Chapter 86: In the End, It Still Didn't Turn Out Like This

In the reformed lab during lunch break, Ailisuzhi watched Aomo holding his lunch box, then looked at Mei Pu Bo Pang trailing behind him, and showed a faint, subtle smile.

"So, Tunshujun, I recall I only asked you to prepare lunch and tea."

"Didn't you bring it?" Aomo raised a hand, tapped the lunch box he had just set on the table, glanced at the gradually cluttering setup on the test bench, then turned to Suzi nearby and called out, "Eat while it's hot, see if it suits your taste."

Finally, he suddenly asked, "By the way, weren't you still a trainer just a moment ago? How did you become Tunshujun now?"

"Do you really not know why this kind of definition change would happen?"

After another glance at the silent, calm-faced Mei Pu Bo Pang, Ailisuzhi didn't expect to see any problem on the face of the school‑wide famous 'cyber horse'; seeing her utterly still like an object, however, she couldn't help but feel it was tricky.

As a researcher who often needs to observe the condition of test subjects, Ailisuzhi is quite confident in her observational skills.

But this cyber‑horse girl is on another level when it comes to 'disguise'.

She isn't even trying to disguise herself; her every move is the ultimate disguise.

Faced with that expressionless face, you can't tell what she's thinking at all.

After briefly recalling the reputation she'd heard and considering how the other party had openly camped outside the exam hall in front of the media that day, Ailisuzhi turned her head to look at Aomo beside her.

"What trick is this? You can't dodge the experiment by luring away a test candidate."

She still remembers Ailishuma saying that after that stakeout, Mei Pu Bo Pang had been silent, as if she'd completely let go of the matter.

Now it's clear that isn't the case.

If it weren't for my earlier blockade, the air‑dropped trainer and the horse girl who had just ended her contract with the previous trainer might have met, and perhaps this position of mine would have been hers.

Think back to Tunshujun's earlier aura—that presence surely could have convinced Mei Pu Bo Pang to sign, and the whole thing began with Tunshujun making his presence known in the interview topic about 'Mei Pu Bo Pang', then waiting for her to appear publicly, leading to this encounter, which even feels somewhat fated.

No... the notion of fate isn't reliable; students of the Destiny school firmly believe this, while researchers, having confirmed on the basis of quantum entanglement proof that 'God plays dice,' hold that far too many events in this world are random.

Only a steadfast will, tireless practice, and peerless planning can counter that randomness—and that is precisely what drives researchers.

After all, even that so‑called destiny was shattered by my own intrusion—thinking this, Ailisuzhi looked again at the cyber‑horse girl whose stance hadn't changed at all, as if she hadn't heard my question to Tunshujun, simply standing there in a daze.

Her gaze softened a little in the silence.

Her record in brief: she pushed her own horse girl with excessively harsh training, and was then pushed by an even stricter trainer.

Even so she persevered, but in the end it was simply overload that caused her body to break down.

This left Mei Pu Bo Pang's reputation on the Saichang far from its peak, yet among students it had already spread thanks to the word 'giving it her all'—a term not exaggerated at all.

Ailisuzhi never bothered to learn what her goal was, but she felt that, having been able to push that far, giving up early and being swayed by Tunshujun made her feel a bit embarrassed compared to her.

Just thinking that I had blocked her path made it only natural that I couldn't be harsh toward her.

"I haven't even said anything yet—how did you suddenly gain that air of having figured everything out ten years ahead?"

At that moment, Tunshujun's remark from beside her made her snap her head around, and she saw that the other party had already opened the lunch box.

"Seeing you stare at Mei Pu Bo Pang in a daze and not even hear my reply, I went ahead and opened it for you," Aomo said, pointing at the food inside the lunch box, "Go ahead and eat; tell me if it suits your taste, and I'll adjust next time."

Seeing this guy completely natural, Ailisuzhi felt a bit weary and asked, "Are you planning to leave her completely hanging there?"

"Not really."

Aomo shook his head, raised his hand toward the pile of miscellaneous items opposite the test bench, and conjured a bright‑silver, semi‑materialized magic claw that pulled out an intact chair from within.

The magic circle traced a water flow to wash, followed swiftly by a drying wind; the whole sequence was smooth and quick, and then he placed the chair beside Mei Pu Bo Pang:

"You sit first."

"... Thank you."

Witnessing this procedure, even Ailisuzhi was stunned for a moment, but Mei Pu Bo Pang merely fell silent briefly, then nodded her thanks.

Meanwhile, Ailisuzhi leaned in to examine Aomo's palm, which looked no different from an ordinary person's hand:

"Although I know your occupation and species, Tunshujun, seeing such proficient source‑energy technique still surprises me."

"I think it has nothing to do with occupation or species; an ordinary person can achieve this after enough study and practice." After withdrawing his hand from hers, Aomo placed his hand on her shoulder and shoved her to turn and sit back down.

"Mage's Hand, Water‑Condensing Art, and Fireball Technique are all basic arts, scorned as mere tricks."

Although they are basic, the more life‑integrated source arts best demonstrate fundamentals; Aomo's handling at least shows fine control, especially when using Mage's Hand to simulate his demonized arm.

