examine
The snow shows no signs of stopping.
While the logistics team was arranging the athletes' accommodations, Hezou followed Professor Antberg and had a brief meeting with the coaching staff and other support teams.
As an international-level competition, the Davis Cup training camp has a very complete setup, including a coaching team, a digital technology team, a logistics team, and a medical team formed through a German-Japanese collaboration. The personnel configuration can be described as luxurious.
Among them were Yagyu Hiroshi and Shinobu Yuushi, who came with their mentors as part of the medical team, and Yanagi Renji and Miki Sadaharu, who were selected to provide data analysis support.
Although they love tennis, the path to becoming a professional tennis player is not everyone's dream.
On stage, information about the trainees for this training camp was being introduced. He Zou sat behind Professor Antberg, occasionally glancing down at his tablet to take notes.
Finally, we'll introduce the resume of Kunimitsu Tezuka, who was selected as the team captain for this Davis Cup.
He has won one heavyweight professional championship title after another, only lacking a Grand Slam title. But he is only twenty years old. At this rate, a Grand Slam title is just around the corner.
Kunimitsu Tezuka's tennis career can be described as "brilliant".
He stopped taking notes and looked up at the enlarged photograph.
The simple ID photo, in its two-dimensional plane, did not diminish his profound features in the slightest. His facial lines were clear and sharp, his nose was high and straight, and his whole being exuded a fortitude beyond his years. The calm and composure surrounding him made him look like a born leader.
Both his achievements and his personality make him a very convincing choice for captain.
At this moment, his cold and handsome face still wore an unsmiling expression, and his upright and clear gaze seemed to be looking directly at himself through the screen.
After looking at the photo for a while, Kazusa seemed to remember something, and looked down at the four characters "Tezuka Kunimitsu" that she had written, and chuckled softly.
Sitting next to her, Yagyu Hiroshi glanced at her, his thoughtful expression hidden behind his reflective oval glasses.
After the meeting, He Zou put away the materials and then followed the professor to meet someone else.
When Kerber, who was waiting in the small reception room, saw the two, he stood up and extended his hand: "Hello, Professor Antberg." He then nodded to Kazusa, who was following behind the professor.
Her mature and composed demeanor was completely different from her impulsive behavior in front of Tezuka. With limited time, she stated her purpose directly with a serious expression: "Kunimitsu has an old injury, and I hope Professor Antberg will not reveal his injury during this training camp."
This requirement is easy to understand, as the physical condition of professional athletes is confidential, especially injuries.
Antberg is not only the group leader of the German-Japanese collaboration project for the Davis Cup, but also the project leader of the Neuroscience Laboratory at Heidelberg University. Tezuka is his experimental patient, and Antberg will conduct continuous and in-depth follow-up examinations on Tezuka's health condition individually.
Kobel's concerns are not unfounded, given the overlap in the data between the two projects.
However, protecting patient privacy is a matter of course, and Antberg has already made arrangements. He promised, "Coach Kerber, please rest assured that in addition to the daily training progress report to the coaching staff, we will arrange for someone to be responsible for Tezuka-kun's check-up after each training session to ensure his physical condition." As he spoke, he introduced Kazuna beside him to Kerber, "This is my student, and she will be responsible for Tezuka's data monitoring reports from now on."
With a slight smile, Kazuna nodded to Kerber, who was looking at her: "Hello Coach Kerber, I am Kazuna Yagyu. You can call me Melodia."
Her smile was polite, but she looked so young that Kerber couldn't help but have some doubts. Medical students don't have the qualifications to practice medicine independently yet, but since she was Antberg's student, there shouldn't be any problems, right?
"Let's find an opportunity to observe."
This "opportunity" came very quickly.
Before the training camp officially begins, a basic health check and assessment of the trainees is required in order to accurately plan the training.
The medical team was divided into three groups, with He Zou serving as Professor Antberg's medical assistant, assisting him from the sidelines.
The makeshift medical room was filled with the smell of disinfectant and newly opened medical equipment.
After Yukimura left with a frown, Tezuka, who was waiting at the back, pushed open the door and came in, and immediately saw Kazusa.
She wore a slightly oversized white lab coat, which made her look rather slender. Her long purple hair was neatly tied up with a black hairband, revealing her smooth forehead and profile.
At that moment, she was standing beside the sharp-eyed Professor Antenberg, head down, recording data. Professor Antenberg nodded occasionally, seemingly pleased with his student's humble and diligent attitude.
Upon seeing Tezuka enter, Professor Antberg's somewhat serious face broke into a smile. He waved to Tezuka and pointed to the stool opposite him: "Kunimitsu, sit here."
The professor also plays tennis regularly, and he knows this student, a world-class tennis player, very well and likes him from the bottom of his heart.
"Yes, Professor." Tezuka sat down properly as instructed, his gaze unexpectedly meeting that of Wazō, who was looking up from between his pen and paper.
Tezuka remained calm and gave her a barely perceptible nod, while Kanade smiled slightly.
Professor Antberg was still looking through Tezuka's previous materials, unaware that two students beside him had already reached some kind of secret exchange.
After confirming the information, the professor got up and went over to ask, "Has the training intensity decreased recently? Do you feel any abnormalities in your shoulder?" As he spoke, he professionally examined Tezuka's left shoulder range of motion.
Tezuka lowered his eyes and answered honestly, "Just like before, it aches occasionally."
His voice was steady, yet subtly conveyed a hint of stubbornness.
