Chapter 538

"You cannot choose to be the batter!"

"This time, you must be the 'pitcher,' and I will be the batter to face you in a duel!"

He seemed to have already envisioned the flustered, slow-pitched, and wildly inaccurate mess Xia Xia Xia Mujun would be on the pitcher's mound, his tone filled with the pleasure of revenge:

"I want you to taste for yourself the frustration and misery that Zhongdao-jun and our entire baseball club felt after being defeated by you in that manner!"

After he finished speaking.

Seeming afraid that Xia Xia Xia Mujun would realize something was wrong and back out, he immediately took action.

He forcefully ripped his precious baseball glove from his hand and threw it hard at Xia Xia Xia Mujun, using a taunt as he did so:

"According to an ancient Western tradition, throwing down a glove symbolizes issuing a duel challenge that cannot be refused!"

"Since you want this glove so much, then perfect—it shall serve as the token and proof of this challenge!"

He raised his head and added in a condescending tone, attempting to completely block any path of retreat for Xia Xia Xia Mujun:

"Anyway, you can't beat me, so just consider this glove a small 'compensation' for your defeat."

"As for your repeated claims of 'not knowing how to play baseball,' I will 'believe' you for now."

"Just like the last trial with Zhongdao-jun, I will give you time to prepare—one month!"

"One month from now, whether you spend it praying at a temple or actually finding a place to practice, the trial must proceed as scheduled!"

Xia Xia Xia Mujun subconsciously caught the glove flying toward him.

And the moment he caught it, the line of pale blue text visible only to him became even clearer in his field of vision.

[Effort Baseball Glove]

[Quality: Blue]

[Effect: When the wearer pitches a baseball, strength increases by 5%, control ability improves slightly, and hit rate increases by 10%!]

[Description: For my own sake, I must work even harder!!]

Xia Xia Xia Mujun held the glove, stunned for a moment, blinked, and a strange, indescribable expression flashed across his face.

In that expression, there was surprise, bewilderment, and even a hint of... wanting to laugh.

He raised his head, looked at the "you've fallen into the trap" expression on the face of Shinohara Shingo, and calmly spat out two words:

"Fine."

However, his understated agreement was like a giant boulder thrown into a calm lake, stirring up massive waves in the student council room.

Everyone present, whether it was the high-level members like Konoe Hitomi and Hanyu Masaki, the person involved Zhongdao Satoshi, or the other baseball club members and student council members, all wore expressions of disbelief and incomprehension.

Everyone knew that Xia Xia Xia Mujun’s ability to hit the ball last time might have involved talent and luck, but essentially, he was indeed a baseball layman; this was confirmed by his own statements and everyone’s observations.

Batting and pitching are almost two different worlds in the sport of baseball!

Batting tests reaction, eyesight, instantaneous judgment, and swinging technique.

While pitching, especially when facing a batter of Shinohara Shingo’s level, requires extremely complex and precise full-body coordination, precise control of the ball's path, mastery of breaking balls, and strong psychological quality.

A true professional pitcher often requires years or even longer of systematic training and competitive polishing to be capable of taking on such a role.

The high technical threshold, long development cycle, and harsh requirements for physical talent far exceed the imagination of ordinary people.

It is no empty claim that the pitcher determines 70%-80% of a game's outcome, but that also illustrates the difficulty.

And now, Xia Xia Xia Mujun—a pure novice who might not even have the correct basic pitching posture—actually agreed to train for only one month before engaging in a pitching-batting duel against the recognized genius batter Shinohara Shingo?

This could no longer be described as "commendable courage."

This was simply madness!

It was self-destruction!

It was handing victory over on a silver platter!

The girls who cared about Xia Xia Xia Mujun were so anxious they were almost crying, and they spoke up one after another to dissuade him:

"Xia Xia Xia Mujun! Wait a moment! Don't agree! This is too unfair!"

"Exactly! Calm down! This is his taunting tactic, can't you see that?"

"No matter how you look at it, these conditions are a trap extremely unfavorable to you! If you are really worried about him harassing you, so many of us can testify for you; we can report him to the school for threatening a fellow student, which is enough to get him disciplined or even expelled!"

