Chapter 614

NO. 195: Past vs Present Confrontation

That's the charm Karen hoped Aizhi would bring, the one Karen asked for, and it's also for that short-distance race in early September~!

Short-distance?

Hmm~… that's the G1-level short-distance championship.

But I'm not considering the short-distance race……

The point is the charm! The charm! Sis, are you going to refuse Karen's charm?

... I said before, Ji Ling, don't casually call me sis like that……

Faced with her cute roommate's teary, pleading gaze, Aimu Zhiji found it hard to steel herself, especially since she today felt something was off.

It was as if something had eroded her into 'weakness'; today she repeatedly felt a desire that ran contrary to her usual style.

It made her feel as if she had briefly returned to when she was three or four years old.

At that time, she didn't understand anything, not even that her life had been preserved by sacrificing her sister.

She idly wasted her life and time, wanting to make more friends, and would actively seek out peers to play house.

That look… was exactly like that of Chengtian Lu.

In their mouths, they'd just call her lively and outgoing, right?

Really… unbearable to watch!

This is Aimu Zhiji's attitude toward the past.

The so-called past should have lain buried in the depths of memory, gradually fading and distorting with time, until a touch of source energy or technology made it vivid again, allowing people to grasp it once more.

But before that, she couldn't help but recall it.

Thus that memory remained vivid.

Vivid enough that she wanted to scold her past self.

【Clearly there were other options; why force herself?】

"..."

Thinking of that scene that always tormented her, she unconsciously recalled those words of rising anger.

Other options?

Where did other options come from?!

The only thing placed before oneself is victory, to offer that glory to that child.

For this, even during the midday nap of many in the school, she would still appear promptly on the sand track of the endurance training field.

She tucked the small amulet under her sports outfit, zipped it up, took a deep breath…… Aimu Zhiji gazed at the truly deserted training field, thinking, this is the environment and atmosphere she is familiar with.

But today always seems somewhat abnormal, just like now, when she had just set the training countdown on the light screen before her, took another deep breath, and was about to begin stepping——

Her ears twitched again, she instinctively turned her head, and saw the chestnut‑red‑haired horse girl whizzing past from the adjacent lane.

It also brought a heavy rubber tire that made her instinctively want to dodge, though in reality even if she didn't dodge she wouldn't be hit.

But even knowing this, it was still an aura that left no choice but to avoid.

This left her somewhat dazed, standing in place, while the stopwatch floating nearby kept counting upward.

Is that Mei Pu Bo Fang?

Even she, who dislikes gossip, has some impression of her.

After all, last year she was still an opponent she needed to study, with popularity as high as the midday sun.

Yet later, in the conflict with her trainer, she resolutely chose to take a break for recuperation.

This left countless fans regretful, and left countless horse girls eager to compete with her feeling mixed emotions.

Some secretly rejoiced, thinking there was one less strong rival on the road.

Some felt regret, also because there was one less strong rival on the road.

Some felt sorrow, thinking sadly that they might one day face the same fate.

Some felt relief, believing that for a horse girl's career, finding a congenial trainer is more important than winning races, or else it's better to stop first……

Such thoughts were varied.

But in the end, she merely rested for half a year before returning, without changing her trainer, merely having a stand‑in trainer in the guise of a 'semi‑automatic horse girl'.

In response, she rejected the trainers' applications; Aimu Zhiji, who had always gone her own way, certainly would not feel nervous or secretly pleased like ordinary horse girls.

All she cared about was whether she would have one more obstacle.

Exactly, an obstacle.

Unlike many horse girls influenced by the Central Te Lei Sen's 'loving family' atmosphere, those who truly think 'friendship first, competition second', Aimu Zhiji's attitude toward competition has always been pragmatic.

Or rather, utilitarian.

As long as she wins, it's fine; how others fare is irrelevant to her.

A bloodless, tearless running machine——in this regard, Aimu Zhiji does it far more thoroughly than Mei Pu Bo Fang.

To her, running is not enjoyment but a mission.

Since it is a mission, it is naturally utilitarian and pragmatic.

Even training is preparation for the mission, and as a martyr she also has self‑oppression akin to an ascetic monk.

Acting with an atonement‑like attitude, even tormenting herself could yield a sort of forgiveness that seemed to lessen her guilt.

She lived this way for many years, essentially single‑minded and free of distracting thoughts.

But now, watching Mei Pu Bo Fang's receding figure as she runs, she simply feels a faint urge to run.

"……"

Compared to her previous cravings for ice cream and honey‑special drink, this idea seems much more normal; even if she realizes it, her face shows little surprise.

She merely remained silent, looking down at her own legs.

He turned his head again to look at the same restraint bound to his body—the rubber tire of a large war chariot's load-bearing wheel.

After a brief pondering, she still decided to step forward.

At the same time, Mei Pu Bo Fang, who was running ahead, also heard the notification from the microphone by his ear:

Good, that guy's started running! How are you doing? Bo Fang, how many laps can you hold?

The high-pitched yet frivolous female voice undoubtedly belonged to Ailisuzhi, whom the surroundings warned was 'full of bad ideas,' and she was also a Duìyou on her team.

Amid the howling wind, Bo Fang replied: 'Searching past records: confirmed as four laps.'

Four laps? Fine! The two-year race system's approaching maturity is indeed strong, so just keep this step frequency; even if she overtakes you, you don't need to change—after all, she won't be able to stay ahead for long before falling behind you.

According to Chazuo's intel, her endurance performance is not bad, but it's still far inferior to yours.

Test logic abnormal: her training intensity is far higher than mine.

If merely burying one's head in hard work could bring growth…… what's the point of professional knowledge? What's the point of a trainer?

Don't let your thinking be as dead as hers, Bo Fang~!

Understood.

Right, with this momentum, let's give that wild girl who has no trainer yet annoys our trainers a little jolt of self-discipline.

Make her realize that training without even discussing efficiency is meaningless; aside from self-satisfaction, she's done nothing.

Ailisuzhi, pressing the microphone to her ear, smiled as she spoke, with a familiarity strange enough to make Chazuo's face twitch.

It was as if she saw a shadow of a trainer.

And Miss Aimu Zhiji, who had drawn her increasing attention, also bore a hint of familiar darkness.

She suddenly had a ridiculous sense of déjà vu, as if, before the racecourse, the trainer she had always been watching had constantly been conducting some kind of opposition in her heart.

She could never see that opposition clearly; she only hoped he would briefly reveal his true self to her on the racecourse.

And now, she seemed to see that opposition reemerge in an extremely subtle way.

Between Suzi here and Miss Aimu Zhiji on the other end of the call.

But when she was drawn in by that ridiculous déjà vu, the other party suddenly tapped the microphone and turned her head to look:

Don't keep looking this way, Chazuo—is Aimu Zhiji's little sister still running?

As she asked, her face bore a hint of pleasure, as if this, too, were a worthwhile experiment worth trying for her.

Let's check—do we still need to continuously infect that guy with endorphins and dopamine?

To correct her foolish sister, she really needs to put in some serious effort!

Along the winding path, Aomo pressed forward.