Love Tennis and Yumiko Miura

However, he sleeps all day and night, so the students in the school know very little about him and lack sufficient information.

The only two things he is well-known for are throwing a love letter into the trash and winning third place in the national competition.

Based on these two things, the students constructed an image of Ju Zhixian that they knew, an image that they believed to be real.

It is precisely for this reason that after actually having contact with Zhixian, Chiyo felt that Zhixian was very different from the rumors, so different that they were two completely different people.

She didn't even understand how this demonizing misconception came about.

Because Zhixian did it on purpose, he ignored the rumors.

You can respond, but you don't have to.

This has been a very convenient way to avoid trouble for a long time, so Zhixian has never intended to change.

It's not like he doesn't have friends.

And that would help him hide his emotions. He was worried about what would happen if Yumiko, who knew nothing about his true feelings, discovered them one day. He couldn't control himself from paying attention to Yumiko.

Admittedly, he admitted that he had feelings for the blonde girl that went beyond friendship, feelings that went beyond just comradeship between partners.

Zhixian knew very well that once this kind of feeling started to emerge, he would no longer be able to suppress it. Originally, he could just turn around and laugh it off after the group disbanded.

But he didn't, he couldn't let it go, he wanted to maintain this connection.

However, he never had the courage to explain it all.

If it weren't for this opportunity, he thought he would never take the initiative to say anything to Yumiko.

Maybe at a class reunion many years in the future they can put aside their grudges and let go of the past - but that means their lives will no longer intersect, and they will just be old classmates.

Such a result is ultimately a bad end full of regrets.

No one wants a bad ending except for the achievement party. Everyone hopes that their life will have a happy ending, and Zhixian is no exception.

It's just that he has been suppressing himself all this time.

A year later, he had another chance to choose.

Just as he told his mother, he wanted to put an end to his past regrets.

This time he chose to face it instead of running away.

Otherwise, he could have just told Totsuka that the missing Yumiko might appear on a certain street or in a certain park.

Zhixian came to the park and found a girl with long golden hair sitting on a bench.

He looked at the girl's back from afar and felt relieved.

"I found you, Youmiko." A smile appeared on Zhixian's lips, "Also, long time no see." The young man whispered softly.

Then the boy walked towards the girl.

"You're in high school and you're still missing. You're really acting like a child more and more."

51. The Collision of White and Gold (Part 1)

"Yumiko, are you willing to partner with me again and win that championship trophy?"

"..." Yumiko was silent for a long time, and finally gave an answer, "I can't do it."

How could she possibly do that! How could she possibly partner with him again without any qualms? Even if Zhixian didn't mind, could she just accept it so naturally? She asked herself, this is simply impossible! How thick-skinned would she have to be to agree to this?

That aside, even her tennis skills couldn't keep up with Zhixian's! He'd been the one leading her forward, and during her year-long hiatus, Zhixian had continued to improve, even reaching third place in the national tournament—a feat far more prestigious than even the semifinals in mixed doubles. Men's singles was undoubtedly the most competitive event, and the fact that Zhixian had made it that far proved he was no longer the same Zhixian from a year ago.

Or rather, he had always had this level of skill, but he had given up the possibility of developing in singles in order to compete in mixed doubles. After the two separated, he simply regained that possibility.

"I see." Zhixian nodded, "I knew it."

"You know it, yet you still ask!" Youmiko burst into laughter.

"Yumiko is quite the tsundere, so I guess she'll definitely refuse the first time."

"..." Yumiko was speechless. In a sense, the boy next to her was the person who understood her best besides her parents.

"Want to have a fight?" Zhixian suddenly invited.

"...The jumps are too big." Yumiko felt that she could no longer keep up with Chixian's train of thought. The latter's thoughts were so erratic that she wanted to laugh out loud. This feeling was a bit like the person who was responsible for acting crazy in a manzai performance.

Although Zhixian doesn't talk much, sometimes a few casual words can hit the nail on the head and make people angry to death.

"So, let's play a game." Zhixian took out a racket from his tennis bag and handed it to Youmiko, his expression very serious. "I won't give in. I will do my best and maybe even shut you out."

"..."

"So, do you want to feel the gap between us?"

"...I'm not afraid of you!" Yumiko flicked her hair and took the racket from Zhixian. "In that case, I'll wear these new shoes and compete with you!"

----split line----

There was a tennis court in the park, empty, with lights on all around. While the light wasn't as bright as the professional indoor lighting, it was enough for the two players to see each other. Their ability to see the ball might be affected, but it was enough for them to complete the match.

Yumiko changed into the pair of tennis shoes that Zhixian gave her. The size was perfect and the shoes were very light.

She tightened her shoelaces and stood up.

"This is for you." Zhixian stretched out his hand.

A hair tie lay quietly in the boy's calloused palm - it was a style and color that Yumiko was very familiar with, probably because she had left it with him.

Yumiko took the hair tie, and the contact between her fingertips and palm was fleeting.

......

Yumiko tied her hair into a neat high ponytail. Although she hadn't done it for a year, she still tied her hair as neatly as she did a year ago.

The two of them took their rackets, stood on both sides, and began warming up.

The tennis ball flew back and forth between the two of them, deforming and bouncing under the force of the racket.

