8mi Chapter 153 Is it really boring for the Phoenix of Byodoin to play ball?
Chapter 153 Is it really boring for the Phoenix of Byodoin to play ball?
Yukimura stood quietly to the side, listening to the two of them talk back and forth, occasionally chiming in with a word.
He discovered that Mochizuki Ryo was a completely different person when chatting with Irie Kanata compared to when he was with the Echizen father and son.
He was cold, sarcastic, and even a bit mean to the Echizen father and son. To Kanata Irie, he was polite, gentle, and even showed a hint of respect from a junior to a senior.
This difference is not because Kanata Irie is stronger, but because Kanata Irie did not step on his landmines.
The way Echizen Ryoma spoke and the arrogance of Echizen Nanjiro struck exactly at the point that he disliked.
And this person...
Yukimura glanced at Kanata Irie.
The other person's eyes behind their round-framed glasses always held a smile, and they tilted their head slightly when speaking, their tone gentle and harmless. But he always felt that this person was not as simple as they appeared.
"By the way, speaking of tennis..."
Kanata Irie's tone suddenly became lighthearted, but his eyes behind his glasses gleamed with a playful light. "Mochizuki-kun, you're quite the celebrity at the U17 training camp now. Taneshima and Mori have been promoting you a lot at the camp since they came back from Karuizawa."
"What are you promoting?" Mochizuki Ryou raised an eyebrow.
"To promote you."
Kanata Irie tilted his head and said in an exaggerated tone, "Mori said you caught ten high-speed balls while wearing a suit; and you broke Taneshima's 'Nothing' series of special moves in just one minute, shaving his head bald. Now the whole training camp is talking about you."
With each sentence he spoke, Wang Yueling's eyebrows would rise slightly.
"Kogoro also found out information about your Karuizawa training camp from Rikkai University's backers."
Kanata Irie lowered her voice and continued, her tone becoming increasingly exaggerated, "She said you could curse them for three hours straight at the manor without using a single swear word, that you deliberately abused your teammates by only feeding them boiled broccoli, and that you raised a group of well-trained monkeys to help you prank people."
"I don't keep monkeys," Mochizuki Ryou interrupted him. "Those escaped from the nearby zoo."
"Anyway, that's not what Mori said." Kanata Irie shrugged, looking completely innocent. "He said you're a villain sent by the monkeys."
Mochizuki Ryo thought of a certain Lazy Sheep-like red cat, and her lips twitched. "You actually believe what Mori-senpai says?"
"Believe me."
Kanata Irie smiled, her eyes crinkling. "Although Mori is a bit lazy, he never lies."
"And another thing... I heard from Taneshima that you know the technical characteristics, playing styles, and even mental habits of everyone in our training camp like the back of your hand?!"
Is it true?
Mochizuki Ryo didn't deny it, "Mm."
"And what about me?" Kanata Irie leaned closer, her tone tinged with curiosity. "How much do you know about me?"
"I know you're a mentally driven player who likes acting."
Mochizuki Ryo moved away from him, took a step toward Yukimura, and said simply, "Moreover, he has superb acting skills and is most adept at using psychological tactics to confuse his opponents in matches."
Kanata Irie's smile froze for a moment, then returned to normal. "Oh dear, you found out already. How am I supposed to lie to you now?"
"You can't fool me." Mochizuki Ryou said this calmly, but with a hint of amusement in her azure eyes. "Because I knew from the beginning that you were acting."
"Really? That's a shame."
Kanata Irie reluctantly adjusted her glasses, put her hands back in her pockets, and adopted a more relaxed stance.
His eyes darted around, a slight smile playing on his lips. He deliberately took another half-step closer to them, as if he were about to share some incredible secret.
"I also have some news for you. Our Byodoin boss has already declared that if any junior high school student can win a game against him, he will hand over the No. 1 position in the first team."
"Everyone in the training camp is waiting to see you junior high school students enter the camp and fight him."
Kanata Irie's tone carried a subtle, persuasive quality, yet her eyes remained fixed on them, scrutinizing every minute change in their expressions.
Ryo Mochizuki and Yukimura exchanged a glance, both seeing confidence in each other's eyes.
Wang Yueling chuckled lightly, her tone calm yet carrying an undeniable confidence: "Oh? Then I'm afraid his position is not secure."
"There are quite a few promising students among junior high school students!"
Kanata Irie looked at the two of them, who seemed completely unfazed, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
I had expected this attempt to provoke the boys to reveal something—whether it was excitement, nervousness, or resentment. But their expressions were too calm, as if they were listening to something trivial.
"Don't you want to give it a try?" Kanata Irie tilted her head and looked at Ryo Mochizuki.
"Try what?" Mochizuki Ryo shrugged. "Win a round from Byodoin Phoenix? Ha! My goals are never such trivial things."
"Oh... You consider playing ball with Hodoin Phoenix boring? Then how about I tell you what you consider not boring?"
