Chapter 31
Monday morning, in Yasui Makoto's single-room living area.
Classical strings and avant-garde electronic music filled the room as two fresh, ethereal voices gently intertwined and echoed.
One voice came from the speaker of the video player, the other from Kitasan Black.
The song they were singing was naturally Uchiage Hanabi , the one Yasui Makoto had written a few days earlier.
Compared to what he remembered, the version playing from the video player had acceptable accompaniment.
The sound quality, rhythm, and other aspects seemed to have been handled by professionals, the tone was pure and clean.
However, the mixing and some other details clearly showed signs of rushed work.
That couldn't be helped. No matter how professional and top-tier Kitasan Black's family members were, producing a flawless finished product in just a day or so was simply too much to ask.
Yet, the vocal performance had a unique kind of perfection.
It wasn't that Kitasan Black's singing technique had reached any extraordinary level.
On the contrary, her systematic vocal training had only started after she entered Tracen Academy. Before that, she had simply absorbed it naturally from her family.
This gave her excellent musical sense, but her technique was far from refined, at best, it could be called proficient thanks to her family background and natural talent.
But that youthful, innocent, and slightly hazy feeling unique to a teenage girl was exactly what Uchiage Hanabi wanted to express.
It felt close yet distant, like a dream or an illusion. When you hadn't touched it, it seemed clear and vivid, but the moment you tried to grasp or recall it, it instantly turned into bubbles.
This unique tone carried a dreamlike quality that no amount of advanced singing technique could imitate.
"…The ambiguous heartstrings melt and connect, I wish this night would never end…"
When the song ended, the black-haired girl gave a graceful bow, just like a professional performer concluding a stage show.
But the moment she opened her mouth, she reverted to her usual loud, carefree personality.
"Trainer! Trainer! How was it? How was it? Did I sing it nicely?"
Clapping, Yasui Makoto said half-jokingly and half-seriously:
"It was very beautiful. I owe Kitasan a concert ticket."
"Hehe, it's not as exaggerated as Trainer says…"
Kitasan Black laughed shyly and scratched her head. She carefully removed the cassette tape from the video player, put it away safely, and brought it over with excitement.
"If anything, it's because Trainer wrote such a good song!
"When I got home, I sang it for Dad first. I thought it would be fine if Dad helped.
"But after Dad listened, he didn't say anything and just called Grandpa over!
"Then Grandpa listened and also didn't say anything — he called the whole family over!
"At first I thought something was wrong, like maybe there was a problem with the song Trainer wrote.
"Only later did I find out that Grandpa and Dad thought I had written the song myself. They thought our family was about to produce a music genius.
"Hehe, how could that be? I just like singing.
"If we're talking about a music genius, that should be you, Trainer!
"Then Grandpa and the others were really shocked…
"No, extremely shocked. They kept asking me over and over if it was really true."
At this point, the black-haired girl looked a little annoyed.
"They were doubting that Trainer was the one who wrote it.
"They asked so many questions that I almost didn't want them to help record it.
"But they didn't keep pressing. They seemed to have asked some friends and confirmed that no one had released this song before. Only then did they believe me and record it.
"Trainer, if you think this 'demo' is fine, I'll go do the official recording next week."
Yasui Makoto thought for a moment.
It wasn't surprising that Kitasan Black's family was shocked by Uchiage Hanabi and even questioned whether he had really written it.
After all, in his previous world, the song's popularity and musical quality spoke for themselves.
It was a chart-topping hit two years later and received endless honors after its release.
Among the most prestigious were the "Japan Gold Disc Award" (the Japanese equivalent of the Grammys) and an appearance on the Kohaku Uta Gassen (Red and White Song Festival).
In other words, with this song, he would have the qualifications to attend Japan's highest music event — just like Kitasan Black's grandfather.
He was only 18 years old and already the youngest Central Trainer in history.
That level of talent was already unbelievable. Adding musical genius on top of it naturally caused suspicion.
However, Yasui Makoto wasn't worried.
This song hadn't appeared in this timeline yet, so there couldn't be any issues.
More importantly, he had only released this top-tier song to help his horse girl gain enough fans to enter races. He had no intention of pursuing anything in the music industry.
In his view, Kitasan Black might face fan shortages in the next two races.
That couldn't be helped. The industry placed heavy emphasis on pre-debut results — it was practically a form of bloodline prejudice.
In a sense, this mindset ultimately came down to resource allocation, background, and luck.
Just as some people are born in Rome, horse girls born into prestigious families or attending Central Tracen Academy naturally received far better resources, even with the same talent.
Those without senior horse girls in the family, those raised in the countryside, or those from ordinary families could easily be overlooked despite having talent and ability.
Still, Yasui Makoto had no intention of changing the industry's way of thinking. He simply believed he should do what he could to prepare Kitasan Black properly.
Thinking ahead, perhaps after this race he could prepare a few more songs besides Uchiage Hanabi.
So when he heard that her family seemed to approve of the song, Yasui Makoto nodded.
"If you record it next week, that timing should be perfect.
"At that point, there will still be a week until the race, and the association usually does some promotion and pushes traffic for you.
"Uploading the properly recorded version to your fan account at that time should be enough to meet the requirements for the conditions race."
"Yeah! Grandpa and the others said the same thing!"
After nodding repeatedly, Kitasan Black looked a little regretful.
"It's a shame that the number of fans you can gain this way is limited. I think it only counts up to 30,000, right, Trainer?"
"Yeah. Anything over 30,000 won't be counted toward race fan numbers anymore. After all, the Shining Series is still primarily about racing."
Yasui Makoto nodded.
"Actually, it's enough for you. This was only meant to be a little supplementary help for the race."
"That's true." After thinking about it, Kitasan Black nodded in relief.
"Do you need me to help with anything during the recording?"
Yasui Makoto thought for a moment and asked, "I really should visit and thank your grandfather and the others for their trouble. But they're probably very busy these days, right?"
"They should be fine… I'm not really sure about Grandpa and the others' work schedule."
Kitasan Black shook her head. "They actually wanted to meet you, Trainer, but I was worried you were too busy, so I told them to come watch my race instead.
"It's a little unfortunate that they only watched my debut on TV…
"But it's okay. Next race, I believe they'll definitely be able to see me win in person!"
"Oh? Your family will come to the race venue?"
After a moment of surprise, Yasui Makoto nodded.
"Then we need to work hard in the coming days. We can't let them down."
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