Horse Girl, Your Friend is Fighting Her Way Out of the Horse Racing Track

"Click".

She pulled the tab on the can, and white steam instantly rose up.

She tilted her head back and gulped down a mouthful of scalding, bitter black coffee.

The scalding liquid burned her tongue, but she didn't even flinch.

Then she turned around, dragging her heavy body that seemed about to fall apart, and walked towards the room at the other end of the corridor.

Not a single word was spoken throughout the entire process.

As she passed by, the strong scent of earth wafted on the night breeze into the nostrils of Poetry and Wine.

Only when the door clicked shut, completely blocking out the sight of the adoring Orihime, did Shi and Jiu slowly withdraw their gaze.

She looked down at the bottle of mineral water she hadn't finished drinking. The condensed water droplets on the bottle dripped onto the back of her hand, icy cold.

"...Is that so?"

Poetry and wine murmured to themselves, their voices tinged with a hint of helplessness.

Although it was only a brief glimpse, she could clearly sense that the "aura of death" emanating from this guy was even stronger than she had imagined.

It felt like carrying an invisible burden of guilt, running barefoot through thorns...

How could she be so different from the image of the Orihime I knew before?

Poetry and Wine looked up at the night sky.

The clouds are thick and dark tonight, and you can't see a single star.

"...It's not something that can be easily brought back."

She sighed, tossed the empty bottle into the trash can with a soft thud.

Then, she tightened her hoodie and turned to walk back into her empty room.

Now that we've already met at this distance, there are some things we probably can't avoid anymore.

The next morning.

Although Secretary Junchuan had already arranged for the dormitory to be cleaned, Shiyujiu still wanted to tidy up the dormitory a bit more to make the arrangement more in line with her own habits.

The phrase "just tidying up the dormitory" is actually a somewhat laughable term when it comes to poetry and wine these days.

All her belongings consisted of a few cheap but sturdy changes of clothes that Ennis Fuujin had bought from the shopping street, a set of basic toiletries left on the table by Surugawa Tesuna, and a thin bank card.

In less than ten minutes, all these things were put away.

The clothes were hung in the empty wardrobe, taking up less than a tenth of the space.

Toothbrushes and towels were placed on the sink, and bank cards were carefully tucked into the desk drawer.

After doing all that, Poetry and Wine leaned back on the hard edge of the single bed.

The morning sunlight streamed through the gaps in the beige curtains, casting a bright patch of light on the wooden floor.

The room still felt empty; according to the human habit of poetry and wine, even after being tidied up, it didn't seem like a place for a person to live.

Her current situation is somewhat like that of a ghost living in this time and space.

The heavy feeling she had when she met Ai-mu-hime last night still seemed to linger in her chest, making her breathing somewhat labored.

"Knock, knock knock."

Just then, a knock on the door broke the silence in the room.

Poetry and Wine paused for a moment upon hearing the sound.

In this academy, she shouldn't know anyone who would come knocking on her door.

She stood up, walked slowly to the door, and reached out to unlock it.

As the door opened, bright light flooded into the hallway, along with a dazzling golden hue.

Good morning, poetry and wine.

Outside the door, Narita Road stood upright and proper.

Instead of wearing her standard Tresson uniform today, she changed into a beige loungewear cardigan and a light-colored long skirt.

The person looked fluffy and smelled like a sun-dried blanket.

Upon seeing the door open, Naritaji's purple-gold eyes immediately curved into two gentle crescent moons, and the horse ears on his head twitched happily a couple of times.

"Did I disturb your rest?"

"..."

Poetry and wine were still on the doorknob, and she subconsciously frowned slightly because of the unexpectedness.

"Don't you need to train?"

"Because it's a holiday today, and this morning is our rest time."

Narita explained with a smile, his gaze naturally falling on Shi Yujiu's face.

Although the black-haired girl's face was still pale, it had regained some color compared to when she was in the infirmary.

A hint of relief flashed in her eyes.

"I heard from Amazon that you moved to Lidongliao yesterday. Considering you just recovered from a serious illness, I'm sure there will be many things you're not used to in this completely unfamiliar new environment..."

As Narita spoke, he twirled a strand of golden hair at his temple with his fingers, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"So, I took the liberty of coming over to see if there's anything I can help with. Like unpacking my luggage or cleaning up the house?"

"..."

Poetry and wine fell silent.

She turned slightly to the side, her gaze passing over her shoulder and landing on the spotless, empty room behind her, which stretched as far as the eye could see.

