Thunder Muyang escalated his speed, rushing to get away from the fans. Within no ti, they ca to the smart gates. They hovered and shifted, moving without a specific pattern.
They tried to trick the riders but Thunder Muyang would not be tricked. He twitched his ears and dodged like he could anticipate every move. To i i, it was just another maze, a puzzle that could be figured out if one found the right piece.
And she did.
They erged from the gates with only twenty five minutes left on the clock. It was ti to face the swinging confetti hamrs that dropping up and down in turns.
"I..." i i started.
Thunder dashed ahead without waiting for her instructions, leaping over hamrs and pausing behind others like a human waiting for the red light at the road before crossing.
His nostrils flared and his tail swished from side to side, filled with impatience. He raced to the finish line simply to finish the race and get it over with.
As confetti canons went off, he raced with i i on his back all the way to the truck in which he had been transported to the grounds.
She dismounted, he entered the truck and laid down. Slowly, he started munching on his treats and water that he had left behind. He even had a pile of apples and fruit in gift baskets that had been waiting for his victorious return.
"Buddy, were you in a hurry just because you wanted to return and eat?" she asked him.
He neighed loudly. i i was sure that she saw a nod in his head movents as he hurried to gulp the baked apples with had been coated in so kind of applesauce.
"You realize that nobody was going to eat your treats, right?" she asked him.
Thunder Muyang snorted. She said that and forgot about the two gluttonous dogs that would eat them out of the house if nobody was keeping an eye on them.
A drone in the air was capturing their interaction and sending the live feed to the huge screen on the race track. It was also playing on holograms on the track and outside.
The comntators were already spinning the story, claiming that the horse had only won because it was worried about theft of its treats.
The Jun bodyguards and caretakers ca and took over horse watching duty as Thunder had no interest in returning for the photography session.
i i was alone for her victory speech. She hugged the cup tightly, kissed it once and raised it in the air, jumping up and down. Her face was red, flushed with excitent and all the screaming she had done.
"Congratulations on your win." Ellie Rice, one of the comntators said to her before shoving a big microphone in front of her mouth. "How do you feel?"
"Excited of course." She replied.
"Would you like to say anything to anyone or share a special ssage?"
i i kissed the trophy again. "I would like to thank Thunder Muyang, my horse. He put in all the work on this one. I was just holding on for the ride."
"He wanted his apples." Ellie said.
i i laughed. "Yes, he wanted those apples that his grandmother baked for him. Speaking of people that have contributed to my victory, I would love to thank my mother Princess Chi Lian for pushing back into horse racing. My father Jun Muyang, he is my trainer and biggest fan. My romance partner Feng Jingzhe, he always makes sure that I am top shape ntally and physically. My twin brother....."
"You are about to thank your whole family now." Ellie joked.
i i giggled. "Yes...my entire family has to be thanked because they have all contributed sothing to get where I am today. Junjie, ihua, Zhilan, Taiyuan....my best friends that have fought battles on my behalf."
The cara cut to the Emperor who stood up and waved at the crowd.
"Is it true that you are soon getting married again?" Ellie asked her.
i i was blinked. She was so shocked that the cup almost fell from her hands. With surprise in her eyes, she batted her eyelashes at the comntator. "Err...this question is...."
"It is what so of your fans want to know." Ellie insisted.
i i nodded. It looked like the Peepstar’s gossip was not just famous in her holand, it crossed boundaries and fernted among strangers unknown. "I am in a very beautiful relationship and very happy right now. When I am ready to marry again, I will announce it to the whole world by buying a giant diamond ring for my man."
"Mommy..." a little voice scread before a shadow passed the cara and a little girl leaped into i i’s arms.
She carried Mingzhu and the trophy easily, without dropping anything.
"Aww.." Ellie cooed. "This must be your daughter. It looks like she was impatient to see you."
i i smiled fondly. "She is a little troublemaker, my baby girl."
"This is your fifth Sydney Cup win. Does it feel any different from your victories of the past?" Ellie asked.
i i nodded. "This one ans more because it represents a rebirth."
And that was the headline of every paper and first word out of every news anchor that evening. The Sydney Cup was being hailed as the mont of rebirth for a forr champion. It was as if she had not won the Vermillion Derby before it.
Later, at the beach house which the Emperor Eritus owned, everyone gathered to celebrate her win. The celebration included a bonfire and a lot of champagne which was served in biodegradable cups.
Junjie was the party DJ, mixing music as if it was his last opportunity to do so. Everyone seed to be having fun. Even Long Wen who was eating small pieces of fried liver while reading a book on the history of horse racing was nodding her head to her father’s tunes.
i i was leaning against Jingzhe, head resting on his shoulder and her eyes focused on their daughter who was attempting to jump higher than her cousins.
She had no words, just a smile and warm grateful heart. From now on, other horse races would be easy and a walk in the park for her. She would not need to prove herself anymore. Not to anyone and not to herself.
The only mountain she had left to climb was to ensure that Mo Liang was locked away for a very long ti.
Maybe after, she would address the marriage questions with a proper answer.
As if he could read her mind, Jingzhe tilted his phone her way, showing her a picture of a giant diamond ring.
When she raised her eyebrows, he swiped the screen and moved to a picture of them together with Mingzhu at Lian’s birthday.
The image scrolled by and another giant diamond ring appeared.
She snorted. The male vixen was clearly dropping hints.
Reviews
All reviews (0)