As the administrative center and largest city of Hokkaido, Sapporo had a large number of shopping areas.
Zhou Tai'an took a JR train from Hiratori, a journey of over an hour, to Sapporo.
Although there were many shopping centers in Sapporo, they were mainly concentrated in two areas. One of them was around Sapporo Station.
His goal today was to find a suitable gift here.
"It's best if it's something small. I don't even know where to send a large item," he muttered to himself. After all, Oguri Cap had not yet told him her home address.
So after thinking it over on the JR train, he decided on cosmetics.
And if he was going to buy cosmetics, the most suitable shopping center around Sapporo Station was the "Daimaru Sapporo Store."
Getting off at Sapporo Station, he walked for three minutes and arrived at his destination.
Daimaru Sapporo had 7 floors, with different floors selling different types of goods—the 1st floor sold cosmetics and jewelry.
Without needing to go upstairs, the young man began to browse the 1st floor.
Browsing alone here, he stood out in the crowd—everyone else was either in groups or single girls. On a floor with this theme, he was truly an anomaly.
"I should probably just buy something and leave quickly," he thought. He chose a Tiffany & Co. Rose Gold hand cream, asked the clerk to put it in an exquisite gift box, and was about to turn and leave.
But just as he put the wrapped gift box in his bag and turned around, the corner of his windbreaker was caught by a hand that seemed to be carved from ivory.
He frowned, easily broke free, and then turned his gaze to the person who had accosted him—a young-looking, gray-coated Horse Girl. Her other hand was holding the hand of another, even younger, gray-coated Horse Girl.
Noticing the panicked look on the face of the little Horse Girl being held, his tone involuntarily softened. "Sorry, I don't have any spare change."
As he spoke, he pulled a 1,000-yen bill from his wallet, intending to press it into the hand of the Horse Girl who had just grabbed his coat—clearly, he had mistaken her action for silent begging.
But to his surprise, the older gray-coated Horse Girl shook her head, pushed the money back, and said, "I'm not begging. I just have a favor to ask you, sir."
Hearing her accent, he felt a sense of familiarity.
"She's from America, just like me," he judged, then asked, "What is it?"
The gray-coated Horse Girl held out the hand of the little Horse Girl she was holding. "My name is Kurofune. This child got separated from her family. I was trying to help her find her mom, but I've been looking for a while and haven't found her."
Kurofune showed her watch. "I have to get back to the station now to meet my family. I heard your accent just now and it sounded very familiar, so I bothered you."
His eyes flickered. "Aren't you afraid I'll kidnap her? And isn't it better to ask the police for help in this kind of situation?"
Kurofune turned her head away. "I don't have a very good impression of the American police, so..."
"It's sometimes about the same in Japan," he didn't deny it. Even the Japanese media had often criticized it.
"Actually, you can use the information desk to make an announcement," the sales clerk from behind couldn't help but interject.
"Uh—" Perhaps having been away from the big city for too long, he had completely overlooked this simplest method.
Soon, with the help of the store's information desk, the little gray-coated Horse Girl was reunited with her mother.
"Hehe, thank you, big brother and big sister!" the petite Horse Girl spoke for the first time in front of them—her voice was as sweet and clear as a lark's, truly as cute as her appearance.
"It's good that you found your family," but his tone was flat. He took his bag and gave a polite nod to her mother. "Madam, Miss, goodbye."
With that, he turned and left the information desk. For him, this chance encounter, which wasn't even considered helping, would probably not be remembered.
Watching his hastily retreating back, the petite Horse Girl pouted. "Keen didn't even get to ask for big brother's name."
"That's right," Kurofune squinted, also watching him leave, and muttered, "Is he a tourist from America, just like me?"
Keen's mother reached out and patted her daughter's head. "If there's fate, you'll meet again in the future."
"Mm! Keen understands!" the little gray-coated Horse Girl nodded vigorously.
He put the little incident at Daimaru Sapporo out of his mind, got back on the JR Hokkaido train, returned to Hiratori, and walked back to the inn.
At this time, Sachiko-san was directing the inn's staff in setting up the dining room, preparing for the upcoming "battle."
"Did you take a trip to Sapporo, Zhou-kun?" Sachiko-san noticed the shopping bag in his hand with a glance.
"Yeah, went to buy a few things," he answered vaguely.
She didn't press further, just nodded with a smile.
…
After Oguri Cap and Brand New Shine returned from the swimming pool, they first changed back into their casual clothes, then sat down opposite him, who was happily enjoying some special fried fish.
After his Horse Girls were seated, he said casually, "Tomorrow's daytime training is canceled."
"Huh?" Oguri Cap and Brand New Shine looked confused.
"Didn't I tell you back at Kasamatsu? We're going to visit Oguri Cap's family," the young man explained.
"Oh, you did say that," Oguri Cap realized.
"So I'll be counting on you to lead the way tomorrow," he said, turning to look at his team's gray-coated Horse Girl. "I'm looking forward to meeting your mother."
"Mm," Oguri Cap replied softly, nodding.
But he could hear a hint of shyness in her voice.
He didn't think much of it, just thought it was normal.
Oguri Cap's family was not well-off, and this was probably the first time she was bringing her friend and trainer home. It was normal to feel a bit of unnecessary shame.
"I wonder what kind of person her mom is," he thought to himself. "I remember she's from a single-parent family. She might be very strict."
The young man unconsciously projected his own experiences onto the mother he had never met.
-------
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