Daily Life on the 26th

Su Qing had no intention of playing a staring game with Tadano and simply reached over, giving Tadano quite a fright. After all, the First String only had twenty people at most, standing in just two lines. If Su Qing started fooling around like this, Coach Kunimoto would definitely notice!

But Su Qing did not care in the slightest. After spending so many days together, he had realized that Coach Kunimoto was not nearly as scary as he had been in the manga.

"Ahem."

The moment Coach Kunimoto gave a warning cough, Su Qing instantly stood properly, obedient as could be, as if he had not just been slinging an arm around Tadano Itsuki's shoulders.

Su Qing's thoughts were already running wild. Why did they have to wait until he was standing still before handing out the jersey numbers? Was Coach Kunimoto planning to give him the number one jersey that symbolized the ace? Su Qing immediately sensed trouble. If Coach Kunimoto really did that, Narumiya Mei would definitely go berserk! No, no, no. He had spent several months winning over this good buddy of his. He could not let Coach Kunimoto ruin it!

The facts proved that Su Qing had overthought things. Narumiya Mei happily took his jersey number from Coach Kunimoto. Before doing so, he smugly shot Su Qing a glance, then returned to the line.

Su Qing bared his teeth at him in return, instantly making Narumiya Mei even happier. He could not put down the jersey number in his hands. Though he had already been the team's ace since last autumn, this was the first time he had received that number in the summer, so it naturally held great significance.

Next, Su Qing patiently waited for the jersey numbers to be handed out. Would he get number 11 or 18? In anime, those were both commonly used numbers for relief pitchers. Naturally, Su Qing hoped for number 11.

Just as Su Qing was lost in thought, he suddenly heard his name called. Why was he being called so soon? He did not react at first. It was only when Coach Kunimoto called his name a second time that he hurriedly stepped out of the line.

The moment Su Qing saw the jersey number in Coach Kunimoto's hand, he understood why his name had been called so quickly. The number was neither 11 nor 18, but 5—the number of a starting third baseman. Su Qing accepted the jersey number from Coach Kunimoto in surprise.

"Keep working hard. Inashiro's infield defense is in your hands."

"Yes, sir."

Not third base, but the infield defense? Su Qing wore a bitter smile. Coach Kunimoto was planning to use him as a utility player—putting him wherever he was needed?

Although that was how he had played in college in his previous life, that had been something he had actively requested.

With a sigh, Su Qing could already foresee his future as a utility player at Inashiro.

Unlike the sighing Su Qing, Yoshizawa, standing in the line, clenched his fists tightly.

Had he still been replaced after all?

Unwillingness, regret, and a jumble of emotions filled him. Yoshizawa lowered his head deeply.

"Yoshizawa."

"Yes."

Like Su Qing, Yoshizawa was extremely surprised when he accepted his own jersey number from Coach Kunimoto. It was number 9.

"I have always seen your hard work over the years. Whether it is Inashiro's batting lineup or defensive line, the team still needs you. Keep it up."

After saying that, Coach Kunimoto even patted Yoshizawa on the shoulder. Yoshizawa, who had been unable to contain his sadness, was so moved that he burst into tears.

"Yes!!!"

Su Qing could only marvel that Coach Kunimoto's skill was absolutely no weaker than Coach Kataoka's, despite the latter being a language teacher. It should be mentioned here that jersey number 9 had belonged to poor Fujikawa.

Fujikawa accepted his new jersey number from Coach Kunimoto with mixed feelings. Well, it was not actually new. It was an old friend—he had worn this very number last summer.

Little Tadano received number 20, as expected.

After receiving his jersey number, Su Qing quickly turned it over and examined it carefully. Only after confirming that there really was adhesive fabric on the back did he let out a long sigh of relief. In his previous life, he had seen scenes like this in Japanese baseball anime: the protagonist received the ace's jersey number and gave it to his mother, who sewed it onto his uniform.

Su Qing was terrified of that. After all, he had never done any sewing!

Once the jersey numbers had been handed out, Coach Kunimoto dismissed the team and let everyone train on their own. Su Qing, however, was immediately dragged away by Harada.

During the first few days after learning framing, Harada had been too conscious of his status to ask for help, so he had kept his head down and practiced alone. But the fact that he simply could not master it was a serious problem. Then the team had entered the training camp phase, and everyone began intensive practice together.

It was not as though Harada had not considered talking to Su Qing at night, but every time practice ended, Su Qing would dash back to the dormitory as if he were flying. After showering, he went straight to bed. The moment his head hit the pillow, he was asleep, leaving his roommates utterly dumbfounded.

After spending a week feeling as though cats were clawing at his heart, Harada no longer had any psychological reservations. He grabbed Su Qing and ran.

This time, Su Qing was much more patient as well. From the motions for receiving the ball, to how the glove should be positioned, to the principles behind deception, he explained every detail to Harada. Harada had another moment of enlightenment.

It made Su Qing briefly suspect that this Harada was actually Teito's catcher, Kenko Inui, in disguise. He looked as though he had been struck by lightning at the drop of a hat.

When Su Qing returned to the dormitory that evening, he was told some explosive news: they were going to Seido for a game tomorrow!

Only then did Su Qing remember that Inashiro really did seem to have played a game against Seido before the tournament.

But had that not been right after Seido's training camp?

Su Qing decided to save those questions for tomorrow. He would find out then. He wondered whether that bastard Chen Xin would be shocked out of his mind when he saw him. In a cheerful mood, Su Qing drifted off into dreamland.

The next morning, Su Qing was awakened by the sign-in notification.

Su Qing could now ignore the sign-in notifications, because as long as he did not look, that pile of damned stuff would not all get dumped into his locker!

But Su Qing still could not resist taking a look at what he had gotten from today's sign-in. As a result, a huge pile of Black Eye Ointment rolled out of his locker with a clatter, waking everyone else in the dormitory.

"Su! Qing!"

This was not the first time. Su Qing skillfully pulled the blanket over his head. As long as he kept pretending to sleep, his dear roommates would pick everything up and pile it on the table by the time he woke again.

At eight o'clock, Su Qing was dragged out of bed by his roommates, who had finally run out of patience.

"How many times have we told you not to just shove your things into the locker? They fall out every single time. Tell me, how many times has this happened already?!" Shirakawa stood in front of Su Qing and scolded him until he lowered his head obediently like a child, saying nothing.

He did not want to do it either! It was the garbage system that kept stuffing things into the locker!

"What did you buy this time?"

Narumiya Mei and Carlos had each picked up a tube of Black Eye Ointment and started examining it.

"Oh, this is Black Eye Ointment. It prevents glare and broadens your field of vision. It is more suitable for outfielders. Carlos, take more. Take as much as you want."

"You are not even an outfielder, so why did you buy so many?!"

Without even counting, Shirakawa could tell there were at least several hundred of them.