Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 884: Will young college students dream about Senior Sister Xinuo?
After that, everyone had a meal at the Blue Arc Restaurant, and then, at Leila's strong invitation, followed Shino into Sumiya University to see up close this institution of higher learning that is among the best in the entire Sigiriya continent. Because it was a holiday, there were not many students on campus, and only some senior students stayed on campus to work on graduation projects. At the same time, the Wind Flower Ball Club also gathered a group of members and was using the school's court to practice in preparation for the upcoming trials.

After two years of absence, I returned to the club. There were fewer familiar faces and more unfamiliar newcomers. The president who had strongly supported Xino had graduated long ago and is now a well-mannered company employee. He occasionally returns to school to check on the training of his juniors. Vincent, who had questioned Xino many times but was finally convinced by her strength, was a rebellious and thorny young man in Xino's impression, but now he has become the backbone of the club. He patiently corrects the mistakes of the newcomers, which is completely different from the past. Phyllis, who also comes from a noble family and is the daughter of the parish priest, originally joined the club just for fun. Her attitude during training was very casual and she was often scolded by the president. Now she has become the one scolding others. If my past self saw that stern and serious look, would he suspect that it was actually someone else?
As for Leila, she is a perfect senior in the eyes of the new members, even though she is gentle in front of Shino. Now that she has been confirmed as the next president, she has taken on the responsibility of leading the club while the current president is busy with graduation projects. Whether it is borrowing venues, formulating training plans or repairing equipment, she coordinates everything in an orderly manner. In addition, she also has to take care of her own training in order to get a good ranking in the upcoming tournament and obtain more resources for the club.

Standing at the edge of the court, watching the familiar faces all look brand new, Xino somehow stopped in her tracks. She stared at the white windflowers flying around under the azure sky, and her beautiful wine-red eyes revealed a rare melancholy look, like a traveler who had been away from home for many years and finally returned to his hometown, only to find that everything had changed. She had a familiar feeling about everything here, about the grass and trees growing vigorously in the sun, about the faces sweating in the midsummer, and even about the faint smell of rubber on the court... But could she still find her place in those familiar scenes?
But her melancholy didn't last long, because Leila couldn't wait to walk forward and waved to the members who were training on the court, "Everyone, stop training! Look who's back!"

Everyone on the court turned around, their eyes immediately fell on Shino, who was beside Leila, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. The newcomers who had just joined the club in the past two years were confused, while the old people like Vincent and Phyllis first showed doubtful expressions on their faces, as if they suspected that they were in a dream, but when they were sure that this was not a dream, the doubt quickly turned into an indescribable joy. This sudden ecstasy even made them give up training at the same time, leaving the confused newcomers behind and rushing to the edge of the court.

Lingge and others tactfully stepped aside, leaving the joy of reunion to these young people who had been separated for a long time.

"Shino, is it really you!?" Phyllis, who had golden curly hair and sea-blue eyes, moved closer to the girl, opened her eyes wide to observe her appearance, but did not dare to touch her, as if she was afraid that what appeared before her eyes was just an illusion.

"It's me, Phyllis." Xinuo reached out and gently pinched her chubby cheeks, and teased: "How about I pinch my face for you, too, just to confirm it?"

"You're so annoying!" Phyllis wiped away the tears that flickered at the corners of her mouth and said angrily, "Why do you still like pinching my face like before?"

"Because Phyllis is cute."

Shino's matter-of-fact words made the face of this girl, who was feared by the newcomers for her serious attitude and harsh reprimands, blush.

"Hmph." Vincent, who was tall but unruly and looked like a bad boy, snorted coldly and turned his head away, not wanting his old classmates to see the excitement and joy in his eyes. He complained unhappily, "It's been so long, have you finally remembered that you have a club?"

"No thanks." This was not Xino's answer, but Leila's proud voice: "I just had dinner with Xino at the Azure Arc."

"George." Xino's eyes fell on the toolbox in his hand and smiled, "Are you still responsible for the maintenance of the training equipment and venues? You've worked so hard. Have the newcomers caused you any trouble?"

"Yes, Vincent." The fat young man next to him, who was not wearing training clothes but technicians' clothes, glanced at his companion and said, "Xino finally came back. Can't you say something nice?"

"Except for a few guys who wanted to challenge the president right away and broke several rackets as punishment, there wasn't any trouble." George waved his hand nonchalantly, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, since it's rare for you to come back, do you want to invite the president and the seniors who have graduated to have a meal together?"

"I'm sorry, Vincent." Xino put his hands together and apologized with a smile. Although his tone was insincere, it made the bad boy's expression a little more relaxed: "You know I have something to hide, so please forgive me this time?"

Phyllis was a little dissatisfied when she heard this: "How can you eat alone, Leila?"

"Hehe, there's nothing I can do. I'm the first one to discover Xino."

It sounds like Xino is some kind of hidden item. Whoever finds her first will be eligible to have dinner with her. She is really popular. At this point, everyone was a little curious. Phyllis asked, "Did you meet Xino in the city? Didn't you go to the Shadoli Manor to find her?"

"Of course, I have to go to Cleveland Forest Park to register today, so I don't have time to go to Shadoly Manor."

"So you met Shino at the registration point. Could it be that—"

Phyllis's meaningful words perked up the others, and they all turned their inquiring eyes to Shino, but the latter smiled and shook his head: "It's not that I want to sign up for the competition, I just accompanied a friend to sign up."

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone sighed in unison, and it was obvious that everyone was very disappointed.

"I thought this year, the club would have one more spot in the main tournament." Phyllis said faintly, "Then the people from the badminton club next door will definitely not dare to compete with us for the court."

So this was the idea. Xino was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

However, since Xino was willing to show up at the registration point, it meant that the shadow cast by the past incident on her had gradually faded. As her friend and also Claire's friend, everyone was still very happy for her.

"Oh, right." Leila suddenly said, "Xino, it's a rare opportunity for you to come here. Do you want to--"

She pointed to the court and winked slyly: "Can you help us guide these newcomers?"

Hearing this, Xinuo looked up and saw a pair of eyes full of curiosity, doubt, longing and even eagerness to try. Obviously, these newcomers were not completely ignorant of her identity. In addition to the fact that the seniors often said to them, "I don't ask you to have Xinuo's talent, but at least you have to work half as hard as she does," it was also because her and Claire's victory had already become an indelible part of the history of Sumiya University. The sudden dropout added a lot of legendary color to the story, so they all wanted to know, is this senior sister really as good as the rumors say?
After understanding this, Xinuo couldn't help but sigh: "What youth is like."

……

At the same time, Alice was also sighing: "What youth is like."

Once the ace of the school team, he retired from the sport after winning the championship due to the death of his partner. He returned to school many years later and only picked himself up with the encouragement and invitation of his old friends. He vowed to help the languishing school team reach the top, so he won every level in the tournament and finally defeated the powerful enemy after a fierce fight. While realizing his dream, he also paid tribute to his old friends... There are glory, setbacks, lows, tears, sweat, enthusiasm, dreams, fetters and blood. Can you tell me that this is not a youth sports show?

I, Alice, ate this ringer right there!

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)