The way Uma Musume looks at me is so scary!

Narita also accepted the towel and water that Ai-Orihime threw to him, wiping his sweat while smiling.

"Because this is your first... and only debut stage!"

Ai Mu Orihime also came over and took over what Naritaji had said.

"The stage is an important part of Uma Musume."

For Xiuxingmeng, who focuses all her attention on the competition and is obsessed with winning and losing, she cannot understand why Naritaji and Aigumi value the stage so much.

Unlike other racehorse girls, Saihoshi Yume's reason for stepping onto the racetrack was never anything related to her love of running.

There is only one reason why she is so determined to win the championship: to wake her mother up from her sickbed.

In Xiu Xingmeng's view, everyone who steps onto the track is an enemy, someone who must be surpassed.

This is precisely why her performance changes drastically once she officially enters the competition.

In the world of Embroidered Star Dream, every horse girl who steps onto the racetrack is a blade forged through countless trials, and only those who fight to the very end can shine with the ultimate brilliance.

She must be determined to cut down everyone to be worthy of victory.

This is the racetrack, this is the arena. One horse leads the way, eclipsing all others. To forge the sharpest blade, one must slay all enemies.

There will be only one winner.

This is why she cannot understand Naritaji and his love for Orihime.

Narita Road is alright, after all, Xiu Xingmeng and she had a very pleasant conversation before the competition and got along well after the competition.

In Xiu Xingmeng's heart, they were already considered friends. Even after leaving the competition, she still treated Naritaji as a friend.

Unlike the lovely Mu Zhi Ji, Xiu Xing Meng had never spoken to her.

For Xiuxingmeng, her impression of Zhiji was still based on her time on the competition field—

It is something that must be severed and surpassed.

Hidehoshi couldn't understand the importance of the stage to Uma Musume, nor could she understand why Orihime, whom she admired, would help her.

Looking into Xiu Xingmeng's stubborn eyes, Cheng Tianlu seemed to understand something and said hesitantly.

“Ameng, horses are born to run... but…”

Before Narita could finish speaking, Orihime, who admired him, interrupted her with a look.

Ai Mu Zhi Ji turned to Xiu Xing Meng and looked into her eyes as she spoke.

"Let's just consider it the spoils of the victor."

"Next time, I will win it back."

Looking into Ai-Yuki's purple eyes, Xiu-Xing-Meng saw something familiar in them, and she subconsciously uttered a sentence.

"We really do look somewhat alike."

They all have reasons why they can't afford to lose.

For some reason, upon hearing these words, Orihime, who admired him, visibly stiffened and turned her head away somewhat awkwardly.

Narita glanced at the two of them, blinked, and inexplicably felt abandoned by them. He then joked in a resentful tone.

"I'm so sorry, we don't look alike—"

Upon hearing this, Xiu Xingmeng actually smiled and hummed in agreement, but before Cheng Tianlu could even finish his sentence, Xiu Xingmeng continued.

"Because Aru is Aru."

"Aru is a very gentle person."

Upon hearing this, Narita turned his head slightly, looking a little awkward, and muttered something under his breath.

"what……"

Seeing the two people turn their heads for some unknown reason, Xiu Xingmeng was somewhat puzzled.

Just then, a staff member pushed open the door and walked into the dance studio.

"Three contestants, please proceed to the waiting area immediately... Huh?"

Of course, the staff member who saw this rare scene was also stunned for a moment. After observing for a while, she quietly reminded her again and slowly closed the door.

Five minutes later, the eager audience waved their light sticks in front of the winner's stage, leaving dazzling streaks of light in the darkness.

As dazzling lights danced in the darkness, stage lights were turned on one by one, and three figures suddenly appeared on the previously empty stage.

The three, already dressed in their stage costumes, shone brightly under the lights, drawing all eyes to Xiu Xingmeng.

Standing in the center of the stage, Xiu Xingmeng gripped the microphone tightly, feeling a little nervous. Although she had practiced, she was still a bit nervous facing so many people.

"You actually get a little nervous when you hit a straight shot, don't you?"

She heard Narita Lu muttering softly beside her. Xiu Xingmeng subconsciously looked over and saw Narita Lu sticking out her tongue at her.

Orihime, who was standing to the side, nodded silently.

Although she didn't know what Narita was talking about, Xiu Xingmeng's tension inexplicably eased a lot.

She placed her hands on her chest and spoke to the audience who seemed to illuminate the night before her.

"I am Xiu Xingmeng."

The light in the darkness cheered, as if responding to itself.

"The song we'll be performing for you is—"

"Neo-Aspect!"

As Xiu Xingmeng finished speaking, the spotlights suddenly went out and then lit up one by one. The brilliant blue-purple halos illuminated the entire Tokyo Racecourse like pillars of light, and finally they converged on the stage, illuminating the three figures once again.

Xiu Xingmeng stood in the center of the stage, her high red ribbon ponytail swaying gently with the drumbeats, her skirt billowing with each step.

Although his movements were still somewhat hesitant, there was no longer a trace of confusion in his eyes, which reflected the lights from the audience.

The electronic intro sounded like a shooting star streaking across the night sky. She took a deep breath and held the microphone to her lips.

"美しき明の艶丽 (Beauty of life)"

"The way of spinning and singing (woven into a gorgeous melody on the road of struggle)"

Believe me, this is the right way.

—The sound was clearer than expected.

