Chapter 1631: line with translation of chapter title

NO. 245: Indeed, as the saying goes, a long illness makes a good doctor.

#When you lose a match, what do you think in your heart? #

On Umastagram's horse girl board, similar topics are always long‑lasting.

Especially when such topics are tied to anonymous voting, those posts can ride the click heat to soar, competing with hot posts from other boards for top spots; with luck they can break into the top ten, but expecting the top five is naturally out of the question.

Umastagram is ultimately a world‑class social media platform dedicated to horse girls.

Although promotion itself relies on the momentum of tying into the horse‑racing industry's development and publicity, meeting the standard is meeting the standard; this official‑scale size is enough for its top‑five hot topics to be monopolized by news of various major races—for instance, this time—who will win the Jidong Derby?

Originally it was a predictive vote post from the official account, but now it is obviously a genuine congratulation from the association's official account.

How would one put it?

But no matter how you put it, Manchester Chazuo and Meipu Bopang are not truly caring.

As for Aimu Zhiji, she was even more silently listening to her little sister San's encouragement and comfort, then looked with some worry toward the Chazuo that granted her this treatment.

Even after losing a match, the mindset of those who have won once and those who have never won always differs.

Although Aimu Zhiji also felt the frustration and anger of having a sure win snatched away by a toyed‑with strategy, she could still accept the facts; in fact, thanks to her previous loop experience, she has always been the one who values facts the most.

The advantages of strategy are obvious, but truly being able to employ strategy well is rare among horse girls, and when it comes to the G1 races that require both talent and sweat to reach, it's even rarer, because running talent and mental talent have always been two separate things.

Although some believe that running talent encompasses judging the situation, seizing reversal opportunities, and quick wit, and thus consider it a mental talent as well, strategy has never been merely a product of quick wit.

Rather, quick wit is merely an occasional byproduct that appears in strategy.

In fact, neither Aimu Zhiji nor Meipu Bopang, in their memories from different loops on different tracks, has ever seen such an extravagant full‑course scheming as Ailisuzhi's.

So they suffered a loss.

They were completely caught off guard…… Both had thought that accepting scheming was also part of strength, yet they failed to truly be wary of the possibility that someone who persists on this road would burst onto the track; now, besides the mindset of 'truly having their rankings twisted beyond control, they can't help but surge with anger,' they also feel an exceptionally clear sense of helplessness.

Because they both realize that even if they could have been on guard beforehand, they would still find it hard to defend against Ailisuzhi's scheming this time.

Let's just quickly review it in our minds.

If we went back to our early‑game posture, and if we were wary of her, could we change things?

No, unless we take the initiative to target her, which is something the two of us are not good at.

Although every horse girl develops a running style shaped by her own personality, Meipu Bopang and Aimu Zhiji, despite their obvious personality differences and vastly divergent temperamental running styles, share the same outward attitude in their running.

The same indifference.

They basically don't care how others run; they only stubbornly pursue what they themselves are chasing.

That thing is either the finish line or something else not on the track, and asking such them to pay attention to others, to target others, is undoubtedly a luxury.

Precisely because they realize this, they further realize that even if they tried again, it would be hard to counter; the only path ahead is to run better than before, so although they feel disappointed, they can also regain their composure.

Thinking back, they must make the trainer/Master come up with a more effective, more powerful training plan! Even devilish training would do!

Rather, the two of them have always been people who excel in perseverance; only now have they truly understood, and they start thinking that they should rely on that outstanding advantage they have over their teammates to ask the trainer for special coaching.

For now, although Aomo hasn't arranged identical training plans for them—he has indeed made distinctions based on different emphases—the fact is, or rather, in the hearts of the two horse girls, the same view has taken hold: the trainer is still being conservative.

There should be more rigorous training that tests willpower, strength, and speed, just like those trainer methods mentioned on Umastagram!

"It looks like you two don't need me to say anything."

In their midst of thought and self‑reflection, as they unintentionally walked out of the temporary examination room following the crowd, a voice suddenly burst into their thoughts, making both startle; from the synchronized raising of their ears, they looked toward the young man waving at them.

Still with that calm gaze, the two unconsciously quickened their steps, and Meipu Bopang even accelerated further, overtaking Aimu Zhiji in the forward rush and hugging Aomo.

"Oh~"

Aomo, who seemed just as startled but obviously not completely unprepared to be embraced like that, lowered his head to look at the similarly head‑buried, evidently downcast Bopang, and the hand he had slightly spread also lowered.

"……Master."

"There's still a chance."

He spoke softly, raising his hand to gently pat the girl's head; clearly only a few years older, his bearing nonetheless resembled that of a full‑fledged elder, and he immediately reached out a hand toward Aimu Zhiji, whose hand had just begun to lift but then retracted.

"……"

Amid the two urgings of the sister hanging by the ear, he silently approached, allowing him to use his other hand to lightly touch his own head.

And her eyes looked at the other players walking out of the examination room, all still listless; in her mind, compared to the usual awkwardness and shame, a question dominated:

Was I like that before?

Whether those horse girls or the trainers who came to greet them briefly, all showed a lethargic, fighting‑spirit‑less appearance, making one doubt whether they'd even be seen in the next match.

"Please once again heed my words, Trainer Tokailin."

At that moment, she heard the owner of the hand on her head speaking to the trainer beside her, prompting her to raise her head in confusion; she saw that the trainer from Senlinbaoxue, as she remembered, was looking blankly at the horse girls and trainers, then lowered his head to meet her gaze, and immediately looked toward the trainer.

"I'll…"

"Wait, you're rather eager."

Just as the trainer said, he looked quite eager, about to rush toward the room, but the trainer grabbed him with quick eyes and hands, also causing Bopang, whose head was still leaning against the trainer's chest, to lift her head and look at the man who 'interrupted' the trainer's concern.

——Interrupting, her gaze seemed to express that hostility, making Aimu Zhiji's look inevitably subtle.

"No men allowed, non‑medical personnel prohibited."

The trainer, seemingly insensitive to this, merely reminded the trainer he had grabbed of the sign posted beside the door.

"Also please have some confidence in your responsibility."

And he still had the unfinished second half of that sentence in his heart.

Even if it weren't his responsibility, it would be the same.