It wasn’t absolute intimacy, but more of a deep respect, so he was bound to show his best side in front of him.

So Susan Clark cleared her throat lightly.

Ian Shaw looked up at her.

“President Shaw.” Susan Clark gave a shy smile, looking at Ian Shaw nervously. “Could I trouble you to teach me?”

“Alright.”

For some reason, his tone gave Susan Clark a sense of mischief.

Maybe it was just her imagination.

Susan Clark gave herself a little pep talk—what could he possibly do to her? Feed her to the horses?

So she looked up and smiled, “Thank you, President Shaw.”

Ian Shaw raised his hand and made a “please” gesture.

Susan Clark wasn’t a delicate person; she had a habit of working out and a background in dance, so getting on a horse wasn’t difficult for her.

Her riding pants were soft and fitted. She mounted the horse with ease, tossed her hair, grabbed the saddle, and looked down at Ian Shaw.

Ian Shaw held the reins, glanced at her, and took a step back.

Susan Clark blinked. Wasn’t he supposed to walk in front and lead the horse?

Why go to the back?

Before she could figure it out, a wave of warmth came from behind, the saddle dipped, and the horse lurched forward a few steps.

Due to inertia, Susan Clark leaned back and ended up against someone’s chest.

In that split second, it felt like the air stopped moving.

Susan Clark’s upper body froze completely, not daring to move, which only heightened her senses. She could clearly feel Ian Shaw’s presence slowly enveloping her.

Ian Shaw reached out to grab the reins, his arms encircling Susan Clark.

Susan Clark: “……”

It didn’t really seem necessary to teach her like this.

Ian Shaw seemed to notice Susan Clark’s stiffness.

“What’s wrong?”

His tone was calm, but Susan Clark seemed to detect a hint of mockery.

Her nervousness was probably obvious by now, so there was no point in hiding it.

“It’s nothing.” Susan Clark gritted her teeth and said, word by word, “It’s my first time riding a horse, I’m a bit nervous.”

Ian Shaw responded with a simple “Mm.”

But inexplicably, Susan Clark felt a chill down her back.

Why did even a single “Mm” from him feel so off?

With Ian Shaw’s movements, the horse began to walk slowly.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled over the horse, and with each jolt of the horse’s back, the light shimmered dazzlingly.

Ian Shaw was unhurried and silent, strolling toward the track as if taking a walk.

Susan Clark felt her breathing grow uneven, even a little hot. The up-and-down motion of the horse made her head bump into Ian Shaw’s chin.

Susan Clark couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Even though she’d only known Ian Shaw for a few hours, his personality was already clear—he wasn’t supposed to be like this.

Just as she was thinking this, Charles Green, who had long since ridden ahead, turned back and waved at them, signaling for them to catch up.

Before Susan Clark could respond, the horse beneath her suddenly jolted and then shot forward.

“Ah!” She couldn’t help but cry out, clutching the saddle tightly as they bounced along.

The horse ran fast, the saddle slamming up into her again and again, making her legs ache, and with the rapid acceleration, it only took a few moments for Susan Clark to feel dizzy and disoriented.

What’s more, Ian Shaw seemed to be deliberately keeping some physical distance, his arms not holding her in place, so with every bump, Susan Clark felt like she was about to fall off.

“Slow down!” she shouted, gripping the saddle tightly. “Slow down, slow down!”

Ian Shaw acted as if he hadn’t heard her, going even faster.

Knew it—he’s definitely not a good person!

The horse grew more and more excited, and when it leapt over the fence, it nearly spun 180 degrees, making Susan Clark’s vision blur and her head spin.

——

“Slow down!”

“Is this horse crazy? Slow down, ah ah ah!”

After several laps, Susan Clark had lost track of how many times she’d screamed. Her throat burned, her hair was a wild mess plastered to her face by the wind.

She felt like she’d lost half her life, while Ian Shaw’s breathing was still perfectly calm.

Seeing another fence ahead, the horse was about to charge over it at full speed. Susan Clark felt terrible, her heart in her throat, eyes wide open.

“Slow down!” She grabbed Ian Shaw’s hand, her voice tinged with tears. “Please! Slow down! I’m begging you!”

The moment her warm palm pressed against him, Ian Shaw looked down and saw her face, pressed to his chest, drained of all color—paler than the pearl on her earlobe, with only the tip of her nose flushed from excitement, and what looked like a sheen of moisture on her lashes.

Susan Clark didn’t notice the gaze from behind. All she knew was that if this kept up, she’d turn into a human fountain and show Ian Shaw exactly what she’d had for lunch.

But just as her stomach churned, the reins in front of her suddenly tightened.

——The horse stopped abruptly during its sprint.

The inertia was huge. Susan Clark lurched forward, about to crash into the horse’s neck, when suddenly someone grabbed the back of her shirt tightly.

The howling wind in her ears stopped, the wild horse calmed, and even the sunlight seemed to soften.