must love tennis

While Ryoma was packing his luggage, he heard the doorbell downstairs ring.

She tilted her head, and spent two seconds thinking about it. Nanako went shopping with her classmates, and her father was in the backyard...

"Ryoma," Lunzi called to her from the stairs, "a friend came to see you."

Ryoma hurriedly glanced at the book she had just received—the title on the cover was, "Intensive Teaching Doubles"—she hesitated for a while, thinking that she might not need it in the future, and put it back on the bookshelf.

There are quite a few people who say goodbye to her these days, but this is the first one who came directly to her house.

Ryoma clattered down the stairs on his loose slippers. Before he could guess who the guest was, he turned a corner and saw Genichiro Sanada standing at the door of the living room.

He was wearing regular clothes, without a ball cap, and at first glance, he felt a little strange.

"Eh……"

She was a little surprised.

Sanada nodded to Ryoma and asked, "Aren't you busy?"

"It's okay, I'm packing the suitcase." She replied, "Would you like me to play ball?"

"Alright." When Sanada said this, it was obvious that this was not his main intention.

Ryoma looked at it curiously, saw him take out a copybook from the bag, handed it over, and said calmly: "This is for you."

"Thank you... Huh? Calligraphy?"

"Yes." Sanada replied with affirmative eyes.

It seems that his teammates said that Sanada likes writing calligraphy very much...

Still like to write to each friend?

Longma remembered, took the copybook, unfolded it, and read it out slowly: "The highest kindness is like water."

Although she can recognize every Chinese character, but combined, she can't understand it.

To put it mildly, after staying in the United States for so many years, Ryoma's English is better than his Japanese.Every time she takes a Chinese test, what worries her the most is ancient Chinese, let alone Chinese...

Even so, seeing Sanada's serious expression, Ryoma felt that it was impossible to get a clear explanation from him.

She could only briefly appreciate the brush and ink skills, then put it away calmly, and decided to go back to the knowledgeable senior Gan for advice.

Sanada waited for her to put her things away, and then stepped into the living room.

He stared thoughtfully at the set of tea sets on the coffee table for a while, and said to the point: "It's dusty."

"Oh, because there are a lot of people in the family," Ryoma glanced back, and explained casually, "Brother Kazuya likes to drink tea, and... well, they all left later, and my parents and I don't have the habit of making tea. , just leave it alone for now.”

"Have they all gone back?"

"Some went back, some went out to play." She cleared her throat and explained, "Well, if everyone lives at home, we will fight sooner or later."

in various senses.

Sanada nodded calmly, expressing her understanding.

"I heard there is a court in your backyard?"

Ryoma nodded cheerfully: "Well, but it was broken by a gashapon brother a few days ago, and it's still being repaired."

"Then let's go for a walk." Sanada said in an unquestionable tone.

Before going out, Ryoma thought about whether to take the racket, and looked at Sanada questioningly.

The main reason is that she can't imagine what the two of them can do when they go shopping at this time - except playing tennis?

Sanada shook his head at her, signaling no need.

"Can you play pool?"

"will not."

But it shouldn't be difficult, Ryoma thought, and Sanada said almost at the same time: "It doesn't matter, you should learn quickly."

His eyes just happened to sweep over and met hers, as if he was examining her, but also seemed to be expressing a frank appreciation.

……

Whether Ryoma herself has noticed it or not, she has a remarkable talent for sports, and even her first encounter with Japanese table tennis - the game is generally called "pool" here - is very quick to pick up.

It's still a bit difficult to compete with proficient experts, but it's enough for ordinary pastime.

Ryoma weighed the heavy club in her hand with great interest, and at the same time she noticed that Sanada seemed to be thinking about something when she was posing for the shot.

However, Sanada is worthy of being a man who is quite scary in everything he does.Even in "seemingly" dual-purpose situations, he can methodically knock each ball down the bag in sequence.

Not only is the mind clear, but the calculation power is amazing, and the body coordination and control ability are also achieved to the extreme.

Even though they're not competing, there's always a little rivalry in all sports.

