Patted the horse's neck, Dubian Che swung himself onto its back.
Riding the horse made one instinctively lift their head and puff out their chest, straightening the back.
Some parents liked their children to learn horse riding precisely to help shape their children's graceful posture, among other benefits such as courage-building exercises.
Dubian Che had a fine figure to begin with, now dressed in knight's attire and seated on horseback, he emanated an air of nobility and striking handsomeness – a veritable prince charming in real life.
Ladies and misses couldn't take their eyes off him, their gazes repeatedly traversing his handsome face, broad shoulders, slim waist, and long legs.
Dubian Che didn't mind them.
Seated high on the horse, he always felt a sense of freedom, as if life no longer required any facade.
With a pull on the reins, he was ready to gallop across the world.
"Is it tamed already?" Mrs. Kiyono was the first to snap back to reality, surprise showing on her delicate face beneath her short, refined hair.
"Training and riding a horse, if you want to learn, you can learn anything," Dubian Che looked down from his elevated position, surveilling them, "I was born to ride above everyone else." For origınal chapters go to ⓝovelFire.net
The others were taken aback for a moment, caught off guard by the confidence in his words that seemed so natural and self-evident.
Except for Kiyono Lin.
"Mr. Dubian," she called out with a smile, "please hold back and don't reveal your true nature."
"How can a young person not be slightly arrogant? You usually claim to be the world's cutest without a peep from me, now you're calling me out," Dubian Che replied, his voice laced with playful dissatisfaction.
Kiyono Lin gave him a disgruntled glare but then shared a smile that spoke volumes of their rapport.
Dubian Che pointed at them with his riding crop: "Step back a bit, take a photo of Mr. Dubian here."
"You're quite arrogant," Jiutiao Meiji commented with a laugh as she came to her senses.
"Tourist photo, tourist photo. I'll take it back to show off," Dubian Che promptly conceded.
Neither of the ladies minded, they stepped back merrily and took photos of Dubian Che with their phones.
"Mr. Dubian," instructed Mrs. Jiutiao, "strike the same pose as before, your aura was very dashing."
"Send it to the group after you snap it, I want to keep the best-looking one," Dubian Che looked straight ahead, deliberately keeping his expression nonchalant to avoid looking posed in the photos.
After two photos were taken in that pose, he gave the horse a gentle squeeze, and it began to move forward with a trot.
The horse, tall and with slender limbs, arched its neck proudly and moved with a lively, elastic gait as if it were a model, only enhancing the noble air of Dubian Che who sat astride.
"The epitome of a gentleman!" Mrs. Kiyono couldn't help but praise.
"Mr. Dubian, no kidding, you're exactly my ideal type when I was seventeen," laughed Mrs. Jiutiao.
Both young misses took out their phones to join in the photography.
"Every girl's dream at seventeen is of me, but I belong to Meiji, who is just one month shy of seventeen," Dubian Che said.
"I will have you by the year's end," Kiyono Lin stated calmly.
Putting down her phone, Jiutiao Meiji turned to look at her.
Before Jiutiao Meiji could speak, as if anticipating a conflict, Dubian Che quickly interjected:
"Why don't you go for a ride too? It's rather dull by myself."
"Wasn't it you who asked us to take pictures?" Mrs. Kiyono slightly chided in a girlish manner.
"That was to divert your attention. I got too carried away while riding and blurted out something rather embarrassing."
"What's that you said?" Mrs. Jiutiao inquired curiously.
"Something only a middle school second-year would say. All right, my beloved Lord Zhengji, go ride a horse," he encouraged.
In no time, all four of them mounted the horses kept at the Karuizawa stables.
Mrs. Jiutiao took a black English thoroughbred, Mrs. Kiyono a brown Arabian;
Kiyono Lin rode a white Hanoverian, Jiutiao Meiji a white Akhal Teke, also known as a Ferghana horse.
Each horse was remarkably handsome, worth hundreds of thousands to millions of US dollars.
"Let's see who's faster!" said Mrs. Jiutiao, her long legs squeezing the horse, shooting forward.
Dubian Che was certain, Jiutiao Zhenji in her youth must have been a lively and mischievous girl.
Whether driving a car or riding a horse, her exceptional bravery and courage were evident.
Such a person, once she sat formally in a Japanese-style room, transformed into the formidable Jiutiao Family Master.
"Ah, she sneaked off again!" Mrs. Kiyono lifted her whip and gave chase.
"Shall we three have a race as well?" urged Dubian Che, gathering the reins as he and the two misses lined up at the starting point.
"Absolutely!" the two vivacious young misses responded.
The race began immediately.
The horses tensed their muscles, raised their hooves, and darted forward—this moment was their entire mission.
Dubian Che felt the rhythm of the horse, the tension in its muscles.
Speed was everything, the wind hit his face, carrying with it the cool, refreshing air of the Karuizawa highlands.
Dubian Che felt exhilarated, forgetting all his troubles.
He raised his whip towards the sky, yelling with fervor:
"I am the king of the world!"
As if inspired by his bold spirit, the horse beneath him sped up, becoming an arrow.
Jiutiao Meiji and Kiyono Lin, riding their respective steeds, flanked him on both sides.
Across the riding field, some leisurely walked, some trotted, some galloped—their group surpassed them all.
Their mere appearance caught the eye, and now, clad in their riding gear, they displayed formidable equestrian skill, instantly becoming the center of attention at the course.
Floating white clouds, the azure sky;
The straight, broad grassy expanse, flanked by the rich green of larch forests on both sides.
They raced their horses through such scenery.
The first to reach the destination was Mrs. Jiutiao, who had cheated a head start.
None of the horses was inferior, and even if Dubian Che could command his horse, it was not possible to make it exceed its limits.