Nobody said that teachers at elite academies have to be heartthrobs.

Xiao Chi rode up to Ye Xing, and the chestnut horse maintained a polite and non-aggressive distance from him.

Ye Xing shook his head slightly, looking somewhat wary, but remained calm.

Xiao Chi's gaze fell on Yu Fuli, sweeping over his overly ornate and eye-catching white riding attire before finally settling on his face. His deep eyes revealed no emotion, and he simply spoke:

"Teacher Yu is very popular."

Yu Fuli's inner self immediately perked up: Of course, I, the fox, am irresistibly charming, how could I not like it?

However, he only dared to think these words to himself, while maintaining his gentle and refined teacher demeanor on the surface, even smiling modestly: "You flatter me, Xiao. If you were at the racecourse, the scene would probably be even more lively than it is now."

This statement is a veiled reference to Xiao Chi, who had been secretly watching the entire event from some unknown corner.

Xiao Chi was not angry. He shifted his gaze from Yu Fuli to Ye Xing, the black horse that sat beneath him with a steady gait, and calmly brought up an old story: "When this horse was first brought to the academy, it was wild and untamed, not as obedient as it is now."

Yu Fuli smiled, reached out and gently stroked Ye Xing's smooth neck, his fingertips digging into the thick mane and kneading it, his tone full of praise: "Ye Xing is a very obedient and intelligent horse."

As if it understood his praise, the black horse let out a loud sigh of satisfaction from its nostrils and nuzzled its head against his palm, looking completely in agreement.

Xiao Chi's gaze fell on the natural and intimate interaction between the man and the horse. His eyes flickered slightly, and he said seemingly unintentionally, "Teacher Yu seems to be popular with animals. I guess intelligent animals like foxes are too?"

Yu Fuli's fingers, which were stroking the horse's mane, paused almost imperceptibly.

Seriously, buddy?!

After all this time, you're still thinking about the fox?

Moreover, the way he asked the question was clearly a trap set for him to fall into.

His expression remained unchanged as he withdrew his hand and replied in a normal tone, "Perhaps. But I've never kept a fox before, so I'm not sure if I'm a good match for them."

This answer was perfectly watertight, neither admitting nor denying, and skillfully deflecting the question.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Chi gave a noncommittal twitch of his lips and turned his gaze back to the distant mountain silhouettes.

"Shall we run a bit, teacher?"

He suddenly suggested, his tone revealing the pride and challenge of a top rider, "Let's see if Night Star is faster, or if my Crimson Flame is better."

Yu Fuli raised an eyebrow slightly.

It's quite interesting that this young master took the initiative to challenge them to a match at this time.

Feeling he hadn't had enough fun running, he nodded in agreement: "Okay."

The two walked side by side for a while in tacit understanding, and found a flat and open grassland as their starting point.

Qiaoqi and the other students had been left far behind at the horse farm. At this moment, the only sounds on the open field were the rustling of the wind through the grass and the slightly excited snorting of the two horses.

"Use that lone tree ahead as the boundary." Xiao Chi raised his chin and pointed to a striking cedar tree standing on a gentle slope in the distance.

"Can."

Almost at the same moment the words were spoken, the two of them simultaneously spurred their horses!

Night Star and Crimson Flame, like two arrows released from a bow, rushed toward the edge of the verdant grassland at an astonishing speed.

The wind instantly transformed into a sharp whistling sound in our ears, the horses' hooves flew, crushing countless blades of grass, and the scent of earth and grass rushed towards us.

At first, the two horses were almost neck and neck, the black lightning and the red flames were evenly matched.

Yu Fuli lowered his body, feeling the smooth and surging power of Ye Xing as he rushed forward at full speed, and a long-lost sense of exhilaration surged through his entire body.

Xiao Chi was also in perfect harmony with his horse, his posture was agile, and the lines of his profile became even more sharp during high-speed movement.

However, just as the competition was halfway through, and the lone tree was getting closer and closer, in that tense moment when the outcome was uncertain—

A sudden change has occurred!

For some reason, the Crimson Flame beneath Xiao Chi suddenly let out a sharp screech, its galloping rhythm instantly becoming chaotic! Without warning, it suddenly kicked wildly to the side and forward, then its entire body twisted and stood up in an extremely unnatural posture, as if trying to shake off the rider on its back!

"Whoa—!" Xiao Chi reacted quickly, tightening the reins abruptly in an attempt to control the horse, and shouted sternly.

But Chi Yan had completely gone into a frenzy, his eyes were bloodshot, and he did not respond to the orders. Instead, he shook and thrashed about even more wildly, and even tried to turn around and rush around!

All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

Yu Fuli, who was standing right next to him, felt a chill run down her spine, and Ye Xing was also startled by this sudden turn of events, causing her to stumble.

Seeing that Chi Yan was heading uncontrollably towards a steep slope, if Xiao Chi were thrown off or dragged down the slope by the mad horse, the consequences would be unimaginable!

Before Yu Fuli could think further, in the instant Ye Xing calmed down from his shock, he suddenly kicked off the stirrups and, using that momentary force, leaped from Ye Xing's back to the side and forward, accurately pouncing towards Xiao Chi!

"Loosen the reins!"

He shouted sharply, his arm barely managing to hook around Xiao Chi's arm, which was taut from controlling the horse, while his other hand tried to grab the reins of the crimson flames.

The two bodies collided violently in mid-air, and then, under the influence of gravity, they crashed heavily onto the thick meadow, rolling several times before the force dissipated.

Almost the instant they landed, the unbridled Crimson Flame roared and charged wildly toward the gentle slope not far away, its hooves thundering. It quickly disappeared behind the slope, leaving behind only a mess of grass clippings and two terrified people.

Yu Fuli's vision blurred from the fall, and his back and arms burned with pain, but he immediately propped himself up and looked at Xiao Chi beneath him: "How are you?"

Xiao Chi's situation was even worse.

He was underneath, taking the brunt of the impact. His forehead was cut by stubble of grass, and blood seeped out. His face turned pale from the pain and the momentary feeling of suffocation.

However, his usually indifferent eyes were fixed on Yu Fuli's face, filled with astonishment and some deeper, unreadable emotion.

His arm was still being held tightly by Yu Fuli, and he could feel the other's unusually high body temperature due to nervousness.

He maintained the same protective posture as Yu Fuli, his right arm tightly wrapped around the other's lean waist.

"You..." Xiao Chi's voice was a little hoarse. He stared intently at Yu Fuli, his heart pounding, unsure whether it was because of the fall from the horse or because of Yu Fuli, whose lower body was almost pressed against his.

The wind blew across the wilderness, whipping up blades of grass and sweeping past the two of them.

In the brief moment of breathtaking closeness, the heart-stopping fall from the horse, the rescue, the tangled limbs, and Yu Fuli's unwavering command to loosen the reins and his figure rushing towards him without hesitation were all firmly etched in his mind.

Xiao Chi let the blood droplets slide down his forehead, but his gaze never left Yu Fuli's face. His voice was so low it almost dissipated in the wind:

"Was Teacher Yu reckless just now?"