Wang Yueling glanced at Yukimura with a gentle expression, her azure eyes filled with solemnity.
"accompany!"
He had already reached the pinnacle of tennis in his previous life, so he had long since given up on that ambition. In this life, his new challenge is "companionship."
Spend time with family, with Yukimura, with friends.
These are the most interesting new goals.
When Yukimura caught Mochizuki Ryo's gaze, his hand gripping the camera tightened suddenly. When the other person said "accompany," his heart skipped a beat.
Then, the fawn inside started kicking and thrashing around, and it had already fainted.
Kanata Irie was inexplicably fed a mouthful of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection), adjusted her glasses, coughed softly, and a smile slowly spread across her lips.
"Tanegashima is right, you're really interesting."
"Mochizuki-kun, do you know that there are more rumors about you than about Echizen Nanjiro in the training camp? Some people say you traveled back from the future, some say you are an alien, and some say you are a retired professional gamer who had plastic surgery."
Wang Yueling's lips twitched.
"Who said the last one?"
"I don't remember. Because Taneshima and Mori confirmed that you didn't play like a middle school student, a lot of people believed it."
Yukimura stood to the side, listening to Irie Kanata say these things, and then burst out laughing.
Mochizuki Ryou turned her head and glanced at him. "Seiichi, what are you laughing at?"
"It's nothing." Yukimura raised his camera and pressed the shutter button on the church painting. "I just thought it was pretty funny."
Kanata Irie's gaze fell on Yukimura, lingering for two seconds. "Yukimura-kun, aren't you curious about him?"
Yukimura put down his camera, glanced at Mochizuki Ryo, and then looked at Irie Kanata.
"He'll talk when he's willing to. If he's not willing to talk, there's no point in asking."
Kanata Irie looked at him, her eyes filled with even deeper scrutiny.
The relationship between these two people was more interesting than he had imagined.
It's obvious that Mochizuki Ryo cares about Yukimura, but Yukimura's attitude towards Mochizuki Ryo, while seemingly gentle, hides a deep layer of trust beneath.
Kanata Irie mentally went through the relationship, then turned to look at Yukimura, her eyes behind her glasses curving into a smile.
"Yukimura-kun is quite famous at the training camp. I've always been interested in your ability to destroy the five senses. Mental tennis is also quite rare at the training camp. I'd really like to play a match with you if I had the chance."
Yukimura nodded slightly, a hint of seriousness in his purplish-blue eyes. "If there's an opportunity, please take care of me."
Kanata Irie's gaze swept between the two of them again, and the corners of his mouth turned up.
"The Kanto Tournament is the day after tomorrow, right? Hyotei vs. Seigaku, Rikkai vs. Ginka."
"Mm." Wang Yueling nodded.
"I will go see it."
Kanata Irie pushed up his glasses, his gaze falling on Ryo Mochizuki's face, his tone sincere and earnest, "I'm really looking forward to seeing what kind of results your team can achieve."
"Then you might be disappointed." Wang Yueling's tone was playful and confident. "It's only the first round, the opponents aren't strong."
"Qingxue is not weak this year."
Kanata Irie was somewhat amused by his confidence, "Their captain is a good seed in the junior high school level, and they also have a first-year regular, Ryoma Echizen, both of them are pretty good."
Wang Yueling glanced at him.
"Do you know Tezuka and Echizen?"
"I ran into Echizen Ryoma outside just now."
Kanata Irie smiled and adjusted his round-framed glasses. "I chatted with his father for a bit. You've met Nanjiro Echizen too, haven't you? He was wearing a monk's robe, looking nonchalant, but he has a sharp eye."
"I saw him." Mochizuki Ryou's tone was calm.
"Echizen Nanjiro seems quite interested in you." Irie Kanata looked at him, his eyes behind his glasses showing interest. "He was asking me about you outside just now. He asked if we had any information about you at the training camp, how many years you've been playing, and who your coach is. I said I didn't know, and he seemed a little disappointed."
Wang Yueling didn't reply.
Kanata Irie continued, "But seriously, after your 1v200 victory spread throughout the training camp, a lot of people wanted to play against you. Not just the first team players, but also the goalkeepers on the field. You know Oni Jujiro, right?"
"Know."
"He said he wanted to fight you. Tokugawa didn't say anything either, but judging from his expression, he seemed quite interested in giving it a try."
Wang Yueling put her hands in her pockets and adopted a more relaxed stance. "If they want to fight, we'll talk about it when I get to the training camp."
When are you going?
"After the National Tournament."
"Then I'll wait and see what happens." Kanata Irie turned to look at Yukimura. "Yukimura-kun, I'm also looking forward to your first match after your recovery. I really want to see with my own eyes how your Five Senses Extinction works."
Looking at Kanata Irie's gentle face, Yukimura felt that there was something else behind what the other person was saying.
But the other person's gaze was very direct and their tone was very sincere, leaving him unable to find any flaws.
