Chapter 175: Koshien, Finals Day!

Not long after, as the whistle blew, the game ended.

Without any reversal, Seibo High School forcefully secured today's victory.

"Let's go, time to head back."

Huangqian Yangyi picked up his backpack and stood up as he spoke.

"Yeah, go back and get some good rest, we'll study it together later," Miyuki said.

The group took the bus back to the hotel, and in his room, Huangqian Yangyi carefully looked over the information on the Seibo High School batting lineup he had gotten from senior Chris.

"So diligent? This kind of thing is usually what I do," Miyuki said, pouring a glass of water and handing it over.

"It's the finals after all, I have to give it my all. I don't want to give up runs because of poor preparation, and I definitely don't want to lose!"

Hearing this, Miyuki smiled; it was the first time he had seen this guy be so serious.

Come to think of it, having made it this far, this bastard hadn't even used his full strength yet; he really is a monster!

Time flew by to the day before the finals.

That evening, Manager Kataoka made the tactical arrangements and plans for the finals, and also announced the starting lineup for the final game.

"Huangqian!"

"Tomorrow's game is in your hands! Can you do it?" Manager Kataoka turned his gaze toward Huangqian Yangyi.

"In my hands?" Huangqian Yangyi was stunned for a moment, then reacted.

"The whole game?"

Manager Kataoka nodded: "As long as you can do it, I hope you can pitch the complete game!"

Boom!

Huangqian Yangyi's heart stopped beating for three seconds; Koshien, the finals, and he had to pitch the entire game himself?

Is it really that exciting?

Whew~

Taking a deep breath, Huangqian Yangyi stood up and shouted: "I can do it!"

After the meeting ended, the corners of Huangqian Yangyi's mouth had not stopped curling upward.

Returning to the room, Huangqian Yangyi saw Miyuki looking at him with a serious expression.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"There's something I think I should tell you," Miyuki said.

"Hm? What is it?" Huangqian Yangyi felt strange; why was he saying something so inexplicable?

Miyuki sighed, "Don't you find it strange that the manager asked you to pitch the whole game?"

"Oh? Is there a hidden reason?" Huangqian Yangyi frowned; could there be a reason he didn't know about?

"Senior Nanjo is sick!"

"Huh?"

"He's had a high fever for two days now," Miyuki said.

Hearing this, Huangqian Yangyi immediately remembered something and looked enlightened: "No wonder, I was wondering why I hadn't seen him for the past two days."

"Wait, that's not right, such a big deal, why didn't anyone tell me?!"

"Because we were worried it would affect your state of mind. After all, if you knew Senior Nanjo couldn't play, the finals would depend entirely on you!" Miyuki looked at Huangqian Yangyi seriously.

"Then why are you telling me now?"

"Because I think you won't be affected by this kind of thing, and telling you will actually help you prepare mentally," Miyuki laughed.

Huangqian Yangyi nodded: "You really do understand me."

"However, if that's the case, and there's no one behind you, we really need to discuss the tactics, like stamina distribution."

"Yeah, we can't go full throttle from the start like before, otherwise the second half will probably be very difficult."

Miyuki sat on the edge of the bed and stroked his chin: "For the first few innings, don't let the pitch speed get too high, don't aim for strikeouts, use pitches on the corners to keep them from hitting Extra-base Hits, and coordinate with the defense to get outs."

Huangqian Yangyi had a different thought: "No, that's not right."

"Oh? Tell me your thoughts." Miyuki raised an eyebrow; since Huangqian Yangyi said that, there must be a better way.

"If I don't aim for strikeouts, the pitch count will increase. Once someone gets on base, the pressure will be even greater. Even if I need to conserve stamina, don't forget, Seibo's batting lineup is no joke. If I don't give it my all, I'm afraid I'll end up losing more than I gain," Huangqian Yangyi looked at Miyuki very seriously.

Hearing this, Miyuki gritted his teeth in frustration: "You're right too. Then let's do that: try to suppress their batting lineup in the first half of the game, and for the rest, we'll just have to rely on our performance at the plate."

"Yeah, let's trust the seniors."

As they talked, they began to study Seibo's batting lineup again.

When the sky had completely darkened, Huangqian Yangyi's phone suddenly rang.

"Your family is here?" Miyuki asked with a smile.

"Yeah."

Huangqian Yangyi nodded and answered the phone.

"Nii-chan!!"

