Kuroko's Basketball: I'm not the boss?

At this moment, Reiko finally came to her senses. She looked at Xiangyang, who was constantly looking her over, and gave him a habitual smile, saying, "Hello, Mr. Xiangyang, my name is Tajima Reiko. You can just call me Reiko."

Xiang Yang nodded and replied, "Hello, Miss Lingzi. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Xiang Yang. You can call me whatever you like."

After listening to Xiangyang's words, Lingzi shook her head and corrected him, "You're wrong, Mr. Xiangyang. This isn't the first time we've met."

After saying that, Lingzi winked at Xiangyang, continuing her "sweet girl offensive."

Unfortunately, to Lingzi's surprise, Xiangyang didn't react in any particular way to her playfulness. He just narrowed his eyes and carefully examined Lingzi's face before suddenly realizing, "Miss Lingzi, aren't you the reporter who interviewed me before?"

Hmm? Not working?

Lingzi was somewhat surprised. In the past, most high school students would have shown some embarrassment when faced with her advances, but Xiangyang was not buying it.

Reiko glanced at Masako beside her, and a knowing look appeared on her face.

"That's right, Mr. Xiangyang has a really good memory."

Despite having many thoughts running through her mind, Reiko's expression remained consistently that of a kind and gentle smile, which is one of the basic skills of a reporter.

At this moment, Masako turned her head to look at the clock on the wall, got up, stretched, and said, "You two chat first, I'll go cook."

After saying that, he kicked Xiangyang's leg and asked, "What do you want to eat?"

"I want to eat steak."

"Rejected. You've been indulging in too many meals lately."

"How could this happen!"

Ignoring Xiangyang's complaints, Masako turned and went straight into the kitchen. She was just asking out of habit; what to eat was, of course, up to her.

Sitting opposite her, Reiko witnessed the entire scene. Her mouth was slightly open, and she was so shocked that she couldn't even maintain her formulaic smile.

Sure enough! These two... who knows!!!

"Miss Lingzi? Miss Lingzi?"

Noticing that Lingzi was not in a good state, Xiangyang raised his right hand and waved it in front of her.

Lingzi suddenly came to her senses, gave Xiangyang an apologetic look, and said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Xiangyang, I probably didn't sleep well last night."

Lingzi composed herself, placed the proposal in front of Xiangyang, and said again, "This is a proposal made by our Chinese Basketball Association for the recruitment of foreign players. Please take a look."

After saying that, Reiko thought for a moment and added, "Ms. Masako has already seen it beforehand."

Xiang Yang nodded calmly, opened the proposal, and pretended to read it.

However, whether in his past life or this one, he was ultimately just a student who hadn't yet experienced the harsh realities of society, even compared to his peers.

In terms of maturity, he has matured considerably, but only to a limited extent.

At the very least, he lacked the ability to thoroughly review the entire project proposal.

However, Reiko's second half of her sentence put him at ease. Since Masako had seen it, it meant there wouldn't be any problems. Otherwise, this Miss Reiko in front of him might already be on a flight to Indonesia.

With the intention of at least pretending to understand even if he didn't, Xiangyang idly flipped through the proposal while striking up a conversation with Lingzi: "Miss Lingzi, are you from China? I just heard you say 'your China'?"

Lingzi was taken aback. She was still unsure what Xiangyang thought of the Chinese nation. But then she thought that this was an opportunity to test Xiangyang!

"Yes, that's right. I'm a basketball reporter from China. I came to Japan on a mission assigned by my company. Tajima Reiko is the name I gave myself. Does it sound nice?"

Lingzi replied with a relaxed expression, but her eyes were always fixed on Xiangyang, observing his attitude: "Shi Yimin, that is my real name."

When Lingzi mentioned the name "Shi Yimin", she used Chinese characters.

Xiang Yang's pupils contracted. When he heard "Shi Yimin," those three Chinese characters instinctively came to mind.

Can someone with a Japanese body still understand Chinese characters? Xiangyang decided to conduct a small experiment.

“Shi…Yi…Min…”

He tried to say Reiko's Chinese name, but although he knew how to pronounce it and what the characters were in his mind, he had no memory of it in his facial muscles.

I can only understand spoken Chinese, but if I want to speak it, do I need to systematically learn Chinese?

Xiangyang licked his lips, thinking to himself that once he got to China, he would have to relearn pinyin and other things!

Being a foreign aid worker who can speak the native language of a new country is a completely different matter from not being able to speak it at all.

Lingzi noticed Xiangyang's facial expressions and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. So far, Xiangyang had not shown any hostility towards the Chinese.

"By the way, Mr. Xiangyang, do you have some time lately?"

"If possible, how about we go and take a look at the Chinese national youth team next week?"

what?

Xiang Yang was stunned; he hadn't expected Lingzi to say that.

Seeing Xiang Yang's expression, Ling Zi smiled and explained, "Since we want to recruit Mr. Xiang Yang, wouldn't it be unfair if we didn't let you go and see our country's basketball team?"

"Moreover, if he wants to change his nationality, he has to wait until he is an adult, which is around the time he graduates from high school. But before that, we can reserve a spot for Mr. Xiangyang on the national youth team."

Lingzi's expression was very sincere, as if she really was thinking of Xiangyang's best interests.

However, Xiangyang understood the unspoken meaning behind Lingzi's words. He wanted him to go to the Chinese Basketball Association to prove his strength.

