" Hermione!" Mary yelled at Hermione, "Someone's all talk and no action, saying 'Who asked you to meddle?' but her actions speak louder than words! Look how smoothly she's hitting those net shots!"
"Yeah, we all saw it. What tactical adjustment? It's clearly someone who couldn't bear to see their wife working too hard, so they took on all the dirty and tiring work!" Susan added with a laugh.
Their voices reached the arena, Hermione's cheeks turned completely red. She didn't dare to respond and could only pretend she hadn't heard.
The game continued in an eerie yet harmonious atmosphere. Although Jack and Becky complained, they played very seriously and tried their best, occasionally even pulling off some beautiful teamwork to score points.
But Draco and Hermione, one controlling the baseline and the other dominating at the net, gradually gained the upper hand in the match.
Another long rally ensued, with Draco and Jack locked in a back-and-forth battle, Draco constantly pressuring Jack's footwork with high-quality deep shots.
Finally, Jack's return shot was a little shallow, landing in the midfield. Draco seized the opportunity and hit the ball towards Becky's weak backhand side.
Becky made a desperate save, but the ball was too fast and the angle too tricky; she could only watch helplessly as the tennis ball swept past her.
The ball hit the sideline and bounced out of bounds.
"Match over, Draco / Hermione wins."
Tom announced loudly.
They won! Her tense nerves instantly relaxed, and Hermione let out a long sigh of relief, feeling as if half of her strength had been drained away.
Sweat had soaked her sweatshirt completely, making it stick to her body, but the joy of victory and the satisfaction of fighting alongside Draco overshadowed her physical fatigue.
Just as I was about to relax, Draco grabbed my hand.
Hermione paused slightly, then looked up.
Draco had somehow moved from the bottom line to her side.
"You must be exhausted?" Draco asked gently.
"No, no!" Hermione jerked her hand back, the blush that had just faded from her cheeks returning.
The two players reignited the atmosphere on the sidelines.
Wow!
After a short break, the next match officially begins.
At this moment, Draco and Hermione's teamwork was seamless, their offense and defense were impeccable, and their offensive was both steady and fierce.
Jack and Becky on the opposing team were forced into retreat, unable to find a way to counterattack. Cheers and applause from the audience rose and fell, all praising the two for their excellent teamwork.
Jack, overwhelmed and unable to lift his head, kept losing points. He wiped the sweat from his forehead; he simply couldn't hold on any longer.
So he quickly shouted for a pause, his mind racing with an interesting idea. "Wait, how about we try a different game? Let's swap teammates, form new teams, and play another round?"
"What do you mean? Jack, you don't mean you think I'm holding you back, do you?" Becky asked, frowning.
"No, no," Jack quickly waved his hand, explaining, " Becky, you played exceptionally well, you were fantastic the whole time!"
"I just think playing like this all the time is too monotonous. Let's change partners and send one teammate to disrupt the enemy team. That way, the game will be more exciting..."
As he finished speaking, he deliberately lowered his voice, gave a knowing, lewd smile, and whispered in Becky's ear, "That way you can team up with Draco."
Team up with Draco? Becky instantly understood. She put down her water bottle, quickly straightened her slightly sweaty athletic skirt, and with a bright smile, readily agreed:
"Great idea, Jack! That's a fantastic suggestion. It's so boring to always have the same partners; it's much more fun to switch around!"
She looked expectantly at the two opposite her, asking for their opinions, " Draco, Hermione, what do you think? Let's switch teammates and play a round, that would definitely be a lot of fun!"
The air seemed to quiet down for a moment.
Then--
"No."
"No."
Two resolute voices rang out simultaneously.
After saying that, the two of them were stunned for a moment.
Turning to look at each other, Draco beamed, while Hermione's cheeks flushed slightly, somewhat annoyed at her overreaction.
"Wait, what's going on? Why can't we? It's just a round of swapping partners, just playing with a different person." Becky looked at the two of them in confusion, her excitement vanishing.
"No way you're going to team up with my wife. Only I can be her partner." Draco put his arm around Hermione's shoulder.
"BOOM--!!!" The sidelines erupted instantly!
"Oh my god, did you hear that? Only I can do that!"
"That's so domineering! That damn possessiveness!"
"He's domineering, but also very handsome!"
" Hermione's face! Look at Hermione's face! It's completely red!"
After being discovered, Hermione's face turned completely red. The gazes were like spotlights on her, making her feel awkward. She could only resort to her usual tactic, glaring at Draco fiercely and accusing him with her eyes: What nonsense are you talking about!
Draco, naturally, would tighten his arms in response to this staring look.
"Alright!" Becky snapped out of her daze, her teasing smile returning, and continued, " Hermione, what about you? You also don't want me to team up with Draco, right?"
Hermione felt even more embarrassed after her thoughts were directly exposed. She looked away, unable to meet Becky's teasing gaze.
"I just think changing teammates is completely unnecessary. Changing players means having to readjust the team dynamics all over again, which is a waste of time, isn't it?"
"Come on, Hermione!" Becky chuckled, choosing to call her out without hesitation, "I think you just don't want Draco to team up with anyone else, right? Especially someone like me." She then deliberately winked.
"I... I didn't!" Hermione stammered.
"Still saying you didn't?" Becky laughed heartily.
"You two, you're truly birds of a feather! Even your possessiveness is so synchronized!"
"Hahahaha!" Another burst of laughter erupted from the sidelines.
Everyone agrees that Becky is absolutely right.
Hermione was burning up from the teasing, her hair practically steaming with embarrassment. She tugged at Draco's clothes and said, "Say something!"
Everyone was laughing so hard they were about to die.
" Hermione's getting anxious!"
Faced with Becky's teasing and the laughter of the crowd, Draco didn't deny it, and pulled Hermione even closer to him.
He proclaimed to everyone, "That's it, she's mine!"
"Boom--" Hermione felt like her head was about to smoke; she could imagine how embarrassing she looked right now.
They were hoping he could save the day, but instead he just made things worse.
Hermione, embarrassed and angry, struggled a bit.
But Draco held her tightly.
Feeling the laughter and envious glances from all sides, Hermione simply gave up resisting, burying her face in Draco's arms to hide her burning cheeks, and mumbled:
" Draco, you really are..."
"Really what?" Draco asked deliberately.
"...!" Hermione choked, holding it in for a long time, before finally yelling fiercely, "Shut up! Keep playing ball!"