Chapter 354: Strategy accomplished! Repaying kindness!

Around ten o'clock at night.

The streets of Shibuya were still brightly lit, though the flow of people had thinned out significantly.

Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui, having just finished her shift at the coffee shop, walked side-by-side with Natsume Chikage on the way home.

Because they had been too busy at work, they hadn't been able to talk properly.

Now, after getting off work, Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui finally couldn't suppress the curiosity in her heart and asked hesitantly:

"Natsume-kun... after school this afternoon, didn't you go to practice baseball with Miss Konoe?"

"How... how did it go?"

Natsume Chikage smiled:

"It went pretty well."

Hearing this, a subtle hint of jealousy welled up in Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui's heart; she tried to act as if nothing was wrong and probed indirectly:

"So... how exactly did you practice?"

Natsume Chikage explained:

"Miss Konoe hired two professional coaches. One was responsible for pitching, and the other stood by to guide and correct my batting stance."

Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui blinked and continued to probe:

"Since you hired coaches... what about Miss Konoe herself?"

"Was she practicing with you, or... was she just watching from the side?"

Natsume Chikage recalled the scene from the afternoon:

"She sat in the spectator stands the whole time, just watching."

Hearing this answer, the stone that had been hanging in Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui's heart quietly fell, and she felt much more at ease.

A vibrant, energetic smile bloomed on her face again:

"So that's how it was."

She didn't know much about baseball.

But since Natsume-kun said the training was effective, she figured that if he kept practicing, winning the bet against Nakajima Satoshi should be very promising.

But if he really couldn't win, that was fine too; she could wait!

Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui suddenly remembered something and asked curiously:

"By the way, Natsume-kun, are you going to continue practicing baseball with Miss Konoe after school tomorrow?"

Natsume Chikage shook his head:

"No need."

Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui's eyes lit up, and she suggested happily:

"In that case, how about we all go to the baseball club together after school tomorrow?"

"Nanase-chan, Suzune-chan, and I haven't really played baseball, and we're actually quite interested in trying it out."

Natsume Chikage was a bit surprised:

"The three of you... didn't you go this afternoon?"

Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui pouted, muttering with a hint of small grievance:

"Of course we didn't."

"You weren't there, so there didn't seem to be any point in the three of us going. After all, we wanted to take you to train, so we just stayed in the clubroom to organize materials and write the club newsletter."

Natsume Chikage apologized with some embarrassment:

"Sorry, I really didn't expect Hitomi to suddenly call me over."

"If I had known earlier..."