Looking at the blanket on the bed rising and falling in suspicious little waves, Xingyun Liuge's eyes nearly went dead.
She very much wanted to yank the blanket off, drag out the horse girl hiding underneath it, and loudly accuse her:
Why are you wearing shoes on the bed?!
So you're not planning to let me sleep tonight, huh?
More importantly, how did this person even get in?1GaL2
Xingyun Liuge had a very bad feeling.
Someone was probably after her body.
From now on, before entering her room, she would absolutely have to inspect the state of the door lock.
Still, this little intruder probably had not fully prepared herself for the job. Otherwise she would not have ended up with nowhere to hide.
Unless... had she somehow gotten trapped by the blanket itself?
Xingyun Liuge walked slowly to the bedside, then suddenly sat down. Through the blanket, she gave the hidden horse girl a couple of pats.
"I see you. Come out."1GaL2
Since the girl had not even taken off her shoes, she was definitely still fully dressed, so there was no need to worry about propriety.
Of course, if the other girl happened to want to meet her honestly and bare herself completely, Xingyun Liuge certainly would not refuse. She might even get to witness a delightful tide of heaving waves.
If possible, she really wanted to see Goodbye Halo's big, white pair.
Sadly, that was not happening.
After being patted, the horse girl under the blanket somehow became even quieter and simply collapsed flat against the mattress.
It was hard to tell whether she had given up resisting, or whether her embarrassment had exploded so thoroughly that she could not move at all anymore.1GaL2
Xingyun Liuge reached out and felt along the shape of the blanket, rubbing the girl's ears through the covers.
"Ashita no Hoshi, you suddenly snuck into my room and got on my—"
She had not even finished the sentence when the horse girl under the blanket performed a perfect Splash Jump, flinging the blanket into the air.
With the faint redness of recent tears still lingering at the corners of her eyes, Tomorrow's Star stared at her in astonishment.
"I was clearly hiding under the blanket, so how did you still recognize me?"
If this were a more romantically deranged horse girl, this was exactly the kind of moment that would produce thoughts like, She recognized me instantly—she must have me in her heart.
Fortunately, Tomorrow's Star was not that type.
Though to be fair, what she had done was arguably even scarier.
What kind of proper horse girl sneaks into Xingyun Liuge's room while she is away—
and then climbs into her bed?1GaL2
This was practically the stereotypical opening to horseplay.
Xingyun Liuge rubbed her head helplessly.
"Because I'm naturally gifted."
If she said she had identified her by smell, the conversation would probably go sprinting off into a very strange direction.
"So then, why? Were you looking for a chance to ambush me?"
Xingyun Liuge deliberately floated a possibility that sounded alarming even to the ear.
Her unspoken second half was: Though you don't seem like that kind of person.1GaL2
Before she could finish, Tomorrow's Star exploded at full volume.
"I would never do something like that!"
Her face went bright red with outrage.
Or maybe with the embarrassment of being misunderstood and the desperate need to clear things up immediately.
The truth was this: after being comforted by Secretariat, Tomorrow's Star had taken the initiative to confess that Xingyun Liuge had saved her.
She wanted to repay that favor.
But Xingyun Liuge was flying straight to England the next day. Tomorrow's Star simply did not have the time—or really the ability—to convey her feelings properly.
So Secretariat had given her an idea:
"Then just wait for Xingyun in her room."1GaL2
Why not wait in the hotel lobby?
Of course, because that would risk some unscrupulous reporters twisting their meeting into a hostile confrontation. What if Xingyun misunderstood?
Tomorrow's Star had not thought too deeply about it. She had simply followed Secretariat over—
and then watched with her own eyes as Secretariat unleashed monstrous strength, removed the door panel entirely, and then put it back in place.
"?"
Tomorrow's Star had been completely dumbfounded by the whole thing.
But since they had already come this far, what else could she do?
