Don't let them down

On Monday morning, in Anjing Zhen's studio apartment, a blend of classical strings and avant-garde electronic music filled the air as two youthful, ethereal voices intertwined and echoed softly.

One source was the VCR's audio output, the other was Kitasan Black.

The song they were singing was, naturally, "Uchiage Hanabi," which Anjing Zhen had written a few days prior.

Compared to his memories, the instrumental arrangement played from the VCR was perfectly fine.

In terms of sound quality and rhythm, it was clearly the work of a master; the timbre was pure and authentic.

However, the mixing and a few other details seemed to bear obvious signs of being rushed.

This was unavoidable; even though Kitasan Black's elders were top-tier professionals, producing a flawless finished product in just over a day was truly asking too much of them.

Yet, the vocal performance possessed a unique, exquisite perfection.

This is not to say that Kitasan Black's singing technique had reached some incredible height.

On the contrary, the girl had only begun systematic vocal training since arriving at Tracen; previously, she had simply picked things up by listening to her family.

This gave her an excellent sense of rhythm, but her technique could hardly be called masterful—at best, it was a familiarity born of family heritage and natural talent.

But that sense of youthful, naive innocence was exactly what "Uchiage Hanabi" aimed to express.

Distant yet close, dreamlike and illusory; it seemed clearly visible before one reached out, only to vanish into bubbles the moment one touched or recalled it.

This distinct timbre possessed a dreamlike quality that no amount of superior technique could ever imitate.

"...The ambiguous knot melts and connects / I wish this night would never end..."

As the song concluded, the Black Haired Girl bowed gracefully, just like a renowned artist finishing a performance on stage.

However, the moment she spoke, she reverted to her usual boisterous and carefree self.

"Trainer, Trainer! How is it, how is it? Did I sing it really well?"

Clapping his hands, Anjing Zhen said, half-jokingly and half-seriously:

"It was wonderful; I owe Little Kita a concert ticket now."

"Hehehe, it's not as exaggerated as you say, Trainer..."

She scratched her head with a silly grin, carefully removed the cassette tape from the VCR, packed it away, and brought it over. Kitasan Black said excitedly:

"If you really want to talk about it, it's because you wrote such a good song, Trainer!

"After I got home, I sang it for Dad first, thinking his help would be enough.

"But after Dad heard it, he didn't say a word—he went straight to get Grandpa!

"Once Grandpa heard it, he didn't say anything either; he called everyone in the family over!

"At first, I thought something was wrong, or that there was a problem with the song you wrote.

"I only found out later that Grandpa and Dad thought I had written it, and they believed a musical genius was about to emerge in the family.

"Hehehe, how could that be? I just like to sing, that's all.

"If there's any musical genius here, it should be you, Trainer!

"Then Grandpa and the others were very surprised...

"No, they were actually extremely shocked, and they kept asking me if it was really true."

At this point, the Black Haired Girl looked a bit dissatisfied.

"They were doubting that you were the one who wrote this song.

"They asked so many questions that I almost didn't want to let them help with the recording.

"But they didn't keep pestering me; it seems they went to ask around with some friends and found that no one had ever released this song, so they finally believed me and recorded it.

"Trainer, if you think this 'demo' is fine, I'll go for the official recording next week."

Hearing this, Anjing Zhen pondered for a moment.

It was no surprise that Kitasan Black's family was shocked by "Uchiage Hanabi" and even questioned whether he had written it.

After all, there was no need to mention the popularity and musical standard this song held in his previous life.

It was a chart-topping track two years later, and it received a steady stream of honors the moment it was released.

The most prestigious of these was the "Gold Disc Award," which was comparable to the Oscars of the Japanese music industry, and the other was an appearance at the Kohaku Uta Gassen.

In other words, thanks to this song, he could, like Kitasan Black's grandfather, be qualified to attend the most elite music event in Japan.

He was only 18 years old and the youngest Central Trainer in history.

His talent was already unbelievably genius; adding the title of a musical prodigy on top of that made suspicion quite normal.

However, Anjing Zhen was not worried about this.

This song had not appeared on this timeline yet, so there couldn't possibly be any issues.

More importantly, he had only brought out this top-tier song to help his Horse Girl gather enough fans to enter the race; he had never intended to pursue a career in music.

In his view, Kitasan Black might face the dilemma of insufficient fan numbers for her next two races.

There was nothing to be done about that; the industry placed great importance on pre-debut results, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a prejudice similar to that of bloodlines.

In a sense, this perspective ultimately boils down to issues of resource allocation, background, and luck.

Just as some are born in Rome, given equal talent, Horse Girls born into prestigious families or at Central Treisen Academy do indeed receive far better resources.

Whether it is having no senior Horse Girls in the family, growing up in a local region, or simply coming from a normal household, even those with talent and ability may still end up buried.

However, Anjing Zhen had no intention of changing this view; he simply felt he should do whatever preparations were necessary for Kitasan Black.

Thinking ahead, perhaps besides Uchiage Hanabi, he could prepare a few more songs after this race.

So, hearing what Kitasan Black meant just now, it seemed her family approved of the song, and Anjing Zhen nodded.

"If we record next week, that will be just right."

"That will be one week before the race, and the Association routinely does some promotion for you and pushes some traffic."

"If we record it now and post it on your Racing Account, it will certainly meet the requirements for entering the Condition Race."

"Mm-hmm! Grandpa and the others said the same thing!"

After nodding repeatedly, Kitasan Black looked regretful.

"It's a pity that the number of fans you can gain this way is limited; it seems it only counts up to 30,000, right, Trainer?"

"Yes, anything over 30,000 is no longer counted toward the race fan total; after all, the Shining Series is still primarily about the races."

Anjing Zhen nodded.

"Actually, it's enough for you; this was always just meant to be a little bit of assistance for the race."

"That's true, too." After thinking about it, Kitasan Black nodded, feeling relieved.

"Do you need my help with anything when you record?"

Anjing Zhen pondered for a moment and asked, "I've also troubled your grandfather and the others; I really should pay a visit to thank them, but they must be very busy lately, right?"

"I think they're probably fine... I'm not too sure how Grandpa and the others usually work."

Kitasan Black shook her head and said, "Besides, they originally wanted to come and meet you, Trainer, but I was worried you were too busy, so I told them to just come watch me race instead."

"It's a bit of a pity that they'll only be watching my Debut Race on TV..."

"But it doesn't matter. For the next race, I believe they will definitely be able to see me win in person!"

"Oh? Your family will be at the venue to watch the race?"

Surprised for a moment, Anjing Zhen nodded.

"Then for the time remaining, we must work hard and not let them down."