Chapter 898

"Miss Konoe specifically ordered that you are not to approach the field."

Yue Dao Lin tried to negotiate, and Classmate Tengyuan Kui was so anxious she wanted to force her way in, but facing the well-trained, tall guards, their efforts were entirely futile.

They could only be blocked on the perimeter, anxiously standing on tiptoe, looking toward that familiar figure on the field.

Classmate Tengyuan Kui was stomping her feet in anxiety, her voice tinged with tears.

"Ahhhhh! Natsume-kun, you big idiot! You big fool! Why did you agree to this?!"

Beside her, Xiyuanji Qilai's eyes had already turned red, crystalline tears welling up and eventually sliding down her cheeks.

She felt Natsume Chikage was truly so foolish, so foolish.

Why did he always carry everything on his own?

Why didn't he even consult them before deciding?

What made her saddest was that, despite having agreed on a month of preparation time, why did he go to perform this match with no chance of winning after only one day of practice?

Yue Dao Lin stared fixedly at that tall figure in the center of the field.

A thought uncontrollably drilled into her mind—did he agree because he didn't want her to be pestered by Shinohara Shingo anymore? Was it to protect her?

It must be...

In an instant, the image from this morning on the train, of Natsume Chikage handing her a manga with a smile, appeared with absolute clarity.

Her heart felt as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, sourness and pain spreading.

Stopping him seemed hopeless.

But if... if he really were to be expelled because of this absurd wager...

Yue Dao Lin secretly clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms.

Then, she would take responsibility for this as well.

She would also... choose to drop out.

Meanwhile.

Qiu Tian Shana and her good friend Jin Teng Youcai had just walked onto campus when they were drawn by the large crowd gathering toward the baseball field.

"What's happening over there? Why are there so many people?" Qiu Tian Shana looked around curiously.

After asking a familiar classmate nearby, the two learned the shocking truth.

Qiu Tian Shana's reaction exploded instantly.

"Is that Shinohara Shingo sick in the head?!"

She was so angry her cheeks turned red.

"Isn't this obviously him deliberately looking for trouble with Natsume-kun?!"

"And Natsume-kun... why did he accept?"

She bit her lip, then denied the thought herself.

"No... Natsume-kun might have had to accept. If he didn't, he would be constantly harassed by Shinohara and that group from the baseball club; he was indeed in a dilemma..."

Thinking of this, she became even more anxious, grabbing Jin Teng Youcai's arm and shaking it.

"Woooo~ Youcai, what do we do? Will Natsume-kun really be expelled this time?"

"Woooo~ Him being expelled or something... I don't want that to happen!!!"

Jin Teng Youcai's expression appeared much more complex.

She also felt Natsume Chikage was quite innocent in this matter.

Moreover, objectively analyzing it, with his level of only one day of pitching practice, challenging Shinohara Shingo, who was an ace batter, meant his chances of winning were slim.

It was simply crazy.

However... looking at it from another angle, if Natsume Chikage were to drop out because of this, it might not be entirely a bad thing.

With his impoverished family circumstances, the expensive private school tuition was already a heavy burden.

Dropping out early might at least allow him to get back part of the tuition already paid to subsidize his family, or he could transfer to a public school with lower tuition, perhaps he could live a bit more easily.

More importantly...

Jin Teng Youcai's gaze drifted involuntarily toward the slender figure in the distance who was also looking around anxiously—Yue Dao Lin.

If Natsume Chikage left this school... perhaps Senior Yue Dao Lin could slowly free herself from her special focus on him?

This... might not be a bad thing.

Right there on the chaotic and noisy sidelines.

Yue Dao Lin stood quietly a bit further away.

She neither tried to rush forward nor lost her composure like the others.

She just bit her lip slightly, her clear and firm gaze crossing the moving heads of the crowd, locking firmly onto Natsume Chikage.

Even if reason told her this was almost a guaranteed losing wager.

But Natsume-kun had told her personally yesterday—"I won't lose."

So, she chose to believe.

Believe in the Natsume Chikage who could always create miracles. ===== CHAPTER 899 =====