37. Not Admit Defeat

  "Haa   ...   Miura Yumiko, who had been watching from the opposite side, noticed Qiyun's fatigue and a smug look spread across her face. She taunted him,   "Weren't you jumping around so vigorously just now? Why are you so exhausted now?" 

  "I've beaten you enough," Qiyun said, undeterred.   "I hope you can still be so arrogant later." With that, Miura Yumiko launched a powerful through ball to Qiyun's side.

  "I hope you can hold out later. I don't want to use your trump card so soon." Qiyun hurried after him, sighing inwardly. He knew that if he showed signs of fatigue, her opponent would surely focus on him. He didn't feel like they were taking advantage of her situation. Competition was all about winning, and if they didn't seize this opportunity to press forward, Qiyun would think they were flawed. 

  It was clear that the opponent's attack was no longer focused on scoring, but on draining Qiyun's energy. After a few back-and-forths, Qiyun felt exhausted, his pace slowing down considerably. 

  "Left score!" As the tennis ball passed through Qiyun's racket and landed on the ground, the referee blew the horn, announcing the result of the match. 

  "Huh!" Qiyun took a breath. They were still ahead, so it wasn't time to go all out yet. 

  "Are you okay?" Yukinoshita's concerned voice came from behind, her voice as cold as ever, but with a hint of worry. 

  Qiyun said nothing, merely shaking his head softly with his back to Yukinoshita. Honestly, he didn't want to rely on Yukinoshita's strength; he preferred to win the match on his own, so he'd been frantically attacking. 

  "Come on," Qiyun muttered to himself, launching another powerful swing and breaking into a furious run. 

  A flicker of pity crossed Yukinoshita's face as she watched him, but it eventually faded into composure, as she readied herself and focused on the court. 

  Qiyun kept a close eye on Miura Yumiko. The pressure of the attack now rested primarily on her, so he had to be vigilant. Seeing her about to strike the tennis ball again, Qiyun began to run to the side, ready to meet it. 

  Seeing Qiyun's movement, a smile suddenly crossed Miura Yumiko's lips. She suddenly shifted her grip, easing the force on the side of the tennis ball. The ball, expected to be thrust hard, actually sailed over the net with a light, effortless movement. 

  "Fuck!" Qiyun couldn't help but curse at the sight, then quickly stopped and began to chase forward. But no one said a feint could only be used once. 

  "Faster, faster!" Qiyun screamed frantically in her heart, but her legs felt like they were being dragged along by lead. Although her speed was constantly increasing, it was still a fraction slower than the speed of the tennis ball hitting the ground. 

  Qiyun looked at the scene before her, her eyes flashing with determination. She suddenly jumped up and stretched her racket forward, trying to touch the falling tennis ball. 

  Watching Qiyun soar, Yukinoshita, who was watching from behind, was stunned. She hadn't expected him to do such a thing. Her face suddenly turned pale, her eyes filled with anxiety, then gradually became a little empty. An inexplicable emotion flashed through her, like sadness, regret, or something else, all of which only Yukinoshita could understand. She gripped the racket with such force that her fingers turned white from the exertion. She muttered two words, 

  "Don't!" 

  "Hit!" 

  Qiyun landed heavily on the ground. Although he had used his hands to support himself before landing, he couldn't stop the impact. He knelt on the ground and slid forward a distance. 

  Qiyun smiled bitterly at the tennis ball falling in front of him. The burning pain in his knees told him that the situation in his legs was not optimistic. 

  "Looks like I can't win on my own," Qiyun sighed inwardly, the bitter taste of defeat welling up in his heart. He summoned the system interface, ready to deploy his final trump card. 

  "Yukinoshita-san!" Everyone gasped in surprise as they watched Qiyun fly forward and fall heavily to the ground. 

  The first to reach Qiyun was Hayato Hayama, who was at the opposing team's front line. Seeing Qiyun fall to the ground, he abandoned his game and ran over. 

  "Is Yukinoshita-san alright?" Hayato Hayama's face was filled with worry. He prepared to help Qiyun up, but just as he reached out to touch her, a chilling voice suddenly rang out, 

  "Don't touch him." 

  Yukinoshita reached out and swatted Hayama's hand away, making a crisp sound. Then, he squatted down, took Qiyun's hand on his shoulder, and gently lifted her up. 

