Blossoming Flowers

Everyone was watching what was happening with some caution. They dared not make a move or speak up about anything without knowing the full story, so they wisely kept their silence.

Even Zhu Guiying, who was a good friend of He Yuyan, did not further speak up after the first attempt, she understood that she could not afford to offend Han Qingshan.

Han Qingshan stood protectively in front of Jiang Yingyue, so no one was able to fully grasp her full appearance. They could only see that she was shorter than him by a head and that her body was rather lithe.

"I already made myself clear at the cafe yesterday," he said, with a cold and not so friendly voice, startling Jiang Yingyue. Although she had heard him being slightly annoyed before, she had never heard him getting angered to this degree.

"I made it clear that Jiang Fengmian is my friend. To go against him is the same as going against me. Yet today, the moment you met him in the morning you instantly caused trouble, even going so far as to get him suspended from University? Is this how you take my words?"

Han Qingshan truly sounded angered, and the others started to understand where he was coming from.

The punishment of moving the collaboration was not because He Yuyan had insulted Jiang Yingyue, but because she had not taken his words into account and caused problems, even after he had stated that this youngster was under his protection.

They felt relieved, but at the same time they all continued to look at Jiang Yingyue with curiosity, their eyes were glancing all over her, making her extremely uncomfortable. She hid even more closely behind Han Qingshan's back, wanting to turn invisible.

Sensing how his friend was relying on him to protect him, Han Qingshan felt like he was given a boost of energy. He was suddenly ready to do anything for the sake of protecting his newfound friend, and his cold aura quickly dissipated as his mood improved.

"You cannot do this!" He Yuyan cried out. "I am the eldest daughter of the He family, I am a noble existence, how can you side with such a vile creature like a commoner!?"

Before Han Qingshan had the time to answer, a young woman rode her horse closer, and it almost stepped on the collapsed He Yuyan.

"Watch it, Sister He," she said casually, her voice chillingly cold. "If we did not have commoners, we would be nowhere. Our businesses rely on the work of the common people, and our wealth can only exist because everyone within our country works hard together to do so.

"Although he might not be from a prestigious background as us, that does not mean we have the right to look down upon him. He has gotten to where he is today on his own two feet, while we have gotten to our position mainly by our luck to be born from wealthy parents."

Hearing her speech, Jiang Yingyue almost wanted to applaud her. The words were brilliant, and they truly slapped the woman where it hurt.

The woman who had spoken was incredibly beautiful. She was the kind of woman that one would consider an ice queen. She was not smiling and her entire demeanor was cold, but it was not uncomfortable.

"Well, it seems that time has flown by, it is already time for dinner. Why don't Young Master Shan and your newfound friend join us for a good meal somewhere?" Wang Feihong asked politely.

Han Qingshan considered it for a moment, but he found that he was actually not too keen on sharing Jiang Yingyue with the rest of his so-called peers.

He glanced behind him and saw that Jiang Yingyue was looking horrified She was shaking her head, looking like that would be the worst kind of torture for her. So Han Qingshan quickly declined with the excuse that they had still not tried riding yet.

Han Qingshan nodded his head to the others in farewell. The group then rode to the stables where they dismounted, and let the attendants take care of the horses.

Everyone was ignoring He Yuyan who had been bawling on the ground, pretending to be a poor and delicate person. Unfortunately, her thick make-up was now destroyed, and her previous elegant and beautiful demeanor had changed into that of a roadside shrew.

Seeing that she was being ignored, He Yuyan slowly rose to her feet. A cold gleam appeared in her eyes as she observed Han Qingshan and Jiang Yingyue, who were walking away from her.

She gritted her teeth in anger; her hands were clenched so tightly that her decorated nails dug into her palms, and the acute pain woke her up from her hatred-induced stupor.

While Jiang Yingyue was slightly worried about the way that Han Qingshan was handling the situation, she did not say anything. She trusted her friend was capable enough to know how to deal with a woman such as He Yuyan, and since she had been punished for the suspension event earlier that day, Jiang Yingyue also felt quite pleased.

But Jiang Yingyue quickly stopped thinking about He Yuyan as they soon reached the indoor riding hall.

The horse was already waiting for them inside alongside an attendant, and two riding helmets were provided for Jiang Yingyue and Han Qingshan.

The next couple of hours were spent in the riding hall. Although the horse was extremely good-natured and rode very slowly, Jiang Yingyue was still having a lot of fun and was entertained.

Han Qingshan had not ridden a lot. Instead, he was observing Jiang Yingyue, and seeing her splendid smile and the happiness that was oozing out of her expression; he too felt happiness, and his heart got warm.

How could he not dote on such a friend who was so honest and natural? He was someone who displayed his emotions openly on his face, and he was simply so different from all the others.

Even that woman, who had stepped up for Jiang Yingyue earlier that day, had likely done it to leave a friendly impression on Han Qingshan.