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

Page 277

"do not know."

Ai Mu said, his gaze lingering on Orihime's face for a moment before shifting to the tent wall.

"You stopped shivering after the rain stopped."

Poetry and Wine paused for a moment.

She looked down and saw that she was still covered with the spare coat that Ai-Orihime had given her. It was thicker than her clothes and had some weight on her.

Poetry and wine remained silent as she slowly propped herself up against the tent wall and sat upright.

Her movements were a little slow. When she braced herself with her elbows, Shi Yujiu felt a faint warmth at the bandage, but she didn't say anything.

Ai Mulan pushed the prepared candy towards her hand, her fingers touching the ground and making a soft sound.

"eat."

Poetry and Wine looked down, picked up the candy, tore open the packaging, and put it in their mouths.

The sweetness spreads across the tip of the tongue; it's a very simple fruit candy, a bit cloying.

She felt the confusion in her mind slowly dissipate.

She leaned against the tent wall, closed her eyes again for a moment, listened to the sounds outside, and then opened them.

The chirping of insects drifted intermittently from afar, and the tent's canvas occasionally fluttered in the gentle mountain breeze.

"The rain has stopped."

Poetry and Wine asked with some curiosity.

"Ah."

"I admire Orihime," she said.

"It stopped a long time ago."

Poetry and Wine twirled the candy wrapper between their fingers, recalling what Orihime had mentioned about watching the stars at night.

Her gaze involuntarily drifted towards the outside of the tent.

"The stars are out?"

Orihime, who admired him, did not answer.

She glanced down at the poetry and wine, then raised her hand and unzipped the tent from top to bottom.

Main character: Chapter 307 Things in the Night Sky

Suddenly, a sky full of starlight flooded in.

Poetry and wine paused for a moment.

She hadn't expected it to be this bad.

The sky was filled with a dazzling array of stars, densely packed together. The sky stretched out from the opening of the tent, extending to the horizon.

Bright and dark, layered and shimmering, some so dense that they formed a faint mist of light, suspended in the deeper darkness.

Poetry and Wine looked up, gazing absently at the starry sky, speechless.

She was still clutching the candy wrapper in her hand, and because she forgot to let go, the wrapper was crumpled between her fingers, which neither Shi Yu nor Jiu noticed.

Ai Mu leaned against the tent entrance, her face turned to the starlight, which fell on her silhouette and made her brown hair shine in a fine, shimmering light.

After what seemed like an eternity, Shi Yujiu finally looked away. She glanced down at the crumpled candy wrapper in her hand, folded it up, and put it in her pocket.

"Are you telling the truth...?"

Ai Musou didn't ask her what was true, but simply turned her head to look at her, then looked back at the starry sky and said softly.

"It's always like this when I come."

She paused, as if she wanted to say something, but then said nothing. She simply hugged her knees again, rested her chin on them, and quietly looked at the stars.

A gentle night breeze swept across the mountaintop, lifting a corner of the tent flap. It carried the scent of pine needles and damp earth after the rain—cool, but not harsh, just cool.

Poetry and wine did not speak.

She leaned against the tent wall, gazing at the starry sky, still savoring the sweetness of the candy in her throat.

The two sat quietly, neither speaking first, simply gazing at the vast expanse of stars.

I don't know how long I sat there, but my awareness of poetry and wine truly returned.

She leaned against the tent wall and gently touched the bandage on her elbow. She felt a dull pain through the gauze, but it was bearable.

Poetry and Wine glanced to the side.

Ai Mu Shiri remained in the same position, hugging her knees, resting her chin on them, gazing at the starry sky above the tent entrance, her face turned towards poetry and wine.

The starlight clearly outlined her features.

The girl's brown hair hung down, and the night wind at the tent entrance occasionally lifted a few strands before letting them fall again.

Poetry and Wine remained silent, merely observing her for a moment before turning their gaze back to the starry sky.

When was the first time you came here?

She asked casually.

Orihime did not answer immediately, but pondered for a moment.

"The year I first enrolled."

she says.

"autumn."

"Did someone come here alone?"

"Ah."

"why."

Ai Musou lifted her chin from her knees and then spoke.

"I couldn't sleep at that time. I wanted to find a place where no one was around to run around, so I came here."

"Later I discovered that you can see the stars here at night, so I've been coming here ever since."

Poetry and Wine went over these words in their minds without asking any further questions.

She simply hummed in agreement and then turned her gaze back to the starry sky.

The night breeze from the mountaintop swept in again, lifting a corner of the tent flap and making the temperature inside the tent drop a little.

Poetry and Wine shrugged, pulling his coat, which he admired, up even further.

"cold?"

Ai Mu looked at Orihime with admiration.

"Fortunately."

"Are you cold?"

"Fortunately."

Ai Mu Zhi Ji didn't say anything more, but simply pulled the tent zipper up a bit, leaving a gap just big enough to see the starry sky, blocking most of the wind.

It got a little warmer inside the tent.

Poetry and Wine glanced down at the zipper, then pressed their jackets back into place and leaned back against the tent wall.

The silence lasted for a while, as both of them pondered things about each other.

Finally, it was Orihime who spoke first.

"You today,"

She paused for a moment to organize her thoughts.

"Why did you come?"

Poetry and Wine glanced in her direction.

Ai Mu's ears perked up slightly, awaiting her answer.

"Because you're not here..."

Poetry and wine.

"I'm just not at the academy."

"I know."

"That--"

"If they're not here, they're not here."

Poetry and wine were mentioned lightly.

"You weren't here, so I came to find you."

Orihime, who admired him, remained silent.

"I didn't disappear on purpose."

The voice of the woman who admired Orihime was a little lower than before, as if she were talking to herself.

"I know."

Poetry and wine.

"But you ran away right after I finished watching your game, and I don't like that."

She didn't continue the conversation, nor did she take the opportunity to spout any profound principles.

After a while.

Ai Musou loosened her knees, crossed her legs again, and placed her hands on her lap.

After a long while, she spoke softly.

"When I lost... my first thought was, if only I had been faster."

Poetry and wine did not interrupt her.

"Then, I wish I hadn't made a mistake when I turned. I wish I hadn't conserved my energy on that last straight."

She paused for a moment, then continued speaking.

"I thought about many 'what ifs.' After thinking about them all, I realized that no matter which one I thought about, the result was the same—I'm not good enough."

The tent was quiet.

Starlight shone through the gaps and fell on the two of them.

Poetry and Wine observed Orihime's calm expression and did not speak immediately.

She thought for a moment, then asked.

"How many kilometers did you run today?"

Ai Mu was taken aback, clearly not expecting her to ask that question.

"do not know."

"perhaps."

"...about ten kilometers."

"On this kind of road surface."

Poetry and Wine sighed somewhat helplessly.

"You think someone who isn't good enough can run more than ten kilometers alone on such a mountain road?"