Slam Dunk: Sakuragi learned from Kawamura Eiki's experience

The bell for the break had just rung when a burst of noise erupted from the classroom, like a tap being turned on.

Sakuragi Hanamichi sat in the last row, his hand supporting his chin, his eyes staring unfocused out the window.

He has been holding this position for almost ten minutes.

The corners of her mouth have a faint curve, and the corners of her mouth tend to turn up slightly involuntarily.

The wind rustled the leaves outside the window. His gaze passed through the glass, but he saw nothing.

One image kept replaying in his mind: last night, under the streetlights, a face looked up at him.

Very close, long eyelashes, bright eyes, and the shampoo has a very light and fragrant scent.

The soft touch on his arm still makes his fingers curl involuntarily when he thinks about it.

"Tsk tsk tsk."

At the other end of the classroom, the four members of Sakuragi's gang huddled together, their four heads squeezed together, their eyes all fixed on the last row.

Takamiya Nozomi was the first to notice something was wrong: "Look at him."

Da Nan followed his gaze and said, "I saw it, something's up!"

Have you ever seen him like this?

Takamiya gestured with his chin toward Sakuragi, "He's sitting there with his chin in his hand, lost in thought, and there's a smile on his lips."

Da Nan looked at it again carefully: "It seems... I really haven't seen it before."

Noma squinted and observed for a while: "When was the last time he acted like this? Before he confessed?"

"wrong."

Yohei leaned against the windowsill, a smile already playing on his lips. "Before he confessed, he couldn't sit still, running around the classroom like he had nails stuck to his butt. This quiet, infatuated state is something you only see after being rejected."

"But he hasn't confessed his feelings recently." Takamiya scratched his head.

"That's why it's suspicious." Yohei's eyes narrowed.

The four people exchanged glances.

At the same moment, the same expression appeared on the faces of all four people: the knowing, mischievous grin that comes from discovering something amusing.

Takamiya was pushed forward.

"Why me?" Takamiya protested softly.

"Because you have a loud voice." Da Nan slapped him on the back. "Are you going or not?"

Gao Gong thought for a moment, straightened his collar, cleared his throat, put his hands in his pockets, and walked towards the last row with what he thought was a very cool gait.

Sakuragi was still in a daze. The smile on his lips widened a little more, and he even let out a very faint "hehe" from his throat.

Gao Gong walked to his side, but instead of patting him directly, he bent down, put his face close to his ear, and spoke in a very casual tone.

"Isn't she cute?"

The sound was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for Sakuragi to hear.

Sakuragi's gaze was still fixed on the view outside the window, but his mouth reacted before his brain could process it: "Yeah, super cute, hehehe..."

"So what's her name?" Takamiya's voice continued, coaxing.

"Yanagii..."

Sakuragi's mouth was halfway open when his brain finally caught up.

His smile froze.

His unfocused gaze instantly sharpened, and his pupils contracted sharply from their dilated state.

He turned his head sharply, and there was Gao Gong's round face right next to him, smiling like a fox who had stolen a chicken.

Three heads also peeked over from the side.

The three of them spoke at the same time, their voices perfectly synchronized as if they had rehearsed: "Hehehe..."

Da Nan spoke first: "We all heard it, it's a cute girl named Liu Jing."

Noma followed closely behind: "Sakuragi, which class are you in? We've never heard you mention it before."

Yohei finished the job by sitting backwards in the chair in front of Sakuragi, his arms draped over the back of the chair, his chin resting on it, and grinning innocently.

"Sakuragi, have you confessed yet? When are you planning to confess? Let's go witness it together."

"It's the thirty-fifth time, so we should make it a bit more special," Takamiya chimed in from the side.

"Yes, yes, we have to be there for record-breaking matches." Da Nan nodded vigorously.

"Last time you mentioned Yezi from the next class, I thought she wouldn't do well, but Sakuragi has good judgment," Noma chimed in.

The four of them chirped and chattered, like four sparrows surrounding a cat with its fur standing on end.

Sakuragi's face went from white to red, then from red to black. The familiar blue vein on his forehead started throbbing again, and his temples throbbed as if something was about to burst out.

"None of your business!"

The sound was so loud that the entire classroom fell silent for a moment. A few students in the front row glanced back, then turned back as if it were nothing.

But the Sakuragi Army was not deterred by the roar.

They know Sakuragi too well.

