The next day, when Zhou Tai'an met with Oguri Cap, the young trainer was surprised to find her avoiding his gaze.
"What's going on?" he wondered. "After winning the race yesterday, I don't think I said anything other than that I wanted to visit her home with Brand New Shine, right?"
Unable to figure out the reason, Zhou Tai'an could only suppress his confusion and begin to lead Oguri Cap through her recovery training. Because she had won yesterday's Wakakoma Sho by a huge margin, the race had taken a significant toll on her. So Zhou Tai'an knew he couldn't rush her into pre-race preparation training for the Hokkaido Yushun Championship.
"This entire week will be for recovery training," Zhou Tai'an announced his plan to Oguri Cap after the morning's session.
"A whole week?! I don't need that long to recover!"
As Zhou Tai'an expected, Oguri Cap immediately objected.
But this time, Zhou Tai'an was not going to change his mind.
"The Hokkaido Yushun Championship is on August 31st this year. We have more than a month of ample time to prepare. You have to pull back a fist before you can punch with force. It's the same for a Horse Girl. Continuously undergoing high-intensity training will only cause the tightly wound string to snap unexpectedly at some point."
That string could be "health," "mental state," "fighting spirit," or any element that supported a Horse Girl in her continued struggle on the stage.
"So on this matter, I have the final say. A week of rest is just right. If you secretly add extra training during this time, Oguri Cap, I don't mind extending the rest period until I believe your body has gotten adequate rest."
Hearing Zhou Tai'an's final declaration, Oguri Cap also extinguished the thought of adding her own training and replied in a low voice, "I understand. I will follow your instructions for the recovery training."
With Oguri Cap's promise, Zhou Tai'an's focus for the day shifted to Brand New Shine. He and the chestnut-haired Horse Girl would be picking out spare shoes and horseshoes for Oguri Cap, and then preparing various equipment for the trip—no, the expedition.
Brand New Shine was a genuinely good kid. Although her family owned a sporting goods store, she didn't just spend the funds Zhou Tai'an gave her at her own store. Instead, she planned to take him on a tour of all the sporting goods stores in Nagoya to choose carefully.
Right now, the only Horse Girl Zhou Tai'an was training was Oguri Cap. So with her in recovery, he had nothing to do at Kasamatsu Tracen Academy. He simply took leave with Brand New Shine and went shopping.
Although the level of Horse Girls in Nagoya wasn't top-tier among the various regions in Japan, it was, after all, the central city of the Chubu region, and its service industry was very developed, so there were many sporting goods stores.
Zhou Tai'an drove Brand New Shine from the academy, deciding to start from Kasamatsu and tour Nagoya in a south-east-north-west direction (Kasamatsu being northwest of Nagoya).
"Trainer, have you ever properly explored Nagoya?" Brand New Shine asked Zhou Tai'an, who was focused on driving, after the car started.
"To be honest, I haven't," Zhou Tai'an replied without looking back. "When I came to Nagoya over half a year ago, after I found a place to live, I basically just lived a two-point, one-line life, just getting by at the academy."
"There are a lot of Horse Girls at the academy. Why didn't you look for a suitable partner?" This had puzzled Brand New Shine for a long time.
Zhou Tai'an pouted. "If just finding any Horse Girl would do, I wouldn't have waited for Oguri Cap. You should have noticed, Brand New Shine, that many of the Horse Girls at the academy are just going through the motions, just 'ringing the bell for as long as they are a monk.' They have no passion for racing, no fighting spirit. Their minds are full of other things."
"I don't want to be in charge of a Horse Girl like that," he shook his head. "I'm afraid I'd die young from anger at Kasamatsu."
Zhou Tai'an cherished his own life very much. If most of the Horse Girls at Kasamatsu Tracen Academy were forcibly assigned to him, he was sure that at least one side—either him or them—would be "tortured" into running away.
"But Trainer... Oguri will have to retire eventually. If there are no suitable Horse Girls at the academy after that, what will you do?" Brand New Shine suddenly took a long-term view. Since she had switched to being a logistics Horse Girl, Oguri Cap's retirement didn't mean she could retire. If nothing unexpected happened, Brand New Shine would definitely be working with Zhou Tai'an for a long time. Therefore, she needed to know what his plans were for the future after Oguri Cap's retirement. She hoped he had already thought about it.
"I will go to Central," Zhou Tai'an gave his answer. "After Oguri Cap retires, I should have a good enough record to go to Central. I will choose to become a trainer at Central Tracen Academy."
"When that time comes, Brand New Shine, you'll come to Central with me," he said, knowing what she was worried about, and made a promise.
"I will," Brand New Shine breathed a sigh of relief, then changed the subject. "But first, we have to make Oguri a local star."
"A local star?" Zhou Tai'an's lips curled. "If you're limiting it to the Tokai region, Oguri Cap already is."
"That's true..." Brand New Shine touched her lips. "After all, her performance in the Wakakoma Sho yesterday was amazing. She mercilessly crushed the Nagoya Horse Girls."
"I've said it before, I'm going to have Oguri Cap win a Central Graded Race," Zhou Tai'an retorted. "When that time comes, she won't just be a star in the Tokai region."
"I'm going to make Oguri Cap a national star!" If he weren't driving, Zhou Tai'an would have pumped his fist to show his spirit.
"A national star..." Brand New Shine closed her eyes, imagining the scene of her friend winning a Central Graded Race, her body trembling with excitement.
Before, when Oguri Cap had only won her debut race, Brand New Shine had worried that she wouldn't be as dominant against stronger opponents. But after winning the Wakakoma Sho, an infinite amount of confidence in her friend and trainer had welled up in her heart.
"She can definitely stand on the highest stage!" she said in a low voice, cheering for herself and for Zhou Tai'an in the driver's seat.
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