The way Uma Musume looks at me is so scary!

"After all, your time is indeed running out."

These words were like a dull knife, slowly and heavily cutting into the silence between the two. The background noise of the coffee shop seemed to suddenly fade away, leaving only the faint hum of the air conditioner.

"Although I don't know what method you used to stabilize your body's state."

"But this situation can't last forever, can it?"

As expected of a world-class racehorse girl, Yuumai saw through Hoshino's current state at a glance.

"After all, there's no such thing as a free lunch in the world."

"I was prepared for this all along."

Upon hearing this, Yongwu sighed, and her voice suddenly became hoarse.

"If we forcefully attack the domain under these conditions..."

Chapter Twenty-Nine: World-Class Selfishness

"As long as we can win."

Xiu Xingmeng's voice was very soft, yet it was like a sharp blade slicing through the soothing piano music in the coffee shop.

Yongwu's fingers unconsciously tightened around the coffee cup handle, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force. A flicker of pain flashed in her purple eyes, which were identical to the halo of the Holy King, but it was quickly concealed in the shadows cast by her long eyelashes.

"I do not mind."

She picked up her coffee cup and took a sip of her iced Americano. The bitter taste was unbearable, but Xiu Xingmeng's expression remained unchanged.

This is the path she chose, and no matter how bitter it may be, she has to swallow it.

The air between Xiuxingmeng and Yongwu was heavy and stagnant, as if this small space had been detached from the world.

"Just like when I was a kid... still so stubborn."

"If only it could have been sooner..."

Halfway through her sentence, Yongwu suddenly shook her head self-deprecatingly, her brown hair swaying gently with the movement.

"No, given your personality, no matter how much we try to stop you, it won't make a difference."

"Once you set a goal, you will move forward no matter what the cost."

"I already knew about this a long time ago."

Yongwu said softly, as if talking to herself.

She picked up her cappuccino and took a sip; even with sugar cubes, it still tasted unbearably bitter.

"You are different from the halo."

"She wanted to become a top-notch racehorse girl, partly out of admiration for me and partly out of her own pride."

"Although she has recently experienced a losing streak, she still has a chance to win Game 1 with her ability."

“Even without me, she can make peace with herself on her own.”

Listening to Yongwu's rambling, Xiuxingmeng raised an eyebrow and said.

"Isn't that a bit cruel to her?"

"You and I both bear responsibility for the fact that her mental state is so tense that it's about to break."

“I will use examples to prove to her that you can win G1 even without talent. As her mother, don’t you think you also need to try?”

Yongwu frowned, but managed a weak smile. Sunlight shone on her face from the side, making the fine wrinkles particularly noticeable.

"You were just winning the game, why are you taking all the blame? You're too mature."

"Consider it compensation. If I hadn't focused all my attention on the competition, I might have discovered the anomaly in the aura much earlier."

Yongwu looked into Xiuxingmeng's eyes, but there was no emotion in those dark eyes.

What if I gave you another chance?

Her voice suddenly became very soft, almost drowned out by the background music in the coffee shop.

After a moment of silence, Xiu Xingmeng finally spoke, her voice as firm as when she first stepped onto the racetrack.

"I will still make this choice; I have reasons why I cannot afford to lose."

That's why I pay more attention to you.

Yongwu's shoulders slumped slightly, and she let out a long sigh, her voice carrying an indescribable weariness.

"In a sense, this is when you are most vulnerable."

"Vulnerable? Me?"

Xiu Xingmeng tilted her head, somewhat puzzled.

"If you say you'll train, you really have been training since you were a child without the slightest slack. Even though you know that talent is not as important as fame, you can still calm down and hone your skills."

"People usually call this resilience. But your mother has lived with you for so many years and has long seen through the true nature of it all."

"It seems as if there is a goal standing at the end of the road, forcing you to work hard and fight desperately, and you will give everything for that vague goal."

Yongwu's voice became unusually soft, and she paused for a moment before speaking.

"And that's exactly what I don't want to see."

Seeing Yongwu, who had never shown this side of herself before, Xiuxingmeng's voice unconsciously softened.

"why?"

"Because I am your mother."

Is it so hard to understand that you want your child to live a healthy life?

Yongwu said, her voice almost a whisper.

“I don’t expect you to become a top-notch racehorse girl, nor do I demand any achievements from you. I know your talent, and I know what you would give up if you pursued these things.”

"It's okay if we don't race, it's okay if we don't compete for glory. All I want is to see you live a healthy life."

Yongwu's voice suddenly choked up, and she took a few quick breaths before managing to suppress her outburst.

"Perhaps this is my selfishness as a mother."

After saying that, she quickly laughed at herself.

"But I know clearly that I can't stop you no matter what."

"Do you expect me to use social resources to force you to not participate in the competition? A person who does such a thing doesn't deserve to be a mother."