  Seeing this scene, Hayato Hayama couldn't help but smile bitterly. He took a step back and watched Yukinoshita slowly help Qiyun up. 

  "Are you okay, Yuki? Ah, your leg is injured." The people around also gathered around at this moment. Yuigahama Yui's voice was full of worry. When she saw the condition of Qiyun's leg, she couldn't help but screamed, covering her mouth tightly, with an expression full of pity on her face. 

  Only then did Qiyun look down and saw that her originally round and smooth knees seemed to have been cut by a knife, covered with tiny scratches, and there were traces of blood flowing out of them. However, Qiyun had taken good protection when he landed before. Although it looked a little serious now, it was only a superficial injury. 

  "Is this necessary?" Yukinoshita's furious voice echoed in Qiyun's ears. Looking up, she saw Miura Yumiko glaring at her approaching opponent. A look of surprise crossed Qiyun's face. She hadn't expected Qiyun to go this far, and had initially been quite worried. But after hearing Yukinoshita's words, she quickly retorted, 

  "Who knew she'd just charge forward? It's not my fault." 

  "You..." Yukinoshita wanted to say more, but Qiyun stopped her. He was truly afraid Yukinoshita would charge forward and start a fight. Qiyun might not know about others, but he would definitely do it. 

  "I'm fine," Qiyun gestured for Yukinoshita to release her. Initially reluctant, she yielded under Qiyun's gaze, pursing her lips and reluctantly retreating to the side. 

  "That was a great shot, but I haven't conceded, so the game isn't over yet," Qiyun said with a smile, looking directly at Miura Yumiko. 

  "How about just calling it a draw?" Hayato Hayama quickly intervened, intending to defuse the dispute. 

  However, Miura Yumiko seemed displeased with Qiyun's provocation. She turned back to her seat, racket in hand, and said coldly, 

  "If she wants to be tough, let her be. No one's forcing her." 

  "It's okay, Hayama-san. I'm not forcing myself," Qiyun said, smiling at Hayato Hayama, her tone undeniable. 

  Seeing this, Hayato Hayama sighed, unsure what to say, and turned back. The downside of being a pushover is that they can't refuse strong requests. 

  "Why don't you just admit defeat? I'm fine," Totsuka Ayaka timidly said beside her. Yuigahama Yui nodded silently, her eyes filled with reluctance. 

  "It's okay. I won't lose. Trust me... Let's do it," Qiyun practically pulled Yukinoshita down. 

  Seeing Qiyun's resolute attitude, everyone was speechless and quietly returned to their seats outside the arena. Qiyun's area was empty again, with only Yukinoshita left. 

  Yukinoshita still looked at Qiyun with a complicated expression, her eyes filled with inexplicable colors. She remained silent and had no intention of moving.

  "I don't want to lose. Even though I've already lost, Yukinoshita can't lose," 

  Qiyun said calmly. He then called up the system interface and reached out to click on the shopping mall, where his final trump card lay. 

"I wanted to get along with you guys as an ordinary person, but all I got was alienation. I'm done pretending. I'm laying it all on the table. I'm going to cheat." Qiyun's mind suddenly flashed with these cheerful words, though a bitter feeling lingered. 

Before Qiyun could even click on them, Yukinoshita suddenly grabbed his hand and, with a nearly snatched motion, snatched the tennis ball from his hand before Qiyun's puzzled gaze, walked away without a word. 

"Hey!" Qiyun tried to chase after her, but the pain in his leg prevented him from catching up, and he could only watch her leave. 

Seeing this, he could only close the interface. There was nothing he could do. The ball was gone, and no amount of cheating would help. He'd been banned the moment he logged into the client. 

Yukinoshita reached the serving position, turned, took a deep breath, and gazed forward with a cold gaze. With a flick of her left hand, she tossed the tennis ball upward, its speed gradually slowing until it suddenly stopped at the apex and began to accelerate downward. 

At the moment of its descent, Yukinoshita leaped high, lashing her racket at the falling ball. The moment of impact, it blasted like a cannonball, piercing the air like a rip through space. Even as everyone watched Yukinoshita's leap, the ball had already landed on the other side's ground. Even Miura Yumiko and Hayama Hayato didn't react, their eyes still fixed on Yukinoshita. 

