Love Tennis and Yumiko Miura

She thought Zhixian must have failed to cook countless meals, washed out stained clothes, mixed up the times for sorting and recycling garbage, and made incompetent decisions when buying groceries.

But he eventually overcame them all and did not delay his tennis training. He did not let the trivialities of life erode his love for tennis and his pursuit of his dreams.

Thinking of this, Yumiko's eyes became a little sour. She took a bite of the fried egg, revealing the yolk inside, and tried hard to control her emotions.

She deeply regretted that during the darkest time in Zhixian's life, she, who claimed to understand him best, had not been by his side to comfort him, to encourage him, to help him overcome his difficulties. She had abandoned him on her own, letting him fall into darkness alone.

If there was a pill to regret in the world, Yumiko would be willing to take it, even though their results that year were not even among the top eight in the country.

But there is no regret pill.

The past is the past, just like the flowing water and falling leaves, which are irreversible.

A few tears inevitably fell on his face.

Youmiko took out a tissue and wiped her tears. She didn't want Zhixian to see it.

The girl took a deep breath, forced herself to smile, and then buried her head in eating noodles.

After being active for an entire afternoon and night, her stomach was empty and she was really a little hungry.

By the time Zhixian came back after taking a shower and changing clothes, Youmiko was almost done eating.

"...Have you eaten?" Seeing Zhixian coming over, Youyouko hesitated for a moment, but changed her words temporarily.

"I have eaten. I ate with my mother in the evening."

"Oh, that's good." Yumiko didn't say anything else, but just silently ate the remaining noodles in the bowl and drank all the soup.

Zhixian didn't ask whether it was to his taste or not. He felt that Youmeko's actions had fully proved that she didn't dislike the bowl of noodles. She even finished the soup.

"Do you want to watch TV? There's a live broadcast of the French Open today." Zhixian invited.

"Okay." Yumiko nodded, she didn't know what to say.

So Zhixian threw the dishes into the sink and planned to clean them up tomorrow.

The French Open is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, held at Roland Garros in France. It is also the only one of the four Grand Slam tournaments held on clay courts.

When I turned on the TV, the match of the King of Clay Nadal was being broadcast live.

57.Tennis Topics

The French Open was founded in 1891 and became the first Grand Slam tournament to enter the Open Era in 1968. It's played on outdoor clay courts. Because clay courts have a slower ball speed, which facilitates baseline play, and men's singles matches are decided in a best-of-five format, some matches can often last nearly four hours. Because winning on such a court is incredibly challenging, players must possess exceptional skill and incredible perseverance.

每年的法国网球公开赛都会有众多著名球员参赛。男子和女子比赛各有128名单打选手和六十四对双打组合参赛。比赛组委会也为获胜者准备了丰厚的奖金，2016年的总奖金达到了3201万7500欧元（约合2.35亿rmb）。

"Clay courts are slow, so the ball bounces high and has a lot of spin," Zhixian said. "Sampras never won the French Open in his lifetime, but Nadal has won it 12 times."

(Author's voiceover: This data includes the 2019 French Open champion.)

"Federer seems to have only won the French Open once?" Yumiko knew very well that the person in front of her was a die-hard fan of Federer.

"Yes, once, in 2009." Zhixian nodded. "Since Nadal won the French Open for the first time in 2005, he has only missed the French Open championship three times so far."

"His ball control is so strong." Yumiko exclaimed.

On the TV screen, Nadal fiddled with his left sideburn, then adjusted his right sideburn, and occasionally adjusted the position of his sweatband. Only after completing this lengthy process would he serve.

But the laziness of adjusting his hair after serving is gone. His precise calculation and unparalleled ball control make him invincible on the clay court.

After Nadal successfully held his serve, the score came to 3:0.

“从2006年到2011年，每一年的法网决赛都是费德勒对纳达尔，而费德勒只赢下了2009年的那次对决，而且大部分比赛都是大比分3:1或者3:0输给纳达尔。”知弦叹了口气。

Tennis king Federer has a total of 20 Grand Slam trophies, the most in tennis.

He has demonstrated strong adaptability and control on different courts, including hard court, grass court, clay court and indoor court. It's a pity that he still can't compete with Nadal, the king of clay court, on clay court.

The next player to take Federer's place in the French Open finals, Djokovic, was defeated by Nadal several times. He faced Nadal twice in the finals, losing both times 3-1. The newly crowned world number one's only French Open title came against Andy Murray, a player he had more wins than losses against.

"Has Zhixian ever played on a clay court?" Youmiko asked.

