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

She naturally raised her head and asked.

"Did you go watch Orihime's match yesterday, Mr. Jiu?"

Poetry and Wine paused for a moment, then nodded.

"Ah."

"The punishment that Ai-san received..."

Narita frowned, as if he had thought of something unpleasant.

"I watched the live stream in my dorm, and when the announcement came on, I was really—"

She gestured with her chopsticks in the air, and halfway through, the blonde girl sighed helplessly.

"Sigh, I don't know what to say."

"Although it was Ai-zhi who didn't notice in the end, having one's grades canceled is something that would be hard for anyone to accept."

Poetry and wine remained silent, simply watching her quietly.

Narita lowered his head, poked at the rice in his bowl with his chopsticks, and spoke in a more subdued tone than before, no longer with the same cheerful voice.

“I wanted to message her this morning, but Ai-san just told me not to worry about her and she hasn’t replied to my messages since.”

She paused, then continued.

"But you know, the time when someone like Ai Zhisang says 'don't worry about me' is when they most need someone to take care of them."

She looked up and stared directly at the poetry and wine, her purple-gold eyes revealing no hint of ambiguity.

"Sister Jiu, do you think she's alright?"

Poetry and wine helped me revisit that question in my mind.

'fine.'

She didn't say those two words aloud because she wasn't sure either.

Poetry and Wine lowered his head, scooped up the last few mouthfuls of rice from his bowl, and then said softly.

"That's just her personality; if she says she's fine, then she means it."

Even after saying that, she herself found it hard to believe.

Narita glanced at her, didn't answer, just hummed in response, and then lowered his head to eat.

The cafeteria was still very lively. Someone nearby laughed loudly, and neither of the two people looked up when the sound reached them.

After a moment of silence, Narita suddenly put down his chopsticks, rested his elbows on the table, propped his chin up, and looked at the poem and wine with an unusually serious gaze.

"Jiusang."

"Ah."

"Go and see her."

After finishing her speech on Narita Road, Shi Yujiu paused for a moment and replied hesitantly.

"She may not necessarily want anyone to go."

"I know."

Narita nodded seriously and continued speaking in the same tone.

"But going to Jiusang is definitely different from going with others."

She didn't explain what "different" meant; she simply remained in the same pose, her eyes shining as she looked at the poem and the wine, waiting for her reply.

'...'

Poetry and Wine silently pushed the tray aside, then stood up.

"After you finish eating."

She began to speak.

Narita smiled, picked up his chopsticks again, and his tone returned to its original light and cheerful manner.

“I saw how much food Jiu-san ate today.”

Poetry and Wine didn't respond; they carried the tray and walked towards the recycling area.

After walking a few steps, she heard Narita Lu whisper something to her from behind.

"Aizumang is too dull."

Poetry and wine did not stop; the fingers merely tightened on the edge of the tray for a moment before releasing.

The black-haired girl returned the tray she was carrying. She stood at the entrance of the cafeteria for a while, checked her phone and the time, and then walked towards the dormitory building.

'Let's go take a look.'

Behind her, Naritaji couldn't help but sigh as he watched the poetry and wine figures gradually disappear into the distance.

"Your personality is pretty much the same, Mr. Jiu."

……

After returning to the dormitory, Shi Yujiu searched for the dormitory of the woman who admired Orihime, based on what he remembered others had mentioned.

Some time later, she found the dormitory where the other person was.

Standing at the door of Orihime's room, Shi and Sake raised their hands, wanting to knock, but then hesitated.

'Um.'

She was conflicted, unsure whether she should just knock on the door.

Never mind, I'll knock anyway.

Main character: Chapter 301 Nothing happened

"Dong dong."

There was no movement inside.

Poetry and wine quietly stuck their horse ears to the door panel.

She listened carefully, but heard nothing, not even footsteps.

Poetry and Wine waited a while, and were about to knock on the door again to see if anyone was inside.

Just then, the door opened directly from the inside—

But it wasn't Orihime who opened the door.

A gray-haired girl stood in the doorway. Her round, purple eyes paused for a moment, then quickly lit up.

She had a gentle smile on her face, tilted her head slightly, curved her lips, and twitched her ears slightly.

"Oh—it's the senior poet and wine expert!"

Yes... Maki Rei.

The gray-haired girl who appeared before Poetry and Wine at this moment was none other than Orihime's roommate, who admired her, and also a super popular blogger with 300 million followers on Umastagram.

Most of the students at the academy are familiar with Rei Maki.

Although Aigumi is a high school student, her roommate Maki Rei is a junior high school student.

Poetry and Wine nodded, unconsciously twirling a strand of their black hair with their fingers, and asked hesitantly.

"Is Orihime there?"

Upon hearing this...

Maki Rei tilted her head even more, and strands of gray hair slipped down from the girl's ears.

She fiddled with it with her fingers, thought about it seriously for a moment, and then shook her head.

"Orihime-chan isn't here."

She paused, then tapped her chin with her finger, as if recalling something.

"She was still in bed when I left this morning. When I came back at noon, she was gone."

The gray-haired girl opened the door wider, and Poetry and Wine glanced inside—

Ai Mu's bed was neatly made, the bedside lamp was off, and everything on the table was arranged in an orderly manner, showing no signs of anything unusual.

It was as if someone had carefully packed everything up and then quietly left.

The training uniform is not here.

Poetry and Wine's gaze lingered for a few seconds on the empty clothes rack where Orihime admired him.

"She changed into her training clothes and went out?"

"I think so."

Maki Rei nodded, a hint of uncertainty in her bright purple eyes.

"But she didn't tell me where she was going, and she didn't reply to my messages..."

She frowned, a worried expression appearing on her face. After two seconds, Maki Rei looked up and stared directly at Shi and Sake.

"Senpai, you're worried about Orihime-chan, right?"

Poetry and Wine paused for a moment, then glanced at the wall beside them.

She neither denied nor responded, but finally turned her gaze back to Maki Rei and calmly waited for her to continue.

Maki Rei rested her chin on her hand, thought for a while, and then suddenly her eyes lit up, as if she had thought of something.

"Hey, senior, why don't you go ask Little Opera?"

"A good opera?"

"Ok!"

Zhenji nodded vigorously.

"Little Opera often runs around the academy, and she's always been very interested in Orihime-chan—"

She gestured in the air with her finger.

"She most likely knows what's going on at the academy."

After she finished speaking, she turned her head to look at the poem and the wine, her ears slightly perked up, waiting for her reaction.

Poetry and wine allowed me to consider this possibility in my mind.

'A fine opera.'

She thought for a moment and nodded.

"understood."

"If we find Orihime-chan,"

Before she turned around, Maki spoke in a lighthearted tone.

"Tell her to get it back."

Poetry and Wine glanced back at her.

Maki Rei had already smiled and waved at her before closing the door.

After a click, the corridor fell silent again.

Poetry and Wine stood there for a while, heads bowed, fingers tracing the edge of their sleeves.

Then she walked towards the stairs.

……

The main road of the academy is always crowded during this time of day in the afternoon.

The students walked around in twos and threes after class.

Some people were sunbathing on benches, some were walking around reading textbooks, and some were warming up on the lawn in the distance. Laughter and cheerful voices drifted over from afar.

Poetry and wine walked along the road in the direction where good operas often appear, their eyes scanning the crowd.

Unable to find anyone, I was just about to change direction—