Prince of Tennis: Shocking! Hyotei's Demon King is a Yukimura fangirl!

Chapter 133 The vain Wangyue Ling

The morning sunlight streamed through the blinds in the living room, casting long and short shadows on the floor.

The air was filled with a faint fragrance of flowers and grass, mixed with a strong sweet and sour smell.

Wang Yueling hummed a French nursery rhyme, holding a small spray bottle in her hand, and gently sprayed water mist onto the pot of jade dew on the windowsill.

"Àla claire fontaine, m'en allant promener..."

Fine water droplets fall onto the transparent, plump leaves, rolling into tiny pearls that slowly slide along the veins into the heart of the leaf.

He moved with extreme gentleness, as if handling a rare treasure, even his breathing unconsciously softened.

"Water only after the soil has completely dried out."

My grandmother sat at the dining table, holding a long bamboo spoon, scooping the plum syrup she had brewed from a glass jar into small individual bottles.

Without looking up, her voice carried the gentle, nagging tone typical of an elder, "Jade dew likes moisture but dislikes waterlogging. It should go dormant and be kept dry in the summer. Don't ruin it by overwatering."

"I know."

Wang Yueling placed the spray bottle on the windowsill and gently touched the plump leaves of the Haworthia cooperi with her fingertips. "I just sprayed a little mist to keep the surface moist. Seiichi said that it shouldn't be waterlogged."

As he spoke, he carried the flowerpot to the dining table and handed the jade dew to his grandmother.

"Grandma, look, isn't he especially beautiful?" His bright blue eyes sparkled, his lips curled up, and his little tiger teeth were faintly visible.

The grandmother looked up at the bowl of crystal-clear jade dew in his arms, then at the silly look in her grandson's eyes, and shook her head helplessly.

"Beautiful, gorgeous."

She put down the long spoon, wiped her hands with her apron, and added, "This is the sixth time you've said it in the last three days."

Wang Yueling's cheeks instantly flushed a light red.

He tightened his grip on the flowerpot, his gaze unconsciously drifting to the wisteria tree outside the window, his fingers tracing the rough clay texture of the flowerpot's rim.

He muttered to himself.

"Has it...has it happened that many times?"

Grandmother didn't answer, she just smiled at him and continued to sachet the fruit syrup.

Wang Yueling put the jade dew back in a cool, ventilated place, went to the sink to wash her hands, dried them, took the apron off the hook and put it on, and sat down next to her grandmother.

"Grandma, you take a rest, I'll pack it up."

He took the small spoon from his grandmother's hand, deftly picked up a small transparent glass jar, and steadily scooped the amber-colored plum syrup into the jar.

The liquid level was just up to the mark, and not a single drop spilled.

Grandmother smiled and nodded, giving him her seat and taking a palm-leaf fan to sit beside him and gently fan him.

A breeze carrying the fresh scent of cattail leaves blew by.

"These fruit syrups were made from green plums and apricots that I picked when I attended the 'Plum Affairs' event in May. They fermented naturally in sugar for over a month, and they're perfect to drink now."

She looked at Wang Yueling's profile as she carefully packaged the drinks, and said slowly, "It can stimulate the appetite and relieve heat; it's the most comfortable drink to have in summer."

Upon hearing this, Wang Yueling put down her long spoon, picked up the small bowl containing pickled plums, and forked a piece into her mouth. The plum flesh was already translucent from being candied; with one bite, the sweet and sour juice exploded on her tongue, carrying a faint aroma of wine, and was not astringent at all.

"The saccharification is just right."

His eyes lit up, and he forked another piece. "The syrup is clear, and the sweet and sour taste is just right. Grandma's cooking is still so good."

With a piece of green plum in his mouth, he continued indistinctly:

"I remember when I was a child."

"Around this time of year, you would make a lot of plum syrup and apricot syrup. Every morning after I got up, the first thing I did was run to the kitchen and sneak a big glass of chilled syrup."

His grandmother was amused by him and gently patted his arm with her palm-leaf fan.

"How dare you say that?"

"You were only this tall back then, and you'd sit on a small stool by the kitchen door, keeping watch. You'd sneak a drink when I wasn't looking, and get so full that you couldn't eat dinner."

"I didn't."

Wang Yueling scratched her head, then bent down to arrange the jars. "I was just tasting it to see if it was ready."

"Oh? Is that so?"

Grandmother deliberately dragged out the words, "Who was it when they were seven years old, getting up in the middle of the night to sneak a drink of plum syrup, but they drank the wrong thing and ended up drinking plum wine, getting so drunk they were chasing the big white goose around the yard?"

