After a few days of pleasant rest and recuperation, Kitasan Black threw herself back into campus life.
She attended class on time every day, diligently absorbing knowledge.
After class, she rushed to the training grounds, sweating it out on the track under Anjing Zhen's guidance.
In her spare time, she went out with classmates and friends, or simply chatted and laughed together.
Yet amid this familiar daily routine, her thoughts would inevitably drift back to a few days ago, to what Senior Oguri Cap had said.
"A reason why you absolutely have to win... it should be important, right? At least, that's what I think.
"It might sound selfish, but after going through so many races, I gradually realized that sometimes, you need a reason that belongs only to yourself.
"I'm actually... probably pretty stupid.
"A lot of the time, I have something I want to say but don't know how to say it. Or I don't even know what I want to say myself.
"So it's not other people's problem. It should be mine.
"If I can't explain it clearly, then even if everyone cares about me, they won't know how to help me.
"That feeling... is pretty lonely.
"Even on the racetrack, surrounded by so many strong opponents, it can still be lonely.
"Maybe I've just been lucky, but I've always had a reason of my own.
"For me... as long as I can run, as long as I'm running, I'm happy. I feel lucky.
"That's my reason. That's what I wanted to tell you.
"Is it a little hard to understand? Sorry, I'm really not very good with words.
"I suddenly told you all this... probably because you always look so happy every day. You must be happy when you race too, right?
"Then that's good. Just