Love Tennis and Yumiko Miura

"Today's match was truly exciting! We completely defeated our opponents!"

"I haven't even heard of this guy in the county competition, so I naturally won't lose to him." Zhixian calmly cut a piece of steak with his dinner knife. "If we lose a game like this, the coach will probably go on strike."

In fact, the coach was not present today.

He had originally planned to record the video, but after learning that Ms. Sato wanted to see her son after a long absence, he chose to leave the mother and son alone.

After all, this wasn't a major game worth taking seriously, so filming was unnecessary, hence his absence.

"Yes, yes, Zhixian, you are the best."

Ms. Sato is very aware that her son is very good at tennis.

Suddenly Zhixian's cell phone rang, so he picked it up.

"I'm Tachibana."

“…” Something was said on the other end of the phone.

"I understand. I'll go find her right away." Zhixian then hung up the phone.

"What happened?" Ms. Sato asked, and she felt that her son's attitude was very serious.

"Something has to happen, so I have to leave now." Zhixian finished the little steak left on the plate, picked up his tennis bag and stood up. After a moment's hesitation, he added, "I want to put an end to the past."

49. Face your inner truth

Yumiko ran out of the house with a very simple idea - she wanted to see Zhixian.

She didn't think about what to say or do, she just wanted to see Zhixian.

That's it.

No looking ahead, no deliberation—just following the impulse of my heart.

Maybe she would be so nervous that she couldn't say a word, maybe she would cry loudly in front of him, maybe she would rush over and hug him.

Everything is possible, yet everything is uncertain.

Yumiko didn't even put on makeup, didn't take her cell phone, didn't take her wallet, and didn't take her keys. She just put on a pair of shoes and rushed out of the house, rushing out of the house regardless of everything.

Her destination was Zhixian's home - she knew that address by heart and had never forgotten it.

But this was her subconscious choice, and she ignored the possibility that Zhixian was not at home.

Zhixian was currently participating in a competition, and even when he wasn't, he would still be practicing at the club. Yumiko didn't know which club he was currently at.

Without choosing a means of transportation, Youmiko ignored passers-by and ran straight to Zhixian's home - she thought that since Zhixian was with his father, his address probably had not changed.

She came to a house with the word "Orange" written on the doorplate.

Yumiko patted her chest and gasped for air. She was very tired, and her breathing was completely out of rhythm. She had even forgotten the breathing method she had mastered as an athlete during the previous fierce run. She just ran aimlessly.

She didn't care about that anymore, she just wanted to see that person.

When her finger was on the doorbell and was about to press it, Yumiko hesitated.

The fingers subconsciously retracted.

"..." Yumiko looked at the house in front of her, her expression dazed.

She suddenly regretted rushing over here in such a hurry. She thought that maybe she could have been more rational in communicating with Zhixian about this...

Should I really press it? Yumiko asked herself.

Why are you still hesitating now that we've come this far? Yumiko thought to herself.

She hated herself for being hesitant now.

Why are you hesitating? Miura Yumiko! What on earth are you thinking, Miura Yumiko! You came here desperately, didn't you? You've already made up your mind to see him, haven't you? Why are you still hesitating now, Miura Yumiko! Aren't you the "Queen of Fire" of Sobu? Aren't you always decisive?

......

Why are you hesitating now, Yumiko Miura?

......

If I hesitate, if I continue to be so timid...won't anything change?

She wants to change, she really wants to change!

Yumiko bit her lower lip, clenched her fists, closed her eyes, and decisively pressed the doorbell with the index finger of her other hand.

Then the doorbell rang.

Yumiko let out a long sigh, as if all her strength had been exhausted.

However, there was no response from inside the house.

Once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back, so when Yumiko rang the doorbell the second time, she was not as nervous as before.

However, there was still no response from inside the house.

I feel relieved but also very disappointed.

This time is already past the nap time, so even if you are taking a short nap in the afternoon, you should still get up at this time.

It was then that Yumiko realized the mistake she had made - it was a rest day for her, but for Zhixian there were no rest days during training.

So Zhixian is probably training somewhere.

She didn't know where any of them were.

She subconsciously reached into her pocket to take out her cell phone, but found nothing.

"...No way?" Yumiko was dumbfounded.

Her pockets were empty, nothing at all. Not only was there no cell phone, but there were also no keys or wallet.

......Youyouko was speechless. She didn't see anyone and couldn't go home. What's more, her parents were not at home today.

It's like this when it rains but it doesn't.

Yumiko had no choice but to walk aimlessly while thinking about her troubles.

She didn't think about what to do if she couldn't go home. At this moment, her mind was still uncontrollably thinking about Zhixian. She had so many things to say to him and so many questions to ask him - she... wanted to see him so much now.

However, she did not choose to wait at the door of Zhixian's house. She was worried that she would not wait for Zhixian but wait for Zhixian's father, so she temporarily left Zhixian's house.

There is an endless stream of cars on the street, and pedestrians are coming and going, as if everything is going on in an orderly manner.