"We're here!!"

Kumiko's cute voice reached his ears, and all the worries Huangqian Yangyi had felt because of the finals vanished.

"Kumiko, you've arrived?" Huangqian Yangyi asked.

"Mm-hmm, me, Mom and Dad, big sister, and Reina! We're downstairs right now," Kumiko said.

"Alright, I'm coming down, wait for me."

Hanging up the phone, Huangqian Yangyi put on a mask and rushed out of the room.

Less than a minute later, in the hotel lobby on the first floor, Huangqian Yangyi stepped out of the elevator and saw several familiar figures.

"Nii-chan!"

Kumiko stirred up a fragrant breeze, pouncing over like a little kitten.

"Haha." Huangqian Yangyi hugged Kumiko and spun her around a few times.

"Nii-chan, I missed you so much," Kumiko said softly, looking up.

"Big brother missed you too," Huangqian Yangyi said, ruffling Kumiko's hair.

At this moment, Huangqian Baba and Huangqian Mama also walked over.

"Yangyi, it's been a few months, you've grown taller and stronger again."

"Mom, I missed you too," Huangqian Yangyi said as he stepped forward and gave his mother a big hug.

Huangqian Mama hugged her son, and tears fell uncontrollably.

"You've worked hard, child."

"It wasn't hard at all, I'm very happy," Huangqian Yangyi raised his hand to help his mother wipe away her tears.

After the mother and son exchanged a few words, Huangqian Yangyi turned his head to look at the man beside them.

"Dad."

"Mm."

The man nodded, his face still serious, though the corners of his mouth were twitching incessantly; after a long while, he finally squeezed out a sentence.

"You did very well."

Huangqian Yangyi smiled and, catching him off guard, stepped forward to hug Huangqian Baba.

"Let go, you're such a grown man acting like a child, aren't you embarrassed?"

After being stunned for a few seconds, Huangqian Baba hurriedly pushed Huangqian Yangyi away.

"Hehe," Huangqian Yangyi couldn't help but chuckle; he really was an old tsundere.

"Hey, what do you mean, you brat? Pretending you didn't see your big sister, right?" Mamiko couldn't take it anymore; this little jerk must have ignored her on purpose.

Hearing this, Huangqian Yangyi turned his head and said, "Sis, don't we see each other all the time?"

"No way, I want a hug too! No playing favorites!" Mamiko feigned anger.

Huangqian Yangyi felt helpless and had no choice but to step forward and give her a light hug.

After hugging his family, Huangqian Yangyi finally turned his gaze to Kousaka Reina behind them.

"Kousaka-san, thank you for coming all this way to cheer for me."

Kousaka Reina's face turned red, and she said in a low voice, "Yangyi-kun, just call me Reina."

"Mm, Reina," Huangqian Yangyi nodded; this girl really looked beautiful when she was shy.

Hearing Huangqian Yangyi call her by her name, Kousaka Reina's face turned even redder, and she hurriedly took out the gift she had prepared in advance and handed it to Huangqian Yangyi.

"Yangyi-kun, congratulations on reaching the Koshien finals."

"Oh? There's a gift too?" Huangqian Yangyi was surprised.

He took it and said with a smile, "Thank you for the gift, Reina."

"Mm," Kousaka Reina kept her head down and suddenly opened her arms.

Huangqian Yangyi was taken aback; how could he not understand what this girl meant? But she was truly bold, actually following him all the way here to cheer for him, and now she was even taking advantage of the atmosphere from the earlier hugs to ask for a hug!

There was no helping it; Huangqian Yangyi gently pulled Kousaka Reina into his embrace, and the fresh scent of her hair made Huangqian Yangyi's heart flutter.

Afterwards, Huangqian Yangyi took them to a hotel not far away to get them settled.

Huangqian Mama and Baba shared a room, his sister Mamiko had a room to herself, and his younger sister Kumiko shared a large bed with Kousaka Reina.

After keeping the two young girls company in the room chatting until 8:00 PM, Huangqian Yangyi finally returned to his own lodging.

The next day, the day of the Koshien final.

The match between Seido High School and Seibo High School became the most watched game by high school students across Japan.

The venue was packed on the day of the match, with crowds of people who had come to watch filling both the inside and outside of the stadium.

As the team arrived at the stadium, Huangqian Yangyi stood at the entrance and looked up at the slogan above.

98% of high school players are defeated here, and then become stronger!