Chapter 19: The Evil Wolf Dog

Before I could finish my words, the bathroom door was opened with a bang and Elias looked at me calmly with a bath towel around his lower body, "Didn't you already know if I was a man?" "You did it on purpose." I looked at him angrily. He walked past me elegantly, "Yes, I did it on purpose." Me, "..." I wondered if my mother, his mother-in-law, had backed him up while I was not home. How come he had changed from a innocent little puppy to a cranky little wolfdog since Ian showed up? The next day, when I arrived at the office, I noticed something was wrong. In the company, there was a strong fragrance of flowers. I didn't like strong smells and frowned as I came into my office, when Yvette came in to report on the day's schedule. I asked her, "What happened to the company?" Yvette answered, "Boss, someone has sent flowers to Mr. Yates early this morning." "Oh?" I raised an eyebrow slightly, "Who is it?" I didn't expect Ian to be as charming as ever and that his admirer had come to the office. Yvette seemed more embarrassed, "It's... the daughter of the chairman of Y Group." Half a month later, the news came that the daughter of the chairman of Y Group was in love, and her boyfriend was none other than Ian. A lot of people in the company were talking about Ian riding on the coattails. Some people said that he didn't want to be in TR at all, but used TR as a stepping-stone to the Y Group in order to make a rise in life. Some people wondered how he managed to straddle two boats when he liked me before. Ian didn't show up to clarify these rumors. Later in the evening, I invited Elias to dinner. To my surprise, we bumped into Ian and his new girlfriend Nellie at the restaurant. They saw me, too. The four of us, as a matter of course, sat down to dinner together. While we were eating, Nellie asked me, "Jacqueline, can you ride a horse?" Riding a horse? I had learned a little, but only in a rudimentary way. "I know a little bit." "That's great." Nellie warmly invited me, "In a couple of days, we are going to hold a horse race at the racecourse. Jacqueline, you can join us." "Sure." I agreed with a big smile, while Elias wanted to say something. After dinner, Nellie suggested going to the movies, but Elias and I declined. On the way back, Elias asked me, "Why did you accept it?" "What?" I was confused. "The horse race thing." He stopped at the traffic light and asked me, "You don't really think that little girl was sincere in her invitation, do you?" "Or what?" I asked him in return, but I already knew it in my heart. Nellie was no ordinary little girl. She was Steven Chelton's daughter. Steven was such an old fox and under his subtle influence, his daughter was certainly not a simple person either. From the way she looked at me and Ian, I knew it. She had probably investigated Ian. And I was one of Ian's ex-girlfriends. The invitation to the horse race was probably ill-intentioned. But... Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I was definitely going to go. "Why do you have to play dumb?" Elias had a solemn face. I sighed, pretending to look thoughtful, "Honey, you don't understand, the adult world is full of hopelessness." He glanced at me, "To what extent are you talking about being able to ride a horse a little?" I thought for a moment and answered carefully, "Probably to the extent that I won't fall off the horse." Elias, "..." "I was kidding and you really believe it. I'm not a horse racing expert, but I'm not weak either." "Every potter praises his own pot." Elias said. Me, "..." A long while later, Elias said lightly, "I will accompany you." I thought I was mistaken and stared at him seriously. He glared at me again, "Don't get me wrong, I just want to see if you're lying." I smiled gently. What a cute man! The day of the race was breezy and sunny. When Elias and I arrived, there were already quite a lot of people gathered at the race track. "Jacqueline, here you are." Nellie came over in a fiery red riding outfit. She was young and full of energy. When she smiled, it was as if all the flowers were blooming in spring. Who wouldn't love a pretty girl with such energy? I looked behind her and Ian was walking towards us with a faint smile. I wondered if Ian was genuinely in love with this young lady or if he had an ulterior motive. "I hold a special contest today." Nellie said, "The first place of the competition is with a generous prize and the last place is with a penalty." "What's the grand prize?" I asked. Nellie laughed, "Jacqueline, why don't you ask what the punishment is?" She was wearing an artificial smile. Sure enough, it was ill-intended. Did she have to do this? I didn't show any desire to tangle with Ian. Why did she keep targeting me? "Because she got me." Elias came over and took me by the shoulders, "We didn't ask about the punishment because we're going to win." Hey, it was not a good idea to talk big. I smiled. As soon as they left, I pulled Elias to the corner, "Honey, I know you're defending me, but we still have to be realistic, otherwise it'll be an awkward scene if we lose later." He raised his eyebrows and looked calm, "How do you know I will lose?" He said "I", not "we". "You can ride a horse?" "A little." "A little... What's the extent of that?" He gave me a confident look, "The extent to which I would not let you lose." Oh, how confident. Elias was my husband and I brought him here. If he lost too badly later, I would be embarrassed. We were divided into male and female groups. Nellie and I were in the first group. I took a look at the horse Nellie was riding, which was more expensive than a luxury car. Steven was really spoiling her. The gun went off and the horses shot off like arrows. I bent down as close as I could to the horse's back and clenched the belly. On the first lap, Nellie was in the lead. A young lady like Nellie should have been trained in horsemanship from a young age. I had learned it but only a little. But I still wanted to put up a fight in my bones. The opportunity came when Nellie kept wielding the whip because she cared too much about winning or losing. Horses were spiritual creatures. Nellie's eagerness to get the job done caused her horse to protest, raising her front hooves and neighing, and Nellie tightened her rope in a hurry to keep herself from falling. In the meantime, I was in the lead.