Who would still play tennis after being reborn?

Chapter 3 Tennis Court

The last two periods in the afternoon are English classes.

Compared to the serious Zhongshan suit worn by homeroom teacher Zhang Xiantu, English teacher Yao Jingfu's attire was clearly much more fashionable.

She wore a light-colored long-sleeved shirt with a bow decoration at the front, paired with a black high-waisted skirt that just passed her knees, and light-colored high heels with subtle shimmering embellishments on the surface.

Ms. Yao Jingfu caused quite a commotion as soon as she entered the classroom.

With her fashionable attire, striking good looks, and a mature, sophisticated charm that most young women lack, it's no exaggeration to call her a heartthrob.

However, the students didn't have any other thoughts about the teacher; it was just pure appreciation.

"Teacher Yao must be the most beautiful teacher in our school, right?" Li Yang's eyes almost popped out of his head. "Her outfit and style are so elegant, she completely outshines all the other teachers."

Gu Cheng smiled and said, "After all, she's an English teacher, so it's normal."

In most schools, English teachers lead a more refined life compared to other teachers.

The reason is not hard to understand.

The first point is that most English teachers are women, and women are generally more refined in their lives and appearance than men.

Then there's the subject matter of English teachers, which leads to more fashionable and stylish clothing and personalities among them.

According to the law of attraction, people who are naturally more sophisticated are more likely to be able to learn English, and such people are more likely to choose English-related majors.

In fact, if you observe each subject teacher carefully, you'll find that they all basically fit the temperament of that subject.

For example, language arts teachers, regardless of gender, are generally well-educated and polite, speak in a refined and elegant manner, and use polite words and phrases.

Sometimes, when you praise someone for being like a language arts teacher, you're most likely praising their eloquence.

Science teachers, especially female teachers, are a bit different. They are generally more capable and efficient, speak quickly, and are decisive. If humanities are about feeling, science is about thinking.

Therefore, science teachers generally dress in a simple or neat style.

"What do you mean?" Li Yang looked at Gu Cheng with a puzzled expression. "Why is it normal for an English teacher to dress like this?"

Gu Cheng glanced at the podium and, seeing that Ms. Yao wasn't paying attention, explained in a low voice, "Because English teachers generally have higher aesthetic standards, or to put it another way without getting punched, they are more diverse."

"More diverse?"

Li Yang was even more confused.

Gu Cheng said, "The reason is very simple. English teachers have many ways of learning, including but not limited to watching American TV series, talk shows, traveling abroad, studying abroad, etc. So their experiences and knowledge are generally different."

Moreover, English is an international language of communication, so English teachers can naturally come into contact with more foreign cultures. The more they see and the more open and tolerant they become, the more diverse their aesthetic sense will become, and then it will evolve into a higher level of aesthetic sense.

Other teachers, on the other hand, have simpler methods for improving students, such as doing exercises and reading books, which leads to overall differences.

Of course, some teachers from other subjects also dress up, but compared to English teachers, the proportion is much smaller.

"You know all this?" Li Yang looked at Gu Cheng in surprise.

I saw it in a book.

Seeing that Li Yang was determined to get to the bottom of things, Gu Cheng quickly made up an excuse to brush it off.

"No wonder."

"But which book is it? I'll take a look at it later."

"The library, I forgot the exact name, you'll have to look it up yourself later!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yang immediately backed down. If he knew the book title, he would be willing to look for it, but if he didn't even know the title, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Wouldn't it be better to spend that time taking a nap on his desk?

Two English classes passed quickly, and as soon as the school bell rang, Ms. Yao, who never extended class time, left the classroom with her lesson plan.

Since it was Friday, as soon as Ms. Yao left, the students ran out with their already packed backpacks on their backs.

Those who live far away are in a hurry to catch their trains, while those who live nearby are already planning to go to an internet cafe to play games.

Hearing the noise, Li Yang wiped a trace of moisture from the corner of his mouth and looked up somewhat blankly: "School's out?"

"Ah."

Upon hearing that school was over, Li Yang's eyes lit up: "Since we don't have school tomorrow, how about we get together with a few people to play five-man games at an internet cafe? I'm really good at Yasuo and Hassa lately, I guarantee I can carry you to victory."

"Forget it for today, I have some things to do at home."

Gu Cheng packed his bag and politely declined Li Yang's invitation to the internet cafe. He might have agreed if it was a duo match, but a five-man team was out of the question. He didn't know if sitting in a five-man team at an internet cafe would help him rank up, but he was sure that the more they played, the more silent they would become.

If you encounter a few short-tempered players in a group, they might start blaming each other, and the game could easily escalate into a fight.

