Xingyun Liuge claimed the Two Thousand Guineas by an absolute margin. Under the special rules, she alone was entitled to the winner's stage, and she could choose any song she liked for the performance.
Though horse girls from different regions had fought with everything they had for the glory of victory, and the atmosphere on the track had been razor-sharp from start to finish, none of them were sore losers. The British horse girls all stepped forward to congratulate Xingyun Liuge on taking the first crown of the Classic Triple Crown.
And once the congratulations were over, someone immediately threw down a bold declaration, saying they would win it back in the races to come and would never hand over the glory of the Triple Crown so easily.
Since they themselves could no longer become Triple Crown winners, then becoming the great villain who ruined someone else's Triple Crown dream was not so bad either.
Xingyun Liuge was utterly unafraid of that. She answered with equal boldness, "If you think you can do it, then come at me."
Then she went straight to meet Chihaya Yui and Cuihe, tossed down a single line—"Make sure you watch me properly on stage"—and bounced up to the platform in high spirits.
Nijinsky had wanted to say a few words to Xingyun Liuge, but by the time she arrived, she had already missed her. Left with no choice, she turned to Chihaya Yui instead, intending to start from the trainer's side. And Cuihe, after all, was one of their British horse girls as well—well, not really, but close enough for convenience. In any case, the British horse girls' relationship with Xingyun Liuge was already excellent. It was the perfect chance to make a move.
Below the stage, there was not a single empty seat. There was barely even room to stand. Whether they were self-styled noble ladies and gentlemen or ordinary spectators, everyone wanted a glimpse of this mysterious horse girl from the East.
The stage itself was still dark, which was only natural. Xingyun Liuge had only just finished racing. She would obviously need a little time to rest, do her makeup, and then come out to perform. That was always how these things went.
But just as the audience began murmuring among themselves, speculating about what kind of song Xingyun Liuge might sing, a passionate voice rang out from the darkness.
"Spread your wings and cry out!"
At the same instant, the stage lights blazed on, focusing on the girl standing at its center.
The brilliant light illuminated her long, pale calves, toned and full of strength, making them gleam with an almost dreamlike ivory sheen.
Xingyun Liuge stepped forward. As she raised a fist and swung it lightly, she shouted,
"Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One!"
Each count was matched by the sharp strike of drumsticks against a suspended cymbal. The powerful sound tugged at the audience's nerves as if trying to force itself into sync with their very heartbeats.
"Ah—"
Watching Xingyun Liuge, sparkling onstage as though she were physically pulling the hearts of everyone present into her orbit, Zhuofu's eyes lit up with wonder.
She had thought the surging sea of people alone was magnificent enough—until she saw starlight begin to flow across that "sea."
Glowsticks lit up one after another, rapidly joining into an ocean of light. Those bright points rose and fell with the tides of the crowd, like a river of stars that had descended onto the earth itself.
What little filly could possibly resist a sight like that?
She had already wanted to become an outstanding horse girl.
Now she wanted it even more.
"Clench the dream within your hands,
feel the pain—intense, as though wrenching fate itself apart.
As your body sways with surging emotion,
can we find the answer that justice seeks?
With only ourselves?"
Xingyun Liuge opened her tightly clenched fist. Her pale hand cut slowly through the air, then she swung her arm hard and pointed straight at the main camera that had just moved in front of her.
Instantly, the giant screen filled with a close-up of her exquisitely beautiful face. Whether in the crowd or in front of a television, everyone could see it clearly:
Her eyes burned with a bright, cutting light, sharp enough to conjure the image of a single sword casting frost over nineteen provinces.
"Cut through the darkness—through the silence—and charge ahead like lightning itself.
Believe in what you love, and carry it through to the very end!"
Those lyrics immediately made the audience think of Xingyun Liuge's reckless great chase through the storm.
Really—what kind of horse girl would unleash such a move in the middle stretch?
Even a peerless runner should never have been able to overturn a two-second delay like that, not with the rain and wind turning the turf into a swimming pool and making life miserable for every runner in the field.
And yet Xingyun Liuge had done exactly that.
Most importantly, the final three furlongs—six hundred meters—had taken her only thirty-seven seconds.
What did that mean?
Even on good turf, elite horse girls generally needed more than thirty-five seconds. Only world-class champions could compress that down into under thirty-four.
Her finishing burst was, in the most literal sense, unmatched in the world.
Swift as the wind. Moving like thunder.
"Even if this life burns away completely, this song will never cease.
The light of the future will shine upon the sighing dusk."
Jets of flame burst high at the front of the stage, one after another, pushing the heat of the atmosphere even higher. The river of stars on the ground seemed to turn into a torrent, while the audience's cheers and cries shot straight into the sky.
"Even if I am cast aside by the world
and become a lonely stray arrow,
the passion—the fire—burning in my chest will never vanish.
Again and again it will echo in your heart:
love of energy."
