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

Poetry and Wine's sleeves were chafed, and there was a shallow scratch on his skin. There was no bleeding, but the edges were red and mixed with some dirt.

She took out disinfectant wipes from the first aid kit, carefully tore open the packaging, and wiped from one end of the scratch to the other, while also cleaning up the mud next to it.

Poetry and Wine remained untouched, simply watching her work with their heads down.

It was quiet inside the tent, with only the faint sound of the wind coming through the tent fabric.

"Do you come here often?"

Poetry and Wine spoke first, asking casually.

"Ah."

Ai Mu Zhi Ji didn't look up. She took out gauze from the first-aid kit and began to bandage the wound.

"It's been a while."

"one person?"

"one person."

She wrapped the gauze around the elbow of the Poetry and Wine twice with her fingers and secured it with tape.

Ai Mu looked up to check that everything was alright, then lowered her head again and cut off the excess gauze.

"It's too noisy in the school."

She spoke as if stating something very ordinary, without any emotion in her tone.

"When you run, people will always watch, talk to you, and ask you all sorts of questions."

She carefully put the first-aid kit away in the corner, then hugged her knees, glanced at the tent's canvas, and paused for a moment.

"It's different here."

Outside the tent, the wind stopped for a while.

The mountaintop suddenly became very quiet; even the poet and the wine could hear their own breathing.

"You can see the stars here at night."

Ai Musou continued, her tone a little more relaxed than before.

"Although you can see it from inside the academy, there are too many buildings and the lights are too bright, which blocks out the sky."

"There's nothing here, just stars, and there's absolutely nothing to block the view."

She paused for a moment, as if she had thought of something, and her gaze drifted into the distance, landing on the sky outside the tent, out of sight.

"I previously pointed out the beginning and end of Lyra to Makoto here."

Ai Mu's tone softened slightly.

Poetry and Wine looked at her without saying a word, but simply pulled his elbow back and looked down at the bandaged area.

The gauze was wrapped very neatly, without any crookedness.

"Have you done this many times? You're so skilled at it?"

Poetry and Wine asked with some curiosity.

Ai Musashi hugged her knees again and replied calmly.

"I've fallen many times."

The wind picked up outside the tent again, causing the tent fabric to flutter slightly.

Neither of them spoke; they sat quietly together in the tent, listening to the wind gusts sweeping across the mountaintop.

After a period of time.

Poetry and Wine sat in the tent for a while, going over what they wanted to say in their minds.

She glanced hesitantly at Orihime beside her, then spoke with some difficulty.

"Let's go back."

Ai Mu looked at her calmly without saying a word.

It's getting dark.

Poetry and wine continued.

I have class tomorrow.

"I know."

"That--"

"But I don't want to go back."

Ai Musou spoke calmly, but she sighed with some impatience.

Poetry and wine looked at her.

Ai Mu, with her head down, ran her fingers along the fabric of her training uniform on her knees, and said nothing more.

Do you enjoy punishing yourself?

"Poetry and Wine" asked helplessly.

The fingers that admired Orihime paused for a moment, then continued to caress her, without denying it.

"Fourth place is not your fault."

"Was it my fault?"

Ai Mu Zhi Ji raised her head, her purple eyes looking at Shi Yu Jiu without the slightest hesitation.

"It has nothing to do with whether I continue practicing or not."

"You've been practicing for over four hours."

"Not enough."

Poetry and wine fell silent for a moment.

The wind outside the tent picked up a bit, causing the tent fabric to billow and then deflate again. In the distance, there was a faint sound of a dry branch breaking, followed by silence.

Main character: (Sixth update!!!) Chapter 305 The starry sky is so dazzling, so is my love.

"How long do you think you should practice?"

Poetry and wine paused for a moment, and the tone involuntarily rose slightly.

"Practice until your legs are weak, practice until dark, then spend the night alone on the mountain, and go back to continue practicing the next day?"

Hearing this, Orihime did not reply.

"What if we lose the next match?"

Poetry and Wine said somewhat angrily.

"One more time?"

"I will not lose again. I swore to dedicate all my honors to that star!"

"I admire Orihime."

Poetry and Wine called her name loudly, but there was no hint of blame in their tone.

She looked seriously into the other person's purple eyes and spoke earnestly.

“You’re not training. You just don’t know how to stop.”

The tent remained quiet for a long time.

Ai Mu lowered her head, her fingers stopped stroking, and rested quietly on her knees without moving.

The sky outside the window had begun to darken, turning from gray to a deeper gray, and the wind from the mountaintop seeped in through the gaps in the tent.

After a long while, Ai Mu Shiri finally spoke, sounding somewhat tired, her voice a little lower than before.

"The stars will be beautiful tonight."

Poetry and Wine paused for a moment.

"Wait until the clouds disperse."

Ai Mu Shiri raised her head and glanced towards the direction outside the tent.

"After all the clouds and fog have cleared, the starry sky will appear."

She paused, her gaze returning to the poetry and wine, and then spoke with a subtle pleading tone.

"Since you've come all this way, why don't you look at the stars tonight before going back?"

She spoke so naturally that Poetry and Wine didn't immediately react—

Then the black-haired girl realized what was happening.

After watching the stars tonight.

tonight……

overnight?!

Poetry and wine fell silent for a moment, and I don't know when, but my ears started to feel a little hot.

She shifted her gaze to the side, cleared her throat, and tried to keep her tone steady:

"The tent is only this big."

"I know."

"I admire Orihime," she said, her tone still calm, as if she had no idea what was so important about it.

“We can squeeze together.”

Poetry and wine did not speak.

The tent was quiet for a moment.

A slight blush appeared on the black-haired girl's face.

After an unknown period of internal struggle, Poetry and Wine finally gritted their teeth and said...

"Row."

Because she was a little shy, her voice was several octaves lower than usual.

"After stargazing, we'll go back tomorrow."

Ai Mu nodded, hugged her knees again, and glanced outside the tent.

The two of them sat against the tent wall, waiting for the sky to slowly darken.

Ai Mu Zhi Ji remained silent, as did the poetry and wine. The two were quiet, with only occasional breezes seeping in through the gaps in the tent, carrying the coolness of the night.

Poetry and Wine lowered their heads, and the bandage on their elbows felt faintly warm.

She didn't pay attention, but leaned against the tent wall, closed her eyes slightly, and listened to the sound of the wind outside.

Then she realized something was wrong.

The edges of her vision began to turn white. It wasn't sleepiness, but rather something rising from her feet, slowly lifting her center of gravity and then lifting her up.

She tried to sit up straight, but her hands slipped off the ground.

"..."

She wanted to say something, but no sound came out; she simply leaned slightly to the side.

The light inside the tent dimmed.

Ai Mu turned her head and saw Shi and Jiu leaning against the tent wall, their eyes closed, their faces paler than before.

Her hands were still on the ground, her fingers loose and powerless.

"Poetry and wine?"

She called out, but the black-haired girl did not respond.

Ai Mu placed the back of her hand on Orihime's forehead; it wasn't hot to the touch, but her skin was cool.

A faint red ooze was seeping from the edge of the gauze bandage on the other person's elbow.