Yagyu
Looking out the car window at the sea in Kanagawa, Kanade felt a real sense of returning home.
The path along the sea was the route she used to take to get to school.
Although it's winter break, there are still students wearing club uniforms and carrying sports bags on the street. When a set of khaki sportswear came into view, Kanade couldn't help but smile nostalgically.
I wonder if they have properly inherited the name "King of Rikkai".
Looking back now, although she kept her distance from the tennis club during junior high, with a regular member in the tennis club in her family, it was hard for her not to want to know about the club's glorious achievements.
Moreover, she was able to get even Hiro, a walking "textbook of etiquette," excited and change her mind about incorporating sports into her future career plans. Back then, she also had great respect for Rikkai University's tennis club, especially for the shrewd captain, Yukimura.
As Hezou reminisced about the middle school students under the setting sun, the car had already turned into a residential area of detached villas.
To protect privacy, each villa is spaced quite far apart, except for the two where they parked. They are only about 6 meters apart for sunlight, almost touching, and upon closer inspection, you'll find that the two houses even share a garage.
Both houses had "Liu Sheng" written on their plaques.
The three people who got off the car tacitly avoided looking at the building with its tightly closed gate on the left, and went straight into the courtyard with its open gate on the right.
"Squeak—", the door to the main house opened in response.
With her sharp eyes, He Zou caught sight of a toe and quickly ran over, calling out sweetly, "Grandpa!"
Grandpa Liusheng's sturdy and upright figure had only been partially revealed when he drooped his eyelids, gave a "heh" to his fawning granddaughter, turned around, went back inside, and slammed the door shut.
The warm air from the closing iron gate brushed against Hezou's nose. She turned around sullenly and saw the mother and daughter behind her covering their mouths and chuckling. She could only purse her lips helplessly.
Just coax them.
After Kazusa finally managed to appease the old man, Yagyu Hiroshi, who was the last to return home, also made it to the house before dinner.
As soon as he entered the foyer, he saw his sister, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, standing at the entrance to the living room, her hands behind her back, smiling at him. However, he didn't pause at all, as if it were perfectly natural for her to be standing there.
Watching him bend down, meticulously take off his leather shoes, and neatly place them in the shoe cabinet, he said lazily, "You're back, our family's 'model student'."
She spoke with a deliberate drawl, which amplified the teasing tone.
Hiruzen straightened up, adjusted his glasses, the lenses gleaming white under the incandescent light: "Standing here as a doorman, is that some new etiquette you learned in Germany? Besides, the title of 'model student' is more suitable for the person who has been first in their grade the most times."
He Zou shook his index finger: "I'm not as skilled as you, so I'll accept my defeat."
The two cousins are only 17 days apart in their birthdays. Hiroshi's birthday is October 19th, and Kanade's is November 5th, so they have been in the same school and grade since they were little.
Back then, the top student in the grade was always surnamed Liu.
The two had only been facing off for a moment when Yagyu Mirai poked her head out of the restaurant, scratching her short hair as if she had a headache, and said loudly, "My dear sister and brother, dinner is almost ready. Would you like to come in?"
Generally speaking, having two academically gifted older siblings in the family would likely lead to a future overshadowed by them and a lot of pressure. However, her two siblings are like a lady and a gentleman in public, but they elegantly bicker at home. Therefore, aside from feeling that their excellence is the result of hard work and deserved, she only feels occasional headaches and cannot feel a trace of jealousy.
In the future, she will even have to thank her older siblings for their excellence, which allows her to do whatever she wants.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call the Yagyu family a family of doctors, as evidenced by their choice of professions, in addition to running a large private hospital in Kanagawa.
Looking towards the future, the camera circled the rectangular dining table clockwise. Seated at the table were: outstanding retired doctors, outstanding doctors currently practicing, and outstanding doctors of the future.
But she herself is an exception; her goal is to become a detective.
Her family's only objection to her choice was that they felt the police profession was too dangerous. However, this sole reason became a reservation after they saw her break four bricks with her bare hands and realize that was no longer a valid argument.
It's easy to imagine how bored she must have been when she often heard them discussing obscure and difficult medical topics as if they were everyday conversations.
Too much harmony at home isn't good either. Why doesn't their family have the rule of not talking while eating?!
Listening to what her family was talking about, she picked up another piece of fried chicken to comfort herself—they didn't even spare her from their conversation at the dinner table.
After listening to his youngest son, Yagyu Tomohito, recount the details of today's surgery, Grandpa Yagyu questioned his grandson with great dissatisfaction: "Why did that old man ask you to help him even though he's on holiday?"
The "old guy" he was referring to was Hiroshi's mentor, and also his arch-rival who competed with him for first place, internship opportunities, and study abroad opportunities during their school days.
Ignoring his grandfather's address to his mentor, Hiruzen calmly replied, "It's about the clinical internship. The project we were preparing for in cooperation with Germany starts next week, and my teacher asked me to help confirm the schedule and personnel arrangements."
