rumor

The rumors of their breakup originated from a report about Tezuka's departure for Paris for closed training.

With the French Open still a month away, Kunimitsu Tezuka, as one of the favorites to win the title, is naturally under the spotlight, and his every move is being watched closely by the public.

His departure for Paris, in particular, signified the start of his French Open campaign. When he appeared at Frankfurt Airport, it was packed with reporters and fans, and the news that day became the number one trending topic on Japanese social media.

Even with the previous intense focus on his relationship, the public's attention shifted to a mix of anxiety and well wishes at this point.

However, one group had a rather peculiar focus and quickly discovered an unusual detail.

"These departure photos are so cool!!"

"Even from a terrible angle, she can take amazing photos. Her face and figure are just too authoritative, waaaaaah!"

"But why didn't Kanade see Tezuka-kun off at the airport when he went to Paris this time?"

"I also want to say..."

"Yeah, yeah, in the photos taken at Frankfurt Airport, only he and his team are there, Zou-chan is nowhere to be seen!"

"She was photographed shopping at the supermarket before, but why didn't Kanade-chan show up for such an important competition?"

"Could it be... that they broke up?"

"Calm down. Professional athletes travel all over the world, and it's normal for feelings to fade due to long periods of separation."

"Impossible! My favorite real-life couples never die this quickly!"

"But Kanade hasn't shown up lately. Besides, they're in the same school. Didn't the 'informant' say they'd been going in and out together for a while? Why have they suddenly stopped interacting?!"

"Speaking of which, haven't you guys noticed that our 'informant' hasn't shown up for a long time? What does that mean? It means things aren't looking good, everyone!"

"Could it be that the two really broke up, and the 'informant' unfollowed them after finding out?"

"Don't make wild guesses. Even if we break up, what's our principle?"

"If you're shipping a couple, be prepared for a bad ending!"

"But it always takes so long to get it treated, sob sob sob."

"'Every time'? So your little juice comes with a built-in debuff? Get out!"

After being "kissed away," and still not fully recovered, the unlucky kid whose CP always ends badly posted a tweet on X as usual to express his grief.

Even though she didn't use her full name, her mention of "my tragic tennis player and medical student couple" was too suggestive...

Coincidentally, this netizen is not only a famous CP (couple pairing) fan, but also a major contributor of fanfiction in the community.

So her tweet went viral in a strange way, because—

"It doesn't look like it. Tezuka-kun is in amazing shape this time. Wouldn't heartbreak affect his condition?"

"Can we use that here? The 'xx is disappointed, xx is triumphant' structure?"

"That's a good omen!"

"I knew Tezuka-kun was radiating an aura of power this time. Turns out it wasn't a romance aura, but a champion's aura?"

"Tezuka-kun is definitely more suited to playing tennis."

"No...where is the logic in the above reasoning?"

"What logic does gossip need? You're taking it way too seriously!"

Thus, despite the lack of concrete evidence, due to the irresponsible dissemination by entertainment media and social media, a vague speculation that "Tezuka Kunimitsu may have had a relationship troubles" began to circulate.

Strangely, after this speculation circulated for some time, an earlier, less-noticed post was unearthed.

It was a photo posted by someone, taken at Frankfurt Airport in the early hours of the morning, and blurred to protect privacy. The photo was posted a week before Tezuka departed for Paris.

That's a photo of a couple embracing before parting ways.

At the entrance to the sparsely populated security checkpoint, a tall, well-dressed man in simple dark casual clothes, wearing a hat that revealed the ends of his dark green hair, was holding a woman in a beige trench coat in his arms.

In the photo, he has one arm around her back and the other hand gently resting on the back of her head, forming a pose full of protectiveness and affection.

Although their faces are not visible, the still photos reveal the tenderness and reluctance between the two.

The caption for the photo used a somewhat niche language: "Before leaving, I was fortunate enough to witness a beautiful love story. Goodbye, Germany."

The poster appears to have simply been expressing their appreciation for a beautiful moment in their native language during a trip, and did not know Tezuka. They also politely blurred the image of the person in the photo.

Therefore, the photos he posted were just ordinary daily records in the vast online world, and received very few views.

There are no secrets in the online world; this photo was unearthed after a delay.

"...Damn it, internet, you've tricked me again!"

"First of all, with the images blurred, are you sure this is Tezuka Kunimitsu and Yagyu Kazuna?"

"Putting everything else aside, this physique is not something you see everywhere."

"Such a tender hug, this is what love looks like."

"They're clearly in the honeymoon phase!"

"So it wasn't a breakup at all? The girl went on a business trip first, which is why there was no interaction and she didn't see you off at the airport?"

