On the eve of Chapter 110

Rukawa Kaede's basketball suddenly spun faster, his eyes indifferent: "Not interested."

Holzer paused slightly, a hint of surprise flashing across his face, before falling silent for a moment.

He spread his hands and advised, "You're still young, and the future holds endless possibilities. You'll meet many more people, see a wider world, and have more choices. And she won't be your only one!"

Rukawa Kaede swiftly caught the ball, his eyes filled with impatience, and his tone turned cold: "You're wrong, I won't have any other choice."

He has found what his heart desires.

Holzer frowned, disapprovingly saying, "Are you sure? You really want the beauty but not the throne? Listen, if you come to America with me, I can provide you with countless resources. Your basketball career will be a breeze, smooth sailing all the way!"

Rukawa Kaede approached Holzer step by step, his eyes sharp: "You're in my way."

Holzer instinctively moved aside, making way for him.

He heard it; the genius boy behind him spoke slowly in a clear yet firm voice—

"My beauty possesses an entire empire!"

Holzer was shocked!

He had initially thought that Rukawa Kaede held the dominant position between them. But only now did he realize that the one who could truly influence the course of their relationship was Kanon.

***

When Rukawa returned to the gymnasium, the sound of Mitsui instructing him on shooting echoed inside, while Miyagi was patting his knee and demonstrating a defensive slide not far away.

On the rubber floor soaked with sweat, the team members' panting sounds rose and fell.

Sakuragi suddenly cut in from behind the equipment rack, his sneakers screeching on the floor.

He put one hand on his hip and blocked the way with the other.

"Hey..." The other person's deliberately lowered voice held a hint of anger, and their large eyes glanced sideways at Rukawa Kaede, "Fox."

As Rukawa Kaede stopped and tilted his head slightly, his eyelashes cast a fan-shaped shadow under his eyes, and the back of his neck was gilded by the sunlight.

“That old American man…” Sakuragi suddenly took a half-step closer, “Is he trying to trick you into going to America?”

Rukawa Kaede: "Mm."

The air suddenly froze, and the sound of a basketball swishing through the net came from afar.

Sakuragi clutched his jersey, his knuckles turning white: "You...you didn't agree, right???"

Rukawa Kaede slapped away his enlarged face, "Idiot, get out of the way."

"You filthy fox! You dare go with him and see what happens!" Sakuragi grabbed his collar. "Tomorrow I'll introduce my sister to ten—no, twenty muscular men! From Tokyo University of Physical Education, from Kaichang University, the strongest in all of Japan—"

Before he could finish speaking, Rukawa grabbed Sakuragi's wrist with his other hand.

From the shadows, the fox-like eyes that had been raised were terrifyingly dark, and a dangerous curve appeared at the corner of his eye: "Say that again?!"

The equipment rack was suddenly hit and made a loud crash!

Just as Kanon and Ayako approached the stadium, Mitsui's furious roar pierced the air—

"You two over there! If you want to fight, get outside and fight!"

Hanon subconsciously raised her hand and tapped the tip of her nose with her index finger.

She suspected... Rukawa Kaede's overnight absence had been discovered!

"I don't know what they're up to now. These guys are such a handful!" Ayako's veins were bulging.

Hanon linked arms with her, her eyes darting around, avoiding Ayako's gaze. "Let's go take a look first."

The two quickened their pace and entered the stadium.

"Aya—" Miyagi sprang from a corner, knelt on one knee, and handed Aya a bottle of Pocari Sweat: "Please accept this offering of love!!"

Ayako used her clipboard to block the oncoming figure: "What the hell..."

Inside the stadium, a dull thud suddenly came from the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground.

Hana's heart tightened, and she looked in the direction from which the sound came.

"The teaching assistant is here!"

The posture of the monkey and fox locking each other's throats was paused.

Hana blinked and beckoned to the two of them.

Sakuragi immediately hooked his arm around Rukawa's neck, his face full of "concern": "Hey~ you stinky fox... Rukawa, don't be afraid, with me, the genius Sakuragi, here, no one can bully you anymore!"

Rukawa Kaede slapped away the hand that was resting on his shoulder and said coldly, "Shut up! Idiot!!"

Hanon raised an eyebrow, watching the two perform quietly, a hint of a smile in her eyes.

Sakuragi grinned, putting on a great show: "Sis! This fox's been bullied! Look at this handprint—"

He forcefully turned Rukawa Kaede's jaw and pressed his thumb heavily on the swollen area.

Rukawa Kaede raised his foot and kicked him hard in the shin: "Go to hell!!"

Hanon couldn't bear to look, and for a moment she didn't know who to feel sorry for.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! This genius is here to get justice for you!" Sakuragi hopped on one foot, winking at Kanon as he said, "Sis! Don't worry, this genius will protect him!! Who was that blind fool who slapped me?!"

Hanon felt a little awkward: "...I did it."

"I, Sakuragi, will definitely settle this score with him!"

The air froze for two seconds.

Sakuragi froze, standing in a one-legged stance, petrified. "What?!"

Hanon nodded: "I did it."

The Xiangbei team shrank back, not daring to utter a sound.

"Sis, you..." Sakuragi drew an arc of electricity between their fingers, "You took a taxi?"

Hanon readily agreed: "Yes~"

Sakuragi mechanically turned her head to look at Rukawa's icy profile, then looked back at her older sister.

Suddenly, Sakuragi pounced on Kanon's feet, hugging her leg: "Sis~ Leave the rough work of hitting people to this genius! And... if you hit him, you can't hit me, okay?! Hehehe~"

Huayin holds her forehead:...

Rukawa Kaede expressionlessly lifted Sakuragi away.

