Uma Musume: From Being Knocked Ten Meters Away

Chapter 626 The Northern Black Steed Wants to Take the Initiative

"Yes, that's part of it."

Yasui Makoto didn't hide anything, but his response was still his usual calm tone and concise expression.

But Beifang Xuanju keenly sensed that beneath that steady voice, there seemed to be some unspoken pressure.

She immediately recalled that when she first started competing, Yasui Makoto seemed relatively "free," but in recent months he had become noticeably busier.

Then, on the day of the family dinner, Chunqiufen's worried little face also appeared before my eyes.

At the time, she was full of energy and patted her chest to assure everyone, "Absolutely not! Ah Zhen is just too busy!" Now, thinking back, the pressure behind that "too busy" was probably far greater than she imagined.

My thoughts drifted back to the evening after the family dinner and the New Year's greetings with my family.

Grandpa, unusually so, called her into his study. Instead of asking her first, as usual, if she had enjoyed herself or was tired, he took a sip of tea and looked at her with a steady gaze.
"Xiao Bei, have you felt the burden on your shoulders getting heavier lately?"

At first, she didn't understand why her grandfather would ask that question. She subconsciously said, "No problem," before realizing that her grandfather was concerned about her future in the Shining Series.

"Is it really okay? Or to put it another way, the worries about the performance, the expectations of the sponsors, the enthusiasm of the fans, and the attention from the outside world... Grandpa has experienced all of these."

After saying this, Saburo Kitajima smiled slightly, his tone gentle yet full of strength:
"Listen, Xiao Bei. What I'm telling you is that Grandpa isn't here as a family member, but as an old guy who's been in the entertainment industry for decades, and I'm sharing some of my insights with you."

"These expectations and support should never be seen as ropes binding your hands and feet or heavy burdens bending your spine."

"On the contrary, they should be the most solid track beneath your feet, the wind that propels you forward!"

His gaze was distant, as if he had returned to his glorious past:

"So in the face of all this, you only have one task: to focus wholeheartedly and prepare carefully for each game."

"If you run fast enough and shine brightly enough, that's the best way to repay everyone who supports you and has high expectations for you."

Hearing his grandfather's teachings, which were different from his usual doting tone, Beibu Xuanju suddenly felt enlightened.

She had always known what a remarkable artist her grandfather was, so she naturally believed everything he said.

Especially when she thought about her experience of getting to know Chunqiu Fen and the experience on that day in Chinatown, it brought her exactly the kind of insight her grandfather had mentioned, and she agreed with it even more.

At the same time, a hint of grievance and a touch of coquettishness also emerged:
"Grandpa, why didn't you tell me these things sooner! I was really troubled by these things for a long time!"

Upon hearing this, Kitajima Saburo was taken aback at first, then smiled indulgently, but quickly became serious and said:
"Because my Xiao Bei didn't take the initiative to ask Grandpa for help before. This shows that you haven't fully realized that you've encountered difficulties, or that you haven't learned to ask for help as soon as you encounter a problem."

He looked at his granddaughter meaningfully:

"Perhaps singing and running are not exactly the same, but Grandpa has watched so many games over the years, so he's not completely clueless about the Shining Series."

"So I think that a truly strong female racehorse not only needs to know how to sprint alone, but also needs to know how to leverage the strength of the team and seniors at the right time."

"Similarly, as a team member, you also need to cooperate well with others in order to win more games."

Northern Genko thought back carefully and realized that he often habitually wanted to face many things alone, whether it was a bottleneck in training or pressure from the outside world, or he would simply not think about it if he couldn't figure it out. This mentality of "relying on oneself" and being able to ignore difficulties is sometimes an advantage, but sometimes it may also become an invisible barrier that makes people around him want to get close and share the burden.

It was this reflection that made her suddenly feel an urge to do something for Yasui Makoto when she faced him at this moment.

She no longer wanted to passively accept his protection and guidance.

She also wanted to be one of the strengths he could rely on, and wanted to take the initiative to enter his busy world, to understand and share his burdens.

This strong feeling prompted her to suddenly stop.

She turned to face Yasui Makoto, her face no longer displaying its usual cheerful smile, but rather a serious expression mixed with concern, determination, and even a touch of nervousness.
"In that case... Ah-Zhen, do you think... there's anything I can do to help you?"

Her voice was slightly lower than usual, but exceptionally clear:
“I’ve noticed you’ve been really busy lately. Even Xiao Fen almost misunderstood you… She even secretly asked me before if you’d changed your mind and didn’t want to sign the agreement with her anymore.”

Yasui Makoto was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, a clear look of surprise flashing in his usually calm eyes.

Surprised by the statement that "the other side almost misunderstood you," he couldn't help but ask with concern:
"Spring and Autumn Equinoxes... What did she misunderstand? What exactly happened?"

"Oh, I haven't told Zhen about this yet..."

Seeing that he was indeed unaware, the Northern Black Horse quickly explained:

"On the day of the family dinner, when you and Grandpa went out to chat, we were talking about the arrangements after the New Year. Xiao Fen casually asked us, 'Ah Zhen, have you changed your mind and no longer want to sign the agreement with her?'"

"She said she had contacted you several times, but you always said you were busy, and then there was no further news."

“She was very worried, thinking she had done something wrong, or that you had found someone more suitable…”

Yasui listened quietly, a hint of reminiscence flashing across his eyes before he suddenly understood.

Immediately afterwards, a complex emotion quietly surfaced in his eyes.

There was a faint sense of self-reproach for the oversight, an understanding of the unease felt during the spring and autumn equinoxes, and perhaps a touch of helplessness from being bogged down in real-world affairs.

He sighed softly, his shoulders unconsciously relaxing slightly, and said with a hint of apology:
"So that's how it is... This was indeed my oversight."

He further explained: "We did agree with Chunqiu Fen to discuss the agreement in detail beforehand."

"But during those few days, there was the URA Association's year-end summary meeting, the preliminary communication meeting about your overseas expedition next year, and a meeting with several existing sponsors about the spring quarter. Several things happened at once, and the phone calls and meetings were indeed very frequent."

He paused, seemingly reviewing the busy period he had been in:
"At the time, I thought I would finish dealing with these matters first, and then calm down and have a good talk with her. I didn't expect it to be delayed and cause her such worries. This was my mistake."

After saying this, he remained silent for a moment, a thoughtful look in his eyes, before continuing:

"Moreover... besides these established matters, I've recently received quite a few inquiries and... you could call them invitations."

"Consultation and invitation? What are those?" Northern Black Horse hurriedly asked.

(End of this chapter)