Budding Talent

"It's so hot."

"So——hot."

"Hot."

"Phew——" They finally found a cold drink shop and sat down. As soon as they opened the door, the cool air raised goosebumps all over, and they all shivered.

Shen Qing looked at Lang Zhi curiously, "Lang Zhi, you didn't even say it was hot."

"It's like this when playing baseball, but it is indeed very hot. It's actually better to play baseball with an undershirt."

"Ah——the temperature wasn't this high when I looked at it a few days ago." Shen Qing flipped through the menu, "Now that we're here, let's get something to eat..."

Then, in the ice cream section, she saw vanilla flavor. Maybe it was the weather, but her mouth moved faster than her brain, saying, "Kōshū still likes Vanilla Ice Cream..." She quickly realized she had spoken too naturally, so she glanced at Kōshū and changed it to a question, "Do you still like Vanilla Ice Cream?"

Kōshū found his mom's question amusing and said with a smile, "I'm the same as before."

"Okay, good, but there are other things too. I'll show you the menu in a bit. I'll just get a smoothie." As she said this, she turned the menu and pushed it to Kōshū across from her.

"No need, I'll still have Vanilla Ice Cream." Kōshū smoothly moved the menu to Lang Zhi on his left.

Lang Zhi's eyes lit up, and he ordered several things in one breath. Mr. Sasaki didn't stop him, but he still warned, "Hey, do you usually eat sweets like this outside? I'll take an X-ray of your teeth when you come back to the clinic."

"Eh??" Seeing Lang Zhi's obviously unwilling expression, Mr. Sasaki ordered Lemonade for himself.

"Be careful of diabetes, everyone," he added.

Earning a glare from his wife.

The group spent two hours in the cold drink shop. Mr. Sasaki seemed very interested in Lang Zhi's recent life in the baseball club, asking several questions in a row, almost making Lang Zhi sweat. It was only with Kōshū's guidance that the topic slowly shifted to other things. For some reason, they finally decided to come to this tourist destination to play baseball.

As the group inquired about the location of the Batting Cage and headed there, Lang Zhi fell behind, looking at Kōshū with a questioning gaze.

"Don't look at me like that. I don't have the time to tell your secrets."

"Then what was that just now? I almost thought he knew."

"Well—who knows? Maybe Mr. Sasaki isn't the kind of person who doesn't pay attention to his kids like you think."

"Ah—why do I have to encounter this kind of thing?" Lang Zhi shook Kōshū in despair.

"Tsk, hot." Kōshū squinted and looked down at this guy, not knowing what to say. Recently, he seemed to have gotten used to having a noisy guy around him. It was really scary.

It wasn't a long journey before Kōshū arrived at a Batting Cage for the first time in his life. He hefted the bat, and Lang Zhi said discouragingly from behind, "Don't get scared by the ball." Kōshū curled his lips.

The front of the batting area was empty, with only him facing the screen, which showed a person standing on the Pitcher's Mound. He could feel people watching from behind.

You know, people's gazes, though without a trace, seem to have weight. Sensitive people can unconsciously feel the gazes of others. At the same time, these gazes are sometimes light and sometimes heavy. Before the race, they were like the dew hanging on his body in the morning—his body was hot, but the gaze was calm. When he lost, the gazes were heavy. The referee announced his loss, and every gaze surrounded this fact, so every gaze carried the certainty that 'he is not a winner,' like locks hanging on his heart. But when he won, those gazes were like feathers, one stacked on top of another, making his feet light as if he were about to fly.

Here and now, the gazes from behind seemed to bring him back to the sprint track. It was as if this batting practice was a real match. For the first time in the few months since coming to Japan, his spirit suddenly became focused.

Lowest speed, the ball came. Just like waiting for the starting gun in a sprint, Kōshū waited for the ball to reach his hand and hit it out. Lang Zhi closed his mouth, then said, "This ball is too slow. A pitcher like that on the field would be waiting to get blown up."

Kōshū wasn't provoked by the words from behind. In his eyes, there was only the baseball flying towards him. He hit about ten balls at the lowest speed, and he was sure he had mastered this speed, so he asked to increase the speed.

In the gaze of the boy turning his head, Mr. Sasaki saw a high degree of concentration and the passion hidden within. Amazing, it seemed this child was going to fall in love with baseball. Every boy who loves baseball really has the same thing in their eyes.

The remaining three watched Kōshū hit balls in the batting cage for twenty minutes. It wasn't that they didn't want to hit, but they wanted to see what Kōshū could do as a beginner.

"32 pitches, he's hit 32 pitches in a row." Lang Zhi counted silently, even at the high-speed ball stage, he could hit it smoothly after the initial adjustment.

"Has he never played baseball before?" Mr. Sasaki asked Shen Qing.

"No, baseball is the national sport in Japan, but it's a niche sport in China. Many cities don't even have baseball fields." Shen Qing's expression gradually became enthusiastic. She was reminded of her son's figure in the sports meet competition, and couldn't help but show off, "Kōshū once broke the school record in the short run and was even invited to the provincial team."

