Prince of Tennis Fraudster

For more than twenty days, Jackal had noticed that Niou changed almost every day. Now, he could no longer discern the true extent of Niou's strength.

"Oh, it's Niou-senpai!"

On the contrary, Kirihara, who had just escaped Marui's clutches, looked at Niou with a sharp and provocative gaze. For more than twenty days, he had been looking for an opportunity to compete with his opponent, but the opportunity had not yet come.

The changes in Niou made him feel uneasy. He had a feeling that if he let his opponent continue to grow, his chances of winning would become lower and lower.

Hello!

Niou nodded and asked politely. After speaking, he brushed past the three of them and entered the changing room.

"Hey!" Kirihara's gaze shifted, and he muttered, "I really want to fight him!"

"Chiye."

Marui suddenly spoke, a serious expression on his face. He said, "If you want to fight him, you'd better hurry, otherwise, you might not have another chance..."

The implication in his words made Kirihara raise an eyebrow. "Even Marui-senpai sensed it?"

He initially thought it was just his imagination, but Marui also noticed Niou's change, which made Kirihara feel a bit worried, even fearful...

The thought crossed his mind, but Kirihara immediately suppressed it. "Scared? You're kidding, why would I be scared!"

However, as he turned his head slightly, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

In the locker room, Niou, having changed his clothes, walked out carrying his baseball bag.

At the entrance, many first-year students hurriedly and respectfully greeted, "Greetings, Senior Renwang!"

"Ah."

With a smile and a nod, Niou walked past the flattered first-year students, feeling deeply moved.

Fate is so unpredictable. Just a month ago, he was struggling to find a job and make a living, but now, he is a member of the world of Prince of Tennis, something he never dared to imagine.

As he walked, he pulled up his information.

Name: Niou Masaharu (14)

五维：速3、力2、体2.5、技3、精4，总和14.5

Skills: Topspin Serve Lv1 [Purple], Data Tennis Lv3 [Blue], Volley Lv3 [Blue], Reverse Snake Shot Lv3 [Blue], Deep Sleep Lv2, Sichuan Cuisine Lv2

Talent: Fragment of Deception [Imitation]

Title: None

Points: 100

Overall rating: Second-rate player from the Kanto region

A month of rigorous training transformed Niou, a complete novice in tennis who hit the net four times with his serves, into a second-rate player in the Kanto region. Such a significant improvement would have seemed like a dream to him had he not been naturally optimistic and possessed an exceptional capacity for learning.

Upon arriving at the court, he skillfully took out his racket and began practicing on his own.

"gather!"

But they hadn't practiced for long when Sanada's voice came through. Niou raised an eyebrow; it was already May, and he hadn't heard anything about the regional tournament. "Looks like there's something to announce today..."

Soon, everyone had gathered.

Sanada, Yukimura, and Yanagi stood in front, and Sanada, on the left, took a step forward at Yukimura's instruction.

He said, "The regional tournament starts tomorrow, and this year we aim to achieve Rikkai's goal of a three-peat. But we can't afford to have any weaknesses in the regional, prefectural, or Kanto tournaments!"

His gaze swept across the room like a cold blade, causing the first-year students in the front row to tremble. The second and third-year students behind him, however, were filled with excitement. It had finally begun; the time had come when the entire nation trembled at the mere mention of Rikkai's name.

As for the other regular players, things seemed much calmer.

After the announcement, Liu led the training for several days. Because the competition was approaching, the training volume was reduced, but the training became more competitive and tailored to each individual's strengths.

From 3:30 to 5:30, time flew by.

"Oh, finally... it's over!"

In the locker room, the first-year students, having finished training, collapsed onto a bench with a sense of relief. Niou wiped the sweat from his face, packed his things, and prepared to go home.

bump!

But as soon as he left the tennis club and turned a corner, he suddenly felt like he bumped into something.

"Ouch!"

He hit someone, and it was a girl.

Niou looked down and saw a girl with long red hair sitting on the ground in an unladylike posture. He quickly went over and helped her up. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

At the same time, he also got a clear look at the girl's face.

She had delicate, willow-leaf eyebrows and refined features, yet her brows conveyed a sense of heroic spirit. Her long, reddish-brown hair reached her shoulders, and a faint, youthful fragrance wafted from her, causing Renwang's face to flush slightly.

However, he noticed that after the girl frowned, her expression suddenly changed. Her heroic air vanished, her eyebrows trembled, and she looked at him with a pitiful expression.

Her beautiful, brown, glassy eyes flickered slightly as she glanced at the tennis bag behind Renou, seemingly examining something. However, she quickly concealed her suspicion and then said in a soft, sweet voice, "It's okay. By the way, do you know how to get to the tennis club?"

"Well……"

Niou had a thought, but didn't dwell on it, and pointed out the direction to the tennis club. The girl smiled sweetly, revealing two adorable dimples, and said, "Thank you!"

