Chapter 445

Natsume Chikage said many nice things to his sister again, and bought her several kinds of exquisite desserts and snacks she loved at the supermarket, so his sister's mood was completely turned from cloudy to sunny.

Natsume Chikage sighed inwardly: Fortunately, he won this tournament.

If he had lost, he could be sure that his sister would definitely not be in such an easy-to-coax situation now.

After finishing shopping, carrying the bulging shopping bags.

On the way home, the orange streetlights cast their shadows very long.

Natsume Ruri looked at her brother's tall side profile beside her, and thought of the conversation during dinner, and asked curiously:

"By the way, brother."

"Ruri hasn't seen you play baseball much before, how did you beat that Zhongdao Satoshi?"

"Did you really only practice for one day?"

Natsume Chikage carried the bag and smiled when he heard this:

"Really."

"After all—it's not like you don't know what state your brother was in at home before."

Natsume Ruri blinked her clear, large eyes and recalled—her brother had almost always stayed at home playing games before, and she had basically never seen him touch any sports or baseball.

"That's true too…"

"But hearing Akita-san say that, that person should be very amazing."

"Brother actually only practiced for one day and was able to catch his ball… Ruri is really surprised."

"Can you take Ruri to the indoor baseball field to see it next time? Ruri also wants to see with her own eyes if brother is really that amazing, being able to catch a ball at 143 km/h."

Natsume Chikage couldn't help but laugh:

"Of course you can."

Natsume Ruri's tone suddenly changed, she turned her head, glanced at Natsume Chikage with a probing look, and thought thoughtfully:

"Ruri knows brother is very popular at school."

"So compared to the things above, what Ruri didn't expect the most is… brother actually went to accept other boys' challenges for that Tsukishima Rin-senpai."

"And didn't brother already reject Tsukishima-senpai before? Why accept this kind of challenge?"

Natsume Chikage explained:

"At school, if you don't want to be bullied, you have to resist at the right time and let others know you are not to be trifled with."

"Otherwise, trouble will only follow one after another, endless."

"So, in order to have a quiet high school life, doing this is necessary."

Natsume Ruri blinked, looking at her brother who said these words and appeared to have more opinions and courage than ever before, feeling very happy in her heart, even a bit proud.

She had always been worried that her brother would be squeezed out or bullied by boys at school because he was too popular.

Plus her brother always stayed at home before, and his social experience didn't seem to be much.

She was truly worried that her brother would be wronged at school and have problems.

Now it seemed that although her brother did encounter trouble, it appeared he could handle it very well himself, completely not needing her, this sister, to worry.

Natsume Ruri suddenly remembered something else and asked:

"But… brother is actually so talented at baseball, why not consider joining the baseball club?"

"Didn't I just hear Akita-san say that if you have talent at your school, you might be able to apply for a scholarship or something?"

Natsume Chikage, although knowing he had the novel manuscript fee to fall back on, still shook his head, his tone carrying a hint of realistic consideration:

"Applying for a scholarship isn't that simple."

"It's just like your school, Ruri; even if you are in the top ten of your grade, not all students in the top ten can get a full scholarship."

"If you want to get a high or full scholarship through baseball, you first have to achieve sufficiently bright and convincing results in various tournaments, so that you can stand firm as a starter in the team, such as the first hitter or the ace pitcher position."

"Then, you also need the full recommendation of the club's advisor teacher and the final approval of the school's admissions committee."

"These links, you can't lack even one."

"But just these links would take a year or half a year."

"Not to mention that there are already many amazing seniors in the baseball club itself."

"That Zhongdao Satoshi, as the second pitcher, can't even get a full scholarship now, only a partial waiver, about 100,000 or 200,000 yen."

"This money, compared to the 600,000 or 700,000 yen tuition fee, can indeed reduce a lot of burden."

"But the problem is, we can't even take out the remaining tuition and living expenses."

"So, even if you get a partial scholarship, it doesn't mean much for solving our fundamental dilemma."

"But the most important reason is—once I officially join the baseball club, I must participate in high-intensity training every day, and I won't have time to work part-time at all."

"Even if I luckily got a full scholarship, it would only apply to tuition waivers."

"In that situation, our family would lose its only source of cash income."

"So, in order to support the two of us, brother can only choose to work part-time steadily to make money."

Natsume Ruri, hearing this, felt a complex regret in her heart, and also a deep heartache for her brother.

"Thinking about it this way… it really is."

She thought to herself, feeling that her brother being able to beat that Zhongdao Satoshi was probably largely because his opponent underestimated him.

But what was certain was that her brother did have talent in this area; otherwise, how could he have done it after practicing for only one day.

If he continued to train systematically, maybe he could really become an ace pitcher and get the full scholarship he dreamed of.

However, that was also something for the distant future.

During this period, the family's economic dilemma was an imminent reality.

Natsume Ruri, through this frank conversation, truly understood how much pressure her brother was carrying, and how many possibilities he had silently sacrificed and given up for her, this sister.

She clearly knew that if she could find a way to make money, maintain the family's basic expenses, and then let her brother focus on playing baseball and striving for a scholarship, that would be the "resource optimization configuration" most beneficial to the family.

She hoped her brother could continue to study at the high-quality private Moonlight Academy.

So she felt she couldn't be so "negligent" anymore and had to find a way to help her brother share some pressure.

But Natsume Ruri also clearly knew that she was under sixteen and couldn't go out to work part-time legally at all.

She furrowed her delicate brows and tried hard to think.

Since her brother could successfully submit a novel in his spare time and get a manuscript fee in the future.

Although she wasn't good at writing, she had talent in art since she was a child, especially being very good at drawing.

Then, could she also consider trying to submit manga to make money?

This thought quietly sprouted in the bottom of her heart.

But at this time.

Natsume Ruri also recalled the one thing she couldn't understand the most:

"And also, the one thing Ruri is most confused about is, why did brother want to spend 100,000 yen to buy a magazine a month later?"

"Could it be that the value of that magazine is really as Kondo Masaaki said, worth 150,000 yen, so you thought about buying it for 100,000 yen? That way you could earn the price difference?"

Natsume Chikage actually couldn't explain this matter.

He shook his head:

"No, I checked the market value before asking, and this magazine is worth at most 20,000 yen."

Natsume Ruri wasn't a fool, and understood instantly, angry:

"……Doesn't that mean Kondo Masaaki is specifically scamming brother?"

But she thought of something and was even more confused:

"But since brother knew, why not expose it on the spot?"

Natsume Chikage shook his head:

"……Auntie Miyuki was there, there was no need to make it too awkward."

"As for the reason… brother can't tell you, Ruri, you just need to know that brother is willing to spend a lot of money to collect it because it is meaningful and necessary."

"Once the collection is successful, its value will far exceed 100,000 yen."

Natsume Ruri thought about it, and knowing her brother didn't want to explain, she didn't pursue it, just hesitated:

"But our family doesn't have much money recently, 100,000 yen is too much… how are you going to earn so much money to buy it?"

Natsume Chikage smiled:

"The prize money from the shogi tournament, there is a lot of money for consecutive wins."

Natsume Ruri recalled Natsume Chikage's strength, pouting her little mouth, squinting her eyes:

"Brother, are you serious?"

Natsume Chikage smiled and rubbed her head: