novelraw Chapter 172 The protagonist always makes his appearance last, doesn't he?
Chapter 172 The protagonist always makes his appearance last, doesn't he?
The Seigaku students listened to the hushed whispers around them, immersed in a tense atmosphere.
Tezuka stood at the very front, his expression serious, his brown hair fluttering in the wind. His gaze was fixed on the entrance passage of Hyotei, his jawline taut.
Fuji stood beside him, his fingertips lightly tracing the lines of his sleeve. His eyes were slightly open, his usual smile still on his face, and he spoke slowly.
"Tezuka, who do you think will represent Hyotei?"
Fuji's voice was very soft, blending into the Zhou discussion, just enough for those around him to hear.
Tezuka didn't turn his head, his voice as calm as a still lake, "According to the standard lineup, it's Oshitari and Mukahi."
Sadaharu Inui, standing next to him, held a data notebook, his pen scratching across the paper.
"When the Hyotei doubles pair of Yuushi Oshitari and Gakuto Mukahi play together, their win rate is 87.5%. If the pair is split up at the last minute, their win rate will drop by at least 15%."
He paused, his pen tip touching the paper, "But after Mochizuki took the lead, the probability of the unknown increased by 60%."
"So even you couldn't guess correctly, Senior Inui?" Kaidou stood to the side, holding his racket, beads of sweat from warming up seeping from his forehead under his headscarf. He hissed, his voice muffled.
Qian didn't answer directly, but simply turned a page in his notebook.
Anything is possible.
Ryoma Echizen leaned against the fence, his hat pulled low, a bottle of grape-flavored Fanta sparkling water in his hand. He glanced in the direction of Hyotei, then looked away, grinding the pebbles on the ground with his toes.
"No matter who it is, we'll just fight them back."
Kawamura stood to the side, nodding as he gripped his racket, his face flushed slightly.
"Yes! Let's set it on fire!"
……
The discussions in the audience never stopped.
The match between Hyotei and Seigaku was the highlight of the day, with many players from other schools making a special trip to watch it, and the press area was almost overflowing.
Saori Shiba, holding her camera, nudged Mamoru Inoue beside her with her elbow, her tone full of curiosity: "Inoue-senpai, who do you think Hyotei will send for doubles pair two? I checked the information before, and it says that Oshitari and Mukahi are their first doubles pair, so they'll definitely be playing, right?"
Inoue Mamoru frowned, his gaze sweeping over the gray-white figures in the Hyotei rest area, and shook his head: "Hard to say. No one can figure out Mochizuki Ryo's thinking."
The electronic screen at the side of the court flickered, displaying that there were still ten minutes left in the preparation time for doubles match number two. Several boys in other school uniforms huddled together in the stands, whispering amongst themselves.
"Why hasn't Hyotei sent anyone yet? Are they planning to forfeit at the last minute?"
"What are you forfeiting? The coach is sitting right there. Does he look like he's going to forfeit?"
"So who's going to play? Isn't Oshitari in the reserve area?"
"Shinobu was just drinking water, and he wasn't wearing a jacket."
"So who's going to play doubles 2? We can't exactly have Atobe play doubles!!!"
"Are you dreaming? Atobe is the captain, how could he possibly play doubles? If he were to play, it would be singles, a showdown between him and Tezuka from Seigaku."
The sounds of discussion were like ripples on the water's surface, spreading outwards in concentric circles.
Some people tiptoed to peer into the Hyotei rest area, some looked down at their phones to check match predictions, and some even zoomed in on their cameras to their longest zoom, aiming at the gray-white crowd at Hyotei.
Everyone's curiosity was piqued to its peak.
Everyone stared at the direction of Hyotei's rest area, waiting to see which pair they would send out.
On the coaching bench of Hyotei University.
Wang Yueling paid no attention to the various discussions around her, leaning back in her chair with one leg crossed over the other, looking languid.
Luna yawned while lying on his lap, her pink tongue peeking out slightly. Looking at the soft little ball of black fur, the tip of her tail slowly brushed against his wrist, tickling him.
