Love Tennis and Yumiko Miura

"Just be patient, Yumiko." Ebina said.

"Then let's wait a little longer." Youmiko felt inexplicably irritated, not knowing if it was because of the damn weather.

The tree wants to be calm and the wind does not stop.

Yumiko always felt that something was going to happen.

29. Performance (Part 2)

in the audience.

"Kashima-san's acting is really great! He is worthy of being the prince that the drama club is proud of." Ye Shan sighed. He was deeply impressed by the acting skills of this prince.

"Yes, yes, it's really good." Hubu agreed.

Yumiko didn't join the discussion, but just watched silently until she saw a face that shouldn't be on the stage.

"Your Highness, this is the third time Misa has broken a plate." The attendant on the stage said to the prince with a helpless tone.

Yumiko's eyes widened.

Orange Zhixian?

…Why was he on stage at the drama club? She had never heard of his interest in drama before.

"Is that attendant Tachibana-san?" Yumiko heard Yuigahama's whispered question.

"It seems so. According to my friends in the drama club, Tachibana-san often participates in their plays, mostly playing the role of a guard for the prince Kashima-san." Ebina, an insider, replied.

Always playing the role of Kashima's guard? Yumiko looked at the prince and his attendant on the stage with a complicated look.

Although she and Zhixian were no longer in contact, she still missed the past. The past was still vivid in her mind and she still couldn't forget it.

But it has been more than a year, and it is understandable that people will change.

Whether Zhixian fell in love with drama or fell in love with Kashima was not something she could control.

She couldn't even control her emotions now - after that match with the tennis club.

Yumiko was very conflicted. She took the initiative to cut off contact with him. She thought she could forget him and start a new life.

In fact, she was actually doing well at Sobu, and had basically given up on tennis, no longer obsessed with the national championship. The temporary abandonment of her dream didn't have a big impact on her. Life was still long, and she just wanted to make the most of her high school life.

What's more, she doesn't have any lofty ideals.

Wasn't her junior high tennis career perhaps her most motivated period to date? In her second year of junior high, they both made it to the semifinals of the mixed doubles competition, a significant improvement from their freshman year where they reached the round of 16.

Everyone believed they would eventually master synchronization and win a national championship, then successfully enter professional tennis and become an internationally renowned mixed doubles pair.

However, imagination is always beautiful.

The defeat in the junior high school competition was the fuse for the quarrel between the two.

Not only did he fail in the quarterfinals, but he also lost to a former opponent. Even more ironic was that the opponent had mastered Synchro during the match.

They were crushed by the Synchronicity, and that disastrous defeat left them with a loss of confidence.

Soon after, the two stopped training together, and even the termination of their partnership was communicated by the coach.

Although she had won the Chiba Prefecture Championship in singles, Yumiko was disheartened and decided to give up tennis. She still had a long way to go to reach national level in singles, and she was exhausted and didn't want to continue pursuing this path.

So after arriving at Sobu, I didn't join a club, but instead just lived it up. Every day, I'd eat, drink, go shopping, and chat with friends. There were no boring training sessions, no strict schedules to follow. I could even sleep in naturally, no morning exercises, no daily videos to watch.

But I always feel like something is missing.

It took her a long time to adapt without her partner who took care of every detail. Three years of habits cannot be changed easily.

When she finally got used to being alone during her freshman year of high school, that person suddenly broke in again without a sound, catching her off guard.

She still couldn't face him, so she had to maintain the status quo. Maybe they should sit down and talk, let the past go, and maybe they could be friends.

However, she did nothing because she dared not to do anything. The shadow of the past always bound her actions.

It didn't matter who was right or wrong anymore. The key was that she still couldn't face her past failure - it wasn't just a failure in a tennis match. That failure was always etched in Yumiko's heart.

She seems arrogant but is actually kind and thoughtful. She is not indifferent, she actually cares a lot.

We quarrel because we care too much.

Because I care too much, I end up breaking up with my friends.

Ultimately, she still didn't understand why she and Zhixian had never been able to achieve synchronization, while her former defeated opponent had achieved what they couldn't.

Is it really true that their combination is not good?

