Alice in the Land of Steam

Is there such a story behind Chapter 881?
After chatting with an old friend whom she hadn't seen for a long time and asking for an autograph from her favorite professional player (although this autograph would soon be useless), Leila finally remembered the important business.

"Speaking of which, Shino, are you going into town today to sign up for the trials?"

She glanced at the long queue at the registration point, and said with a happy tone and some emotion: "I haven't seen you play for a long time. If the president and Vincent knew about this, they would definitely be very happy. So, when you play, be sure to tell us, and we will come to cheer for you!"

"No, Leila, I'm not here to sign up for the competition. I'm here to help someone sign up for the competition."

Shino smiled and pointed at Alice next to him and said, "The person who actually wants to sign up for the competition is this Miss Alice. Although she is a foreigner, she is very interested in the sport of wind flower ball, so she decided to sign up and experience the atmosphere of the tournament. As for me, I just fulfilled my duty as the host and provided some help."

To match her statement, Alice put her hands on her hips, held her head high, and looked like she was the best. She glanced at Leila with a reserved and subtle look, probably trying to say something like "The champion of this tournament is right in front of you, why don't you come and ask for an autograph? When I win the championship, my value will skyrocket and you won't be able to afford me." Unfortunately, Leila didn't understand it very well. After listening to what Shino said, she showed a disappointed expression: "So that's how it is. I thought you finally wanted to return to the court."

At this point, she sighed with regret: "If it were you, you would definitely have no problem getting a place in the finals, and there would be no doubt that you would make it to the quarterfinals. You might even be able to compete with Mr. Gulide Date, the 'Caesar', Ms. Diana Ulysses, the 'Moon Goddess', and Ms. Gloria, the 'Genius', for the championship trophy."

When these words were spoken, everyone was shocked and confused.

Saint Charity was doubtful because she didn't expect Xino to be so strong. According to Leila, she could even compete with the top professional players on the standings. Gloria was doubtful because she didn't expect that she would miss out on such a strong competitor. Could it be that the level Xino showed in the training match was not her true strength? Alice was doubtful because... well, she didn't expect Leila to exclude her from the list of "championship contenders". This was too contemptuous!

Lingge was neither surprised nor suspicious. He just turned his head and looked at Xino thoughtfully.

"It seems like you have thought it through clearly. Keep up the good work, Leila."

"A blue arc?"

"It's not as exaggerated as you say." Xino smiled and shook his head: "I haven't picked up a racket for two years. Now my level has dropped a lot, so I'd better not embarrass myself in the main competition. But you, Leila, are you going to sign up for the competition this year?"

"That's right!"

"Okay, how about that restaurant we used to go to?"

"kindness!"

"Of course! Ah!" Leila suddenly remembered something: "We can't continue chatting, Xino, today is the registration deadline, and there are still so many people in line. You should take Miss Alice to register quickly, otherwise you will miss it."

Alice got a little anxious when she heard this. If I missed the registration, who would compensate me for the loss of 500,000 pounds?

"That's true." Xino nodded slightly, and then said to Leila: "What plans do you have next? It's rare for us to meet, why don't we go out for dinner together later?"

"kindness!"

"Well, I've discussed it with my parents and professors. They all said that if I can get good results in this tournament, I can consider becoming a professional player. I've also tried out for many clubs in Sumia City, and basically passed the assessment, but the treatment is average. I want to join a club after the tournament is over based on my performance, so that I can be more valued."

People in the White City Republic, who are not religious believers, will use "May the Saint protect you" as a daily greeting and blessing. This is most obvious in the areas where the Twelve Knights of the Lord were born, such as Sumya, the City of White Knights.

Leila didn't realize that this was her good friend's way of changing the subject, and nodded vigorously: "Last year, I won the championship in the Four Schools United Cup in Sumiya City, and the president and others encouraged me to participate in this year's championship. I have been looking forward to it for a long time. However, I was busy with the professor's project some time ago and had no time to sign up, so I put it off until today. As a result, I met you just after I signed up. This must be the blessing of the Saint!"

"Then please wait here with Mr. Linger and the others for a while. I'll help Alice register. It will be over soon."

"Professor's topic." Xinuo asked, "Are you still studying physics with Professor Smith? Have you thought about your future after graduation?"

After saying that, Shino waved his hand and said goodbye temporarily, then took Alice's amateur certificate (fake certificate) from her who had been impatient for a long time, and walked to the registration point. The reason why he didn't take Alice with him was mainly because he was afraid that this guy would be restless and cause trouble. Anyway, the selection stage of the tournament was not that strict, and family members or friends were allowed to register on behalf of him.

However, looking at the long queue there, Lingge couldn't help but doubt her words "it will be done soon". Leila probably thought so too, so she turned around and made a suggestion to them: "It will probably take some time to wait for Xino to complete the registration. How about we find a place to rest and chat?"

Although she was asking everyone, her eyes were fixed on Gloria. Obviously, it was self-evident who she wanted to talk to. As it happened, Linger also had some questions to ask her. So, they found a shaded pavilion nearby and sat inside to wait for Xinuo and Alice to complete the registration. Cleveland Forest Park was still bustling with people. In addition to the people who came to register, there were also tourists who came to play, residents who brought their families to picnic on weekends, and young people playing on the green ground. Under the sunshine of midsummer, it presented a beautiful and warm scene. As soon as she sat down, Leila couldn't wait to find her idol to exchange ideas about wind flower ball. However, if she let them chat, she would not be able to find room to interrupt. So, before she spoke, Linger asked, "Ms. Leila, are you and Miss Xinuo college classmates?"

"Ah." Leila turned around, her eyes fell on Ling Ge, and nodded gently: "Well, we are both students of Sumya National University, but Xino dropped out two years ago."

