20demayo Chapter 86 Who says temporary partners can't work?
Chapter 86 Who says temporary partners can't work?
The provocation failed.
Ren-ou was not annoyed and smiled as he retreated to his own half of the field.
He leaped lightly into the frontcourt, his light gray sneakers brushing against the grass, leaving faint marks. Feng stood in the backcourt, his back straight, his short silver-gray hair gleaming softly in the sunlight, his hand holding the racket steady and powerful.
On the opposite side, Shishido Ryo guarded the frontcourt, his center of gravity low and his eyes sharp. Yagyu retreated to the backcourt, his posture neat and composed, exuding an aura of calm and unhurriedness.
"Feng Jun, I'm leaving you with him." Ren Wang turned around and gave him a look, his voice tinged with amusement.
Feng nodded gently, a faint blush rising on her cheeks, but her eyes were firm: "Senior Renwang, I will do my best."
Wang Yueling leaned against a pillar of the sunshade on the coach's bench, her hands in the pockets of her sports jacket. Her azure eyes were fixed on the field with great interest, and a faint smile played on her lips.
The clash between this temporary pairing was far more interesting than Sanada's singles-style doubles match.
Feng took a new tennis ball out of the bag, pinched the ball's texture with her fingertips, and took a deep breath.
Toss the ball up. Lean back, channeling all your power from your feet to your waist and then to your wrists, your whole body like a fully drawn bow.
The knee-bending and racket-swinging movements were executed in one smooth motion, without the slightest hesitation.
"One ball...enters the soul."
After a month of grueling training, Wang Yueling's signature shot has become much more refined and his consistency is now terrifying.
The tennis ball hurtled towards the corner of the opponent's service court like a cannonball, accompanied by a whooshing sound.
The ball was so fast it left a blur, and after landing it slid diagonally along the grass, with its bounce extremely low, yet the force was astonishing.
Yagyu's pupils contracted slightly, and he reacted at full speed, but he was still a beat too slow. The ball landed heavily and slid forward along the grass, with almost no bounce.
"Ace, 15-0."
The referee's voice faded.
A series of suppressed gasps rose and fell from the sidelines.
"That serve was way too fast..."
"I can't even see where the ball is!"
Kirihara, holding his large golden peach, paused mid-air as he took a bite, his black curly hair standing on end and his eyes widening in surprise.
He forgot to chew the fruit in his mouth and mumbled incoherently, "How...how could I possibly catch that ball? If I tried to catch it head-on, my arm would definitely be ruined!"
Marui stood beside him, unusually refraining from refuting Kirihara's shouting. The bubble in his mouth popped with a "pop," revealing his purple eyes filled with amazement.
"Wow, Feng Jun's serve has evolved to this level? It's so much more powerful than before!"
Kuwabara scratched his bald head, nodded, and said in a low voice, "We simply couldn't catch it; it was too fast."
Genichiro Sanada stood at the front of the crowd, watching the powerful serve. His dark eyes, hidden beneath the brim of his hat, narrowed slightly, his fingers unconsciously tightening, a hint of surprise flashing through his mind.
Liu pulled out a mini speedometer at some point, pointed the sensor at Feng as she served the ball again, and quickly pressed the buttons with his fingertips.
The moment the data was refreshed, he opened his half-closed eyes, a hint of surprise flashing in his brown pupils, and softly read out the result.
"A single shot, and it's deadly. The ball speed is 219 km/h, the spin angle is 37 degrees, and the deviation of the deep landing point at the outer corner is controlled within 5 centimeters. The hang time after bouncing is extremely short. The low bounce characteristics of the grass field further amplify its power."
He closed the speedometer, put it back in his pocket, and lightly tapped the pages of his notebook with his fingertips. His tone was calm but contained amazement. "The consistency of his 'One-Shot-Soul' technique has reached 99%, and his serve success rate is almost perfect."
"Based on previous data, during the Metropolitan Tournament, Chotaro Ootori's success rate with this move was less than 30%, and the ball speed only fluctuated around 180km/h."
Liu raised his eyes, turned his head and glanced lightly at Wang Yueling on the coach's bench before returning his gaze to the field. "To be able to hone one's technical weaknesses to this extent is definitely not something that can be achieved overnight."
Wang Yueling's smile deepened as she toyed with a yellow tennis ball. Her eyes shone with undisguised pride, yet she feigned a profound air, turning her head to gently wave the ball at Liu Qingqing.
But deep down, it had already exploded into fireworks—
"Mon dieu! My student, whom I personally trained, is just that amazing! I'm so proud!"
"As expected, grueling training never fails; I truly am a one-of-a-kind genius coach!"
Hyotei is also very proud of their teammates.
Mukahi nudged Shinobu with his elbow, his short red hair swaying merrily, and patted Shinobu's arm in a low voice.