Sure enough, the professor got angry as soon as he heard this: "I told you last time that if you continue to disregard medical advice, you'll run into problems sooner or later. Your career has only just begun."
"……Feel sorry."
He diligently recorded the data the professor uttered, without looking up, so it was impossible to see what kind of expression he had when he said those words, but it must have seemed somewhat stubborn because of his determination.
The air was somewhat quiet.
Aside from reporting the examination results and recording the findings, Antberg didn't say much.
After completing the basic checks, he returned to his computer, opened a document, and said without turning around, "Melodia, go and measure his blood pressure and resting heart rate."
"Yes." Kazusa replied, taking the blood pressure monitor sleeve and walking to Tezuka. He lowered his head and said calmly, "Tezuka-kun, relax your hand and extend your arm a little."
Tezuka was a very cooperative person to be examined.
The room was warm, and he was only wearing a short-sleeved sports shirt for easy inspection.
He Zou's gaze fell on the white wristband on his wrist, and she looked up at him and smiled: "Can you take off the wristband? You need to keep your arm flat."
"Ah, sorry." He was used to wearing it and forgot to take it off before coming in. He took off the wristband and put it aside.
"There's nothing to apologize for." Kanade chuckled, then bent down to wrap the sleeve around his upper arm. As she adjusted and tightened it, her fingers inevitably brushed against his skin…
Her fingertips were slightly cool, so the warmth she touched was unusually noticeable. It wasn't her own body temperature, which made her fingers involuntarily curl up, causing her to miss the moment when the muscles in her arm tightened beneath her fingertips.
Unaware of anything amiss, she glanced at the mercury column of the sphygmomanometer and wrote down the number: "Blood pressure normal."
Behind him, Professor Antberg was still looking at documents on his computer.
Amidst the clicking of the mouse, Hezou picked up the stethoscope and warmed the somewhat cold metal head in his palm.
"It might be a little cold." As she spoke, she leaned slightly closer to Tezuka and pressed her head against the spot where his heart was pounding.
She was very close; her white coat almost brushed against his arm, and Tezuka could feel her light breathing.
There was a very faint scent of sweet mint in the air.
"Thump, thump—" The heartbeat coming from the receiver was clear and strong, and He Zou maintained a listening posture with a focused expression.
"The rapid heart rate is likely due to the athlete's long-term endurance training."
"How is it?" came Professor Antberg's question from behind.
He put away the stethoscope and stood up to reply to the professor: "Blood pressure and resting heart rate are normal."
“Good, I’ve noted down all the data.” Antberg nodded, then said to Tezuka, “Even with good physical fitness, you can’t withstand this kind of pushing yourself. This is Melodia, you two are classmates. I’ll have her give you the test data later, and you and the coach can discuss the training plan again. Don’t push yourself too hard.”
"Yes, thank you for your hard work." Tezuka nodded respectfully to the professor who cared about him. As he turned to leave, his gaze swept over Kazuna, who was tidying up the blood pressure monitor, but the other man didn't look at him.
Tezuka was the last person to be examined. By the time he came out of the medical room, there was no one left in the corridor.
He unconsciously raised his hand and touched his chest, where the cold touch of the metal earpiece still seemed to linger.
He hadn't walked far when he heard the door behind him open again, and then a clear voice rang out: "Tezuka-kun, you forgot your wristband."
As soon as he turned around, he saw her walking towards him, and sure enough, she was holding his wristband.
This scene seems familiar.
He Zou stopped in front of him, and their eyes both fell on the wristband, and they both recalled the day they first met.
Holding the wristband, her first words to him were, "Thank you for your help and... the headband."
They are all very common white wristbands, and it's hard to tell if this is the same as the "hairband".
The snow was still falling, and the empty corridor was quiet.
Having escaped the smell of disinfectant from the medical room, Kanade could faintly smell the scent of cedar in the crisp air.
"Here." She held out her hand and handed over the wristband, waiting for the other person to take it.
The left hand that reached out to her was long, beautiful, and strong. When it touched her palm, the thin calluses on its fingertips brushed against her, making her feel a little itchy.
That's a hand that's been holding a racket for a long time.
As Hezou looked at the hand, a sentence slipped out from his mind: "Ignoring injuries and being careless and reckless is the shortest path to failure."
For medical personnel to say such things is somewhat inappropriate.
But Tezuka could read the other person's true intention behind those words. He looked down at her face, which was a little tense because of her slip of the tongue, and said with a gentle gaze, "Thank you."
Under the incandescent light of the corridor, those deep brown eyes appeared lighter in color, much like warm, lustrous amber.
Seeing him like this, the anger that Kazusa hadn't even noticed in her heart quietly dissipated. Only then did she realize how inappropriate her words had been, but it seemed impossible for her to apologize.
They seemed somewhat familiar, yet also somewhat unfamiliar. For a moment, she couldn't quite grasp that boundary.
Finally, she lowered her head to avoid those eyes that left her speechless, and whispered, "It will be better to apply ice after training every day."
Because she was looking down, she couldn't see the smile in the other person's eyes, but she heard a deep voice reply, "Okay."
His voice was always somewhat cold, like a cool spring flowing through the mountains. But this word was like a pebble being thrown into the clear spring water, creating ripples of laughter that slowly spread outwards.
Kazusa unconsciously pursed her lips, feeling a little thirsty...
She slowly raised her head to look at the culprit. Just as her gaze climbed to his Adam's apple, the curve of his neck tightened almost imperceptibly. Then she heard him call her name—
“Melodia”.
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