"A flight at dawn? Where are Yagyu and Kanade going?"

"There aren't many flights departing at that time. If it's a popular destination, Yagyu and Kanade wouldn't need to take a night flight, so they must be going to Nairobi."

"Nairobi?"

Kenya, Africa.

"Fun fact: Heidelberg University Medical School has an internship program in collaboration with Kenya, Africa, and the internship takes place in Massabit."

"Someone must be asking where Massabit is, so I'll post a link to it."

"Thank you for your help. I've finished reading and am back... I'll never scold her again."

"I also……"

That's how online discourse is; it keeps changing, and some people's emotional expressions are so fast that it's hard to keep up with their thoughts.

After browsing a few popular comments, Kerber closed the app with satisfaction and looked at Tezuka on the clay court.

Even in the quiet private training ground, there was a tense and oppressive atmosphere in the air.

The ball machine launched two serves from two directions at an unusual angle, simultaneously at maximum speed and with different spins. Tezuka quickly slid back and forth at both ends of the baseline, looking like a blur.

After watching a set of serves, Kerber pressed his thumb against the finger counter and then used his exceptional dynamic vision to capture every leg movement, occasionally glancing down to record data in his folder.

Clay courts are extremely demanding in terms of physical strength and endurance. In addition, they require athletes to possess a unique technique: the sliding step.

It's fair to say that without the ability to slide, one cannot gain a foothold on clay.

Both Zero Style and Tezuka Style require precise control. On soft clay courts, it is difficult to fully utilize these techniques. To compensate for this disadvantage, Tezuka had to work hard on his physical fitness and footwork skills.

After the serve and receive session ended, Kerber looked at the data on the counter and looked at his apprentice, who was carrying heavy loads and sweating profusely, with some surprise.

Physical conditioning training is different from technical training; it's actually quite difficult to see results in a short period. But this is only the first week of training, and her student has already set a new record.

The rate of progress is terrifying.

Kerber nodded in satisfaction and called out to the court, "Kuoguang, break time."

As Tezuka walked off the field wiping away sweat, Kerber tossed him an unopened bottle of water: "You've made great progress. You can start focusing on strengthening your legs and core muscles now."

Tezuka nodded, sat on a bench by the field, took a sip of his drink, and tilted his head back slightly to calm his breathing.

Unlike his usual clean and crisp appearance, the players on the clay court were all disheveled. The clay mixed with sweat inevitably left large patches of mottled ochre on his pale skin, but his seemingly innate aloofness and nobility remained undiminished.

This appearance is truly...

"Snap—"

Tezuka slowly turned his head and looked at Kerber.

Kerber arrogantly waved his phone, revealing a row of teeth: "Melodia has never seen you train."

Tezuka turned his head again, took the towel draped over the back of the chair, wiped the red dirt off his face a few times, and then turned back.

Although he didn't say anything, it made Kerber laugh so hard that she turned on the video again, and the camera shook because of her laughter.

Tezuka glanced at the coach, whose smile was becoming increasingly arrogant. When facing the camera, although his expression was still the same, he looked much gentler for some reason.

Kobel was full of admiration.

Kobel recorded for a good ten seconds, and after finishing the video, she couldn't help but tease him: "I told you you'd get the news out as soon as you got back. Looks like you really were provoked by Yukimura Seiichi. Thanks to the team girl for being so thoughtful, I don't even know where she dug up the picture from."

Tezuka calmly looked away, showing no sign of being "stimulated".

Kobel looked at his head, which was covered in red clay, with amusement: "I was worried that reading those arguments would put too much pressure on me and affect my performance."

"Won't."

"Now it seems I was overthinking it. It wasn't pressure, it was motivation."

Tezuka curled his lips slightly, reached into his tennis bag to take out his phone, and opened the pinned chat box. The last message was sent by her a few hours earlier.

There is only one photo of her standing in the sunset in Massabit.

Tezuka glanced at it and laughed—should we tell Melodia? Her selfie skills have a lot of room for improvement.

The camera zoomed in very close, capturing only her vibrant smile—the most infectious smile Tezuka had ever had, pure and unrestrained, enveloping her free spirit.

Her long hair danced in the wind, a few strands brushing against her smile.

The background is a sky dyed a large expanse of orange-red, with the Masabit volcano faintly visible in the distance, separating the sky from the savanna. On the savanna, herders are driving their camel herds back.

Everything there looked magnificent.

But through her bright eyes, Tezuka could see a corner of a makeshift tent and a medical kit.

Two weeks have passed, and Melodia hasn't mentioned any difficulties, but he can occasionally glean from the photos she sends him the hardships that must exist in that land.

He replied, "It's beautiful."

The scenery was beautiful, and so was she.