Chapter 28: The True Ace

Takashima Rei's expression turned grave when Ichidai Sanko was mentioned; in their recent encounters, Seido had lost more than it had won, and now that they were about to meet in the Semi-finals, the pressure on the Seido trio was immense.

The two soon arrived at the manager's office; the difference was that this time, only Manager Kataoka was inside, and Department Head Ota was nowhere to be found.

Kataoka Tesshin sat on the sofa, holding a file of Ichidai Sanko's players in front of him, with the name Zhenzhong Yao written on the very top.

"Manager."

Huangqian Yangyi stood before the desk.

"Hm, sit." Manager Kataoka was carefully browsing through the intelligence on Ichidai Sanko.

Time ticked by second by second, and Takashima Rei sat quietly to the side; after a few minutes, Kataoka finally put down what he was holding.

"Huangqian, for the next game, prepare yourself to take the mound." Manager Kataoka looked up slightly, his gaze observing Huangqian Yangyi through his sunglasses.

"Eh? For real?"

"This time, I permit you to use that special Two-seam Fastball of yours; do you have confidence?" Manager Kataoka's deep voice rang out, and Huangqian Yangyi heard something called self-confidence within it.

It was true; with his pitching speed, it would be very difficult for Ichidai Sanko to hit well, especially once they had finally adapted to the Four-seam Fastball and found a bit of a rhythm.

That Two-seam Fastball, which possessed Huangqian Yangyi's unique personal characteristics, would send them straight to hell.

"As long as I can take the mound, I guarantee I will suppress Ichidai Sanko's batting lineup!" Huangqian Yangyi said.

Ichidai Sanko would be seeing his pitching for the first time; this was the element of surprise, and with his solid ability on top of that, suppressing the opponent's batting lineup would not be a difficult task.

"Good, adjust your condition well over these two days; don't overexert yourself, understand?"

"Yes!"

After Huangqian Yangyi left, Takashima Rei said to Manager Kataoka: "This child seems to have a strong sense of initiative and is very proactive in training and games."

Manager Kataoka did not respond to Takashima Rei's assessment of Huangqian Yangyi; he stood up, walked to the window, and gazed at the moon in the sky.

"Facing Ichidai Sanko, whether he can display his proper level of skill, whether he has enough courage to cope when in a dangerous situation with the opposing batters closing in step by step."

Manager Kataoka turned to face Takashima Rei, "His pitching technique is already sufficient, but a true ace cannot rely on technique alone."

"A true ace, huh." Takashima Rei's sexy lips curled slightly.

What is a true ace?

A pitcher might shine for a moment if they rely only on pitching technique, but they can never go far.

No matter how impressive a person is, they are still just human; they will have slumps, they will get injured, and they will face setbacks. If their heart is not strong enough and they lack firm conviction and the courage to forge ahead, they will sooner or later sink into the mire.

Thinking of the smile on Huangqian Yangyi's face when he left, Takashima Rei could not help but feel worried.

Yangyi, what kind of performance will you give?

Completely unaware of Kataoka's plans and Takashima Rei's worries, Huangqian Yangyi was dragged to the cafeteria by Miyuki and Kuramochi after returning to the dormitory.

After dinner, the three picked up their bats and met under the streetlights to begin their nightly self-training.

"Hey, Huangqian, Miyuki." Kuramochi suddenly spoke up.

"Hm?" Huangqian Yangyi grunted as he swung his bat.

Kuramochi Yoichi stopped swinging and turned his head to look at the two: "Although you guys have beaten me to it for now, I will definitely make it to the First String this summer!"

"Difficult."

"Unrealistic."

The two spoke almost simultaneously, and just as Kuramochi was about to explode, Huangqian Yangyi continued.

"Your greatest strength is your speed, and you are currently practicing as a Shortstop; are you planning to fight for the position with Senior Zhitian?"

"Or Senior Kusunoki?" Miyuki said.

Kuramochi was hit by a ruthless blow from the two, and his mood dropped visibly.

Among the current First Years, Huangqian Yangyi and Miyuki Kazuya were undoubtedly the most dazzling; everyone knew that they might become the team's regular starters this very summer.

After those two, if one had to name others who were eye-catching, it would be Kuramochi Yoichi and Kawakami Norifumi.

Kuramochi Yoichi was fast, his base-running training was on a completely different level from everyone else's, and he was always laughing and joking, making his presence well-known.

Although Kawakami's Sinker was not yet mature, he was a valuable side-arm pitcher.

"I personally think that even if you make it to the First String this summer, you won't have many opportunities to play. In that case, it would be better to set your goal on the Second String, where you can play more practice games and hone yourself to your heart's content in actual matches," Huangqian Yangyi said.

"Ha? Huangqian! Are you looking down on me?" Kuramochi Yoichi roared loudly.

"Kuramochi, calm down."

Seeing Kuramochi looking like he wanted to eat someone, Miyuki also stopped swinging, "Think about it yourself: sitting on the bench for the First String versus playing games for the Second String, which one is better for you?"

Without waiting for Kuramochi to retort, Miyuki continued: "The current starting Shortstop is Third Year Senior Zhitian Jiangtai."

"His hitting, experience, and defense are all very strong, and his speed is not much slower than yours. Instead of thinking about stealing his position, you might as well set your sights on the Second Year Senior Kusunoki."

Speaking of this, Miyuki suddenly chuckled.

"Hey, hey, if Senior Kusunoki hears you say that and beats you up, I'm not helping you."

Huangqian Yangyi chimed in from the side; it had to be said, Miyuki's mouth was truly honest. It was better to just know these things; saying them directly was bound to offend people.

"Yeah~ Senior Kusunoki is quite gentle, unlike Senior Azuma." Miyuki laughed heartlessly.

"Forget it, I won't worry about you." Huangqian Yangyi sighed helplessly.

After hearing what the two said, although Kuramochi still didn't look very happy, he had already calmed down. After a long while, he roared: "Extra practice! I'm going to swing 1000 times!"

Huangqian Yangyi and Miyuki looked at each other and smiled; to deal with a hot-blooded guy like this, you actually just need to analyze the pros and cons clearly, and he will figure it out himself.

The next morning.

Huangqian Yangyi found several pink envelopes in his shoe locker again and walked into the classroom in a great mood; his classmates all turned their heads to look at him.

That Home Run yesterday didn't necessarily make him famous everywhere, but within Seido, he was known to everyone, and his classmates were especially enthusiastic, with some even asking for autographs and photos.

"This guy, he's showing off way too much." Kuramochi leaned back in his seat with his legs crossed, looking very annoyed as he saw Huangqian Yangyi surrounded by girls.

"Heh heh, don't tell me you're so desperate to get into the First String just because you're jealous of this?" Miyuki rested his chin on his hand, looking as if he had seen right through him.

"Can't I be?" Kuramochi turned his head and shoved his face right in front of Miyuki's.

Miyuki chuckled, "Is there a possibility that Huangqian is so popular not just because of his good performance, but mainly because he's handsome?"

"Damn you!"

At this moment, having asked a passionate classmate, Huangqian Yangyi walked up to the two of them and saw two faces no more than 5 centimeters apart.

"Hey, you two, are you going to kiss?"

"Hmph!"

"Hehehe."