"Yushi, Yushi! Look at Chotaro, his serve is getting more and more consistent! That month of hellish training paid off!"
A smile played in Shinobu's eyes behind his glasses as he followed Feng's movements. "Yes, Ling's training methods are indeed rigorous, but the results are undeniable."
"His backward lean decreased by about five degrees, his core strength is more focused, and all the unnecessary movements have been corrected. Ling's month of yelling wasn't in vain."
Atobe stood at the front with his arms crossed, his icy blue eyes sweeping across the arena. He lightly touched his beauty mark with his fingertip, exuding a magnificent aura.
"Ah, Feng's progress is indeed quite significant."
On the field, Renou stood in the front zone, watching Feng hit aces one after another, and couldn't help but whistle very softly.
The serve was faster than he had estimated when watching the video before the match.
His data needs to be updated.
"Puri~ Phoenix, your serve was so reliable! I've drawn a god-tier partner!" Niou turned around and winked at Phoenix, his smugness undisguised.
Feng Changtaro's cheeks flushed slightly. He smiled shyly, gripped his racket tightly, and said softly, "Thank you, Senior Renwang. It's all thanks to Coach Ling's guidance."
Shishido stood in the front area of the opposite court, gripping his racket tightly in his right hand, his center of gravity slightly lowered. His gaze shifted from Oo to Niou and paused for a moment.
The fighting spirit in those eyes remained steadfast, undiminished by a single ball.
"Shishido," Yagyu called out to him from the backstage.
Shishido didn't turn around, but simply lowered his center of gravity a little more.
"Yes, I know."
In subsequent service games, Feng's "One-Shot Kill" became an unstoppable weapon. Every serve was steady, accurate, and powerful; the speed, power, and placement of the ball were all perfect, far exceeding the receiving limits of ordinary junior high school students.
The two worked together seamlessly.
Phoenix's heavy artillery pressured the backcourt, while Renou skillfully blocked the gaps in the frontcourt, completely shutting down any weaknesses.
Although Shishido and Yagyu are both skilled doubles players, they could only barely cope with such an unreasonable barrage of attacks.
They either misjudged the ball and missed, or they managed to touch the ball but couldn't return it effectively, failing to even manage a single successful return of serve.
Ren and Feng held the initiative firmly in their service game, easily winning the first game without expending any effort.
"Game, Nioh, Phoenix."
"1 to 0".
The ordinary members of Rikkai University lowered their whispers even further.
They had thought Chotaro was a new face when they first saw him, but when he hit such a serve right away, everyone was a little dumbfounded.
"This serve success rate is absolutely outrageous."
"I don't think we were this stable during the big competitions before..." A third-year student nudged a second-year student next to him with his elbow and lowered his voice.
The second-grader scratched his head.
"Are all the members of Hyotei's team monsters? How did they evolve so fast?"
Another voice drifted out from the crowd: "It must be thanks to their devilish coach."
"Keep your voice down, don't let the Demon King hear you."
"He's heard us. Look, he's smiling at us."
"Hmm... that laugh was terrifying..."
The second game saw a change of serve.
Yagyu's serve.
Liu Sheng stood at the baseline, bounced the ball twice on the ground, raised his head, and calmly scanned the positions of the two opponents.
Niou stood in the front area, leaning slightly forward with his weight on his toes. Feng was in the back area, positioned slightly to the left than before.
Yagyu tossed the ball up into the air.
His serve was very standard; the ball speed wasn't particularly fast, but the landing point was precise, landing near the outer corner of the service area.
Feng moved laterally to return the ball, but the ball landed too shallowly. Niou took a step forward to intercept, but Yagyu's next shot came even faster.
"Laser beam."
A straight beam of yellow light shot out from Yagyu's racket, passed over Niou's head, and landed precisely in the corner of the backcourt baseline.
Feng chased after the ball with all her might, but the tip of her racket barely touched it. The angle was too off, and the return shot grazed the net.
"Advantage, Yagyu, Shido."
"15-0".
Niou straightened up, the curve of his lips fading slightly.
Yagyu adjusted his glasses and walked back to the service line.
Shishido glanced back at him from the front, and Yagyu nodded slightly at him.
On the second serve, Yagyu served again, this time landing in the inside corner. Feng returned the ball to the mid-court. Shishido suddenly started moving at the net, smashing the ball to the outside of the sideline where Niou was defending with a backhand volley.
"Advantage, Yagyu, Shido."
"30-0".
"Ah Liang's reaction speed is so fast." Xiang Ri tugged at Shinobu's sleeve, his eyes glued to the game on the field.
"Shishido's net play was already very strong."
Shinobu offered his own summary: "His defensive awareness and counter-attack instincts are top-notch, even on a national scale."
Ryo Shishido's defense on the court and his swift counter-attacks whenever the opportunity arose fully showcased the spirit of Hyotei's newly formed main doubles team.
