When Smart Falcon saw that the person who had stopped to watch her sing was not a passerby but Sakura Baimu, the last vestige of joy in her heart vanished.
It was not that she disliked Sakura Baimu.
It was because Sakura Baimu was a trainer at Tracen Academy, someone Smart Falcon knew.
In Smart Falcon's view, Sakura Baimu's presence here was either to recruit her into her team or simply to show her pity.
*Clap clap...*
Clear clapping sounds rang out, naturally coming from Sakura Baimu.
After a brief round of applause, Sakura Baimu didn't wait for Smart Falcon to speak and spoke directly.
"I've noticed that when you sing, you don't dare look people in the eye."
Smart Falcon was about to continue singing, but upon hearing Sakura Baimu's words, she suddenly froze.
"Excuse my bluntness, but Umamusume idols have absolutely no unique qualities. What you do is just what every Umamusume does. The songs you sing are all ordinary, nothing appealing."
Sakura Baimu approached Smart Falcon and said this.
Smart Falcon listened to Sakura Baimu's words and felt there was some truth to them, but the key issue was that these words sounded preachy to her, making her very uncomfortable.
"If you don't like it, why are you still here? Just leave, like everyone else…"
Smart Falcon's mood suddenly plummeted. She decided not to continue singing there, packed her things, and prepared to leave.
"You should know why you lack popularity, right?" Sakura Baimu asked.
"I don't know. Falco has been trying so hard," Smart Falcon muttered softly, picking up her things and heading toward the dormitory.
"What's the use of just working hard? If you're going in the wrong direction, all your efforts will be in vain."
"So what are you trying to say? Are you just here to mock Falco?"
Seeing that Sakura Baimu still would not leave and continued to say things that sounded like ridicule to her, Smart Falcon suddenly became unhappy and shouted loudly at Sakura Baimu.
"Since an Umamusume like you aims to become a top Umadol, you need to achieve something tangible to build a fan base while focusing on your singing."
"You think Falco doesn't know? Falco wants to win too, but she can't. I… ee-ee!"
Smart Falcon's words trailed off as her face suddenly turned bright red, and she let out a shrill scream.
She felt someone kneading her calf.
Smart Falcon instinctively raised her foot to kick behind her, but Sakura Baimu caught the force of her kick with her hand, the shoe colliding with Sakura Baimu's palm with a loud "thud."
Smart Falcon was somewhat startled. She could not understand how Sakura Baimu, a human, could catch her kick with just her hand. But before she could think further, she felt a chill on her foot and realized that Sakura Baimu had pulled off her shoe.
"Aaaaaah! What are you doing?!"
Smart Falcon felt the touch of fingers on the sole of her foot, a ticklish sensation accompanied by overwhelming embarrassment.
Her cute little face was already flushed red. She dropped what she was holding, pulled her foot back as if fleeing, and ran several meters away, even abandoning her shoe.
"You... you... you... you're not only weird, you're a... pervert! I'm going to report you to the president!" Smart Falcon yelled, her face red, pointing at Sakura Baimu, her words slurred.
"I'm asking you, you clearly can't adapt to Turf, so why do you keep running in Turf races?"
Ignoring Smart Falcon's embarrassment, Sakura Baimu tossed her shoe back and asked softly.
Smart Falcon caught the shoe, heard Sakura Baimu's words, and froze again.
She slowly raised her head, her eyes filled with confusion, and looked at Sakura Baimu.
"You... how did you know?"
"I just felt it and knew. Your feet are simply not suited for Turf races. You should be running Dirt."
Sakura Baimu picked up the things Smart Falcon had thrown away and brought them to the side of the adorable Umamusume, whose cheeks were still flushed.
"I don't understand why all the races you've participated in since coming to Central have been Turf races. Otherwise, you shouldn't have gotten last place in the Satsuki Sho, right? Didn't you even suspect anything yourself?"
After returning home yesterday, Sakura Baimu thoroughly investigated Smart Falcon's situation and discovered that this Dirt Umamusume had not won a single race since coming to Central.
Upon closer inspection, she found that she had only participated in Turf races, which was utterly absurd.
Seeing Smart Falcon standing there dumbfounded and staring at her blankly, Sakura Baimu was also somewhat confused, so she continued to ask.
"I saw that your Dirt results were pretty good back in the local area, so why do you insist on running Turf after coming to Central? Don't tell me you think running Dirt as an idol isn't elegant, so you switched to Turf after coming to Central?"
"You... how do you even know about Falco's past in the local area? How do you know about Falco's past..."
Smart Falcon's voice trembled slightly. She had thought Sakura Baimu had just passed by and listened to her sing for a while out of pity.
But through Sakura Baimu's words, she realized that the trainer before her truly understood her situation.
Not only did she understand, but she understood it remarkably well.
This was the first time in all of Smart Falcon's life that she had met a human who understood her so well.
Smart Falcon had not told anyone these things, yet Sakura Baimu had so readily revealed them.
Suddenly, Smart Falcon felt genuinely cared for, a warm current flowing through her chest and making her deeply grateful.
She nodded gently.
"Because all the big tournaments are held on Turf… Falco thinks she's adapted to Turf, and if she can't outrun others, it's because she's less talented…"
"There are also many G1 tournaments on Dirt. Why do you insist on sticking to Turf tournaments?"
Sakura Baimu smiled. She walked over to Smart Falcon, and once again extended her hand to the adorable Umadol, offering another invitation.
"Come join my team. In six months, I'll get you onto the winning stage of G1, singing for your fans. How about it?"