piratefiction Chapter 74 The Peach King Competition
Chapter 74 The Peach King Competition
Kirihara, who had been clenching his fists and sulking, couldn't help but look up when he heard this. The redness in his eyes had faded considerably, replaced by curiosity.
The butler pushed a small cart out from the side.
On the cart was a large, round tray covered with a dark red velvet cloth, its bulging outline gleaming in the sunlight.
Everyone's attention was drawn to the red cloth.
Kirihara stood on tiptoe to look ahead, his seaweed-like head bobbing slightly. Marui paused for a moment while blowing bubbles, not even reacting when the bubbles popped near his lips. Jiro peeked half his head out from behind Mukahi, all sleepiness gone. Even Sanada's hat brim turned slightly.
Mukahi stared intently at the red cloth, lowering his voice to ask Shinobu beside him, "What is that? It's covered up so tightly."
"I don't know." Shinobu pushed up his glasses. "Given Ling's style, it probably isn't anything serious."
"That sounds like you're insulting him."
"I was actually insulting him."
Wang Yueling walked lazily to the cart, her fingertips lightly hooking the edge of the velvet fabric. She leaned down slightly and glanced back at everyone.
His azure eyes gleamed with a mischievous light, and the curve of his lips was just right.
"Are you ready?"
Before anyone could respond, he flicked his wrist and ripped the blanket off.
A super-huge peach appeared on the tray.
This peach is ridiculously large, nine to ten times larger than a normal peach, with a golden-red skin that gleams like honey in the sunlight.
The rich, sweet aroma exploded instantly, mixing with the peach scent already in the air, as if someone had shoved a freshly picked peach right under everyone's nose.
The entire room fell silent for about two seconds.
The sounds of people gasping for air rose and fell.
The anger that had just ignited dissipated almost entirely in an instant, replaced by an intense desire.
Then came Kirihara's scream.
"Big peach!"
His eyes widened, his black curly hair stood on end, and he involuntarily took a half-step forward. His Adam's apple bobbed violently as he stared intently at the giant peach, wishing he could pounce on it and take a bite immediately.
Marui took two steps forward, his chewing gum now tasteless. His gaze was fixed on the giant peach, his purple eyes filled with longing.
He swallowed hard, the movement so large that Kuwabara saw it.
Kuwabara silently took out a tissue from his pocket and handed it to Marui. Marui took it, but didn't wipe his mouth. He just held it in his hand, his eyes still glued to the peach.
"It smells so good!"
Jiro emerged completely from behind Mukahi, his reddish-brown curly hair trembling slightly in the wind.
He stared longingly at the peach, like a rabbit seeing a carrot, even his breathing became shallow. "Wow! It's a giant peach! I want to eat it!"
"This...is a peach?"
Mukahi's eyes widened, pointing in that direction with one hand and grabbing Shinobu's sleeve with the other, shaking it vigorously. "Yuushi, Yuushi, has this peach mutated? How can it be so big!"
Shinobu's glasses almost fell off from the light, but his gaze never left the peach.
He adjusted his glasses, his tone unusually serious: "It might be a special variety. But I'm more curious about how it grew to such a size. The amount of fertilizer must have been very precise, the angle of sunlight must have been controlled, and perhaps there was even a special grafting technique involved..."
"Yuushi, can you stop analyzing for now!" Mukahi interrupted him, her eyes glued to the peach. "It looks so delicious."
"Indeed." Shinobu pushed up his glasses. "Judging from both sight and smell, the quality should be top-notch."
Niou stopped playing with the braided hair, his fox-like eyes filled with surprise. He tilted his head and stared at the peach for several seconds, then let out a very low whistle.
"Puri~ Is this thing real?"
Yagyu pushed up his round glasses and didn't say anything, but his feet had already unconsciously moved forward half an inch.
Liu walked directly out of the queue.
He walked up to the peach, bent down, and examined it carefully from various angles. Then he opened his notebook and started writing furiously, muttering to himself.
"The diameter is estimated to be over 25 centimeters wide, the skin is golden-red with evenly distributed fuzz, and the aroma is far stronger than that of ordinary varieties. Based on this size, it's completely unprecedented on the market, with a 95% probability of being a novel mutant variety. The estimated flesh thickness..."
"Renji," Niou said lazily, "are you planning to fill an entire page with data about that peach?"
"The data doesn't lie." Liu didn't even look up. "The existence of this peach is a miracle in itself."
"So, have you figured out if it tastes good or not?"
Liu paused for a moment. He looked up and glanced at Renwang with his half-open eyes: "The sweetness level is estimated to be above eighteen. It belongs to the extremely sweet category."
Niou raised an eyebrow and translated the sentence to Marui, who was listening intently beside him.
Marui took a deep breath, patted Kuwabara's arm, and said, "Jack, did you hear that? Eighteen or older! The peach tart we had at that dessert shop last time was only 15 degrees Brix!"
"I heard you." Kuwahara let him pat her, her expression gentle yet helpless. "But those are someone else's peaches."
"Now it's time for the prize!" Marui's eyes shone like two light bulbs. "If you win, you get to eat!"
The regular members of Hyotei and Rikkai were also whispering among themselves. A second-year student from Hyotei in the back row lowered his voice and said to the person next to him, "I told you the acting coach was a demon king. Look, can a normal person grow peaches that big?"
The person next to him nodded seriously: "Absolutely impossible. My grandma has been growing peaches for thirty years, and the biggest one she's ever grown is only the size of a palm."
"Mochizuki is definitely a demon king. He must have used magic to ripen these peaches too."
"Will eating it result in a curse?"