Before she knew it, she came to the park where they used to jog together in the morning, passed by the street tennis court they often went to, and saw the store where they bought tennis equipment.

......

You can lie to yourself, but your memory won't lie.

You can pretend to forget, but when the scene brings back memories, they will come back to you.

You never forgot just as you never intended to forget.

How could the memories that belonged only to you and him be forgotten so easily?

Memory is just playing a game of hide-and-seek with you, a game of will, with no time limit. When you want to find it, you will find it naturally; and even if you don't look for it, it is just hiding quietly, not leaving, waiting for the moment you discover it.

And now, Yumiko has grasped it—something called memory.

----split line----

In the restaurant.

Ms. Sato ate her steak slowly with a smile on her face.

From what he said just now, her son was probably going to look for someone, and she guessed it was probably a girl.

"My own son has reached this day too!" Ms. Sato said with emotion.

Even during the mixed doubles competition in junior high school, her son would not show any emotion if she made a few joking remarks, as if she was not interested in women at all.

What youth! Ms. Sato was very relieved that she didn't have to worry about her son stretching himself too much.

Someone who could make her son abandon his mother and go looking for her must be someone very important, right? Ms. Sato fully agrees with this reckless drive. After all, Zhixian seems a bit too rational and mature, not emotional enough.

——Ms. Sato felt a little disappointed that Zhixian still didn't show the same expression as the male protagonist in the TV series after answering the phone.

However, she could still easily feel her son's emotional fluctuations. Although it was not particularly obvious, she felt it.

Although Zhixian has always been reserved in his emotions, as a mother she is the person who knows her son best in the world, so she did not stop him but let him go to look for it.

"We must find that child, Yo Zhixian. Mom has done what she can." Ms. Sato murmured to herself.

She turned on her phone screen and saw no missed calls.

50. I want to meet you more and more

Zhixian came out of the restaurant with a tennis bag on his back, wondering where Youmiko might be.

First, the mother met Yumiko in the morning and let her know that her parents were divorced.

Secondly, before the afternoon competition, he met the junior high school counselor, who said that Yumiko had borrowed the videotape of the junior high school competition.

Since Yumiko was not at home and her phone could not be reached at all, the reason was that she did not bring her phone with her when she went out.

For such a mobile phone addict to not carry her mobile phone, something must have happened that made her ignore the use of her mobile phone.

Based on the above information, the only thing known to Zhixian that can make this inference valid is the video.

Yumiko watched the videotape, discovered something, and came to some conclusion, so she decided to go out on a whim, and that's why she didn't bring her cell phone with her.

So the first stop would probably be his house.

It is unknown whether he would leave after discovering that no one was at his house.

Zhixian made up his mind and started on his way home.

Even if Yumiko left, she would probably still be centered around his house—if her purpose was to see him.

----split line----

When I got home, my house was dark because no one was there, completely different from the brightly lit surrounding neighbors.

After finding that no one was home, where would Yumiko go? Zhixian continued to think.

Then he chose a direction - the other direction was the direction Yumiko came from her house.

Yumiko would never give up and go home without seeing him.

So he chose to go in the opposite direction of her way home.

And extending from this direction, there are memories shared by the two.

Whether it’s the park where you go for a morning jog or the tennis court where you often go.

After taking two steps, Zhixian stopped, turned back home, and took out something. Then he continued searching in the direction he had just chosen.

While walking on the road, Zhixian contacted Totsuka, from whom he got more information.

For example, Yumiko's parents are not at home, and there is no one at her home at this time.

Hayama considered that Yumiko stayed at home and did not respond to their idea, but the neighbor opposite Yumiko's house told Hayama who rang the doorbell that the little girl went out in the afternoon and did not come back because she played with the children in her yard all afternoon.

The neighbor had no need to lie, so Hayama had to conclude that Yumiko was not at home.

Through Totsuka, Chixian learned of Yeshan's thoughts.

He did not share information with them, probably out of some selfish motive.

Zhixian walked silently in this familiar area. He was thinking that if Youmeizi was really nearby, she would definitely be sad.

This street, this park, are full of memories of the past.

He never forgot those memories, but he also chose not to explain them.

That was his cowardice. He failed to face it bravely then and later.

During the year in Sobu, he always looked at Yumiko from afar, like a young boy who had a crush on a goddess.

Admittedly, Zhixian is not a dull person. He is very sharp, as sharp as every time he handles the ball correctly on the court, as if every time he hits a standard zero-type slice, the racket head needs to drop another 3.2 mm.

If you go to the junior high school where Zhixian attended and ask around, the impression you get will definitely not be the cold and arrogant Zhixian that Sobu students have today.

Zhixian is very smart and considerate.

However, after entering Sobu, he felt that such a way of life would sooner or later be linked to the group headed by Yumi Kohayama, so he gave up that way and instead appeared in the public eye with an extremely extreme image.

Zhixian has a cold face. He looks serious when he has no expression, so the first impression is that he is difficult to approach.

Zhixian used this inherent impression to create the current cold-blooded and ruthless Ju Zhixian.