“I’m saved!” Shui Junzhuo breathed out in relief as she laid in Su Tao’s embrace before she tried to struggle up a long time later. However, she was already completely exhausted after being on the horse.

When Qin Jingyu caught up and saw the two of them together, he felt complicated in his heart. The reason why he bought this horse was to get on Shui Junzhuo’s good side since he knew that Shui Junzhuo had a hobby for horse-riding.

But he never expected that his plan would turn against him and put Shui Junzhuo in danger.

Qin Jingyu swiftly got down from the horse and raised his whip, lashing it at the scarlet horse before aiming the tranquilliser at its head.

At this moment, Shui Junzhuo responded and called out, “Big Brother Jingyu, what are you doing?”

“This is a beast! Not only is it not obeying orders, it even brought calamity to you! It’s useless to keep it, so I might as well kill it!” Qin Jingyu frowned.

Calming herself down, Shui Junzhuo immediately stood up and interrupted, “Big Brother Jingyu, this is a good horse. As long as you manage to tame it, it’s even better than Bright Prospects. Isn’t it a waste for you to kill it?”

“I can always find a good horse, but it won’t be worth it if you were injured because of it.” Qin Jingyu replied in disdain.

“You can’t blame anyone for it, and it’s all my fault since I underestimated its temper. If I’d been well prepared, the situation earlier wouldn’t have occurred.” Shui Junzhuo wryly smiled.

Letting out a deep sigh, Qin Jingyu replied, “How about this, I’ll give this horse to you as your compensation. You will be the one to determine its life or death.”

Shui Junzhuo was caught by surprise and responded, “Big Brother Jingyu, I heard that you’d spent USD$3,000,000 for this horse. It’s too expensive, so how can I accept it?”

“Truthfully speaking, I don’t know much about horses, and I’m not as professional as you. If it earns money in the future, then you can just give me a share.” Qin Jingyu smiled as he waved his hand.

Looking at Qin Jingyu, Shui Junzhuo hesitated and inwardly sighed. She knew Qin Jingyu’s intention. He was merely finding an excuse to gift the horse to her. With his net worth, the cost of this horse was only a scoop of water in the ocean.

Beside Shui Junzhuo, Su Tao smiled. “Just accept it. Otherwise, this horse will surely suffer.”

Seeing that even Su Tao felt that she should accept the horse, Shui Junzhuo finally nodded her head.

“Then, I’ll manage it on your behalf!”

Seeing that she had finally agreed, Qin Jingyu smiled. At this moment, the staff from the ranch also rushed over and first put the scarlet horse under control while Su Tao, Qin Jingyu, and Shui Junzhuo went into a vehicle.

Recalling the dangerous experience from before, Shui Junzhuo realised that Su Tao’s horse-riding was outstanding and smiled. “You can never judge the book by its cover. Why did you say that you don’t know how to ride a horse? Your horse-riding skill is clearly above mine!”

“You asked if I know how to ride a horse, and I can’t possibly sing myself in praise. Some abilities cannot be easily shown, and when it’s shown, then it must be an earth-shattering display.” Su Tao humbly smiled.

Hearing those words, Qin Jingyu became depressed, since he thought initially that he could give Su Tao a slap to embarrass the latter. However, he never expected that Su Tao’s horse-riding skill would be so superb and that he would even save Shui Junzhuo. Thus, Qin Jingyu felt that Su Tao was harder to deal with than he had imagined.

“Oh, right. Where did you learn how to ride a horse?” Shui Junzhuo curiously asked.

Pursing his lips, Su Tao tried his best to recall the past and explained, “It’s a long story! When I was sixteen, I already had a decent achievement in my medical skills, but I did not have many patients back then. So my family members got me to treat horses to train my skills. Back then, I stayed in the plains for half a year growing up with horses, so I naturally learned how to ride one as well.”

“So that’s the case. You can also treat horses on top of people?” Shui Junzhuo smiled. She was shocked by Su Tao’s revelation.

“That’s right. I’m also an animal physician.” Su Tao self-mocked.

His words made Shui Junzhuo chuckle as the fright she felt earlier dissipated.

“You’re always full of surprises.”

Sitting by the side, Qin Jingyu was fuming with anger since he couldn’t interrupt their conversation. Despite being in the same vehicle, he felt that Shui Junzhuo and Su Tao were in a world of their own.

Thus, he smiled and tried his best to find a topic, “Junzhuo, you’re leaving the country soon. Have you prepared your stuff? You can tell me if you need anything, and I can prepare them for you.”

His words left Shui Junzhuo stunned as she fell into silence.

Su Tao was also caught by surprise. He never expected that Shui Junzhuo would soon be going overseas.

Shui Junzhuo initially wanted to be the one to tell Su Tao about it, but she never expected that Qin Jingyu would reveal it on her behalf, putting her in an awkward situation.

“The embassy will prepare them.” Shui Junzhuo replied with her face blushed.

Letting out an inward sigh, Su Tao smiled. “Have a smooth trip!”

Hearing his words, Shui Junzhuo’s lips sank as she became speechless.

