Chapter 45: You Pay the Medical Bills

Willow Avery's cheeks suddenly flushed bright red.

She buried her head even lower.

She didn't dare to spare Julian Kingston a single glance.

"Uncle Julian, I..."

Before her words of explanation could slip out, the man spoke first: "...I thought you were looking at my clothes."

Willow snapped her face up. "Huh?"

Julian stated calmly:

"The clothes here are all identical, they're only divided into men's and women's styles."

Willow let out a dry laugh. "Right, that's true."

She had actually thought her uncle noticed her looking at things she shouldn't be looking at.

Thankfully, she had just been overthinking.

Luna Hayes walked out at this moment.

Seeing Julian, she couldn't help but let out a sharp cry of admiration.

"Wow, Mr. Kingston, you are far too handsome!"

She trotted over to stand in front of him, her eyes completely filled with adoration as she looked at him. "Mr. Kingston, I really need a coach who is as handsome as you."

No man could resist such a coquettish tone.

"Miss Hayes," Julian said indifferently, "the stables are equipped with coaches."

"Aren't I just trying to let you get to know me a bit better, Mr. Kingston?"

Luna tilted her head, revealing an innocent and romantic smile. "Who knows, maybe you’ll find a girl like me very amusing?"

Julian acted as if he hadn't heard a thing, walking straight past her.

Luna stomped her foot on the spot, turning back to look at Willow with a bitter expression.

"Willow, why is your uncle so difficult to deal with? Is he usually this cold to you too?"

He constantly ignored her.

It wasn't as if she were invisible.

Just as Willow was about to answer, Julian, who was walking ahead, suddenly turned around to look at her.

"Willow, come here."

Luna stood with her hands on her hips, her chest bursting with suppressed fury.

Only because he was the third young master of the Kingston family could she endure for this long.

Suppressing her temper, she followed their footsteps.

But when it came time to ride the horses, she felt something was a bit off.

To the side.

Julian was supporting Willow, carefully helping her step onto the stirrup.

This was Willow's first time riding such a tall horse, and she slipped off several times.

The man comforted her in a low voice, his palm clamping around her waist to support her upward.

"Mr. Kingston," Luna still couldn't resist asking after all, "being this close to Willow isn't very good for her reputation, is it?"

Julian's palm supported Willow's foot, sending her up onto the horse's back. "Why?"

Luna: "She is your niece, after all."

"Which is why," Julian's gaze turned cold, "I ought to look after her even more. Is that not so?"

Luna: "But..."

"Uncle Julian," Willow sat on the horse's back, gripping the reins tightly, "I know how to ride, there's no need to specially trouble you."

To prove she really knew how, she tugged the reins and lightly squeezed the horse's belly with her legs.

According to her previous experience, the horse should have only taken a few steps forward.

She hadn't expected the horse beneath her to react so violently, looking as if it had suffered a fright as its front hooves leapt into the air.

Willow gripped the saddle with both hands, crying out in panic, "Uncle Julian..."

Help.

It was terrifying!

Seeing this, Julian didn't hesitate for a single second as he mounted the horse, sitting down right behind Willow.

His body half-encircled her as he gripped her hands tightly.

"Relax."

"I—I can't relax..."

Willow turned her face sideways, her eyes pooling with tears squeezed out from the fright. "Make it stop quickly."

Julian's gaze darkened instantly.

That night, the young girl had begged him in the exact same manner.

Without much hesitation, he drew the reins tight, squeezed the horse's belly, and controlled the horse to gallop forward.

Luna stood frozen on the spot, somewhat dumbfounded.

They had left, so what about her?

The equestrian coach walked over at the right time. "Hello, Miss Hayes. I am responsible for teaching you how to ride today."

"Do I need you to teach me?"

Luna snorted disdainfully, pointing in the direction Willow and the other had left. "What kind of place is over there?"

"It’s the woods," the coach answered. "A special feature of our stables."

The stables invested in by the Kingston family were different from the flat terrain of others.

It possessed a sparse stretch of woods.

Because of Julian's preference, it had been specially opened up as a unique feature.

Seeing Luna mount her horse proficiently and plan to give chase, the coach blocked her. "Miss Hayes, this horse hasn't been fully trained yet. I don't recommend you ride it into the woods."

"Just mind your own business and do your duty, why do you care so much."

Luna pulled out her riding crop and gave chase.

...

Willow's hands on the saddle gripped tighter and tighter.

The handler couldn't have lied to her, right? In reality, this horse was small-minded and held grudges.

Otherwise, how could it run this fast when she had only lightly touched it...

"Still scared?"

The man's voice was right next to her ear.

His breath tunneled into her ear along with the wind.

It was a bit ticklish.

She leaned her body forward slightly, but was pulled back by Julian in the next split second.

