Chapter 5
Vanessa Green admitted that she deliberately adopted a good sitting posture and adjusted her expression when she got into the car. She even secretly arranged her legs to make her look better.
Vanessa did not know how short-sighted Shawn Yeats was, and whether he could find her inner beauty or not, so she had to at least show her external beauty to him.
But the window was open at this time and the cold wind was blowing hard into the car.
Vanessa suddenly had no desire to attract Shawn. She changed into a formal sitting position, gathered her coat around her, took out a voice recorder, cleared her throat, and said, "Mr. Yeats, shall we start recording now?"
Shawn Yeats leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and did not even open his mouth but merely hummed in agreement.
Vanessa thought Shawn would fall asleep the next second.
Did I look unattractive? Vanessa puzzled.
Vanessa was displeased with Shawn's behaviour, but she did not show it on her face. Then she replied, "Our talk will be recorded during the whole process, and I'll check it with you after the final draft comes out."
After Vanessa finished, Shawn did not respond, and he still closed his eyes for rest.
Vanessa took out the interview outline.
"The main topics of our interview are the supporting effect of the currency in the Estain currency cooperation and the role of domestic currency in Wolsher. First of all, I'd like to ask you to talk about the preparations you, a large-scale commercial bank, need to make to promote internationalization of domestic currency."
When Vanessa had finished speaking, Shawn turned to glance down at her nonchalantly.
Vanessa did not know what Shawn meant, so she had to look back.
Unexpectedly, Shawn did not look away. When Vanessa's gaze met Shawn's, she did not know how to react, so she blinked.
Leaving other factors aside, Vanessa had been preparing for this interview for a long time. Naturally, she was both excited and nervous about the interview.
After a while, Shawn scoffed at Vanessa silently for some unknown reason, and then looked away.
Vanessa was puzzled about Shawn's sneer.
If Vanessa did not rely on Shawn's cooperation, she would have let him explain why he had had such a look on his face.
While Vanessa had been nursing a grievance against Shawn, he loosened his tie and began to answer her question.
When Shawn said his first word, Vanessa was still in a daze. Then, she immediately looked down to take notes after a while.
Shawn's words sounded quite logical and coherent. He did not speak much but the talk was informative. Vanessa listened carefully to avoid missing a word.
The car scorched off down the road, followed the twists and turns of the mountain road, entered the tunnel, and went over a flyover, but Vanessa had never looked up at the changes outside the car window.
Vanessa threw out the topics one by one, almost having no time to think about where the car was going.
When Vanessa finished asking the content in the interview outline, the voice recorder showed that an hour and 56 minutes had passed.
In fact, it was very difficult for Vanessa to follow Shawn's line of thinking because it required a great deal of concentration. During the interview, she had to analyze what he had said so that she would not make mistakes by asking repetitive questions.. Therefore, when she finished recording the last salient points, her palms had got sweaty.
Vanessa looked up at Shawn briefly, and she noticed that he looked serene and not as nervous as she was.
Vanessa's eyes gradually came to rest on Shawn's eyes.
Viewed from the side, the glasses coated Shawn's eyelashes with a faint light. Vanessa could not see the emotion in his eyes through the glasses, but she could hardly take her eyes off him.
"Finished?" Shawn suddenly turned to look at her and asked.
Vanessa turned her gaze immediately, "I've finished watching."
The next second.
Vanessa could not have been more embarrassed by what she had just said.
The quiet car seemed to become even quieter.
Vanessa closed the pen lid and pretended that nothing had happened. She looked down at the handwritten book, trying to cover her embarrassment of peeping at Shawn.
After a short silence, Vanessa began to feel a little uneasy and looked up at Shawn quietly.
Vanessa's eyes met Shawn's.
Shawn slowly sat up and adjusted his tie, and his eyes became obscure as he looked at Vanessa.
At this time, the car slowly stopped.
That was actually a little unnerving, Vanessa thought.
It was just a slip of the tongue.
She should not have said that.
It was still quiet in the car. A gust of cold wind blew into the car, which made Vanessa shudder.
It was at this moment that Shawn shifted his eyes, opened the door, and got out of the car.
Shawn said, "Time's up."
Vanessa was speechless with confusion.
It all happened so fast that Vanessa woke up from the tension when they looked at each other after a trance.
Vanessa immediately lifted her head and looked out of the window.
There were large tracts of grassland and rows of wooden fences. In the middle, there were a few horses grazing. At the end of the meadow, the trees were dry and yellow. Dark clouds massed on the horizon, and it looked as if the next moment it would press down on the trees.
What the hell was this place?
Shawn stood by the car and looked up into the distance, as if he had forgotten that Vanessa was here.
Vanessa clung to the car window with both hands and was in a real tizzy. 
