Chapter 1293: No. 197: You'd better not give her inspiration

You'd better not give her inspiration.

Leaving aside that he still doesn't quite grasp women's psychology, when the four girls over there finished their race, each crossing the finish line in quick succession, he had to react faster than Chengtian Bairen and leap out.

There's no other reason.

Because in the next second, someone stumbled, someone fell to their knees, someone was supported by the faint crowd of spirits, and someone simply lost balance.

「Tachyon！！」

At the end of her all-out effort, Chazuo was the only one who maintained her composure, appearing calm.

She also beat Suzi.

The nose‑length victory appeared in font 25 on the light screen, and a dynamic, clear slow‑motion GIF displayed the final moment.

It could be said she finally let out years of pent‑up frustration.

As for Bopang and Aizhi, who were running ahead of her… they were opponents she already knew she couldn't catch in the short term.

Beating them—such a plan is currently unrealistic, and it was never within Chazuo's considerations from the start.

So when facing the result, she wasn't discouraged; in fact, she could be said to be completely unbothered.

She should have been able to enjoy this moment of relaxation, but she saw that guy being snatched up by the trainer who rushed past her so fast she didn't even have a chance to speak.

「What… even the guinea pig's voice can sound this… urgent…？」

Even when running to the point of nearing or exceeding their limits, if they can stay upright at the finish line, their breath is still a mess—that's why most horse girls, even when they win, rarely shout at the stands.

No one would think Ailisuzhi's intermittent voice was intentional, but Chazuo, standing behind the trainer, indeed saw it.

Seeing that guy throw a smug look her way from the trainer's arms.

「……」

How strange.

Silence was the black‑haired horse girl's clenched fist, soundless.

And in that silent next second, a faint muffled sound arose from the hand patting her shoulder.

She lifted her eyes and saw the profile of another black‑haired horse girl.

That senior, half a head taller than her, likewise gazed in the direction she had just been looking, and at this moment turned her eyes to meet hers.

A brief exchange of glances, without words.

The two silent black‑haired horse girls simply looked once more toward those two people.

This was ultimately just a trivial matter, so minor that the two could hardly do anything about it—Ailisuzhi, whom Aomo Lindun had lifted and summoned an iron coffin to serve as a seat cushion, made no over‑the‑top moves or words, nor did she sneer when Aomo turned away to look after the other girls.

It looked like nothing more than a petty prank meant to give her old roommate (i. e., the one sharing the same classroom) a little stimulation.

She just didn't realize that her effort amounted to work for two people.

——

「…Master……」

「Thanks for your hard work, Bopang—should I lend a hand？」

「I'm deeply grateful。」

「…Hey… also help me a bit。」

「Oh~」

「My legs… feel a bit weak。」

「But you must be happy, right？」

「…Cut the chatter。」

Whether from intense exercise, from having her thoughts exposed like this, or simply from thinking too hard, Aizhi's face flushed red as she, supported by the trainer on her arm and hand, pushed herself up and glanced sideways.

It seemed as if she were looking at Bopang standing nearby with his head lowered, or at the system window.

The venue system window that would appear before Vast City Chazuo would also appear before everyone else.

But unlike the combined results window before Aomo and Chengtian Bairen, the windows before Suzi, Aizhi, and Bopang showed detailed results specific to each of their identities.

At a glance you could tell who won or lost, by how much, and how they lost.

Among these, the most surprising was undoubtedly Aizhi's narrow neck‑length victory over Bopang.

And…

This time, Chazuo won by a nose over Suzi through pure running.

Initially, she still relied on the 'alternative red skill' to affect most opponents' conditions, securing that initial‑race momentum; although after one battle she had the prototype of a renowned horse girl's title, she also drew plenty of harsh criticism.

This is only natural, after all the internet is always like that, and besides, horse‑fan communities have always contained admirers of 'extreme speed' who believe horse girls should win purely by speed, dismissing the so‑called red skill as impure.

Although there are indeed hardcore horse girls who follow that path, this is obviously not a reason to harshly slander other horse girls' reputations.

Teenagers are in a stage where emotions and hormone secretion fluctuate intensely; even the slightest disturbance in daily life can ruin an entire day, let alone direct criticism from others.

So the original Aomo certainly wouldn't forget to comfort that good child.

Chazuo is undoubtedly a good child.

