Thinking about career paths so early

In the bottom half of the first inning, the opposing team failed to score a single point against Seido High School, quickly ending the inning with a score of 4-0.

With such a large gap established in the first inning, the pressure gradually shifted to the public high school. Relying on luck and strength, they had overcome obstacles all the way in this tournament. The Victory Flag, which they had never considered before, also appeared in occasional discussions.

'Maybe we can win this time.'

'Maybe after the powerhouses fight among themselves and are exhausted, we can pick up a bargain?'

But as their victorious steps were about to enter the finals, Seido gave them a head-on blow.

"Hasn't Seido not won a championship for several years?"

"Damn it, the powerhouses are still powerhouses after all."

The players' unwillingness gradually formed an atmosphere of despair in the Dugout. The confidence that had been built up with great difficulty through victory also turned into a true recognition or doubt of their own strength.

In the top half of the second inning, the Ace Pitcher of the public school stood on the Pitcher's Mound. He looked at Seido's Ace Pitcher in the batter's box. Although he was the ninth batter, he didn't feel relaxed at all. Even if he struck out this ninth batter, the batting order would return to Seido's Upper Batting Lineup. In the previous inning, Seido's offensive, like a hot knife through butter, made him feel like he had a fishbone stuck in his throat.

'It's only the second inning, why am I so tired?'

In this mood, according to the catcher's signal, he threw a low inside pitch to the ninth batter, but his bad mood affected his control, and the pitch went from a low inside to a high outside.

Seido's ninth batter, Nakama, did not miss this ball and hit it past Second and Third Base. The Shortstop of the public school tried his best to pounce, but still watched the ball pass in front of him.

"Ooh—" The players in Seido's Cheering Section tapped the things in their hands to celebrate this rare hit by their senior.

"Wow, it's rare. Nakama, who is known as Seido's batting black hole, actually managed to continue the batting order this time." A chubby uncle next to him scratched his hair and said to his companion in surprise.

"Yeah, but I was originally expecting this public school to have some different performance, but it was a big disappointment. As expected, public is public, and private is private. The strength is still incomparable." The companion replied.

High school baseball games happen every year, but the scripts are roughly the same. The ones who ultimately reach the final stage are basically those few baseball powerhouses. Unless they are OBs or supporters of these baseball powerhouses, other ordinary spectators don't have very high expectations for these games that are just the same old wine in new bottles.

The chubby uncle and his companion hadn't come to watch a game in person for two years. They had only watched the broadcasts. This time, they came to watch the game in person because they heard that a public school had overcome obstacles all the way and had a strong momentum to overturn those private schools.

"Sure enough, you can't trust those magazines and newspapers." They finally concluded.

Kōshū watched Seido's batting line connect, and before long, they were standing on the field with bases loaded again. He listened distractedly to the discussions of the spectators.

'I thought the whole of Japan was full of die-hard baseball fans. It turns out they get tired of it too.'

Kōshū rested his elbow on his knee, lost in thought.

'Speaking of which, after watching such a straightforward game, public schools really can't compare to private schools in baseball.' The issue of future paths that Mr. Sasaki and Shen Qing had mentioned had also become a real problem for Kōshū to think about. 'So, should I play baseball in high school? Is it worth going to a baseball powerhouse just to play baseball? What can I do if I go to a baseball powerhouse? Are there Sports Universities or Baseball Departments when I go to college, like the Sports Universities in China?'

Thinking this way, Kōshū realized that since coming to Japan, he didn't seem to have thought about how to live his life in the future. He was basically being pushed by the people around him.

'I wasn't like this before,' he defended himself in his heart. When he practiced sprinting in China, he actually wanted to use his status as a sports student to get into the best high school, and then study hard in high school. If his grades were good, he would take the path of an ordinary student. If his studies were not good, he would take the sports university exam and become a coach or physical education teacher.

Now, he can see various Professional Baseball players active on TV, and their annual salaries are very high, but can he really take this path? Once anything becomes professionalized, it can't rely solely on interest or being pushed by others, because the competition in professionalization is very cruel, and you must think carefully.

Moreover... he looked past Lang Zhi to Shen Qing, 'What does Mom think about my future path?' After coming to Japan, he took the initiative to hand over his bank card. His mother did not refuse, but after some operations on the remaining money inside, she still returned the bank card to Kōshū. Relying on this money alone, plus Kōshū not having a strong desire to shop, he can basically ensure that he will have no worries about food and drink for the rest of his life.

'Ah, it turns out it's still the corruption of money.' In addition to making him no longer worry about the future, he has also become less eager to improve.

"Woah—" There was another cheer from the audience. Kōshū was stunned back to reality and saw that the runners on Seido High School's bases were all desperately rushing to Home Plate. And the ball was hit to the deep distance of Left Field. By the time the Shortstop received the pass, Seido High School's score had jumped from 4 points to 7 points.

"What happened?" Kōshū murmured, and then he saw at first base, it was still that strongman-like high school student. The scoreboard showed one out, and the batting order was at the fifth batter.

