APTnovel Chapter 160 The peacock is magnificent and noble, the golden retriever is silly.
Chapter 160 The peacock is magnificent and noble, the golden retriever is silly.
Wang Yueling took a deep breath and decided not to argue with his cousin. He refocused his attention on the court, his gaze sweeping over every section of the field where a game was being played.
The other matches have also reached a fever pitch.
The match between Oshitari and Jiro was incredibly fast-paced.
Jiro's volleys were as skillful as ever, with varied trajectories and several unexpected angles. However, Shinobu was clearly superior, his tidal volleys were on full display on the grass, with undulating trajectories that surged forward like waves.
With the final ball, Shinobu ended the game with a beautiful short, half-arc shot.
Cilang lunged forward but missed, and ended up lying face down on the ground, his reddish-brown curly hair sticking up in a mess.
He rolled over, lying on his back, panting heavily, then turned to look at Shinobu, his eyes shining like two light bulbs.
"Yushi! Yushi! How did your Tidal Shot change direction at the end? I clearly saw the ball fly to the left, but it bounced to the right!"
Shinobu walked to the net, pushed up his glasses, and a lazy smile appeared on his lips.
"That's a matter of the direction of spin. You'll see if you look closely at the angle of my wrist when I hit the ball."
"I didn't see it clearly! Show it to me again!" Cilang got up from the ground, dusted himself off, and excitedly demanded.
"How are we supposed to play now? We've put away all the rackets."
"Yuushi, just one more time~ Just one is enough."
As he spoke, Jiro pounced on him, grabbing onto Shinobu's arm and refusing to let go. Shinobu stumbled from the pull, his glasses nearly flying off, and he had no choice but to drag the clingy little lamb to the sidelines.
"Okay, okay, you let go first."
"I won't let you go, or you'll run away."
"Do you think I can run away?"
The outcome of the match between Mukahi and Kabaji was not in much suspense.
Kabaji's power advantage was too obvious; every return carried a heavy weight. Mukahi flipped and tumbled in the air, his movements still beautiful, but every shot was suppressed by Kabaji's power.
However, Xiang Ri is not entirely without the ability to fight back.
In the third game, he used a newly practiced feint to fool Kabaji's prediction and hit a beautiful short ball at the net.
Kaba rushed over but missed, the ball landed in front of the net, bounced twice, and rolled to the edge of the net.
He almost lost his footing as the sun set, but after regaining his balance, he raised his racket and shook it, his short red hair swaying in the sunlight.
"Kabachi, how was that! My feint was pretty good, wasn't it!"
Kaba stood opposite him, gave him a blank look, and then nodded very seriously.
"sharp."
Xiang Ri was a little embarrassed by his earnest praise, scratched his head, and chuckled twice.
However, he was only pleased with himself in this round.
In the following matches, Kabaji gave him no further chances. Relying on his superior strength and increasingly refined playing style, Kabaji won three consecutive games to take the match.
When the match ended, Mukahi walked to the net, looked at Kabaji, and pursed his lips.
"Kabachi, how did you see through my feint? I made it look exactly like the real thing!"
Kaba stood beside him, his tall frame casting a shadow. He thought for a moment, then spoke earnestly.
"Your shoulder."
"Shoulder?"
"Hmm. Coach Ling taught me to observe muscle movement; your shoulder rotation is abnormal."
Xiang Ri paused for a moment, then turned to look at Wang Yueling sitting on the coach's bench, before turning back and sighing.
"Alright, I need to come up with some new tricks too. Next time, I'll make sure you can't even touch it."
Kabaji nodded again, then silently took out a piece of chocolate that Kirihara had given him earlier from his pocket and handed it to him.
Xiang Ri looked at the chocolate, blinked, took it, tore open the packaging, and took a bite.
"Hmm, it's quite sweet."
The match between Feng and Riji was the most closely fought.
Both of them are second-year students, and their abilities are roughly equal.
Feng's serve was still powerful, but Hiyoshi had clearly studied it and predicted the landing point several times.
But the power and speed of the "one-ball-to-soul" strike were too fast, and I couldn't react in time.
Even so, Hiyoshi's Kobu tennis still performed exceptionally well in this match. His footwork was agile, and his returns were tricky, forcing Ootori to retreat to the baseline several times.
But the phoenix is more stable.
In the fifth game, he served three consecutive shots that found the perfect spot, each one hitting the outer corner with pinpoint accuracy.
The final score was 6 to 4.
