Huiyi soaked in the medicated bath for two hours without realizing it, feeling warm both inside and out.
The pain in her knees had vanished. Huiyi bent her leg and tapped it lightly with her knuckles, thinking that perhaps a weekly medicated bath could truly cure the rheumatism she had developed at such a young age.
Getting out of the tub, Huiyi yawned wearily. She had gone straight from the airport to the academy and then to the wellness center. After relaxing in the bath, she felt she could fall asleep the moment she lay down.
Naked, she went to the shower, rinsed off the herbs clinging to her body, dried herself, and got dressed.
Her phone showed the time as 22:37. It was time to head back to the academy; the leave she had asked Kitahara to get from Fuji Kiseki was for a late return, not an overnight absence.
"Please come again~" The gray-haired attendant saw Huiyi all the way out and only returned inside after she got into a taxi.
Whether it was because the medicated bath worked quickly or because the medicinal herbs were more potent in a world with the Three Goddesses, Huiyi's bones now felt soft and weak, with a tingling sensation that was both numbing and pleasant.
When Huiyi got in the car, the driver immediately smelled the strong medicinal scent. Seeing her boneless-like state, he could tell she had likely been soaking in a potent bath for a long time.
"Hey, little lady, don't fall asleep. It won't be easy for me to wake you up later," the driver reminded her. The ride to Tracen Academy wasn't long, and it would be a pain if Huiyi fell asleep only to be woken up a few minutes later.
Huiyi lifted her eyelids and shifted her body, replying, "I'm not asleep... just thinking about how to live my life from now on."
"Thinking that far ahead? I thought horse girls only started thinking about these things after they retired... or maybe they don't have to think about such things at all," the driver chimed in, marveling at the maturity of today's youth.
"Life is a long road; you've got to have a plan. Besides, I'm already in my forties, didn't expect that, did you!" Since he was just a stranger she'd likely never meet again, Huiyi decided to joke around.
The problem was, a horse girl's appearance barely changes until she's over fifty, so the driver actually believed her. He clicked his tongue, a mix of emotions swirling inside him. "Oh, ma'am, my apologies. I called you 'little lady' just now. It seems you must have had a tough childhood."
After all, if she hadn't, she wouldn't be this tall at over forty.
"Ah, let's not talk about that. I'll call you 'big bro,' you call me 'big sis,' we'll just go with that," Huiyi said, sliding up in her seat and unlocking her phone with her fingerprint to check her messages on Uma-Twitter.
[Deep Impact]: You're not back yet?
[Huiyi]: Almost at the academy gate. I'll definitely be back tonight.
"Well, big sis, your sense of humor is still so active! I remember when my dad was your age, he had a permanent scowl on his face. By the way, what's your job at Tracen Academy?"
"Nothing much, just part of a training team. Also, let me teach you something: don't let society grind down your edges. Lower your expectations of helping others, and respect their destinies. Reject emotional labor, and when something happens, just go crazy," Huiyi said, summarizing the wisdom she had gained from a decade of being beaten down by society after graduating from college.
"It might not sound like a very positive outlook on life, but I think you can understand, right?"
"Of course, I totally get it. Sometimes I think you just have to... make some changes for yourself!" The driver strongly agreed. When they arrived at Tracen Academy, he even waved his hand and decided not to charge Huiyi for the fare.
"Big sis! Your words have enlightened me! The weak me of the past just died! This fare is nothing!"
"Huh? No, no, you don't have to do that. I should still pay what I owe. But I wish you the best in changing your life into what you want it to be. See you later, big bro!" After paying in cash, Huiyi hastily fled.
After all, that little speech had a bit of a scam-like quality to it.
But her well wishes were completely sincere.
The driver leaned against his car in the parking spot at the Tracen gate for a long time, then suddenly realized something strange. "Big bro, big sis... so we really did just go with that?"
"I'm back, phew~" Pushing open the dorm room door, Huiyi let out a long sigh, kicked off her shoes, and hung her coat on the rack. When she turned around, she saw Deep Impact with her ears perked up high.
"Hmm? Deep Impact?" She raised a hand and waved. Huiyi noticed that only then did Deep Impact's eyes seem to regain some focus. What was she doing just now?
Zoning out?
"W-welcome back! Your debut race was beautiful! Congratulations on your debut, Huiyi!" Deep Impact hurriedly presented a bouquet of flowers, but the wilted petals and a single fallen leaf made the atmosphere dead silent.
"Th-thank you...?" But when Huiyi took the flowers, the bud snapped and dangled, swaying with her every breath.
"Um... I was going to give them to you right after I bought them, but I didn't expect you to go out..." Deep Impact's fingers fidgeted under the covers. She had never felt so embarrassed.
"It's okay, I've received your kind thought. Good luck with your debut race too, Deep Impact. But... you haven't set a date for your debut yet, have you?" Huiyi offered a gentle smile and naturally placed the bouquet on the bedside table.
Deep Impact instinctively nodded, then shook her head. "Well, it's not that it's not set... My trainer and I discussed it, and it's tentatively scheduled for December..."
"Oh Then you'll have to work hard to catch up to my popularity I'll probably run in five or six more races by the end of the year." Huiyi said it so casually, meeting Deep Impact's shocked gaze.
"Five or six races...?" Deep Impact murmured the words again as if to confirm she hadn't misheard.
"Yeah, the Kokura Nisai Stakes, the Hakodate Nisai Stakes, and the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, oh right, and the Daily Hai Nisai Stakes!" Huiyi rattled off the race names, and the look in Deep Impact's eyes grew even stranger.
Although the stronger fragrance from Huiyi was making her a bit disoriented, Deep Impact's senses remained sharp when it came to racing matters.
Running three races, including the debut race, during the rookie season was already considered a high intensity schedule. And Huiyi wanted to run six?
One race a month...?!
Not only was the horse girl who proposed this idea insane, but if her trainer agreed to such a schedule, it would mean there wasn't a single sane person on the team!
If Huiyi secretly registered for the races herself... wouldn't that be pushing Trainer Kitahara into a pit of fire!
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