At Tracen, I'm Good at Doing Time

As always, Zhou Yuang promised to do his best. He wasn't making empty promises.

"It's about trainers."

So it was about a horse girl.

Neither Zhou Yuang nor Silence Suzuka was surprised to hear that.

Many horse girls had worries about racing. Some lacked confidence; others wondered whether their reasons for racing were wrong.

Zhou Yuang held back his opinion and quietly waited for the caller to confide in him.

"As you know, Mr. Z, horse girls need trainers."

Strictly speaking, a horse girl needed a trainer to make her debut.

In the old days at Tracen, horse girls hadn't needed trainers to debut and race.

But after a certain incident, a rule had emerged requiring horse girls to find trainers.

It concerned a horse girl who had never lost. She was a Front Runner who swept every race, breaking records as she went.

For a time, she became the undefeated idol of Japan's horse-racing world.

But after her tenth race, she fell ill.

The illness was devastating, and the medical care available then couldn't cure it.

The invincible horse girl retired and vanished from public view. No one knew what had become of her.

After that, someone proposed requiring horse girls to have trainers before making their debuts.

With a trainer's help, horse girls could avoid injuries and illness as much as possible.

It wasn't a mandatory regulation, though. It was more of a prevailing belief.

JRA had announced that horse girls could take an exam and debut without a trainer if they passed the relevant knowledge tests. Even so, everyone took it for granted that a debuting horse girl needed a trainer.

After all, having someone look after her was good for a horse girl.

Without a trainer, a horse girl had to train while arranging her own training schedule and race plans. That was clearly too much for a naive horse girl.

Besides, trainers were coaches who specialized in horse girls. Not finding one put her at a disadvantage.

She could go without a trainer, but why would everyone else do the same?

Unless she was a freak of Rudolf's caliber.

"I have a younger sister. She wants to make her debut soon, but she still hasn't found a trainer she wants."

"?"

By 'younger sister,' do you mean a friend of yours?

All right, I shouldn't jump to conclusions.

It was perfectly normal for horse girls to have sisters.

Horse-girl families were one example.

They didn't have to share both parents. Even cousins counted as sisters.

Racehorses from the same farm or owned by the same person in the real world became sisters in one family in the horse-girl world.

The classic example was the Mejiro family, represented by McQueen.

"Sorry to interrupt, but could you tell me what criteria she's using to choose a trainer? Or is there something about her that's keeping her from finding one? If you'd rather not say, just tell me what's troubling you."

Zhou Yuang interrupted her, but she didn't seem offended.

She hummed softly and fell silent for a moment, apparently considering how to answer.

"Perhaps it's just bad luck. Various things kept her from running in the practice races on time, and her classmates are starting to make their debuts one after another. I'm worried she'll grow impatient."

The horse girl, who sounded rather mature, kept certain details private while explaining what troubled her.

"I tried telling her not to rush, but afterward she became fixated on it. For a while, I thought leaving her alone might be better, but..."

Her voice held frustration, along with a certain elegance and helplessness.

She clearly wanted to help her younger sister, only to find that she was making things worse.

Perhaps she rarely spoke with her sister, and a barrier had formed between them.

Her attempt to reach out wasn't enough to tear down that wall.

If one person kept misreading the other's intentions and motives, anything the other did would be for nothing.

At worst, it would become a vicious cycle.

"I think I understand, though I don't have much information."

Zhou Yuang ran through the possibilities and came up with an answer. His brain might not have been brilliant, but it could at least pick up a few clues.

"Miss, do you rarely talk with your younger sister?"

"I suppose so."

"You want to keep her from rushing and getting herself hurt, right?"

"Yes."

Her answers were growing shorter. Zhou Yuang could tell even over the phone, and it made him more certain how to handle the problem.

First, the sisters spent little time together.

Second, the older sister probably didn't talk much. Perhaps she was someone with an overpowering presence, or someone of high status.

As everyone knew, people in high positions were rarely simple to deal with.

Under the pressure of hierarchy, even an offhand remark from them could send everyone around them into a spiral of overthinking.

Say a department director stopped by the company cafeteria, saw someone only a little below him in rank piling food onto a plate, and casually said, "You have quite an appetite." What would that person think?

Or say a boss saw an older woman cleaning at his company and said, "You're still working at your age? Thanks for the effort." What would the HR staff who witnessed it think?

Of course, some superiors really did have ulterior motives. But most people's thoughts were complicated enough on their own.

When dealing with someone powerful, a person with less power had to think carefully for their own sake, just to avoid trouble later.

Even if the powerful person tried to meet them on equal terms, the other person might misunderstand and think they were being mocked.

