After saying goodbye to his older brother, Guo Yu was led to his class. There were many unfamiliar faces, and Guo Yu felt a bit scared. However, his fear vanished the moment he saw Ryoma. Delighted to see his childhood playmate, Guo Yu exclaimed, “Ryoma!”
Ryoma, who was bored and lying on his desk, was a bit surprised. It seemed like someone was calling him, but this was Japan, a place where he was unfamiliar, so how could anyone know him?
“Ryoma, Ryoma~” Guo Yu happily walked over to Ryoma and tugged on his cap, “Long time no see.”
“Guo Yu?”
“What are you doing here?” Echizen Ryoma was surprised to see Tezuka Koku, “Weren’t you in America?”
“I came back to Japan a few years ago,” Guo Yu felt a bit guilty thinking about how he left in such a hurry before and didn’t properly say goodbye to Ryoma, “But I’ve watched all your matches, Ryoma. You’re amazing!”
“Mada, mada, dane.” Although he was happy that Guo Yu had been following his matches, Ryoma was still a bit upset about Guo Yu leaving without a word, “Guo Yu, you owe me.”
“Okay,” Guo Yu thought Ryoma would blame him, so he agreed without hesitation when Ryoma made a request, “What kind of compensation does Ryoma want?”
After thinking for a moment and recalling the reason he returned to Japan, Ryoma said, “Join the tennis club with me!” Together, they would challenge the tennis players in Japan.
But because of his older brother, Guo Yu was already planning to join the tennis club!
“Is that the only request, Ryoma?”
“Yeah.” Noticing the troubled look on Guo Yu’s face, Ryoma thought he didn’t want to join the tennis club and quickly added, “Guo Yu, you have to accompany me.”
“Alright!” Since that was Ryoma’s only request, Guo Yu decided not to tell him about his older brother. “I’ll join the tennis club with Ryoma.”
“Really?” Horio, who was nearby, heard that Guo Yu was also joining the tennis club and immediately came over. He was very curious about the two new transfer students, “I’ll teach you well, after all, I have two years of tennis experience!”
“Okay!” Guo Yu never refused others’ kindness, even though he knew his older brother would personally teach him tennis once he joined the club. He politely thanked Horio, “Thank you!”
Seeing Guo Yu trust Horio so easily, Ryoma shook his head helplessly. Oh well, he’d have to keep an eye on Guo Yu in the future; he was just too trusting.
Guo Yu’s politeness made Horio a bit nervous, but he still enthusiastically introduced himself, “I’m Horio Satoshi, nice to meet you!”
“I’m Tezuka Koku.” His older brother had told him that when someone introduced themselves, he should also introduce himself, as it was polite. Seeing Ryoma not saying anything, Guo Yu naturally introduced him, “He’s Echizen Ryoma.”
“Nice to meet you!”
“So it’s Tezuka and Echizen!” Although Horio thought it was a coincidence that Tezuka shared the same surname as the tennis club captain, he didn’t ask further and just arranged to train with Guo Yu at the club later.
The morning classes ended quickly, and during lunch break, since Guo Yu didn’t know where his older brother’s classroom was, he chose to eat with Echizen without hesitation, not realizing his older brother would come looking for him.
As soon as class ended, Tezuka Kunimitsu went to his brother’s classroom to find him.
In the morning, he had been in a hurry and forgot to give his brother a bento, so he rushed to Guo Yu’s classroom after class. He thought his brother would obediently stay in the classroom, but when he arrived, he didn’t find him.
Would his brother go out on his own? Where could he have gone?
Unable to figure out where his introverted brother might have gone, Tezuka had to ask, “Excuse me, does anyone know where Tezuka Koku went?”
Seeing the student council president, Tezuka Kunimitsu, in their classroom, Guo Yu’s classmates were stunned. The legendary Tezuka President had come to the first-year classroom?
It seemed he was looking for the new student, Tezuka Koku. Could it be that Tezuka and the president were related?
“He just went to the cafeteria with Echizen.”
While the other students were still curious about the relationship between Tezuka Kunimitsu and Tezuka Koku, Horio, who knew where Guo Yu went, spoke up, “They should be back soon. Is there something you need from him, Tezuka-senpai?”
“Oh, nothing!” Echizen? Why would Guo Yu go to eat with someone he just met on the first day?
Curious about who this Echizen was, Tezuka quickly thanked Horio and decided to check out the person who made his brother act so out of character.
Knowing his brother was at the cafeteria, Tezuka headed there, only to see his brother chatting happily with a handsome boy, a smile never leaving his face.
“Guo Yu!”
“Brother.” Guo Yu, who was listening to Ryoma talk about how he missed a match because someone gave him wrong directions, heard his brother’s voice.
