But There Are Limits to Being an Athlete

In her final national middle school tournament, the burdened Kongjing Huayin was defeated in singles by an obscure first-year player. The girls' tennis club captain, who had always seen tennis as an important part of her future, crouched on the ground and looked back on her past. At last, she realized she had no talent. The heartbreak of adolescence swept in like a coastal storm. The summer she turned fifteen was unbearably hot, and she was too dazed to make even a single choice clearly. In the midst of her anguish, she looked around. Her childhood friend from the stats team, a seaweed-haired girl like Bochi, her friend who could jump incredibly high, her lifelong rival with impeccable taste, the underclassman who admired her... There wasn't a single person in the world who didn't play tennis. “So I quickly came up with a plan to leave the world of tennis.” “First, I put some emotional distance between myself and the sport. I cleared out my equipment and piles of tennis magazines, tore the schedules off my walls, then sat around my room for an entire afternoon.” “Next, I put some physical distance between us. I turned down automatic admission to the high school and went to a powerhouse volleyball school where nobody would shine on the court.” “Finally, until I could see what the future held, I decided to become the complete opposite of my current plain, serious, old-fashioned self.” Kongjing Huayin put down the fashion magazine and decided to become a gyaru. * Then a handsome, strong, energetic, occasionally dependable, always dazzling superstar suggested, “Maybe you should come play volleyball after all, ” Kongjing Huayin gave him a sincere smile. “Like hell I will,” she replied. * 1. A gyaru inspired by Ayumi Hamasaki. The author planned to use loads of gyaru slang, but even they found it annoying to read. 2. The heroine is a perfectly ordinary JK in every sense, going through an incredibly difficult and awkward adolescence. 3. Middle school: Hyotei. High school: Fukurodani. 4. 40% volleyball, 40% tennis, 20% Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun and other stuff. 5. The New Prince of Tennis has been erased from my life. The tennis characters still have their third-year middle school faces. 6. The friendship and family bonds matter more than the romance. The male lead is not Bokuto! Not Bokuto! Not Bokuto! 7. Okay, it's been confirmed: the male lead is Akaashi. Theme: A life of courage, hope, and hard work