Chapter 38.2: He actually hid a woman away!

Not far away, Ye Wenyin was staring blankly at the father and daughter, suddenly unwilling to move forward.

She had been planning to leave, but the car broke down. A few of her cousins were also leaving and had said they’d give her a ride, but she suddenly thought of Daddy, and seeing that he hadn’t left yet, she decided to come back to take a look, so she refused the ride.

She was curious and returned to the racetrack—who would’ve thought she’d witness this scene?

In the warm sunlight, on the white-pebble path through the green lawn, that always refined and aloof father was now chatting and laughing with Ye Tianhui, his expression even carrying a trace of affectionate warmth.

She didn’t know what Daddy had said, but Ye Tianhui actually laughed out loud—laughing happily and freely.

This was something he had never done with her.

So, even if Daddy didn’t know she wasn’t his biological child, he still didn’t like her?

Why?

She had clearly worked so hard and was so outstanding—why did Ye Tianhui receive all of Ye Lixuan’s love the moment she arrived?

Seeing the two of them walk over, Ye Wenyin bit her lip, turned around, and headed toward the parking lot.

But when she got there, she saw Ye Lizhen.

Ye Lizhen, dressed in a suit and leather shoes, stood quietly with two bodyguards and a secretary beside him.

Ye Lizhen and Ye Lixuan had very different temperaments.

Ye Lixuan was only thirty-eight, looked young, and had the intellectual elegance and aloofness of a scholar.

Ye Lizhen was forty-five. Though he was only six or seven years older, he gave off an aged feeling and the shrewdness of a mature man in the business world.

Ye Wenyin narrowed her eyes slightly and walked straight forward.

Ye Lizhen hadn’t expected Ye Wenyin to still be there. He was a bit surprised and smiled as he said, “Wenyin, why haven’t you left yet?”

Ye Wenyin simply smiled with pursed lips, raised her face to look at Ye Lizhen, and said, “Second Uncle, my daddy and the others have already left. My car broke down. Can I ride in your car?”

Ye Lizhen was a little surprised and looked at Ye Wenyin’s smile.

The girl’s smile was soft and beautiful, carrying a trace of dependence.

So he smiled and said, “Of course you can, get in the car.”

………………..

The next day was Saturday. Ye Tianhui went to Old Master Ye’s main residence.

Old Master Ye’s tea room was located in a floor-to-ceiling glass room facing the villa’s garden. It was elegantly and uniquely arranged. One could enjoy the winter snow and spring scenery in the garden, while still having modern conveniences like air conditioning and a television—it could be said to combine the convenience of modern life with the romantic beauty of nature.

From Ye Tianhui’s observation, Old Master Ye liked this glass room. If the Ye family members came to be lectured or attend family meetings, it was always held here.

At this moment, the television was already on. At ten o’clock, the inter-class race Ye Tianhui had bet on would begin.

Today was Saturday, so no one had to work. Ye Lizhen, Ye Lixuan, and other important members of the Ye family arrived one after another.

Ye Wenyin, Ye Wenjing, and the others also came, quietly standing to the side. Only Ye Tianhui was called by the old man to sit beside him.

At that moment, Tan Ma came over, bringing two Filipino maids carrying a tea set.

The old man turned his head and asked Ye Tianhui, “Tianhui, what kind of tea do you like to drink?”

Ye Tianhui glanced over and immediately understood. “Grandpa, you like to drink jasmine tea, right?”

The old man laughed as soon as he heard this. “Yes, Tianhui has good eyes. I just love jasmine tea!”

Jasmine tea, in fact, was just scented tea with jasmine flowers. In the eyes of traditional southern tea connoisseurs, this strayed from the true essence. But old Beijingers loved this flavor. Proper southern teas were actually less popular. It was said that when the Xuantong Emperor left the Forbidden City, the Committee for the Aftermath of the Forbidden City sold off a batch of leftover supplies at Shenwu Gate. Among them, top-grade Yunnan Pu’er sold for less than ordinary jasmine tea on the market. When people from Guangdong found out later, it was heartbreaking.

At that moment, Ye Tianhui smiled and said, “This jasmine tea has a mellow taste and fresh floral fragrance. Naturally, other types can’t compare. I remember once reading a poem by Wang Zhenzeng from Fuzhou, which mentioned, ‘Fragrant buds weeping dew, a faint fragrance drifting. Slender hands measuring pearls, still recall the gentle preservation on an ice tray.’ He was talking about jasmine tea.”

