Charles and Samuel rode their horses and went to find Sophia and Alexander. By the time Charles and Samuel found them, Sophia and Alexander had already completed two rounds.
Sophia glanced at Samuel and Charles when she greeted, “Hi, Mr. Schild! Hi, Mr. Johnson! It’s been a while!”
Charles nodded. “Indeed.”
“I haven’t seen you in so long, Sophia! You look even prettier now!”
As soon as Samuel finished talking, he felt a chill down his spine.
Cocking his head, Samuel saw Alexander glaring back at him coldly.
A sheepish smile was seen on Samuel’s face when he said, “Don’t misunderstand me, Alex! I was just complimenting her.”
Alexander ignored him and nodded at Charles.
Samuel had always been a fun-loving person, so when he saw a group of people having a horse riding competition nearby, he uttered, “Sophia, are you any good at horse riding?”
At that moment, Samuel was actually thinking about what had happened the night before, but he didn’t know how to start the conversation. Suddenly, an idea occurred to him. If I can win against Sophia in horse riding, the issue with Sharon could be solved easily, no? I’m so smart! That’s definitely an idea not many people can think of. I think I’m rather good at horse riding. Although Sophia is better than me at golf, she can’t possibly be better than me at horse riding as well.
Sophia didn’t expect Samuel to bring it up first. I planned to talk to Samuel about something today, but I was struggling to think of a way to bring it up. After all, he could think I was trying to take advantage of him. Hence, I was going to ask him to compete against me in a horse riding contest.
Since Samuel offered her first, she answered, “I guess I can do fine. However, I’ve only ridden a horse twice. I think you’re better at it than me, Mr. Schild.”
Samuel was elated when he heard that. “Are you being humble? Why don’t we have a contest?”
After spending some time with Sophia, Charles and the others knew she was a bluffer.
Hence, a bright person could surely tell Sophia was merely being humble when she said that. Evidently, Samuel wasn’t bright enough.
Initially, Charles wanted to remind Samuel about it, but he gave up on the idea after hearing what Samuel said. Samuel had already lost once against Sophia, but he dug his own grave once again. He only has himself to blame.
Sophia flashed a smile in response. “How would you like to compete, Mr. Schild?”
“Oh! There’s a horse racing track nearby, right? Let’s go there later. Alex and Charles shall be referees. We’ll go one round, and whoever finishes the track first wins. How does that sound?” Samuel suggested.
Indeed, there was a track for competition nearby. In order to increase the difficulty, some obstacles were deliberately added to the track.
Obviously, the obstacles weren’t high. Anyone with experience and guts would have no problem completing the track.
Upon hearing that, Sophia shot Alexander a glance because she couldn’t bring herself to take advantage of Samuel. When Samuel saw Sophia looking at Alexander, he thought Sophia was asking Alexander for permission. “It’s just a horse riding contest. Are you not okay with it, Alex?” Samuel asked.
Alexander shot Samuel an icy-cold look in response. “I have no problem with it.”
Sophia suppressed her laughter and said, “Let’s go, then.”
“Hold on! Since it’s a contest, shouldn’t there be stakes to make it interesting?” Samuel asked.
“You’re right, Mr. Schild. What shall we bet?” Sophia smiled.
“If I lose, I’ll do you a favor. If you lose, you’ll need to do me a favor. How’s that?” Samuel asked.
Right away, Sophia knew what Samuel was after. He’s talking about the thing with Sharon, isn’t he? Well, it’s not like I have anything to lose.
“Sure!” Sophia answered before blinking slyly at Alexander.
In response, Alexander merely looked back at her dotingly and made no effort to bail Samuel out.
Even Charles noticed something was up, but Samuel was still leading everyone toward the track gleefully.
The group rode their horses while heading toward the track, and Sophia turned back to look at Samuel. “Mr. Schild, should we have a best-of-three contest?”
Samuel jumped in alarm when he heard that because he immediately remembered the time when Sophia tricked him. “Oh, no! I’m feeling a bit tired today. Let’s just do one lap.”
Charles, who was next to Samuel, uttered coldly, “You’re a weakling.”
“That’s nonsense, Charles! I was working late last night!” Samuel retorted.
“I know what you mean.” Sophia smiled mischievously.
When Samuel saw the smirk on Sophia’s face, he said, “Sophia, could you be any cruder?”
“Huh? What about working late is crude?” Still smiling, Sophia shot Samuel an innocent look.
Alexander was having none of it, so he asked, “Are you guys not going to race?”
Samuel was worried that Alexander would prevent him from racing with Sophia. Hence, he quickly rode his horse to the starting point after hearing what Alexander said. “Yes! Let’s race! One round is all it takes to win!”
Sophia then rode to his side and nodded. “Okay.”
Once Alexander and Charles had gone to the side, Alexander started a three seconds countdown. Three seconds later, Samuel and Sophia went off at the starting point at the same time.
Sophia didn’t know how good Samuel was, so she deliberately started off slow. In order to prevent him from getting suspicious, she stayed half a horse-length behind him.
Sophia arched her brows when she saw how slowly Samuel went past the first obstacle. I can keep staying behind him.
After clearing the first obstacle, Samuel turned back to see Sophia getting left behind, and he was thrilled.
Meanwhile, Alexander and Charles were watching the contest intently at the starting point.
Suddenly, Charles pursed his lips and asked, “Is Sophia really that bad at horse riding?”
Alexander turned to the side and shook his head. “She’s good.”
During the second half of the race, Sophia suddenly picked up her pace and got past Samuel. In fact, she was even clearing obstacles faster and smoother than before.
Evidently, Sophia was merely testing Samuel during the first half of the race.
Charles instantly knew what the outcome would be, so he glanced at Alexander and asked, “What was Samuel thinking?”
Considering how long they had known each other, Charles suppressed his urge to call Samuel stupid.
Alexander arched a brow in response. “Perhaps he’s just gullible.”
“I feel bad for you, Alex.” Charles let out a sigh.
Throughout the years, Samuel would always stick with Alexander no matter where the latter went.
In response, Alexander scoffed. “Well, you’ll be the one dealing with him from now on.”
Before Charles could utter a word in response, Sophia had arrived in front of them.
Samuel only finished four seconds after Sophia, and he asked, “Sophia, didn’t you say you weren’t good at horse riding?”
“Well, I’m not. I competed with Alexander just now, and I lost,” Sophia answered.
Samuel was feeling aggrieved. So that’s what she meant. How reckless of me!
One of Samuel’s biggest strengths was that he wasn’t a sore loser.
Having lost the race, he asked, “Go on. What would you like me to do for you?”
Sophia flashed a smile and answered, “It’s nothing much, but I’m interested in your copyrights for December.”
Hearing that, Samuel couldn’t help but gasp. “Do you always compete with such high stakes, Sophia?”
Sophia raised a brow at his response. “Is that considered high?”
“Well… I guess not,” Samuel blurted after shooting Alexander a glance. I worked so hard to get that copyrights deal, and now it’s gone! I truly deserve a slap across the face.