“Brother, Ryoma is in my class!” Guo Yu excitedly told his brother about meeting Ryoma in class, his face slightly flushed with excitement, “I haven’t played with Ryoma in so long.”
Listening to his brother’s soft complaints, Tezuka Kunimitsu’s eyes showed a hint of affection. It seemed this boy was someone Guo Yu knew from before, though he didn’t know where they met.
“Really? When did Guo Yu meet Ryoma?” Tezuka asked casually while patting Guo Yu’s head.
“In America, we played together!”
America? So they met when Guo Yu went to America for treatment a few years ago. They must be good friends! Tezuka Kunimitsu guessed that his brother’s melancholy after returning to Japan was because of this child.
Did his parents know Guo Yu had this friend? If they did, they wouldn’t worry so much about Guo Yu being introverted!
Thinking this, Tezuka Kunimitsu suggested, “Guo Yu, you can invite Ryoma to our house to play, so Dad, Mom, and Grandpa can meet your good friend.”
His brother’s words made Guo Yu’s eyes light up. Right, he could invite Ryoma over, just like his brother invited Fuji Older Brother.
“Ryoma, Ryoma, do you want to come to my house today?” Guo Yu shook Ryoma’s hand, full of anticipation. Ryoma would definitely agree, right? He would, right?
“Not today.” I need to prepare.
Visiting Guo Yu’s house for the first time, Ryoma felt he should be careful and not go empty-handed. He thought he should ask his dad what gifts to bring!
“Why not today?” Did Ryoma not want to go to Guo Yu’s house? Did Ryoma not like Guo Yu?
The thought of this possibility made Guo Yu sad. He thought Ryoma saw him as his best friend, just like he did.
Seeing Guo Yu’s eyes redden and feeling wronged because of his words, Ryoma quickly realized Guo Yu misunderstood him and explained, “There’s something at home today, but I can visit your house tomorrow, is that okay?”
Although he was talking to Guo Yu, Ryoma directed the last sentence at Tezuka Kunimitsu. In Ryoma’s view, it was more reliable to ask this person.
Guo Yu sometimes seemed like a child, too innocent, making Ryoma unconsciously want to protect him. He believed this person felt the same way.
Because Guo Yu was too close to him, Tezuka Kunimitsu might worry he had ulterior motives and could harm Guo Yu.
Noticing the inquiry in Ryoma’s eyes, Tezuka Kunimitsu pondered for a moment. Not going today was fine; he could go home and ask the elders about this person, just to understand if Guo Yu’s friend was trustworthy. So he said, “Guo Yu, how about you discuss it with Ryoma tomorrow?”
“Okay!”
“Guo Yu, have you eaten?”
“I have.”
“What did you eat?”
…
The barrage of questions from his brother quickly made Guo Yu forget about inviting Ryoma over, shifting all his attention to his lunch.
Having eaten delicious bread from the convenience store at noon, Guo Yu was excited to have discovered a new delicacy. After telling his brother, he naturally asked him to buy some bread to take home and share with Grandpa, Dad, and Mom.
As for why he didn’t buy it himself, Guo Yu explained that he had no money, and even his lunch was bought by Ryoma.
For Guo Yu’s request, Tezuka Kunimitsu’s face rarely showed any expression.
Convenience store bread?
If he bought it home, Guo Yu would probably be the only one who liked it. Considering his family’s extremely healthy eating habits, Tezuka felt a headache coming on.
If he didn’t buy it, he really couldn’t say no to Guo Yu; if he did, his family probably wouldn’t eat it!
Oh well, let the family deal with it. He’d buy it, and whether they ate it or not was their problem.
So Tezuka Kunimitsu calmly replied, “Alright, remind me to buy it when we go home.”
“Okay, okay.” Guo Yu nodded, determined to remind his brother to buy the bread.
Today, he had the best bread ever, so happy!!! He wanted to share the bread with his brother, dad, mom, and grandpa, to make them happy too!
“Guo Yu, we need to head back.” Seeing that the lunch break was almost over, Ryoma had to interrupt the Tezuka brothers’ conversation and said to Guo Yu, “I’ll take you back to the classroom!”
“Okay.”
“Then I’ll leave him to you, Ryoma-kun.”
Looking at the time, it was indeed time to return to the classroom. So, Ryoma had been silently waiting to take Guo Yu back to class.
Did he know about Guo Yu’s poor sense of direction? What a considerate kid! It seemed Guo Yu had made a good friend!
Ryoma didn’t know that his unintentional actions had made Tezuka Kunimitsu, who had been wary of him, lower his guard. After politely saying goodbye to Tezuka Kunimitsu, he took Guo Yu’s hand and headed back to the classroom.
“Goodbye, brother!”
“Goodbye, Guo Yu. Remember to wait for me in the classroom in the afternoon.”