Chapter 21: Love Letter

The spectator stands were in an uproar again, especially the cheering squad composed of Seido High School students. They had previously received a request from the team Manager to use their cheers to support the First Year Pitcher when he took the mound. They hadn't understood it before, but now they all understood: Seido had likely welcomed a powerful new talent.

"Strike!"

"Strike!"

In the blink of an eye, Huangqian Yangyi threw two more pitches. The Batter swung and missed both times, walking away from the batter's box feeling very frustrated, while Huangqian Yangyi successfully secured the first out of his high school career.

After retiring one Batter, Huangqian Yangyi looked toward the Dugout and lifted his chin at Miyuki.

"Damn it!" Miyuki gritted his teeth; he understood that look!

I want to get on the field so badly, I want to play!

At this moment, Tanaka Wataru stood up and threw the ball back, "Nice pitch. Keep this rhythm and end the game."

The words were heard by the Donghe Batter who had just walked up, and his grip on the bat tightened involuntarily.

However...

"Strike!"

"Strike!"

"Strike!"

Three pitches later, the Batter had swung and missed three times.

"He's amazing, Huangqian is truly incredible," Department Head Ota said, dancing with excitement to those around him.

Takashima Rei pushed up her glasses, her hands trembling slightly. After so many years of hard work, Seido was finally about to bear fruit.

Director Kataoka also clenched his fists involuntarily. This summer, we must go to Koshien!

After the third Batter stepped up, he met with almost the same treatment as his teammate; three super-high-speed four-seam fastballs left him completely finished before he even had a chance to adapt.

"We won!"

"Awoo!"

"Three up, three down!!"

"Strikeout, another strikeout!"

"Seido has really struck gold."

"To have this level of skill while only in his First Year, the summer tournament is going to be a good show."

Spring Tokyo Tournament, fourth round, 1/8 Finals.

Seido High School vs. Donghe High School, score 11:0, game ended early in the 5th inning, Seido High School wins!

The moment the umpire announced the end of the game, the teammates behind him all rushed toward the Pitcher's Mound.

"Kid, you did well," Dong Qingguo laughed heartily, slapping Huangqian Yangyi's shoulder hard.

"Nice pitching."

"As expected of the genius we picked up for Seido."

"Huangqian, you really are amazing," Yuki Tetsuya said.

At this moment, Huangqian Yangyi felt that he had truly integrated into this team.

"Thank you, Senior."

"Let's go, line up."

Everyone from both teams came to the center of the field to line up in two rows, shaking hands and bowing to each other.

After everything was finished, led by Director Kataoka, the team left the field to return to school.

On the bus, Huangqian Yangyi sat in front of Miyuki Kazuya, who was full of resentment.

"Senior, you filmed this so steadily, you must be a professional."

Huangqian Yangyi sat beside Fujiwara Takako, repeatedly watching the cool moment of his debut.

"Is that so? Actually, I just rested the camera on the chair," Fujiwara Takako said.

"I see, Senior is really smart."

The straightforward compliment left Fujiwara Takako feeling a bit at a loss.

"Let me see!"

A hand reached over from the front, thick and dark.

He handed the camera to Dong Qingguo, and before long, his roar could be heard.

"I've never looked this cool! Damn brat!"

"Senior Dong, no matter how you look at it, 'cool' doesn't really suit you, does it?"

Miyuki Kazuya suddenly said this.

"Miyuki, you're looking for death!"

"Hahahaha."

Returning in victory, the atmosphere on the bus was relaxed and pleasant. Director Kataoka, sitting at the very front, looked back and smiled slightly.

Although the opponent wasn't strong enough in today's game, it allowed Kataoka Tesshin to see hope for Seido.

Third-year Ace Nanjo Taishi performed steadily; while his performance over three innings wasn't flashy, it was commendable.

Second-year relief pitcher Tanba Koichiro, after entering the First String last autumn, had a performance that was somewhat mediocre, but today's pitching also reflected his growth.

Finally, there was the First Year rookie, Huangqian Yangyi.

For Kataoka Tesshin, Huangqian Yangyi's performance was nothing short of perfect.

In his first appearance of his high school career, he secured three consecutive strikeouts and didn't let the opponent make solid contact even once. Although it was only for one short inning, Kataoka Tesshin had already confirmed that this was the core of Seido for the next three years, the true Ace.

On the night the game ended, the news that Seido had a First Year Pitcher with a ball speed of 149 km/h spread to every school in Tokyo. Anyone who viewed Seido as a rival had already taken note of the name Huangqian Yangyi.

The next day. (April 12th)

After morning training, Huangqian Yangyi, who had finished three large bowls of rice, Kuramochi, and Miyuki went to class together.

In front of the shoe locker, Huangqian Yangyi narrowed his eyes, gazing at a touch of pink in the gap of the locker.

"What's wrong? Hurry up and change your shoes, we're going to be late." Miyuki finished changing his shoes, turned his head to see him standing motionless, and urged him aloud.

"Hey, Kazuya."

"Something up?"

"Look at what this is." Huangqian Yangyi turned his head triumphantly, his finger pointing at his shoe locker.

Hm?

Miyuki Kazuya leaned in to take a closer look, then pulled open the shoe locker door; inside was a pile of colorful envelopes.

"Love letters, they're love letters!"

Kuramochi Yoichi squeezed between the two, as happy as a little puppy.

"What are you excited for? They aren't for you." Miyuki Kazuya pushed Kuramochi away and took out the envelopes to count them: "8 of them."

"8, 8 letters!" Kuramochi Yoichi snatched them away and pressed the envelopes against his face, "They smell so good."

"Ew~" Miyuki stepped back two paces, indicating he didn't know this pervert.

"Um, these envelopes were just taken out of my shoe locker," Huangqian Yangyi said.

Kuramochi froze abruptly, then lunged at Huangqian Yangyi: "Damn it, why doesn't anyone give me love letters?"

"Because you're ugly." Miyuki lived up to being a Catcher, knowing exactly when to deliver a critical hit to break down the opponent's psychological defenses.

After a bit of horseplay between the three, Huangqian Yangyi entered the classroom with his 8 love letters.

The number of people greeting him along the way had increased, most of whom were pretty girls.

Happily reading the love letters one by one, some were direct confessions, others were subtle requests to meet, but none had a direct signature.

Regarding this, Huangqian Yangyi felt very regretful; doing it this way was just like opening a blind box, and fearing that his heart would suffer a critical hit, Huangqian Yangyi prepared to take them back to the dormitory to destroy them after school.

As a result, he saw a few more envelopes in his locker after school in the afternoon, making Kuramochi so jealous his face turned green.

"Miyuki! Why don't you have any reaction at all?" Kuramochi Yoichi asked indignantly.

He firmly believed that as long as he had the chance to play, he would also be able to attract the affection of girls.

"Why should I have one?" Miyuki turned his head in confusion.

Kuramochi was speechless at this, and for a moment, he even suspected that Miyuki had issues with his sexual orientation.

The three returned to the dormitory to rest for a while; at 4:00 PM, at Seido Baseball Stadium.

Huangqian Yangyi walked up to the Managers in the Dugout, carrying a box of strawberry cupcakes in his hand.