Chapter 27: Noise

Fengjian didn't know when the boys came back last night, but it was an indisputable fact that she could hardly lift her right hand the next day.

However, her cold miraculously improved. Although her nose was still red, at least her throat didn't hurt anymore. In Taocheng's words, "Anyone who has a cold that never gets better is a fool."

Fengjian was sitting at the sidelines, chewing on the end of a pen to digest the tennis theory that Atobe had taught her last night. Suddenly, someone poked her in the lower back. She turned her head and saw Gen approaching her in a white sports skirt. He sat down next to her with a meaningful smile on his face. "I heard about that."

Feng Jian retracted his gaze and continued to ponder, "What did you hear?"

"Well..." Yuan deliberately kept the question in suspense, dragging out the last syllable, "I heard that our recorder Kazama stayed with Hyotei's Atobe all night last night."

Feng Jian couldn't help but roll his eyes. It must have been those people who watched the fun last night who said, "What a bunch of gossipy boys..."

"Hey, Kazama, tell me, what is your relationship with Hyotei's Atobe?"

“The customer is king, that’s the relationship.”

Gen nudged Fukama's waist with his elbow, causing the notebook to slide down halfway, revealing a sticky note with a formula written on it - the handwriting was in a flamboyant style, with a small cross at the end that looked disdainful.

"Really?" she drawled, her eyes fixed on the little cross. "Does God draw a little cross on his customers?"

Fengjian closed the notebook and added: "...He is impatient."

"I don't want to hear that. You don't have any other feelings for him at all? I think Atobe treats you differently than he treats others."

"It's different," Feng Jian snorted twice, "His mouth is like a bee sting, very poisonous, and he used all his poison on me."

Yuan burst into laughter at Fengjian's vivid metaphor, and fell on her side with tears in his eyes. "April, don't you know that most teenage boys like to tease the girls they like? Maybe this is why he is so special to you."

Feng Jian rolled his eyes. "I'm not a masochist. I don't have this narcissistic feeling of thinking someone likes me even when I'm being scolded. Besides, I think liking someone should be treated with care, like a treasure, caring about every detail about them..."

As he spoke, Tezuka's face with pursed lips and a faint smile suddenly flashed through his mind. Kazama's throat tightened, and the remaining half of the words got stuck on the tip of his tongue, and his fingertips stiffened slightly.

Why did she suddenly think of Minister Tezuka?

"What's wrong?" Yuan leaned over curiously.

Fengjian turned his face away, "Nothing."

"Hey—" The Source Monster raised his voice with a smile, "You seemed to be blushing just now."

"You're mistaken," Fengjian turned around, his face had returned to calm. He caught a glimpse of Inui Sadaharu standing in the distance and teased, "Chiba, you said that adolescent boys like to tease the girls they like. Does that mean girls are the same? I remember you seemed to like teasing Inui, sob..."

Of course, Yuan quickly covered up the rest of the words before the others looked over.

Facing the threatening gaze that clearly said "I'll kill you on the spot if you dare to tell anyone", Fengjian finally gave in.

Just as she was retaliating by pinning him down, the referee's call suddenly rang out, signaling the start of the practice match. Yuan had already disappeared from the match's opening bell.

The first round was a fight that took everyone by surprise:

Kikumaru vs Kachichi.

"A power type versus an agility type, what an unexpected combination." A lazy and casual Kansai accent came from the side. Fengtou turned around and met Inuzuka's gaze, who nodded slightly at him.

Yuushi Oshitari - Hyotei's strategist, a genius on par with Senior Fuji, who also replicated the 'Brown Bear Captured' trick in the last Kanto Tournament.

"Ms. Kazama is really nice to you guys from Seigaku."

Following the other person's gaze, Fengjian lowered his head and noticed that he had seen the data recorded in his notebook, and his face turned slightly pale.

"Sorry, I accidentally saw it, but I don't mind." Oshitari shrugged and continued watching the game on the field.

"But Hyotei's people won't fall behind."

Said the same thing as Atobe.

Feng Jian nodded in response.

The ball was moving faster and faster, and Kikumaru's burgundy hair was almost a shadow. Having his special move imitated by his opponent, Kikumaru was clearly caught off guard.

"No way, such a bulky body can actually fly..."

"Those who underestimate us will suffer great losses."

Fengjian suddenly discovered that every time before Karaichi jumped, the fingers of his left hand would curl up unconsciously, exactly the same as the small movements Kikumaru made when moving his body.

She paused with her pen: This is not imitation, it is engraving the opponent's habits into one's own movements.

"Hawachi has nothing to do with Benzhong. That guy has a very strong learning ability. I heard from Chotaro that he has always been in the top few places in the school. After all, he is Xiaojing's childhood sweetheart."

"Little... Jing"

Oshitari smiled and explained: "He is the most gorgeous minister of our Hyotei..."

Almost at the moment he finished the last word, Atobe's lazy voice interrupted, "If you hear me call me by such an unglamorous name again, I will circle the mountain twenty times, Oshitari."

Oshitari's smile grew, "Well, what a cute name."

Kazama turned around and saw Atobe sitting with his legs crossed only a meter behind them. The golden sun seats made the sunlight in this area quite dazzling.

