Chapter 52

I knew long ago that Echizen Ryoma would become a professional tennis player. He's been playing tennis since he was a kid, and while his father, Echizen Nanjiro, played a role in that, his demeanor and eyes when he played didn't lie; it was clear he loved tennis.

Passion, talent, hard work, ambition...playing professional tennis is almost a foregone conclusion.

Logically, I should be happy for him.

But why do I feel sad?

I was walking on the greenway somewhat absentmindedly, and somehow I came to a vending machine. Today it had grape-flavored Fanta.

By the time I realized what was happening, I was already holding a large bag of drinks in my hand. The drinks were bought according to the number of regular players in the tennis club, including Ryoma Echizen's favorite grape-flavored Fanta.

So, why should I buy that guy a grape-flavored Fanta as a reward?

That guy didn't consider me a good friend at all, otherwise I would be the last one to know about such a big thing as going back to the United States. If I hadn't been there and happened to hear it, I don't know when he was going to tell me.

Before departure?

Or after arriving in the United States?

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. As a result, I found a bench and sat down with a big bag of drinks and a sullen look on my face.

Damn you, Ryoma! You didn't even tell me about such a big thing as going to America!

But then I thought, could it be because I have been busy studying and dating recently that I have neglected Ryoma Echizen?

As soon as this thought came to my mind, I immediately dismissed it. Although we don't often hang out together, we still keep in touch online. Besides... Echizen Ryoma is obviously very busy himself. Several times I asked him out, he was busy with training and couldn't make it...

You could just type a message on your phone and tell me...

Could it be that the friendship between us has faded without us noticing? !

In short, the more I thought about it, the sadder I became. It wasn't just that my eyes were red and sore; tears were welling up in my eyes and were about to fall at any second.

Then a soft, affectionate shudder—

"Are you stupid? Why are you walking away the more I call you?"

Echizen Ryoma's voice suddenly rang out from behind me, instantly bringing back my tears. Turning around, I saw him standing behind me, panting slightly. Seeing my red eyes, he looked a little bewildered.

I immediately reacted and said stubbornly, "I, I'm not crying! Don't get me wrong... It's just that the sun is too strong today, and I stood there for too long watching you guys play, so my eyes are a little uncomfortable..."

My voice became quieter and quieter, and finally it turned into a sentence -

"Anyway, Ryoma, you're an asshole!"

"?"

Echizen Ryoma frowned.

"Why am I an asshole?"

He looked at me, his amber eyes filled with clear doubt and stubbornness.

I stared back. If it were in the past, I would have said nothing, or vaguely turned the page with something else. But maybe it was because I had been speaking directly to Senior Fuji lately about my inner thoughts, so I actually asked for the first time.

"Ryoma, are you going back to America?"

There is a sense of getting to the bottom of things.

He nodded.

I pursed my lips, feeling my throat dry, and unconsciously tightened the bag in my hand. "So, when are you going to tell me, Ryoma? We're good friends, aren't we? Or is it that I'm just thinking this way, and you don't really consider me a good friend..."

Echizen Ryoma has always been a straight man, but when things have come to this, even if he is stupid, he understands that he is unhappy about this matter?

"I thought you were unhappy because I was leaving Japan. So it's because I didn't tell you?"

“....!”

I was stunned, directly,

"What nonsense are you talking about? It's a good thing that you're going to the United States to play professionally. Longma also wants to stand on the world stage. Now that you have such an opportunity, I am of course happy for you."

His mood seemed to improve all of a sudden. He picked up the bag I had placed on the bench and spotted the grape-flavored Fanta on the top, and picked it up.

"It's just that the letter from the American school happened to be seen by the seniors... I was planning to tell you the first thing as soon as I received the notice from the school."

"Pah—"

He deftly pulled the ring of the soda can, and the gas inside instantly burst out with a hissing sound.

The sour and swollen emotions in my heart seemed to dissipate into the air along with the gas.

Are you the first one to tell me?

It seems like I hold an important position in Ryoma's heart...

I immediately put on a smile and asked him with a triumphant look, "Tsk tsk, I was the first person you told... So after all, I am Ryoma's super important friend..."

Echizen Ryoma raised his head and took a sip of soda when he met the girl's bright eyes. The tips of his ears turned red in an unnatural way, so he reached out to press down his hat to cover up his unnatural feeling.

He turned around and beckoned her to leave, "Let's go, or the drinks will get hot... Didn't you say you bought these for the seniors?"

I immediately followed his footsteps and heard his muffled voice coming from the front.

"Anyway, you must come to watch my game at the national competition."

The national competition sounds impressive...it should be full of experts...

"Are you confident of winning?"

I paused and added,

"Don't let yourself be severely beaten, or I will record it and play it on repeat every year at your birthday party..."

“Madamadadane….”

Well, it's that familiar line again.

As expected of you, Echizen Ryoma.

but--

"Hmph, there's no problem going. You must win!"

*

When we returned to the court, everyone had changed and was sitting there chatting. Senior Kikumaru, with his sharp eyes, was the first to spot us. He stood up and waved at us, "Come on! I'm dying of thirst!"

As she spoke, she took the bag and said, "Wow, junior, you're so nice...these drinks are all very expensive!"

I was stunned and then I noticed that those drinks were indeed one of the more expensive items in that vending machine, and I rarely bought them myself.

Uh, I must have been thinking about something just now and didn’t notice the price issue... It’s all Ryoma Echizen’s fault!

