Chapter 369: Cafeteria Conflict

This was very different from his usual style; if it were back at his old Red Sea Sagami, he would have been eager for the team members to strictly execute his training plan step by step, but for Huangqian Yangyi, a monster whose talent was so high it was like he was cheating, he could only offer some training advice.

Huangqian Yangyi took it and looked it over; sure enough, there was no pitching training, mostly just strength, balance, coordination, or localized muscle conditioning, even down to the details of diet and daily schedule.

"Meditation, this is interesting."

Huangqian Yangyi smiled as he looked at the training list; it was a bit like Yuki Tetsuya's Imagination Training.

Holding the training list, he left the Coach's office and returned to the Seishin Dormitory, but as he passed Miyuki's room, he was pulled inside by a hand.

"What are you doing~"

"Let's chat."

"Where are the others in your room?"

"They're all at the field."

Huangqian Yangyi sat in Okumura Koshu's seat and asked, "Say what you have to say; training is about to start, and I haven't changed my clothes yet."

Miyuki snatched the training list from Huangqian Yangyi's hand and scanned it: "Is this some kind of senior citizen maintenance plan?"

"What do you know? The Coach said that what I need to do now is adjust my mindset; when I'm free, I should go out more, watch movies, listen to concerts, and so on," Huangqian Yangyi said.

Returning the list to Huangqian Yangyi, Miyuki asked while changing his shoes: "Is that all the Coach wanted you for?"

"No, there was something else; it was about the First String roster spots."

"Oh? Has it been decided who gets the two open spots?" Miyuki asked curiously; he knew there was a white-haired kid in his room who was thinking about getting into the First String all day long.

"Is it Yuki Masashi and Yui Kaoru?"

"You've already said everything, what's left for me to say?" Huangqian Yangyi rolled his eyes.

"What I said was a guess, what you said is the answer," Miyuki said with a cheeky grin.

Huangqian Yangyi nodded, confirming Miyuki's guess.

"Sure enough, whether it's their fame or results from middle school, or their performance in training, these two are a cut above the others, even when it comes to eating!" Miyuki said.

Huangqian Yangyi highly agreed with this, especially regarding eating; the performance of these two was truly eye-catching. The smaller Yui Kaoru could finish three big bowls of rice with ease, while Yuki Masashi was terrifying—this guy's appetite was catching up to Masuko Toru.

After the two finished chatting, Miyuki headed straight to the field, while Huangqian Yangyi went back to his room to change.

During that day's training, after finishing his basic drills, Huangqian Yangyi spent his time in the Dugout using Yuki Tetsuya's method for Meditation training, which could help him concentrate better to a certain extent.

"Senior Haruno, what is the Captain doing?"

In the Dugout, the three new managers who joined the team this year looked at Huangqian Yangyi curiously.

As a second-year senior, Yoshikawa Haruno whispered an explanation: "I heard this is called Imagination Training, imagining yourself in the Batter's Box, facing different opponents and pitch types... anyway, it's a super amazing method passed down by the former Captain."

"Sugoi!"

"I've never heard of it before."

"The Captain is so cool."

The three junior girls felt it was impressive after hearing Yoshikawa Haruno's explanation, even if they didn't quite understand it.

"Hey, Haruno, come over and help move some things."

At this moment, the two third-year seniors, Umemoto Sachiko and Natsukawa Yui, walked over.

That's right, the number of Seido managers reached 6 today!

When training ended that night, because Huangqian Yangyi was forbidden from pitching practice, the daily live pitching simulations were conducted by Kawakami, Furuya, and Sawamura in rotation.

Through a draw, it was Sawamura's turn to pitch today; when it was Huangqian Yangyi's turn to bat, three Extra-base Hits nearly drove the kid into a depression.

"Hey, hey, you should go easy on him a bit," Miyuki teased.

"I already went easy; this is a weighted bat," Huangqian Yangyi said, carrying the bat engraved with his sister's name on his shoulder.

"Cruel, pervert."

Returning to the dormitory at night, Huangqian Yangyi took a long bath before slowly making his way to the cafeteria.

Before he could even push the door open, a quarrel suddenly erupted inside.

"You... what are you doing?"

"I'm a senior, right? You're a First Year, right? You're a junior, right? How can you talk to a senior like that? Give me your name and dormitory number!"

Hmm?

This voice, Sawamura?!

Sawamura is angry?

Huangqian Yangyi was stunned for a moment, subconsciously wondering who could make Sawamura angry, since it was always this idiot who made others angry; he had never seen Sawamura lose his temper before.

But he quickly realized: it was that matter!

The voice from inside the door immediately confirmed Huangqian Yangyi's guess.

"Hmph! We clearly studied together in the Captain's room before, and we even trained together in the Indoor Training Ground; is this how a senior remembers a junior's name? Could it be that because we haven't entered the First String, we don't even have the right to be remembered by a senior?"

Okumura Koshu's cold voice pierced Sawamura's heart like a sharp arrow; it was so painful, so aggrieved.

"I... I..."

"Even if we eat slowly, every one of us is working hard in our own way; even if your methods and actions are well-intentioned, this way of doing things only makes people feel disgusted."

"So, senior, you're an eyesore; can you get lost?"

Okumura Koshu's follow-up words completely broke Sawamura's defense; his eyes were full of disbelief, his pupils turning into cat-like slits.

The inner fire had already reached his throat, yet Sawamura held it back, his face flushing red as he glared at Okumura Koshu.

Beside the two, Asada Hirofumi, one of the parties involved, was in extreme panic; he never imagined that Okumura Koshu would clash with a senior over eating, even calling the senior an eyesore and telling him to get lost.

What should he do? Should he say something?

Visible beads of sweat rolled down his forehead; Asada Hirofumi felt like he had fallen into hell.

Just then, the cafeteria door was pushed open.

When he saw Huangqian Yangyi's figure walk in from the doorway, Asada, who considered himself the fuse for today's conflict, opened his mouth in a panic to explain, but in the end, he couldn't say a word.

A first-year student talked back to a senior, even using impolite language, and most crucially, was caught by a third-year senior.

Furthermore, this senior is the team's ace! He is the Captain!

It's blown up, it's really blown up!

This is beyond salvaging now.

Seeing Huangqian Yangyi approach, Okumura Koshu's pupils trembled violently, then he stubbornly raised his head to meet Huangqian Yangyi's gaze.

Sawamura, standing to the side, gulped, and suppressing his instinctive fear of Huangqian Yangyi, he stepped forward and laughed it off, saying, "Aniki, you've come at just the right time, I have a question I want to ask you. How about we go to your dorm, and we can call Haruichi along too..."

Huangqian Yangyi glared at Sawamura; this idiot, even after being confronted by a junior, was still thinking about smoothing things over.

Being glared at by Huangqian Yangyi, Sawamura wisely shut his mouth.

Then, his gaze turned toward Okumura Koshu.

"That was uncalled for."