In the afternoon, when she returned to the apartment and sat on the sofa, Yukinoshita finally remembered what she had forgotten.
She had forgotten to inform Yui and Hachiman that the Service Club activities were canceled for the time being.
After school, Hoshimi had been ready to leave quickly, and she had been preoccupied with stopping him, completely forgetting to notify the other two members of the Service Club.
Later, she had spent the entire time "instructing" Hoshimi on the tennis court, and this matter hadn't crossed her mind until now when she was back home.
She felt a bit negligent...
She wondered how long Yui and Hachiman had waited at the Service Club's door before leaving.
What should she do now? Should she apologize first?
Yukinoshita frowned as she picked up her phone, pondering whether to send an email to apologize to Yui.
After thinking for a while, she put down her phone.
Apologizing in person seemed more sincere; using an email might feel like an act of avoidance.
Moreover, she needed to apologize not only to Yui but also to Hachiman. It would be best to apologize to both of them together tomorrow and inform them that the Service Club's activities would be temporarily suspended until the ball skills competition was over.
Recently, she needed to focus all her energy on retaliating against Hoshimi, and she couldn't afford to split her attention with Service Club activities.
Only after this round of revenge was over could she have the time and energy to resume the Service Club's activities.
"Heh~"
Thinking of Hoshimi, Yukinoshita couldn't help but sneer.
She picked up the mahogany ruler on the table, looking at it with interest.
She had bought this ruler specifically from an antique store on her way back from school. It felt much more comfortable to use than a tennis racket, with a smaller area of impact, making it more painful when hitting someone.
This afternoon, she had used the tennis racket as a ruler and spanked Hoshimi's buttocks 36 times.
She wondered if she could continue this tomorrow or even set a new record.
The ruler in her hand was ready and waiting.
However, after what she did to Hoshimi this afternoon, he would probably have a troublesome dream tonight. She wondered how he would plan to get back at her.
Yukinoshita played with the ruler, quietly contemplating.
After a while, she suddenly laughed at herself.
What was the use of thinking about this now? It was a waste of time. It would be better to wait and see, adapting to the changes as they came.
Tonight, in the dream, Hoshimi's tricks would naturally reveal themselves to her. It would be time to think about how to deal with them then.
At this point, she had nothing to fear anymore.
"Click---"
With this thought, Yukinoshita casually tossed the ruler onto the table, then got up to prepare dinner.
After standing with Hoshimi on the tennis court for two or three hours, she was already quite hungry.
...
As night deepened, most people quietly went to sleep.
In the dream, Yukinoshita found herself there again.
Although she had mentally prepared herself, she couldn't help but feel uneasy due to the surrounding environment.
Usually, when she entered Hoshimi's dream, she would find herself on a rooftop of a high-rise building.
But today was completely different. She was on a beach, with a calm sea not far away and a clear, cloudless sky with seabirds flying freely.
In the distance, there was a stretch of tall coconut trees, and scattered on the beach were some seashells, crabs, and starfish.
All these scenes together created a beautiful picture of a summer southern beach.
In this picture, her clothes had changed from the usual Sobu High School uniform to a pure white, two-piece swimsuit.
Seeing her attire, Yukinoshita's unease reached its peak.
She frowned, looking directly ahead at Hoshimi, who was standing ten meters away wearing only a pair of beach shorts. "Hoshimi, what are you planning?"
"Snap--"
Hoshimi snapped his fingers, and a tennis net rose between them. The ground beneath their feet transformed into a tennis court's rubber surface, creating a standard tennis court around them.
Then, Hoshimi casually waved his hand, and a high-quality tennis racket appeared in front of Yukinoshita. At the same time, an identical racket appeared in his own hand.
Hoshimi rested the tennis racket on his shoulder, raising his neck slightly with a playful smile. "Yukinoshita, let's have a solo match. Every time you lose a point, you have to accept a punishment."
"... What is the punishment?" Staring at Hoshimi, Yukinoshita didn't rush to pick up the racket but instead asked about the punishment he hadn't mentioned.
"Punishment?" Hoshimi looked at Yukinoshita with a sly smile. "What do you think the punishment will be? The same rules as the punishment you used when you were teaching me tennis this afternoon, okay?"
"..." Yukinoshita didn't say anything else.
She bent down to pick up the tennis racket and took a few steps forward, staring fearlessly at Hoshimi.
It was just tennis. As long as her stamina held up, she could completely dominate Hoshimi.
In reality, her stamina might be an issue, but in Hoshimi's dream, as long as her willpower was strong, she would have as much stamina as she needed.
What Hoshimi was doing was just inviting humiliation.
She would show Hoshimi what a real gap was, what it meant to overestimate oneself!
"Yukinoshita, are you ready?" Hoshimi asked with a playful smile.
"..." Yukinoshita silently assumed a receiving stance, her icy blue eyes filled with confident flames.
"Heh~" Hoshimi chuckled, casually conjuring a tennis ball and serving.
"Boom---"
With a powerful swing, the tennis ball cut through the air like a green flash, speeding towards Yukinoshita's court.
At the same time, golden ripples appeared in the air behind Hoshimi, and one by one, ball machines emerged from the ripples, each following Hoshimi's lead and serving simultaneously.
In an instant, one tennis ball led the charge, followed by a barrage of tennis balls, like soldiers charging in after their commander.
"..."
Yukinoshita stared blankly at the countless tennis balls in the air.
"Clatter---"
The tennis racket in her hand fell to the ground, and her mind went blank.
How foolish she had been to believe Hoshimi would compete fairly with her.
Today, it was all over...
"Clatter----"
The next moment, numerous tennis balls rained down in Yukinoshita's court, none of them hitting her directly.
"Heh~ It seems I have the upper hand again. 100 to 0. It's my turn to serve again."
Hoshimi laughed gleefully, conjuring another tennis ball and serving it.
Simultaneously, the ball machines behind him didn't stop, joining him in another attack.
"Clatter---"
Another downpour of tennis balls.
With a blank expression, Yukinoshita had given up resisting. She didn't even have the heart to curse Hoshimi for his lack of sportsmanship.
Amid the relentless barrage of tennis balls, only one thought occupied Yukinoshita's mind.
Just how many times over was Hoshimi planning to repay her with his vile, deceitful, cunning, and shameless ways?
"Here we go again~"
"Clatter---"
Another rain of tennis balls as Hoshimi continued his assault with enthusiasm.
Not much more, just a 100-fold payback.
No need for more, after all, he wasn't a devil.
===
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