She glanced at the large open space next to them and really didn't understand why the other party had to sit behind them.

"Put away that unglamorous expression on your face. I don't need to ask anyone's opinion on where I want to sit."

Fengjian rubbed his nose. When his thoughts were seen through by others, he had to turn around silently and continue to stare at the game on the field.

Oshitari held his chin with both hands, looked at Kazama, then at Atobe, shrugged his shoulders, smiled and said nothing.

Although the match between Kikumaru and Kabaji was over and the next match was between Inui-senpai and Hiyoshi Wakaba, she was still staring at the sketch she had just drawn in a daze.

She recalled the scene during Kikumaru's game just now: no matter which way he moved, the tassels at the end of his shoelaces would usually swing to the opposite side.

They always said that Kikumaru's 'dance steps' were hard to predict, but she suddenly noticed that every time Kikumaru crossed his steps, the tassels at the end of his shoelaces would swing to the right.

Without exception.

Atobe once said that a person's subtle body language can become a weakness that others can exploit. On the other hand, can this be used as bait?

Oshitari looked at the girl in front of him in surprise. The girl was beaten to a pulp by Atobe one second, and the next second she became excited as if she had been injected with chicken blood.

Girls are really unpredictable creatures.

Yuan, who had been leisurely wandering off in the previous game, suddenly appeared on the sidelines when senior Gan was leaving the stage. He was fighting with Taocheng who was making trouble nearby. Gan stood in the middle and silently wiped his sweat with the towel that the girl had just given him.

“Data tennis is so annoying.”

The boy's slightly deep voice was followed by another, noticeably lighter voice, "Hiyoshi, the match is taking longer than before! It's too slow!"

"Senior Xiangri, you really are talking without any pain in your back."

"That's lame!"

"Shishido-senpai, it's not nice to say that..."

"Well, Yuushi, the next match is yours," Hibiki patted his partner's shoulder and winked at him mischievously. "In this battle of two geniuses against Seigaku Fuji Shusuke, don't disgrace the title of Hyotei's military strategist."

Oshitari stood up and walked towards the field, "It's a good opportunity to see the abilities of the Seigaku genius."

"I'm looking forward to it too," Senior Fuji put his racket behind his back and showed a pure and harmless smile.

Just when the atmosphere on the field was tense, Fuji suddenly turned around and looked at Kazama's position, still smiling, with a puzzled look on his face, "Kazama, although you are sitting in Hyotei's field, I still hope you can cheer for Seigaku."

"Ah!" Caught off guard and becoming the focus of the whole audience, Fengjian looked up with a bewildered look, until Mukai Taketo's voice came, "Could it be that you deliberately sneaked into our Hyotei to get information?"

"It's not nice to say that to Munari-senpai..."

Kazama looked down, the first thing he saw was a sea of ​​gray-purple uniforms, the edges of Hyotei's uniforms gleaming in the setting sun. Looking up again, he was face to face with Atobe, whose chin was half-raised, spinning a tennis ball between his fingers, its shadow falling precisely on the formula in her notebook. Karaichi stood behind him, his shadow like a silent stone, pressing a dark patch into the ground. The Hyotei uniforms by the fence formed an impenetrable dark blue circle.

Excuse me, has she disturbed the Ice Emperor's nest?

Fengjian stood up quickly and was about to move when he suddenly heard a light "ah" from behind him.

It was Atobe's voice.

Her back stiffened, and as she slowly sat back down, she felt the gazes of everyone in the Ice Emperor falling on her back like searchlights.

She raised her hand and said to Fuji on the field:

"Fuji-senpai, I think I can cheer for both Seigaku and Hyotei."

In fact, he was in Cao's camp but his heart was with Han.

Someone in the crowd burst out laughing. Fuji was stunned for a few seconds before nodding in agreement in a serious tone.

"That's fine too."

For the rest of the match, Kazama felt like a grasshopper nailed to a bench. The gazes from Seigaku were hotter than the midday summer sun. Hyotei's side was even more lively, with Hibiki swarming around him like a fluttering bee, muttering from time to time, "Yushi is our Hyotei genius. You won't be able to collect his data so easily," or "Your line is so ugly! It's not the way it should be drawn."

Feng Jian couldn't stand it any longer, "Xiangri-kun, have you ever studied with Sister Ling? Aren't you tired of talking so much?"

"Who is Sister Ling? What kind of further studies are you doing?"

"What I mean is that you are too long-winded, Senior." Hiyoshi explained very "kindly", but was immediately interrupted by Hiyoshi's gruff voice, "What! Hiyoshi, are you deliberately disrespecting your senior?"

"No, I didn't. This was what the lady meant." Hiyoshi quickly distanced himself from the matter.

"That's enough," Atobe said calmly, half supporting his chin and glancing at the boy who had fallen silent. "Gakuto, you're too noisy."

"Stop talking nonsense, Atobe." Although he said this, the boy's tone was obviously much softer.

Fengjian's ears were finally quiet, and the game on the field had entered a fierce stage.

As dusk engulfed the earth, Fengjian stared at the last ball hitting the ground. The low chirping of tired birds mixed with cheers made her feel that there was an indescribable tenderness hidden in this bustle.