"So fast—" Kōshū exclaimed, and then Lang Zhi, who had been observing him, suddenly said, "Kōshū, do you want to go to the bathroom?"

Kōshū ambled along, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Lang Zhi was moving very slowly today. Kōshū stood at the entrance of the restroom, listening to the sounds of the game overhead, guessing at the current score. He leaned against the wall, feeling the vibrations through the structure. 'Geez, these adults are way too into it. And today's a rare weekend, too.'

The sound of running water came from the sink behind him. Kōshū straightened up and heard Lang Zhi's voice echoing in the empty restroom, "Hey, what are you thinking?"

This guy never used names when they were alone, just a "Hey." But Kōshū was used to it.

"What do you mean, 'What am I thinking?'"

"About what Dad said, about considering our future paths. Which high school are you going to?"

"I don't care. If they want me to go to Seido, that's fine too," Kōshū said casually, as if it were that easy.

"What do you mean, 'That's fine too'? You should think about it more," Lang Zhi said seriously as he dried his hands and walked back alongside Kōshū.

"Why are you asking me this specifically?" Kōshū didn't think Lang Zhi was the type to care about him.

Another burst of cheering interrupted Kōshū's questioning mood. "Did they score again? Seido's showing no mercy today."

"Because... if you go to Seido, wouldn't I have to go too?" The noisy background gave Lang Zhi a bit of courage. He didn't know if he wanted Kōshū to hear him or not.

"Huh?" Kōshū's ears caught the key words, and he looked down at the short guy with a complicated expression. "You little brat, when did you start having brotherly affections? Weren't you a mama's boy before?"

Kōshū's inexplicable words successfully angered Lang Zhi. He suppressed his frustration, trying to appear nonchalant, but his flushed face betrayed him. "I'm saying, you should think about your own future path. They're definitely going to ask you, so don't just agree without thinking. If you do, Dad will definitely make me go with you, and then the pressure will be on me!"

Although they were both children from remarriages, Lang Zhi always felt inferior to Kōshū. So when he thought, he always had to think from a subordinate perspective. Lang Zhi was very unwilling to accept this, but that was the reality. The adults felt that Kōshū could talk to them as equals, while he was just an ignorant child.

"Oh—how rare, that's actually quite reasonable." It seemed that even the simple-minded Lang Zhi was thinking about his own life.

Kōshū nodded, remembering how Lang Zhi had just pulled him aside to prevent him from causing trouble during the family outing. He then added, "Lang Zhi, you're different today. You've actually said reasonable things one after another..."

Before Kōshū could finish, Lang Zhi, with his low center of gravity, successfully ambushed him with a kick to the butt, sending him staggering. When he looked up again, the kid was already running far away.

"You little bastard, have you forgotten where my bedroom door is?" Hearing Kōshū's roar, Lang Zhi's anger instantly turned into panic. He ran even faster than before. 'Crap, will I even make it to my room alive today?'

So Shen Qing, sitting in her seat, vaguely heard Lang Zhi's panicked cry of "Mom—!" followed by a cannonball-like figure rushing to her side. Close behind him was her own son, wearing a stern expression.

"Lang Zhi, what's wrong?" Lang Zhi buried his head in Shen Qing's shoulder, shaking his head without a word. Shen Qing then looked at her own son, "Kōshū?"

The questioning tone told Kōshū that he couldn't deal with this guy today, at least not now. He could only catch his breath and say, "It's nothing, we're playing tag."

Then he forcibly 'tore' Lang Zhi away, affectionately putting his arm around his shoulder, and said, "Lang Zhi, you're sweating so much from running. Don't lean on Mom, come over here to your brother."

Lang Zhi was as quiet as a cicada in winter, not daring to break free from his stepbrother's threatening embrace. All the courage that had welled up in his heart had abandoned him.

'I must have been possessed just now. What did I do?? I'm definitely going to be retaliated against!!' Lang Zhi roared inwardly.

Back at home, the atmosphere instantly shifted to health preservation.

Not allowed to eat even a bite less, not allowed to gain even half a pound.

Is this how your parents are? If you don't eat dinner, or eat a little less at lunch, the light version is "Is the food I made not good?", the heavy version is "You guys just like to diet, let me tell you, dieting is bad, blah blah blah."

Then when it comes to talking about weight, they'll say, "You've gained weight since you came back, are you ordering takeout every day?" "You still need to exercise after work, don't you see how many people are dying suddenly? You can also lose a pound or two."

Heavens, my weight gain is all thanks to my parents stuffing me with food. I can lose weight when I'm not home, but I can gain a couple of pounds as soon as I get back.

Of course, the final step is the health preservation duo of foot soak + moxibustion. They won't let you get up until you're sweating, saying it's "to force out the dampness." The last time it wasn't even that cold, they put another blanket on me when I went to the bathroom at night, waking me up in the middle of the night from the heat: ?? What did I do to deserve this??