"If Irie-senpai comes to watch, I'll give it my all."
"Then it's settled."
Kanata Irie clapped his hands with a smile, glanced at his watch, turned around and took a few steps, then turned back and winked at Ryou Mochizuki. "It's getting late. I'll go ask you about the painting now, but whether it works out or not is up to you."
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Senior Irie." Mochizuki Ryou was very polite this time, with a hint of gratitude in her eyes.
Kanata Irie simply smiled, turned around, and disappeared into the crowd in the exhibition hall.
Watching him walk away, Mochizuki Ryo sighed, then turned to Yukimura and said, "If this guy doesn't play tennis anymore, he could become an actor."
Yukimura looked puzzled. "You mean he was acting the whole time?"
"It's not acting either." Wang Yueling thought for a moment, "It's just... every word he says is true, but his expressions, tone of voice, and body language may not be. He shows you the side he wants you to see."
"Perhaps he's just better at hiding his true self beneath a gentle exterior than others."
After listening, Yukimura remained silent for two seconds. "So, is he a good person or a bad person?"
"It's neither good nor bad."
Wang Yueling recalled the information in her mind and explained softly, "He's just too interested in people's psychology. He likes to observe, analyze, and test. People like that are interesting to be friends with, but they'd be very difficult to deal with as adversaries."
Yukimura nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
The two of them walked around the exhibition hall again.
Just as he said, Mochizuki Ryo meticulously explained every single work that Yukimura was interested in. From the painter's life and creative background to the composition, color usage, and brushstrokes of the paintings, he spoke with great expertise.
Yukimura listened, nodding occasionally and asking a question or two now and then. He noticed that when Mochizuki Ryo was explaining the painting, he spoke very softly and slowly, like an old gentleman who had been a museum guide his whole life.
"Ling, you seem to know everything."
Yukimura looked at Mochizuki Ryo, his violet-blue eyes filled with an indescribable emotion. "Tennis, business, painting, confectionery, medicine... is there anything you can't do?"
After thinking for a moment, Wang Yueling solemnly said, "Have a child."
Yukimura was taken aback by the answer and speechlessly raised his hand to pinch his waist. Sensing the danger, Mochizuki Ryo nimbly dodged and immediately apologized in a low voice, "I was wrong, I was wrong."
"However, I'm telling the truth, I really don't know how to do this."
"Shut up." Yukimura glared at him, but his eyes were full of laughter.
The two had just reached the door, arguing noisily, when a staff member stopped them, saying that Kanata Irie had put in a good word for them and the organizers had agreed to let them see each other.
Mochizuki Ryo and Yukimura exchanged a glance, then followed the staff through a side door into a small reception room.
There were two people sitting in the room.
A middle-aged man in a gray suit, with neatly combed hair and gold-rimmed glasses, exuded a refined air. Next to him sat a man of similar age, dressed in white casual wear, with a well-maintained physique and a healthy tan.
When Wang Yueling saw the man in the white casual clothes, she paused for a moment.
Professional tennis player.
He's probably retired. His posture, shoulder line, and the way he looks at people are all the habits of a professional player.
"Uncle, this is Mochizuki Ryo, and the other is his friend Yukimura Seiichi," Irie Kanata said with a smile as they entered. "They want to buy your painting."
The middle-aged man in the gray suit stood up, said "You've arrived" in French, his gaze lingered on Mochizuki Ryou's face for a moment, and then his expression changed.
It wasn't shock, it was confirmation.
"Are you Felix's son?" he asked in French, his voice not loud, but with a very warm smile.
Wang Yueling bowed slightly and answered in French, in a serious but haphazard manner, "Yes, Mr. Duke. My father often mentions you."
"Meyer, you mentioned me?" Duke laughed when he heard Mochizuki Ryo say that. "He must have said bad things about me."
Wang Yueling was somewhat speechless at her father's worthless reputation, but still shook her head elegantly and generously, "No. He said you are the most knowledgeable person about tennis he has ever met."
"That cunning fellow."
Duke laughed heartily at his joke, clearly realizing he was lying, but didn't call him out on it, and patted him hard on the shoulder.
His tone carried a sense of nostalgia, as if he were reuniting with an old friend.
"Your father and I have been friends for thirty years. I even held you in my arms when you were little! You were only this tall back then..."
He gestured with his hand, indicating that it reached approximately to his waist.
"Blonde hair and blue eyes, like a porcelain doll. Your father held you in his arms, and you wouldn't let go of his tie, pulling his collar askew."
Wang Yueling's lips twitched.
He didn't remember it at all, but Mr. Duke described it so vividly that it didn't seem like he was making it up.
Mr. Duke smiled, took out his phone from his pocket, and handed him a few photos.
On the screen, a young blond man stands by a lavender field, with two teenagers beside him. One is his father, and the other two are the two teenagers in front of him.
The three people in the photo are smiling happily, especially his father, whose teeth are so white they could swat toothpaste.