At that point, not only will I not get the grades I deserve, but I might also lose my classmates.

Of course, conflicts between students rarely last overnight; it's common for them to fight one minute and then hug each other and call each other brothers the next.

However, Gu Cheng declined the invitation not because of that, but because he was anxious to go back and see his parents, whom he hadn't seen for almost six years.

"That's okay!"

"But it would be a shame if you didn't go. You'd miss witnessing my mighty power." Li Yang said with a regretful expression, then started calling out to the others.

Sure enough, within a short time, four or five people had made appointments.

After arranging the meeting, Gu Cheng packed his schoolbag, said goodbye to Li Yang, and left the school.

Gu Cheng's home is not far from No. 1 High School, only three or four bus stops away. However, he has developed a habit in the world of Prince of Tennis that he usually walks or runs home, which saves money and also allows him to exercise, killing two birds with one stone.

In less than ten minutes, Gu Cheng was already standing at the entrance of the residential area.

Fortunately, he still had the body of a fourteen or fifteen-year-old, in the prime of his youth, and his physical strength was at its peak. If he were in his thirties, he would probably have been taken away by Jiujiu by now.

The old neighborhood has a strong sense of history. The mottled walls are covered with the marks of time, and the iron gate is rusty and makes a harsh "creaking" sound when you swipe your card to open it.

Upon entering the residential area, one is greeted by several gray, six-story residential buildings with unevenly peeling exterior paint, revealing the cement structure underneath.

The memories of his death flooded into Gu Cheng's mind.

Before he transmigrated to the world of Prince of Tennis, he hadn't been back for several years because of work; it had been almost more than ten years.

"Dad? Mom?"

Gu Cheng called out a couple of times into the house, but no one responded. Before he could even sit down, the landline rang, and when he answered, he found it was his mother, Yuan Hongxia.

"Son, your parents have to work overtime today. Go out and get something to eat by yourself tonight."

"Oh."

"I've put the money on the table for you. I have to go now, I have something to do."

Before Gu Cheng could speak, the dial tone went dead, leaving him feeling somewhat helpless.

Gu Cheng's mother, Yuan Hongxia, is the head nurse at a top-tier hospital, where working overtime is the norm. His father, Gu Zhenhai, is a technician at a factory, where working overtime is also a serious problem. Over the years, Gu Cheng has become accustomed to the two of them working overtime.

After putting down his schoolbag, Gu Cheng wasn't very hungry since he had already eaten instant noodles, so he stayed at home until after six o'clock before going downstairs to find something to eat.

"That noodle shop should be around here, right?" More than ten years have passed, and he has forgotten most of the things. Gu Cheng remembered that there was a pretty good noodle shop near his neighborhood, but he had forgotten the location for the time being.

After searching for four or five minutes, Gu Cheng finally found a seafood noodle shop run by an elderly couple. He went in and ordered a seafood and beef noodle soup.

Before long, the noodles were served. Gu Cheng took a bite and found it tasted just like he remembered, unchanged.

After dinner, Gu Cheng didn't rush back. He planned to walk around for a bit until his food was almost digested, and then go for a run in the nearby park.

On the way to the park, while waiting at a red light at an intersection, Gu Cheng looked around and saw a bright sign above the square diagonally across the street.

The sign features a string of words made of neon lights: tennis court.

He had heard of this tennis court before; it was a tennis training institution that also rented out courts. The fees were not low, around 100 yuan per hour, and a membership would be cheaper, but still around 80 yuan.

Anyway, it's not cheap.

However, quite a few people still go. As a coastal city, Ningbo has experienced good economic development in recent years, and people's pockets are relatively full. If their children really like it, many parents are willing to spend the money.

Moreover, compared to other cities, parents in Ningbo tend to have more diverse approaches to raising their children, and they don't place all their hopes on academics.

If you really can't get into it, then try a different path.

However, very few families in Ningbo can afford to let their children learn tennis.

To put it bluntly, instead of spending tens of millions on something uncertain, with that money, as long as you don't get involved in prostitution, gambling, or drugs, and don't start reckless businesses, you can basically live a life free from financial worries.

In comparison, the Prince of Tennis World is better in this respect, with tennis parks everywhere, allowing many families without money to still raise excellent tennis players.

Gu Cheng shook his head, no longer thinking about it. Seeing the green light, he quickly walked across the street, but when he passed the Tennis Tennis Hall, he couldn't help but stop for a moment.

Especially when he thinks back to the six years he spent in the world of Prince of Tennis, if it weren't for tennis, he might have developed mental problems long ago in that world where he had no relatives.

For a moment, Gu Cheng felt extremely conflicted.

