Chapter 376

At this moment.

Yukimura Suzune, Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui, and Xiyuanji Qilai also came over.

Their gazes couldn't help but wander between Yue Dao Lin and Natsume Chikage, looking a bit unhappy.

Yue Dao Lin's face turned even redder; she greeted them awkwardly, trying to ease the subtle atmosphere:

"Ahahaha... you guys came too."

"Good morning, you three."

The three responded politely to Yue Dao Lin's greeting.

Xiyuanji Qilai looked at Natsume Chikage, but in her mind, she couldn't help but replay the scene of that hug just now.

She puffed up her small cheeks, carrying a hint of subtle little emotion she hadn't even noticed herself, and congratulated him softly:

"Natsume-kun, congratulations on winning this match."

Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui clearly knew that Natsume Chikage wasn't dating Yue Dao Lin, and that hug just now was purely Yue Dao Lin being unable to restrain her feelings.

Although she admired Yue Dao Lin's courage in her heart, she wouldn't easily "back down" on this matter.

And so, she moved between the two of them in a way that seemed inadvertent but was actually a clear display of where she stood, smiling energetically as she offered her congratulations:

"Natsume-kun, congratulations on your great victory!"

Yukimura Suzune narrowed her eyes slightly, snorted, and asked the most critical question:

"You won, sure... but how exactly did you do it?"

Her question happened to ask the common confusion in the hearts of the several girls present.

Natsume Chikage explained simply:

"Just practice."

Hearing this, everyone was speechless for a moment.

Everyone naturally knew you practiced, but the problem was... how could you defeat Zhongdao Satoshi, who had practiced for many years, with only one day of practice?

Xiyuanji Qilai couldn't suppress the curiosity churning in her heart:

"So Natsume-kun... did you really only practice for one day?"

"Before... have you really never played baseball?"

Natsume Chikage nodded affirmatively:

"Yes."

Yukimura Suzune suddenly reached out, pinched Natsume Chikage's wrist, spread his palm out, and checked carefully.

The palm was smooth, the fingertips soft; there were indeed no calluses formed from long-term holding of equipment.

She put his hand down silently and whispered:

"Indeed... no traces of training."

Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui widened her eyes:

"... really only one day?"

"But I saw you hit so powerfully just now, I thought you must have secretly practiced countless times before!"

Yue Dao Lin looked at Natsume Chikage, ripples of tenderness and admiration spreading in her eyes.

Only practiced for one day, and surpassed others' ten-plus years of effort.

Sure enough, heaven arranges everything, the person she fell in love with at first sight is really amazing.

"Sorry, excuse me for a moment." Natsume Chikage said, "There are still some things I need to say to Zhongdao-senpai. It's getting late, you guys go back to the classroom first, we'll talk later if there's anything."

The girls present had no objections.

After all, Natsume Chikage won, and according to the bet, he needed to take the bat used as a stake from Zhongdao Satoshi.

And, it was indeed almost time for class.

After seeing the girls leave one after another.

Natsume Chikage walked toward Zhongdao Satoshi's direction alone, holding that problematic bat.

At this moment.

The vice president Yushengfu Society, acting as the arbitrator for the match, and Jinwei Tong, who had quietly arrived at the sidelines at some point, were already waiting there.

As soon as Jinwei Tong saw Natsume Chikage approach, she asked directly without hiding anything:

"Why did you hit it like that just now?"

Natsume Chikage was silent for a moment, not explaining directly to her.

He turned to look at Zhongdao Satoshi, who had already stood up with a gray face, and spoke calmly:

"Zhongdao-senpai, to be honest, I cannot agree with many of your previous actions."

"But there is one point—you are willing to take decisive action to protect the girl you like."

"I actually admire this point. After all, most people only stop at empty thoughts or complaints."

"It is also because of this point that I was willing to have this head-on showdown with you."

"But I didn't expect... you would do such a despicable thing during the match. This really... makes me too disappointed."

Zhongdao Satoshi was stunned for a moment, then anger at being wronged surged on his face:

"I admit I did some things impulsively and wrongly! But I, Zhongdao Satoshi, have always acted straightforwardly and never do those sneaky, petty things!"

"On this point, I have a clear conscience!"

"You say I did something despicable? You'd better make it clear to me right now!"

And not far behind him, the two baseball club members responsible for getting the bat broke into a cold sweat instantly upon hearing this.

The two looked at each other quickly, both seeing extreme fear in each other's eyes.

They retreated slowly and tacitly, trying to escape the scene quietly.

Hearing these words from Natsume Chikage, Yushengfu Society immediately realized something keenly.

And Jinwei Tong's reaction was faster.

She reached out directly, took the bat from Natsume Chikage's hand.

Her fingertips brushed over the bat body, her gaze scanning up and down like a scanner.

In just a few seconds, she found the problem.

"The bat has a subtle curve, it's not straight."

"Something extra was stuffed inside, causing the center of gravity to shift."

"And... the specifications of this bat are slightly smaller than the standard size, it's not a bat for formal matches or training at all."

Her voice was flat but carried a cold penetrating power, her gaze turning to Zhongdao Satoshi.

"Zhongdao-kun, you're really something. In a formal match, using this kind of bat that should have been scrapped and has multiple defects for your opponent."

"How should I deal with you..."

Hearing this, Yushengfu Society's face immediately showed shock.

He looked at Natsume Chikage immediately.

He knew too well—for equipment like a bat, any tiny deviation was enough to completely change the feel and effect of the hit.

Shifted center of gravity, bent bat body, mismatched size... any one of these defects was enough to make a batter's strength greatly discounted, or even completely unable to perform.

And Natsume Chikage... actually defeated Zhongdao Satoshi while using such a "problematic bat"?!

Zhongdao Satoshi snatched the bat from Jinwei Tong's hand, his hands trembling as he carefully touched and observed every detail of the bat body.

His face turned red then white in an instant, finally turning into a horrified iron blue.

He raised his head violently, looking at Natsume Chikage with an extremely complex gaze—there was shock, shame, and a kind of confusion that had his cognition overturned.

Then, as if remembering something, he turned around suddenly, his sharp gaze instantly locking onto the two members who were trying to sneak away.

"You two bastards—get over here!!!"

He roared, rushed forward in a few steps, grabbed the two like chickens, and threw them to the ground violently.

He was shaking with anger, pointing at their noses, his voice hoarse from extreme rage:

"Disgraceful! Really fucking disgraceful!!"

"I told you to get a bat for Natsume-kun, and you got this kind of broken trash that should have been scrapped?!"

"How dare you do such a low-class thing?!!"

The two were scared pale, their souls flying away, and immediately confessed everything with crying faces.

"W-we were also afraid that Natsume-kun would really win, and our baseball club would lose face..."

"Y-yes... Zhongdao-senpai, you are our club's number two pitcher, we definitely wanted to help you win... we really just hoped you could win..."

Zhongdao Satoshi was so angry his eyes went black, veins bulged on his forehead, and he clenched his fists to swing. ===== CHAPTER 377 =====