Chapter 386

Once these words of his were spoken, among the teachers present who heard them, almost no one denied it, and they nodded one after another or exchanged glances.

After all, Natsume Chikage's high school grades were truly not ideal at all, and the numbers on his report card were plain to see.

And his talent in baseball was something everyone had witnessed; that crisp and neat hit for a home run was impressive.

If Natsume Chikage were to practice baseball exclusively, coupled with this appearance, perhaps he could really be scouted by some media and star baseball clubs.

So, looking at his future prospects comprehensively, it was definitely far more advantageous than studying; this was almost a consensus.

However, Natsume Chikage still shook his head, his tone calm yet firm:

"Teacher Xiang Yutang's words are mistaken; actually, my academic grades are very good, and getting into the top ten of the grade is no problem."

Once these words of his were spoken.

Most of the teachers present were stunned, as if they had heard something incredible.

Still getting into the top ten of the grade?

This guy... what exactly is he talking about?

Xiao Jing Youcai blinked her eyes even more, then covered her small mouth, laughing until she swayed, her shoulders trembling slightly.

"Hahaha... Natsume-kun... you look serious, but actually, you are unexpectedly humorous when you speak."

Jiu Jing Ziyuan, who had been silent all along and looked very cold and elegant, felt her left eyelid twitching uncontrollably upon hearing this; she raised her hand to gently press her temple and shook her head helplessly.

Xiang Yutang was also stunned, then his expression became increasingly serious, feeling that the other party was prevaricating.

"Don't play word games with me, Teacher."

"What your own grades are like is something everyone has witnessed."

"I really can't think of any reason for you to refuse."

"You must know that our school's baseball team is one of the strong contenders to enter Koshien every year among all the prestigious schools!"

His voice rose, carrying pride.

"As long as you come in and train according to my instructions for more than five hours every day, I can guarantee that you will definitely become our lead hitter in the near future and eventually enter Koshien together with our baseball team!"

"Although it is said that Private Tianhao Academy has swept the Koshien championship in recent years, our baseball club members' strength this year is very strong, and if we add you, it is not impossible to win the championship."

"Even if we don't win the championship, if you perform well in Koshien, it is actually possible to be scouted by people from the professional baseball league; wouldn't it be good to get a contract with an annual salary of hundreds of millions of yen then?"

He painted an alluring prospect.

Xiao Jing Youcai also felt that, given Natsume Chikage's situation, it was really possible for him to be valued by people from the professional baseball league, and she nodded in agreement.

Because as long as they pull him into a professional team, even if he does nothing, just relying on his appearance, he would likely be able to attract a large group of fans and thereby rake in money.

In the history of professional baseball teams, it wasn't as if such a situation hadn't happened before.

Playing baseball poorly, but having very high popularity and being very popular with girls.

So she felt that Teacher Xiang Yutang was not wrong; regarding the matter of joining the baseball club, Natsume Chikage could really consider it.

Jiu Jing Ziyuan had arrived at Natsume Chikage's side at some unknown time, standing with her arms crossed.

But she did not speak, just quietly waiting for Natsume Chikage to speak, her gaze falling on his side profile.

Not just her.

Even the other teachers in the teachers' office were obviously very curious about Natsume Chikage's choice, and almost all of them stopped their work at hand.

But everyone knew that, given Natsume Chikage's current academic grades, joining the baseball club was the best option no matter how you looked at it.

So they all unanimously felt that after hearing such conditions, Natsume Chikage would choose to join the baseball club no matter what.

However, for the current Natsume Chikage.

An annual salary of only one hundred million yen was simply too little; this number could not stir up much of a ripple in his heart.

He knew the value of the two novels he had written.

It could be said that just from "The Devotion of Suspect X" among them, what he could earn in a year was more than one billion yen.

One year could equal ten years of entering the professional baseball league.

Furthermore, this was only for one year, and after writing it, he was basically earning money while lying down.

He didn't have to do anything at all.

Conversely, playing baseball required high-intensity practice every day, and out of 365 days, there weren't many holidays.

Natsume Chikage still had the desire to search for special equipment; how could he possibly waste so much time on baseball?

Furthermore.

This was ultimately just painting a pie in the sky.

If you want to truly enter the professional baseball league, you at least have to graduate from high school.

And that was still under the condition of being scouted.

If he wasn't scouted, these words from the baseball club's advisor teacher were just painting a pie!

In reality, many students who worked hard at playing baseball from childhood to high school, and even entered Koshien, had situations after graduation that were not much different from ordinary people.

Those who should go to work went to work, those who should enter university entered university, and those who should suffer suffered.

In Japan, there were actually many high schools.

The professional baseball league only needed so many players.

Where could it accommodate so many people learning baseball?

Even if it wanted them, it required you to fully develop into an adult, which was about high school graduation.

By that time, Natsume Chikage didn't know how much he would have earned from royalties; why bother with this effort?

Natsume Chikage was a young man of the new era; painting a pie or whatever was naturally of no use to him.

He still shook his head and refused:

"The conditions Teacher Xiang Yutang mentioned might be good."

"But—I refuse!"

"I don't have much interest in this."

Upon hearing this, Xiang Yutang was stunned, then annoyed; he wanted to say something more to persuade him and opened his mouth.

"You..."

However, he was directly interrupted by Natsume Chikage, whose tone was polite but brooked no argument.

"I don't have any passionate dreams of baseball, and the pie of joining the professional baseball league means little to me."

"My family's current financial situation is not good, and there is still a younger sister at home who needs to be supported; I have to go to work almost every day, and I really don't have so much time to spend pursuing that illusory and distant reward."

"I hope the teacher can understand."

These incomparably realistic words immediately made Xiang Yutang, Xiao Jing Youcai, and a group of other teachers fall silent for a long time, and the office was quiet for a moment.

Yes...

This was ultimately just painting a pie in the sky.

If Natsume Chikage's family were still as wealthy as before, he could naturally ignore the poverty brought by reality and play baseball as he pleased, doing whatever he wanted.

But now his family had no money, and there was still a younger sister at home waiting to be fed.

Doesn't the younger sister need to be supported?

Doesn't food, clothing, housing, and transportation need to be taken care of?

You want him to abandon these and go exercise with you for five or six hours or more every day?

It would be one thing if he really entered Koshien and was scouted.

But what if he wasn't scouted, or didn't even enter Koshien at all?

What would happen then?

Would it all end up as nothing?

At this moment.

Jiu Jing Ziyuan finally spoke, giving Xiang Yutang, the baseball advisor teacher, a way out, her voice cold and clear:

"Teacher Xiang Yutang, Natsume-kun is still young, and he has many things to deal with at this stage."

"He cannot be distracted at the moment; after he handles other matters, I will let him consider this aspect again."

"For now, let's leave it at that, how about it?"

Xiang Yutang's expression was complex, and he said helplessly, his shoulders seeming to slump a little:

"Hmm, let's leave it at that."

But before leaving, his tone softened a lot, and he said to Natsume Chikage, patting his shoulder:

"I actually have no malice, Teacher; although my words were a bit blunt, ultimately, it was just because I felt your talent is truly very good and shouldn't be buried."

"It was indeed my problem not to have considered your family situation."

"However, you don't need to refuse too quickly; after you go back, think about it carefully again." ===== CHAPTER 387 =====