That was why they needed someone to act as a buffer.

"In that case... Could your trainer act as a go-between?"

Above all, they needed to keep the misunderstanding from deepening.

"If I had one, I wouldn't be so troubled. I could simply have my trainer train her. But I don't have a trainer."

Her voice carried a blunt weariness.

She's the older horse girl, and she doesn't have a trainer?

"Miss, did you pass JRA's exam?"

"..."

The caller said nothing. Zhou Yuang took her silence as confirmation.

Horse girls that capable did exist, but they were rare.

Only a handful could pull it off. If Zhou Yuang felt like looking through JRA's records, he could probably figure out who she was.

But prying that far would be both pointless and rude.

"I'm sorry. That was intrusive."

Zhou Yuang apologized at once and quickly changed the subject.

"Without a go-between, you have two options. The first is to step back and let things settle. There are advantages and disadvantages."

"The advantage is that you won't make things worse, and your sister will have a chance to grow. The disadvantage is that her inexperience may lead to setbacks. If you choose this approach, I'd suggest finding a way to watch over her from a distance."

"After all, family should be there to help when it's needed."

"But don't rush in. You need to give her some space of her own."

"You can't protect your sister forever, and she won't always be by your side. If she's determined, sooner or later she'll go somewhere you can't see and do things that might leave her badly hurt."

"The other option is to get involved yourself, but that carries risks. If you step in, make it clear that you care about her, and keep your manner gentle. Tell her not to overthink it. At the same time, pay attention to the trainers and work out which of them would suit your sister."

"If you handle it badly, though, your sister may start to resent you."

As Zhou Yuang spoke, a troubled hum came from the other end of the call.

"Hmm... Teacher Z, do you have any other ideas?"

She seemed dissatisfied with both options. A woman like her was probably capable of handling most affairs, but this one involved her personally.

It was easier to see clearly from the outside. Even a dentist couldn't pull their own aching tooth.

The fact that she had called this hotline suggested she had followed his show for a long time. A random passerby would never have called just to try her luck.

She might have hung up the moment Zhou Yuang asked whether she had a trainer.

"Then forgive me if this is a foolish suggestion. Without speaking to your sister about it, you could choose a trainer you think is excellent and arrange for that trainer to meet her. I know it's a last resort, but would it work for you?"

"I choose one?"

She sounded surprised. It seemed rather like deciding everything for her sister.

"You mean I pick someone suitable, ask them not to say I sent them, and have them approach her? Then, if they're not a good fit, I choose someone else?"

The horse girl was clever. She understood Zhou Yuang's meaning at once.

"Exactly. You and the trainer you choose should both act as though nothing was arranged. But first, remember to tell the trainer about your sister's situation."

"...I understand. Thank you for your help, Mr. Z."

She thought it over, then chose that approach.

It might have been overstepping, but her sister still had the right to refuse. At most, the older sister was giving her a choice.

If she didn't want to do it, she didn't have to.

The caller feared their relationship worsening, and she feared her sister getting hurt. Even after making her choice, only an outsider could tell whether it was the wrong one.

"One more thing. Even after you've chosen a trainer, keep an eye on them. They might use your name to mislead your sister, so please be careful."

"Thank you. I'll be sure to watch out."

Just then, a red Super Chat appeared on Zhou Yuang's livestream.

"Thank you for the Super Chat, miss. I really appreciate it. And one more thing: this could even bring you and your sister closer. Don't miss the opportunity."

So she's rich, too. Then again, most horse girls have plenty of money.

Winning a single graded race was usually enough to push a horse girl's annual income past her trainer's.

He didn't know how she would choose a trainer, but at least she could feel a little more at ease now.

Zhou Yuang moved on to the next caller. But when he heard who it was, his smile vanished.

"Hello, Mr. Z."

Silence Suzuka spoke from the other end of the line, sounding a little nervous.

She hadn't expected to be next.

But she had to seize this chance. It was her turn, so she had to make the most of it!

"I'm a devoted fan of yours... Ah, I mean, I called to ask for advice. I'm not here to cause trouble."

The young woman stumbled over her words. Her heart was clearly racing.

But Zhou Yuang was even more nervous.

He had recognized Silence Suzuka's voice instantly.

Whoa! Silence Suzuka is my fan!

If I use my livestream voice when I'm at Tracen, will Silence Suzuka join my Fifth Pack on her own?

Wait! Calm down. As a trainer, I need to earn horse girls' trust through my own ability and get them to join my Fifth Pack that way. Anything else would be a little unethical.

"Thank you for your support. What's troubling you, miss?"

She isn't going to ask about AT, is she?