Shawn's back seemed to be written with the bold word "indifference".
Just as Vanessa was about to speak, Shawn turned to glance at her and said, "You can leave now."
Shawn's words puzzled Vanessa a lot.  
"How can I leave in such out-of-the-way place?"
"To ride away from here?"
Seeing that Shawn was really about to leave, Vanessa quickly got off the car and ran after him.
"Mr. Yeats, there's one last question."
Vanessa pressed her lips, "Let's talk about something else."
Shawn was absorbed in his cell phone, not looking at Vanessa.
"Say it."
Vanessa stood behind Shawn and asked, "Do you have a girlfriend?"
Shawn paused for a moment and then turned to look at Vanessa.
Vanessa looked at Shawn with a smile as if she meant nothing. After all, many journalists would ask such questions to enliven the atmosphere at the end of the interview.
In fact, Vanessa's hands on the side of her legs were already clenched nervously.
Shawn looked down at Vanessa with probing eyes.
When Shawn was about to speak, a man's voice came from a distance.
"Shawn!"
Shawn immediately raised his head, and he saw a grey-haired old man in a riding suit walk quickly toward them.
At first, Vanessa just followed Shawn's gaze to the old man, but she found that the old man's voice sounded vaguely familiar.
When the old man got closer and closer, his face became clear. It suddenly dawned on Vanessa that she knew him.
To be exact, Vanessa knew the old man, the famous financial tycoon, but he did not know her.
Vanessa was a graduate majoring journalism at the university of finance and economics. The teacher had mentioned this person, Theo Sanchez, in her first class.
Vanessa had heard the name "Theo Sanchez" mentioned during her four years in the university since then. In addition, after she worked, the name had been mentioned frequently. His interviews and photos could be heard and seen everywhere on TV, magazines and newspapers.
Although Theo Sanchez had retired and rarely appeared in front of the public, he still had a lot of prestige.
Of course, Vanessa had also heard that Theo Sanchez's favorite hobby was horse-riding.
Therefore Vanessa must be at Theo Sanchez's private stable right now.
Theo Sanchez walked leisurely towards them with a leather whip in his hand, and he slowly noticed Vanessa.
Suddenly Theo Sanchez saw the strange woman, Vanessa. He unconsciously slowed down and looked Vanessa up and down.
Theo Sanchez wondered at Vanessa's appearance with Shawn. But on second thought, he thought it seemed that it was normal for a man to show up with a woman. The first thing he said was, "Who is this lady?"
He pointed at Vanessa.
Before Shawn spoke, Vanessa answered, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Theo. I'm Vanessa Green, a journalist of the Financeweek."
"Financeweek..." Theo Sanchez nodded, "Oh, I remember you. I've read a few of your articles which are good and profound. I didn't expect you to be such a young girl." 
Vanessa did not know if the compliment was for the sake of Shawn, but she still accepted it calmly.
Vanessa looked up at Theo Sanchez and smiled, "Thank you. I'm flattered."
After the brief introduction, Theo Sanchez immediately looked at his guest today and said happily, "I thought you were coming alone and didn't prepare anything. It's rare to see a girl here."
Judging from Theo Sanchez's words, Vanessa knew that he mistook her for a date brought by Shawn, and probably thought that she had a special relationship with Shawn.
Vanessa looked down, rubbed her cuffs gently and planned to herself what she should do.
"Uncle Theo..."
"Oh my god!"
Hardly had Shawn begun to speak when the woman next to him interrupted him with a cry of surprise.
Shawn turned his head and saw Vanessa raising her head and looking at the racetrack ahead. She exclaimed with surprise, "It's so nice here!"
As Vanessa spoke, she turned to look around. Her long hair was blown up by the wind, and her eyes were shining, "These horses are gorgeous, too!"
Vanessa looked as if she were really an innocent girl who was attracted by the scenery.
Vanessa thought she could have won an Oscar for what she just did. 
The words that had been about to be said were stopped. Shawn frowned and looked at Vanessa thoughtfully.
"These are not my best horses yet." Theo Sanchez immediately replied. No matter how famous he was, at this age, he could not help showing off his treasure, these horses. "The real good horses are not here."
"Are there any other horses?!"
Vanessa looked curious and excited to see the other horses. How could Theo Sanchez not see what she was thinking? Theo Sanchez removed the whip from his hand and waved at them. "Come on. Let's go inside."
After saying that, Theo Sanchez turned to walk inside, leaving Vanessa and Shawn behind.
In the open space, the wind always blew hard. It swept through the trees and was howling.
Shawn stood beside Vanessa in silence, but she could feel that he was watching her.
Given Theo Sanchez's status, Vanessa was sure that Shawn would not explain too much about it or bothered Theo Sanchez with such trifles, so she dared to do this. 
