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

Ai Mu lowered her eyes, and her voice became much gentler.

"Since you've made a promise, don't harm your body anymore."

Ai Mui turned around, seemingly preparing to leave.

'I……'

After taking two steps, she paused and said without turning around.

"The infirmary is open until 10 p.m. tonight. Instead of sitting here in the cold wind and letting your muscles stiffen up completely, go get an ice pack for your knee."

After saying that, she didn't wait for Poetry and Wine to reply, and walked straight into the night along the path beside her.

Poetry and Wine sat on the bench, watching that dark brown figure gradually blend into the shadows of the trees.

My legs are still sore, and the wind is still a bit cold.

The confusion and anxiety surrounding Satsuki Sho that had been weighing on my mind lessened considerably.

She sat quietly for a while, then placed her hands on her knees and slowly and steadily stood up.

"Why do we have to go to the infirmary again..."

Poetry and Wine muttered something under her breath, and walked towards the infirmary, facing the wind.

Ps:

Main character: Leave request

I'm very sorry. I went back to my hometown to sweep the tombs today, and my computer couldn't handle the workload, so I can't update. I should have time tomorrow.

Enough. The woman is average, the man is average, only I have fair, flawless skin. My features aren't the sharp, striking type that gives a striking visual effect; instead, they're gentle and soft. I rarely smile, which, reflecting my cool and aloof temperament, easily creates a sense of distance. I smiled slightly, the smile lingering in my eyes, my demeanor elegant yet tinged with detachment. Your voice is clear, like snowmelt from the Tibetan mountains, pure yet slightly cold. Your expression is gentle, silent, your clear, watery eyes undisturbed, your lips slightly pursed, your snow-white skin appearing as if touched by a thin layer of frost in the sunlight.

What what what what is

In other words?

That's right.

Main character: Chapter 342, it's pre-match again.

Time flew by, and soon it was the day before the Satsuki Sho.

In the training room of Treson Academy.

A quarter past four in the afternoon, the sunlight outside the training room had already begun to turn slightly yellow.

The noise in the training room is gradually fading away.

Several female horses that had finished training early greeted each other and left. The crisp sound of horseshoes on the floor grew sparser. Several trainers gathered in front of the whiteboard, checking something in hushed tones. Occasionally, someone would open a notebook and scribble a few words.

"Phew, finally done."

"The Satsuki Sho competition is about to begin. I heard you've successfully registered for the role?"

"Yes, thankfully we had the help of Oguri Hat and Mr. Fujii Izumi."

After finishing the last few things, the trainers chatted casually.

"Want to go drinking tonight?"

"Never mind, she has her opera competition tomorrow, and I still have a lot of things to do when I get back today."

The air was filled with the metallic and rubbery smells of the equipment.

Poetry and Wine stood in front of the strength training equipment, staring blankly at the metal instruments.

She had already completed her training plan for today half an hour ago.

She did quite well in both the mental and physical training today.

The only thing that really bothered Shi Yu Jiu was that, near the end of the strength training, she suddenly threw a punch at the machine's pendulum, hoping to mark the day's training with a perfect ending.

As a result, the pendulum bounced back due to the loss of power, and she was knocked to the ground with a "thud" from her elbow.

Training failed (sad)

And then poetry and wine just stood there, motionless.

She was so stunned by the punch that she didn't know what to do.

As the month of Satsuki approaches, my mind is in a jumble of thoughts about poetry and wine, yet I can't quite pinpoint exactly what's causing this confusion.

Although the poetry and wine had already been tested once during the Satsuki Sho, that was when the challenge began with the help of the members of the Old Man Star team and others.

Now that she has no trainer, she has to rely entirely on herself. In addition, Narita in this world is also in the period of preparing for the competition and is very busy every day, so he comes to see her much less often.

Tomorrow, we'll have the Satsuki Appreciation.

Poetry and wine echoed these words repeatedly in my mind, trying to make them more concrete.

Unfortunately, it was of little use.

"What are you standing there daydreaming about?"

A flat, monotone voice came from the observation deck on the right.

Poetry and wine turned their heads away.

Ai Musashi leaned against the back of a bench, an open notebook on a small folding table in front of her, and a nearly empty pen between her fingers.

She casually pinned the pen cap to the cover of her notebook, indicating it had been there for some time.

She changed into a red and white training uniform, her brown hair casually tucked behind her ears, with a few strands falling softly beside her cheeks.