Wang Yueling's face turned completely red. She picked up another empty can and said, "Grandma! That was so long ago."

Grandmother laughed so hard she could barely stand, clapping her palm-leaf fan loudly. "Alright, alright, I won't say anymore. Our Xiaoling has grown up now, she's gotten shy."

Wang Yueling pretended not to hear, filled the last bottle of plum syrup, screwed on the cap, and then picked up the label next to her and wrote "Plum Syrup or Apricot Syrup" on it with a black marker.

His handwriting is elegant and neat, and he even drew a small plum blossom pattern at the end.

"These are all packaged up. Take them to the school tomorrow and share them with the tennis club kids." Grandma pointed to the small jars in the basket. "Everyone trains hard, so have some of this to cool off."

Wang Yueling raised her head, glanced at her, blinked, and then smiled.

"They've made a fortune."

He neatly arranged the labeled jars in the bamboo basket. "These were made by my grandma; you can't buy them anywhere else, no matter how much money you have. Once they drink them, they'll definitely crave them every day and keep asking me if there are any left."

He picked up a jar of apricot syrup, held it up to the light, and then said:

"Jiro will definitely cling to my arm and whine, Gakuto will beg for double, and he might even beg me to bring some more. Yuushi might not say anything to my face, but he'll definitely be secretly thinking of taking a few more cans..."

"I won't give them any then, let them be envious to death."

His grandmother was amused by him and laughed heartily. The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes smoothed out, and she even waved her palm-leaf fan faster.

"You child, all you do is bully others."

She laughed and scolded him, then waved her hand generously, "If they like it, they can tell Grandma after they've finished eating. It's past the time to make fruit syrup, but we can still make canned fruit. Yellow peaches, oranges, pineapples, you can make them all."

"Then I'll have to make it clear to them that this is the last one, and they'll have to wait until next year for the next one."

"You have such a big mouth."

Wang Yueling blinked and continued repackaging.

Grandmother smiled and shook her head, put down her palm-leaf fan, and went into the kitchen.

She bent down and took two gift boxes from the cabinet, one medium-sized and light brown, the other small and printed with daisies. Then she walked to the sofa, picked up the neatly folded light green and light blue floral fabrics, and placed them on the dining table.

"I've packed all of these for you."

As Grandma sorted through the gift boxes, she said, "Inside are mung bean cakes and mung bean pastries that I made yesterday, as well as apricots that I preserved in apricot syrup this morning. These are the ones you brought back when you took your teammates home yesterday; they're the most refreshing to eat now."

Wang Yueling stopped what she was doing and watched her grandmother put the pastries into the box one by one, arranging them neatly and lining the gaps with clean oil paper.

Grandmother tidied herself up without looking up, then turned and ran upstairs. A little while later, she came down carrying a small windmill.

The windmill is extremely well-made.

The wooden handle is dark brown, engraved with lotus and ruyi patterns, and a small copper bell hangs from the top, making a clear sound when shaken gently. The windmill blades are light pink and pale green, with a small warm yellow LED light embedded in the center.

When it's lit up at night, it emits a warm yellow light.

"This was sent to me by a friend in China." Grandmother handed the windmill to Wangyue Ling. "It's for my little sister Jing Shi. All children like this."

Wang Yueling took the windmill and gently flicked the blades with her fingers. The windmill began to spin, and the bells jingled, their sound clear and pleasant.

"It's so beautiful. Mia will be so happy." He exclaimed, then gave it another turn, and the windmill spun happily.

"When you pick up Jing Shi from the hospital later, take all of these with you." Grandmother pointed to the two gift boxes on the table. "Take a few more cans of fruit syrup as well. It's impolite to go empty-handed on your first formal visit."

"My grandmother, as I know her."

Wang Yueling was still playing with the windmill, spinning it around in his hand, the sound of its bells echoing in the living room. A slight smile played on his lips, and his eyes held amusement.

After packing the two gift boxes, Grandma picked up the light green lisianthus flower that she had just cut from the yard that morning and pinned it to the bow on the blue floral fabric.

The pale green petals paired with the light blue fabric create a fresh and beautiful look.

"This light blue one is for the refined city; they're all reduced-sugar versions."

As she adjusted the flowers, she added, "There's also rice cake inside that he likes, so I made extra."

As he spoke, he reached out and patted the back of Wang Yueling's hand.

The sound was a soft "snap," but crisp.

"Don't break it."

Wang Yueling obediently let go.

Grandmother took the windmill and then took out a whimsical gift box from the drawer next to her. It was light yellow and had a picture of a bear and a rabbit on it.