"Take a leave of absence?" Saint Shallia asked curiously, "Why? Is it because of family reasons?"

"Partly, right?" Leila was a little vague about this question, and seemed unwilling to elaborate. She only mentioned the reactions of teachers and classmates after Xinuo dropped out of school: "We were all very surprised when we first learned about this, and the teachers and professors were also very sorry because Xinuo's academic performance was very good and she had always been in the top ten in her grade since she entered school. Although I am studying with Professor Smith now, in fact, at that time, Xinuo was the candidate that the professor was most optimistic about, and he thought that she might inherit his career and develop in the academic world."

"In addition to studying, Xino is also very talented in sports. Rowing, marathon, high jump... It seems that there is nothing she is not good at." Leila paused here, then smiled and said: "But her best sport is indeed tennis. She has always been the main force of our school's tennis club. In her first year of joining the club, the president even wanted her to succeed him. In this regard, in addition to her talent and hard work, she also has a family heritage, which is something we can't envy."

She said she was envious, but in fact her eyes were full of envy and she couldn't hide it at all.

Linger heard a key word in this conversation: "Family inheritance? Is the Gustaf family famous in this field?"

"No." Leila shook her head gently: "The family inheritance here does not refer to the Gustaf family, but to Xino's mother."

Then she looked at everyone with a slightly surprised look, as if she was looking at a group of people who didn't know that the sun rises from the east and lacked common sense. "Don't you know that Shino's mother, Ms. Mistian, was the legendary player who made it all the way from the qualifiers to the main tournament and finally won the championship in the tournament 20 years ago? This is a miracle in the history of the tournament. It's not an exaggeration to even describe it as a miracle in the history of the Wind Flower Ball."

Is there such a thing?
Everyone looked at each other in surprise, especially Lingge, who had told everyone this story. He never thought that the legend was hiding beside him. No wonder Leila said that this was a family inheritance. With the teachings and influence of such a legendary mother, coupled with her personal talent and hard work, it was natural for her to succeed.

"Xino didn't tell us." Gloria spun the racket in her hand, with curiosity flashing in her eyes. "And we didn't see her mother at the Shadoli Manor."

"Because Ms. Mistian died of illness before Xino entered school, she might not be willing to talk about this matter." Leila said, "If the president hadn't known her identity and tried hard to invite her to join the club, we wouldn't have known about this. And there were actually doubts at the time. Some people felt that even if Xino's mother was a legendary player, it didn't mean that she was very strong."

It may sound like nitpicking, but it is not without reason.

Alice, who was most interested in this kind of plot, quickly came over and asked excitedly, "And then what? Did Shino show his true strength and slap everyone in the face?"

The golden-haired maid loves this kind of face-slapping segment the most, probably because she often imagines herself being the one who slaps others in the face.

"Ah, hahaha." Leila had no choice but to smile awkwardly but politely at this overly straightforward statement: "Well, I guess so. But Xino didn't care about these people's doubts at first, and just went to class, studied, trained, and rested. Although she would accept training matches when someone asked her to, she would always stop halfway when she had the advantage, and told everyone that it was just training and there was no need to be so serious. Therefore, some people were convinced by her and thought it was a kind of humility; while others thought that Xino was guilty and would definitely be exposed later."

Gloria and Alice looked at each other subconsciously, and they felt that they were in the same situation. Because when Shino played the training match with them, he did the same thing, without any desire to compete. So, the two of them had a disagreement. Gloria thought she was very humble, while Alice thought she was guilty...

“Ahem!” Alice coughed twice and passed over this episode: “What happened next? How did she get slapped in the face?”

Still obsessed with the matter of slapping someone in the face.

"Later, the Sigiriya Cup University Student Championship, initiated by the Republic's Sports Department and the Western Continent University Alliance, began." Leila recalled, "Unlike the Four Schools United Cup that I participated in, the latter was just a small event jointly organized by four universities in the Saint-Denis Province, while the former included all the colleges and universities in the entire Sigiriya continent. More than 300,000 students signed up for the competition, including some well-known professional players. At that time, Xino didn't plan to participate, but Claire, the best member of our club besides her, and Xino's good friend, invited her to sign up for the unlimited doubles event. After thinking about it for a week, Xino finally agreed."

"The specific schedule is too long, so I won't go into detail. But their competition experience is just like Ms. Mistyan's, full of legends, and it is still circulating in Sumya National University."

Leila said, with a look of memories and longing on her face: "I also signed up for the competition at that time, but my level was not high, so I was eliminated in the second round. I could only sit in the audience and watch Xino and Claire play all the way to the finals. They have a good tacit understanding. Sometimes they know what the other person is thinking without communicating, and there are often unexpected cooperation on the court, which is like telepathy. I still remember that in the final, they encountered a strong opponent from Qisaiya University, a pair of twin brothers who grew up together and passed the trial training of the same club, but their tacit understanding was better than that of the other party. They suppressed the opponent throughout the whole process. In the end, Claire sent an assist and Xino won the game with a perfect smash. At that time, the capital Fontainebleau University, which was the venue of the game, was boiling. The lights were on until three or four in the morning, and the cheers still did not stop, as if replicating the scene of Ms. Mistyan winning the championship in the championship."

It can be seen that this memory left a very deep impression on Leila, so much so that when she recalled it many years later, she still couldn't stop her surge of emotion and wanted to go back to the past and experience the feelings at that time again, even if it was just as a spectator.

Not to mention her, even Lingge and others who had never experienced this incident were completely attracted from the standpoint of bystanders. It was hard to imagine that behind the cheerful, gentle, humble and polite girl, there was such a turbulent past, a championship trophy that she did not deliberately mention but had already been remembered by countless people.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)