Chapter 282: Chapter 128: Horses, Small Town, Girls

Riding skills are vastly different between being able to ride and riding well.

The riding skills seen in Olympic competitions are quite different from the ones in Inner Mongolia.

Western equestrian competitions emphasize fine control, where the rider can calmly perform specific foot movements and rhythm changes, challenging the rapport with the horse, and the costs for feeding and training these horses are high.

Meanwhile, domestic equestrian competitions, whether in Tibetan areas or Inner Mongolia, require almost no precise control of the horses; they are more about the rider’s skills, like picking up khatas, shooting arrows from horseback, doing handstands, and ten-kilometer speed races.

What surprised Lan Yiyi was the details.

Li Younan was riding a regular tourist horse from Inner Mongolia, and after a short period of acclimatization, he could already control the horse with relatively subtle maneuvers... like making the horse walk sideways to the left or right.

Although it was far from the fine control of Western riding skills, it was still quite surprising.

Besides the brief acclimatization with the horse and delivering some orders subtly, Li Younan also demonstrated a physical control ability typical of nomadic people.

Lan Yiyi remembered when Li Younan was on horseback, while the horse was trotting, he took out his phone, and with both hands off the reins, he replied to someone’s message.

This seemingly simple action actually carried a lot of weight.

If he could play with his phone while riding, he could also play with a bow and arrow while riding.

Having seen that scene, if Li Younan were to play bow and arrow on horseback, Lan Yiyi wouldn’t be surprised.

Thinking of this, Lan Yiyi couldn’t help but laugh to herself, why think so much?

Of course, the better he rides, the more he’ll appreciate the gift I gave him.

Then she took out her phone to play again, opening Li Younan’s video homepage.

...

"So, you’re saying your friend is actually a celebrity?" At this moment, Chen Rui said with a slightly surprised tone sitting on the plane.

Li Younan took a sip of the cola the stewardess handed him and calmly said, "It’s not that exaggerated, just a small-scale actor of the 18th rank. Anyway, I’ve never watched any TV dramas or movies he’s acted in. In the series where I was a stand-in last time, I can’t even remember the name now."

Chen Rui’s expression became a bit complex, she sighed softly: "What if he becomes famous in the future?"

Li Younan chuckled a bit: "If he becomes famous, I’ll just change the phrasing when chatting with others, referring to him as a somewhat famous second-tier actor or a very famous first-tier actor."

Chen Rui was amused by Li Younan. After laughing, she asked curiously again: "From what you’ve described, it sounds like you have a pretty good relationship. He’s even going to gift you a horse, yet you’ve only met a few times, right?"

"You could say twice, majorly..." Li Younan turned his head to glance at Chen Rui, suddenly remembered a sentence Huang Xiaoyang had said earlier, and after a slight rumination, he asked, "Do you think how many times two people have met matters for being friends?"

Chen Rui was slightly stunned, thought seriously for a moment, and said with somewhat confused eyes: "If the interests align, you can immediately hit it off, feeling like you’ve known each other for ages. Surely such a feeling is why there’s a saying like that, so the number of meetings isn’t necessary."

Li Younan nodded, smiling: "Right?"

Chen Rui immediately asked again: "What about me then?"

Li Younan paused, facing Chen Rui’s bright eyes staring straight at him, then asked again: "You think the straightforward female lead who brings funding to the group is genuine, so you’re happy to befriend her. What about me? Do you think we need to meet many times to have that harmonious friendship?"

Li Younan thought carefully, smiled humorously: "You’re different."

"Different how?"

"Your mom and my mom are friends, you have to call me brother."

"Ha!"

Chen Rui wanted to say something, but the audio announcement broadcasted the crew’s voice: "Attention passengers, we are about to reach the destination. Please fasten your seatbelts and so on..."

Chen Rui had no choice but to busy herself with fastening her seatbelt...

An hour later, Lan Yiyi smoothly picked up Li Younan. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Upon seeing Lan Yiyi, especially at the first glance, Li Younan enthusiastically introduced her to Chen Rui: "This is the second-tier big celebrity, Lan Yiyi, I’ve been telling you about."

Lan Yiyi showed a shy expression, quickly shaking her head: "No, no, not a big star, just a small actor..."

Chen Rui momentarily had a complex expression on her face from the side.

...

Instead of heading directly to Lan Yiyi’s family ranch, upon arrival, Lan Yiyi intended to play the host and first treat Li Younan and his sister to a meal.

Lan Yiyi couldn’t drive, nor did she have a car, so the three got into a taxi.

Li Younan joked: "No car? I thought you would ride a horse to pick us up."

Lan Yiyi was taken aback, not realizing Li Younan was joking, seriously explaining: "No, many people think we in Inner Mongolia ride horses to school and live in yurts—it’s a huge misunderstanding..."

But just as she was earnestly explaining, she gradually noticed Li Younan’s expression showing a bit of surprise, then a subtle smirk while looking at her, realizing he was teasing her, she snorted, "Annoying!"

Seeing this, Chen Rui’s gaze flickered.

Lan Yiyi led them to a locally well-known restaurant.