Longma watched helplessly from the side, unable to do anything, it was still a bit boring.She couldn't help but poked the cue stick on the edge of the table and reminded him in a low voice: "Hey, you won't just clear the table in one go, will you?"

That's too boring.

Sanada glanced at her briefly, but didn't respond directly, and typed "Snooker" while thinking.

The right to hit the ball finally fell into the hands of Ryoma, but at this moment, she looked at the obstacle ball between the white cue ball and the numbered colored ball, and immediately realized that it was very tricky.

As expected, Sanada was merciless and did not dare to underestimate her as a "new billiard player"—but in fact, she was a 100% novice.

The rules they adopted this time, according to Sanada, are the simplest ones.

Nine number balls, the first to knock down the number nine ball will win.They use the cue ball to knock down the number ball in turn. No matter whether they are successful or not, the cue ball cannot fall into the bag or be empty, otherwise it will be considered a foul.

Ryoma walked around the table slowly, looking at it from all angles.

At this moment, besides the white cue ball, there are three other balls on the table. There is exactly a black eight ball between the smallest seven ball and the cue ball.If you use the method of hitting the side table to rebound and then touch, there will also be a nine-ball blocking it at a suitable angle.

"I've watched a bit of the game. Is this snooker?" she asked with great interest.

"It's just nine balls, not really." Sanada replied.

"Okay, so here's the challenge."

She wiped the tip of the club, and her fighting spirit was fully aroused.

"Then try 'Samurai Volley'."

Sanada was slightly puzzled, watching Ryoma approaching the table, sitting on tiptoes near the edge, calmly holding the cue stick and gradually raising it, aiming at the white ball with the thin end, and after trying a few gestures, he shot decisively.

call out--

The white ball passed straight through between the No. [-] and No. [-] balls that separated the two ends, reached the finish line, and then bounced back after being hit by the table, hit the No. [-] ball, and fell into the side pocket.The cue ball itself bounced off, hitting the nine ball on the opposite side.

Boom!

"How is it?" Ryoma straightened his back, with his toes off the ground, swinging his legs on the table, and poked the cue on the ground with a sense of accomplishment, "You didn't disappoint senior, did you?"

Sanada pursed her lips, and for a moment, she thought he was going to chuckle, but in fact, he just nodded and said curtly, "It's improving very quickly."

This is a very high evaluation for Sanada.

Ryoma raised his eyebrows, and jumped off the table briskly, smiling.

"One more game? We can score this time."

The time spent in entertainment and pastimes passed quickly.

Sanada sent Ryoma back before the sun set, and the backs of the two were dragged long by the setting sun on the sidewalk in front of them—no, strictly speaking, one long and one short.

She stepped on the shadow under her feet and looked at this scene, suddenly feeling familiar.

It seemed that the same situation had happened sometime before, when they hadn't known each other for long, she was still struggling to argue with Sanada, but he looked at him tolerantly like a child, and didn't take it seriously.

but now……

It's different now.

Ryoma raised the corners of his lips slightly, but he didn't want to look too complacent, and quietly looked at Sanada beside him.He also looked over in response, wondering if he also remembered something.

"warrior……"

Genichiro Sanada repeated in a low voice the "unique trick" that Ryoma had casually picked up before, his eyebrows relaxed and he showed a little smile.

"What's the matter?" she asked casually.

"I think I understand why your father chose this name for you." He said solemnly.

"Oh." Speaking of this, Ryoma recalled unpleasant memories again, the smile on his face disappeared immediately, curled his lips, and said dryly, "What's the purpose? He just wants a boy. .”

Inherit his "Bushido" spirit, or, carry forward?

"But the outcome doesn't matter."

"...Huh?" She was puzzled, blinked her eyes, and drove away the golden afterglow from the tip of her eyelashes.

Sanada remained silent, staring straight ahead at the road ahead, apparently not intending to continue talking.

It wasn't until the "Echizen" house number appeared at the end of his vision that he slowed down, ready to bid farewell to Ryoma.

Farewell this time, I don't know when I will see you next time.

He suddenly realized this very clearly in his mind, and his eyebrows frowned slightly.

"Ryoma." Sanada's tone was as serious as ever, and it was more like the dean's punishment than the tender parting moment.