Feng and Hiyoshi also came off the court. Feng's short, silver-gray hair was damp with sweat, but his eyes were clear. Hiyoshi walked beside him, the veins on his hand gripping the racket bulging.
"I will definitely win next time." He looked at Feng with a burning, defiant light in his eyes.
Feng turned her head and looked at him, her tone gentle but very serious.
"Yes, I believe you can do it. I'll keep working hard too, or you'll surpass me very quickly."
Hiyoshi paused for a moment, then turned his face away, stuffed the racket into his bag, and finally muttered something under his breath.
"The inferior overthrows the superior."
Feng didn't hear him and smiled. She walked to the sidelines, took the towel Shishido handed her, and wiped her sweat.
Wang Yueling watched all the matches.
I placed the record sheet on my lap, picked up the coaching board, and started writing and drawing on it. The pen tip made a scratching sound on the paper; I wrote a few lines, then crossed them out, then rewrote them.
Takiginosuke stood next to him, craning his neck to try and peek at what he was writing, but he couldn't see it clearly.
After the game, the starting players gradually gathered from the sidelines toward the coaching bench.
They walked slowly, their steps dragging, their eyes constantly glancing towards the coaching bench.
Wang Yueling sat there, holding a coaching board, her head down, writing and drawing. Her golden hair was slightly dazzling in the sunlight, and the pen tip made a scratching sound on the paper.
Everyone's heart tightened at the same time.
That familiar feeling is back.
It's like after an exam, the teacher is grading papers on the podium, and you're waiting for the results to come out.
I'm unsure, but I still want to know the outcome.
Atobe took the towel from Kabaji and wiped the sweat from his neck. He looked at his team members, who all seemed to be facing a formidable enemy, and his lips twitched, but he didn't say anything.
Cilang was the first to lose his temper.
He loosened his grip on Renzu's arm, strode to the coach's bench, gripped the edge of the table, his reddish-brown curly hair swaying back and forth, his eyes shining like two stars.
"Ling! Did you see my last volley? The one at the net! The ball was almost hitting the ground, and I scooped it up! That angle was incredibly tricky!"
He leaned forward, almost pressing his entire body against Wang Yueling.
Wang Yueling instinctively turned to the side to avoid it, gently protecting the pocket with her hand, afraid of waking the little one inside.
"I saw it."
"How was it? Pretty impressive, right?"
Jiro was a little dazed at the spot where he had been dodged, but he quickly recovered. If his tail could be seen, it would be wagging wildly right now.
Wang Yueling nodded, a smile in her azure eyes.
"That's really impressive. A month ago, you wouldn't have been able to hit that angle. Your reaction time has also improved a lot, which shows you haven't been slacking off lately. Great job!"
Cilang paused for a moment, then grinned widely, his teeth practically disappearing from his eyes.
"Really? Really? Ling, say it again!"
"I'm telling the truth, but if you ask again, I'll take it back."
Cilang immediately covered his mouth, his eyes curving into crescents.
Seeing that Jiro was being praised, Mukahi couldn't help but come over. He put his arm around Jiro's shoulder, his short red hair dazzling in the sunlight.
"Linglingling, what about me? Did you see my 'Myriad Flowers Flying' move? I practiced that final mid-air change of direction for ages!"
Wang Yueling looked at him, and the corners of her mouth turned up.
"I saw it. The turn came a little earlier than last week, and the landing was more stable. However..."
Xiang Ri's heart was in suspense.
"Your feints are still too obvious. Next time you feint, don't lower your center of gravity so much; your opponent will see right through it. Kabaji used it just now and he knew it; didn't you notice it yourself?"
Xiang Ri paused for a moment, then nodded vigorously.
"I understand! I'll change it right now!"
He loosened his grip on Cilang's shoulder, turned and walked towards the sidelines, muttering about things that needed to be changed. After taking two steps, he turned back.
"Ling, why aren't you yelling at us today?"
Wang Yueling raised an eyebrow.
"What, you want to hear me yell at you?"
"No, no, no." Xiang Ri waved her hands repeatedly, "I'm just not used to it. You're suddenly being so gentle, I'm a little scared."
The man next to him, Shinobu, pushed up his glasses and casually made a comment.
"Yue Ren, you have masochistic tendencies."
"You're the one who has it!"
The two exchanged a few words, neither willing to back down.
Kabaji walked over from beside Atobe, carrying a water bottle. He stopped in front of Mochizuki Ryo, looked down at him, and remained silent for several seconds.
"Coach, I won."
Wang Yueling looked up at the tall man who was half a head taller than her, and nodded with a smile.
