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

Finding that he remained as calm as ever, without showing the slightest sign of panic, I couldn't help but feel relieved.

Immediately after the plane took off, Lingzi nudged Xiangyang's arm, signaling him to look out the window.

Xiangyang couldn't help but chuckle at the expression on his face, which resembled a child showing off a toy.

It's only just taken off; the plane hasn't even climbed above the clouds yet. What's there to see?

It might be very novel for people who have never flown before, but Xiangyang wasn't interested.

However, Xiangyang felt embarrassed to refuse Lingzi's enthusiasm, so he could only pretend to look out the window.

Beside him, Lingzi waited expectantly for Xiangyang's reaction. She had been so excited when she first flew on an airplane!

She believed that Xiangyang would be no exception.

Sure enough! Xiang Yang initially seemed very perfunctory, but not long after, he climbed onto the window sill, his face pressed against the glass, as if he wanted to jump.

At this moment, Lingzi could no longer hide her smugness. Little brat, she was putting on quite a show of indifference! She seemed uninterested at first, but now her true colors are showing!

"Isn't the scenery beautiful? This is just the beginning. It'll be even more beautiful once we get above the clouds!"

Lingzi's voice came, but Xiangyang remained motionless, still clinging to the window.

"It's okay, I've already seen the best view."

Xiangyang looked out the window, his smile almost overflowing.

Right at the entrance of the airport

A black supercar was parked there. Although it was quite a distance away, Xiangyang seemed to see the figure sitting inside the car, waving goodbye to him.

"That's so typical of you..."

Xiangyang's smile grew increasingly exaggerated until, in the end, even tears streamed down his face.

This scene left Lingzi completely bewildered. She quickly pulled out a tissue from her pocket and handed it to Xiangyang, saying in surprise, "The scenery is beautiful, but there's no need to be so moved. Are you the sentimental type?"

Xiangyang took the tissue and slowly wiped his cheeks, but his eyes never left the black supercar on the ground until it was completely out of sight. Only then did he stretch his neck and lie back in the seat.

"I'm going to take a nap, Ms. Reiko. Please wake me up when the airplane meal is served, thank you."

After saying that, Xiangyang tilted his head and fell asleep in the blink of an eye.

Lingzi opened her mouth slightly, about to say something, when she heard a snoring sound.

Lingzi shook her head helplessly, then covered Xiangyang with the blanket provided on the plane.

He's just a 16-year-old boy after all. Even if he appears calm on the surface, his heart must be filled with turmoil.

To fall asleep so quickly, you probably didn't sleep a wink last night?

Thinking of this, Lingzi shook her head with amusement. She wasn't mocking Xiangyang, but this feeling really made her laugh.

"Ding! The aircraft has reached a stable flight condition. Passengers, please feel free to board. If you have any questions, please call a flight attendant..."

"Ding! Theaircrafthasenteredastableflightstate…"

……

……

Airport entrance

That eye-catching black supercar is still parked there.

In the car, Masako Araki, who was supposed to leave more than an hour ago, now had her hair disheveled and was slumped over the steering wheel with her hands behind her head.

Just over half an hour ago, Principal Yangquan called her, but she didn't even glance at the call and hung up immediately.

After an unknown amount of time, Masako slowly raised her head and stared blankly at the sky.

At this moment, the plane that Xiangyang and Lingzi were on had long since disappeared into the horizon, and Masako could only see a few clouds floating in the sky.

"Good luck, you annoying guy..."

……

……

On the other side, inside Haichang High School

"Sequences and limits of sequences are among the more difficult topics in high school, but don't worry, just pay attention in class..."

Class 2B

Kise rested his chin on his hand, listening to the math teacher's lecture in a daze. Since he was old enough to understand things, he had been able to grasp various sports and knowledge without even having to put in any effort, thanks to his monstrous learning ability.

For example, the math teacher whose name he couldn't even remember was explaining something that seemed a bit difficult.

However, Kise could tell with just a glance that if he studied it carefully for ten minutes after class, he would understand the intricacies. So why should he waste his precious class time listening to lectures?

It is well known that during class, the human brain is more efficient at thinking about other things.

"What should we practice later..."

Kise scratched his face, his thoughts gradually drifting away.

