Su Qing jogged around the bases and returned to home plate, only to find that Harada was not waiting there to celebrate with him. He felt quite disappointed. After picking up the bat he had gently set down at home plate, he returned to the Rest Area.
When he got back to the Rest Area, Narumiya Mei was still wearing his ice pack. Su Qing hurried over to check the time and found that not even five minutes had passed.
Hehe, as expected of him. Quick and decisive.
"How did that feel? Your first at-bat in high school, and you hit a Home Run?"
Su Qing felt as though Narumiya Mei had just bitten into a lemon. The sourness was practically reaching him.
"Of course it felt great! It couldn't have felt any better!"
Narumiya Mei suddenly recalled that his own first at-bat had ended in a strikeout.
He was not jealous. Not jealous at all!
"It's just that nobody celebrated with me. How about I treat you to a big meal when we get back today?"
They had been eating at Inashiro's cafeteria these past few days. Meal after meal, with barely any meat. Su Qing felt as if his mouth was about to lose all sense of flavor!
Besides, he was still growing. Without plenty of nutrition, that simply would not do!
"Today? Forget it. Who knows what time we'll get back to school? Another time."
"We're going back to school today?!"
"Of course. We still have classes tomorrow, so naturally we have to go back."
"We still have classes tomorrow?!"
Su Qing had only attended one class this afternoon before leaving, and the teacher had not said anything. He had always assumed they would stay in Saitama Prefecture for several days, returning only after the tournament ended or after they were eliminated.
"Saitama is right next to Tokyo. It doesn't take long to travel back and forth."
Apparently noticing Su Qing's confusion, Narumiya Mei added that.
"Looks like it's time."
Su Qing checked the alarm and saw that it was indeed time. He pulled out a pair of scissors he had just bought from his backpack, cut open the plastic wrap he had used to seal everything tightly, then took out the ice packs and tossed them into his empty bag.
Seeing that Su Qing seemed ready to throw away all the ice packs, Narumiya Mei hurriedly asked,
"You gave yours to me, so how are you going to ice yourself?"
"Don't worry. I have more."
Su Qing gave Narumiya Mei a reassuring look.
Narumiya Mei was completely bewildered. He remembered Su Qing carrying only two bags: one that seemed to hold bats and the like, and a backpack. Could that backpack be filled entirely with ice packs?
Wouldn't that be exhausting?
"Oh, right. You still haven't told me what TJ surgery is."
Su Qing then gave Narumiya Mei a thorough explanation of TJ surgery.
"It's really okay to lose a ligament from your thigh?!"
Narumiya Mei clung to Su Qing with a terrified expression.
"Of course it's okay. Otherwise, they wouldn't choose a ligament from there for the transplant."
"Then after getting a new ligament, can you still pitch the same as before?"
"Well, that depends on rehabilitation. If the rehab goes well, you might be almost the same as before, but there will still be some impact one way or another."
Su Qing had undergone TJ surgery twice in his previous life. He had been young when he got the first one, and his rehabilitation had gone very well. His velocity had not dropped much, and his spin rate remained intact.
But he had not been so fortunate with the second TJ surgery. His velocity dropped drastically, which meant he could no longer be a Fireballer. At the time, Su Qing had considered retiring outright, but in the end, he chose to reinvent himself.
There were plenty of Major League pitchers worse off than him. Even the unluckiest ones, those afflicted with Pitching Amnesia, had not given up. One had eventually returned to the Major League with his bat and become a left fielder. How could Su Qing give up without even trying?
In the end, Su Qing chose to reinvent himself. The first few years of that transition were agonizing, because he had relied on velocity in his early years and did not have many off-speed pitches with a high level of mastery.
Now that his velocity had dropped as well, he had no choice but to start everything from scratch.
In truth, Su Qing had already turned thirty-two at the time and could have simply coasted until retirement on the big contract the club had given him. But his conscience would not allow it, and he did not want to let down the fans who had always supported him.
Finally, in the second year, the new Su Qing returned to the Major League. With his sharp breaking pitches, he once again awakened fear in batters.
At the time, Su Qing had thought that if he ever needed a third TJ surgery, he would switch to throwing Knuckleballs! But this time, before he could fully make use of his newly reconstructed ligament, other injuries forced him to retire when his contract expired, bidding farewell to the Major League.
Now that he had been reborn, Su Qing would naturally cherish his ligaments dearly. Actually, he had not wanted to become a pitcher in this life at first. Starting to pitch in high school would definitely accelerate the wear on his ligaments.
But whenever he imagined Narumiya Mei possibly burning himself out on the mound, he wanted to help him. Ah, he really was too compassionate! It definitely was not because Narumiya Mei was just too adorable!
"I don't want TJ surgery! Just thinking about it is scary! I don't want it!"
"Relax, relax. As long as you want to keep pitching, TJ surgery is unavoidable. Otherwise, why would pitchers be called consumables?"
"Is there really no way to avoid it?!"
"Every pitch you throw wears down your ligaments. So unless you stop pitching, there will always come a day when they run out. It's only a matter of sooner or later."
Seeing Narumiya Mei's frightened little face, Su Qing could not resist giving it a pinch.
"If you don't want TJ surgery so early, then take good care of your shoulder! Be diligent with icing, and don't overdo your pitching. You need moderation in training too. You're still young, and too much training is bad for your body. Everything has to be appropriate. Also, drink more milk and get some protein. Your height really isn't cutting it."
At Su Qing's last remark, Narumiya Mei sprang to his feet.
"You're about the same height as me! If I'm not cutting it, then neither are you!"
Narumiya Mei's unusual outburst immediately drew everyone's attention.
Su Qing hurriedly soothed Narumiya Mei and got him to sit back down.
"I just hope you can grow a little taller. Besides, being taller helps with pitching velocity."
Narumiya Mei immediately stopped being angry, his eyes sparkling.
"Really?! Getting taller really helps with velocity?!"
"Of course. Look at the Fireballers in pro baseball. Which one is under 1.9 meters tall?"
Narumiya Mei thought carefully about it. There really did not seem to be any, and he immediately became a little dejected.
"I only grew one centimeter in my first year of high school. I haven't grown at all since."
Su Qing thought about it. If he ate nothing but food like Inashiro's cafeteria meals every day, it would be a miracle if he grew taller!
"That's because your nutrition isn't keeping up. From now on, whatever I eat, you eat too. I'll cover all your supplements."
"Wow!"
"Wouldn't that be inappropriate?"
After exclaiming, Narumiya Mei suddenly remembered that supplements were quite expensive.
"It's fine. I have plenty of money. They're only supplements, after all. We're roommates. Isn't it perfectly normal to share good things?"
"Mm-hmm!"
Narumiya Mei suddenly felt that the version of himself who had inexplicably disliked Su Qing before was so childish. Su Qing was such an interesting person, and he had even given him an adorable bat when they first met.
He had actually targeted Su Qing out of jealousy. That was far too awful!
Before you continue