Once this feeling of failure arises, it's impossible to suppress it, which is why she sometimes speaks without thinking. Now that I think about it, even if there really is a problem, it's probably not just one person's problem, right?

Although Zhixian's performance in the competitions during his third year of junior high school was not very stable...

Immersed in her memories, Yumiko was suddenly startled by a burst of enthusiastic applause. She came to her senses and realized that the actors were already taking their curtain calls.

And Zhixian was among them.

......Looking at Zhixian's expressionless face, Youmiko sighed deeply and clapped softly.

Junior high school extra 2

"The score is 6:3, the Tachibana/Miura combination wins." The referee announced.

"Yeah~" Yumiko and Chixian high-fived to celebrate. If they won this game, they would successfully advance to the finals of the Kanto competition and also obtain the right to participate in the national competition.

"Keep up the good work and win the championship." Yumiko said with a smile, her eyes curved into crescents, showing her good mood at the moment.

"Drink some water." Zhixian first handed Youmeiko a bottle of mineral water, and then he picked up another bottle of mineral water and drank it in small sips.

"Thank you, Zhixian."

Although it was not a particularly intense competition, it still consumed a lot of energy, so it is very important to replenish water in time.

The final will be held in a week, so the two still have enough time to make further adjustments.

After the county competition, the two of them practiced a new formation called the Australian formation, which involves two people standing side by side on the center line. When receiving the ball, they move in opposite directions and then recover after receiving the ball.

In this way, the player at the net can confuse the opponent and make it impossible for the opponent to predict the movement direction of the player at the baseline. This is a defensive style of play.

Zhixian is a typical baseline player, with timely support and counterattacks, and rarely making unforced errors.

The Australian formation is suitable for serving games, as the key is to prevent the opponent from predicting the direction of the net volley, which requires both solid fundamentals and a good understanding of the opponent's tactics, especially the choice of serving angles.

Chixian and Yumiko's sudden rise in their freshman year led them to the top 16 of the national competition, earning them considerable attention. Their hair color earned them the nickname "Platinum Combination."

The starting point of the Platinum combination's tactics is usually Zhixian and the ending point is usually Youmeizi.

So it’s not a gold and silver combination, but a platinum combination.

It also proves the saying that those who play with tactics have dirty hearts. Ju Zhixian undoubtedly belongs to the group of those with a strong heart. His varied playing style and tactics have caused countless mixed doubles teams to suffer at his hands.

You should know that in order to improve their tacit understanding and on-the-spot reaction, they often go to various street tennis courts on holidays to play doubles matches with others.

In addition to gaining experience, you can also experiment with new tactics and playing styles.

Because they often appear on street tennis courts, the two are known as the strongest mixed doubles combination in Chiba street tennis courts, and the name Platinum is well-known throughout Chiba Prefecture.

A reporter from Tennis Weekly also arranged an exclusive interview with the two before the Kanto Tournament finals.

----split line----

"Hello, I'm Inoue, a reporter from Tennis Weekly." In the coffee shop where they had agreed to meet, Inoue handed his business card to the two junior high school students.

He has been in this business for some years and often deals with junior high and high school tennis players. He knows that these people have the potential to become the next Samurai Nanjiro, so he will not neglect them.

What's more, the two in front of us are currently the hottest platinum doubles in the junior high school tennis world. Many people are very optimistic about them and believe that they will definitely make a breakthrough in the national competition this year and even win the championship.

"Hello, reporter Inoue," Chixian said after taking the business card. Yumiko also took the card, but she wasn't as casual as she was at school. After all, the other party was a reporter from a well-known magazine, which made her a little nervous and even restrained.

"Then this is the question I will ask later. You two can take a look at it first. We can discuss if you have any questions." Then Inoue took out two A4 printed papers and handed them to the two.

Zhixian and Youmiko looked at each other, then Zhixian said "Excuse me" and the two of them gathered together to discuss in a low voice.

Inoue, who had a moment of free time, picked up his coffee and enjoyed it with his eyes closed.

What youth! Looking at the two young people standing head to head and shoulder to shoulder, Inoue felt emotional and recalled his own youth.

——He didn’t have such a beautiful mixed doubles partner at that time!

Generally speaking, regular doubles pairs have a very good relationship foundation. However, if it is mixed doubles, it is not impossible for the two to date and get married in the future.

