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

"tell me."

Silence fell over the air. The two of them, Xiangyang with his head down and silent, and Kise sitting motionless on the bench, remained like that for an unknown amount of time.

"Pfft, really, why do you sound like you're interrogating a criminal, Ryota?"

Xiang Yang broke the silence first, letting out a sneer and trying to make his tone sound more relaxed.

"I went for a tryout at the basketball association, and I passed..."

At this point, Xiangyang paused for a moment, and finally uttered the second half of the sentence: "The Chinese."

"I'm sorry, Ryota, I broke my promise."

After speaking, Xiangyang looked at Kise expressionlessly, waiting for the latter's reaction.

He had already made up his mind before boarding the flight back to Japan.

No matter how Kise reacts, even if he turns against him on the spot, he won't say a word.

From Kise's perspective, in a sense, Hikari could be considered a traitor!

In a world where basketball plays such a significant role, changing one's nationality to play in another country is treason in peacetime!

However, Kise's reaction was beyond Xiangyang's expectations.

"Oh, it really is like that. I didn't believe it at first."

Kise scratched his head, and with his thick hair swaying, Xiangyang couldn't see his expression.

However, his words caused Xiang Yang's expression to change: "You already knew?"

"Ah."

Kise nodded heavily, then looked up and met Xiangyang's gaze.

"We agreed that we would play ball together after graduation."

Xiangyang remained silent, but he did not avoid Kise's gaze, instead meeting it directly.

The existence of something implies its rationale. No matter how incomprehensible changing one's nationality may seem to ordinary people, the very existence of this clause demonstrates that it is not something that violates moral principles.

Fortunately, Xiangyang's bottom line is very flexible. He follows his heart and can do many willful things.

Moreover, in Xiangyang's own opinion, he didn't think he had done anything wrong. He had only broken the vow he made with Kise, and that was all he had to say sorry for.

"I'm sorry, I broke my promise."

To reiterate the same sentiment, in Xiangyang's heart, apart from feeling somewhat indebted to Kise, he had no attachment to Japan in the realm of basketball.

"It's okay... Actually, we don't necessarily have to break our promise, Xiao Xiangyang."

Kise shook his head, his words carrying a hidden meaning. He looked at Xiangyang and slowly said, "What if I went to China with you?"

……

……

Ring ring ring~

Inside a commercial apartment building, the doorbell of one of the apartments was rung.

"Here I am!"

A light, cheerful female voice rang out. Reiko dried her wet hair, put down the towel, and hurried towards the door, inwardly muttering to herself...

Gu: Who is it? At this hour?

While subconsciously unzipping the security zipper on the door, she leaned down and saw the visitor outside through the peephole.

"Towards the sun?"

Lingzi let out a soft "hmm" and opened the apartment door.

"What do you need me for so late...?"

Before Lingzi could finish speaking, Xiangyang rudely interrupted him, slamming his right hand against the door with a loud bang.

Xiang Yang looked up and glanced at Ling Zi, who was so frightened by the commotion that he stood frozen in place.

call--

Xiangyang took a deep breath to calm himself down and slowly asked, "What did you and Ryota talk about?"

"Hey?"

Looking at Xiang Yang, who seemed so unfamiliar to her, Lingzi couldn't help but take a step back. She looked at Xiang Yang's right hand, which was still patting the door, and her legs felt weak.

"Didn't I tell you not to try to recruit Ryota to China?"

Xiang Yang realized that his reaction was a bit too much. He adjusted his emotions, put down his slightly reddened palm from the heavy slap, and then stepped into Lingzi's house.

"Sorry to bother you."

Muttering something under his breath, Xiang Yang closed the door. He turned to look at Lingzi, who was still standing there with her neck hunched over, and a helpless expression appeared on his face.

"Don't be nervous, Miss Reiko. I have no violent tendencies. Perhaps I lost control of my emotions just now and frightened you, but please rest assured, I just raised my voice a little."

Xiang Yang glanced at the floor of Lingzi's living room, which was very clean. He then took out a disposable shoe cover from the shoe cabinet by the door and put it on.

"If possible, I'd like us to sit down and have a proper talk. What do you think, Miss Reiko?"

Xiang Yang's tone was very relaxed, as if he wasn't the one who had been banging on Lingzi's front door just now.

"...Would you like something to drink?"

At this moment, Lingzi finally realized what was happening, and she asked Xiangyang sullenly.

"Water is fine, thank you."

Xiangyang was very courteous. At Lingzi's prompting, he sat on the sofa in the living room, nestled into it, and closed his eyes to rest.

Soon, Reiko, having finished her work in the kitchen, sat down opposite Xiangyang with two glasses of water in her hands.

Hearing the clinking of the glass against the coffee table in the living room, Xiangyang opened his eyes and looked at Lingzi in front of him.

For some reason, Reiko, who always appeared calm and composed in front of outsiders, suddenly felt a little nervous. She loosened her collar and felt the air was a bit hot.