I secretly felt bad for my wallet for a minute.

However, I deliberately picked up the bottle at the bottom, walked up to Senior Fuji, and handed it to him, "There happened to be only one bottle of Uji Matcha left in that vending machine, and I saved it for you to try! Senior, you haven't tried it yet!"

Fuji Shusuke lowered his eyes and took a look.

It was the only bottle of Uji Matcha in the vending machine, and it was her favorite sugar-free flavor.

To round it off, she gave him her favorite, and only, thing.

Just gave it to him.

This realization made him feel happy, especially when he noticed Echizen Ryoma's look of disinterest, almost as if showing off, as he raised his drink and nodded slightly at him with a smile.

Echizen Ryoma, who was inexplicably shown off: "......"

Senior in love, so childish.

*

In the final of the national competition, Qingxue won the championship with great difficulty. On the day of the competition, I also went to the scene to cheer them on.

As expected, after the national competition, Ryoma Echizen set out on his journey back to the United States alone.

But he and I have an agreement that when he starts his first professional game in his life, I will definitely go to the scene to cheer him on.

He also promised me that he would come back to Japan to visit me as soon as he has time. After all, Ryoma's parents are still in Japan, so I am not worried about this at all.

After he left, my life was still pretty much the same as before, but Senior Fuji and I seemed to have developed a strange tacit understanding, which was that we would have lunch together on the rooftop of the teaching building at noon.

Most of the time we bring lunch from home. Of course, even on days when we don’t bring lunch, we will just buy rice balls at the convenience store and go to the rooftop together.

Then I found that the post on the forum that said I was the king of volume had been updated.

[398th Floor: Shocking! I was planning to go to the rooftop to secretly smoke at noon, but I saw Curl King eating rice balls there, and third-year student Fuji Shusuke was right there with him! What's going on with them?! After they finished eating, one was working on math problems, and the other was working on English problems... Ugh, is my relationship over before it even began?]

[399th Floor: Tsk tsk tsk, secretly smoking, I'll report the above to the Discipline Committee later!]

[400th Floor: Wait, so this junior is actually a couple with third-year student Fuji? Damn!]

[401st floor: Correct answer, they've been together for a long time... A long time ago, I passed by a tennis court and saw a junior girl sitting on the edge, taking notes with a small notebook. It seemed like Fuji was the one playing on the court... Now that I think about it, they were together back then.]

[402F: I think I saw them on the rooftop too. They seem to be together every noon. I've seen them walking against the flow of people up to the rooftop several times...]

[403rd Floor: The third-grade building is the farthest away from the first-grade building, right? Running back and forth like this every day at noon, I can only say, senior, don't be too infatuated! However, if the target is a junior, then it's okay... Damn it, the hatred of stealing a wife is irreconcilable! (Not really)]

[404th Floor: I'm the only one focusing on this: they're not sleeping or talking about love in the middle of the day, but are instead studying with their books in hand? Is this the love story between a top student and a top student?]

[405th Floor: Agree with the above, this is my focus as well. What a magical couple, but it's normal. Fuji-senpai is a third-year student, so he must have a lot of pressure to get into college... Although he's always been called a genius, he's also very hardworking and self-disciplined...]

[406th Floor: It's probably what they say, that the superficial prosperity and peace are achieved through a lot of hard work and effort behind the scenes... But it's really hard to imagine what kind of connection they had with each other! Could they be childhood sweethearts?]

[407th Floor: Wow, those who are prettier than me are still curly, those who are smarter than me are still curly, this world of curly kings is really scary...]

......

I showed the discussion about the two of us on the forum to Senior Fuji.

"Congratulations, Zhou Zhu has also earned the title of 'King of Paperwork'... What should I do? Zhou Zhu, your image as a genius is about to be ruined. Everyone knows that you, who usually looks like a nonchalant and effortless academic master, are actually secretly studying to death and making others lose their minds..."

Of course, it’s true that the post said that Senior Fuji was looking at math problems, but in fact the math problems he was looking at were my problems... The truth is a little different from what was said in the post.

"The King of Rolls? That sounds quite interesting..."

He swiped the screen quickly, taking in the discussion content at a glance, and finally fixed his eyes on one of them. He smiled more and more triumphantly, his eyes sparkling.

"They've even given us a nickname here... 'The Curly Couple'~"

I was stunned, looking at the phone screen he handed back. It was the first floor that had just been refreshed recently.

[587th Floor: I declare that today I'm completely hooked on the "Curly King" couple! Woohoo, pretty sweet girl x gentle senior, I really love them! I unilaterally declare that this is my role model for future studies, career, and love!]

I looked at the screen, but for no reason I could feel Senior Fuji's gaze focused on my face, as if an invisible hand was gently brushing my cheek.

Instant redness and heat.

I reacted as if I had been electrocuted, and almost panickedly turned off the phone screen. In a suppressed and calm tone, I said, "Oh, that's a really interesting title..."

Then he picked up his notebook and said seriously, "It's time to start studying! Stop looking at your phone!"

I held up the notebook, straightened my back, and looked like I was reading seriously, but in fact I was trying to use the notebook to block his sight.

After a moment, he chuckled and spoke.

"Nana, you're holding the notebook upside down."

"...I didn't hold it upside down! It's you, Zhou Zhu, who doesn't understand. I was deliberately training my ability to recite it backwards!"

My movements froze, and I continued to speak stubbornly.

Why do I feel like Fuji-senpai's eyes are always sticky lately...

Is it my illusion?