"So, I chose to run away. I watched you get to this point, and only after hearing the news did I muster the courage to come find you."

"It's ridiculous, isn't it? She's a world-class racehorse girl, yet she's so timid."

Yongwu's voice grew softer and softer until it became almost inaudible.

Xiu Xingmeng looked at Yongwu, whose face was lowered. Xiu Xingmeng had never seen her so vulnerable before. No one would believe that this person was actually a world-class racehorse girl.

In Xiu Xingmeng's eyes, Yongwu, whose face was almost entirely buried behind her hair, inexplicably overlapped with the Holy King's halo.

After a long silence, she spoke slowly, her voice carrying a subtle softness.

"It's very similar to a halo."

"After all, they are mother and daughter."

Yongwu on the other side responded softly.

Xiu Xingmeng fell silent again. She could not possibly give up the main quest, so all she could say to Yongwu's vulnerability was that one sentence.

"Besides being a daughter, I am also a horse racer."

"..."

Yongwu's lips trembled slightly, but she ultimately did not utter a sound.

She lowered her head, looking at the coffee in her cup that had cooled down; the dark brown liquid reflected her complex expression.

“And you are not only a mother, but also a racehorse girl.”

"Even the world's top racehorse girls."

"..."

"The breeze on the grass track, the clamor of the audience, and the battlefield created by all the horse girls who step onto the track, and the determination to step into it to seize that brilliance."

Xiu Xingmeng's voice grew increasingly firm as she spoke, carrying an unshakable determination.

Sunlight streamed through the window, casting dappled patterns of light into Xiu Xingmeng's eyes, making them appear exceptionally bright. In a daze, Yongwu saw the little girl who had first stepped onto the racetrack years ago.

"You must understand. Because you've been through all of this too, and even after all these years, that passion must still be in your heart."

"So, please go to Satsuki-sho."

"Not as a mother, but as a racehorse girl."

"Go and witness my brilliance for yourself."

Chapter Thirty: Atonement

In the third week of April, the sky above Zhongshan Racecourse was overcast, as if it might rain at any moment. The Holy King's Halo looked up at the racecourse shrouded in the gray sky, and hesitated for a moment.

"What are you hesitating about?"

Just as the Holy King's halo was hesitating, a cold female voice suddenly came from behind her.

Startled, Saint King Aura instinctively turned around, and breathed a sigh of relief upon realizing that the newcomer was not Xiu Xingmeng.

Looking at the Holy King's halo, which was calming its heartbeat, Ai Musashi narrowed her eyes slightly as if she had noticed something.

"You're hiding from Xiu Xingmeng."

Unexpectedly, Ai Musashi was so perceptive that she instinctively took two steps back, crossing her arms in a defensive stance.

The Holy King's Halo opened its mouth as if to say something, but was immediately interrupted by the adoring Orihime.

"I can't read minds."

The obvious act of mind-reading intensified the unease in the Holy King's Halo, and she quietly took two steps back.

Seeing that she was being treated with such suspicion, Aigumi could only shake her head helplessly and explain.

"I am here to attend the Satsuki Sho because I admire Orihime."

"As for why I can guess what you're thinking..."

"That's because it's written all over your face."

Seeing the Holy King's Halo pointing its phone at its face, Ai Mu Zhi Ji sighed and decided to stop beating around the bush.

"The story of you sisters has already spread throughout Tressen a few days ago."

Upon hearing Ai Mu Zhi Ji say this, the Holy King's aura immediately dimmed.

Not long after the argument that day, Saint King Halo realized that it was all her fault. Out of ridiculous pride and jealousy, she actually said those things to Xiu Xingmeng.

However, when it came to actually going to apologize to Xiu Xingmeng in person, the Holy King's Halo suddenly lost its courage.

She could only inwardly berate her own cowardice while hesitating until today, the day the Satsuki Sho competition began.

Even though we had already arrived at Zhongshan Racecourse, we didn't even have the courage to go in.

"That was all my fault... Meng was about to have her competition, and she still did something like that..."

"madness."

Facing the dejected look on the Holy King's aura, Ai Mui offered no words of comfort, coldly uttering only two words.

Upon hearing the praise from the woman who admired Orihime, the Holy King's Aura had no power to refute it and could only bow his head in acknowledgment.

"I really did something like that—"

“I wasn’t talking about that.”

The Holy King's Halo fell into a low mood, but before she could finish speaking about her self-loathing, she was interrupted by the adoring Orihime.

His emotions were abruptly interrupted. The Holy King's aura caused him to raise his head somewhat blankly, and he subconsciously looked at the admiring Orihime with a complicated expression.

Ai Musou was silent for a while, as if she was trying to figure out how far she was going to go.

Finally, she took a deep breath and said.

"I... also have a younger sister."