As that long, resonant mid-register note fell, the crowd below seemed to boil over.
Their actions made one thing abundantly clear: all that cheering before had merely been child's play. Their real fervor was only now showing itself.
All the emotion they had been bottling up became hoarse, desperate screams, converging into a tremendous roar that seemed almost capable of shaking the stage—perhaps even the earth itself.
Not only little Zhuofu, who had not yet even debuted, but even the horse girls who had raced alongside Xingyun Liuge in the Two Thousand Guineas found themselves stirred by that overwhelming atmosphere, seized by the conviction that this—this—was what a horse girl ought to be.
Only Nijinsky, seasoned by countless storms, reacted a beat late.
Wait.
This did not really feel like an idol performance at all, did it?
It felt more like a singer's concert.
Still…
Looking at the audience, all of them utterly immersed in the live performance, Nijinsky gave a soft sigh.
"Well, never mind. Isn't this nice too?"
Yes. Why had Xingyun Liuge begun her overseas campaign at the very start of her Classic year?
And why had she come with so few people, to the point that Cuihe's whole group—and even Nijinsky herself—had practically been picked up halfway along the way?
Especially that part about "being abandoned by the world."
It had set Nijinsky's own heart pounding.
My, why could that be? What a mystery.
As for Sirius Symbol? Sorry, never heard of her.
With that, Nijinsky thought to herself with immense satisfaction: Thank you to little Rudolf for sending over such a horse girl.
JRA might lack taste, and might lack the eye to treasure talent, but BHA certainly did not.
In Nijinsky's eyes was reflected the shining girl on stage, and at the corner of her lips curled a thoroughly delighted smile.
Xingyun Liuge, of course, had no idea what Nijinsky was thinking. She only raised her right hand, as if cradling something invisible in her palm, then slowly closed it into a fist and pressed that seemingly delicate hand—though it was full of explosive power—against her chest.
"The hope seized within these tightly clasped hands,
engrave this resolve into every cell,
and turn the feeling we carried before we were even born,
the longing we knew before we could even speak,
into melody."
After a pause so short it was almost negligible, an even stronger, even more fervent voice followed at once:
"Whenever you feel tormented by something,
as though drawn into a duet of light and shadow,
then entrust your body to the heartbeat born from instinct itself.
If hope still lives in your chest,
then let out a roar strong enough to overturn heaven and earth,
and shatter all the confusion wrapped so tightly around you.
Even if someone's wish is to cover this sky in clouds,
leaving not a single ray of light,
the future we create together
can still pierce through that darkness!"
A confident smile spread across the girl's fine features. In time with the lyrics, she swung her arm and once again pointed straight ahead.
Whether by coincidence or deliberate intent, she was pointing directly toward where Chihaya Yui stood.
And in that exact moment, the lyric she was singing was: "the future we create together…"
Watching that radiant girl onstage, Chihaya Yui felt her heart tremble. Warmth rushed from her chest to her cheeks, and tears, bright and wet, hovered on the verge of spilling from her eyes.
Standing beside her, Cuihe noticed it.
And yet Cuihe did not move.
Her golden eyes remained fixed on Xingyun Liuge onstage, though her lovely little face was still as expressionless as ever.
If only she could smile.
What a breathtaking sight that would have been.
The audience did not know whether this song held some special private meaning, but they felt as though they had heard the girl's true heart in it—a firm resolve to chase her dream even if she had to do it alone, even if it cost her everything.
Someone in the crowd sniffled and whispered, "I don't think I'll ever forget this live performance for the rest of my life."
That same thought branded itself into many hearts.
With overwhelming strength, Xingyun Liuge had conquered the turf of England.
And with emotion-filled, unforgettable music, she had won the hearts of the audience as well.
Some noble young ladies were already furiously issuing instructions:
"Three minutes. I want every piece of Xingyun Liuge merchandise there is. I don't care if it's limited edition—get it for me!"
When the song ended, applause exploded like thunder. More than a few people were outright sobbing.
Far away in Japan, Rudolf Symbol switched off the television and murmured,
"This is bad."
Her slightly pursed lips, her ears flattened back—everything about her betrayed how unsettled she was.
She could already foresee it.
Chairwoman Nijinsky had absolutely begun entertaining the idea of "the moon is closest when you live by the water."
After all, Xingyun Liuge was running the British Classic Triple Crown on their soil. That gave them plenty of time to approach her and negotiate the details.
Britain was, after all, an old powerhouse.
BHA had mature institutions and established procedures. Their methods were surely superior to JRA's hidebound rigidity by a margin too large to measure.
Rudolf Symbol began to worry.
But Nijinsky had worries of her own as well.
For example: the only British cuisine worth presenting with pride was fish and chips and French food. Beyond that, she would have no choice but to resort to KFC or McDonald's.
And then there was this—
Nijinsky slammed her hands on the desk and sprang to her feet.
"What do you mean Xingyun Liuge ran off?!"