After saying that, he hopped off towards the tennis club.

"what……"

Niou narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched the girl's retreating figure.

"Judging from her clothes, she doesn't seem to be a student from Rikkai University, does she?"

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Separation

Upon returning home, Niou raised an eyebrow as he looked at the carp streamers hanging outside the door.

"By the way, today is Boys' Day."

May 5th is Boys' Day in Japan. It is also known as Children's Day and the Dragon Boat Festival.

On this day, parents will hang carp streamers at the entrance. In their view, carp represent strength and courage, and due to the deep influence of ancient Eastern culture, carp streamers also symbolize a fish leaping over the dragon gate (a symbol of success).

Similar to China, this is a statutory holiday, and schools are closed for it. However, tomorrow is the regional tournament, and given Rikkai's style and Sanada's unwavering focus, the tennis club will train as usual.

Perhaps he was too tired from training, and Niou actually forgot about it.

Looking at the carp streamers fluttering in the wind, a wry smile appeared on his face. "Does this count as celebrating a 'foreign' holiday?"

He shook his head, changed his shoes, and went back to his room.

Lying on the bed, Niou took out his favorite book, "The Conman's Paradise," and began to read it with great interest.

The stories in this book are not continuous, but rather composed of many scattered short stories. The stories are imaginative and not limited to matters between people.

Many of the plot points in the book offered Niou some inspiration. He read the book twice, and each time he benefited from it.

"crunch~"

Just then, the door to the room opened a crack, and a pair of bright black eyes darted around. When the little guy saw Niou engrossed in his book, he pouted and pushed the door open to enter.

"Silly brother, Mom told me to come and call you for dinner!"

Hearing Xia Shi's slightly childish voice, Renwang smiled slightly, put the book down, stretched, and followed the little adult-like Xia Shi into the living room.

Both parents were present, but her older sister, Yamei, was studying for her exams and did not come back.

Tonight's dinner is hot pot, and the dessert is zongzi (sticky rice dumplings).

Niou's mother was a good cook, and he had gotten used to the slightly sweeter flavors of the food here, so he enjoyed it very much.

After dinner, his father, Zhenlian, gave Niou three newly bought rackets. They were new products from Prince, and they felt great to hold; they probably weren't cheap.

“I’ve heard about your situation from Teacher Canglian. Since you’ve chosen this path, then show some manly courage. If you can’t, I won’t let you off easily.”

He looked solemnly at King Ren and said in a deep voice, "Children of the King Ren family, if you're going to do something, you have to be the best! Even if you have to crawl, you have to crawl to the finish line!"

The heavy voice made the smile on Niou's face fade, and he nodded solemnly, saying, "I will!"

Zhenlian nodded and picked up the newspaper to read it. Meanwhile, his mother began tidying up the house. Just then, a small hand gently patted Niou's back.

The little guy whispered, "Hey, you idiot brother..."

Without turning his head, Renwang sat upright watching TV, his lips twitching as he asked, "What is it?"

"Take me out to play..."

"What?"

Niou raised an eyebrow, turned his head, and saw Natsumi looking pitiful.

The little one looked at him with big, watery eyes: "Dear Brother Yazhi, take me out to play! Today is Children's Day, our holiday as children, you can't refuse!"

"It is possible, but..."

Niou spoke softly, gesturing towards his father who was reading the newspaper. To his surprise, Makoto said, "Take her out to play, but remember to come back early!"

"Long live the Father! Long live the Father!"

The little guy jumped up and ran to his father's side, kissing him several times, which made Zhenlian laugh out loud.

"Ugh."

Seeing this, Renwang sighed, thinking to himself, 'When Dad laughs, his son runs himself ragged'... However, he didn't object to taking his sister out, even though it would delay today's training.

After changing his clothes, Niou took his younger sister, who was less than a meter tall, to the street.

Because of the festival, the streets were much busier than usual. Many shops had fish tanks with exotic carp in front of them, hoping for good fortune and prosperity.

Along the way, the little one kept asking to buy this and that, stuffing her little pockets full of gifts and candies, but still couldn't satisfy her curiosity.

With a spark of inspiration, Xia Shi pointed to the street performer doing acrobatics across the street and said to Ren Wang, "Brother, let's go that way!"

Niou shrugged. He had acted like a bodyguard all the way, obeying the little princess's every command.

"Ok."

He led the little one toward the area where others were performing acrobatics. But then, a sudden commotion broke out in the distance, and a surge of people rushed over, squeezing the two of them in the middle.

"Xia Shi, hold your brother's hand tightly!"

Renwang gave instructions and struggled to push through the crowd in front of him, step by step, taking nearly ten minutes to squeeze out a distance of less than fifty meters.

"Phew, I'm finally out of it."