The old man snorted irritably, his dissatisfaction extending to his grandson, who was usually to his liking: "If you ask me, it would be much better if you studied cardiology with me and your father. Why did you have to go and study sports medicine? Fine, sports medicine is one thing, but is there no more authoritative teacher in all of Japan than that old man?"
"No, there really isn't."
Hiroshi sat upright and remained silent, not uttering these words in front of his grandfather.
Seeing that the old man was about to slam his fist on the table and stand up, Shizuka Yagyu interrupted, "It sounds like a very impressive project."
Hiroshi adjusted his glasses, his tone flat and even: "Yes, Mom. It's a joint German-Japanese project on the prevention and treatment of motor nerve injuries, and it's very meaningful."
Kazusa, who was engrossed in drinking her miso soup, suddenly stopped. She had finally managed to appease her grandfather and had originally planned to observe from the sidelines, but now she felt that the more she listened, the more uneasy she felt.
She cautiously inquired in a low voice, "Hiro, which university are you cooperating with?"
“Heidelberg University.” As soon as he finished speaking, Bilushi saw the purple eyes opposite him, which resembled his own, widen slightly with satisfaction. Then he shattered the other person’s last shred of hope: “The full name of the project is the ‘German-Japanese Symposium on Neurotrauma and Sports Medicine and the International Medical Collaboration Project for the Davis Cup Tennis Championships.’ Speaking of which, I saw a familiar name on the list of participants today.”
He Zou put down the wooden bowl in his hand, squinted at his cousin, and felt that he saw the shadow of his white-haired classmate on his face.
Hiruzen has already recalled the resumes of the participants: "The other party scored full marks in the GSC coma assessment, obtained the ALS certificate in his sophomore year, was specially allowed to take the national exam for the second time and passed it, and also served as the medical translator for this time. They are really quite outstanding."
Upon hearing this, all the "Yagyu" members at the table turned their attention to Kazusa.
Feeling like a thorn in his back, He Zou slowly straightened his back and earnestly suggested, "...Let me explain first?"
The future, always the number one troublemaker, commented on her: "Read as explanation, write as sophistry."
He Zou gave her a gentle smile, and Mirai wisely raised her hand to zip up her mouth.
Actually, what bothered everyone was that Kazusa acted first and informed them later. After all, the Yagyu family knew that she had always been very opinionated since she was a child, and whether it was studying abroad or choosing a major, it was Kazusa who made the decisions herself.
What bothered them was that, according to Hiroshi, the project would take a month, which meant she would only be able to stay at home for a week during the winter break.
Ultimately, it's because they can't bear to part with her, especially the old man. The more he pities his overly independent granddaughter, the angrier he gets at his eldest son who is still on a business trip in Hokkaido.
He Zou understood, of course, so she dressed up in colorful clothes to entertain her father and boasted to her grandfather about how amazing it was that a junior in college could participate in this project.
"Grandpa, this is a rare elite program that combines practical training and real-world medical experience! It's such a rare opportunity to bring together top neurosurgeons from both countries, using world-class competitions as laboratories and top athletes as experimental subjects! Just think, I'm only a junior in college, and I already have the chance to conduct cutting-edge assessments and treatments for cases like concussions, spinal cord injuries, and brain protection after cardiac arrest—"
"Stop—" Finally, the old man, impatient with her reciting her lessons, tapped her forehead and pushed her away: "You're just feeling guilty, so you start acting innocent. Go if you want, but don't jinx the athletes here."
Well, in practice, a doctor's opportunity is a disaster for an athlete.
Now that we've gotten past Grandpa, it's time to settle accounts with the culprit.
She glanced at her cousin: "I knew it! Why did they insist on making me come back to China this time? Did they know I wouldn't miss this project? This collaboration between the two universities isn't related to you in any way, is it?"
Yagyu adjusted his glasses again, this time with utmost sincerity: "No, I don't have that ability yet. However, I suppose you haven't been following this kind of news for a long time..." He paused for a moment, then lowered his voice, "MSF (Doctors Without Borders) is preparing to establish a branch in Japan, and this project is just a preliminary step. You know, Heidelberg University receives MSF applications for direct entry every year, so this collaboration was inevitable."
Hiroshi's words froze the smile on Kanade's face, but only for a moment. She then tilted her head to look at her cousin, raised an eyebrow, and revealed a mocking expression: "I didn't know that Hiroshi, who is going to inherit the hospital, would be interested in these things, and be so concerned about my university."
Liu Sheng sighed inwardly, raised his hand and patted the back of his cousin's head, who had a sharp look in her eyes: "I have many personal interests, but you haven't really understood them. As expected, Mero is more interested in the future than I am."
Kanade's anger dissipated somewhat. She smiled, grabbed the hand that was causing trouble on her head, and forcefully shook it off, saying without any mercy, "Isn't it obvious? Who doesn't like a cute little sister?"
Having won the round, Hiroshi smiled politely and repeated her words: "Yes, who doesn't like a cute little sister?"
"Huh?" The future version of the car, with its ears perked up, looked up: "Cute, me?"
Her brother also gave her a gentle smile.
Future: "...Tsk."
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