"A tennis enthusiast?"

While Gu Cheng was in a daze, a voice suddenly rang out behind him.

Gu Cheng turned around and saw a young man who looked two or three years older than him, dressed in sportswear.

Gu Cheng looked around to make sure the other person was greeting him before replying, "I guess so!"

"What do you mean by 'I guess so'?"

The young man said somewhat speechlessly, "It is or it isn't, there's no such thing as 'it's'."

"That's it."

The young man laughed loudly, "Since that's the case, how about we play a couple of balls? I'll pay for the court fees, and I haven't found an opponent yet."

"No."

Gu Cheng shook his head and declined the young man's invitation. As he turned around, he realized that the young man had already walked up to him, grabbed his arm, and pulled him into the tennis hall: "Since you're already here..."

Gu Cheng was on the verge of tears: "I still have to go for a run."

The young man laughed and said, "Isn't that perfect? ​​Running is exercise, but isn't playing tennis? I won't force you to say anything else, but since you're going to run anyway, you might as well play some tennis."

"I……"

"let's go!"

The young man pulled Gu Cheng into the stadium. The receptionist seemed to recognize him, and immediately put on a sweet smile when she saw him: "Xiao Fan? Didn't you say you were going to play in a competition a while ago? Why are you here today?"

"The match is over."

"what's the result?"

"Third place, nothing special."

The receptionist quickly cupped her hands in congratulations: "Congratulations!"

Xiao Fan didn't continue the topic, since it wasn't an international competition. Instead, he asked, "Are there any empty courts?"

"Yes, there are still three empty stadiums."

After the receptionist responded, she looked at Gu Cheng, who was being pulled by Xiao Fan, and immediately asked, "Your friend?"

Xiao Fan shook his head and explained, "No, it's a tennis enthusiast I just ran into outside. I saw him staring at the inside for a while, but he didn't come in, so I pulled him in."

Seeing that Gu Cheng was still young, the receptionist thought for a moment and said, "Have you done a CTN level assessment? What level are you at? I'll help you find a partner later."

Gu Cheng was taken aback upon hearing this.

He knew a little about the CTN rating system. It was the standard used by the Chinese Tennis Association to assess the technical and tactical level of tennis players, and it was equivalent to the technical rating systems of international organizations and other countries.

CTN levels are divided into 10 levels from high to low, namely CTN Level 1 to CTN Level 10, and each level has specific evaluation standards and requirements.

Gu Cheng had never done CTN rating before. Although he liked tennis because of the anime "The Prince of Tennis", he didn't play much. He was an amateur, just playing for fun.

After transmigrating to the world of Prince of Tennis, there was no such evaluation system, so I really don't know what his CTN level is.

However, Gu Cheng felt that with his strength, regardless of whether he could execute those tennis skills from The Prince of Tennis, CTN would definitely be able to assign him a level 1 rating.

But he hasn't done any assessments in this area, so he can't just say he's CTN1 level, which basically means he has international professional competition experience.

Whether people believe it or not is another matter. Even if they do believe it, can the tennis court really find a professional player with international professional competition experience to be his partner?

Most importantly, people are unlikely to believe it.

Players who reach CTN1 level are usually flying all over the world at their age, participating in various competitions and accumulating ATP points. They don't have time to come to small stadiums like this.

Some talented players have even started participating in ATP 250 and ATP 500 tournaments.

While such individuals may not be considered exceptional globally, they are certainly not ordinary figures in the domestic tennis world. They are quite well-known, and tennis hall staff can generally recognize them.

Even if the receptionist isn't interested in tennis and just took the job, someone like Xiao Fan, a pure tennis enthusiast who has even participated in some professional matches, would know tennis players with international tournament experience like the back of his hand.

Just as Gu Cheng was still hesitating about how to deal with the receptionist, Xiao Fan suddenly said, "Hey~ I just found a partner, don't assign him to anyone else!"

"what?"

The receptionist looked surprised: "You fought with him?"

"Yes, the fee will be deducted from my account in a moment."

After he finished speaking, he turned to look at Gu Cheng: "How about it? Want to have a match?"

Gu Cheng had no choice but to agree in the end: "Okay."

Seeing Gu Cheng agree so readily, the receptionist hesitated, but swallowed back the words that were on the tip of her tongue. She couldn't recommend a suitable partner to Xiao Fan, as she didn't want to persuade Gu Cheng to back down.

Watching the two walk towards the stadium, the receptionist's face was filled with helplessness: "Didn't he hear my conversation with Xiao Fan? He's a professional player who has participated in competitions! And he stupidly agreed!"

"ε=(ο｀*)))Alas!"

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(End of this chapter)