This demeanor was quite different from his usual aloofness; he looked like an ordinary student doing his homework in a quiet corner.

If you ignore the fact that she's looking at you with a "you're in my way" kind of look.

"nothing."

Poetry and Wine sighed and stopped thinking about it.

With a wag of her tail, the black-haired girl walked over and sat down on the bench next to Orihime, keeping a distance of one person.

Ai Mu Shi turned her gaze back to the notebook and said nothing more.

The soft, scratching sound of a pen scratching on paper began again.

Poetry and Wine leaned back in their chairs, tilted their heads back, and looked at the several skylights high up in the training room, which were bathed in the orange-red light of the evening sky, without saying a word.

The girl's ears looked listless and droopy.

There was a brief silence.

"nervous?"

Ai Mu asked softly, without looking up. It sounded like a casual question, but her pen stopped moving on the paper.

Poetry and Wine looked dazed, and she stroked her chin as she thought for a moment.

"do not know."

The girl scratched her hair in frustration.

"My mind feels a bit empty, yet also a bit blocked. Sitting feels irritating, but I don't want to move, and I can't fall asleep."

Poetry and Wine paused for a moment, feeling that it was a bit embarrassing to say these words in front of Orihime, whom he admired, but he really couldn't find a better way to express it.

The pen that admired Orihime paused on the paper for two seconds before she spoke briefly.

"Everyone does this before a match, it's normal."

"You do that too?"

Poetry and wine unconsciously turned their heads to the side.

She realized that the question was a bit rash, but it had already been asked.

Ai Mu was silent for a few seconds.

She didn't answer immediately, but leaned back slightly in her chair, weighing whether or not she should speak.

"meeting."

In the end, Orihime, who admired him, responded in a cold tone.

“Every time. But I always finish the race.”

Poetry and Wine looked at her curiously for a moment.

Ai Musashi didn't turn around; her gaze remained fixed on the notebook, her expression unchanged, as if she were stating something insignificant.

Poetry and Wine inexplicably felt that Orihime, who admired him at that moment, must also be thinking about something.

She didn't ask any further questions, but instead looked up at the sky slowly darkening outside the window.

A few supplementary lights in the training room turned on at the right time, and the white halo stretched the shadows of the two people very long, quietly lying on the empty ground.

"Did Narita-ro come today?"

Poetry and wine speak again.

"They left at 2 PM."

"Tsk."

Aigumi turned a page in her notebook and sighed impatiently.

"Her trainer had a very full schedule before the race, and he also had to do a track review at night. I guess he's been pulled back to study the video now."

Poetry and wine lowered their heads, their gaze falling on the tips of their shoes.

She bought these shoes on Narita Road and they've been with her through countless training runs. The rubber surface of the toe has developed shallow wear lines, and there's a patch next to the stitching on the side that's been rubbed white from repeated use.

She stared at the white area and remained silent for a while.

"What do you think about tomorrow...?"

I started to speak, then I got stuck.

Ai Mu waited a while, and when she found no sound from behind, she placed her pen on the spine of the notebook, turned her head, and looked at her calmly.

What do you think about tomorrow?

"nothing."

Poetry and Wine shook their heads.

"There's no point in asking. We're going to run anyway, and we'll only find out once we've run."

"..."

Ai Mu looked at her, but didn't speak immediately. She just quietly looked her up and down.

Then her gaze turned into one of looking at an idiot.

Ai Mu Zhi Ji closed the notebook, placed it on her lap, and casually tucked the nearly empty pen under the elastic band of the flip cover.

"You beat Naritaji once."

She spoke patiently.

"At the starting line of the Yayoi Prize, no one thought you could win first place, but you did."

"This really happened, it has nothing to do with tomorrow's outcome, and it won't be erased."

Poetry and Wine slightly raised their heads, somewhat surprised that their beloved Orihime could say such a thing.

Main character: Chapter 343 - Rapid Progression

Ai Muyu didn't look at the poems and wine; instead, her gaze fell on the wall opposite the training room where the match schedule was hanging.

Next to the schedule was a promotional poster for last year's Chrysanthemum Appreciation, featuring photos of the Qingyun Sky competition.

The corners of the poster had curled up and were carelessly re-stitched back together with transparent tape, leaving them crooked.

"The question for tomorrow is not whether you are qualified to stand on that line."

Orihime continued speaking in a calm tone.

"It's about how you run a race you won't regret. These two things are not the same; you need to understand the difference."