lixuan raised an eyebrow: “You’re that sure it’ll win?”

Ye Tianhui: “Of course!”

Ye Lixuan: “Then how much are you planning to bet?”

Ye Tianhui calculated how much allowance she had per month and how much she could use, took into account other expenses, and finally said, “Thirty thousand Hong Kong dollars.”

Thirty thousand Hong Kong dollars—naturally, not a small amount.

A regular worker’s salary was around two thousand Hong Kong dollars. Thirty thousand was equivalent to fifteen months of a worker’s wages.

But for the Ye family, this really wasn’t much.

A little gamble livens things up.

Ye Lixuan thought for a moment and said, “Okay, then I’ll go with you. And while I’m at it—”

Ye Tianhui: “What?”

Ye Lixuan said, “Just got this month’s salary. I’ll place a bet too, ride on your luck.”

Ye Tianhui: ??