"Ah."

"You're going to keep going." He used declarative sentences to the effect of interrogative sentences.

Ryoma looked up at his face.

"Of course. What about you?"

Sanada was silent.

Tennis is not the only thing in his life, what will happen in the future, he still can't make such a clear plan like her, it's not that he can't, but he doesn't want to, because...

Eighty-nine times out of ten, the answer wouldn't be what Ryoma expected.

Sanada finally spoke: "I will look forward to it when we meet next time—before then, don't let up whether it's tennis or fencing!"

……

He looked at Ryoma's back jumping happily, bumping and disappearing behind the courtyard gate, secretly made a gesture with his eyes, and found that compared with the first time he saw her, her height had improved a lot.

The young man turned around slowly, preparing to leave.

At this time, Sanada was thinking, and his thoughts inadvertently flew to the distant golden-red sky...

The next time we meet--

She is no longer a child.

Ding dong.

The doorbell rang, just as Ryoma put down the broom, he didn't pay attention for a while, and almost swept the cup on the coffee table.

She changed out of her pajamas, put on a T-shirt casually, and went out to get the morning newspaper.

This time, Longma glanced outside the courtyard door, and found that there was an extra bottle of milk, and was immediately shocked.

No, she never ordered anything like this!

Ryoma was thinking, and Mr. Nanjiro's malicious smile before setting off with the luggage bag appeared in his mind.

Uh, probably not...

Or a prank?A new type of random poisoner?

Ryoma thought about it, just in case, he should put it away, so as not to be picked up by passing children. Diarrhea is a trivial matter, if it is poisonous, maybe it will attract the police to come to the door...

She bent down to pick up the milk bottle, looked at it, and checked the outer packaging. It was intact, with a layer of water mist on it, as if it had just been taken out of the freezer.

Ryoma suddenly thought of something, turned around and pushed open the courtyard door.

There were no terrorists stalking outside, but there was a tall and familiar figure standing across the street with a sword bag on his back.Under the short black hair is a pair of cold eyes, and the expression is a little stiff.

He nodded slightly at her, took a step, and after being embraced by the morning light, the contours of his whole body softened a lot.

……what.

At that moment, what came to Ryoma's mind was that she held up the copybook a few years ago and turned it over and over again. The words "Shang Shan Ruo Shui" were written boldly and elegantly. Apart from that, there was no hint or secret ink. That set of secrets.

Following the example of other members of Lihai University, she unfolded it and hung it on a certain wall in the study.

Then one night, when Ryoma got up at night, he accidentally stepped on Carubin's tail, chased it to the study, and caught it. He hugged it to comfort him, and raised his head sleepily, as if seeing another four words.

Happy tennis.

She thought that she must have not woken up, and planned to ask Sanada for advice the next time she saw Sanada.

"--morning?"

Ryoma raised his arm and waved his hand carelessly.

Sanada came across the road, and the first greeting was: "Have you had breakfast?"

She shook her head in a daze, not even realizing that she was speaking Japanese or English.

"This milk, could it be..."

"I passed by the supermarket and picked it up." Sanada replied briefly, while lifting the pizza box in his hand, "At this time, you should invite me in and have a seat."

Without waiting for Ryoma's response, he stepped into the gate first, and she hurriedly closed the iron gate and followed, wondering.

It seems that everyone likes to bring their own food when looking for her. Is her cooking so unreliable?

"I'll open the door." After all, she had some sense of master, stepped forward in two or three steps, pushed open the door before Sanada, and then dug out the spare slippers from the shoe cabinet.

"Well, I didn't expect it to be so sudden," Ryoma bit the flesh on the inside of his lip vaguely, a little tangled up, "the family didn't make any preparations."

Sanada nodded in anticipation, and didn't take it seriously: "I asked for the address, and I thought I'd come and have a look if I had time. I haven't bought the phone card here, so I haven't called you."

"Oh……"

Still looking at Sanada curiously, she blinked.

"Then, did senior come to me to play golf, or to test my swordsmanship?"

Under her gaze, Sanada shook his head slowly.

"No, I just wanted to come and see...you."