Uma Musume: From Being Knocked Ten Meters Away

Chapter 625 "Caterpillar" Xiao Bei

The idea made Beifang Xuanju's heart skip a beat. In an instant, a feeling mixed with anticipation and an indescribable sense of joy quietly melted away like honey being poured into warm water.

She didn't delve into the source of this expectation; she simply felt instinctively that the idea was too appealing.

She immediately pulled out her phone, her fingers flying across the screen, and almost impulsively typed out the text message:
"Ah-Zhen! Are you free tomorrow? Let's go to the New Year's shrine again! Just the two of us!"

He hesitated for a second with his thumb hovering over the send button, but finally pressed it down hard.

When the notification popped up that the message had been successfully sent, she immediately gripped her phone tightly, as if holding a seed that was waiting to sprout, both nervous and excited, anticipating a response.

Just like when I asked for help with a foreign language before, almost the next second, the phone's notification sound rang out crisply.

Northern Black Horse's spirits lifted, and he quickly held his breath and looked down.

The screen displayed Yasui Makoto's familiar, concise reply:

"Okay, what time tomorrow? Where should we meet?"

"hey-hey……"

Upon seeing the instant reply, Beifang Xuanju was first stunned, then his lips curled up uncontrollably, and finally he simply lay down on the cushion with his phone in his arms.

Like a child who has received a beloved toy, she grinned foolishly, and the slight unease in her heart was instantly washed away by a huge, pure joy.

This pure joy filled her with boundless energy. She instinctively hooked her legs around the cushion, wrapped herself up like a spring roll, and then rolled around happily on the spacious tatami mat in the living room.

After rolling around a few times, she felt a little dizzy and stopped, but she still couldn't stop giggling.

Then, like an energetic caterpillar, she supported herself on her elbows and knees, and with the powerful contraction of her core waist and abdomen, she began to "wriggle" around the room, wrapped in a cushion.

It wriggled around while chuckling foolishly.

Just then, the mother pushed open the door to get something and happened to see her daughter "moving" on the floor in this peculiar way.

Mom was taken aback for a moment, then couldn't help but chuckle, her tone carrying a gentle, reproachful tone:
"Xiao Bei, are you... helping Mom clean? You've arched the tatami mats so high you can see your reflection in them."

"...Ah! No, it's nothing!"

The Northern Black Horse, who was immersed in his own world, was startled by the sudden sound. Like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on, he instinctively tried to sit up straight and explain.

But she forgot that she was still tightly wrapped in the cushion, and in her panicked struggle, she immediately tripped over the edge of the cushion.

She lost her balance and rolled around on the ground like a real spring roll or a caterpillar.

Finally, with mosquito coil rings around her eyes, she lay sprawled on the ground.

Even though she was dizzy, her first reaction was to instinctively hide her hand holding the phone behind her back, her cheeks flushed, and she hurriedly explained loudly:
"N-nothing! It's just...it's just that we agreed to go to the New Year's shrine again tomorrow!"

Seeing her daughter's disheveled and desperate attempt to hide her distress, the mother's smile deepened. She stepped forward to help free her daughter from the mat, her voice still gentle:
"It's good to have an agreement. But... why do I still get so excited about going out to play, just like when I was a kid?"

As her mother tidied her disheveled hair, she recalled with a smile:
"Have you forgotten? That year, the whole family agreed to go on a trip. You were so excited that you couldn't sleep for half the night. As a result, you slept the whole way in the car, and your drool soaked a lot of Grandpa's clothes."

"Oh dear! Mom! That, that was a long time ago!" Beifang Xuanju suddenly became shy, his face turning even redder, and he protested softly.

Mom smiled and patted her shoulder, her tone full of acceptance and a hint of pride:

"But this is a good thing, it shows that our Xiao Bei is really popular, he has appointments every day."

Northern Black Horse could only continue to grin foolishly and pretend to be stupid, but his heart was pounding like a little rabbit.

……

The next day, Kita Genko carefully examined himself in front of the mirror for a while before finally choosing a low-key dark baseball cap and a pair of brown sunglasses that could cover half of his face.

After turning his head left and right in front of the mirror and finding the disguise acceptable, he slipped out the door with a strange, thieving excitement.

When he met Yasui Makoto at the agreed street corner, he still had that calm and composed demeanor.

As she jogged over, his gaze lingered for a second longer on the overly conspicuous sunglasses on her face, and the corners of his lips seemed to curve slightly.

He didn't ask any questions, and simply walked alongside her naturally, joining the bustling crowd heading to the shrine.

Surrounded by lively noise and the festive atmosphere unique to the New Year, Kita Genko walked half a step to Yasui Makoto's side, feeling his mood as full as a billowing sail.

This trip, just the two of them, felt fresh and wonderful, making her want to say something.

"It's so inconvenient to go out now," she said, adjusting her slightly slipped sunglasses. Her voice sounded a little muffled through the mask, but it was still full of energy as she began to ramble on and on.
"I feel like I might get recognized wherever I go, and people will ask for autographs and photos... Although everyone is very friendly, sometimes I just want to walk around quietly."

She paused, then compared the two:
"It's much easier to go out with Grandpa. There are bodyguards with us, and it's very quiet... but it's too quiet. It feels like it's missing the liveliness we have now. It would be too deserted and strange."

Yasui Makoto turned his head and looked at her. Even though she was fully armed, her high-tied pigtails still swayed lively behind her head with her steps, and she exuded an irrepressible vitality.

His gaze was gentle, and the faint smile at the corner of his mouth never faded.

Listening to her childlike complaints, he didn't immediately respond, but simply listened quietly, temporarily escaping the busyness of days of meetings and phone calls in this pure, slightly noisy companionship, and enjoying this rare moment of leisure.

“This shows you’ve won the love and support of countless people,” he said slowly and deliberately after she had finished speaking, his voice steady yet filled with convincing sincerity:
"This is something you earned through hard work and achievements, and it's something to be happy about."

His tone was as usual, but Beifang Xuanju could sense a unique appreciation in it, one that belonged only to him.

Her little complaint vanished instantly, replaced by a touch of shyness at being praised and even more happiness.

She turned her head slightly, looking at his well-defined profile through her sunglasses, her tone becoming concerned:
"Speaking of which... Ah Zhen, you've been so busy lately, with meetings and phone calls, is it because of these things? And... preparations for the overseas expedition?"

(End of this chapter)