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

After repeating it twice, she resolutely raised her head, her gaze falling on the running track beyond the iron railings of the gate directly in front of her.

'I must become that shining first-magnitude star.'

Poetry and Wine's fingers tightened slightly on his knees.

The noise at the gate subsided, and the last sound from the stands disappeared.

A few seconds later.

All the gates opened simultaneously.

Several figures rushed out of the gate at the same time.

The stands erupted in cheers and applause, as if the sound had been detonated.

Poetry and Wine remained silent, only clenching their hands on their knees, their gaze fixed on the brown-haired figure on the field.

At the start, Ai-Orihime's position is slightly behind the middle, either fifth or sixth.

Poetry and Wine's brow twitched slightly, but quickly relaxed.

"Poor running technique?"

She watched Ai Mu's stride; her running posture was very stable, her center of gravity was well controlled, and her body coordination was even smoother than she had seen on the training field.

At the first bend, the two skaters pulled away and moved into the lead.

Ai Musou did not rush to catch up, but maintained her own rhythm, running steadily at the back of the herd, her pace never faltering.

At the end of the first lap, the two leading runners were still ahead, but the gap between the second and third place runners was narrowing, and the pack began to show slight loosening.

Ai Musou's position remained unchanged; her steps were steady, and her gaze remained fixed straight ahead, never wavering.

People in the stands started shouting names, some held up their phones to record, and people in the surrounding seats stood up, blocking part of the view of Poetry and Wine.

She didn't say anything, but simply shifted her body slightly, finding her new position to admire Orihime.

Just before entering the last bend, the brown-haired figure began to accelerate.

【lv.1 Gemini Meteor】

Unconsciously, Ai Musashi's stride length increased, and her stride frequency adjusted accordingly. Her center of gravity shifted forward, and the arc of her steps became larger and faster.

Main character: Chapter 298 Someone cried in desperation

Admiring Orihime, she glided from the back of the herd to third place, then second. The girl's brown hair danced in the wind, turning into smooth arcs as it was blown by the wind.

The final straightaway.

Ai Musashi was only half a body length behind the leading runner.

The roar from the stands reached its peak.

Poetry and Wine unconsciously leaned forward, her hands gripping the backpack straps nervously.

The girl's gaze was fixed on the brown-haired figure, and the shouts around her became distant background noise, blending into a meaningless buzz.

The figure on the track, constantly moving forward, was getting closer and closer in her field of vision.

The last thirty meters.

The leading runner began to exert his last bit of strength, pushing his stride frequency to its limit, increasing the range of his arm swings, and his entire body began to sway slightly under extreme exertion.

Despite her displeasure, Ai Musashi maintained her composure and continued running with all her might.

ten meters.

The two figures were almost side by side, the difference between them so subtle that it was hard to tell with the naked eye. Some people in the stands covered their mouths, and some stopped breathing.

Then, admiring Orihime, her body leaned slightly forward, and the last step was a little longer than before.

Crossing the finish line.

The first one.

The lead wasn't large, but the winner was undoubtedly Ai-Orihime.

The numbers on the timer flashed once, then froze.

The applause from the stands instantly drowned out all other sounds, and the announcements over the loudspeaker were also drowned out by the cheers, making it impossible for Poetry and Wine to hear anything.

Poetry and wine are at your seats.

She breathed a slight sigh of relief. Her fingers slowly loosened, and the backpack strap slipped from her palm. She looked down at her hands and saw two faint red marks on her palms from the strap.

Poetry and Wine clenched their fists, then released them.

On the track, Aimo Orihime gradually slowed down after crossing the finish line, transitioning from a full-speed run to a jog, then to a walk, and finally stopping a few dozen meters behind the finish line.

She bent over, her hands resting on her knees, her shoulders heaving as she gasped for breath, her brown hair falling down and scattering over her shoulders, trembling with the violent movements.

Several staff members came over and handed towels and drinking water to the contestants.

Ai Mu took the towel, pressed it against her face, and then held the water bottle in her hand, but did not drink immediately.

She slowly straightened up, raised her head, and glanced across the stands, as if searching for something.

Poetry and Wine, seeing Orihime's eyes searching around the arena, roughly understood that she was looking for them.

She didn't know if Aimu could find her in that dense crowd. There were too many people in the stands, and the distance was far. She didn't have any special markings.

Just then, the broadcast suddenly came on.

[The results of the review for this race – Contestant number 3, Aimo Orihime, was found to have engaged in diagonal movement during the final straight-line sprint, obstructing the normal course of the adjacent contestant.]

