Episode 29: That bone-chilling pressure, as if one had fallen into an icy abyss, slowly spread from Chi Tong once again.
Sento turned his head, his gaze falling on Chi Tong with a trace of complexity and vigilance in his eyes.
He could no longer remember how many times he had felt this unsettling aura from Chi Tong. It was not simple indifference; it was more like something buried deep within him was quietly awakening.
However, this aura came quickly and faded just as fast.
Chi Tong seemed to notice the change in himself as well, and his originally blade-cold expression softened slightly.
He smiled faintly, his tone calm yet carrying an unfathomable undertone.
"I'm planning to leave the basketball club too."
"What?"
"Sento?"
He abruptly raised his head, his eyes full of shock and confusion.
"You said you're leaving?"
"Why?"
The corners of Chi Tong's lips curled slightly, as if responding to Sento's surprise and as if concealing some personal reason.
After a pause, he said casually, "Don't worry. I'm not giving up basketball completely. I'm just taking a year off for now."
Sento fell silent. He stared into Chi Tong's eyes, trying to see something in those heterochromatic pupils, but all he saw was bottomless calm.
"Does the coach know about this?"
Sento ultimately asked the question.
Chi Tong gently shook his head. Sendoh sighed, then gave a bitter smile and shook his head as well. "I suppose that makes sense. Since you've already made up your mind, no one can talk you out of it."
He paused, a hint of regret in his voice.
"But then again, we're the championship team. Don't you think it's a shame?"
"You'll be giving up the chance for a three-peat."
He had thought those words might stir even the slightest ripple in Chi Tong, but Chi Tong's reaction made his heart sink.
Chi Tong's eyes suddenly turned cold. His entire body seemed wrapped in an invisible layer of frost as he spoke lightly, his tone calm but carrying an unquestionable indifference.
"That's their problem. If they can't do it, they have no one else to blame."
Standing there, Sendoh felt an invisible pressure bearing down on him. He could almost sense that Chi Tong harbored a weight and danger that did not belong to someone his age.
What exactly is going on with this guy?
The thought could not help surfacing in his mind.
Chi Tong had changed. Not that he had become stronger, but that he no longer seemed like himself.
The silence between them grew increasingly heavy.
A breeze passed by, stirring a few fallen leaves. An indescribable sense of distance and unease filled the air.
"You're leaving the basketball club."
"Why?"
"Did something happen?"
Shendai Liufei frowned slightly, her voice full of concern and confusion.
She stood beside Chi Tong, sunlight falling across the side of her face and casting a gentle glow.
She had always been gentle, and always perceptive.
She had long noticed that something was off with Chi Tong lately: that faint sense of distance, the occasional chill in him, and those heterochromatic eyes that seemed to hide countless secrets.
She did not want to disturb him, but she could not stop worrying.
Chi Tong shook his head slightly. His tone was calm, though it carried a barely perceptible weariness.
"It's a personal reason. I just want to rest for a while."
He was not lying, but he was not telling the whole truth either. He knew there were some things even he could not say.
Shendai Liufei nodded thoughtfully, her gaze still resting on Chi Tong's face.
"Chi Tong, you really have been strange lately. Sometimes, it feels like you've become a different person."
She spoke softly, with no reproach in her voice, only gentle concern.
She paused, as though she had finally found a reason to put herself at ease.
"I think managing the team has probably exhausted you. Since you've decided, then get some proper rest. I'll always support you."
Chi Tong looked at her quietly. At that moment, it was as if he saw long-lost warmth in those clear eyes.
He rarely smiled, but now the corners of his lips rose slightly, revealing an exceptionally rare, gentle smile.
"Thank you, Sento."
He said it softly, but sincerely.
Shendai Liufei's cheeks flushed faintly, as though the sunlight had made them shine even brighter.
She turned her head away and shot him a shy glance.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Chi Tong blinked, his tone carrying a rare trace of teasing.
"What's wrong with looking at you like this?"
"You're awful, Chi Tong."
She lightly stomped her foot, her tone filled with coquettish displeasure.
The next second, she deliberately quickened her pace, leaving Chi Tong behind as if trying to hide the slight flutter in her heart.
The two walked one in front of the other.
There were few pedestrians on the street. Sunlight spilled down and the breeze brushed past them. It was as though they had been cut off from the rest of the world, with only each other's silhouettes and footsteps remaining.
Not far behind them, two understated yet extremely luxurious black sedans slowly followed in step. Their speed was remarkably steady, nearly perfectly matching the pair's pace.
The drivers wore solemn expressions, as if this was far from the first time they had carried out such a task.
Chi Tong and Shendai Liufei's shadows stretched long across the street, like a quiet and tender painting.
In Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, spring quietly arrived, and all things came back to life.
The cherry trees lining the streets swayed gently in the breeze, pink-and-white petals drifting through the air as though draping the city in a soft veil.
Morning sunlight pierced through the thin mist and slowly fell upon Kanagawa, waking this legendary prefecture little by little from its slumber.
The new school year had finally begun. The air of youth and passion flooded every campus like a tide, as if the whole world had been ignited in this moment by the fervor and dreams belonging to young people.
Outside Lingnan High School's gates, the morning sunlight fell upon the entrance, and the four large characters reading Lin Nan High School gleamed brilliantly in the dawn light.
The school gate was already packed with voices and bustling with excitement.
Boys and girls in neat Lingnan High School uniforms filled the area inside and outside the gate. They chatted in small groups, laughter and chatter intertwining, every face glowing with the unique radiance of youth: passion, vitality, and limitless hopes for the future.
On the plaza before the school building, clubs of every kind had already set up their booths, forming a long line for recruiting new students, much like the stalls at a festival fair.
The basketball club, soccer club, baseball club, anime club, light music club, photography club—everything was there.
The male and female club members stood before their respective booths, all spirited and brimming with enthusiasm and smiles.
They waved flyers in their hands and called out to the new students in their most passionate voices. "Underclassmen, come take a look!"
"Join our Baseball Club! This is a man's romance! The Literature Club has gentle upperclasswomen waiting for you!"
"The Swimming Club has beautiful girls in bikinis! Fair skin and great figures, all genders welcome!"
"Come join the Swimming Club!"
The scene was even livelier than a department store sale, each of them practically like a madam eagerly soliciting customers.
Just then, two particularly eye-catching figures slowly emerged from the crowd before the school gates: a boy and a girl walking side by side. Before they even approached, they had already drawn the attention of quite a few people.
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