"No, but I'm very interested." Zhixian replied.

As a baseline player, he would naturally be interested in this type of court. Challenging his limits on the clay court is also something he has always wanted to try.

Unfortunately, few clubs are willing to build either grass or clay courts. Not only are they difficult to maintain, but few people are willing to use them except professional players.

As soon as the topic of tennis came up, Zhixian started to talk. Before that, the two of them felt a little restrained and not very relaxed when talking.

The men's singles tournaments at the four Grand Slams all use a best-of-five format, which not only requires skill but also physical strength. Professional tournaments outside the four Grand Slams use a best-of-three format. The student league in Japan, on the other hand, is decided in a single set.

The distribution of physical energy in such a competition system becomes a key point for those who want to enter the professional field. It is meaningless if you only have skills but lack the physical strength to finish the game.

So, after Zhixian decided to become a professional player, he underwent intense and brutal training to improve his physical fitness. The amount of training was so intense that even Hiratsuka Shizuka couldn't bear to watch. Otherwise, she wouldn't have allowed Zhixian to sleep during class without any care, even though he was a special athlete.

The amount of training that can be recognized by Shizuka Hiratsuka must be far beyond what ordinary people can imagine.

One of the reasons why Zhixian did not train in the tennis club was that the training volume of the tennis club was too little. Participating in the training of the tennis club was simply a waste of time and it was also easy to discourage the children.

Clubs that pay money are different. They have more flexible time, professional coaches, and complete facilities.

And there won't be any trouble - high school students can be really boring sometimes. Whether they stand up for their friends or give them gifts, they act like they are very righteous, but whether they actually feel that way is questionable.

That's why Zhixian erected a high wall and didn't communicate with people outside the wall, only communicating with people who had the key.

Although there was a risk of accidental injury, this was more efficient. He didn't want to play house with insignificant people. He could do it like Ye Shan, but it would be very tiring and would affect his mood and training.

At that time, Zhixian felt that if he spent a lot of time on socializing like Ye Shan, he would probably never be able to go to Roland Garros to participate in the French Open in his life.

Before he knew it, Nadal had defeated his opponent with a score of 3:0 and easily advanced to the next round.

"Nadal is so strong." Zhixian sighed. No matter how much Nadal's performance fluctuates, he can always achieve something on this blessed land of clay.

"Can the zero-style slice be played on clay?" Yumiko suddenly asked.

Zhixian was stunned when he heard this, then smiled and said, "It's hard to say. We have to try it to find out, right?"

"That day will come," Yumiko replied.

After all, you've overcome so many hardships and obstacles, how could a mere piece of red clay possibly stop you?

I have been running away from tennis and have been left far behind by you. I can't even see your back, right?

Even if they could reconcile, Yumiko didn't think she could stand by him and fight alongside him again.

58. Zhixian's Room

The live broadcast of the French Open ended, but the rain outside was still pouring down, and it seemed to be getting heavier.

Zhixian got up and turned off the TV. It was almost time to go to bed - and Youmiko was already confused and a little dozed off.

"Youyouzi." Zhixian came to Youyouzi and called softly, "Don't sleep here, go back to your room and sleep."

"Hmm? Zhixian..." The girl struggled to open her sleepy eyes. She was so tired today that she couldn't help but fall asleep as she leaned against the soft cushions. This feeling was like curling up in a kotatsu in winter, and it was simply irresistible.

"Go back to your room and sleep?"

"Yeah, okay." Youyouko got up drowsily, yawning, and followed Zhixian upstairs.

Zhixian's room is very tidy, and everything in the room is arranged in an orderly manner.

The books are on the bookshelf, the figures and models are on a cabinet, and the clothes are neatly placed in the closet.

There were several posters of Federer on the wall, and the pillows and quilt on the bed were neatly placed.

It's so tidy that it doesn't look like a boy's room.

In addition to a desktop computer, there is also a row of comic books on the desk.

Out of curiosity, Yumiko took a look and found that it was "Moe Ai" by Yumeno Sakiko.

"Do you still watch 'Moe Love'?"

"Well, for various reasons." Yumiko didn't know that Chixian was Nozaki's assistant.

At present, only a small number of people know the identity of Nozaki the cartoonist. He himself is not a high-profile person. Another point is that, as he himself said, no one would believe him even if he told him.

In fact, if Chixian had not witnessed Nozaki's paintings with his own eyes, he would not have believed that this dull-looking big guy with low EQ was actually a girl cartoonist who was good at depicting delicate emotions.

