Chapter 20
The final exams for the second year of high school separated the students in the science and humanities college entrance exam preparation classes and rearranged the exam rooms. The table I was sitting at belonged to Genichiro Sanada because I saw his name written neatly on the cover of the world history textbook in the drawer. Before the exam started, I flipped through it and took a look. The notes inside were as neat and boring as he was.
With eighteen minutes left before the bell rang to signal the end of the exam, I finished the last question on the exam paper. This science paper was really not easy. The boy next to me sighed as he wrote, and seeing how quickly he was turning the pages, I figured he probably wouldn't finish.
I zipped up my pencil case, pushed the test paper to the corner, and yawned twice. As soon as I lay down, I saw Renwang sitting diagonally behind me. How can you not say that comparing yourself to others is infuriating? Some people are writing furiously until the last second, while others have already been dreaming about half of the exam.
The air conditioning in the classroom wasn't very effective; it was still quite stuffy. I guessed it might rain soon, but Niou was sleeping soundly, the wind blowing the tuft of hair on his head back and forth, which looked rather comical.
As soon as the bell rang, I heard several people around me gasp. The teacher had just collected the papers and they began to tentatively ask for the answers to the last few questions. The person in front of me turned around, and I could only give a few numbers off the cuff. Then I got up and knocked on Renwang's desk to signal him to slip away quickly.
The top student in the front row, Tomokazu Katakura, is already sharing the firepower. If you don't run now, when will you?
"The second to last question is..." Niou, probably having heard the number I had just made up, rubbed his eyes and swayed behind me as he spoke.
"Shut up," I interrupted him immediately, "I don't really want to know the answer."
"Anyway, it's simpler than I imagined..." He stretched his body by raising his arms.
"Shut up," I interrupted him again. "Do you even want to walk out of this corridor alive?"
He nodded, made an OK sign with his hand, glanced at me with pursed lips, then looked up at the window and didn't look away.
Just then, a clap of thunder startled me, and I turned around abruptly. Large, layered dark clouds covered the top of the teaching building, but the blue sky was still visible in the distance. At this time of year, there are always showers like this at the seaside. The wind blew the raindrops in, and I casually closed the corridor window. The rain pattered against the glass, making it rattle.
"I don't think I brought an umbrella." While silently watching the trailer for the approaching typhoon, Niou suddenly blurted out.
I thought he was watching so intently because he had some rare insights, so I patted him on the shoulder and said, "Your partner does."
"And what about you?" he asked me in return.
"Of course I have one," I laughed. "I mean, Yagyu even has a spare umbrella."
He responded with a shrug.
"But this kind of shower will stop before school is over," I added.
As expected, the rain stopped soon after. The gloom brought by the last exam was swept away by the suddenly bright sky and the upcoming summer vacation. Even the most dull classroom could be smelled of a relaxed and lively atmosphere at this moment. It seemed that no one cared that the results would be announced in three days, nor did anyone care about the progress survey form that the class teacher had just handed out.
The girl next to me stuffed all the exercise books from her drawer into an oversized tote bag. This was the first time I'd seen her so relaxed this semester. Meanwhile, I sat at my desk staring at the blank form. I knew exactly what I was supposed to fill in, but I still didn't know where to begin. It was as if someone was saying in my ear, "Wow—so I can decide what I want to do in the future right now."
Can I really make this decision?
Or rather, can I really do whatever I want?
I always seem to need more say, more presence, and a higher foothold. But if the sense of accomplishment I need is actually just vanity, is the meaning of standing on the mountaintop what I really want?
At that age, I was always trapped in this void. Interestingly, even after many years, even though the trivialities of life filled every blank space in my life, I would still relive this unease from time to time.
Liu Sheng said that my thoughts revealed the arrogance of a hardworking East Asian child seeking to be undefeated, and I could only retort that people born in Rome had no right to mock me.
Yes, I still resent the rich.
Three days later, the results of the joint entrance examination were not announced until half an hour before the graduation ceremony. Moreover, the red list that belonged to the top fifty students in each grade was posted on the way to the auditorium. My name was written in the first place. Even so, I sometimes felt that Rikkai University's old-fashioned and strict management style revealed a kind of inhumane cruelty.
"Tsk." I glanced at the top liberal arts student next to me, Sanada, and subconsciously frowned. He really is a good rival of mine.
I immediately decided that after the ceremony I would find out what his score was besides the humanities paper. Anyway, losing to him was unacceptable.
But I didn't see Sanada all day. He wasn't there when we were setting up the venue in the auditorium in the morning, and even at the student council presidents' meeting in the afternoon, only one person from their department showed up.
Before it was the External Relations Department's turn to speak, I turned to the side and asked Yagyu in a low voice, "Where's Sanada?"
"He and Yukimura went to Tokyo to draw lots," he said, pretending to jot something down in his notebook, then glanced at his watch. "The results should be out soon."
