Uma Musume: From Being Knocked Ten Meters Away

Chapter 634 Actually, they all love A-Zhen.
Yasui Makoto's father, Yasui Hiroichi, was a middle-aged man who appeared calm and capable.

He may not look young anymore, but he is still tall and straight, without any excess weight, exuding the leanness of years of working with sports.

His gaze was gentle yet sharp, as if he could see right through you; it was the kind of temperament that only someone who had been in the sports industry for a long time possessed.

As the group arrived in the living room, led by Makoto Yasui and Misuzu Kiko, Hirokazu Yasui, wearing an apron, peeked out from the kitchen.

Seeing the room full of girls, a gentle but slightly restrained smile appeared on his face, and he nodded simply to everyone:
"Welcome to visit. Please have a seat, your food will be ready soon."

His voice was steady and reliable, without much emotional fluctuation, yet it possessed a reassuring power.

After saying that, he turned his head slightly towards the kitchen and raised his voice slightly: "Meiling, come and help me out." After receiving a crisp "Okay~" response from his wife, he turned around and went back to the kitchen to continue working.

During this time, when his gaze swept over Yasui Makoto, he only nodded slightly and didn't say much, as if his son had just left yesterday and was back today.

The parents were preparing dinner in the kitchen, the clatter of spatulas and the faint sounds of conversation could be heard, while Yasui Makoto was resting in the living room with the girls.

Just as he sat down in the living room, Beifang Xuanju looked towards the kitchen and couldn't help but ask in a low voice, full of curiosity:

"Ah Zhen, you haven't been home for a long time, have you? If you think about it... it seems like you only came back once last year for Chinese New Year, and only two or three times in between? And those were all when you managed to squeeze in a comeback during my free time from school and training..."

"Why does it feel like my uncle... isn't as... affectionate as I imagined?" She carefully chose her words, afraid of offending anyone.

These words immediately resonated with Almond and Spring and Autumn, and the two little ones nodded in agreement.

Almond-eyed guessed in a low voice, "Could it be because you haven't been coming back often, Ah Zhen, that Uncle... is a little unhappy?"

Before Yasui Makoto could speak, Alice had already pondered for a moment and then uttered a knowing sound:

"Most likely... that's not the reason."

After speaking, seeing everyone looking over, she touched her chin:
"In my opinion, it's more a matter of personality and professional habits. Many older trainers are the type who aren't good at expressing emotions; how should I put it, they're more used to actions than words."

She paused, her tone becoming slightly analytical:
"I feel that this has both advantages and disadvantages."

"The advantage is that it will appear more authoritative and reliable, making it easier to establish authority and be more efficient when guiding and managing racehorses and arranging training and races."

"The downside is that it can easily create a sense of distance or even awe in people, and communication problems can easily arise."

"This... is probably a mark of the times or a generation gap? Well, this situation is usually more common among older trainers."

Upon hearing this, Yasui Makoto gave a slight, helpless smile and nodded.
"That's pretty much what Suko said."

“My father… he’s always been this kind of person. He used to be a trainer in Nagoya and Kasamatsu, in charge of local competitions, for about… I think it’s been about twenty years.”

"Anyway, he's been doing this job since I can remember. When I was a kid, I often went with him to the training ground and the competition venue, so I guess I was exposed to it by what I saw and heard."

He narrated in a calm tone:

"Later, a few years ago, for reasons I don't know, he resigned from his job as a trainer and moved to a local event association to take on a management position. In his words, it was a different way to continue contributing to the events."

Beifang Xuanju listened, nodding thoughtfully. Suddenly, a thought struck her, and she blurted out instinctively, "Uncle did this... could it be because of you, Zhen?"

Yasui Makoto paused slightly, looking at her with some surprise: "Because of me? What do you mean?"

Northern Black Horse herself hadn't quite figured it out either. Hearing the question, she raised her hand and scratched her cheek: "Well... I can't really explain it either. It's just a feeling... I can't explain why I have this feeling."

Alice looked thoughtful, glancing first towards the kitchen.

The sounds of pots and pans clattering could be clearly heard from over there, along with Misuzu's crisp voice, sometimes scolding, sometimes helping. The noise wasn't too quiet.

Then she turned back and lowered her voice slightly, saying:
"Perhaps... Xiao Bei's feeling was right."

Seeing that everyone's attention had turned to her again, she continued:

"In the trainer profession, it is not uncommon for fathers and sons to succeed each other, or even for three generations of a family to do the same job."

"Then, if the younger generation has outstanding talent and achievements in training and shows the potential to go to a bigger stage, many of the older generation of trainers will take the initiative to consider changing careers to management or logistical support jobs."

She paused briefly, as if recalling something: "I once asked a few senior trainers who had made this choice because of research needs."

Their idea is roughly this: since the training philosophy and track experience have been passed down, and the younger generation can even do better, then taking a step back and providing support from other angles can help the younger generation to expand their horizons more comprehensively and avoid some unnecessary internal friction or ideological conflicts.

"After all, in the same field, if two generations of trainers are both on the front line of the competition, they may sometimes hinder each other."

Upon hearing this, Yamato Akama nodded repeatedly in agreement.

That makes sense.

"If everyone is a trainer, there is a lot of overlap in the objects and perspectives they come into contact with and think about. On the contrary, someone like my uncle, who has moved to a management position in the association, can not only use his many years of local experience, but also provide support from different levels such as event arrangement and resource coordination."

"Moreover, Yasui, you are becoming more and more outstanding now, and you will definitely have more and more team affairs and external communication, so there are some aspects that you may not be able to take care of."

"Thinking about it this way, perhaps your uncle really was paving the way for you and filling in the gaps in your life."

Alice nodded and added, "Yes. Not only that, you've all seen how demanding Yasui's workload is. He's already very busy now, and he'll only get busier in the future."

"If my uncle continues to work as a trainer on the front lines, his workload will be considerable, and he will likely have little time and energy to take care of his family."

"Therefore, when many senior trainers consider a career change, taking care of their families and allowing younger trainees to pursue their careers without worries is also a very important factor."

Upon hearing this, a hint of realization appeared on Yasui Makoto's face.

Because of his own unique experiences, he was used to rational analysis and assumed that his father's behavior was just a common professional problem among older trainers who were not good at expressing their emotions.

I never really thought about how much and how far my father might have thought about me beneath this calm exterior.

Just as he was feeling sentimental, the Northern Black Horse looked at him with a warm and gratified smile on his face, and softly concluded:
"So, Uncle and Aunt both really love Zhen. They just express it in different ways."

(End of this chapter)