"You'll fall off."

Willow immediately didn't dare to move.

She originally thought the man would quickly withdraw his hand resting on her waist.

But one second, ten seconds, one minute.

The horse ran another long distance, yet he still showed no sign of taking it away.

Instead, his grip grew tighter and tighter.

Just as if... he were deliberately pinching her waist.

"Willow," Julian's voice sounded once more, "focus on riding."

"Ah, okay."

Willow agonized for a moment, but still spoke tentatively, "Uncle Julian, can I go down first? I don't want to ride anymore."

Although there was no one here, Luna was right behind them.

If she caught up and saw this, she would definitely think too much. In case she revealed it to Grandpa Sterling...

The moment her words fell, Luna's screams traveled over.

"Help, help!"

Willow instinctively turned her head to look over, and she saw Luna riding on a horse, charging toward this direction.

The horse's speed was incredibly fast, and the safety marshal behind her couldn't catch up at all.

"Luna!"

Willow let out a cry of fright, instinctively looking at Julian. "Uncle Julian, can you save Luna?"

Julian drew his horse to a halt.

The horse Luna was riding was one he had tested previously.

Although it wasn't fully broken in, as long as it wasn't excessively whipped, it wouldn't go wild.

Even for a novice, riding it simply wouldn't be a problem.

This was also the reason he had tacitly allowed her to select this horse.

The current situation was absolutely caused by her own active doing.

He didn't want to meddle in superfluous matters, but Willow was truly anxious.

So he planned to give Luna a hand when the horse passed by them.

He hadn't expected Luna to suddenly release the reins and actively leap off the horse.

"Don't let go!"

Willow couldn't help but feel tense watching this.

Seeing the person crash onto the ground, she hurriedly dismounted and ran toward her position.

"Luna, are you alright?"

The place where Luna leapt down had piles of fallen leaves left by the cleaners earlier, and combined with her protective gear, her injuries weren't excessively severe.

"My waist is sprained, and my hand feels like it's fractured too."

Luna looked at Willow with tearful eyes. "It hurts so much. Didn't you say your uncle is a doctor of Chinese medicine before? Can you have him check on me?"

Willow acknowledged, immediately looking toward Julian. "Uncle Julian, I'll trouble you."

Julian removed his gloves, standing beside Willow.

Looking down from above: "You want my help?"

"Mr. Kingston," Luna spoke in a pitiable manner, "my waist can't move."

Hearing this, Willow frowned.

The waist was exceptionally important to dance students like them. Even if she hadn't agreed with Luna's thoughts previously, in front of physical health, she still believed the body mattered most.

She spoke up, "Uncle Julian, can you help Luna?"

"Willow," Julian knelt his body down, his gaze falling on her face, "you pay her medical bills?"

Why bring up medical bills at a time like this?

Willow was puzzled, but she accepted: "Mm."

Only then did Julian pull Luna's arm over.

A slight cracking sound echoed, and he said, "All sorted."

That fast?

Luna hadn't even reacted before it was over.

She hadn't expected Julian's medical skills to be this supreme.

Seeing the man about to stand up, she said hurriedly, "Mr. Kingston, my waist hurts too."

Julian said calmly, "I am not proficient in that. The doctor arranged within the stables will arrive very soon, endure it for now."

"But it truly feels so uncomfortable," Luna spotted the right timing and lunged toward Julian's chest. "The doctor will take so long, you check it first, alright? I beg of you..."

Just as she was about to touch him, she hadn't expected the man to suddenly stand up.

Caught unprepared, she lunged straight onto the ground.

Her waist had already been injured, and this fall caused her expression to change completely.

"It hurts so much!"

Willow stepped forward to support her. "Are you alright?"

It was impossible for Julian to lie to them.

He was famous, but he couldn't be universally proficient in everything, could he?

He could check pulses and set bones, which was already incredibly amazing.

"Move aside!"

Luna was filled with a chest of fury looking at Willow's appearance.

Did she understand at all that she was trying to attract Julian's attention?

She was purely bringing reverse help here.

"Miss Hayes," Julian narrowed his eyes, "please conduct yourself with self-respect."

He had seen far too many women of this level in the past.

He could see what she wanted to do.

For Willow's sake, not exposing her directly was already giving her enough face.

He hadn't anticipated that Luna would actually use Willow as an object to vent her anger.

Luna realized she had been a bit too extreme, enduring the pain to apologize, "My apologies, I was just in too much pain."

Julian said coldly, "The object you ought to apologize to is Willow."

Luna looked at Willow again, saying rapidly, "Sorry."

Willow didn't answer.

Seeing the doctor approach, she didn't care about anything else, helping the medical staff lift Luna onto the stretcher.

Just as she was about to leave along with them, Julian clamped his hand over her shoulder.