At this moment, Qin Jingyu knew that he had achieved his goal. With just a sentence, he had directly told Su Tao that their current relationship wasn’t realistic. Whether it was short or long-term, this was determined to be a relationship without any results.

After that, the three of them ate in the ranch’s canteen. Although the three of them appeared to be passionate in their conversation, there was a hidden sorrow in the atmosphere.

In between, Shui Junzhuo went to wash her hands, which Qin Jingyu coughed. He first took a sip of tea and cleared his throat, “We can be considered acquaintances now that we had a meal together.”

“You don’t have to beat around the bush.” Su Tao nodded.

“I’m a straightforward person, and that goes the same for my words as well. I don’t like to beat around the bush.” Qin Jingyu’s voice sank deep as he continued, “I hope that you can maintain your distance with Shui Junzhuo.”

“Your reason for it?” Su Tao helplessly sighed. He could tell that Qin Jingyu did not consider him to be an opponent. Although he could be regarded as somewhat wealthy now, he paled in comparison to Qin Jingyu. It was akin to the difference between two tycoons that earn ten and five million, respectively.

“Because I like Shui Junzhuo, and you’re not worthy of her.” Qin Jingyu unreasonably said, then continued, “I’ve already investigated you. Aside from Junzhuo, you also have ambiguous relationships with a few other women. Junzhuo is a jade, and she needs to be well-protected.”

Su Tao bitterly smiled. “There’s a problem in your logic. Whether I’m worthy of Shui Junzhuo or not, it’s between us. As a third party, you’re not qualified to make that claim. If she’s happy with me, then it’s her freedom!”

“So you’re clearly trying to go against me?” Qin Jingyu sneered before he frowned.

Stretching his hands out, Su Tao replied, “You’ve got it wrong. You’re the one that’s trying to stir shit with me!”

Enraged by Su Tao’s words, Qin Jingyu’s expression turned grave as he looked at Su Tao. “You have more backbone than I imagined. It looks like this must be the reason why Shui Junzhuo fell for you.”

Qin Jingyu was ranked second in China’s Elite Ranking, and his reputation was well-deserved. He’s experienced, and he’s capable of exercising control over his emotions.

Su Tao could tell that Qin Jingyu was trying to enrage him on purpose by launching provocations.

When a man is enraged, he would be engulfed by emotions and express it with his facial expression, which meant that Qin Jingyu was trying to test Su Tao.

“Your company has encountered some trouble recently, right? I think that it’s pretty terrible for the government department to constantly come knocking.” Qin Jingyu smiled.

This time, Su Tao’s face changed as he questioned, “That was done by you?”

“Strictly speaking, yes!” Qin Jingyu smiled.

“All I did was to link the threads. Wang Guofeng is a pretty good chess piece, and this is also because you have overlooked your scheme by underestimating the external factors. If you’re willing to take my suggestion, then I can resolve your problem with just a call. This way, you will be able to avoid any losses.”

Su Tao took a deep breath. He knew that he would’ve fallen for Qin Jingyu’s trap if he became furious at this moment. Thus, he coldly replied, “I have to say that your arrangements are pretty smart. If you didn’t tell me about this, I still wouldn’t know that you’re the mastermind. Then again, I’m curious. Why did you tell me about it since you’re using Wang Guofeng to deal with me?”

“Because I feel that I should treat you as an opponent, and it’s my form of respect to you.” Qin Jingyu smiled.

“I refuse your suggestion. Come at me if you want to start a war, at least I now know that Junzhuo’s heart is leaning towards me.” Su Tao replied with a solemn tone.

Shaking his head, Qin Jingyu smiled. “It will all change. Junzhuo is an outstanding lady, and she will surely leave you if you’re a failure. On the other hand, I have tons of ways to destroy you; the current turmoil with the Three Flavour International is just the beginning.”

“I’ll deal with whatever you throw at me.” Su Tao sneered.

At this moment, Shui Junzhuo came out of the washroom with her makeup patched.

Seeing her return, the two men instantly stopped their conversation in rapport.

When Shui Junzhuo sat down, Su Tao smiled and picked up a piece of sautéed meat and placed it on her plate.

“Junzhuo, you should eat more. You seem to be losing weight recently.”

His actions left Shui Junzhuo stunned, since she never expected that Su Tao would suddenly become so passionate.

Moving over to her ears, Su Tao whispered a joke to her that caused Shui Junzhuo to burst out in chuckles.

“A few years ago, there was an incident where this woman liked to eat meat, and she stuffed indigo woad root into the meat during the swine influenza hype. Just how much was she craving for meat?”

Sitting to the side, Qin Jingyu’s expression did not change, but his chest was on the verge of exploding with rage.

How hard was it to tease Shui Junzhuo?

But at the same time, Qin Jingyu found Su Tao childish and cheap by purposely putting up such an intimate scene to piss him off.

The meaning behind Su Tao’s action was clear. Didn’t you ask me to maintain my distance with Shui Junzhuo? Then I’ll show you how intimate we can be!

Under Su Tao’s scheme, Qin Jingyu became the third-wheel on the side.