Snap!

Ayako pulled out a paper fan and tapped Sakuragi on the back of the head: "Go to kindergarten if you want to act cute!"

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" Sakuragi clutched his head and scurried behind Kogure.

Rukawa Kaede puffed out his chubby cheeks, his eyes darting around, avoiding Ayako's gaze.

"What did you say??" Ayako slapped him again with her backhand!

Rukawa Kaede tried to dodge, but Miyagi grabbed his hem, stopping him in his tracks.

Snap!

Rukawa Kaede clutched his head and quickly moved behind Kanon: "...!!"

He didn't say anything!

Hanon acted as if nothing was wrong, looking around but not glancing in Rukawa's direction.

Snap!

The dull thud of the fan colliding with the skull.

"Aya~ Why are you hitting me too!" Miyagi covered her head and jumped onto the referee's chair. "I'm the most obedient one!"

Ayako raised an eyebrow and said irritably, "You're just joining in the commotion!"

Mitsui silently balanced the basketball on his head as a makeshift shield, muttering, "Akagi, I suddenly miss Haruko so much..."

Akagi:……

"Stop!" Hanon clapped her hands twice, and the gymnasium instantly fell silent. "We're about to enter the national tournament, so the most important thing right now is to stay united and train hard. And—"

"This afternoon, Changcheng High School will be training with us."

The Shohoku fans exclaimed in surprise, "What?!"

Mitsui casually tugged at the hem of his shirt to wipe his sweat, and asked in confusion, "Didn't they just say last week that the Shizuoka training camp was canceled?"

"Their coach has already brought the whole team here by Shinkansen."

Hanon tapped the tactics board with her pencil, a sly smile on her face: "Such a good free sparring partner, why not take it?"

Originally, Changcheng High School invited Shohoku to train in Shizuoka, but Hanon declined after weighing the pros and cons, taking into account Coach Anzai's physical condition.

Unexpectedly, Changcheng High School showed great sincerity and took the initiative to propose to train with Xiangbei!

The other coach was Coach Anzai's junior, and with the added benefit of free sparring, Hanon readily agreed. After discussing it with Coach Anzai, they quickly finalized the plan.

Ayako, full of fighting spirit, shouted loudly, "Listen up! We absolutely cannot lose face in front of the people from Changcheng High School! If anyone acts recklessly in front of the guests... Humph!"

As he spoke, he twisted the paper fan in his hand forcefully, his eyes glancing intentionally or unintentionally toward Rukawa and Sakuragi.

Ayako: "Now, everyone go and mop the floor! Prepare for this afternoon. If it's not clean, everyone will have to practice for three extra hours tonight!"

The Shohoku team shouted in response, "Hai!!!"

Sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows, casting dappled patterns of light across the stadium.

The silhouettes of the boys wiping the floor with their butts sticking out were projected onto the wall. Sakuragi's groans, mixed with the muffled thud of Rukawa kicking his butt, startled the flock of sparrows peeking in from outside the window.

At 3 p.m., a white bus, kicking up dust, stopped in front of the Xiangbei Gymnasium.

The Changcheng High School team members strode confidently into the Xiangbei Gymnasium.

Before the head coach could speak, captain Mikoshiba crossed his arms, glanced sideways at Sakuragi's red hair, and whistled: "I heard you beat Hainan because the referees threw the game? The Kanagawa champions are nothing but—"

Sakuragi clenched his fists, making a loud cracking sound: "What did you say, you spiky-haired rascal? This genius can send you all flying back to Shizuoka right now!"

On the sidelines, Rukawa Kaede looked up from the water dispenser, his cold gaze sweeping over Chang Cheng and the others.

Mitsui scoffed and tossed the towel over his shoulder.

"You could grow radishes in these cracks in the floor, right?" Chang Cheng, a player, rubbed his sneakers against the cracks in the floor.

Miyagi suppressed the angry red-haired monkey, raised an eyebrow and sneered: "The carrots that grow in the cracks of the floor are only for feeding rabbits who love to talk big."

The atmosphere in the stadium was tense.

Coach Chang Cheng coughed anxiously, "Mikoshiba! Mind your manners!"

After saying that, he quickly turned to Coach Anzai and bowed respectfully: "Senior, the children are young and impetuous..."

Coach Anzai chuckled: "It's alright, young people should have fighting spirit... What do you think, Kanon?"

All eyes immediately turned to the girl recording data on the sidelines.

The tactical board snapped shut.

"Chang Cheng's defensive strategy is indeed worth learning from."

As soon as the gentle voice faded, one of Chang Cheng's members sneered, "Now you're trying to flatter us? Last year, we made it into the national top eight thanks to our joint defense!"

Rukawa's expression turned several degrees colder. He subtly adjusted the position of his wristband and was about to step forward when his wrist was grabbed.

Rukawa Kaede looked down and saw the four-leaf clover bracelet he had given Hana on her wrist, which shimmered with tiny lights.

The chilling aura vanished instantly.

Kanon held up the data book: "However, Mikoshiba-kun, in the last game against Changcheng High School, the turnover rate in the fourth quarter was 38%. Was it due to stamina management issues?"

The Changcheng team members, who had been laughing and joking just moments before, were all stunned.

Mikoshiba's face flushed as he recalled that humiliating fourth quarter.

Hanon turned around, looked at Coach Changcheng, and smiled slightly: "Want to try out Shohoku's newly developed strategy for breaking the zone defense?"

Shohoku's ace has picked up the basketball and is heading towards the center line.

The other team members followed in silence.

And so the first match between the two teams began.

Coach Chang Cheng's hands, gripping the railing, were bulging with veins—