novelhk Chapter 21 Sanada's Dilemma, Niou and Yanagi's New Discovery
Chapter 21 Sanada's Dilemma, Niou and Yanagi's New Discovery
The ward fell silent for a moment.
"This weekend?" Niou raised an eyebrow. "So soon?"
"Yes." Yukimura nodded. "The expert team assessed all the indicators and said that now is the best time for surgery. The probability of postoperative recovery will be much higher."
"Really?" Marui sat up straight immediately. "How tall?"
"I didn't ask for the specific numbers," Yukimura smiled. "But the doctor said the prognosis would be better and told me not to worry."
Renji Yanagi's squinty eyes opened slightly: "The prognosis data is ideal, Yukimura. I believe you will be able to rejoin the team soon."
Upon hearing this, Kirihara burst into tears, his voice grew louder, and he jumped up from his chair in excitement.
"That's great... Vice Minister, did you hear that? That's great!"
Sanada naturally heard it, and his tense expression finally relaxed a little, a genuine joy flashing in his eyes. But looking at Kirihara, who seemed to have become a monkey in human form, he frowned, reached out and pressed his hand on Kirihara's shoulder, "Akaya, calm down."
"I can't calm down!" Kirihara wiped away her tears, her voice rising so high it could be heard throughout the entire floor. "The captain is going to have surgery, and the success rate is very high! I'm so happy!"
"Even if you're happy, you can't be that loud."
Sanada delivered a heavy blow to Kirihara's head, his voice rising involuntarily, "This is a hospital, don't make a scene."
The voice just fell.
A nurse passing by the door stopped, gently knocked, and leaned in to politely remind the patient, "Please keep your voice down, it might disturb the other patients."
Sanada froze, instinctively turning to glare at Kirihara, thinking the nurse was referring to him. His face darkened. "Didn't you hear me? I told you to keep your voice down!"
Kirihara, fearing further punishment from the iron fist, immediately covered his mouth, his eyes wide open, and nodded frantically.
The nurse's voice rang out again, this time with a hint of helplessness: "Family member, I wasn't talking about the boy, I was talking about you. Your voice is too loud, please speak more quietly."
After saying that, the nurse turned and left.
There was a two-second silence in the ward, followed by bursts of suppressed laughter.
Marui clutched his stomach, laughing so hard he couldn't straighten up: "Pfft! Sanada... hahahaha... the nurse said you're a family member... hahahaha..."
"And I'll make sure you don't wrong Akaya~ Puri~" Niou Masaharu saw Sanada get the short end of the stick and couldn't resist making a good laugh at him.
Yagyu pushed up his glasses, a faint smile playing on his lips; Renji Yagyu was scribbling something down in his notebook; Akaya Kirihara was clutching the bump on his head that Sanada had knocked on, trembling with suppressed laughter, tears welling up in his eyes, his face contorted in a particularly funny way because of the pain in his head; Kuwabara was too embarrassed to laugh out loud, but couldn't help turning his head away.
Sanada was so embarrassed that he couldn't speak. A flush of blood rose up his neck and cheeks, and his whole face turned bright red. He didn't even know where to look.
He pulled his hat brim down low, almost obscuring half his face, and said in a muffled voice, "...You're so lax!"
Yukimura leaned against the bed and laughed along with everyone.
He looked at Sanada, who was dressed in black casual clothes, his hat pulled low, his whole body wrapped in black, and he did look more mature than usual.
It's normal for nurses to mistake you for a family member.
"Sanada," he called out with a smile.
Sanada raised his head, revealing half of his face beneath the brim of his hat; his complexion was still flushed.
"Keep your voice down," Yukimura said deliberately.
Marui and Kirihara laughed even harder.
Sanada pulled his hat brim down even further, as if he wanted to cover his entire face.
After a while of laughter, everyone gradually stopped laughing and gathered around the bed.