This was still his spur‑of‑the‑moment idea.

It was a slight imitation of that character from 'Non‑Existent Memory'.

I reckon boosting magical output could have a similar effect to raising power, but it would also destabilize the spell.

So at this stage, Aomo merely gave Mage's Hand a new special‑effect skin.

"Besides, you ought to focus on your meal—since you're an athlete about to race on the Saichang, at least make sure you don't end up with a mid‑race stomach ailment."

Being able to shove a reluctant horse girl into a seat would normally be quite a visual spectacle for onlookers, but here there's nobody else—just Aomo's Mei Pu Bo Pang.

Still, Suzi wasn't really planning to compete; otherwise, given that many junior‑high horse girls could pull a stuck truck out of the mud, as a senior‑high horse girl Ailisuzhi would at best be slightly outmatched.

If Aomo truly demanded stability, he'd first need to demonize.

"Holding back my doubts and just eating honestly isn't my style," Ailisuzhi protested, frowning at the towering Aomo, "So why did you bring her here?"

"Let's discuss it, or rather, as the horse girl in charge you should know that Central Telesen actually has a proxy‑trainer contract mechanism, right?"

"\"Proxy trainer, \" distinct from an official trainer."

It's merely a contract signed as a proxy with weaker enforceability, essentially like a teacher who lectures on horse‑girl culture; you can offer suggestions to the horse girl, and she may freely decide whether to heed them—this is also the usual contract signed by new trainers.

After all, new trainers generally need to build ability and seniority; at first they're easily looked down upon by strong horse girls, not valued by colleagues, and can't find a formal horse‑girl sponsor, which leads to the widespread signing of such 'proxy trainer contracts'.

Compared to the official trainer's training plan and schedule tracking, the proxy trainer's mode leans more toward: laissez‑faire.

That is, occasionally dropping by to offer a few suggestions.

The prouder the horse girl, the more she favors this kind of contract; after all, before them there had appeared Ludaofu Xiangzheng's 'trainers swapped back and forth, none truly usable', and even at the peak of their running careers they sometimes became the exemplar of 'trainer‑less'.

Even at the present Telesen Academy, there have been cases of retired horse girls serving as trainers, and horse girls racing without any trainer—

——of course, these two are rare exceptions, but countable on one hand; they rely on professional success or powerful family backing, possessing extra resources that substitute for the trainer's handling in every race process.

Precisely for these reasons, Aomo—who signed up with a senior‑high horse girl on his very first day, and hadn't even watched her debut race—is quite abnormal.

But neither trainer nor horse girl really cares about that; the latter, upon hearing this, pondered: "I naturally understand, so are you planning to be her proxy trainer?"

Just this matter? I agreed.

I thought we'd need to talk a lot....

Seeing Ailisuzhi start to pick up her utensils and eat, Aomo felt greatly surprised.

Recalling how the other person previously completely seemed not wanting to eat, yet now they said nothing and again began to eat silently, the extra rice specially added for the horse girl's appetite is steadily decreasing; it seems this meal is at least agreeable to the stomach—Aomo had just thought that, when he saw the other person suddenly lift their head.

She dissatisfiedly shook her fork: "Vitamins, minerals, proteins, and carbohydrates have been moderately considered; nutritional balance passes, but it's too bland!"

"Next time we'll adjust, do you like salty, sweet, or spicy?" Aomo asked while tapping open the terminal screen; it's no wonder she finds it bland yet eats this much.

Such a research fanatic, even if you give her an energy bar during the research period, she wouldn't mind; only the trainer would mind.

At least when the research takes a break, be good to yourself.

"Salty," Ailisuzhi said, beginning to open the drink box that was with the meal box, "but snacks should still be sweet."

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Okay.

Aomo, who had tapped the memo, turned his head and glanced at Meipubopang sitting not far away, maintaining proper posture and watching the two of them, then turned his head back to look at Ailisuzhi.

"Then I'll go first to sign a contract with Meipubopang; after all, she still has normal classes this afternoon."

An acting trainer cannot enjoy the full benefits of a trainer, and the horse girls under their command likewise cannot enjoy the freedom of having an acting trainer.

Meipubopang still has to attend classes together with the uncontracted horse girl group; the only difference is that during basic training and race lecture sessions, the acting trainer can come over at any time to supervise and adjust—until participating in the debut race.

Once the debut race begins, the basic courses are no longer necessary; one should proceed with individual training in the set direction.

This is either the trainer's responsibility or the horse girl's self-discipline.

"Go on, go on," Suzi, who had taken a sip of black tea, waved her hand; compared to food, she still finds Qimen black tea more satisfying, "Come back quickly, you still owe me one experiment."

"That's pretty expensive, considering it's to build a good relationship with the future horse girl one will be responsible for; Meipubopang fortunately got to see the rare sight of Aomo going to the drink shop with his face tucked in."

But that posture will probably become more obvious, right?

Just like now, when Aomo hears the reminder that 'experiment' is read as 'test drug,' his expression isn't looking good either.

I never expected to have missed out on Source Energy Engineering University, yet I can still feel the academic atmosphere of the university's chemistry department—damn, it really moves him.