The old man laughed heartily. “Yes, yes, to think someone as young as you knows these things!”

Naturally, he was quite pleased with Ye Tianhui and instructed Tan Ma to pour tea for her so they could taste it together.

Ye Tianhui listened and naturally understood—if not for her past life’s experiences, how could she know how to appreciate tea?

Tea tasting was a leisurely pleasure, a refined indulgence when life was abundant. In this life, she hadn’t even had enough to eat, how could she know how to savor tea to win the old man’s praise?

It was actually a bit ironic.

As she was thinking this, Tan Ma had already half-squatted in front of Ye Tianhui to pour the tea, very respectful.

Ye Tianhui merely gave a faint glance. This kind of long-time household servant, in front of the person in power and in front of a regular young miss, probably had two completely different faces. But at the moment, it wasn’t worth fussing over.

Just as they were sipping tea, the inter-class race began. Everyone looked toward the TV screen as the commentator began introducing today’s horses. Several horses were warming up. Through the camera, they could see the horse Ye Tianhui had bet on—Life Legend. It was clearly a strong young colt, with developed muscles and an eager, ambitious demeanor.

Old Master Ye hadn’t originally had high hopes, but seeing this scene, he began to feel a faint sense of anticipation.

Soon, the race began. At the sound of the bell, the horses shot out of the gate. As hooves thundered, the horses charged side by side, neck and neck.

The “da-da-da” of the hooves echoed in the living room. Everyone stared at the screen, their expressions tense.

No matter what, horse racing always stirred people’s nerves—what’s more, this seemingly unremarkable race was tied to the future distribution of power and resources within the Ye family.

Ye Tianhui watched the screen. Sure enough, the horse she had picked—Life Legend—performed just as she had expected, fierce and powerful. It charged forward with all its might, its hind legs nearly stepping on its own girth strap. It finally pulled ahead of the others by half a horse’s length.

The commentator’s voice became excited: “This is our two-year-old colt, Life Legend! He’s actually in the lead!”

The old man slapped the armrest of the sofa, visibly excited. “This horse is amazing!”

That statement landed like a hammer in Ye Lizhen’s heart.

If this horse was amazing, then it meant Ye Tianhui had good judgment. And if she had good judgment, she would earn more of the old man’s favor.

His eyes locked tightly on the horse. He wished for it to fall, to have an accident, to get unlucky!

Let the other horses catch up, pass it!

Beside him, Ye Wenyin was also holding her breath, watching intently. She still held onto hope in her heart.

Right now, Life Legend was on the outside track. If it wanted to overtake the other horses, it had to switch to the inner track. Otherwise, in the next two turns, whatever lead it had would be gone!

But on such a narrow racecourse, where even the slightest error could result in huge differences, trying to seize another horse’s track was easier said than done. It was only half a horse’s length ahead—how could the other horses possibly give way?

The others clearly understood this too and were all watching the screen intently, waiting to see what would happen next.

Then, that two-year-old colt picked up speed even more. It pushed forward with all the strength in its young body. As it galloped, it overtook the other horses’ noses, then their necks, then even their bellies. In the end, it was almost more than half a horse’s length ahead!

Ye Wenjing clenched his fists and couldn’t help but shout, “Come on! Go!!”

But after shouting, he suddenly realized—he wasn’t at the racetrack. He was in the living room. He instantly felt embarrassed.

He was just thinking about apologizing, but who would’ve thought that the other young cousins couldn’t hold back either and shouted, “Run!”

The originally oddly quiet living room suddenly became lively, even the old man rasped out, “Good job, run!!”

Ye Lizhen’s face darkened as he watched the scene before him. Were all these people hoping he’d lose?

What infuriated him the most was that even his own biological son was among those cheering!

Was he stupid, actually hoping Ye Tianhui would win?

As he fumed silently, suddenly a cheer erupted from the living room: “Oh my god, it’s amazing!”

Ye Lizhen was slightly surprised and quickly looked over.

At a glance, he too was shocked.

This two-year-old colt really was like a newborn calf unafraid of the tiger. After overtaking more than half a horse’s length, it actually wanted to seize the inner track!

How was that even possible!

It was too ruthless!

And even the commentator on-site grew tense, beginning to explain the situation to the viewers.

“Is this jockey not afraid of dying?”

“This horse isn’t obedient, it’s gone mad! Can’t control it, can’t control it!”

Ye Tianhui also saw it — this horse was actually stubbornly and disobediently forcing its way to seize the inner track in advance.

