Chapter 8
"Long time no see, Tezuka, want a fight?"
Arriving at the court, Nakamori Akimi spotted Atobe Keigo, one hand on his hip, holding a tennis racket and taunting Tezuka Kunimitsu of Seigaku. Meanwhile, Tsukishima Sakumu, left out by him, was engaging in a playful eye-contact with Fuji Shusuke.
No, President Atobe, with her exceptional memory, do you remember how you first talked to her? You agreed to hold back Tsukishima Sakuramu while she approached Fuji Shusuke, but now all you have eyes for is Tezuka Kunimitsu?
Nakamori Akimi fell to the ground in despair.
"I'm sorry, I refuse."
Fortunately, Kunimitsu Tezuka refused decisively, but after finally meeting the person who was supposed to be playing professional online in Germany, Atobe Keigo was obviously not reconciled and his provocation escalated again.
"Why, are you scared?"
What an arrogant tone, what an asking-for-a-beating attitude. Fortunately, Tezuka Kunimitsu knew his temper well and did not react to it. He just turned around and interrupted Fuji Shusuke's affectionate gaze at Tsukishima Sakuramu.
"No two."
Since Fuji Shusuke did not deliberately conceal his relationship with Tsukishima Sakumu, his interactions with Tsukishima Sakumu were seen by everyone around them. At this moment, he challenged Atobe Keigo amidst the mixed expressions of everyone.
"Atobe, you wouldn't mind fighting with me, would you?"
"Um?"
Atobe Keigo raised his eyebrows and looked him up and down. What was this, a charge for love? Interesting. Anyway, he rarely fought with Fuji Shusuke, so this was also an opportunity to test him. Just when he was about to nod in agreement, he heard Fuji Shusuke say:
"Sakuramu is here too, so why don't we play mixed doubles? Sakuramu and I will be in the same group. Is that okay with you, Atobe?"
"Mixed doubles? Are you kidding me, this uncle..." Atobe Keigo's unhappy expression suddenly stopped, and he frowned fiercely, "I'll give you this chance."
This reluctance squeezed out from the back teeth made everyone look at him sideways.
"Ara Atobe, you actually want to play mixed doubles?"
Is this the legendary love triangle? Ozuki Yuushi, whose persona seemed to have adjusted, pinched his chin, his gossipy eyes darting back and forth between the three people.
"That sounds interesting, Sanada. Why don't we play mixed doubles?"
Someone who likes to watch the fun and enjoy the trouble turned his head to look at Genichirō Sanada, as if intending to add fuel to the fire.
It's mixed doubles, so what? Why ask Genichirō Sanada to play mixed doubles? He's too tall to be a girl. It's too ambiguous.
But it was clear that Nakamori Akimi was the only one on the court who had unusual ideas. Upon hearing this, Sanada Genichirō simply frowned and said matter-of-factly, "Aside from Tsukishima and Ryuuzaki, none of the girls here seem to be able to play tennis. I'm not sure if Atobe and the others can even play mixed doubles."
It's strange to say, it was supposed to be a high school camp, but third-year juniors Echizen Ryoma and Ryuzaki Sakuno also came. It was said that Tsukishima Sakumu specifically requested them, and I don't know what she wants to do. Or rather, what Fuji Shusuke wants to do.
Nakamori Akimi's inquiring gaze fell on Fuji Shusuke, but he inadvertently met the eyes of Atobe Keigo.
Huh? The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds, and Nakamori Akimi suddenly widened her eyes in horror. No way, no way, this Atobe Keigo must be trying to get her to play, she doesn't know how to play tennis!
"Master Atobe, I know tennis. Can I team up with you?"
Beside him, Rie Nakamori suddenly leaped out, swooping down like a hungry wolf, swooping down on the perfectly balanced pork belly of Atobe Keigo. Meanwhile, Akimi Nakamori stared at Rie in disbelief. Was she hallucinating? Rie could play tennis?
It seemed that the choices were indeed limited, and Atobe Keigo nodded very readily, and then the two teams stood on the court.
Although only a few people from Hyotei came, not as many as in the official competition, but as soon as the fingers snapped, the few remaining regulars were very considerate and acted as the atmosphere group by singing at the top of their lungs.
"Hyotei! Hyotei! Atobe! Atobe!"
The surrounding onlookers accepted it well; after all, they had grown up watching Ji Chang. But there were a few who still hadn't adapted. They looked at each other and, after reaching an agreement, went back to training and competition.
As for this game, how can I put it...it was completely one-sided.
It's true that Keigo Atobe is very good, but unfortunately he is facing Rie, a tennis player with rich theory but zero practice. The opponent is a genius and a top player, especially Tsukishima Sakumu, who looks thin and weak, but can directly penetrate Keigo Atobe's racket.
"hiss--"
Someone gasped, but otherwise the field was completely silent.
"Tsukishima is still as tough as ever."
Yukimura Seiichi looked thoughtfully at the broken racket in Atobe Keigo's hand.