"I know. You played well."
"Today, with that feint from Xiang Ri, you were looking at his shoulder, not his racket. That was a very clever judgment. But your volleys at the net were still too conservative. There were several balls where you could have clearly moved to the net to score, but you retreated."
Kabaji was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Yes."
"Don't back down next time. With your height and wingspan, you're practically a wall when you stand at the net. What are you afraid of?"
Kaba nodded again, this time with a little more force than before.
"Yes, Coach."
Feng followed behind Hua Di, his short, silver-gray hair damp with sweat, a few strands clinging to his forehead. He was slightly out of breath, but his eyes were bright.
"Senior, I beat Hiyoshi."
"I see it." Wang Yueling pointed to the chair next to her. "Sit down and rest for a while."
"Your consistency in scoring has improved a lot, but your transition after the serve is still a bit slow. Don't let your guard down after scoring; you need to be quicker in preparing for the next point."
Feng sat down obediently, listened attentively, and nodded.
"I understand, senior."
Shishido stood to the side, still holding his racket, his long black hair fluttering slightly in the wind. He looked at Mochizuki Ryo, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something but then swallowed it back.
Wang Yueling noticed his expression and spoke first.
"Liang, you played very well today."
Shishido's brow twitched slightly.
"The success rate of your supersonic spikes is at least 20% higher than last week, and your defensive range is also larger. The fact that you were able to save Atobe's shot shows that your reaction speed has caught up."
After listening, Shishido remained silent for two seconds, then nodded.
"Still a long way off."
After saying that, he turned and walked to the bench, sat down, covered his face with a towel, and stopped talking. His shoulders relaxed slightly, showing the ease that comes with being recognized.
Shinobu leaned against the fencing, watching as the group of guys were coaxed into being like a bunch of happy puppies by Mochizuki's few words, and his lips twitched.
Especially seeing Mukahi skipping and jumping, saying he was going to eat two extra bowls of rice when he got home, Jiro was already planning to call Marui that evening to share the good news…
He pushed his glasses up and turned to look at Atobe.
Atobe was standing on the sidelines, holding a towel in his hand, his icy blue eyes looking in the direction of the coaching bench.
Shinobu walked over and lowered his voice, "Kei, look at them, they're all grinning like idiots after Ling praised them. They're nothing like the elegant Hyotei."
Atobe didn't look at him, he just stood there, his icy blue eyes looking in the direction of Mochizuki Ryo, a slight, almost imperceptible curve at the corner of his mouth.
"Yeah, that guy's got a sharp tongue."
"Why don't you go and hear what he thinks of you?" Shinobu's tone was slightly mischievous.
Atobe snorted.
"I don't need his opinion."
After he finished speaking, he draped the towel over his shoulder and started walking towards the coach's bench. He took two steps, then stopped and glanced at Shinobu.
"Aren't you going either?"
Shinobu smiled and followed behind him.
As the two walked past one after the other, Mochizuki Ryo was commenting on Hiyoshi's match.
"Your ancient martial arts tennis is indeed faster after removing unnecessary movements. But your mentality is still too impatient. Several times you could have had longer rallies to find an opportunity, but you insisted on killing the ball with one shot."
Hiyoshi stood in front of him, his back ramrod straight, listening attentively.
"Go back and practice more rallies. Don't always think about overtaking the opponent in one go. Before you can overtake them in one go, make sure you have a solid foundation. Your current approach to overtaking is still suicide."
Hiyoshi's face flushed slightly, but he still nodded vigorously.
"Yes, senior."
Atobe walked to the coach's bench, but didn't sit down; he just stood there. His icy blue eyes stared at Mochizuki Ryo without saying a word.
Feeling that gaze, Mochizuki Ryo looked up and met Atobe's eyes. He saw the lingering anger in Atobe's eyes.
Oh, you're still angry.
This old man still remembers yesterday's meme incident.
Wang Yueling sighed inwardly, but put on a bright smile. "Oh my, our Hyotei's most glamorous captain is here! You played so well today, I must give you a good compliment!"
Atobe snorted.
"unnecessary."
"That won't do. I praised everyone else but not you. You'd feel really resentful."
Before Atobe could speak, Mochizuki Ryo immediately launched into a torrent of unsolicited flattery.
"Today's match was absolutely breathtaking, so spectacular it seemed to eclipse the sun. The positioning, the swing, the presence—it was simply the pinnacle of tennis, unmatched by anyone!"
Atobe's lips twitched slightly.