But then, her voice became smaller: "But at that time, Kōshū's biological father felt that sports was not a career, and in the end, he didn't go."

"Is there such a thing?" Looking at the surprised expressions of the father and son opposite, Shen Qing rarely felt that maybe leaving was a good thing for herself and this child.

140 km/h is the highest ball speed in this venue. Kōshū has gone from a hasty swing at the beginning to being able to swing with ease.

"This child, I just taught him the basic movements, and now he already has a heroic batting momentum!" Mr. Sasaki also became excited.

In the batting cage, Kōshū, who was still focused on the next ball, felt his palms numb and a little out of breath, but sports make people excited! Can't stop at all!

"Stop for a moment." Unexpectedly, the only calm person in this exciting scene was the youngest child, Lang Zhi, "You've already hit so many balls, you have to let your body rest."

"Yes, yes, Kōshū, you should rest quickly."

Kōshū was interrupted from his highly concentrated state, and mental fatigue surged like a tide.

"Ah, I didn't realize I hit so many balls." Kōshū came out shaking his hands, and then looked at the short guy strangely, "Lang Zhi, what are you doing?"

Lang Zhi touched his stepbrother's arms, waist, and thighs. Damn, his arms are so strong, he seems to have abs on his waist, and his thighs are so strong. He felt that his stepbrother's loose clothes were deliberately deceiving people. Hearing this, he gritted his teeth and said fiercely, "Are you really only 1 year older than me?"

Kōshū put his hand on the short guy's head and said meaningfully, "Little kid."

"Tch! I'm going to practice batting too. As the starting shortstop, the team still relies on my bat." So he jumped up and down in the batting cage, his whole body written with 'Look at me, look at me, look at me', and then accidentally didn't hit well because the pitching machine was still at the highest speed, "Damn Kōshū."

Just as Lang Zhi was performing in front, Mr. Sasaki suggested, "Kōshū, would you like to try pitching later? There seems to be a place to practice pitching over there."

"Eh, is this venue so big? Sure, but I can't pitch."

"It doesn't matter, I can still teach you the basic Four-Seam Fastball."

"Four-Seam Fastball is what again?"

"Haha, the Four-Seam Fastball is the most basic of all pitches. It's the fastest ball a person can throw. Because when it rotates quickly, the seams of the baseball look like four lines to the batter, so it's called the Four-Seam Fastball. I'll get a baseball to show you how to grip it..."

When Lang Zhi turned his head again, he saw that only his stepmother was giving him face by applauding. While he felt warm in his heart, he also saw his father showing Kōshū how to grip the ball. Damn Kōshū, what are they discussing again? I want to join too. So he forgot that the next ball was coming soon and was almost hit by the ball.

"Are you going to pitch?" Lang Zhi asked through the net.

"Yes, Kōshū's height is perfect for being a pitcher, isn't it?"

"I want to go too."

Shen Qing wanted to see her son's pitching more than batting, so the four of them moved to the pitching practice area. The entire empty practice room was divided into several pitching practice areas by hanging iron chains, each practice area being exactly 18 meters wide horizontally.

"Are you really going to throw? Will it hit you?"

"It's okay, I borrowed protective gear. Just throw it into my glove, and pay attention to not distorting your posture."

"I'll be watching here." Lang Zhi shouted.

"Okay, then throw it, Kōshū."

"Hoo—" Why are these people more excited than him? Alas, I just used too much force batting, which caused me to not be able to concentrate now, but throwing a ball at someone is still a bit uncomfortable.

"Bang—" Mr. Sasaki barely moved his glove and easily caught the ball. The ball speed was around 110. He excitedly shouted, "NICE BALL! Kōshū, one more time, Four-Seam Fastball!"

"Hey, hey, hey, are you kidding me? How did you throw that?" Lang Zhi was the first to protest, jumping even more vigorously than before.

"Hmm—it's just a feeling." Another ball, and the glove caught it smoothly without deviation.

"Hey, hey, it's because he plays basketball, right? I remember Kōshū is also very accurate when shooting hoops," Shen Qing said to the indignant Lang Zhi, "Speaking of which, he's also very accurate when throwing darts, and also when throwing trash..."

"Ahhh, Mom, please stop talking!" Lang Zhi inadvertently complained, then muttered in a low voice, "I already regret it, I don't want to play baseball with him..." What to do? If we play baseball together, and people find out we're brothers, they'll definitely compare me to him, and then I'll have to explain that we're not blood-related, and then I'll have to accept the "Oh, I see, no wonder you're so short" look of realization from others. Damn Kōshū.

The complaining, mumbling boy didn't notice that the woman beside him was stunned by his words.

Forgive me for adding a halo to the protagonist. He is just a 13-year-old who grew to 1.8 meters tall, with excellent physical fitness, strong explosive power, and a very accurate sense of feeling.