“Trainer, this is also delicious, you should try some.”
On the other side, Special Week couldn't quite reach, but she stretched forward to pick up food for Lu Jue. However, she was just following suit, so she also picked up food for Silent Suzuka.
After a satisfying meal, everyone gradually left.
The scene after the lively gathering seemed a bit desolate.
Lu Jue was somewhat unaccustomed to it, because this time Silent Suzuka surprisingly didn't stay.
He sat in his seat for a while, and after sobering up a bit, he was about to clean up when the doorbell rang.
“Silence Suzuka? Why are you back again?”
“Seeing you so drunk, you definitely can't clean up the living room by yourself.”
Silent Suzuka would never tell him that she came back because she was worried.
She certainly wouldn't tell him that she wanted to throw others off her scent, so she left with Special Week and the others first.
“Actually, I can manage by myself.”
Silent Suzuka frowned, covering her nose, “You reek of alcohol right now, don't talk to me.”
After she finished speaking, she walked into the room on her own, leaving Lu Jue alone and bewildered at the door.
......
Silent Suzuka bustled around like a hostess, restoring everything to its original state. When she came out of the kitchen again, Lu Jue was already fast asleep next to the sofa.
“He’ll catch a cold,” she mumbled, and covered Lu Jue with a blanket.
This time, she didn't rush to leave. Instead, she stood quietly for a while, then leaned down to look at Lu Jue's sleeping face.
Silent Suzuka suddenly felt shy, and her gaze involuntarily shifted. Realizing that Lu Jue was asleep, her eyes darted back to him again.
She reached out and carefully poked Lu Jue's face.
“Hmm…” Lu Jue, in his sleep, let out a soft hum, furrowed his brows, and turned over.
This startled Silent Suzuka quite a bit, and she recoiled her hand as if she had received an electric shock.
How cute. If only I could keep one at home all to myself...
As soon as the thought emerged, Silent Suzuka was startled again.
She was really getting more and more muddled. How could she have such strange thoughts!?
She patted her chest, relieved, then stood up again, but still had no intention of leaving.
Silent Suzuka, like a thief, cast a fleeting glance at a room to her left—Lu Jue's bedroom.
“It's just that I thought this blanket was too thin, so I wanted to see if there was a thicker one in the room... Yes, that's it.”
Finding excuses for strange behavior was also a way of encouraging herself.
Silent Suzuka walked to the door, looked back at Lu Jue again, and then gently pushed the door open.
Lu Jue's room was very simple, with only a bed, a computer desk, and a cabinet for miscellaneous items.
Silent Suzuka didn't go in; to be precise, she didn't use her eyes to look, but rather her nose to sense.
Sniff, sniff sniff...
The scent inside was much stronger.
It was that smell she occasionally caught when she was close to Lu Jue. It was hard to describe, but it made her feel very at ease.
The crescent moon climbed onto the branches, and no one knew how long Silent Suzuka stood there foolishly, until she was startled by her own unconscious deep breath.
Silent Suzuka's face flushed with shyness, and both her palms were bent, only gradually calming down after realizing no one had noticed.
What kind of behavior was that just now?
How could she be like a crazy, crazy... woman? Was she really?
She touched her burning cheeks and quickly closed the Pandora's box that was affecting her sanity.
“Alright… there’s no suitable blanket.”
Silent Suzuka nervously retreated to the living room, glanced at Lu Jue's sleeping face before leaving, and wished him goodnight in her heart.
......
The ordinary days passed one by one.
Repeated training would eventually pay off for these diligent Uma Musume.
“Things may not always go as one wishes, but one must strive to have no regrets in one's heart.”
In the “Dream” lounge, Special Week read out loud, word by word, a calligraphy scroll that Lu Jue had hung on the wall.
“Hmm, I don't think the meaning needs much explanation, right?” Lu Jue clapped his hands, signaling everyone to sit down, “Today, I have something important to tell everyone.”
Lu Jue scanned the group and continued, “The exact date for the Yayoi Sho has been set.”
The Yayoi Sho, a G2-level major race.
Because its race format is exactly the same as the Satsuki Sho, one of the Classic Triple Crown races, the Yayoi Sho is also known as a preliminary race for the Satsuki Sho.
Special Week clenched her fists, full of fighting spirit, because this could be said to be her first step towards her dream.
However, before she could express her emotions, Lu Jue's next words poured cold water on her.
“Our team's participants are Special Week... and Xingyun Jiang.”
As soon as Lu Jue finished speaking, the atmosphere in the lounge suddenly became a bit subtle.
In previous smaller races, Lu Jue had always arranged them separately.
Because in one race, only one Uma Musume can win the championship honor.
As for second, third… to some extent, they were no different from other losers.
So, this was the first time two teammates became opponents in an official race.
Special Week and Seiun Sky's gazes met, subtly heavy.
“Ahem… What's wrong? It's just a race, what kind of looks are those? No fighting allowed in the lounge.”
Lu Jue caught a whiff of gunpowder and quickly extinguished it with a rather humorous remark.
He had been having a headache over this last night; it was clearly not suitable for two opponents to train together.
“Oh, Trainer, how could I fight with Xingyun Jiang!” Special Week chided.
However, her psychological pressure had indeed risen.
Seiun Sky also smiled again, “Haha, I can't beat Xiao Te.”
Despite her words, Seiun Sky's inner self was far from as calm as her exterior.
In her heart, besides the desire to compete with Special Week again, there was also an unmentionable fear—the fear that she would lose.
In recent training sessions, the competition between Seiun Sky and Special Week had seen both wins and losses.
Seiun Sky had to admit that she could no longer easily defeat Special Week as she had at the very beginning.
This was quite a blow to Seiun Sky, who had debuted early, especially since Special Week had not received systematic training before transferring schools.
Was talent that important? What did her previous efforts count for then? Was she just that mediocre?
Even before the race began, Seiun Sky had already considered the possibility of losing, but she hadn't yet figured out how to accept it.
“Alright, this situation is also quite special, so I've formulated individual plans for each of you, and you'll train separately.” Lu Jue said, handing the training plans he had meticulously worked on all night to the two of them.
The plans specified the training content and requirements, even detailing dietary aspects.
The two of them took the schedules, read them carefully, and then put them away meticulously.
“Next, I'll introduce you to the Yayoi Sho venue.”
......