APTnovel Chapter 196 Sanada Confesses?! Prank Quota Expired
Chapter 196 Sanada Confesses?! Prank Quota Expired
Niou withdrew his hand, which had been scratched red by the kitten, leaned against Yagyu's shoulder, and unwrapped his lollipop, putting it in his mouth.
As the sweetness melted on his tongue, he had already shifted his gaze from Sanada to Atobe, then back again, his fox-like eyes full of amusement as he deliberately teased Sanada, drawing out his words.
"Wow, our vice-captain really knows that Seigaku captain well. He's got his eye on him so much. Are you...?"
He paused deliberately, moved the lollipop to the other side of his mouth, and tilted his head to look at Sanada.
Sanada paused for a moment with his chopsticks, looked up at him, and knew he was definitely not going to say anything nice; his eyes were already turning cold.
Renou remained unfazed and continued, a playful smile on his lips: "Are you really in love with her? If you really like her, you can confess. The entire Rikkai team will be your support group."
Liu took the notebook out of his pocket, turned to a certain page, pointed to the data entries recorded on the paper with his fingertip, and then added his own embellishments. His tone was calm and objective, but the content was extremely gossipy.
"According to my records of the Rikkai University fan club's CP ranking data, the rumored relationship between Sanada and Tezuka has consistently ranked in the top 3 because of Sanada's special attention to Tezuka. Related doujinshi sales account for 12% of the tennis club's total merchandise sales. This data sample comes from a total of 437 questionnaires from three grades, and its reliability is over 80%."
After speaking, Liu closed his notebook with a smooth and effortless motion.
The members of Hyotei exchanged glances and looked over.
Atobe raised an eyebrow, leaned forward slightly from the back of his chair, and glanced at Sanada with a subtle expression.
"There's such a ranking?" Shinobu put down his teacup, his eyes behind his glasses gleaming with excitement. He turned to look at Sanada, whose expression was stiff, and asked, "So this is real? I always thought Sanada-kun and Tezuka-kun were just regular rivals. I didn't know they had this kind of relationship."
"No."
Sanada's face instantly darkened, and the veins on his forehead throbbed. He slammed his hand on the table and, addressing the culprit, reprimanded him in a deep voice:
"Niou Masaharu! You've become too lax!"
"Where did I slack off? I was concerned about your love life! Piyo!" Niou shrugged, looking completely innocent.
Kirihara was chatting with Kabaji about how delicious the yakiniku sauce was when he was distracted by the conversation next to him. He listened for a while, only managing to catch the keywords "Sanada," "Tezuka," and "confession," before suddenly looking up and raising his voice so loud that the whole table could hear him.
"Is the vice-captain going to confess to that captain from Seigaku? When? I want to go see!"
The table was silent for a second, then burst into laughter.
Kuwabara quickly tugged at Kirihara's sleeve and whispered, "Akaya, you misheard!"
Kirihara paused, finally swallowing the grilled meat in his mouth, and blinked blankly, "Did I hear that right?"
Niou, laughing so hard his stomach hurt, leaned on Yagyu's shoulder, shaking with each breath. Yagyu, pinned down by him, didn't push him away, but simply took off his glasses and wiped them with a cloth, the smile on his lips still visible.
Sanada's face turned red from his ears to his forehead, to the point that the brim of his hat couldn't hide it. He stood up abruptly, the chair legs scraping sharply on the floor.
"Niou! Kirihara!" Sanada's voice was at least two octaves higher than before, filled with the embarrassment and anger of being cornered. "You guys are too lax! Go back and do ten extra sets..."
"Oh dear." Niou slowly shrank behind Yagyu, a lollipop dangling from his lips, his voice sticky and sweet. "Getting angry just because I hit the nail on the head? That's not the demeanor of the mighty Rikkai, pupina~"
"Niou-senpai!" Kirihara finally realized what he had just said, his face turning pale. He raised his hand to cover his head, afraid of being hit. "You've ruined me..."
Seeing this, Kuwabara put down the grilled meat in his hand and quickly stood up to smooth things over. He first reached out and stopped Sanada's arm, not with much force, but his position was just right in the middle of Sanada's forward path.
"Sanada, Niou just doesn't know how to hold his tongue, don't take it to heart." He poured Sanada another cup of tea, his voice steady, carrying the ease honed from years of mediating disputes, "When has he ever uttered a serious word..."
Sanada's gaze passed over Kuwabara's shoulder and landed on Niou. Niou had already poked half his head out from behind Yagyu, giving Sanada a provocative wink.
"Niou!" Sanada took a deep breath and called out in a deep voice.
Yagyu put his glasses back on, tilted his head slightly, and said in a rather regretful tone, "Masaharu, you've used up your prank quota for today. I suggest you keep quiet for at least the next thirty minutes, otherwise the vice-captain's extra training sessions might increase from ten to twenty."