Although judging from the video, Reiko has a 100% approval of Xiangyang's strength!

However, the national youth team is no joke, especially for China, where the sports industry is just getting on track. In the past, wealthy children could easily obtain a spot on the national youth team by using some connections. Now, it has become the target that the new generation of basketball talents in the country are vying for!

Under these circumstances, based solely on a few videos without any practical experience, Lingzi cannot provide sufficient evidence to persuade the Chinese Basketball Association to give Xiangyang a position.

"I understand what you mean, Miss Reiko. I will prove my strength."

Xiangyang stretched his neck and looked at Lingzi with a smile in his eyes.

Just yesterday, after Yako confronted him, Xiangyang went online to check the level of basketball in China in this world, and also found many videos of Chinese national team players playing.

The final conclusion was that, relying on the answer... it wasn't that bad, but it wasn't much better either.

In this world, China has just finished the stage of becoming a technologically advanced nation, and the overall pace of society has fully entered the era of building a nation based on sports! In primary and secondary schools, students are given more opportunities for physical exercise.

The physical education teacher, who normally spends 364 out of 365 days a year sick, has finally stood up again!

However... the development of anything requires time to accumulate.

For China, a country whose sports industry is just beginning to emerge, Xiangyang can confidently say with a wave of his hand!

The national team is just so-so, and the national youth team is even worse!

They're all just people who sell their wares at bargain prices!

Chapter 143 Being a little willful isn't so bad

"Haha, Mr. Xiangyang is really confident. I also believe that you can make a great splash in the national youth team."

Lingzi covered her mouth and chuckled softly, then complimented Xiangyang again.

Xiang Yang shrugged. Regardless of whether Lingzi's praise was sincere or just for show, it made him feel comfortable.

Next, Xiangyang inquired about the current situation of the Zhonghua family. He was very curious about what the Zhonghua family was like in this world. After all, the information found online was too rigid. There was a genuine Zhonghua family member in front of him, so it would be a waste not to ask.

And so, in the gradually relaxed atmosphere, the two began to chat freely.

More than ten minutes passed.

While in the kitchen, Masako Araki, who had just finished cooking, came out carrying two plates. From a distance, she could hear the two of them laughing and talking.

"It seems you two are having a good chat."

As Masako placed the plate on the table, she casually asked, "So, how about going to play ball in China?"

Xiang Yang nodded in agreement, "Yes, I've already discussed it with Miss Lingzi. We'll go visit the Zhonghua family next week."

"Oh, next week... what???"

Hearing this, Masako, who was tidying her desk, suddenly turned around, her voice rising several decibels. Then, realizing her lapse in composure, she coughed lightly, covered her mouth, and asked Reiko, "Why so quickly? Didn't you just tell me that I could only change my nationality after I reached adulthood?"

Reiko paused, realizing that Masako had misunderstood, and explained, "You've misunderstood, Miss Masako. Mr. Xiangyang is just going to take a look beforehand. He will officially change his nationality and join the national youth team after he turns 18."

Oh, I see. That's good...that's good...

For some reason, Masako felt a sense of relief, and her mood improved considerably.

She turned to Xiang Yang and asked, "What do you think? Do you need me to go with you?"

Xiang Yang thought for a moment and said, "No need, Miss Lingzi will be going with me, and it's not really convenient for you to come abroad with me."

Putting aside her coaching jobs at Shark Gym and Yangquan High School, Masako's status as the eldest daughter of the Araki family means she can't possibly go on a spontaneous trip with Xiangyang.

Unfortunately, some people are born with more advantages than others, but in return, they also lose some things.

Masako frowned slightly; she had to admit that Xiangyang was right.

Just then, Reiko seized the opportunity to speak up: "Don't worry, Miss Masako, I will accompany Mr. Hikaru this time as his guide and translator!"

After all, Reiko had received Masako's check, and she wasn't the kind of person who would take money and not do anything. Besides, it was she who introduced Xiangyang, so it was part of her performance record! It was rare for such a high-quality resource to appear, so Reiko certainly wouldn't let Xiangyang go to China alone.

In the end, Masako accepted that Xiangyang would be going to the Chinese family's house next Monday, which is the day after tomorrow. However, she insisted that she would pick them up and take them to the airport on the day Xiangyang left.

……

……

The next morning, Xiangyang went to class at Haichang as usual. Actually, his grades were quite good, even though he came to this...

After that, his life revolved around basketball, but he wasn't the kind of student who could fail exams.

There is no such thing as compulsory education in this world, but for Xiangyang, who grew up in China, even if he didn't pursue education, he wouldn't become the kind of "problem student" who skips classes.

"The knowledge covered in this lesson was relatively simple, but I still hope everyone can..."

Ring ring ring ring!

As the bell rang to signal the end of get out of class, the teacher's seemingly incomprehensible instructions reached the students' ears and then drifted out through the other ear.

When the teacher picked up the textbook and announced the end of class, all the students immediately stood up, picked up their already packed schoolbags, and rushed out of the classroom like a school of fish.

Except for those facing the sun.

He turned to look out the window. The neighboring school building was also packed with people. After a long day of hard work, everyone was finally enjoying the joy of leaving school.

In the darkness, Xiangyang seemed to see Xiaoju and Dayuan Hiroshi's backs as they walked arm in arm. For ordinary students, the end of school meant the end of the day, but for the basketball team, it was just the beginning.

Club activities...