She could only listen to Secretariat and wait in the room.1GaL2
And besides, before the Belmont Stakes, Secretariat had asked her a question:
"Star, what do you think of Xingyun?"
The invisible hand of matchmaking had already begun itching to act.
This visit could have been a gesture of gratitude.
Or it could have gone straight to horseplay.
After all, who said that winning in bed did not count as victory?
But Tomorrow's Star had not been mentally prepared, which was how things ended up the way Xingyun had found them.
Of course, she did not mention Secretariat's intentions. She only said she had come to express her thanks.
"I see. I understand completely."
Xingyun Liuge pressed a hand against Tomorrow's Star's chest and, with a perfectly calm expression, offered her evaluation:
"Too flat."1GaL2
At that instant, Tomorrow's Star's expression completely shattered.
She had been wracking her brain over how to express her gratitude, and then Xingyun suddenly just went straight in with her hands.
A violent wave of embarrassment burst up from her chest, her temperature soared, and even her earlobes were dyed a vivid red.
She had not even heard Xingyun's actual comment.
All she felt was that the whole world had drifted away from her.
Clearly, neither her body nor her heart had been ready for this.1GaL2
Almost immediately, a tremendous bang erupted from Xingyun Liuge's room.
Tomorrow's Star smashed straight through the door—which had already been dismantled once before—and fled down the hallway at top speed.
Hearing the commotion, the other horse girls gathered at Xingyun Liuge's door at once, worried that something terrible had happened to her.
And just like that, Secretariat—who had been hiding in the wardrobe, waiting for a chance to help—froze on the spot.
She had never imagined that Tomorrow's Star, in whom she had placed such high hopes, would fail this spectacularly.1GaL2
It would have been one thing if she had simply been too shy to pull off horseplay.
But to make such a huge racket on top of it?
How on earth was Secretariat supposed to get out now?
Was she supposed to step out of the wardrobe under the fierce scrutiny of all these girls?
Could her face survive that?
This was not ordinary humiliation.
This was social death on an international scale.
Secretariat was sweating bullets.1GaL2
Meanwhile, Xingyun Liuge explained things to the concerned girls, though she very thoughtfully omitted the culprit's name and certain parts of the truth.
"A horse girl snuck into my room because she wanted to convey the burning feelings in her heart. But she looked so embarrassed that she couldn't say anything in the end, so she just ran off."
Her eyes shone with such pure, guileless clarity that it was almost impossible not to believe her.
But believing Xingyun did not mean believing the mystery horse girl.
Norn Ace suddenly smacked a fist into her palm and declared with absolute certainty,
"I get it now. That horse girl definitely wanted to horseplay with Xingyun—she just hadn't worked up the courage."1GaL2
But that still made the situation dangerous.
No one knew how that girl had gotten in, or whether she might come back.
More importantly, who knew whether there were any other threats still hiding in the room?
The other horse girls' gazes immediately shifted toward the wardrobe.
Obviously, it was the perfect hiding place.
If someone had secretly entered to do something suspicious, the wardrobe, under the bed, or the bathroom all made far more sense than hiding under the blanket.
There was no space under the bed, which meant the bathroom and the wardrobe absolutely had to be checked.
Just in case there was still a hidden threat lurking somewhere.1GaL2
Listening to the girls talk, Secretariat broke out into even more sweat.
She seemed to have chosen a perfect dead end for herself...
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 155)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter200)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter110)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter230)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 200
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 180
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/5
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 230
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 220
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/30
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 120
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 135
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 110
I Can Copy Unique Skills 100
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 100
My Harem Is Indescribable 90
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 95
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 69
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 80
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 70
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 75
Checking In in Demon Slayer 80
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 85
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 70
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 65
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 70
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 70
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 65
Why did they assign me to Uma 65
MYGO Beauties 65
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 55
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 65
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 45
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 45
The Uma Musume Who Became 40
I'm Definitely Not the King of 45
After Maxing Out Every Class 45
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