"Especially those last few balls, the angles were tricky, the power was incredible, perfectly demonstrating what true champion style is. With a captain like that leading us, how could Hyotei not win the championship!"
Atobe's ears burned slightly from the praise.
He raised his hand to brush away the stray hairs from his forehead, deliberately slowing the movement, and unconsciously raised his chin by half a centimeter: "My skill in beauty is naturally unmatched."
The members next to them exchanged glances.
Coach Dai's skill in praising people is truly masterful.
Cilang leaned close to Xiang Ri's ear and whispered, "Did Ling eat honey today? Her mouth is so sweet."
Mukahi lowered his voice and replied, "Didn't you notice? Yesterday during training at the gym, Ling sent a message that made Atobe furious. If he doesn't sweeten his mouth now, he'll be in trouble."
"Oh..." Jiro suddenly realized, "So that's how it is."
"Keep your voice down."
"oh oh."
Atobe pretended not to hear their whispers, cleared his throat, and spoke in his usual arrogant tone, but his voice was much softer than before.
"I don't need your fancy compliments. How are you going to explain what happened yesterday?"
Wang Yueling blinked, looking completely innocent.
"What is it?"
"I don't know anything. Did someone hack my account? Mon dieu, hackers these days are too amazing."
Atobe's eyelids twitched, and he lowered his voice, but every word was filled with murderous intent.
"Looking at the Moon Rising".
"exist!"
"Don't play dumb with me. Yesterday you turned me into a peacock, dressed me in a floral shirt, drank coconut juice, and lay on the beach... Did you delete those memes?!"
Wang Yueling touched her nose and glanced away.
"Minister, that...that's so cute! Look how magnificent you are, a peacock, the king of birds, it suits you perfectly. I even drew myself as a dog!"
Atobe took a deep breath, stared at him for several seconds, his lips moved several times, but in the end he didn't say anything.
The person next to him, who had guessed the general idea, was suppressing a laugh, his shoulders shaking.
Jiro covered his mouth with his hand, but his eyes curved into crescent moons. Mukahi simply buried his face in the back of Oshitari's shoulder, chuckling softly. Oshitari pushed up his glasses, unable to suppress the smile on his lips.
Kabaji took a piece of candy out of his pocket, unwrapped it, put it in his mouth, and chewed it a couple of times.
Atobe glanced at them, and everyone immediately stopped smiling and stood up straight.
He glanced at Wang Yueling again.
Wang Yueling was looking at him, her azure eyes filled with a pleading light that said, "I was wrong."
Atobe was silent for two seconds.
He recalled the memes he'd seen yesterday: peacocks, floral shirts, sunglasses, coconut juice, and the words "Do Not Disturb While on Vacation" written on their tails.
Although it wasn't particularly fancy, the little peacock in the painting looked quite like him.
Atobe mentally went through the thought, then handed the towel to Kabaji.
He gave a soft hum.
"This will not be repeated."
Wang Yueling was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting him to say that.
"If I see anything that's not flashy again," Atobe glanced at him, "I'll donate all your dolls."
Wang Yueling immediately concealed the surprise on her face and gave a well-behaved smile.
"Don't worry, don't worry, there will definitely not be a next time."
Atobe withdrew his gaze, turned around and walked to a bench, picked up a water bottle and took a sip. His icy blue eyes looked into the distance, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
He mentally compared the chibi peacock to the chibi golden retriever.
The peacock, king of birds! Beautiful! Noble!
Golden Retrievers are stupid! Very stupid!! Extremely stupid!!!
……
Just then, a very soft, faint voice came from the direction of the coach's bench.
"Meow……"
It was very light, like a dandelion seed scattered by the wind, intermittent, but everyone heard it.
The noise on the field instantly quieted down.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and listened carefully.
"Did you hear anything?" Xiang Ri was the first to speak, his voice very low.
"I heard it." Jiro lowered his voice, his reddish-brown curly hair standing on end. "It sounds like a cat meowing."
Shinobu pushed up his glasses and lowered his voice, "You must have misheard. How could there be a cat here?"
"I don't know."
The crowd spoke in hushed tones, until finally they all held their breath.
There was silence for a few seconds.
There was nothing there.
"You must have misheard." Xiang Ri breathed a sigh of relief.
Cilang also breathed a sigh of relief, and was about to say something.
"Meow meow meow..."
A series of soft, rapid meows came from the direction of the coach's bench, as if protesting something.
Everyone turned their heads at the same time, and their eyes all fell on Wang Yueling.