The entire stadium was as still as death, as if absorbed in Yukinoshita's unstoppable jump serve, a shot that seemed to have silenced even the sound. 

"Oh, oh... Qiyun-san is so strong!" 

After a moment's pause, the court erupted in thunderous roars. Yukinoshita had fully demonstrated her strength, instantly shocking the entire crowd. If she had shown this level of prowess from the start, Miura Yumiko probably wouldn't have even considered the idea of a match. 

"Damn it, how can he be so strong?" Miura Yumiko angrily picked up the tennis ball and hit it hard. However, after witnessing Yukinoshita's previous attack, she hadn't noticed that her shot had completely lost its momentum. 

The ball flew by, seemingly zipping by to outsiders, but to Yukinoshita it drifted by gently, as if in slow motion. Then, she quietly turned, grasped her racket with both hands, and, swinging like a baseball, slammed it down hard. 

With a muffled thud, even crisper than before, the tennis ball flew back in a straight line at even greater speed. Everyone seemed to see a flash of yellow light streak across the court, brushing past Miura Yumiko's edge before darting towards the fence, where it lodged securely in a gap, spinning endlessly until a puff of green smoke emanated from it. 

Miura Yumiko, clutching her racket with both hands, leaned forward, looking ahead, but she couldn't clearly see the incoming ball. She only felt something fly past her cheek, ruffling the hair by her ear and causing her pupils to dilate. Meanwhile, the thud echoed in her ears, hammering at her heart. 

With a thud, the racket in her grasp fell to the ground. With a trembling hand, she turned back to look at the ball still stuck in the gap, sweat trickling down her forehead. When she turned back again, she looked at Yukinoshita with a hint of fear, her fighting spirit gone. 

"We give up!" Hayama Hayato, after observing Yukinoshita's two serves and Miura Yumiko's condition, decisively conceded. He knew there was no point in continuing, so he conceded decisively and moved to Miura's side. 

"Yumiko, are you okay?" Hayama Hayato gently grasped Miura's shoulders, whispering a gentle greeting, his face still radiating a gentle smile. 

At that moment, Miura Yumiko seemed to come to her senses, a hint of redness forming in her eyes. She embraced him tightly, as everyone stared in amazement. 

"Oh, oh, oh!" the crowd erupted in cheers again, even louder than before. Hearing the cheers, Miura Yumiko, remembering this was happening in public, blushed. She quickly rose from Hayama Hayato's embrace and ran outside. Hayama Hayato, having recovered from his earlier daze, gave a wry smile and chased after Miura Yumiko. 

"Why do I feel like they're the winners?" Qiyun watched the scene with a bewildered expression, feeling strangely fed a face full of dog food. And in the end, it was over without her even lifting her racket. That wasn't right. She'd made so many grand promises before, but it didn't even come to fruition. It was a bit emo. 

Looking at Yukinoshita as she slowly sauntered towards him, Qiyun whispered , "Yukinoshita-san, you're too cruel! I thought Miura-san looked like she was about to cry." 

"I thought I told you I hold grudges." Yukinoshita's voice was calm this time, with a hint of levity. 

"Why, are you feeling sorry for her?" Yukinoshita's voice was as calm as before, but Qiyun felt something different in it. 

"How could that be? The fact that I didn't laugh shows I'm quite decent," Qiyun replied without hesitation. 

"So, there's such a thing as a pervert?" Yukinoshita nodded, unsure if she was satisfied with Qiyun's answer or if she agreed. 

"Don't do this next time," Yukinoshita suddenly muffled these words, and looked at Qiyun's knees with a worried look in her eyes. The shocking scars filled her eyes with pity and reluctance. 

"I'm sorry, I hurt your body. I'm so sorry," 

Qiyun thought Yukinoshita was angry that he had hurt her body, so he apologized decisively, 

"It's not like that," Yukinoshita suddenly shouted, 

"Ah?" Qiyun didn't react for a moment, and looked at Yukinoshita in front of her. Her eyes were already red, and her eye sockets were gradually moist. She bit her lips tightly, and her face was full of sadness at this moment. 

"Yukinoshita-san?" Qiyun spoke with some doubts. When he was about to say something, a familiar white light flashed, and at the same time, there was an emotionless, cold, mechanical female voice. 

"The trial of lust begins"