This was extremely dangerous!

From the TV screen came the deafening roar of the crowd, and the commentator’s voice was trembling too. Clearly, everything seemed out of control.

People saw the jockey on Life Legend straighten his back, body pressed onto Life Legend’s mane. He couldn’t control the horse — all he could do was go along with it.

Then, everyone saw the jockey pull the left rein, and immediately after, Life Legend leapt, soaring into the air, neighing shrilly, hooves flaring — the horse surged forward with tremendous momentum.

In mid-air, its powerful and vigorous form, every muscle rippling with strength.

Shock swept across the audience, their roars surging like crashing waves!

Who would have thought a mere Class Five horse race could have such a spectacular moment!

The Ye family members all widened their eyes and held their breath — no one could make a sound.

Then, in just an instant, everyone saw that, amidst the impact of speed and power, the horse landed — it landed steadily on the track, and using the inertia from before, miraculously seized the inner track.

It succeeded!

The commentator shouted, “It actually did it — it seized the inner track! It’s gained an unprecedented advantage!”

Ye Tianhui looked at the scene before her and knew she had made the right bet this time.

With already more than half a horse’s length advantage, now this horse had even forcefully and aggressively taken over the other horses’ inner track — this meant it would have an unmatched edge in the coming curve.

No horse could get close to it anymore.

Sure enough, everything afterward went smoothly — with almost no suspense, Life Legend finished first.

Thunderous applause erupted at the venue, and many began shouting Life Legend’s name. Clearly, this two-year-old colt had won its first battle and earned honor for itself — and a future opportunity.

The old man of the Ye family was overjoyed. “Tianhui truly has a unique eye — Tianhui, tell us, how did you pick this horse?”

Everyone around turned to look at Ye Tianhui.

Only then did Ye Tianhui start explaining her analysis to the old man. Of course, she kept part of the information hidden — she didn’t want to reveal all her key intel. As long as she could convince everyone, that was enough.

After she spoke, the old man nodded in praise. “Excellent, excellent! No wonder you picked right. From the perspective of Sunzi’s Art of War, you’ve grasped the timing, terrain, and human factors!”

Ye Wenyong laughed lazily at the side. “Tianhui is really amazing — such sharp eyes.”

The younger generation in the family were all full of admiration. Then Ye Wenbin suddenly said regretfully, “Still, it was just a lucky guess. If I’d known, I should’ve asked you and followed your advice to buy some betting slips. Would’ve made a fortune——”

He abruptly stopped mid-sentence, realizing he shouldn’t say more.

The scene quieted instantly. He glanced guiltily at the old man.

Luckily, the old man was in a great mood and didn’t mind. He even laughed and said, “Yes, Tianhui, give us some tips!”

Ye Tianhui listened and laughed. “It’s not that easy. I gathered who-knows-how-much information, filtered through countless interclass races before I selected this one that I felt sure about. It’s one thing for me to guess on my own — if I gave tips, wouldn’t I ruin my own reputation pretty quickly?”

Still, she had naturally bet on this one herself. She had already checked — the odds were 1:3.5, which meant she earned about seventy or eighty thousand Hong Kong dollars this time!

Although she had entered the Ye family and had a professor father who was fairly decent to her, it looked like she wouldn’t be short on money for now. But money, of course — the more the better. She wanted to save up as much as possible. Maybe one day, that Malaysian tycoon would be willing to part with Teng Yunwu, and she could buy it back.

Otherwise, just relying on her current pocket money, it would still be a bit difficult to buy Teng Yunwu.

She remembered Ye Lixuan had also placed a bet — seemed like he’d bet ten thousand. Her gaze swept over, and Ye Lixuan happened to look over as well.

She raised her eyebrows proudly.

Ye Lixuan’s expression paused slightly, and there was a faint trace of a smile in his eyes, but he withdrew his gaze.

Beside him, Ye Wenyin saw this scene, and her expression turned a bit unpleasant.

From the moment that horse called Life Legend took first place, she had felt suffocated.

In that instant, she felt she had reached the peak of the most miserable moment in her life.

She had worked so hard, had been so outstanding since childhood—yet what had she received? Ye Tianhui came along, this girl from the mainland, and just by horse racing alone, she had easily gained Daddy and Grandpa’s favor.

At that moment, she looked toward Ye Lizhen sitting nearby.

Ye Lizhen sat there expressionless, his face betraying no joy or anger.

She took a deep breath and slowly closed her eyes.