The people at Rikkai University were all used to this; the only ones truly shocked were Seigaku and Hyotei. Even Atobe Keigo, who knew beforehand that Tsukishima Sakumu was cheating, was momentarily surprised, but his spirits seemed to rise again, and it was obvious he was completely obsessed with it.
Nakamori Akimi watched the string of "+1"s drifting past Tsukishima Sakuramu's head and closed her eyes in despair. In her humble opinion, one of these must have been contributed by Atobe Keigo himself. "President Atobe, do you remember why you're here?"
She was wrong. Atobe Keigo didn't only have eyes for Tezuka Kunimitsu. He clearly only had tennis in his eyes!
"Not bad." Atobe Keigo changed his tennis racket and adjusted the string, "But you won't be so lucky on the next shot."
As the atmosphere became tense, everyone held their breath and looked forward to the next game, but the next second, Tsukishima Sakuramu fainted without any warning.
Um……
Compared to the panicked others, Nakamori Akimi remained remarkably calm. S-strength but poor stamina, superb technique but fainting when using ultimates—what serious game would give such a hapless setting to a strategy player? She couldn't help but feel pity for Tsukishima Sakuramu, especially when she overheard her awakened Tsukishima Sakuramu complaining to the air about this bizarre setting.
Really, you need to change it. You have to avoid players when fixing a program. If you continue like this, the server will be shut down sooner or later.
Nakamori Akimi quietly left the makeshift medical room and, while no one was paying attention, went into the kitchen that had been cleared out in advance.
"Too slow, Nakamori."
When Nakamori Akimi arrived, Atobe Keigo had been waiting with a plate in his hand for a long time.
"I rushed here as soon as I received the news. It was pretty quick." Nakamori Akimi looked at the plate in his hand. "What is this?"
"Obviously, Sala."
"Didn't you ask me to come and see you eat bitter melon?"
“So this is bitter melon salad.”
Keigo Atobe picked up the bitter melon cut into small pieces with a fork and put it into his mouth, but it was obvious that the bitter melon mixed with salad dressing was still bitter melon, and even the bitter melon with a hint of sweetness was even more difficult to accept.
"How about we drink bitter melon juice next time?"
Looking at Keigo Atobe's bitter face, Akihiro Nakamori suggested sincerely.
But Keigo Atobe didn't think so. Instead of answering the suggestion, he started another topic.
"0587 asked me to accept the mixed doubles match today."
0587 is the code name of that system.
"I'm giving you a heads-up. There will be many strange missions like this in the future. Not just me, you'll have to complete them too." He paused for a few seconds. "It's really frustrating, living this life of being dependent on others."
It's really frustrating. Being inexplicably affected by a garbage game and having to clean up its mess would make anyone angry, which is why Keigo Atobe was so angry at the beginning, but...
"Actually, I've always been curious about why you, with your personality, would actively cooperate. I thought..."
"Did you think I'd make a big fuss and expose the lies of this game to Tsukishima Sakuramu?" Atobe Keigo sneered, "I'm not that stupid. When confronting the unknown, lying low is the most effective method until you're absolutely sure of your chances."
What an amazing self-control! Nakamori Akimi was amazed.
"...Besides this, I have another question. Is 0587 always there? Doesn't that mean it can hear our conversation?"
"Humph, since it needs help, then it should behave like one." Atobe Keigo didn't care if 0587 heard what he said. He put down the plate and checked the time. "I'll be out first. You can leave in ten minutes."
Keigo Atobe is good at giving orders, and Akimi Nakamori is also a good executor.
Ten minutes later, Nakamori Akimi left the kitchen and went to the restaurant on time. She didn't breathe a sigh of relief until she sat down. You know what, although it was like a meeting between agents, it was indeed quite exciting.
"Sister, what have you been doing?"
Rie Nakamori asked curiously.
"I felt a little sleepy, so I went back to my room and took a nap."
Nakamori Akimi made up an excuse to deal with it, but when he looked up, he met Fuji Shusuke's inquiring eyes.
Huh? She hadn't even approached him yet, so why was he already exploring her?
Fortunately, Fuji Shusuke's gaze only stayed for a few seconds, and in the next moment he gently picked up some food for the recovered Tsukishima Sakuramu. If you ignore Tsukishima Sakuramu's slightly embarrassed expression, the two of them were as close as if they were a dating boyfriend and girlfriend, completely forgetting about their former ambiguous object, Atobe Keigo.
Atobe Keigo himself was happy to be free, but the others didn't think so. You looked at me, I looked at you, and then looked at the stable triangle together, and couldn't help but smile knowingly.
Are these boys so gossipy? Nakamori Akimi rolled his eyes at each one, puzzled.
If 0587 didn't lie to them, then after debugging the strategies for the first three rounds, the characters of the conquerable characters would basically not be ooc, except for Shusuke Fuji who retained his memories for unknown reasons. Only the Hyotei main character who has not been debugged yet would occasionally exhibit some abnormal behavior.
In other words, are these male high school students normally so gossipy?
With his beautiful boy filter shattered, Nakamori Akimi ate silently with a sense of enlightenment that showed he had seen through the mundane world.
Indeed, gossip is what humans truly have in common.
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