"Yes, yes! Vice President, Miss Konoe, say something! You can't let him agree to such an absurd bet!"

Hanyu Masaki’s brows were locked tight, his inner feelings extremely complex.

Even if deep down he might have been happy to see Xia Xia Xia Mujun in trouble, as a student council official, basic fairness and rationality made it impossible for him to sit by and watch such an obviously unfair, and even coercive, bet be established.

He took a deep breath, stood straight, and spoke in an extremely serious, almost official-announcement tone, fulfilling his duty as a notary while leaving Xia Xia Xia Mujun a final room for maneuver:

"Student Xia Xia Xia Mujun."

"Based on the conditions just stated by you and Student Shinohara Shingo, I need to confirm with you one last time."

"The conditions for winning or losing this bet are: if you lose, you must withdraw from Private Moonlight Academy; if Shinohara Shingo and his designated members lose, they must withdraw from Private Moonlight Academy, be banned from participating in baseball for life, and must not harass you or your associates."

"Furthermore, the stake includes Shinohara Shingo's personal glove."

"The content of the trial is for you to be the pitcher and Shinohara Shingo to be the batter in a ten-pitch duel."

"The preparation period is one month."

He looked at Xia Xia Xia Mujun with sharp eyes, his voice heavy:

"As the Vice President of the Student Council, representing the arbitration party for this dispute, I ask you one last time: do you clearly understand and fully accept all the above conditions?"

"If you believe any point is unreasonable or unacceptable, propose it now; both sides can renegotiate until relatively fair terms are reached."

The intent behind these words was very obvious, almost explicitly telling Xia Xia Xia Mujun: it is not too late to back out now, find a reason to refuse or modify the conditions.

The girls looked at Xia Xia Xia Mujun full of hope, expecting him to come to his senses.

However.

Konoe Hitomi’s brows had not relaxed since a moment ago.

She knew more than the others.

Xia Xia Xia Mujun had truly only touched a baseball on "that one day," and he had only practiced batting.

Pitching?

He probably didn't even know the most basic way to hold the ball or step.

The last time he won, it was by relying on that astonishing batting talent.

But this time, he was facing a completely different field, and it was the field the opponent was best at.

One must know that Shinohara Shingo’s batting talent was even higher than his pitching talent.

In this situation, even if Xia Xia Xia Mujun’s batting talent was more heaven-defying than Shinohara Shingo’s, he wouldn't be able to utilize it at all.

This was no longer a "challenge," it was almost "suicide."

She looked at Xia Xia Xia Mujun’s overly calm profile and reminded him:

"Xia Xia Xia Mujun."

"This time is completely different from last time."

"If you lose, I, representing the student council and the school, must strictly enforce the agreement."

"Once the bet is established, the result cannot be changed."

"Are you really sure you want to accept such conditions?"

Everyone’s gaze was focused on Xia Xia Xia Mujun.

Xia Xia Xia Mujun’s gaze calmly swept over Konoe Hitomi and Hanyu Masaki, finally landing on Shinohara Shingo’s face, which was a mixture of anticipation and mockery.

He nodded, his voice clear and steady, without the slightest hesitation:

"Yes, I am sure."

"I accept all conditions."

"Whoosh—"

A suppressed gasp and a sigh of despair echoed in the room.

A few girls with weaker psychological endurance even felt a wave of dizziness and leaned on their companions, their eyes filled with confusion and heartache.

"So foolish... Xia Xia Xia Mujun, you are truly too foolish..."

"Why... why be so silly..."

Konoe Hitomi closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, her eyes were filled with icy calm, though her slightly furrowed brows showed that her heart was not calm.

Zhongdao Satoshi’s expression was bitter; he only felt that Xia Xia Xia Mujun, the only person he recognized as a candidate to be Tsukishima Rin’s boyfriend, was probably finished this time...

Hanyu Masaki looked at Xia Xia Xia Mujun in silence for several seconds.

He straightened his tie, stood up straight again, and his face regained the seriousness and authority expected of a student council vice president.

"Then, Student Shinohara Shingo."

"Do you have any objections to all the above conditions confirmed by Student Xia Xia Xia Mujun?"