r18novel Chapter 168 The Kanto Tournament: I think we can try something new.
Chapter 168 The Kanto Tournament: I think we can try something new.
"Luna, I'll be back after I'm done playing." Wang Yueling heard this and looked at it with a smile. "You stay home and play with your great-grandmother."
Luna tilted her head as she listened to him.
After he finished speaking, Luna was so eager to jump off her grandmother's lap. Her grandmother quickly put her down, and Luna tumbled to his feet on her short legs, tilting her head back without barking.
She just watched him silently.
Its ears drooped back, and the cat's entire face slumped down. It slowly lowered its head, rubbed its head against Wang Yueling's shoes, then looked up at him and rubbed against him again.
The bread slices swayed slightly around its neck, making the cat look all soft and pitiful.
Wang Yueling squatted down and reached out to touch the tip of its ear.
"Stay home and behave. It's hot and sunny outside, and your little paws aren't fully healed yet. You haven't taken off your collar, so it's not convenient for you to go out."
Luna remained unmoved, still staring at him.
Extending its left paw pad, it first gently touched the wrist guard on his wrist, then touched his wrist. The movement was very light, as if to say, "Please take me with you for Seiichi's sake."
Wang Yueling glanced at it for two seconds, then turned to look at her grandmother. Her grandmother stood by the sofa, holding a cushion brush, and looked at the two of them, unable to help but laugh. "Look at its expression," she said, "like it's been abandoned."
"Grandma, please don't take sides."
Wang Yueling turned his face back to look at the little furball at his feet that was looking up at him.
He remembered one summer when he was a child, his grandmother was going to a tea party for an old friend in a neighboring city. He was about six or seven years old at the time. His grandmother squatted down and said to him, "Grandma will be back soon. You stay home and play with Grandpa." He stood at the door, neither crying nor making a fuss, just looking at his grandmother.
His grandmother went out, and he walked to the door and watched her back.
Finally, his grandmother came back, took his hand, and said, "Let's go," leading him to the tea party. That afternoon, he sat in the corner of the tea room eating yokan (sweet bean jelly), watching his grandmother and her old friend drink tea and chat, and he felt that everything was wonderful.
When they returned, my grandfather jokingly remarked, "Children can always keep adults in check."
Now he finally understands.
It's not that they're really tied up.
When that little thing looks at you, all your reasoning will circulate on the tip of your tongue before you swallow it back.
Seeing that her owner hadn't given up, Luna curled up into a ball. She lay on her side on his shoe, closed her eyes, and adopted a "you'll have to step over me if you want to leave" posture.
Wang Yueling looked down at the fluffy little lump of coal on the back of her foot, sighed, bent down and scooped Luna up, holding her in her palm.
"Alright, alright, I'll take you."
Luna rolled over in his palm, lying on her back with her four paws tucked in front of her chest. Her heterochromatic eyes sparkled as she looked at him, and her tail hooked around his wrist and gently rubbed against him.
"But you have to be good. When we get there, you can't shout, you can't run around, and you can't grab anyone."
Luna meowed, her voice short and soft, as if saying "Deal."
Grandmother took the cat carrier and handed it to him.
It is also shaped like a cat's head.
Two three-dimensional ears are sewn onto the top of the bag flap, and a simple cat face is embroidered on the front of the bag, with two small inverted triangular ears, two black bean-like eyes, a pink inverted triangular nose, and two thin whiskers on the side.
A matte brass bell hangs from the zipper pull, making a soft tinkling sound when you walk.
"There's a small fan and a cooling mat inside, in case it gets hot."
Grandma handed him the bag and then picked up a small cloth bag from the shoe cabinet. "There's half a bottle of warm milk and a small packet of kitten meat paste. Just feed it a little when it's hungry. I've replaced the pee pad under the cat carrier, and the little fan is fully charged. Just turn it on the lowest setting; don't let it blow directly on its belly."
While listening, Wang Yueling helped Luna change into a sun-protective garment.
After being placed in the cat carrier, Luna circled around the bottom of the carrier, stepped on the cooling mat, and then lay down by the breathable mesh window, resting her chin on the edge and looking out through the mesh.
"Remember to give it some water when you get there."
Grandma, still worried, added, "If it gets hot, put it in the cat carrier; it has a cooling function. Don't let it stay in the sun for too long."
"Okay, okay."
Wang Yueling slung the cat carrier over his shoulder, carrying a small cloth bag in his hand, and walked to the door. He glanced back and saw his grandmother standing at the end of the entryway, her hands folded in front of her apron, a slight smile on her lips.
"Go ahead. If you win today, Grandma will prepare something delicious for your team."
"We must win today."
Grandma nodded, then glanced again at the bright, sparkling eyes behind the cat carrier's mesh window: "Moon, go with your uncle. Be good!"
Luna meowed softly from behind the screen, her voice carrying a gentle promise.
Wang Yueling pushed open the door, and a summer breeze rushed in, carrying the scent of grass and earth. He stood at the doorway, took a deep breath, squinted his azure eyes in the morning light, and then stepped outside.
The Hyotei bus was already parked at the entrance.
The car door was open, and the air from the air conditioner was blowing out. As soon as Wang Yueling stepped onto the steps, she heard a cacophony of voices coming from inside the car.
"Here it comes, here it comes."
"Did you really bring it?"
"I bet he brought it."
Wang Yueling stepped aside to let the cat carrier enter the carriage first, then walked up himself. All eyes in the carriage immediately fell on the light gray cat carrier slung over his shoulder. Luna happened to be pressing her face against the mesh window, looking out, her heterochromatic eyes flashing briefly in the carriage.
"They actually brought it!"
Jiro sprang up from the back seat, his reddish-brown curly hair swaying. "Ring! You really brought Luna!"
Xiang Ri stood up and leaned forward, clinging to the back of the seat in front of him: "Let me see!"
Wang Yueling walked to her seat, placed the cat carrier on her lap, and unzipped it. Luna poked half her head out and tilted her head to look around at everyone on the bus.
A cream-colored bread roll hung diagonally around its neck. It tried to straighten it with its left paw but failed, so it simply ignored it.
"Wow!" Jiro leaned forward, extending a finger to touch it, then pulled it back. "It's wearing a bread slice today!"
"Did your grandma make this?"
Shinobu turned his head from the window seat, closed the magazine in his hand, and his gaze behind his glasses fell on Luna's baguette. "The craftsmanship is even better than what you can buy outside."
"That's right."
Wang Yueling lifted Luna out of the cat carrier and placed her on her lap. "My grandma made these especially for her. There are several more. She has a little bib, drool bib, and little clothes all ready."
Xiang Ri clung to the back of the seat in front of him, refusing to get down: "So, will it change its outfit every day from now on? Like a dress-up game."
"It's not impossible."
Atobe sat in the front row by the aisle, holding a folded match schedule in his hand, his purplish-gray hair moving slightly in the air conditioning.
He glanced sideways at the little black cat on Wang Yueling's lap, then looked away, his voice languid: "Bringing a cat to a competition? You think this is a picnic?"
"Children can't live without their fathers."
Wang Yueling pulled the kitten closer to her chest, looking completely matter-of-fact. "Besides, I'm just too lovable to cats, there's nothing I can do about it."
Atobe's lips twitched, and he mercilessly retorted, "You're quite the natural 'cat dad.' You're even wearing matching outfits now?"
"That's called a sense of ritual. You wouldn't understand."
Mochizuki Ryo lifted Luna, who was wearing a specially made Hyotei team uniform, and tilted her towards Atobe. "Look, gray and white with black, understated yet sophisticated. Our Hyotei starting lineup has nine players. I'll bring along a substitute cat, making it perfect, isn't that a great symbol?"
Atobe glanced at it but didn't reply.
Kabaji stood up from the back row, his tall figure casting a shadow in the carriage.
He walked to Wangyue Ling's seat and quietly watched Luna for a while. Luna raised her head, her heterochromatic eyes meeting Kabaji's expressionless eyes, and her tail swayed slightly.
Kaba took something out of his pocket and handed it over.
It was an absurdly small straw hat.
It was a light straw color, with a thin rolled-up brim and two small openings at the top, just big enough for the ears to pass through. A small, light pink dried flower was sewn securely onto the straw on one side of the brim.
"Chonghong, did you make this up on purpose?"
Wang Yueling took it and examined it. The straw hat was very well made; each straw was pressed flat and tightly, and there wasn't a single burr at the edges.
Hua nodded: "Yes, I made it last night. Let's try it."
Wang Yueling gently placed the straw hat on Luna's head.
