Chapter 129: The Bet, Victory Without a Fight

In order to avoid Takahashi, and also for the sake of the entire Hyotei, Atobe first took the initiative to propose the position of Singles No. 2.

But he also felt that the phone call he made to Sanada was not secure enough.

If Sanada happened to tell Takahashi, then the position of Singles No. 2 would also be a bit dangerous.

In order to add an extra layer of security for himself, Atobe had to lower his status and come to the position of Singles No. 3.

He thought this position must be the safest!

Takahashi Yanichi, as the Captain of Rikkai, would he really play in Singles No. 3?

No matter how you look at it, he wouldn't!

The Captain usually appears last to anchor the team.

If it weren't for that bet, Atobe would not want to run into Takahashi on the court.

With Atobe's original flamboyant and ostentatious personality, it was impossible for him to settle for the position of Singles No. 3.

He had thought this position was the safest, with zero chance of running into Takahashi.

But, he actually ran into Takahashi again.

What the hell!

"I didn't expect the Captain of Rikkai to be hanging around a Street Tennis Court in Tokyo. Isn't Rikkai always known for its rigorous academic discipline? Isn't the Rikkaidai Tennis Club always known for its strict self-discipline?"

"Isn't Sanada's method of training team members always touted as the strictest in middle school?"

Atobe's voice grew increasingly high-pitched.

The smile on Takahashi's face deepened as he said, "I am the Captain of Rikkai; Sanada cannot control me."

"Besides, as the Captain of Hyotei, you were the one who took the initiative to challenge me to a match at the Street Tennis Court back then!"

Once these words were spoken, Atobe's face turned completely black.

The implication of this sentence was: as a fellow Tennis Club Captain, didn't you, Atobe Keigo, also hang around the Street Tennis Court?

And you were the one who took the initiative to challenge people at the Street Tennis Court to a match.

It was fortunate that Takahashi was the Captain of Rikkai; if Takahashi had really been an ordinary person, Atobe would have only lost face even more severely!

"The match begins!"

The referee watched as the two of them actually started chatting after their routine pre-match greeting.

Neither of them made any move to walk back to their positions to start the match.

As time ticked by second by second, the referee had to take the initiative to remind them.

"Got it, stop nagging!"

The referee's well-intentioned reminder was met with Atobe's impatient words, and the referee's eyebrows immediately furrowed.

On the other side, in the Rikkai rest area.

"Does the Captain know Atobe? Why did they start chatting before the match?"

Marui popped the bubble gum in his mouth and asked.

"They shouldn't know each other!"

"We haven't played any exchange matches with Hyotei this year either."

Yanagi Renji said.

Marui's words reminded Sanada.

Atobe's nonsensical phone call yesterday and Takahashi's reaction yesterday were both very strange.

Could it be that the two of them know each other?

While the Rikkai group was feeling puzzled.

Takahashi on the court raised an eyebrow and said, "Don't waste time; the referee is getting impatient."

"Fulfill your promise!"

Atobe's expression turned gloomy, his eyes flashing with anger, his face livid, his lips pressed tightly shut.

After a long while, he unwillingly roared in a low voice toward the referee: "I forfeit."

The referee had just been snapped at by Atobe and had intended to give him a hard time.

Suddenly hearing Atobe's words, he was stunned.

It wasn't just the referee; everyone watching the match was also stunned.

This was the quarterfinals of the National Tournament, after all.

With the captains of both sides playing in Singles No. 3 right from the start, everyone had expected to see a spectacular duel.

Yet after the two exchanged a few words at the net, the Captain of Hyotei actually conceded.

In front of a large crowd, he forfeited and conceded!

Is this still the Atobe Keigo they know—the Hyotei Captain who pursues flamboyance and has a strong obsession with victory?

Could the Captain of Rikkai be so powerful that he can make his opponent concede with just a few words?

The audience's gaze toward Takahashi changed!

And the Hyotei cheer squad—they were completely bewildered, their momentum instantly deflated.

Before the match, they had been cheering wildly for their Captain Atobe, rooting for him.

And he ended up forfeiting as soon as he got on the court!

The situation changed too fast for them to react.

They felt like fools for having cheered for their Captain before the match.

"Wangzhe Rikai Da! Victory!"

"Wangzhe Rikai Da! Victory!"

At the same time, the loud voices of the Rikkai cheer squad instantly resounded throughout the entire stadium, sounding exceptionally piercing!

On the other side, Sakaki Taro sat in his chair, legs crossed and arms folded, preparing to carefully observe the match and gauge the strength of the Rikkai Captain, when he heard Atobe's words and froze, as if suddenly pressed by a pause button.

After several seconds, he turned his head and asked the other Hyotei team members: "What did Atobe just say?"

Everyone looked at one another, not daring to answer.

At this moment, the referee on the court came to their senses and announced loudly: "Hyotei's Atobe forfeits, Rikkai University Affiliated Middle School's Takahashi wins, score 1-0!"

"Next, we begin the Doubles No. 2 match!"

……

Takahashi took his tennis racket and returned to the Rikkai rest area.

The gazes of the Rikkai crowd toward Takahashi became even more admiring.

They all knew that Takahashi advocated that ancient saying from the Dragon Kingdom: To subdue the enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence.

But they never expected that in the quarterfinals of the National Tournament, against the Captain of the prestigious tennis school Hyotei, Atobe Keigo, Takahashi could actually make the opponent forfeit and concede with just a few words, winning without a fight.

If they hadn't been there on the scene, they would never have believed such a thing could happen to Atobe.

Captain Takahashi is even more powerful than they imagined!

"Captain, do you know Atobe? Why did he concede after you only said a few words?"

"That's Atobe we're talking about!"

Sanada asked Takahashi as he walked off the court.

Takahashi smiled mysteriously and said: "The process doesn't matter; what matters is the result, and the result is that Rikkai won."

"Prepare for the Doubles No. 2 match first; I'll tell you what happened when there's time."

……

The Doubles No. 2 match began on the court, with Yanagi Renji and Kirihara Akaya of Rikkai University Affiliated Middle School facing off against Otori Chotaro and Shishido Ryo of Hyotei.

Otori and Shishido had firm gazes, seemingly completely unaffected by the fact that their Captain, Atobe Keigo, had forfeited the Singles No. 3 match.

Recalling before they took the court, Coach Sakaki Taro's face had been as dark as the bottom of a pot; he truly had not expected that Atobe, whom he valued most, would actually commit such an act as conceding before the battle.

Therefore, he had urged Otori and Shishido repeatedly to win this game and wash away the negative impact brought by the previous match's forfeit.

Whether Hyotei's reputation could be salvaged depended on this game.

Furthermore, Sakaki Taro pointed out that the doubles pair sent out by Rikkai was not their fixed combination.

As one of the Rikkai Big Three, Yanagi Renji played singles more often, and now that he was paired with the second-year Kirihara for doubles, the coordination between the two lacked synergy.

Meanwhile, Otori and Shishido had been practicing doubles ever since the Metropolitan Tournament ended, so their synergy should be far superior to those two, giving them a great chance.

After the coin toss, it was Shishido and Otori's Serve.

Shishido said to Otori with full confidence: "Let's use that ball!"

Otori nodded, tossed the tennis ball upward, and when the ball began to fall, he swung his tennis racket with force.

"Bang!"

Accompanied by the crisp sound of the strike, the tennis ball turned into a yellow streak of light, heading toward Yanagi and Kirihara.

"Thud!"

The tennis ball landed heavily between Yanagi and Kirihara.

"15-0!"

"Hyotei scores!"