Niou took the lollipop out of his mouth and waved it at Yagyu from a distance: "Puri... I know, I know."
Before he sat back down, he glanced towards Hyotei. Atobe had already shifted back into his chair, but a hint of schadenfreude lingered in his eyes. Oshitari picked up his teacup and took another sip, scrutinizing the entire scene with a "wonderful" expression.
A brief respite from the commotion.
Luna somehow managed to wriggle out from the edge of the food basket and slowly crept along the edge of the tablecloth to Wang Yueling's side. Its little paws gripped the edge of the table, its head peeking out, staring at the deboned fish in his bowl, its round, heterochromatic eyes shining like two tiny glass beads in the sunlight.
After watching the commotion, Wang Yueling looked down and tapped its bulging little belly with her fingertip. "You're full."
Luna tilted her little head back, patted the tablecloth with her little paws with a sense of entitlement, and stood up with her little tail upright like a small antenna.
It's as if it's telling its owner: If the cat wants something, the cat has to get it.
It expressed its desire and moved closer to the Wangyue Ling bowl, its little nose twitching as it stared intently at the fish inside, its little mouth slightly open, drool almost dripping onto the tablecloth.
Looking at its greedy expression, Wang Yueling helplessly confirmed with the butler that the fish hadn't been seasoned. She then reached out and removed the bread ring from its neck, and pulled a small feeding bib from the bag next to her.
It's off-white with small black moons embroidered on the edges.
Yukimura watched this scene, his smile deepening slightly, and slowly sipped his fruit tea to aid digestion.
His gaze shifted from Sanada to Niou, then swept over Yagyu and Kuwabara, before finally settling back on Mochizuki Ryo.
Wang Yueling was patiently tying a bib for Luna. The off-white bib around the kitten's neck made her black fur look even softer. He took a disposable bowl and used a small silver spoon to carefully remove the hard bones from the fish meat, his movements delicate and gentle.
"Masaharu." Yukimura turned his gaze away and spoke, his voice not loud, but loud enough for Niou to hear clearly, "When we get back, help Akaya clear up the misunderstanding about what he said earlier. He missed a few words."
Niou's smile faded slightly. He glanced at Yukimura, nodded, and shrank back to Yagyu, not daring to say anything more.
Kirihara visibly relaxed upon hearing this arrangement, slumping his shoulders and leaning back in his chair.
The atmosphere at the dinner table gradually relaxed.
Marui and Jiro began arguing about the ratio of cream to strawberry jam on a mousse, gesturing with their fingers to see whose cut was prettier. Kuwabara sat beside them, clearing away empty dishes, occasionally interjecting with a comment. Yanagi turned to a new page in his notebook, wrote a few lines, capped his pen, and closed the notebook.
Sanada sat back down in his chair, pulling his hat brim down a little lower than before. He picked up the genmaicha in front of him and took a sip. His expression had returned to its usual seriousness, except for a trace of redness still lingering at the base of his ears.
Wang Yueling threw the bowl she had used to feed Luna the fish into the trash can and took a tissue to wipe her fingers.
His gaze swept across the table...
Jiro had already forgotten his earlier disappointment and was now laughing, leaning on Marui's shoulder. Hiyoshi was whispering something to Kabaji, who was nodding in agreement. Atobe, holding a cup of black tea, leaned back in his chair, his posture composed, like a lion that had just finished surveying its territory.
He put down the tissue, picked up the cup of room-temperature tea, and took a sip. The tea tasted a little more astringent than before, but it was still alright.
"The afternoon's match." Wang Yueling put down her cup, glanced at her phone, and said, "Two hours left. Those who need to rest should hurry, and those who need to warm up should get on the court half an hour early. Winning or losing isn't something you can predict before you step onto the court. But how much preparation you've done will be crystal clear once you're on the field."
Atobe didn't reply, but the hand holding the cup trembled slightly, a barely perceptible response.
Sunlight streamed through the blinds and fell on the dining table, creating dappled patterns of light.
It also landed on Luna's fluffy little head.
After finishing the fish, the kitten curled up back in its food basket, hugged its little fish plush toy, yawned, and swished its tail. It slowly closed its eyes and began to purr softly amidst the conversations in the restaurant.
Yukimura rubbed its earlobe with his fingertip. Luna's little ear twitched, but instead of dodging, it turned its head and rubbed its nose against his knuckle.
A warm, damp sensation traveled from my fingertips.
A smile spread across Yukimura's eyes, and even his eyebrows softened.
-
Two and a half hours later, on the field.
The referee raised his hand and blew his whistle, the sound cutting through the noise of the stands and clearly reaching everyone's ears.
"Game, Qingxue, 5-3."
"Seigaku takes the lead! Players change rackets, three-minute break!"