Renji Yanagi opened his notebook and reported calmly, "Yukimura, you won the main tournament smoothly. Next is the Kanto Tournament. Here is the recent training data. You can take a look. Contact me anytime if you miss anything."
Sanada also made a rare compliment, saying, "Everyone has been working very hard lately and hasn't slacked off."
Others chimed in, talking about what was happening in the tennis club and the funny things that happened on the court.
The boys' straightforward and passionate emotions warmed Yukimura's heart.
He was used to being the minister who protected everyone, used to being strong, and used to bearing things alone, but being cared for by these friends still made him feel incredibly at ease.
……
Niou didn't join in the commotion; his attention was drawn to something else.
From the moment he entered the room, he noticed the little doll next to Yukimura's pillow.
It's immediately obvious that it wasn't bought; it's purely handmade.
The dolls you buy won't have those dense stitches, those comfortable proportions, or that meticulous attention to detail down to the last hair.
He stared at the doll for a long time.
Ok……
The little girl's clothes were a silver-gray suit set with delicate metal buttons on the collar and a small school badge on the front.
This is... Hyotei University's school uniform!!!
Niou's pupils contracted slightly, and he chuckled, feeling as if he had discovered something interesting about his captain. He pointed to his pigtail and said, "Captain, that doll next to your pillow is so exquisite~ Puri~"
Everyone's eyes followed that direction.
The tiny blonde doll lay there, exquisitely crafted, clearly not a mass-produced item.
Most notably, the doll is wearing the uniform of Hyotei Academy.
"Hand-sewn, right?" Niou leaned forward, his eyes scrutinizing her with an expert's eye, then raised an eyebrow in praise, "Not bad, about my level, Piyo~"
He has always been an expert in handicrafts and can quickly judge the skill level of the craftsman.
The minister's doll is clearly a masterpiece among masterpieces!
The ingredients are exquisite, and the expressions are lifelike...
Pupina~
I really want to test my skills with this person.
Yukimura glanced at the doll with interest in Niou's gaze, gently picked it up, and lightly ran his fingertips over the fabric, speaking calmly, "Yes, a friend made it by hand."
He didn't say much, but his actions were exceptionally precious.
The doll was carefully placed back on the pillow, and gently covered with the blanket, leaving only a little bit of its edge showing.
Niou noticed the minister's subtle actions, exchanged a glance with Yagyu, smiled knowingly, and didn't press the matter further.
Marui, however, leaned over curiously and asked, "What doll? Can I see it, Captain?"
"It's nothing." Yukimura simply smiled, not intending to show it to him, and casually replied, "It's just a small gift."
Marui wanted to say something more, but Kuwabara tugged at his sleeve and reminded him to shut up.
Although no one asked any more questions, they were all very curious.
What kind of friend would send such an exquisite handmade doll, especially one in the Hyotei Academy school uniform style?!
Kirihara didn't care about the doll; he was still laughing at Sanada for being too loud when the nurse told him to. Naturally, he ended up getting punched by Sanada again before he stopped.
Meanwhile, Renji Yanagi, Rikkai University's renowned "data expert," sat in a corner, observing Yukimura's various unusual behaviors, quietly studying the entire ward, and searching for useful data.
Then... he wrote furiously.
He had noticed some unusual details long ago.
The bouquet on the windowsill was special and beautiful; it wasn't just randomly placed, it must have been carefully designed. The vase harmonized well with the hospital room environment, and it was a new addition—it wasn't there when he and Sanada visited Yukimura at least the week before last.
The white paper bag on the bedside table, tied with a light blue ribbon, has a brand logo printed on it; it belongs to a high-end dessert shop in Tokyo.
And Yukimura's complexion today.
It has a rosy and glossy appearance.
The difference is very obvious since the last time we met, and she is in very good condition.
Liu kept quiet and silently noted it down in his notebook: There's a 100% chance that there's a story behind Yukimura's major changes, and there's a 95% chance that these changes are due to people from Hyotei Academy...
You could tell how excited Liu was by how fast he was writing.