She carefully placed the windmill inside, closed the lid, and tied a pretty pink bow.

"This is for Yukimura's sister. Got it?"

"I've got it."

Wang Yueling touched the back of her hand that had been slapped, sighed, and muttered under her breath as she watched her grandmother bustling around, "It's not like I'm going on a blind date, why all this fuss?"

"What did you say?" His grandmother looked up at him, holding scissors and trimming the excess fabric edges.

"It's nothing, it's nothing."

Wang Yueling quickly waved her hand, revealing a well-behaved smile, "I was just marveling at how thoughtful Grandma is. I'm sure Seiichi and the others will love it."

Grandmother gave him a suspicious look, but didn't ask any further questions. After packing her things, she looked him up and down again.

He wore a black and white striped tracksuit, zipped up to his chest, with the neckline slightly open. His hair was unstyled, hanging naturally down his back.

"You're dressed like this to pick up Seishi?" She placed the scissors on the table, her brows furrowing slightly, her tone filled with doubt.

Wang Yueling looked down at her clothes, then touched her hair, looking puzzled.

"What's wrong? Don't you like this outfit?"

"It looks good."

Grandmother drawled, a teasing smile in her eyes, "It's just that you're too relaxed. Whenever you go to the hospital to see Jing Shi, you always hide upstairs and spend half a day getting ready, combing your hair meticulously, ironing your clothes perfectly, and even polishing your shoes three times before you're willing to go out."

"Why are you dressed so simply today? Did the sun rise in the west?"

Wang Yueling's face flushed bright red, the blush spreading from the base of her neck to the tips of her ears, and even her forehead was tinged with a light pink.

He turned his face away, refusing to look into his grandmother's eyes, stubbornly refusing to admit it.

"I do that all the time."

He smoothed his hair, tugged at his collar, and said, feigning composure, "It's not as exaggerated as you say. Don't I look handsome like this?"

"Handsome, of course he's handsome."

Grandmother suppressed a laugh, nodded, walked up to him, and reached out to straighten his collar. "He's completely different from the vain young master he usually is. I'm not used to it."

She deliberately dragged out the phrase "completely different".

"Grandma!" Wang Yueling felt uncomfortable under her gaze, her tone tinged with embarrassment and annoyance. "I'm not vain at all."

"Alright, alright, you didn't." Grandma smiled so much her eyes narrowed into slits. "Then tell me, why are you dressed so casually today?"

Wang Yueling cleared her throat and pretended to be busy tidying up her desk, trying her best to appear calm.

"Okay, I'll confess. Seiichi agreed to let me be his tennis rehabilitation coach after he's discharged from the hospital."

He said this with his chin slightly raised, the corners of his mouth turned up, and a hint of smugness in his tone, "Today is my first day on the job, so of course I have to dress more sporty to make it easier to move around."

As he spoke, he struck a swinging pose, showing off his sportswear.

"Oh... I see."

Grandma's smile deepened. "I knew it! This is the little narcissist I know. Otherwise, if you were acting so normally today, I would have suspected you'd been switched at birth."

Wang Yueling's face burned even hotter at her words. She opened her mouth to retort, but her phone vibrated in her pocket.

He took it out and glanced at it.

The screen displayed the words "Seiichi".

[Jingshi]: The discharge procedures are being processed. I'll be fine in about forty minutes.

[Jingshi]: You don't need to rush, take your time.

Wang Yueling's lips instantly curled up, and she quickly tapped the screen a few times.

[Ling]: I'll be there soon, wait for me! (Cute version of Ling the dog looking up at the moon, making a heart shape.jpg)

After sending the message, he looked up and saw his grandmother staring at him with a gossipy expression. Wang Yueling's face turned even redder. He rushed over, hugged his grandmother's arm, and shook it, "Grandma~"

"Okay, okay, I won't watch."

Grandma patted his arm again, "Hurry up and grab your racket. If you don't leave soon, you'll be late. You won't look good in front of Seiichi then."

She deliberately dragged out the "oh," a teasing smile playing at the corners of her eyes.

Wang Yueling sensed the teasing in her words but didn't refute it. She released her arm, stood up, walked to the entrance, and slung the racket bag hanging on the wall over her shoulder.

The racket bag was a bit heavy; it contained the rehabilitation racket he had prepared for Yukimura, as well as a pair of lightweight weighted wristbands.

He picked up the three gift boxes and the bag of fruit syrup from the table, turned around and waved to his grandmother, "Grandma, I'm leaving!"

"Be careful on the road!" his grandmother called out from the doorway. "Give my regards to Yukimura and his parents!"

"Okay!"