The two openings on the top of the hat fit perfectly at the base of its ears, with two pointed ears protruding from the openings like two small antennas. The brim rested precisely on the bread roll.
Luna tilted its head, causing its hat to tilt slightly. It raised its left paw and touched the brim of the hat, then touched the part of the hat that was sticking out next to its ear. Then it lowered its paw and its tail slowly curled up.
"It likes it." Kabaji's lips twitched slightly.
"Yes, Luna likes it very much." Seeing Luna's happy expression, Wang Yueling couldn't help but smile. "Chonghong, your cooking skills are as good as ever."
"Ling, this cat has a better set of equipment than you."
Oshitari sat in the row behind Atobe, a magazine open in his hand. He pushed up his glasses, glanced at Mochizuki Ryo, and said, "Kabaji looks better than you with that little hat on."
"You're jealous."
"I'm jealous of a cat?"
Luna seemed to understand, tilting her head and meowing at Shinobu. Shinobu closed the magazine, looked at it for two seconds, and then nodded: "Fine, fine, I'll admit I'm jealous."
Atobe handed over the match schedule. "This is the first draft that the coach and I typed out. Take a look."
Wang Yueling caught Luna and carefully placed her back on his lap. Luna lay on his lap, staring at the shadow of the straw hat's edge for a while, then nudged the brim with her paw.
Doubles No. 2: Gakuto Mukahi and Yuushi Oshitari.
Doubles No. 1: Ryo Shishido and Chotaro Ootori.
Singles No. 3: Takahiro Kabaji.
Singles No. 2: Jiro Akutagawa.
Singles No. 1: Atobe Keigo.
Substitute Hiyoshi Waka.
Hmm... exactly the same as in the DVD from my previous life.
His fingertips hovered over the edge of the paper for a few seconds. Atobe noticed his pause and raised an eyebrow slightly. "What's wrong?"
Wang Yueling snapped out of her daze, laid the match list flat on her knees, and tapped the paper lightly with her fingers.
Renji peeked out from behind and then looked away. The others in the car were still playing with the cat, but they all had their ears perked up, pretending not to hear.
"This list is good."
Mochizuki Ryo finally spoke, her voice not loud, but the whole car fell silent, "Your cousin and I have thought of everything very thoroughly. We're strong where we need to be strong, and stable where we need to be stable. With a normal playing style, this lineup should be more than enough to beat Seigaku."
"but……"
He drawled, "I think we can try something new."
After he finished speaking, his azure eyes slowly swept across the back row.
Jiro was squatting on the seat peeking, Mukahi was leaning on the backrest, Ootori and Shishido were sitting in the middle and also looking this way, and Kabaji was standing in the aisle and had not yet returned to his seat.
Everyone's expression changed from relaxed to wary.
It felt like a piece of air had been sucked out of the car.
Mukahi and Jiro exchanged a glance, their eyes conveying the same message: "Here they come again." Shinobu adjusted his glasses, the lenses reflecting light, but he remained silent.
Shishido clicked his tongue and looked out the window. Ootori looked around and muttered, "Senpai's up to something again." Hiyoshi and Taki didn't say anything, but their expressions changed.
"Don't look at me like that."
Looking at their tense expressions, Wang Yueling chuckled, lifted Luna up and pressed her cheek against his, "I'm genuinely asking for your opinions this time."
"Do you want to do something fun today?"
The car was silent for a few seconds.
"What's fun?" Shishido asked from the back row.
"Order of appearance"
Wang Yueling folded the match schedule in her hand, then unfolded it again. "I'll make some changes, but you can still play as is. Whether it's singles or doubles, any objections?"
The car was quiet for a few more seconds.
Xiang Ri spoke first, saying, "I don't care, I'm fine with whatever I play."
Shishido nodded: "As long as we win."
Cilang yawned: "I'll hit you if you tell me to."
Feng smiled gently: "I believe there must be a reason behind what you arranged, senior."
Renzu leaned back in his chair, twirling the magazine in his hand: "Ling, if you put me and Xiaojing together for a doubles match, I might burst out laughing halfway through."
"No." Wang Yueling winked at him. "Just keep hitting."
Atobe stared at Mochizuki Ryo for a few seconds, then pulled his silver fountain pen from the inside pocket of his coat and handed it over.
"Change it. I'd like to see what new tricks you can come up with."