Feng watched his movements from the backstage, silently thinking about how they had always fought side by side.
Now as opponents.
You can feel the weight of that skill even more, and your fingers gripping the racket tighten unconsciously.
On the third ball, after Yagyu served, Niou suddenly took a step forward, anticipated the ball's landing point, and blocked it back with his backhand, but the ball's trajectory was too low.
Shishido stepped up to cover, but his hitting angle was suppressed by Niou's positioning, resulting in a high return.
Feng seized the opportunity at the baseline, unleashing a powerful forehand smash that landed inside the sideline.
"Nioh, Phoenix, 30-15."
On the sidelines, Oshitari crossed his arms and nodded: "Niou's speed is still very fast."
Marui chewed his gum: "Of course, he's the con artist of Rikkai University."
The following few balls were very close.
Niou gradually figured out Yagyu's laser beam trajectory, and began to position himself at the net to the left, blocking the beam's usual path.
But whenever Niou's positioning is off, Yagyu immediately hits the ball to the right open space, giving Shishido enough time and space to complete the volley at the net.
Although they are new partners, their tacit understanding is already ingrained in their bones. One is still and the other is active, one defends and the other attacks, and their movements are as smooth as water.
"Game, Yagyu, Shishido."
"1-1".
In the third game, the Renwang team once again took control of the service game.
Feng's "One-Shot Kill" remained unstoppable, and consecutive aces widened the score gap.
After just three games, the score was 2-1, with Renou and Feng temporarily in the lead.
When the venue changed, Wang Yueling walked out from under the sunshade and slowly strolled into the middle of the crowd.
He glanced at Sanada, who was standing ramrod straight beside him, and chuckled softly, his fingertips touching his lips. His voice was so low that the people around him could hear him clearly.
"These are truly two beautiful doubles matches," Wang Yueling exclaimed, her tone filled with genuine admiration.
He turned his head to look at Sanada, a smirk playing on his lips: "Genichiro, what do you think?"
Sanada's fingers tightened suddenly, he let out a soft hum, touched his nose, paused for two seconds, and then said in a muffled voice, "...Hmm."
The image of being publicly criticized in doubles was still fresh in his mind, and he couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.
Wang Yueling stopped there, refraining from further jokes. Lowering her voice, her tone carried the seriousness of a coach, her gaze swept over the boys surrounding her.
"Watch closely, especially those who aren't good at doubles. Learn from them. Doubles isn't a one-person battlefield; it's about teamwork between two people."
He reached out and pulled Kirihara, who was squeezed to the front, to his side, and patted him on the head: "Akaya, especially you, you should learn from this."
"Me?" Kirihara was still holding the half-eaten golden peach in his hand, and with one hand free, he pointed to his nose, looking completely bewildered.
"Yes, it's you." Mochizuki Ryo turned him towards the court. "Look closely. This is a textbook demonstration of doubles."
The people around also automatically moved forward half a step and pricked up their ears.
"Let's look at the pair of Renou and Feng first." Mochizuki Ryo pointed to the court, his voice clear but deliberately restrained so as not to disturb the game on the court.
"Phoenix is the main attacker, while Renwang is the main defender and distracts the opponent. The backcourt uses heavy artillery to suppress the enemy, while the frontcourt uses flexible interference. The transition between offense and defense is smooth without any interruption, and the opponent cannot find any loopholes."
"Niou can quickly grasp Feng's hitting habits and running routes, seamlessly covering for him. Feng has a gentle personality, strong execution, and can keep up with Niou's tactical rhythm."
"For a temporary team to perform like this is already top-level."
The surrounding teenagers nodded and whispered among themselves, their eyes filled with sudden realization, muttering to themselves as they took notes.
Kirihara chewed on a peach, mumbled an "um," and nodded his head repeatedly, as if afraid of missing a single word.
Pu Shan stroked his chin thoughtfully and muttered, "So that's how doubles is played: frontcourt control and backcourt offense. No wonder the seniors, who weren't the original partners, cooperated so well."
Marui added from the side, "Ryo is right. The core of doubles is complementarity, not each person playing their own game."
"Let's look at the other side."
Mochizuki Ryou smiled slightly and continued to turn to Yagyu and Shishido, her tone calm and patient.
"Yagyu is calm and precise, while Shishido is sharp and decisive. This combination perfectly fits the complementary skills of doubles. Both are the core players in the team, and they are well-versed in the art of teamwork, so they can achieve tacit understanding without much explanation."
"It can achieve a synergistic effect greater than the sum of its parts in regular combat, demonstrating a highly mature offensive and defensive system."
He withdrew his finger, his tone tinged with a sigh.
"These two pairs are absolutely amazing combinations, drawn by lottery. Who says temporary pairings can't work?"