Chapter 23: Chris's Words of Romantic Experience?

"Hey, then Senior Chris has to thank me for discovering your injury," Huangqian Yangyi teased.

Upon hearing this, Chris nodded solemnly, "Indeed. Dr. Guatai said that if my injury had dragged on for any longer, it likely would have caused a rupture of the subscapularis and the upper arm pronator muscles."

"It's that serious?" Huangqian Yangyi asked in surprise. He only remembered that Chris was injured, but he really couldn't recall exactly what kind of injury it was.

"Yes. To thank you, I have prepared a gift for you."

"A gift?"

"A training plan, focusing mainly on physical coordination and strength training, as well as diet," Chris said gently.

"Thank you, Senior."

"Huangqian, no matter how great your ambition or how distant your dreams, ensuring your physical health is the cornerstone to achieving them. Never end up like me."

Chris placed a hand on Huangqian Yangyi's shoulder; his gaze and tone were both so earnest, with a hint of desolation.

"I might not make it this year, but next year, Senior Chris will definitely become a Koshien champion Catcher!"

"It is very difficult to reclaim a starting position after being absent from training and games for over half a year, especially at a competitive place like Seido."

Chris shook his head. It wasn't that he lacked confidence in himself, but being part of the Seido group, he knew better than anyone with what kind of mindset everyone here was training.

Not to mention that there was already a genius among the current Catcher lineup at Seido.

Watching the seniors run wasn't exactly a pleasant sight. After watching for a while, Huangqian Yangyi left the field and returned to the dormitory.

"Onii-chan, daisuki~"

A sweet voice rang out; it was Huangqian Yangyi's ringtone.

Under Chris's strange gaze, Huangqian Yangyi answered the phone with a calm expression.

"Stupid imouto (little sister)."

"Nii-chan!"

Huangqian Kumiko's cheerful voice rang out, like a skylark, instantly purifying Huangqian Yangyi's soul.

"Kumiko, did you miss your brother?"

"Yes, I saw news about Brother on Baseball Kingdom," Kumiko said excitedly. Although it was just a small section on the web version, it did indeed mention Huangqian Yangyi's name.

"Baseball Kingdom? They move pretty fast," Huangqian Yangyi said in surprise.

Baseball Kingdom was a media magazine focused on high school baseball. It wasn't strange for them to pay attention to him, but the game had only ended yesterday, and he had only pitched for one inning. To be in the magazine already today—this speed was a bit too outrageous.

What Huangqian Yangyi didn't know was that his powerful pitching yesterday and the scene he created in coordination with the audience upon entering were enough to generate hype for the media.

News, after all, is all about timeliness.

"I'm always keeping an eye on news about Brother, you know," Kumiko said like a child begging for praise.

"So Kumiko can't bear to be away from Brother after all. I should have tricked you into coming to Seido," Huangqian Yangyi laughed. Being away from home, it felt good to have someone thinking of him at all times.

"No way. If I went to Seido, with your level of being a perverted sister-complex, you definitely wouldn't have the heart to train properly," Kumiko accidentally blurted out the truth.

"Eh? Is that what you think, Kumiko?" Huangqian Yangyi was truly a bit surprised. He hadn't expected this silly little sister to be so considerate of him, even at the cost of being separated from her beloved Nii-chan.

"Wuu wuu, Kumiko, you've grown up."

Knowing that Huangqian Yangyi had started his dramatic act again, Huangqian Kumiko said to herself: "Next month is the Sun Festival, and our Wind Instrument Department is going to have a marching performance at Sun Park. I... I want..."

"Kumiko-chan, do you want Brother to come watch your performance?" Huangqian Yangyi asked gently.

Huangqian Kumiko gave a soft 'mm'. Although this was just a performance and didn't even count as a competition, she hoped her brother could be there for at least the first performance of her high school career.

"What's the date?" Huangqian Yangyi asked.

"May 2nd."

"I can do that."

May 2nd—before the Kanto Tournament. If it was only for one day, he could still spare the time.

"Really?" Huangqian Kumiko asked in surprise, unable to hide her secret joy.

Huangqian Yangyi smiled dotingly, "Of course. When has Brother ever lied to you?"

Kumiko was silent for a long moment, then said: "Nii-chan, am I being too willful? You're clearly very busy too."

"Nah, Kumiko, a little sister acting spoiled and willful toward her brother is an inherent right."

"Hmph, you're clearly the same age as me."

The siblings chatted happily on the phone for a full half-hour. When it ended, Huangqian Yangyi's face was full of smiles.

"Yangyi, you have a younger sister?" Chris asked, leaning on his chair with a book in his hand.

Having been roommates for half a month, this was the first time he had seen Huangqian Yangyi on the phone with his family.

"Yeah, a twin sister. Super kawaii!" Huangqian Yangyi said proudly.

Hearing that they were twins, a look of curiosity also appeared in Chris's eyes.

"I believe it, since you're quite handsome yourself. I heard from Kuramochi that you received a lot of love letters today?" Chris had actually started to gossip as well.

Speaking of this, just as Huangqian Yangyi was about to show off, he heard Chris say: "High school baseball only lasts for two and a half years. If you want to realize your dreams, you must put in ten thousand times the effort. You absolutely cannot slack off."

Uh...

"Senior Chris, do you mean that romance affects the speed of my pitching?"

"More or less. Of course, if it's a girl who completely supports you playing baseball, that's a different story." Chris wasn't the type to paint everything with one brush; he was just reminding Huangqian Yangyi not to waste too much time on certain things.

Huangqian Yangyi lowered his head and pondered for a long time, then suddenly looked up at Chris.

"Words of experience?"

"No." Chris had black lines on his forehead. He had never been in a relationship, even though there were many little fan-girls of his at school.

"Hehe." Huangqian Yangyi laughed; teasing Chris was actually quite fun.

After dinner, Huangqian Yangyi took his bat to the courtyard near the dormitory. After these days of training, he also knew that physical strength was the top priority at the moment. As for pitching, unless he learned a new type of pitch, it was already very difficult to improve.

So now, what could improve his strength was batting.

His batting wasn't bad; one could even say he had some talent. His super-strong dynamic vision could help him effectively capture the changes and trajectories of the ball.

Although it is unlikely to enter the heart of the batting order during the Dudahui or Kanto Tournament, even if it is the bottom of the order, if one can connect the offense at a critical moment, it will certainly be able to lend Seido a helping hand.

"Two hundred more tonight."

Huangqian Yangyi muttered in a low voice; since joining Seido, he has practiced swinging his bat 300 times every night.

"Yo, practicing extra?"

A voice came from behind, and Huangqian Yangyi knew it was Miyuki Kazuya without looking.

"Yeah, I've been waiting for you for a long time."

"Stop bragging, you clearly just got here yourself." Miyuki curled his lip and walked near Huangqian Yangyi, "Was the game fun?"

"It was fun." Huangqian Yangyi said while swinging his bat.