"Should Yukimura or Sanada go for the draw? They both seem to have bad luck." I was muttering to myself when Yagyu's expression fell for a second before immediately returning to normal. I then asked, "Is it 'Great Fortune'?"
He shoved his phone at me and said, "It's a 'very bad omen'."
I looked down and saw a message Sanada had posted in their tennis club chat group. It turned out that their first match in the Kanto Tournament would be against Hyotei.
The neighboring Seigaku team had good luck, getting a bye in the first round. I think if Tezuka were still in the club, he might have gotten this bad draw.
No, that's not necessarily true. He might draw an even worse one, like us.
As I passed by the platform in the evening, posters for the fireworks festival were up again, and the particularly humid and hot air after the rain reminded everyone that summer had arrived in Kanagawa once more.
This time, however, none of us mentioned going to Kamakura to see the fireworks again.
By nature, I've never thought that fireworks displays hold the same special meaning in the minds of most Japanese people, and therefore I've never thought that this invitation would have any deeper significance.
I actually thought that Yagyu was keeping quiet about it because he was concerned about Niou's feelings after being dumped by his senior last year. But later I found out that Niou had already made plans to go with Kirihara and Marui, and Yagyu didn't participate in their activities at all, so he didn't tell me.
Moreover, at that time I had just returned to Fujisawa from Yamanashi Prefecture after finishing the judo club's training camp, and I was completely focused on the summer tournament, so I didn't have time to think about anything else.
Immediately following this, the Kanto Tournament, a showdown that was forced to be brought forward, began. This isn't my wording; it's what was written in the school magazine.
The tournament organizing committee probably did not expect that "Rikkai vs Hyotei" would have such a strong appeal. The stands were packed with support teams from both schools, and the area outside the court was surrounded by layers of spectators. So, before the first doubles match started, they suddenly received a notice to urgently open the courts in the East Zone of the Tennis Park used for the finals.
"What are you thinking? This was arranged by that guy." Katakura Minami pointed at Atobe Keigo sitting in the first row, and then her words brought me to my senses.
I slowly shook my head, restraining myself from rolling my eyes at Nan Gongzhu, her childhood sweetheart and the pride of heaven, in front of her. But as soon as I looked up, I met Sanada's gaze. He looked at me as if I were some kind of rare thing. I admit that I rarely come to watch the games, but I shouldn't be that rare.
Until I heard Nannan next to me say, "Long time no see, Tezuka-kun."
It turns out that the look he gave him was meant for him.
Wait a minute, I turned around and pinched the person's cheek in confusion. He had changed to a pair of half-rimmed glasses, and then, as usual, patted the back of my hand and called my name helplessly to stop me: "Sanae..."
"Sorry, I just wanted to confirm if you were really me." After I removed my hand, I seemed to realize something, "Wait, why should I apologize? You came back without telling me."
"It's a coincidence. I didn't expect to run into you here," he explained. "I was planning to go to Fujisawa after the competition."
"That reason is acceptable." I unconsciously touched the bracelet on my left wrist, the one he gave me for Christmas.
The match in Shanghai ended two days ago. Bass insisted on coming to Tokyo to meet Tezuka's family. His stubborn master was very dissatisfied. If he hadn't stopped him quickly enough, the old man might have kicked Bass out of the house, along with his grandson.
"Oh, so you're planning to take refuge in Fujisawa." I laughed, realizing that even Tezuka could be so childish.
"I'm going to see you in Fujisawa," Tezuka said casually.
He must have said that on purpose, but I was speechless for a moment, although it was more likely related to the extra stares from those around me.
Words alone cannot adequately describe Tezuka Kunimitsu's place in the hearts of these tennis idiots, until I stood next to him and realized that almost everyone was looking this way—
Wow, our Xiaoguang is a big star!
Yeah, right.
Nannan couldn't stand it anymore and slipped back to her seat in the Hyotei supporters' section. I had no choice but to grit my teeth and continue standing, focusing my attention back on the doubles match. It was now Yagyu's turn to serve.
In fact, the players are always the most sensitive to any changes or movements, whether inside or outside the arena. Yagyu noticed some discordant sounds suddenly appearing in the cheers and noise. To his right, he couldn't help but look over. It was a player who was neither familiar nor unfamiliar. Tezuka looked much stronger than when he saw him two years ago, and I, standing next to him, was playfully touching the ends of his hair.
"Rikkai, please serve."
The referee's voice brought Yagyu back to his senses.
He bowed slowly to apologize, then took out a tennis ball from his pocket and prepared to serve. The moment the ball left his fingers, many images flashed through Liu Sheng's mind—the necklace gleaming in the velvet box, the dark sea outside the tram window in winter, the folded corner of the cover of Chi Xingzhou's "Drifting Street," and the silver bracelet on his left hand accidentally hitting the table.
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