However, such gazing seemed to be a kind of suffering, and even one second would be pulled infinitely long. 
Vanessa was a little out of breath. She clasped her hands behind her waist, and her index fingers stirred restlessly. After waiting for a few seconds, she looked up at Shawn before he could speak.
As expected, Vanessa met Shawn's gaze.
Vanessa blinked innocently, as if she was saying, "Theo Sanchez invited me. What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
Vanessa did not know if there was anything wrong with Shawn. Anyway, he just smiled mysteriously and ignored her. Then he stepped forward to catch up with Theo Sanchez.
Entering the stable, Theo Sanchez stood outside the locker room.
Shawn went straight to the locker room. When he stepped through the door, he seemed to remember something and turned to look at Vanessa out of Theo Sanchez's sight.
He looked down at Vanessa and said, "I'll go inside and get changed."
Although his voice sounded very calm, there was a hint of warning in it.
Vanessa grinned brightly and replied in a sweet voice, "Okay! I'll wait for you."
Shawn had nothing to say about Vanessa.
He did not say anything else and went straight into the changing room, leaving only Theo Sanchez and Vanessa outside.
--
-
If they were strangers, Theo Sanchez would become reserved and seldom speak.
But today, Theo Sanchez had obviously seen Vanessa as a date brought by Shawn. When he heard the conversation between Vanessa and Shawn, he had known what attitude to take towards Vanessa, and he treated them in the same way.
Theo Sanchez led a horse over and chatted casually with Vanessa as he groomed the horse.
They chatted a little about the finance industry, and then Theo Sanchez asked, "How long have you known each other?"
Vanessa was stunned for a moment before she realized what Theo Sanchez meant.
Vanessa looked down and answered shyly, "We haven't known each other for a long time."
They just met today.
Theo Sanchez understood and he nodded with a smile. He patted the baby horse in front of him and said, "Can you ride?"
Vanessa said no.
Theo Sanchez turned to point to the changing room and said, "There are my wife's old riding suits inside. You can wear them if you don't mind. Since you're here, you can learn to ride."
"Really?"
Horse-riding was not common in daily life. Even if it was not because of Shawn, Vanessa was still curious about it. She was genuinely surprised at this moment, and she happily followed Theo Sanchez into the locker room.
Although it was a private stable, the locker room was not small. There were four compartments on both sides.
Vanessa walked behind Theo Sanchez. When she passed by a compartment, she tilted her head and saw Shawn behind the curtain.
The curtain barely covered Shawn's chest to his ankles. He turned around and his eyes met Vanessa's.
He took off his glasses and squinted at Vanessa.
Although the locker room was brightly lit, there was a hint of coldness in the eyes of Shawn.
Vanessa, who had a guilty conscience, turned her face away with a guilty look under Shawn's gaze.
Feeling the gaze chasing after her, Vanessa frowned and quickened her pace.
--
-
Theo Sanchez took Vanessa to a wardrobe, opened the door, and there was a faint fragrance.
There was a set of red riding suits hanging in the wardrobe. Judging by the color of the button, it should have been a little old, but it was made with great quality.
"You can get changed. My wife was about the same size as yours. It should be suitable."
Theo Sanchez walked out after he finished speaking.
Silence fell over the locker room.
Vanessa took out the riding suit. When she chose the compartment, she looked to Shawn's direction.
Unfortunately, there was a very high storage cabinet in the middle, so Vanessa could not see Shawn's condition. She did not know if Shawn was still there.
Shawn had been quiet for so long, he was probably out by now.
Vanessa turned to go into the compartment.
Vanessa took off her clothes and carefully changed into this set of riding suit. Just as she was about to button it all up, she suddenly heard the sound of footsteps.
With a pause, Vanessa stopped buttoning and carefully checked if the footsteps were coming for her.
Unfortunately, that was not.
The footsteps were getting farther and farther away, probably about to go out.
Vanessa touched her belt and suddenly exclaimed, "Mr. Yeats!"
The footsteps outside stopped.
Standing in the compartment, Vanessa smiled unscrupulously.
"I don't know how to tie this belt? Could you help me?"
A few seconds later, the sound of footsteps rang out again.
The locker room was covered with wooden floor, which muffled the sound of footsteps.
Vanessa thought Shawn was walking towards her.
Vanessa loosened her hands from tying the belt and quickly began to tidy her hair.
But a few seconds later, she found something wrong.
The footsteps seemed to be getting farther and farther away?
Just as Vanessa was about to finish her thought, she heard the sound of the door closing. It brought out a gust of wind that lifted a corner of the curtain in front of her.
Shawn's voice clearly echoed in the locker room.
"Don't ride if you don't know how to tie it."