Always well‑behaved and unwilling to argue, she usually appears carefree and simple‑minded, hiding any worries or pressure she might bear; compared to her roommate, this often reminds Aomo of a certain Dongyan proverb.

'The crying child gets candy'… that's pretty much how it goes.

That simple‑minded little girl is a child who never cries, just like her second‑loop companion and the Three‑Crown senior who guided her; they all share remarkably similar stubbornness.

To tell whether these girls are really putting up a front, one needs a trainer like Aomo Lindun—but unfortunately, even Aomo Lindun has his limits.

That limit is right now.

While he was still arranging this bunch of girls who had run themselves ragged and now had to pay a 'price' after finishing, the girls—including Chazuo—seemed to develop a discordant atmosphere, and even he, whose duty ought to be solely about the girls, was likewise affected.

He grew more and more bewildered.

From things being normally natural to suddenly turning abnormal, Aomo didn't know what step he had missed, and he was confused by the girls' attitude—which, while not deliberately targeted, seemed somewhat aloof compared to before.

This might be some kind of signal, Aomo thought.

The signal that a topic requiring men to withdraw is about to unfold is itself a hint that he should avoid touching it, because although the girls under him are mostly strong-willed, after these days of interaction they are still willing to confide their worries to him, unless the questions are exceptionally embarrassing and exceptionally private.

Although it's still questionable whether Meipubopang is aware of this, Aomo had once been asked by her to provide the same full-body massage treatment as Ailisuzhi.

Everyone knows that the latter's request is purely to tease Aomo; they just want to see the guinea pig looking uncomfortable all over, even choosing a short-style undershirt for the massage, so the label on the selling online store somewhat has an erotic element.

And Meipubopang, who demanded the same treatment...

She is obviously not of the same type as Ailisuzhi, but the extent of a full-body massage is somewhat excessive for the opposite sex no matter how you look at it.

Even Suzi's request being approved was thanks to some 'compensation' blowing an 'east wind'; if following normal procedure, it would only have been rejected by Aomo.

Meipubopang was also undoubtedly rejected.

Aomo didn't forget to give her a stern talking-to, after all this girl looks like the type lacking common sense; he felt obliged to educate her on how such a request corrupts morals and discipline, and incidentally criticize Suzi's malicious intent.

But the result was that she was completely unmoved, only saying that as long as it had the effect of a massage, that would be fine.

This this this… this isn't right!

In short, after this incident, Aomo somewhat labeled this girl Bohang with a 'dubious sense of shame' tag.

But Aizhi and Chazuo are obviously not the type who can say it's no big deal with a straight face.

Including Bai Ren is the same.

This elder sister, whose usual demeanor lets people call her 'big brother', shows a very maidenly bashfulness when talking about family and touching small creatures.

Don't ask how Aomo knows about her; it's just that during the recent period, the rotating circulation list of the demon guinea pig horse girls included Chengtian Bairen.

Aomo's impression of this was very deep; although not as deep as Miss Aizhi's frenzy, which almost made him feel a hint of fear, it became the first acquaintance he silently warned himself to avoid after obtaining the follow-up development drug from Suzi.

But why would the topic of men withdrawing possibly involve Bai Ren? That's obviously because Bai Ren is right here!

This is even more inexplicable!!

Aomo thought.

Obviously Bai Ren, who has only just arrived, seems to be smoothly colluding with Chazuo and the others, making his slight exclusion appear all the more like mutual hatred against a common enemy.

Indeed, using that word seems a bit exaggerated—such a minor exclusion hardly counts as enmity—but the feeling of repulsion he senses now must at least be some kind of opposition in stance, so the word isn't wrong.

But if we use the word that way, what exactly am I an enemy of?

If there's any enmity, it must be Suzi, right? Aomo can at least see that Chazuo's attitude toward Suzi has cooled a bit, but this surely can't be the victor's purge and humiliation of the loser, since Chazuo isn't the kind of girl who habitually bullies the weak.

Well, swapping it around to Suzi makes sense.

Suzi surely couldn't have concocted another drug for soul swapping, could she?

Today, too, Aomo Lindun is at the limit of his comprehension, unable to fathom what these girls are thinking under certain specific premises; he can only, during the girls' rest and chat, walk to a distant corner to analyze the running footage, and incidentally take a call from the leader.

His silhouette had the outline of a put-upon office worker.