The one-year break did not affect the two players' warm-up this time. They still maintained their tacit understanding and fed the ball to each other.

Yumiko could sense Chixian's improved ball control, a fact she'd already witnessed during the tennis club match. Chixian was able to use her "territory" to prevent even the highly skilled Yukinoshita from touching a single ball. Such ball control was truly unattainable.

"What's going on?" Zhixian caught the tennis ball with his bare hands, interrupting the warm-up session.

"We can start now." Yumiko nodded.

Time is the same as before, Yumiko thought to herself.

"Which?"

"Rough." (reverse)

Yumiko guessed the wrong direction so Zhixian chose to serve.

Zhixian used his racket to hit the tennis ball again and again, making it bounce up and down.

"Don't cry if it's 6:0 later."

"Who's crying? Serve your ball!" Youmiko was furious.

She actually cried because she lost the game 6:0.

"Well, let's get started. As I said, I won't let you down."

"Come on!" Yumiko clenched the racket in her hand and bit her lower lip with her upper teeth.

Zhixian threw the ball, raised his arm and swung the racket in one go, and his serving movements were smooth and flowing.

Yumiko was on full alert, her eyes accurately capturing the trajectory of the tennis ball.

She is still very confident about her dynamic vision.

So Yumiko swung her racket—and surprisingly, she missed.

She looked down and saw the tennis ball in front of her.

"......Is this called the Zero serve?" Yumiko picked up the ball and looked up at Zhixian on the opposite half of the court. She had only seen this serve once in a video. Perhaps because it put too much strain on the arms, it was not used frequently.

"Yes, zero serve, I've done it." Zhixian took the tennis ball thrown by Youmiko. This was his serve, and he would still serve next.

"Go on." Yumiko bent down to lower her center of gravity, ready to receive the serve.

It was still a zero serve.

30:0

Zero serve.

40:0

Zero serve.

End of first game.

In the second game, Yumiko served.

Although there were no more formal competitions, Yumiko did not completely miss the tennis game for a year because there was tennis in the physical education class at Sobu University.

She really likes playing tennis, otherwise she wouldn't have been itching to play after seeing Totsuka training.

Yumiko served the ball with great force, and the tennis ball flew directly towards Zhixian.

Zhixian responded easily and then went online.

While Yumiko was fighting back, she realized that Zhixian had rushed to the tennis ball, and the latter easily scored with a volley in front of the net.

Yumiko was not discouraged and she immediately served the second ball.

This time, Zhixian used a dual-wielding style, returning the two balls with his left and right hands respectively. However, it would be more accurate to say that he was showing off his skills rather than avoiding the backhand's weakness.

30:0

The third ball was decided when Zhixian hit a zero-style slice.

40:0

On the fourth ball, Yumiko forced Zhixian to hit a high lob and then smashed the ball to the net, but Zhixian counterattacked with a giant bear.

Yumiko failed to hold serve, and the score came to 2:0.

The third game was Zhixian's serve again. He did not use the zero serve this time, but adopted a standard serve-and-volley tactic, catching Yumiko off guard by intercepting.

Although Yumiko deliberately hit the ball towards the advancing Chishin in the next shot, she was still successfully counterattacked with a half volley.

52. The Collision of White and Gold (Part 2)

When volleying, you must be extremely vigilant against the opponent's net breaks and lobs, so positioning is crucial. Generally, you should position yourself on the bisector of the angle between the opponent's net break and the diagonal line, and be mindful of protecting the straight line.

Strictly speaking, Zhixian's style of play was that of a baseline player, but he was now using the net-style approach to handle the ball, and was quite successful. This made Yumiko fully realize that the gap between them was like a huge chasm, which she could not bridge no matter what.

3:0, change halves, rest.

At this time, Zhixian took out two small bottles of mineral water from his tennis bag and handed one to Youmeiko.

Yumiko silently unscrewed the bottle cap and took a sip.

Even the brand of mineral water has not changed.

In the fourth game, Yumiko chose to use diagonal balls more often to mobilize Zhixian's movement, and mixed in straight line balls in the process.

Zhixian's response is "territory" - he stands in place, and no matter how tricky Yumiko's diagonal ball is, it is as if attracted by some unknown force, and eventually it will come to the most comfortable position for Zhixian to return with his forehand.

Yumiko naturally didn't believe this and wanted to break the shackles of this "field".

The situation then evolved into a multi-shot stalemate.

Zhixian did not use the advantage of "territory" to score, but let Youmeiko fight back continuously, as if she was warming up.

At this time, the dark clouds gathering above their heads began to sprinkle light rain, and marks began to appear on the court.

This did not affect the two at all, they remained focused on the game.

Under the influence of the "field", every ball ended with Yumiko making an active mistake.

4:0, the rain was drizzling, soaking the entire tennis court.

The game still went on without interruption.

Rainy days are a test for tennis players, because a wet court and a dry court are two different courts, which will have different degrees of impact on friction, ball rotation, and the player's own movement.

However, in this situation, Zhixian still controls the "field" with ease.

This "field" remains unaffected by the constraints on tennis, even when it rains.

Raindrops falling on the lake surface will create ripples, and the "field" is like the scorching sun in the sky.