The kitten had just woken up from a nap, still feeling the coolness of its cat carrier, its fur fluffy like a ball of cotton.
Wang Yueling reached out and tugged at the mini Hyotei team uniform on its body. The collar was a little crooked, which made the kitten's ears twitch.
He moved his fingertips very lightly, stroking the cat's fur twice, while other thoughts raced through his mind.
Yukimura and the others will be here soon after they finish up. It shouldn't be long before they arrive, maybe even before Hyotei has finished their doubles match.
He thought to himself, looking down at the kitten on his lap, and poked its little ear with his fingertip: "Your dad will be here soon, so be alert. Don't miss him if you're still sleeping and then you cry, I won't take care of you."
Luna's ears twitched. Upon hearing the name "Seishi," she slowly raised her head, her heterochromatic eyes narrowing into slits.
It tilted its head, patted Wang Yueling's hand with its soft paws, opened its mouth to yawn, and its pink tongue peeked out briefly before quickly retracting.
The way it looked was as if it said, "I know, stop nagging."
Mochizuki Ling chuckled, flicking its little nose with her fingertip. "You little lazy cat, you're only most enthusiastic when you're meeting Seishi."
Luna meowed softly, then buried her head back in his lap, her tail curling around his wrist, and remained still.
Atobe arrived at this time.
His footsteps were neither too light nor too heavy, his sneakers clicking on the rubber surface with a unique rhythm.
Wang Yueling knew who it was without even looking up.
Atobe stopped beside the coach's bench, glanced down at the kitten on Mochizuki Ryo's lap, then looked up at Mochizuki Ryo, raising an eyebrow slightly. "Aren't you going to call them onto the field?"
Mochizuki Ryo glanced at the coaching bench opposite him. Kikumaru and Momoshiro were standing at the front, listening to Ryuzaki Jin's instructions.
"We still have time to prepare, there's no rush."
He slowly picked up the water bottle, took a sip, and smirked. "The main character always makes their appearance last. Two more minutes."
She glanced down at the kitten in her arms, then looked up at Atobe, her eyes crinkling with a smile. "Keigo, you've come at the perfect time. Please take care of Luna for me."
Upon hearing this, Atobe turned his head: "Me, sir?"
"Yeah, besides me, you're its favorite. Besides... I sit on the coach's bench, it wouldn't be good for the cat to be around."
Mochizuki Ryo cradled Luna's bottom in her hands and handed the kitten to Atobe, speaking casually, "Anyway, you don't go on in the singles match until much later, so you're just killing time. Watch her for me for a bit."
Atobe frowned slightly, about to refuse, when the little cat had already grabbed onto the cuff of his school uniform jacket. The tiny paws hooked into the fabric, the soft force carrying a slightly warm touch.
He swallowed his words, paused for two seconds, and then reached out to take it.
The movements were extremely gentle, with the palm supporting the kitten's waist and abdomen, carefully avoiding its right paw wrapped in gauze, for fear of hurting it.
But he still spoke with a tone of disdain.
"This is such a hassle."
Luna ignored the two-legged creature's complaints, adjusted herself into a comfortable position in his arms, and used her little paws to stomp on his team uniform on his chest, making gurgling sounds in her throat.
That sounds wonderful.
Atobe's body stiffened further, and a faint pink blush crept onto the tips of his ears, but fortunately, his hair covered it, so no one saw it.
Wang Yue Ling suppressed a laugh, placed the cat carrier and small cloth bag next to her on the chair next to Atobe, and muttered to herself as she unzipped them.
"This contains warm water, which can be fed with a small bottle. Next to it is kitten-specific meat puree; if it fusses for it, give it half a bag."
"There's a small fan on the side of the bag; just turn it on to the lowest setting, and don't point it directly at the belly. This bag has a cooling function; just press this button. If it gets too hot, you can put it inside, leaving a small gap in the zipper for ventilation."
As he spoke, he pointed to the small pocket inside the cat carrier, "If it bites your hand to chew on its teeth, feed it two small chew biscuits. But don't feed it too much, it will need milk in two hours."
"If it still acts spoiled and fussy, just ignore it. It's probably just pretending; it's been spoiled."