Practice shooting? Practice dunking? Maybe I should play a one-on-one with Yuuki first! Come to think of it, it's been ages since I played one-on-one with Xiangyang. Let's ask him to play basketball tonight! After that, we can grab a bowl of ramen…

As he pondered this, a slight smile crept onto Kise's lips as he turned to look at the white clouds outside the window.

"What is Xiao Xiangyang doing now...?"

"That guy seems to pay pretty much attention in class, so he probably doesn't sleep in, hahaha."

……

……

"Mr. Xiangyang, Mr. Xiangyang, wake up, we've arrived."

In a daze, half asleep and half awake, Xiangyang heard a soft female voice.

"Miss Masako?"

Xiangyang muttered something, subconsciously touched his head, and got up to stretch, but then realized that the environment was not right.

Xiangyang paused, his arm, which was halfway up, froze in place. Only then did he realize that this was no longer a familiar place.

Lingzi, who was standing next to him, unbuckled her seatbelt and then helped Xiangyang unbuckle his, giving him a meaningful look: "Welcome to the land of flowers, Mr. Xiangyang."

……

……

After disembarking from the plane with the crowd, Xiangyang repeatedly heard conversations around him. The familiar language made him feel dazed and unreal.

Lingzi walked ahead, skipping and jumping, her face full of excitement, and even her pace quickened without her realizing it.

"Miss Reiko, you walk so fast."

Xiang Yang said somewhat helplessly, "I just woke up and my body hasn't fully recovered yet. I just wanted to walk slowly, but unfortunately, Lingzi's pace was just too fast."

“I’m sorry, Mr. Xiangyang, but I haven’t been home for several years.”

Reiko turned to him with a smile and said, "But you probably can't understand this feeling, right? It's okay. You'll understand when you return to Japan after you've spent a long time in China. It's that feeling of a wanderer returning home!"

Will the wanderer return home...?

Xiang Yang remained calm on the surface, but inwardly he couldn't help but sigh.

Isn't he the same?

At this moment, a deep male voice suddenly interrupted their conversation.

"Yemin! Over here!"

A slightly overweight man wearing sunglasses, whose facial features were not visible, Xiang Yang estimated to be around thirty years old.

The man rushed excitedly to Yimin, only to find her still looking bewildered and not recognizing him.

"You've been gone for so long, I didn't even recognize you."

The man smacked his lips, took off his sunglasses to reveal his true face, and then looked at Lingzi with a smile in his eyes.

Lingzi stared blankly for a few seconds, then reacted and shouted, "Brother Shu!!!"

(Um... since I'm a part-time writer, and I've been quite busy with school lately—you know how it is in university—6,000 words a day is really my limit, guys. I'll try to update more during the May Day holiday! Hope you guys understand.)

Chapter 145: Apart from him, everyone else was just average.

"Brother Tree!!!"

……

……

"Ahem, let me introduce you. This is a young Japanese boy I poached this year, a basketball prodigy named Xiangyang!"

In a van, Lingzi enthusiastically pulled the two of them aside and introduced herself.

The uncle she called Brother Tree turned around and looked Xiang Yang up and down, clicking his tongue in amazement, "He's so young! Such a young kid, and he's already running off to a foreign country to pursue his dreams."

"That's right, he's very capable, after all, he's a talent I discovered."

Lingzi seemed a little smug. The two of them were talking in Chinese, but Xiangyang could understand them.

Xiangyang rested his chin on his hand and looked out the window, pretending not to understand, while listening to the conversation between the two.

Immediately afterwards, Lingzi patted Xiangyang on the shoulder and said in Japanese, "This is my former boss, Chen Shu. Knowing you were coming, the Basketball Association specially sent him to pick us up."

After saying that, Lingzi raised his eyebrows at Xiangyang, indicating how much the Basketball Association valued him.

Xiangyang reacted quickly, immediately putting on an overwhelmed expression and thanking the two of them profusely.

Shu Ge was very pleased with Xiang Yang's politeness. While still driving, he actually turned around and gestured (not really) to express his praise for Xiang Yang.

Fortunately, Reiko decisively interrupted his nonsense. The Japanese driver from a few days ago had left a deep impression on her!

"Speaking of which, where are we headed now, Brother Tree?"

Lingzi asked the question while fiddling with her phone and searching for local news about China.

"Let's go to the player apartment that the Basketball Association arranged for him first, get his room and luggage settled, and then you can take him out for a walk?"

Brother Shu glanced at Xiang Yang through the rearview mirror and asked Ling Zifa a question.