Chapter 34 Sweet Palace

Seeing this, Kanon and Ayako laughed so hard they almost fell over, tears streaming down their faces.

Rukawa Kaede's expression is always serious and cold. Now, in order to maintain his cool guy persona, he waves his hand in a zigzag pattern to touch the back of his head, which gives people a super funny yet adorable feeling.

Rukawa Kaede, his chubby cheeks puffed out, kept his gaze fixed on the ground floor until Kanon's figure completely disappeared from sight.

She's smiling very happily.

The sun shines brightly and is full of energy, seemingly never tiring.

Rukawa Kaede continued to rest his chin on his hand, lost in thought, his face radiating a good mood that was obvious to everyone else.

He was also surprised that he woke up right after the first class.

Because deep in her mind she remembered her lunch promise with Kanon, she was jolted awake from her dream as soon as the bell rang.

It inexplicably makes me look forward to it.

As he was thinking, Rukawa Kaede yawned, lay down on the table to catch up on sleep, and his gaze was directed at Ishii.

He saw Ishii carrying a small bag of snacks and talking to the person next to him.

The person exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, Ishii, you've maintained the habit of carrying snacks with you every day since the start of the semester! That's amazing!"

Ishii scratched his head sheepishly: "I bought this for my girlfriend. She doesn't like to eat breakfast, so I prepare some snacks for her every day and make sure she eats them, otherwise she'll go hungry."

The man laughed, "I didn't expect Ishii to be such a devoted boyfriend... That's really great!"

People around them chimed in, "Otherwise, how could Ishii's girlfriend have been dating him since junior high school?"

Then everyone started discussing matters related to relationships.

How boring.

If this happens, Rukawa Kaede has only one attitude: whether she eats it or not, is it necessary to feed it to her every day and coax her to eat a few bites?

That's an idiotic thing to do.

That girl was also an idiot. She needed someone else to supervise her when it was her own business. This is a sign of weakness and a lack of self-management skills.

Rukawa Kaede wasn't interested in listening; he closed his eyes expressionlessly.

The girls in Class 10 of Grade 1 started whispering among themselves.

"Hey, that eternal Sleeping Beauty is awake! He usually stays awake until lunchtime!"

"I just noticed that he was greeting a second-year student, and he looked really happy!"

"What?! This is so strange. Doesn't he always avoid girls?"

"Don't even mention girls, he hardly pays any attention to boys either!"

"That's right, he only pays attention to the basketball team members. As long as they are in the basketball team, it doesn't matter whether they are male or female."

"Well, I'm so envious of them. I want to join the basketball team too."

"Huff...huff...huff..." A soft snoring sound rang out.

The boy, who was just lost in his own world, drifted off to sleep again in the blink of an eye.

The girls looked at each other in silence, their minds filled with all sorts of speculations, roaring like madmen.

Unable to resist, they eventually started discussing it again:

"His behavior today is really puzzling... Could it be that he woke up to say hello to his senior?"

"That's absolutely impossible! He couldn't possibly have predicted that the senior would be passing by downstairs!"

"That's true... So what exactly is he doing?!"

The boy next to them, who had been eavesdropping for a while, couldn't help but chime in: "Hey, you girls seem to be overthinking things. What exactly did Rukawa do? Why are you all so quick to guess what he's thinking?"

"What's it to you?"

"Yeah, it's none of your business!"

Because Rukawa Kaede was unexpectedly awakened, the classroom descended into chaos, with the boys arguing with Rukawa Kaede in a noisy and chaotic manner, even more so than at a competition.

Ishii glanced at the furious Rukawa and couldn't help but shudder—

If Rukawa Kaede were to fall in love, he might end up fighting with the girl! What would happen then? That's terrifying!

No matter what others said, Rukawa Kaede didn't care; his mind was already blank, and he was already practicing basketball in his dreams.

Ayako and her companion encountered Miyagi and Mitsui at the entrance of the building.

"Ryota, senior, where are you going?"

"Aya~ What a coincidence, hehehe, isn't the next class PE? Mitsui and I are planning to practice ball."

Miyagi touched his head shyly.

After taking a sip of her iced drink, Ayako looked up at Mitsui, puzzled, "Our class has PE, does that apply to you too, senpai?"

Mitsui smiled brightly, with a hint of pride: "Well, chemistry is my strong suit! So, the chemistry teacher will allow me to skip class and play ball next period."

Kanon was quick to respond, sincerely exclaiming, "Wow—senpai is amazing!"

It's amazing that someone who has been a delinquent can still maintain their pure heart and even keep up with their grades!

Mitsui seemed quite proud of Kanon, who deeply admired him. He waved his hand and said, "Well, it's nothing~ If you encounter any problems you don't understand, you can come and ask your senior for help!"

"Yeah, yeah! It's not that I didn't notice, senior, you play badly and your results are pretty good too!"

"Hahaha... Thank goodness!"

Ayako and Miyagi looked at Kanon speechlessly. Once this girl leaves the court, her IQ drops drastically, and she believes whatever others say!

