Zhu Ran was already being jolted to pieces. The horse’s speed was far beyond what he’d imagined, and balancing was incredibly hard.
He could feel the horse heating up rapidly beneath him, sweat dripping in the wind, its body hot as a blazing furnace against him, like an engine revving out of control.
Realizing stopping was hopeless, Zhu Ran focused solely on maintaining balance to avoid being thrown off.
“Duo Le, stop!” A voice suddenly rang out from behind.
“Mr. Huo…!” Zhu Ran caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye, but the horse carried him forward instantly.
When Zhu Ran had gotten his driver’s license, he’d imagined what to do if the brakes failed: find a wide road and keep going until the engine ran out of gas.
It sounded naive, but back then, he hadn’t thought he’d actually face such a situation, so he hadn’t planned seriously.
But Zhu Ran never imagined he’d really encounter it one day!
Though he stayed relatively calm on the surface, his mind was screaming bloody murder.
Aaaahhh!!! Help! Why did this have to happen to me?!
Just die already.
No, don’t give up.
The two thoughts clashed in his head. Meanwhile, the sound of hooves approached again from behind.
“Zhu Ran, give me your hand!” Huo Boyan caught up again!
Zhu Ran tried to extend his right hand, but it was much harder than he’d thought. The horse was going too fast—he needed both hands on the saddle to avoid falling, with no way to free one up.
After several failed attempts, Zhu Ran sensed Duo Le’s growing impatience as it veered wildly toward the hillside.
“We can’t go there, aaaah!!!”
Zhu Ran shouted, yanking the reins back with all his strength in a panic.
“Well done.” Huo Boyan’s voice sounded again, and at that moment, Zhu Ran’s back sank—Huo Boyan had seized the opening to leap onto Duo Le’s back.
Zhu Ran’s back slammed into a broad chest, and at the same time, the man’s arms reached around his body, taking control of the reins.
“Duo Le, stop.” Huo Boyan’s muscles were hard as iron as he yanked the reins back forcefully.
Zhu Ran fell backward from the inertia, colliding with Huo Boyan’s full chest. Before he could apologize, Huo Boyan had steered them away from the cliff.
Saved.
The thought rose in Zhu Ran’s mind, but before he could rejoice, Duo Le bolted straight toward the Horse Stable!
“Be patient—you can do it.” Huo Boyan leaned down to stroke Duo Le’s neck, his voice remarkably calm, like coaxing a child. “Good boy, stop first.”
Zhu Ran’s mind was a mess. One moment he wondered if the horse even understood words; the next, Huo Boyan’s body pressed against him.
The heat of an adult man’s body squeezed him amid the jolts, creating embarrassingly rhythmic collisions.
Zhu Ran tried to shift forward to create distance, but the saddle was so small that no matter how careful he was, he couldn’t avoid the awkwardness.
Huo Boyan kept talking, soothing the agitated horse over and over. At first, Zhu Ran didn’t understand—he figured Huo Boyan could just pull him off the horse, like in the movies—but instead, he stayed on with him, trying to tame the frenzied beast.
Zhu Ran hadn’t gotten it initially, but now he realized Huo Boyan was saving the horse. It was his own horse—if even he couldn’t control it, no one could.
“Don’t be scared—you can do it, calm down first.” Huo Boyan clamped his legs tight and skillfully worked the reins. “Remember our previous training?”
The horse remained agitated but, under Huo Boyan’s control, miraculously calmed bit by bit, gradually slowing.
Huo Boyan was like a master tamer, soothing a raging lion into a cheetah, then a harmless kitten.
When the horse finally stopped, Huo Boyan said, “Zhu Ran, let’s dismount.”
Zhu Ran hurriedly flipped off, but his movements were too big. He lost his footing and tumbled several rolls across the grass before stopping.
Huo Boyan dismounted with a stylish flip, checked that Zhu Ran was okay, then turned to instruct the coach to put leg ropes on the horse.
Only then did Zhu Ran climb up from the ground, swaying unsteadily as he brushed the grass off his disheveled self.
Huo Boyan glanced at Zhu Ran and asked, “You okay?”
He’d planned to carry Zhu Ran down, but the guy had jumped off on his own and fallen flat on his butt.
What was done was done—no point dwelling on it.
Hearing the question, Zhu Ran turned to look at Huo Boyan. His brain hadn’t caught up yet; he was dazed. After about ten seconds, he blinked hard, as if regaining his senses, and explained to Huo Boyan, “They said it was okay to ride. I didn’t know it’d turn out like this… Sorry, I…”
Huo Boyan stepped forward and hugged Zhu Ran’s trembling body.
“Don’t be afraid—it’s over now.” Huo Boyan used the same soothing tone he’d used on the horse.
Zhu Ran didn’t react at first. He stared blankly with wide eyes and instinctively pushed against Huo Boyan. But Huo Boyan didn’t let go—instead, he hugged tighter.
Huo Boyan’s shoulders were thicker than imagined, his arms toned and solid, now forming a tall wall around Zhu Ran.
Only then did Zhu Ran fully realize what had happened. Fear, unease, panic… all the negative emotions crashed over him. He finally stopped struggling, clutching Huo Boyan’s clothes tightly as his body shook uncontrollably.
“Sorry,” the man stroked his trembling back gently, patiently saying, “It’s okay now—you’re safe.”
Zhu Ran didn’t cry, but he couldn’t stop the sobs catching in his throat or the shaking of his body.
“I don’t know what happened—Duo Le just suddenly…”
“Shh, I know, I know all about it,” Huo Boyan’s large hand passed over the back of his head. He rocked Zhu Ran gently like a child and whispered in his ear, “It wasn’t your fault. I’ll look into it.”
Zhu Ran’s heart pounded wildly, his hot breaths spraying against Huo Boyan’s chest and neck. His bangs were soaked with sweat. His heart inexplicably clenched, but oddly, his mind went blank. He’d never been through anything like this and had no idea what to say.
His heartbeat grew even more intense. Zhu Ran gripped Huo Boyan’s collar, gasping for air.
“Zhu Ran, are you okay?” Noticing that something was off with Zhu Ran, Huo Boyan lowered his head to look at his face. The latter silently shook his head and buried his face in his embrace.
