Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Competition

“But why should I compete with you?”

Fu Bao paid her no mind at all.

“What, are you afraid?” Liu Feier lifted a brow.

“Mm-hm! Fine, then let’s compete!” Fu Bao huffed at the challenge and squared her shoulders. I’m not afraid of you!

“Good. See that pole over there? That’s the finish line. Whoever gets there first wins.” Liu Feier pointed toward the flagpole in the training ground.

Fu Bao looked toward the distant pole and nodded.

“Mm!”

“Hmph!”

And so a fierce contest began. Fu Bao sat astride her little pony, back straight, all full of spirit.

The little pony, Honghong, was still lowering its head to graze. “Honghong, stop eating. See the big black one beside you? Pass him, and I’ll give you something delicious later!”

Honghong remained unmoved.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, can you at least look a little spirited?”

The pony simply moved to a different patch of grass.

Fu Bao: “…”

“Hah! Give it up. Your horse can’t beat mine. If you’re smart, beg for mercy now, before the race starts. Otherwise you’re going to lose terribly!”

“No!”

“Hmph! Then just wait and cry.”

“All right, are you ready? So many young ladies are watching this match of yours. You must do your best!” said one of the academy attendants.

“We’re ready!” Liu Feier and Fu Bao said at the same time.

“Ready—go!”

At the command, Fu Bao felt the big black horse beside her bolt forward in a flash, its hooves pounding the ground.

Fu Bao, meanwhile, was still turning in circles where she stood...

They were both foals, so why was the difference so enormous?

“Honghong, hurry up and catch it!” Fu Bao urged from horseback, signaling the little pony beneath her to move faster.

But Honghong seemed to be a true glutton, determined only to eat grass.

Fu Bao was worried sick. At that moment, Miss Chen came over. “Lin Cenbao, why isn’t your pony moving?” Her cheeks were stuffed full.

“Eh? What are you eating?”

“Little apples.”

“Any more?”

“Yes.”

“Give me one.”

Miss Chen: “?”

Meanwhile, Liu Feier, galloping down the main road, was so pleased with herself she could hardly contain it. Today her horse had done her proud; when she got back, she would reward it well. That little fatty would surely lose miserably. Hahaha!

“Miss Liu, I’m coming!” A soft, sweet voice pulled Liu Feier out of her victory fantasy.

Liu Feier: “?”

When had that little fatty caught up?

By now, Honghong was racing with all its might, its goal naturally the apple with a bite taken out of it. Even if only half remained, that was still fine!

Fu Bao held the long pole in one hand, hugged the horse’s neck with the other, and pressed herself tightly against the saddle. It was far too bumpy!

And so Liu Feier could only watch helplessly as Fu Bao’s pony overtook her, leaving her with nothing but its hindquarters.

Liu Feier: “…”

At the finish line, everyone stared as a tiny pony came charging toward them from afar, a huge apple with a bite missing hanging above its head.

“…”

In the end, Liu Feier was carried away again—fainted dead away from rage again.

Fu Bao, biting into the big apple, ignored the furious little pony Honghong and bounced happily away.

Though... had she forgotten something?

Honghong: Return my apple!!

Only then did Bai Jie arrive at a leisurely pace. By the time he reached the girls’ academy, Fu Bao and Liu Feier’s competition was already over.

Heavens, why had this little cousin insisted on going head-to-head with Liu Feier? That girl was a white lotus through and through, fainting at the slightest provocation and ending up in the infirmary at the drop of a hat.

“Fu Bao—” Bai Jie spotted Fu Bao from afar, bouncing along with a giant apple in hand, and called out loudly.

“Eh? Little cousin! You came to find me? Is it time for lunch?” Fu Bao asked around the apple she was biting.

Bai Jie: “…”

Always thinking about food.

Just as Bai Jie was endlessly lecturing Fu Bao to stay away from Liu Feier, Bai Zhuo came running over in a fluster.

“Fu Bao! Something’s happened!”

“Eh? Nothing happened to me!” Fu Bao said, lifting her face.

“No, not you—the rabbit!”

“Eh? What happened to Rabbit?”

“Come with me!”

“Eh?”

Fu Bao was dragged into the palace. There, the crown prince was poking the fat rabbit in front of him. The rabbit rolled its eyes and stuck out its tongue, utterly motionless.

“Just what happened? How did my rabbit end up like this?” the little crown prince said angrily. Early that morning, he had found his own fat rabbit listless and limp, with the other little rabbit nowhere to be seen. Thinking it was only hungry, he had stuffed a carrot into it. Who would have known that after one bite, the rabbit would immediately roll its eyes?

He had called for so many veterinarians, and none of them had been any use. One after another, they all said the rabbit was too fat to take its pulse.

The crown prince: “…”

Take a rabbit’s pulse? I suspect you’re all trying to fool me.

When Fu Bao arrived, she saw a whole group of servants dressed like physicians fleeing from the Eastern Palace as if they were running for their lives.

Fu Bao: “?”

Bai Zhuo brought Fu Bao inside, with Bai Jie following along as well.

“Eh~ Little Bai, what sort of posture is this?” Fu Bao poked the fat rabbit’s belly. The rabbit shifted its backside a little and went right back to sticking out its tongue and rolling its eyes.

The crown prince: “…”

At least give me some reaction.

“Little fatty, this is your rabbit. Take a look—what’s wrong with it?” At this point, the crown prince was willing to admit the rabbit belonged to Fu Bao.

“Eh? Didn’t you say the rabbit was yours?” Fu Bao asked in confusion.

The crown prince: “…”

What an infuriating little fatty.

“Ahem—Fu Bao, take a look and see what’s wrong with the rabbit. It’s been like this since early morning,” Bai Zhuo said at the right moment.

“I think this rabbit has simply eaten too much and can’t be bothered to move,” Bai Jie said after staring at it for a long time. Although the rabbit’s eyes were half-closed, they still rolled about briskly. And as for that sprawled-out posture—didn’t it look almost blissful?

“Second Brother, quietly,” Bai Zhuo reminded him.

“Oh.”

“Ah! Little Bai, did you sneak food again? Look how round your belly is!” Fu Bao poked the rabbit’s stomach hard. It was stiff as a board.

Little Bai: I didn’t steal any food.

“Little Bai clearly just ate too much. It still needs exercise!” Fu Bao picked the rabbit up. Good heavens, it was heavy!

“I’ll do it,” Bai Jie said, taking the rabbit.

“Too much to eat?” The crown prince finally spoke.

“Exactly. Look, it’s rolling its eyes already. That means it’s been stuffed silly,” Fu Bao said, poking Little Bai on the nose.

The crown prince said nothing. His gaze flicked to the extra-large carrot beside the rabbit hutch, but he did not speak.

And so the palace maids and eunuchs in the Eastern Palace watched as a plump little girl dragged the crown prince’s beloved fat rabbit around the garden for a stroll.

The crown prince also noticed that the other little rabbit, the one that had vanished without a trace and no one knew when it had appeared, was hopping about in the garden as well.

So this one knew to exercise too?

After a little testing, it was confirmed that the fat rabbit had indeed simply eaten too much. After a while of walking, it no longer stuck out its tongue and no longer went limp.

And so Fu Bao did not bring Little Bai home after all, but was instead bundled back to the academy.

Fu Bao: Bad people!