It's a subtle feeling that's hard to describe, but after working as an assistant for so long, Zhixian has become accustomed to the story of "Moe Ai." When you reach that level of assistantship, you basically don't care about the plot of the manga anymore. The first thing he does when he gets a new volume is to flip through it page by page to see if there are any mistakes in his drawings—although the chance is low, it can't be ruled out. Another use for the work is to have a reference image when drawing similar parts.

He basically never examined "Meng Ai" from the perspective of a reader. Every time he read it, he paid attention to the parts outside the story.

"This comic is very popular among girls. I didn't expect that Zhixian likes it too." Youmiko counted and found that Zhixian actually had all the single volumes so far.

"Well......"

"I've read a little bit of it, and I think it's pretty good." Yumiko wasn't one of those people who didn't read comics, so if even she said it was good, then it must be really popular among girls. Otherwise, such a low-brow topic wouldn't reach the upper echelons of Yumiko and her group.

After all, Ebina Hina was a fujoshi, so there was no way she'd read shojo manga. As for Yuigahama, Chixian didn't know her well, but judging by her usual demeanor, she probably wasn't the type to discuss topics her friends wouldn't like—especially since he'd witnessed Yukinoshita and Yumiko arguing over some unknown reason. This incident made Chixian feel like Yuigahama wasn't very confident or assertive.

Suddenly there was a loud thunder.

"Ah!" Youmiko was startled, then immediately pretended to be calm. The incident happened so suddenly that Zhixian didn't even notice.

Along with the thunder, the rain outside became noticeably heavier.

"Luckily, tomorrow is also a day off." Zhixian drew the curtains. "Then Youmei, you should have a good rest. If you need anything, just call me..."

"That..." Seeing Zhixian was about to leave, Youmeko stopped Zhixian.

"Hmm? Is there anything else?" Zhixian asked. He thought he might not have explained something clearly. "Is there anything I didn't explain clearly?"

"That, that..." Yumiko was a little embarrassed to say it out loud.

Zhixian waited patiently while his brain was working rapidly.

Although he had an alternative answer, he didn't dare to say it out loud.

But there must be other possibilities, right? Zhixian still held on to a glimmer of hope.

Yumiko bit her lip, took a deep breath and made up her mind.

"...Can you sleep here tonight too?"

"......" As expected...

"I, um... I'm a little afraid of thunder..." If you were to find an animal to describe Yumiko, it would be an ostrich, an ostrich with a red little face.

"I understand. I'll sleep on the floor." Zhixian then took out a set of bedding from the closet, spread it beside the bed, and then found a pillow.

At this time, the shy Yumiko buried her face in the pillow after making her request.

How could I have said such a thing on impulse?! I was so impulsive today!

If Zhixian hadn't been in the room, Youmiko might have been so ashamed that she would have rolled sushi on the bed and the quilt.

Although her face was buried in the pillow, Yumiko knew that her face must be very red and hot.

The slight sleepiness I had felt had long been thrown out of my mind.

The heart was beating faster and faster, showing the owner's mood at the moment.

My heartbeat was getting faster and faster, as if a thousand small drums were beating in unison, so deafening that it could not be ignored.

It would be fine if the instigator was someone else, but the culprit is Yumiko herself.

Who can I talk to to explain this?

After making the bed, Zhixian glanced at Youmiko, who still had her face buried in the pillow, and couldn't help laughing. If he had been a little mean at this time, Youmiko's expression would definitely be very funny.

But he was not a sinister person, so he gave up this tempting idea with great regret.

Besides, Yumiko had experienced too much today, so it would be better for her to rest early.

"Yumiko, you're going to suffocate like this, aren't you?"

Yumiko quickly turned around and pulled the quilt over her face, leaving only the top of her head exposed.

"Then I'll turn off the lights." Zhixian couldn't help laughing again.

When it got dark in the room, Youyouzi quietly pulled down the quilt bit by bit, revealing her forehead and eyes.

She tilted her head to glance at Zhixian under the bed and found that he had already covered himself with the quilt and was lying down, so she slowly pulled the quilt under her chin.

"I'm sorry Zhixian, you have to sleep on the floor because of me."

"It doesn't matter. This way the earthquake can be discovered immediately." Zhixian responded with a lukewarm joke.

Japan is indeed a country prone to earthquakes, after all, it is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire. For Japanese residents, natural disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons are commonplace, and they are always experienced every few months.

59. Thoughts and Breakfast

"......" It's raining so hard, an earthquake will be very troublesome, right?

"People in Japan are used to sleeping on the floor, so Yumiko doesn't need to feel any burden."