"Even if I'm cursed, I'll still eat it."
"Me too."
There were similar discussions at Rikkai University.
Urayama Shiita tugged at his teammate's sleeve, his cheeks flushing even redder with excitement: "Shiita thinks this coach is really a wizard. This peach must have been summoned from another world by him using witchcraft."
The teammate who was being pulled away swallowed hard, looking conflicted: "But it smells so good."
"It's probably because it's witchcraft that it smells so good."
Sanada stood at the front of the line, his face still bearing that serious expression. But if someone were to observe closely, they would notice that his gaze lingered on that peach for several seconds.
He pulled down the brim of his hat and looked away.
But it was quickly moved back.
Atobe stood a little distance away, his icy blue eyes fixed on the peach for a long while. As the heir to the Atobe Group, he had seen countless top-quality fruits, but he had never seen a peach this big before.
Then he caught a glimpse of Mochizuki Ryo, who was standing next to the cart with a strange smile on her face.
My heart skipped a beat for no reason.
This guy is definitely up to no good.
"Uh-huh~" Atobe crossed his arms, his voice not loud but everyone could hear, "What are you trying to do now?"
Wang Yueling withdrew her mischievous smile, straightened up, crossed her arms, raised her chin slightly, and looked both proud and incredibly irritating.
Sunlight streamed down from behind him, casting a halo around his blond hair. But to be honest, if you only looked at his face, he was quite handsome.
"This peach king is today's lucky charm."
He placed his hand on the edge of the tray, tapped the plate lightly with his fingertips, and held up one finger. "Whether it's singles or doubles, the final winner will each receive a big peach."
Immediately afterwards, he raised an eyebrow and swept his gaze across the room, then held up a second finger.
The smile on his face deepened.
"There's a second track."
He paused deliberately, drawing everyone's attention back to himself.
"That is, the player you nominated. Whoever it is, the first one to get a point from me."
He waved two fingers in front of him, and his blond hair swayed slightly in the wind.
"This king of peaches... belongs to him."
The entire courtyard looked like it had been set on fire.
Kirihara Akaya's eyes were completely glued to the peach. He clenched his fists, switching from his previous rage mode to battle mode, his voice rising sharply: "I will win! I'll take the championship, the chance to challenge my seniors, and this peach!"
Niou gently patted the back of his head: "Win the fight first."
"I won't hold back, Niou-senpai!"
"Who asked you to go easy on me? Besides, the draw hasn't even taken place yet, how do you know your opponent is me? I still want to eat peaches, Pupina~"
"Then let's have a fair and square fight! I'm a formidable ace, hahaha..."
"..."
Sanada stood to the side, his face still stern. But the fingers on his hat brim tightened slightly, his gaze was intense, and his chest rose and fell slightly. He didn't speak, but Yanagi, standing next to him, could sense that Sanada's breathing was a bit heavier than before.
Liu closed his notebook, a barely perceptible glint of anticipation flashing in his eyes. The data told him that this match would yield a wealth of useful information.
Yes, and he also wants to study this peach.
Meanwhile, Hyotei wasn't idle either. Mukahi was jumping around excitedly: "I have to win! I'm going to cut that peach into eight pieces and make each piece into a different dessert!"
"You can talk after you can beat your opponent." Shinobu pushed up his glasses, shifting his gaze from Momo to him.
Looking at their longing expressions, Wang Yueling's lips curled up even higher. She took two steps forward, facing everyone, and spoke in a clear voice.
"I've given this competition a name..."
He paused, deliberately drawing out each word as if afraid others wouldn't hear him clearly.
"The Peach King Championship!!!"
There was a two-second silence when the name was uttered.
Marui snapped out of his daze, chewing gum and tilting his head: "Isn't this name a bit too chuunibyou (a Japanese term for someone with delusions of grandeur)?"
Kuwahara, standing beside him, nodded silently.
Niou toyed with his braid, his fox-like eyes crinkling as he chuckled, "Puri~ For Ling's style, this name is already quite understated."
Although the name of the competition sounded somewhat ridiculous and his tone was infuriating, the sight of that tempting giant peach prize ignited everyone's fighting spirit to its fullest extent.
Whether it was Hyotei or Rikkai, whether they were third-year students or first-year students, they were all eager to try, their eyes filled with determination.
We must win the championship! We must get at least one point from him!
The allure of peaches is simply too great!
Looking at the spirited young men before him, Wang Yueling twirled a tennis ball between her fingers, a sly glint in her azure eyes.
Mon dieu, these little guys are still so easy to fool.
He smiled softly.
He patted the lottery bucket beside him, his tone suddenly rising, carrying an arrogant air that seemed to invite a beating.
"Alright, enough with the chit-chat."
"Only those who win the match are qualified to challenge me. Only those who win the match get to eat the giant peach."
"If you want to win the peach, you have to prove yourself first. Whether it's singles or doubles, whether your partner is from Hyotei or Rikkai, whether they are upperclassmen or lowerclassmen, win the match first."
He took the tennis ball that had been thrown into the lottery box earlier, tossed it gently into the air, caught it, and put it back in his pocket.
"As for challenging my track... we'll see if you have the ability. I'm waiting."
He stepped aside, making way for the lottery bucket.
"Now, let's draw lots."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a freshman from Rikkai University shouted, "The Peach King Championship!"
The sound was like lighting a fuse; more than forty voices exploded out at once, not in unison, but loud enough to startle the swans on the lake not far away into flight.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves and fell on the boys' faces. The air was filled with the fragrance of peach blossoms, their fighting spirit was boiling, and their pure youthful vigor was running rampant in the wind.