Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 861 Is the training method wrong?
Complaints aside, Shino was still happy to see Miss Gloria and Miss Alice suddenly start playing wind flower ball, as she felt that her hometown custom was recognized. However, when she learned that the two were planning to participate in this year's Yamit Cup Wind Flower Competition, her happiness turned into surprise.

"Are you two kidding me?"

Xino looked at the two suspiciously, trying to detect any jokes on their faces, but unfortunately there was none. Not only did Alice look serious, but even Gloria gave her a thumbs up, with two rows of white and neat teeth flashing suspiciously in the sun: "Of course I'm not joking, Ms. Xino. In order not to disappoint my fans, I practice hard every day!"

Where are you fans from?

Xinuo almost blurted out the answer, but luckily she held it back. Then she realized something was wrong: So, Miss Gloria is this kind of person?
Was the elegance and grace she displayed yesterday just a disguise?
He pretended so well that even she was fooled.

Alice beside him nodded seriously: "Yes, I can prove it because I am a fan of Gloria. However, judging from the size of your armor, Shino, maybe I can also be your fan?"

Armor scale...what is that?
"Please don't make fun of me, Miss Alice." Shino said somewhat awkwardly, "Wind Flower Ball is not my strong point. However, if you two are interested in participating in this year's Yamit Cup Championship, it is better to sign up as soon as possible. I remember that the registration period for the open trials seems to end in a few days."

"That's a problem." Alice pinched her chin and quickly thought of a way to solve the problem, which was to throw the problem to someone who could solve it. "I'll tell Ling Ge and ask him to find a time to take me to the city to sign up. We can go shopping and buy some local specialties while we're there, hehehe."

She was very satisfied with the travel plan she had made on the spur of the moment, and couldn't help laughing out loud, and her laughter was disgusting - Xino didn't want to comment on it this way, but there was no way, Alice's laughter was like this, and there was no other more appropriate adjective.

anyway.

Alice's outstretched hand froze for a moment, then quickly returned to normal. She replied in a nonchalant tone, "What else can I do? It's just like that... Strong, invincible, and the strongest teeth!"

"Eh!?"

Alice cheered, dropped her racket and went to grab the picnic basket, totally lacking the spirit of a professional player to take good care of her equipment. Gloria, on the other hand, put the racket and ball on the grass first, and then lifted the tablecloth to see what was for lunch. Perhaps considering the amount of exercise they were doing, the thoughtful lady boss prepared a lot of meat, fruit and two bottles of milk. Alice's most hated vegetables were almost invisible, which made the talented player cheer again and feel more motivated for the afternoon training.

The three looked over and found that it was Lingge who was walking towards them. He was holding a picnic basket covered with a pink tablecloth, which looked quite interesting. The young man came up to the three of them, handed the picnic basket to Gloria, and said, "It's noon. Shesta prepared lunch for you. Eat first and then train."

……

"I'm serious."

"So," when she was about to eat, Ling Ge suddenly asked, "How is the effect of the training?"

However, Xino did not easily believe this nonsense. Her first reaction was to question: "Ms. Gloria is... a contestant in the main competition? Are you kidding, Miss Alice?"

A certain athletic girl cooperated by raising the index and middle fingers of her left hand and making a V sign to Shino. With that energetic smile, she looked like a person of similar taste to Alice... I mean, like-minded.

In fact, both events were very shocking, but the latter was more important, so Xino chose to ask about Gloria's identity as a finalist, and then got an unexpected answer: "Yes, it's true."

At this point, Xino couldn't help but pause, she realized that she seemed to be a little too serious. Miss Alice and Miss Gloria were obviously just joking, so in that case, maybe she should respond to them in a humorous way instead of explaining the rules of the Yamit Cup seriously, which would be too rigid, right?
She felt a little annoyed, hoping that these new friends would not think she was a rigid and serious person. But at this moment, a voice suddenly interrupted their conversation: "Let me explain this matter."

"Well," seeing that Lingge seemed to take this so-called training very seriously, Xino couldn't help but ask, "Is what Miss Alice said true?"

She asked curiously, "Is it just you, Miss Alice? Miss Gloria is not going to compete?"

As soon as he heard it, he knew there was no progress, and Lingge couldn't help but sigh.

"What are you referring to?" Linger looked back at Xinuo and asked, "The fact that Alice is going to participate in the open trials? Or the fact that Gloria is a contestant in the main competition?"

"Of course she's going to participate, but not in the open trials, but in the main draw." Alice patted her partner's shoulder proudly and said, "Let me tell you something amazing. Don't be too surprised: Gloria is one of the 60 main draw players in this tournament!"

This irrelevant answer made Xino more certain that she was joking. He couldn't help but shook his head and said, "Impossible. The places for the main competition players were determined after the Cornelia Cup ended in January this year. Even if a player withdraws temporarily, they will be postponed according to the ranking on the points list. And Miss Gloria doesn't seem to have a ranking on the WT list (Windy Tennis)..."

"Then why didn't Mr. Linger mention this yesterday?"

"Because Gloria wasn't a contestant yesterday." The golden-haired maid replied as a matter of course, "She became a contestant after she woke up."

In other words, he is one of the sixty best players of Wind Flower Ball in the entire Sigiriya continent.

"Yeah! Lingge, I love you so much!"

Afterwards, with Lingge's explanation, Xino finally understood the cause and effect of the matter and was deeply moved.

"Although I felt that the Young Lady Kings were truly an incomparable magical existence in the world when I heard your story yesterday, I didn't expect that after actually meeting them, I found that their magical qualities far exceeded my imagination." Xino sighed, "The curse of changing one's identity every once in a while, and one must act according to the setting of this identity, otherwise the curse will deepen. No wonder the Miss Gloria I saw yesterday and the Miss Gloria I saw today are like two completely opposite people. This change is really too amazing."

