The Prince of Tennis Episode 7 Recap
> The Prince of Tennis Recap
During a celebratory banquet, everyone pressed Qi Ying about who she was cheering for, leaving her shy and looking down in silence. Soon after, Lu Xia drifted off to sleep, and Qiao Chen seized the opportunity to write on the gauze covering Lu Xia’s eye, a prank Lu Xia remained oblivious to. After the festivities concluded, Lu Xia accompanied Qi Ying while she waited for her family, Qi Na, to pick her up.
Though Lu Xia remained cool and quiet, Qi Ying was visibly delighted. Before getting into the car, Qi Ying subtly slipped a gift into Lu Xia’s hand. Back home, Lu Xia opened the gift to discover a wristband, which his father, Lu Xiangqian, noticed. Lu Xiangqian was pleased but also expressed his firm opposition to Lu Xia engaging in early romance, rambling on before bringing out a specially prepared dish of "Mexican pork stew."
The next day, a peculiar atmosphere enveloped Yuqing School as a throng of people, armed with mobile phones, swarmed the campus, taking photos and documenting the tennis team’s training. Upon hearing Lu Xia had arrived, they rushed forward, but mistook Ah Mu for Lu Xia. To avoid the chaos, Lu Xia deliberately played along, allowing the misunderstanding to persist. This media frenzy severely disrupted the Yuqing players' practice, leaving them helpless.
Qi Ying approached Lu Xia, timidly asking if he liked the wristband she had given him. Lu Xia coldly stated he couldn't find it that morning, which visibly disappointed Qi Ying. Meanwhile, Qiao Chen gave Lu Xia a bicycle ride to a specialty store to purchase essential tennis gear, enduring Lu Xia's complaints about his slow pace. Inside the store, they unexpectedly encountered Sima Yiwu, an opponent.
Sima Yiwu felt a lingering guilt over the previous incident where he had injured Lu Xia's eye, even worrying that Lu Xia might be blind. Upon entering, he immediately attempted to test Lu Xia’s vision. Lu Xia, sensing Sima Yiwu's disbelief in his recovery, deliberately pointed in the wrong direction to tease him before confirming his vision was perfectly fine, though Sima Yiwu still seemed unconvinced.
As Qiao Chen arrived at the tennis court, he overheard news about Xingzi and quickly rushed into the court, calling her phone. To his surprise, Shen Weiming, a player from the Yufeng team, answered. Shen Weiming, who had previously looked down on Qiao Chen for being a substitute, grew arrogant upon hearing Qiao Chen affectionately call Xingzi's name. He challenged Qiao Chen to a match. Just then, they witnessed Ji Jingwu, the captain of Xingyao Middle School, mocking Xingzi.
Qiao Chen, angered, promptly challenged Ji Jingwu to a fight. Ji Jingwu and his teammate, Hua Chonghong, decided on a doubles match. Since Qiao Chen was alone, he partnered with Shen Weiming. Qiao Chen boastfully declared they would win, but they were defeated in a single shot by Hua Chonghong. After winning, Ji Jingwu casually asked Qiao Chen to convey his regards to Mu Siyang, a request Qiao Chen did not take seriously.
Once the dispute was resolved, Shen Weiming returned Xingzi's phone, and Qiao Chen realized Shen Weiming was merely the one returning the phone, unrelated to Xingzi, leading to a smug feeling of triumph. Mu Siyang received his re-examination results, confirming his arm injury had worsened. This forced him to seriously consider the selection of Yuqing's next captain. With only nine days remaining until the municipal preliminaries, the Yuqing team decided to adopt a more rigorous training method.
Yan Zhiming had urgently developed a new, highly concentrated, and incredibly bitter orange juice, which became the penalty for losing. The intense pressure of training, accompanied by the pervasive smell of the bitter juice, hung over the court as three players in quick succession succumbed to its "poison." Separately, Qi Ying sought out her aunt, Coach Qi (Qi Na), to accompany her to repair tennis rackets, but Coach Qi was busy and delegated the task to Lu Xia.
That evening, Lu Xia went to He Xinglong’s family shop to buy roast goose. He Xinglong was busy helping his father, who feared his son would be tired from matches and tried to do all the work himself. He Xinglong told Lu Xia he could simply message him directly for roast goose in the future.
Lu Xia assumed He Xinglong must be exhausted, but He Xinglong explained that cooking and playing tennis were his passions, so he never felt tired doing them. This sparked a question in Lu Xia’s mind about what it truly meant to love something from the heart. He waited outside for He Xinglong, who finished work late but still intended to practice tennis. Lu Xia accompanied him, and as they played, they chatted.
Lu Xia asked He Xinglong why he chose to play tennis, to which He Xinglong simply replied, "No reason, just because it makes me happy." They practiced until midnight, causing Lu Xia to miss dinner. Feeling apologetic, He Xinglong invited Lu Xia home and personally prepared a bowl of roast goose rice for him. Lu Xia found it so delicious that he completely forgot about Lu Xiangqian, who was left hungry and weak at home.
The next morning, Qi Ying meticulously prepared a cake, and at the same time, Lu Xia woke up early, ready to accompany Qi Ying to repair her racket. It was then that he discovered his lost wristband; a small cat had carried it away. Seeing it was dirty, Lu Xia asked Lu Xiangqian to wash it.
Lu Xiangqian, noticing the wristband was hand-embroidered and Lu Xia was heading out with Qi Ying so early, suspected early romance and decided to follow them. Qi Ying, rushing to finish the cake for Lu Xia, was late for their meeting and nearly ruined the cake after accidentally bumping into Xiao Sha.
When Qi Ying finally arrived, Lu Xia was coldly distant and told her to leave, making her feel uneasy and regretful that Lu Xia was unhappy about accompanying her to fix the racket, particularly because she had been delayed by baking the cake.