"?"

The cheering crowd in the stands gradually quieted down, and some people looked at each other, as if unsure whether what they had heard was real.

Poetry and wine fingers unconsciously stopped, gripping the edge of the backpack strap.

'Walk diagonally? '

She stared at Orihime's retreating figure on the track, somewhat confused, not quite understanding the meaning behind the announcement.

Seeing that Ai Mu had no reaction, Shi Yu Jiu silently waited for the broadcast to finish speaking.

The announcer continued calmly.

According to the competition rules, his first-place finish has been cancelled, and he has been reassigned to fourth place.

The people in the stands fell silent for a moment.

On the track.

Orihime, who admires Orihime, also heard the broadcast.

Of course she heard it.

When the announcer read out the word "slanted", her mind went blank for a moment.

The brown-haired girl looked up in disbelief and glanced in the direction of the commentary booth.

The person on the commentary platform was explaining something; their lips were moving, and their voice was coming from the loudspeaker, but she didn't hear a single word.

She was looking in that direction, not knowing what she was looking at.

Fourth place?

Ai Mu, somewhat bewildered, lowered her head and looked at her hands.

The water bottle was gripped so tightly that his knuckles turned white, leaving a faint red mark.

She stared at those hands for a while, then slowly, finger by finger, loosened her grip.

Ai Musou made no further moves, but her complexion clearly began to worsen.

She felt something being taken from her, taken so calmly, so naturally, as if it had never belonged to her in the first place.

The atmosphere around the brown-haired girl also began to feel oppressive.

'To become that shining first-magnitude star…'

He suppressed his feelings for Orihime.

Her hands hung at her sides, and she clenched them briefly when no one was watching, then let go.

in the audience.

Next to Poetry and Wine, a young spectator suddenly slammed his hand on the railing, making a dull thud, and then muttered something under his breath. Poetry and Wine didn't hear it clearly, nor did they bother to listen.

Some people were shouting something, clearly dissatisfied, while others were arguing with the people next to them, making large gestures.

Poetry and wine remained unmoved; she stayed put, her gaze fixed on the racetrack, on the brown-haired figure stopped near the finish line.

She didn't know what expression Orihime was wearing, as she couldn't see her face from this distance and angle.

But she could imagine that he would still have a calm expression.

Perhaps Orihime's purple eyes are currently fixed on something in front of her, her chin slightly tucked in, as if nothing has happened.

Poetry and wine brought back memories of the first time he cried out when he admired Orihime.

On the field.

A staff member came over and whispered something to Aigumi Orihime.

Ai Mu Shi nodded slightly, said nothing, and followed the staff member to the processing area inside the venue.

She never looked back.

The girl's back was straight, her steps were steady, and her ponytail swayed gently with each step, just as when she entered.

The corridor inside the track was quiet. The staff had already left, leaving her with only a document that needed to be signed and confirmed, which was placed on a bench in the rest area.

Ai Musou sat down in that chair, looking down at the document for a long time, but not a single word caught her eye.

'Why?'

There is still no answer.

The straight stretch of road I had before was a blur in my memory; all that remained was the feeling of desperately moving forward and the fleeting moment when I thought I had arrived.

She thought she had done it, offering a true victory to the glittering thing high above.

'First Magnitude Star.'

She thought through the three words she mentioned most often, but didn't continue.

That's all I can do.

Ai Mu looked down at her hands with a cold gaze; her palms were still slightly red.

Main character: Chapter 299 Don't rush

'next time.'

He admired Orihime and tried to tell himself this in his heart.

'next time.'

But even she felt empty when she said those words.

Ai Musou picked up the document, took out a pen, signed her name at the signature line, put it back on the bench, and stood up.

Then, admiring Orihime, she walked further and further away from the outside of the passage until she turned a corner on the inside of the passage and disappeared from sight.

……

The crowd in the stands was still talking, their voices rising and falling around her.

Some people felt the ruling was unfair, while others said the last part did indeed deviate a bit from the intended message.

Some people were scrolling through their phones, replaying clips, occasionally letting out a few words of regret or dissatisfaction.

She paid no attention to poetry or wine. She slowly sat down, put her backpack back on her lap, rested her hands on the bag, and didn't move again.

I wonder how she is now.

Poetry and Wine pondered with some concern the state of his affection for Orihime.

Based on the similarities in personality between the other person and myself, it's highly likely that they are also silently keeping things to themselves.

The winter wind swept in from the opening in the stands, ruffling the stray hairs on her forehead and sticking to her eyelashes.