Previously, when girls were mentioned, Sakuragi's reaction would be, "Yeah! She's super cute! I'm going to confess to her after school today!"

They want the whole world to know.

And now the reaction is "Mind your own business"... hiding it, refusing to say anything even if you beat me to death.

This is different.

This is so different.

The four exchanged another glance; this time, Sakuragi had a chance.

"Oh—" Takamiya drawled out.

"Oh—" Da Nan followed.

"Oh—" Noma has arrived too.

Yohei didn't respond with an "oh," but laughed even harder.

Sakuragi felt extremely uncomfortable under the gazes of these four people, and his face flushed red all the way from the base of his neck to his hairline.

He suddenly stood up, his chair sliding backward with a screeching sound as it scraped the floor.

"I'm going to the restroom!" He strode towards the door.

"The toilet is over here," Yohei pointed in the opposite direction.

Sakuragi paused for a moment, then abruptly turned and walked out of the classroom without looking back.

Behind me came the suppressed laughter of four people, muffled and like the sound of someone covering their mouth and letting out a breath.

In the corridor, Sakuragi leaned against the wall, arms crossed, head down.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, falling on his red hair.

He closed his eyes.

Those people are different.

Yanai is different from the girls before her.

He used to just think girls were pretty, so he'd go and confess his feelings. It was like seeing a new flavor of potato chips at a convenience store, picking it up, getting rejected, putting it back, and getting another bag.

But Yanai is different.

Last night was the first time he had ever talked so much with a girl.

It wasn't the kind of conversation that ended with "I like you, please go out with me," but rather one that involved saying a lot more.

She asked him his name, whether he lived alone, and what clubs he belonged to. She called him by his name and said it sounded nice. She said, "Calling me by my surname directly seems a bit formal."

Her arm was wrapped around his arm, so naturally, as if it was meant to be there.

When she laughs, her eyes curve into crescent moons. It's not a polite laugh, but a laugh that comes from finding him very funny.

Also, she was the cutest girl he had ever met.

none of them.

They're cuter than the previous thirty-four.

Sakuragi took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.

Then his expression changed.

The "silly giggles of puberty" turned into a stunned silence as if "suddenly realizing something."

It seems he only knew her name was Yanai Yuri.

She is in the third year of junior high school, just like me.

But...which school is it from?

She didn't say.

Sakuragi frowned, his mouth slightly opened and then closed. He stood in the corridor, his red hair dazzling in the sunlight, but his expression resembled that of a large dog that had lost its bone.

He realized he knew nothing about her except her name and face.

I don't know which school she goes to, I don't know the exact apartment number she lives in, I don't know anything about her...

He dared not think any further.

At the end of the corridor, a breeze blew by, carrying the warm scent of summer that was just around the corner.

At the same time.

Another teaching building, another window.

Hongye Junior High School, Class 4, Grade 3.

The last row, by the window.

Yuri Yanai rested her chin on her hand, her gaze fixed on the view outside the window. The cherry blossom trees outside were completely green, their leaves gleaming glossy in the sunlight.

Her eyes were looking out the window, but her mind was elsewhere.

That big guy with red hair last night.

She was carrying a cardboard box as she walked out of the convenience store. He froze, his face turning red from his neck to the tips of his ears, after she grabbed his arm.

He didn't dare look at her when he said, "I'll take you home."

He took three steps and then turned back, took five steps and then turned back again, and finally almost twisted his neck.

She curled the corners of her mouth slightly.

Sakuragi Hanamichi.

A third-year student at Heguang Middle School, a member of the basketball team, lives alone and works at a convenience store.

She went through all this information in her mind, laid it out on the table like a jigsaw puzzle, and then looked at it while pondering a question.

How can I see him again?

It can no longer be described as a "chance encounter".

Last night's excuse was coincidental: a girl was surrounded by delinquent girls late at night, and was rescued by a boy who came out of a convenience store.

This script is okay to use once, but it'll look fake after being used twice.

But she couldn't just go directly to Heguang Middle School to find him.

That would be too proactive; Yuuri Yanai never does anything too proactive.

What she likes is "just right," making the other person feel it's a coincidence, a destiny, something she didn't expect.

So, what should we do?

She tapped her fingers lightly twice on the table, her nails making a soft tapping sound as they struck the wood.

Heguang Middle School. Basketball Club. County Tournament. June.

These words swirled in her mind.

The county competition is just around the corner, so I bet a lot of people will be watching.