Her previously tense shoulders gradually relaxed under Naritaji's encouraging gaze. Xiu Xingmeng stepped to the side and began to dance, glancing out of the corner of her eye at the audience in the front row who were holding up glow sticks and waving them wildly.

Xiu Xingmeng reached out her hand towards the direction of the supporters.

"Stretching out my hands is empty but I'm still searching."

"I can't do it well even after I'm out of breath"

"Cold lips and teeth (there is only silence between the cold lips and teeth)"

In a daze, Xiu Xingmeng recalled the feeling she had when she first heard this song in the dance studio, as if she had been struck by a thunderbolt. All the pressure and anxiety that had accumulated in her heart over the years burst forth at this moment along with the lyrics on her lips.

"Into darkness...darkness..."

Standing next to Xiuxingmeng, Naritaji and his admirer Orihime also provided timely harmonies.

I feel loneliness...loneliness...

"Your voice...the instant your words touched the depths of my heart."

"Find a way" (This phrase, "Find a way," is a Chinese idiom meaning to find a way forward.)

The reason she has worked so hard all this time, the love her mother has given her—all of this made Xiu Xingmeng sing from the bottom of her heart.

I know loved one (I know the person I love)

"もう一度合ごう手を (Let our hands hold tightly again)"

At that moment, the stage effects exploded. Holographic projections of stars swirled beneath her feet, and Xiu Xingmeng suddenly ripped the red ribbon from her ponytail and held it in her hand.

"I hold you..."

"Beautiful prouder (that beautiful pride shines ever brighter)"

"So beautiful braver (that beautiful courage grew stronger)"

So beautiful, brighter.

"I want to be on this stage"

"Ah on stage (play on proudly)!"

"Sing away, sing away (Sing out that courage and self-respect)"

As the drumbeats reached their peak, Xiu Xingmeng shouted into the microphone. Ribbons, like flames, swept across the camera and burned across the entire winner's stage. The lights seemed to be ignited, instantly changing from blue-purple to orange-red.

"Charming new posture (showing a new posture to the world)"

After exchanging a glance with Orihime, Narita also walked to Xiuxingmeng's side.

“Wo wo wow…”

As they finished their final harmonies, they held Xiu Xingmeng's hand.

As the last note faded, a wave of cheers erupted from the audience.

Under the spotlight, now restored to its original state, Xiu Xingmeng saw the blue ribbons of the Holy King's halo around his ears swaying violently in the crowd.

She was about to wave in that direction when she suddenly felt a touch in her palm. Xiu Xingmeng instinctively turned her head to look.

"Perfect!"

She noticed that Narita was secretly mouthing something to her, and he was also pointing in another direction to show that Hideki was in love with Orihime.

Upon noticing Naritaji's actions, Orihime immediately dropped her previous expression, but Hideyuki could still see the slight upturn of her lips.

"So this is what it feels like to stand here."

A feeling that something was about to begin filled Xiu Xingmeng's heart, making her slightly absent-minded.

Through the clasped palms, Embroidered Star Dream suddenly felt that she understood what the winner's stage meant to the horse racing girls.

It wasn't until Narita took her hand and greeted the audience that Xiu Xingmeng snapped out of her daze.

Chapter Twenty: Goodbye to All the Trainers

For typical racehorse girls, they are often selected by trainers in internal selection competitions within Treisen before their debut race.

After that, the horse girls will hone their skills under the special training of their trainers until they are recognized by the trainers and qualified to debut before they can sign up for the debut battle.

Xiu Xingmeng did not participate in this kind of selection. Winning the debut battle was almost a certainty for her. Rather than wasting time getting along with the trainers before signing up for the debut battle, Xiu Xingmeng simply chose to treat the debut battle as her own stage.

She wanted to win the competition with absolute brilliance, so that the trainers would come to her.

However, the day after her debut battle, when Xiu Xingmeng confidently stepped onto Treson's training ground, the scene she had anticipated—where trainers flocked to invite her—did not occur.

"Does this mean the trainers have already assumed that all the racehorse girls participating in the debut battle have already been selected?"

She thought to herself, somewhat puzzled.

Otherwise, it's impossible that even Treson's trainers couldn't see his abilities, right? Winning with such a huge advantage, even a blind person could tell from the cheers.

The more I thought about Xiuxing's dream, the stranger it seemed.

She also noticed that whenever she turned her gaze to the trainers by the playground, they would always look away awkwardly, as if they were deliberately avoiding Xiu Xingmeng.

Finally, unable to understand it no matter how hard she tried, Xiu Xingmeng decided to randomly select a lucky person from the group of trainers to answer her questions.

She immediately strode toward them, which caused a stir among the trainers gathered around the field, who shoved and pushed her in front of them.

When Xiuxingmeng arrived, a young trainer who was clearly new to Treson was pushed forward.

Xiu Xingmeng turned to the side and glanced at the trainers who were protecting the young trainer and whistling while looking at the sky. She couldn't help but feel speechless.

In a sense, this group of people are quite in sync, but the way they're doing things is so obvious that even an idiot could see something was wrong.

Xiu Xingmeng turned her gaze away from the group of seasoned veterans, raised her head, and spoke to the anxious young trainer.

"Tell me about it?"

The young trainer broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing this, but still remained defiant.

"Say...say what?"

Faced with such weak and feeble stubbornness, Xiu Xingmeng didn't even have the will to refute him. She simply pointed to the group of trainers gazing at the sky and looked at him silently.