Regardless of whether they will continue to work in the tennis industry in the future, their current experience will surely become their most precious memory.

It’s great to be young! Uncle Inoue once again expressed his feelings.

"Hello, we have discussed it and there is no problem." Zhixian's voice interrupted Inoue's remark about youth.

"Then shall we officially begin?" Inoue took out a recorder and placed his finger on the start button.

Zhixian nodded and extended his hand as a gesture of invitation.

"Actually, I've been following your matches for a while now, and I'm very happy to be here chatting with the Platinum duo today."

"Hahaha, you're too polite. We're just junior high school students. You're not only our senior but also our elder."

Inoue nodded secretly. Tachibana Chixian was more mature than he had imagined. This kid was very familiar with interacting with people. In comparison, Miura Yumiko seemed a little weaker, sitting aside and not actively speaking, letting Chixian take over. This was the opposite of their image on the court.

In Inoue's impression, the blonde girl Yumiko is just as dazzling as her hair color. She is aggressive in attack, will celebrate when she scores, and will get frustrated when she makes a mistake. She is a person who easily expresses her emotions.

The silver-haired young man, Zhixian, was unfazed by praise or criticism. He maintained a calm expression regardless of whether he scored or lost. He only smiled when Youmiko came forward to celebrate. He seemed to be a very reserved person.

However, those energetic girls may not be able to relax in front of strangers, after all, they are facing partners they have been with for a long time on the court.

"May I ask how you two became partners? What was the catalyst?"

"We studied tennis with the same coach in elementary school. In sixth grade, the coach held a mixed doubles competition, and Yumiko and I were drawn together."

"I won the championship unexpectedly that time," Yumiko added.

“Later we found out we went to the same junior high school, so at the coach’s suggestion we formed a doubles team and started competing.”

"Then this is really the guidance of the goddess of luck. We both drew the most suitable partners." Inoue said with a smile.

The two members of the Platinum Group also looked at each other, their eyes filled with smiles.

"Actually, both of you have participated in team competitions. Could you please tell me if you played singles or doubles in those team competitions?"

"Singles." X2

"This is really unexpected. I thought both of you would play doubles." Inoue was also a little surprised. Since he was in Tokyo, he was not particularly concerned about the preliminaries and county competitions in Chiba.

"Yumiko also won the county competition in the individual competition." Zhixian told Inoue an information that he didn't know.

"What about Tachibana-san? Did he get a place in the individual competition?"

"I didn't participate in the individual competition." Zhixian replied.

"Oh? Why is that?" Inoue couldn't help but become curious.

"It's probably to get used to doubles matches. The out-of-bounds ranges are different in singles and doubles, and it would be bad if I made a mistake and messed things up in a hurry."

"That's a prudent choice."

"After all, the focus is on the mixed doubles competition."

Next are a few very common questions.

"The Kanto Tournament finals are coming up soon. Regardless of victory or defeat, we've already advanced to the national tournament. What are your goals and expectations for the upcoming competitions?"

"Last year we only made it to the top 16. As for this year's goal... Yumiko, what do you think?" Zhixian suddenly interrupted her by asking the question.

"Eh?! Uh..." The sudden question prevented Yumiko from answering immediately, "...the top four, right?"

The girl looked at her partner and then at Inoue, and carefully stated her goal.

"A top four finish is not impossible for you two. I wouldn't be surprised if you won the championship."

"Thank you for your kind words. I was originally going to say quarterfinals, but since Yumiko mentioned the top four, let's work towards the top four."

After saying this, Zhixian was pinched by Youmiko under the table - all of this fell into Inoue's sight. He was also a tennis boy and had a very good dynamic vision.

What youth! Inoue sighed for the third time.

30. Mikoshiba, the Master of Talk

Zhixian's performance in the drama club's new play did not cause any waves. Although this behavior was unexpected, it was not inexplicable.

"I didn't expect that someone like Ju, who looks so cold, also likes acting!" Zhixian said that he just likes watching plays.

"It's just a small supporting role, everyone can do it, and besides, Tachibana and Kashima have a good relationship, right? The drama club is also giving face to Kashima, right?" In fact, it was giving face to the head coach Hori.