Fortunately, Xiangyang didn't make things difficult for her. He simply picked up the water glass on the coffee table, took a sip, and then gestured with his chin towards Lingzi: "Tell me, what did you say to Ryota?"

Perhaps it was the familiar warmth returning, for Reiko rubbed her hands together and said, "Yesterday... after your game against Tenka High School, during the player interviews, I saw Ryota Kise, and then I thought of inviting him to do an interview with me..."

"Wait!"

Xiangyang raised his hand to interrupt, frowning slightly as he looked at Reiko and asked, "Coach Takeuchi shouldn't allow reporters to contact Kaijo players, at least not before winning the championship. Where did you see Kise?"

"Uh…"

An embarrassed look appeared on Reiko's face.

Her expression changed; she turned her head away, avoiding Xiang Yang's gaze, and whispered, "The Haichang players' locker room..."

Xiangyang: ...

You didn't just happen to see Kise; you sneaked in specifically to find him!

Xiang Yang rubbed his forehead: "Continue."

Seeing that Xiang Yang didn't react much, Lingzi secretly breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "Then I introduced him to the situation of the Chinese nation and extended a sincere invitation to him."

Xiang Yang raised an eyebrow: "He agreed?"

"No, unsurprisingly, I was rejected."

Lingzi pursed her lips, carefully observing Xiangyang's expression, and then said the rest of her sentence: "But, I told him... Xiangyang has passed the trials of the Chinese Basketball Association, and after he comes of age, he will change his nationality and come to China to play basketball... and then he gave me his contact information..."

Snapped!

Xiang Yang slapped his forehead. He finally understood why Kise wasn't surprised at all when he heard that he was going to China. It turned out that he already knew and was just waiting for him to come clean.

Although Xiang Yang's movement was small, it startled Lingzi again. She picked up the glass on the table and held it in front of her face, explaining softly, "Don't be angry. I was just thinking of contributing my meager strength to the basketball cause in China! And although you told me not to poach his players, you didn't tell me why!"

To be honest, Reiko felt wronged. She couldn't understand why Xiangyang didn't want Kise to go to China with him. They were good friends, and being together would give them company. Even if Kise had a bright future in Japan, China wasn't bad either! Except for the sports industry, which was just starting out, China could easily surpass Japan in every other aspect. Moreover, if both Xiangyang and Kise joined, Reiko was confident that China's future basketball prospects would be very promising!

"Ryota is different from me."

Just then, Xiangyang saw what Lingzi was thinking and sighed softly.

"Actually, I know a lot about China. When you chat with Brother Shu and Elder Hai, I can understand most of what they say. It's just that I haven't specifically learned the language of flowers, so I can't say it out loud."

“But Ryota is different. His only understanding of China is that there are many people there. If he comes to China with me, even if I am by his side, he will definitely not be able to adapt to life in China!”

Xiangyang's tone was firm. As someone who had experienced it firsthand, he knew all too well how different the lifestyles and cultures could be between two different countries!

Even he, a special oddity who lives in Japan but whose heart is in China, can't adapt well to life in China, let alone Kise! You want a native Japanese to go to China to play ball for no reason? Just for a vow between the two of them, isn't that ridiculous?

"In short, put away your ulterior motives. It's your job to poach talent for China, and I have no right to interfere with that. But if you want to work under my name... I don't recommend going to Ms. Yako's side and saying a few bad things about her!"

Seeing Xiang Yang's resolute expression,

Zi nodded repeatedly, raising her right hand to swear she wouldn't do anything reckless again. However, before Xiangyang could nod, she asked, "What about Kise? I already told him, and judging from his appearance, he seems to really want to join China... with you."

As she finished speaking, Reiko's voice trailed off as she noticed Xiangyang's gaze fixed intently on her! However, Reiko forced herself to finish, believing that things had come to this point. If Kise really did join the Chinese, then she would absolutely not have any problem with "not doing it again"!

After all, no matter how many ordinary talents you discover, they can't be as useful as Kise alone!

Unfortunately, Xiangyang's reply shattered her little scheme.

"Don't even think about it. This counts as cheating. I'll handle Ryota's situation properly. Don't worry, he will definitely not join the Chinese."

After saying that, Xiangyang drank the water in the glass in one gulp, glared at Lingzi again to signal her to behave, and then, under Lingzi's resentful gaze, pushed open the door of Lingzi's house.

Thank you for your hospitality.

After habitually uttering a polite remark, Xiangyang left Lingzi's house without looking back.

Seeing Xiangyang close the door, Lingzi angrily picked up the water glass he had just drunk from and spat it into the glass with a fierce expression.

"What kind of person is he? Why does he care so much about other people's feelings..."

Muttering to herself, Reiko placed the water glass into the kitchen sink. Although she was full of complaints about Xiangyang, she couldn't help but look at him with new respect.

"I never expected... this kid is so devoted to his friends."

……

……

Downstairs at Lingzi's apartment building, a white vintage car was parked. As soon as Xiangyang stepped out of the building, he saw the vintage car and flashed its headlights to remind Xiangyang that it was over there.