Chapter 40: Premium Horse Manure

Mateo was only halfway down the path when the words hit his ears. His custom leather shoes nearly slipped on the wet stone.

His tanned face turned bright red. The faint old scar at the corner of his mouth twitched twice. He growled under his breath:

“Xu Zhou! This is organic Alpine ryegrass flown straight in from the Alps, plus the natural leather scent of a noble pureblood! A ton of this feed costs more than your whole year’s stipend! And you call it the smell of horse manure?!”

“Oh, so in short, it’s premium horse manure.”

Xu Zhou gave a perfunctory nod. He pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his head, pushed both hands into his pockets, and followed Mateo toward the stables.

The old butler and several private horse trainers in neat uniforms were already waiting respectfully at the stable entrance.

When they saw their irritable, fiercely territorial prince bringing in a stunning young man in a baggy sweatshirt, who hadn’t even bothered to change into proper boots, all of them froze for a few seconds.

“My lord, this is… Should I prepare a gentle pony?”

The butler bowed, trying hard to keep a composed demeanor, but his eyes still snuck a few glances at that outrageously pretty face.

“No pony. Bring out Darknight.”

Mateo waved a hand impatiently. Then he turned and pointed at the registration console nearby.

“Also, enter his fingerprint and face scan into the first-tier whitelist. From now on, he comes and goes without any reservations or checks. Access level: same as mine.”

The butler and the trainers all took a sharp breath at once.

First-tier whitelist.

That meant this scholarship kid, who hadn’t even worn his St. Lester uniform properly, could use the Reyes family’s finest private stable resources in North America at any time. Including the thoroughbreds that weren’t open to the public.

This wasn’t dodging the heat. It was a blatant declaration that the territory was changing hands.

“Actually, whitelists and all that are a pain. I’d suggest you install a strong Wi-Fi router in the lounge instead.”

Xu Zhou raised a hand, very sincere.

“If you can also throw in a few boxes of discounted instant noodles and disposable chopsticks, I’ll stay in the lounge for a week and build you an inventory of all your horse feed.

I definitely won’t come out and disturb you gentlemen while you ride.”

“There’s no instant noodles! Only the chef’s air-freighted wagyu salad!”

Mateo’s head hurt from that completely out-of-place mindset.

He grabbed the back of Xu Zhou’s hoodie and dragged him toward the deepest VIP stall like someone hauling a lazy cat.

“I’m generously lending you my most precious treasure, and all you can think about is junk food? Get over here!”

Inside the stall, an Arabian pureblood stallion as dark as black silk was chewing hay with an arrogant air. When it saw Mateo come in, the horse only snorted lazily and pawed the ground with one long hoof, as if it looked down on everyone.

“See that? Darknight. A birthday gift from the Gulf royal family when I turned eighteen. Worth eight million dollars. Its bloodline traces back to desert war horses from over a century ago.”

Mateo raised his chin proudly, crossed his arms, and stared at Xu Zhou with shining dark eyes, more than a little smug.

“Eight million dollars?”

Xu Zhou walked a circle around the tall horse and finally stopped at the feed trough, pinching his chin thoughtfully.

“Senior, how much does it eat in a meal? Is its meat different from the regular horse meat at our market? For braised horse meat or grilled skewers, would it absorb the seasoning better?”

Mateo: “…”

Darknight: “…”

The black horse seemed to understand the phrase “its meat.” Its proud eyes instantly turned terrified. It pinned its ears back and retreated a few steps nervously, deeper into the stall.

“Xu Zhou! Can’t you have one refined interest that isn’t food or working part-time?!”

Mateo’s ears went red with anger. He grabbed a clean, washed, orange-red, plump carrot from the fodder basket and shoved it roughly into Xu Zhou’s hand.

“Here! Feed it! If it eats even one bite less today, I’ll hand you over to the housekeeping department to scrub toilets!”

Xu Zhou looked at the carrot, then at the eight-million-dollar warhorse whose face clearly said “Don’t come any closer,” and sighed.

“Fine, I’ll feed it. But senior, this carrot is free, right? It’s not going to come out of my wages next week?”

“Free! The Reyes family is the last family on earth to run out of carrots! Now shut up and feed the horse!”

Mateo said through gritted teeth.

Relieved, Xu Zhou stepped forward.

He extended a long, pale, slender hand, offering the carrot.

The irritable black horse, which usually didn’t even bother with Mateo, tilted its head and studied Xu Zhou for a while. Maybe it smelled the boy’s complete lack of aggression, that lazy, dried-salted-fish air. The horse edged closer, brushed its damp, soft nose against Xu Zhou’s palm, then docilely took the carrot and crunched down. It even leaned its big head against Xu Zhou’s shoulder.

Mateo watched, stunned.

He had spent no end of effort taming that proud beast. And today, the animal threw its loyalty away at the sight of a pretty face, like some rube who had never seen a beautiful person.

“Damn animal. It’s definitely judging by looks.”

Mateo muttered, and a sour, inexplicable feeling rose in his chest.

He looked at Xu Zhou’s pale wrist peeking out from the thick knit sweater, then at the horse’s big face. He got the feeling his hard-earned stable had just, in one moment, been given away to an outsider.

“Get on.”

Mateo awkwardly took the reins and led the horse, already fitted with the softest wool saddle, out to the field behind the stable.

“I refuse. I’m afraid of heights. And a horse has no airbags, which violates my safety-first survival rule.”

Xu Zhou eyed the tall horse and shrank back.

“I’ll lead you from the front. What are you scared of?”

Mateo came over, leaving no room for refusal.

He gripped Xu Zhou’s overly slender waist with both large, calloused hands. A gentle lift, and the weightless boy was settled steadily into the saddle.

On horseback, Xu Zhou sat stiffly, his whole body tense.

The motion had made the cuffs of his cropped pants ride up, showing a patch of pale, snow-white ankle. Against the black lambskin lining of his shoe, the thin silver chain that Gu Yanli had fastened in place gleamed coldly in the afternoon sun.

Every slight step of the horse made the chain tap against the metal stirrup. Click, clack. Sharp and crisp. And somehow heat crept up his face.

Mateo’s eyes stayed on that chain for a long moment. Something brutal flickered in his dark brown gaze.

But when he raised his head and saw Xu Zhou biting his lower lip out of nervousness, the rage in him dissolved into a grumpy compromise.

The crown prince walked ahead, holding the reins.

His broad, strong shoulders were edged with soft golden light under the sunset. His shoes pressed into the thick grass with a calm, rhythmic rustle.

A breeze passed by, ruffling the cream-white sweater on Xu Zhou.

“Xu Zhou. I’m going to find someone to break that chain off your ankle sooner or later.”

Mateo didn’t look back. His voice dropped lower than usual in the empty pasture, carrying a stubborn, unquestionable force.

“The Reyes family’s protection is for life. Gu Yanli isn’t going to lock you up with that kind of cheap junk again.”

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