Ayako couldn't stand Mitsui's smug and arrogant look, so she whispered in Kanon's ear, "Out of seven subjects, only chemistry barely passed!"

"Cough cough cough...!"

Hanon was shocked. The drink she had just drunk choked her airway, causing her to cough violently, and then her face flushed.

"...Are you alright, Oto-chan?" Ayako asked, speechless, and gently patted her back.

Hua Yin calmed down and shook her head to indicate that she was fine.

Seeing that she was alright, Mitsui breathed a sigh of relief, then boasted about his achievements: "Well, there's no need to idolize you so much, senpai, otherwise you'd really be NiO+H2=Ni+H2O!"

Upon hearing his words, Hanon's reaction was to cough violently again, as if she had been strongly agitated.

Ayako and Miyagi looked confused: "What do you mean?"

Hua Yin explained in a hoarse voice, "The chemical formula for nickel."

Mitsui smirked, hands on his hips, and said smugly, "Ah, it seems my junior really understands me!"

Ayako and Miyagi: "What does 'chemical formula' mean?"

Hanon said expressionlessly, "It means—making nickel."

Ayako and Miyagi fell into a brief silence, then couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing: "Pfft—"

Confused, Mitsui asked, "What's so funny about this?"

Ayako laughed so hard she bent over: "Ah—it really is hilarious."

Hanon couldn't help but laugh loudly along with them.

Failing six out of seven subjects, yet shamelessly boasting about the one he barely passed—isn't that just bragging?

However, they dared not tell the truth, otherwise their arrogant and complacent seniors would surely fly into a rage.

"Ah Cai, did you guys buy the new drinks?"

When Miyagi saw the drink in Ayako's hand, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

This new drink has recently become very popular on campus.

However, Miyagi, a fashionista, only learned of this at the time, causing him to miss a great opportunity to win Ayako's favor!

"Yeah, it's pretty good. Do you want to try it?"

Ayako asked politely, then held up her drink and offered it to him.

Miyagi's eyes lit up. She took two steps forward, lowered her head, bit the straw, took a sip of the cool drink, and smiled happily: "It's really delicious—very sweet!"

He still managed to indirectly kiss Aya-chan, hehe...

Ayako stood there dumbfounded, at a loss for what to do.

Hana's eyes lit up, and she exclaimed "Wow!"

I'm blown away!

Mitsui was vomiting terribly: ...This kid's had another attack! He's really making nickel!

Ayako realized what was happening and roared, "Miyagi, Ryota!"

Before he could get beaten up, Miyagi dragged Mitsui away with lightning speed, his excited voice fading into the distance:

"Thank you, A-Cai! This is the most delicious drink I've ever had in my life!"

"That kid! I'm not letting him get away with this during club activities!"

Ayako muttered to herself, then looked stiffly at Kanon: "...Why are you looking at me like that!"

"Aya-chan~ Your face is so red, it's so cute."

"Oh dear~ Even you, such a slowpoke, are making fun of me! That's so mean!"

"I'm not making fun of you, you're super sweet!"

"What?"

"You and Miyagi are so sweet together."

"Hey! Do you even know what sweetness is? Don't talk nonsense..."

"Yes, yes, I was just talking nonsense, so please, could you stop blushing so much? I'm afraid my pretty face will get burned..."

As she spoke, Hanon pressed the iced drink against her face, teasing, "Will this make you feel better?"

Ayako instantly lost her temper and chased after her playfully without saying a word.

The two girls' cheerful, bell-like laughter echoed down the corridor, making the vibrant campus even more dazzling.

The scorching sun beat down on the campus.

The Xiangbei team members gathered in the basketball gym, running and fighting desperately, their blood boiling with the sweat of their hard work.

After a round of tactical training, Huayin, the water delivery worker, came online again, pushing her cart toward the boys surrounding Coach Anzai. As she got closer, waves of steaming heat wafted over her.

Hua Yin handed over bottles of water one by one, her eyes crinkling with a smile: "Thank you for your hard work."

"Thank you, teaching assistant."

"Thank you, senior."

The Shohoku team members replenished their fluids while reflecting on their experiences.

Since the arrival of assistant coach Hanon, the Shohoku basketball team has been completely transformed.

The high-intensity training is very tough, but everyone gains more from the practice. She treats all players equally, whether they are starters or substitutes.

Even if every cell in your body screams for a strike after training every day, the thought of enjoying delicious food and receiving gentle encouragement makes everyone love it even more and persevere without even realizing it!

Hanon came to Rukawa's side, where he obediently put his hands behind his back, looked down at the tactics board, and listened attentively to Coach Anzai's explanation.

When I took the water, I only glanced at her casually; I probably didn't see her clearly.

My calloused hand rested on hers.

Rukawa Kaede had just finished training, and his hands were still burning hot.

In an instant, a heat ignited in Hanon's hands, quickly spreading throughout her body.

Rukawa Kaede noticed a soft warmth that was different from his own, and turned to look at her.