Linger replied: "I often have the same feeling."

Maybe she heard the two people discussing her, but Gloria, who was sitting on the grass eating Rustin-style lamb pie, suddenly turned her head and waved her arms happily at them, with a piece of unfinished pickle on the corner of her mouth: "Hey! Lingge, Xinuo, do you want to eat together?"

Ling Ge shook his head and refused. Xinuo also smiled and waved his hand, saying that he was not hungry yet and they should eat first. After Gloria withdrew her gaze, she couldn't help but say something presumptuous: "Living like this seems a bit cruel for her."

Identity can change at any time, personality is also unpredictable, and there is no memory that belongs to oneself. Just imagining such a life makes Xino feel suffocated. How much of the smile on the face of the gray-haired and gray-eyed girl is from the heart, and how much is it to cater to the strange curse?
Moreover, the cursed girl is not just Gloria in front of us.

Thinking of this, Xino sighed: "Miss Saint Xia Liya and the others must have worked very hard, and you, Mr. Lingge, you have to take care of these cursed young queens, I think you must be the one who works the hardest." The person next to him didn't answer for a long time, Xino couldn't help but look back, wanting to see what his expression was now, but he was stunned, because he found that the young man was looking at him with a kind of quiet but deep eyes. The two of them were of similar height, so this kind of gaze was at the same height, neither accommodating excess sunlight upwards nor being taken away too much by the grass and trees downwards, focusing, silent, and not avoiding.

One second, two seconds, three seconds... Finally, it was Xino who couldn't hold on any longer. He looked away in panic. He was about to criticize the young man for his behavior, which was too offensive and rude, and was not what a gentleman should do to a lady, but the latter spoke first and said calmly: "You are also the Girl King."

When Xinuo heard this, somehow her slightly annoyed mood disappeared. She couldn't help laughing and said, "But I don't have any special abilities, nor do I have any weird curses."

Ling said: "At least that's what it looks like on the surface."

"So, Mr. Ling suspected that I was lying?"

“Sometimes, when people deliberately conceal the truth for a certain purpose, it cannot be called lying.”

"What should it be called?"

Linger stopped talking. He looked back at the two people who were sitting on the grass and eating lunch. After staring for a long time, he asked, "What do you think will happen if they participate in the tournament at their current level?"

Xinuo fell into deep thought. After a while, she came to the conclusion: "Miss Gloria is fine. Although she has no practical experience, she has a wealth of theoretical knowledge. As long as she trains a little and regains her touch, she should have no problem competing in the main competition. Of course, it is impossible for her to compete with those professional players. Maybe she needs to rely on luck to get out of the competition. If she can't get out of the competition, with her current status and fame, she may face many doubts."

Regardless of what others say, at least the fan who said in the newspaper that "Gloria can't possibly make it to the quarterfinals or the top 16" guessed correctly, because his idol couldn't even make it to the quarterfinals or the top 16.

"As for Miss Alice..." Xino hesitated for a moment, and finally gave a four-word evaluation. Of course, it was not about looking forward to the future, but: "The most important thing is to participate."

Ling Ge also thought so, so he nodded: "Don't worry about that girl, she is just joining in the fun. I don't think she can even make it past the second round of the open trials."

Well, you think too highly of her.

Xino smiled awkwardly: "In fact, the public selection stage of the championship is not completely free of barriers. At least you have to hold an amateur certificate recognized by the association to register. There are also many college students who cannot become professional players due to academic or family burdens. In fact, their strength is not weak, so..."

So Alice might not even be able to play one round?

No, she might not even be able to sign up.

Ling Ge suddenly realized: "Do you need an amateur certificate to sign up for the open trials? But Alice doesn't have a certificate."

Shino wondered, "Then why did she want to participate in the tournament?"

"I just said it, this guy just likes to join in the fun."

"..."

Xinuo was speechless. She glanced at Alice, who was eating with oil dripping from her mouth, and said in a tangled tone: "This doesn't seem to be good news for Miss Alice. Do you think she will accept it?"

"I don't think she would accept it."

"So……"

"Then she will think of other ways to participate in the competition." Ling Ge stretched out his hand and pressed his forehead. He felt a headache for some reason. "I can even imagine what method she will use to solve this problem."

The image of a certain Princess Haisu flashed through his mind. If it was her, not to mention an amateur certificate, maybe she could directly send Alice to the main competition? That would be too terrible, and it would definitely be a devastating blow to this Yamit Cup Championship.

"Pfft." Seeing the young man with a headache, Xino somehow found it very interesting: "If Miss Alice and Miss Gloria can successfully participate in the competition, maybe I should go and support them? It will definitely be a very interesting competition."

Is this a sarcastic remark?

Linger glanced at Shino.

The girl coughed twice and pretended to be calm and changed the subject: "But even though you say that, I think Mr. Linger must be looking forward to them getting a good place in the tournament, right?"

No, I didn't expect that.

Ling Ge was about to answer when he heard Xinuo's voice: "But this kind of grass is still too crude compared to professional training grounds, so the training effect will not be very good."

Ling Ge heard the hidden meaning in her words and raised his eyebrows slightly: "So, what does Miss Xinuo mean?"

"What I mean is," her wine-red eyes blinked, she smiled, and her snow-white ponytail swung behind her, rustling the grass leaves on the ground. "Would you like to visit the Shadoli Manor? The manor still has a Fenghua Stadium built 20 years ago. Although it is a bit old, it has been repaired and maintained. Compared with professional sports venues, it has some shortcomings but is not much different."

She gently placed her hand on her chest, her eyes sincere and earnest: "What do you think, Mr. Ling?"

(End of this chapter)