"There's nothing to organize."

She looked away.

"I've already packed. And... I don't have much luggage."

Narita glanced into the room, following the sideways movement of the poet and the wine.

Just one glance.

A neat desk, an empty bookshelf, and a single bed with not a single extra pillow, except for the bedding provided by the academy.

Main character: Chapter 265 Sympathy

There was no trace in the room that could prove the girl had ever existed in the world.

This doesn't look like a young girl's room; it's more like a cheap hotel where you're ready to check out at any time.

Naritaji's smiling, purplish-gold eyes visibly dimmed for a moment, and her fingers unconsciously tightened their grip on the door frame.

The inexplicable sense of déjà vu returned, and the blonde girl felt a strange emotion welling up from deep within her chest, as if something had gripped her heart tightly.

'Are you so lonely?'

Narita asked himself a question in his heart, but had no answer.

She took a deep breath, trying to suppress the sympathy that was about to overflow.

Reason told her that she absolutely could not show the slightest pity now.

She has figured it out.

The black-haired girl in front of me, who was wrapped up like a hedgehog, hated nothing more than being pitied by others.

At this moment, she adopted a pitying posture, which only made Poetry and Wine bristle like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and then push her away without hesitation.

Then the other person's heart will be shut shut without mercy, and will never be opened a second time.

'But am I taking this too seriously?'

Narita blinked, hiding his excess emotions in his eyes.

She smiled again, even more brightly than before.

"You're all packed up already? You've only been recovering for a few days!"

She took a step forward very naturally, put her hands behind her back, leaned forward slightly, and shortened the distance between them.

The girl's golden horse ears swayed gently twice, making her appear exceptionally harmless.

"Well... now that the room is all set up, as a senior in the Kurito Dormitory, how about I act as your 'new student guide'?"

Narita tilted his head slightly, his purple-gold eyes sparkling with anticipation.

"How do you use the laundry machine? Which window in the cafeteria has the best food? And what are the habits of the students in each dormitory? Miss Junchuan will absolutely not tell you these little tips about your future life!"

At the end, she playfully winked her bright eyes.

"unnecessary."

Poetry and wine were rejected almost reflexively.

She shrank back slightly behind the door, and her black horse ears flattened back a little in alertness.

The person looked like a stray cat startled by a large golden retriever that suddenly approached.

"I can find it myself."

The black-haired girl's voice remained indifferent.

However, she seemed somewhat bluffing, lacking confidence.

"really?"

Narita blinked, then suddenly moved a little closer.

Her nose was almost touching Shi Yujiu's, but her expression remained innocent and even a little mischievous.

"The Li Dong dormitory is huge! If you accidentally take the wrong turn and end up in the territory of Rudolf, the student council president and a symbol of seniority, she'll drag you there and force you to listen to a thousand lame jokes!"

"..."

Poetry and Wine glared at her with his dead fish eyes, and she sighed with some dissatisfaction before speaking.

"Shouldn't the Rudolph symbol be in the Miura dormitory?"

After saying that, the black horse girl glanced helplessly at Narita Road.

"Huh? How did you know?"

Narita feigned shock, then waved his hand with a smile.

"Okay, okay, you found out. But I'm actually a little worried about you."

Instead of backing down, she reached out and gently grasped the wrist of the poet and the wine, which were hidden in the wide sleeve of his coat and were now trying to slip into his pocket.

The blonde girl moved very gently, but the warmth of her palms was palpable.

"Besides, when I came in just now, I noticed that you didn't even have a water glass in your room, did you?"

Narita lowered his head slightly, gazing at the poetry and wine with his beautiful purple-gold eyes.

"I also need to go to the supermarket outside the school to buy some daily necessities. It's lonely carrying things alone."

She paused, her voice softening further, and she made her request with just the right tone.

"Just think of it as... keeping me company, okay?"

The air was silent for a few seconds.

Poetry and Wine stared at Naritaji's smiling face, which was free of any gloom. Their lips moved, but they found that they couldn't find a suitable reason to refuse.

"I……"

She opened her mouth, but the sound got stuck in her throat.

Countless excuses to refuse flashed through my mind, but for some reason, looking into the other person's bright eyes, I just couldn't bring myself to say them.

In the end, the black-haired girl was forced to give up.

She sighed deeply, feeling a sense of powerlessness.

'How did getting here end up being connected to Narita Road...?'